Simultaneous travel: I am proving the great way in the heavens.

Chapter 623 Understanding the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, Ultimately Attaining the Great Dao! An Incredible Turn of Events!
When I first saw Fahai, he was staring intently at the ground with his Dharma Eye.

This made Zen Master Baiyun curious about what he was looking for.

However, it is quite obvious that Zen Master Baiyun guessed wrong.

Fahai looked embarrassed and said, "This humble monk...this humble monk is looking for the roots of a thousand-year-old tree demon."

"A thousand-year-old tree demon?" Zen Master Baiyun seemed to have thought of something, his eyes flashed, and he said, "Is it the one that received the Buddha's blessing behind Lanruo Temple?"

"Perhaps," Fahai said uncertainly. "As the Zen Master knows, Jinshan Temple has never associated with Lanruo Temple, but that tree demon is extremely evil. If we cannot dig out all its roots, I'm afraid it will cause endless trouble."

Zen Master Baiyun looked at Fahai speechlessly.

Although he pieced together some clues, he still couldn't grasp the main point that Fahai wanted to make.

After emphasizing the horror of Luofu, Fahai quickly began to recount what he had seen and heard before.

This made Zen Master Baiyun and Shifang understand the whole story.

The Moro in Luofu is one thing, while Fahai's search for the tree demon's roots with his Dharma Eye in Guobei County is another.

Although there is indeed a close causal relationship between the two, they should not be confused.

“Then…” Shi Fang began to speak subconsciously, but soon seemed to realize something, shrank his neck, and glanced cautiously at Zen Master Baiyun.

glaring at Shi Fang, Zen Master Baiyun said irritably, "Just say what you want to say, why are you hesitating like this?"

"I... I just wanted to ask, where is Yuanzhen now?" Shifang said apologetically.

“This…” Fahai shook his head and said, “This humble monk is ashamed. I was utterly defeated by that Moro. If he had not spared my life, I would probably have already passed away. But I have no idea where he went.”

"Stop asking so many questions," said Zen Master Baiyun. "Shifang, bring the golden Buddha here."

"A golden Buddha?" Shi Fang was taken aback. He knew that along the way, Zen Master Baiyun had repeatedly warned him not to reveal the golden Buddha.

But now, why are you suddenly offering it up again?
Although his mind was full of questions, Shi Fang did not dare to be negligent at all. He hurriedly took down the box on his back, lifted the red cloth covering the box, put his hands together, and bowed before taking out the golden Buddha.

"Master, the golden Buddha has been retrieved."

Zen Master Baiyun did not accept it, but instead instructed, "Give the golden Buddha to Zen Master Fahai!"

"Huh?" Shi Fang's eyes widened immediately.

Even though he grew up in a small temple, Shifang knew the value of the golden Buddha.

“No, no.” Fahai seemed to understand what Zen Master Baiyun meant and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, “Zen Master Baiyun, this golden Buddha is a supreme Buddhist treasure, and this humble monk dares not have any delusional thoughts.”

"It's alright." Zen Master Baiyun explained, "This humble monk saw Abbot Fahai use his Dharma Eye to thoroughly search Guobei County. It seems that the tree demon's roots are hidden very deeply. With the help of the Golden Buddha, Abbot Fahai can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"This..." Fahai couldn't refuse when it came to the efficiency of slaying demons and monsters.

After a slight hesitation, Fahai said, "Thank you, Zen Master. This humble monk will borrow the golden Buddha for now. Once the tree demon's roots are dug out and it is completely eradicated, the golden Buddha will surely be returned to you intact."

"This humble monk will lend a helping hand to Zen Master Fahai," Zen Master Baiyun volunteered.

The two Buddhist monks, one old and one young, both highly skilled practitioners, simultaneously used their Dharma Eyes to thoroughly search the underground within a certain radius.

No matter how deeply the tree demon's roots were buried, they could not escape the sight of the two great Buddhist masters.

When the two joined forces to completely eradicate the Tree Demon Granny's roots in the human world.

Luofu, however, traveled all the way from Jinhua to the foot of Jinshan Temple.

Although Jinshan Temple in this world is not far from Lanruo Temple, it is not built on the mainland, but is an ancient stone temple carved out of the sea on an isolated island adjacent to the mainland.

Even though Lanruo Temple is dilapidated, the remaining buildings still reveal that Jinshan Temple and Lanruo Temple represent two completely different Buddhist styles.

Fahai is not at Jinshan Temple. He has been provoked by Luofu and is digging around Lanruo Temple to eradicate the tree demon.

Luofu had little interest in climbing the Jinshan Temple.

I glanced at the distant stone cave temple, perched alone on the sea.

Just as Luofu was preparing to enter the city for a visit, an old man with white hair and beard, dressed in white monk's robes and holding a Zen staff, moved swiftly through the mountains and forests.

In just one glance, Luo Fu recognized that the old man in monk's robes was actually a demon, and he could even see through his true form at a glance.

Spider demon.

That's right.

This old man was none other than the spider demon who would later cause Fahai to become so obsessed.

Two hundred years later, they cultivated to the point where they could pass off fish as pearls and steal the sky and change the sun.

Of course, this is Fahai's assessment of the spider demon.

In fact, this spider demon's cultivation and magical power were not high. Although she did have unique skills in transforming into human form, she could not be called powerful.

A thought suddenly struck Luo Fu, and he had a feeling deep inside.

My encounter with this spider demon is no simple coincidence.

This spider demon was no match for Fahai, let alone Luofu.

The irony is that he was supposed to appear in front of Fahai, but now he appears in front of Luofu, just like an NPC.

His life was dedicated to fulfilling a certain mission.

Without Luo Fu, he would have become the catalyst for Fahai's deep-seated obsession. Now, however, it is unknown what unbelievable changes he will bring about through Luo Fu.

Instead of rushing after the spider demon, he watched it disappear from his sight.

Luo Fu waited for about two incense sticks' worth of time.

Sure enough, the spider demon, as if deliberately courting death, once again ran wildly through the jungle.

He was even muttering incantations to himself.

"The sun shines brightly on such a beautiful day, with red flowers and green grass. I run forward happily, having traversed countless green hills, I am still young."

The familiar tune made Luo Fu chuckle, but it also made him more convinced that this spider demon was indeed up to something, and that it wasn't simply cultivating her inner core in front of him.

Or rather, under the dictates of fate, he will use his own life to fulfill a certain mission.

The only question is who the person truly behind all of this is.

Having appeared before him twice in a row, Luo Fu certainly couldn't let this spider demon wander around in front of him again and again.

With a flash, he appeared in front of the spider demon.

Luo Fu said, "Old Abbot, you look refreshed and in high spirits?"

The spider demon suddenly stopped, stumbled, and almost fell.

"Young man, your sudden appearance will frighten the old man," the spider demon said, feigning lingering fear. Although startled by Luo Fu's sudden appearance, the spider demon quickly regained her composure. She asked, "Young man, what do you want by suddenly jumping out and stopping me?"

“Old abbot, with your white hair and youthful face, you must have achieved great success in your cultivation, so I would like to ask you some questions.”

Luo Fu's words immediately struck a nerve with the spider demon.

Upon hearing this, he immediately revealed a smug expression.

“These days, there aren’t many young people like you who are so eager to ask questions.” Stroking his long beard, the spider demon asked, “What question do you wish to ask?”

"Of course, it's because the old abbot has cultivated for many years that he has such wrinkled skin and white hair?" Luo Fu asked, looking like a curious child.

"Time waits for no one; two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye." The spider demon became increasingly smug.

Luo Fu's lips twitched. He was now increasingly convinced that the spider demon was doomed.

The only difference is that he didn't suddenly appear out of nowhere; his two hundred years of cultivation were completely abolished by Fahai in one day.

"It is truly astonishing that the old abbot has cultivated to such a level after two hundred years of cultivation. However, why doesn't the old abbot obediently stay in the temple to cultivate and hope to shed his demon body and become a human? Why does he swagger around like this in the city?"

His expression changed drastically, and all traces of his previous smugness vanished.

Looking uneasily at Luofu, the spider demon said, "Master, this little demon... this little demon has been worshipping at the feet of the Great Golden Buddha of Lingtai Temple for a long time, absorbing the Buddha's blessings. I am of a gentle nature and have never harmed anyone. Master, please see this clearly."

Knowing the true nature of this spider demon, Luo Fu certainly wouldn't act like Fahai, directly and forcefully subduing and suppressing her.

“You are indeed blessed by the Buddha and have a peaceful nature, but you have not yet shed your demon body and attained human form. You are still a demon. Gods, humans, ghosts, and demons are all ranked in the four realms. Aren’t you afraid that your swaggering through the city will attract righteous people to exorcise demons?” Luo Fu asked curiously.

He was genuinely curious about what was going on in this spider demon's mind.

Knowing full well that he was a demon, he still flaunted himself in the city, relying on the blessing of the Great Golden Buddha of Lingtai Temple.

It should be noted that even Fahai only became aware of the so-called Buddha's blessing after he had captured the other party.

It can be said that the Buddha's blessing is at most a form of identification, and has little to do with one's actual strength.

When you encounter people who are willing to reason, everything is fine, but when you encounter people who are unreasonable, the outcome is disastrous.

Even without Luo Fu, the Spider Demon being captured by Fahai would be considered a good outcome. The worst outcome would have been being captured by those wicked Taoist priests, in which case she would have been forever unable to recover.

Someone like Quanzhenzi, who specializes in capturing weak demons and monsters for cultivation, would truly suffer if they fell into the hands of such a Taoist priest.

Perhaps sensing this, Luo Fu indeed had no intention of subduing him as a monster.

The spider's mind instantly became active.

"Venerable Master, you may not know this, but Lingtai Temple is the current national temple. The Imperial Preceptor of the capital, Pudu Cihang, is a successor to the Dharma lineage of Lingtai Temple, and now..."

"Wait a minute." Luo Fu abruptly interrupted the spider demon, saying, "You mean, that current Imperial Preceptor, Pudu Cihang, cultivates the Lingtai Temple lineage?"

“Yes,” the spider demon said, puzzled. “This isn’t a secret, doesn’t the mage know?”

Luo Fu was genuinely unaware of this, because based on his past life's impressions, he subconsciously assumed that Pudu Cihang, the centipede demon who dared to impersonate the Buddha, practiced Tibetan Buddhism.

This is a misunderstanding by Luofu. In fact, Lingtai Temple is indeed closely related to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and it is even one of the representative temples of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Quite coincidentally, the temple where Luofu previously became a monk was actually a branch of Lingtai Temple.

However, the Lingtai Temple, the lineage temple where Luofu previously became a monk, is completely different from the Lingtai Temple mentioned by the spider demon now.

They are not only not from the same lineage, but they could even be said to be enemies.

Lingtai Temple, Zen Master Baiyun, the Bodhisattva of Compassion...

It reminds me of the movie from my past life, where Pudu Cihang and Zen Master Baiyun shared the same face.

Luo Fu suddenly had a strange premonition that Zen Master Baiyun must be related to Pudu Cihang.

Don't forget, the spider demon just said that she received the blessing of the Great Golden Buddha at Lingtai Temple.

As it happened, Luo Fu knew that the most powerful Buddhist treasure in the hands of Zen Master Baiyun was the Golden Buddha.

Indeed, Buddhist artifacts are inherently ornate, and golden statues are a symbol of Buddhism.

This association may seem far-fetched, but Luo Fu's inexplicable inspiration tells him that this guess is correct.

Composing himself, Luo Fu said, "Continue. Since you are under the protection of Lingtai Temple, why are you appearing around Jinshan Temple?"

"This..." The spider demon looked embarrassed. She said, "We demons, blessed by the Great Golden Buddha of Lingtai Temple, receive a decree from the Imperial Preceptor every so often, and are sent to travel the world!"

"The Imperial Advisor sent you on a swift journey across the land? What is his purpose?"

Could this so-called "Xunyou" really just be a publicly funded trip?

But the spider demon's next words confirmed Luo Fu's most unlikely guess.

"We don't know either. The Imperial Advisor only told us that we should travel around the world regularly to observe the vicissitudes of life, which would greatly help us in our enlightenment and spiritual practice," the spider demon answered honestly.

"So, your so-called 'traveling the world' just means wandering around the world aimlessly?"

"No, according to the Grand Preceptor's instructions, we need to travel to famous mountains and rivers so that we can complete the process of transcending the world and engaging with the world, understand the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, and ultimately attain the Great Dao."

In an instant, Luo Fu had a pretty good idea of ​​what Pudu Cihang was thinking.

This isn't about letting spider demons and other monsters roam the world; it's about using these monsters as bait.

What are the most famous mountains and rivers?
In places of practice for various schools and sects, as long as they are located in scenic mountains and rivers, there will most likely be lineages of Buddhism and Taoism that have established their schools there.

A monster suddenly appeared swaggering around the gates of a prestigious sect.

If they are not discovered, that's fine, but once they are discovered, they will surely be slain and exterminated.

After all, just like the spider demon from before, she was too arrogant.

They paraded through the streets, as if afraid that the righteous cultivators wouldn't realize they were monsters.

Fahai's resolute suppression of the spider demon may well have been due to this reason.

A demon, wandering around in front of the dignified abbot of Jinshan Temple, had his identity exposed and then tried to use the excuse of being blessed by Buddha.

This clearly shows they don't take Fahai seriously at all.

From this perspective, it's fair to say that the spider demon's two hundred years of cultivation were not wasted.

The purpose of Pudu Cihang in doing this is not hard to guess.

All he needs to do is arrange the monsters to various famous mountains and rivers. Once a monster is captured by a righteous sect, he can use this opportunity to observe the strength and resources of the righteous sects in that famous mountain or river.

If one is powerful, it doesn't matter. But once discovered by Pudu Cihang, one's foundation is insufficient and strength is lacking.

One can imagine what this brutal centipede demon would do.

(End of this chapter)