The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 212 Ice Silkworm Palace

"Kill the five hundred Arhats of Gayasena?" Jiumozhi murmured, "Impossible, this is impossible."

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes and said slowly: "I also think it is unlikely."

Jiumozhi heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this: "Venerable Gayasena is ranked 44th among the five hundred Arhats. How could he die here?"

Zhao Ti had a blank expression on his face and just stared at him without saying a word.

Jiumozhi continued: "Venerable Gayasana was a disciple of the 17th Patriarch of Western Zen Buddhism, Sangha Nandi, and the teacher of the 19th Patriarch, Kumarajiva. He is the 18th Patriarch..."

Zhao Ti said: "There are 28 ancestors of Western Zen Buddhism. The 28th one is Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma traveled east to teach Huike, and the orthodox lineage of Zen Buddhism has continued in the Central Plains since then."

Jiumozhi said: "What the donor said is correct, it is like this."

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment, then glanced at the seal characters on the ice wall: "But the age does fit..."

Jiumozhi shook his head vigorously: "No, no, in his later years, Venerable Gayasena went to the country of Dayuezhi and met the Brahmin Kumarajiva. He knew that he was the person predicted by the Buddha to carry on the mysterious teachings, so he passed on his robe and bowl to Kumarajiva, leaving behind the verses that if there is a seed and a heart, the cause and condition can sprout, and the cause and condition will not hinder each other, and one should be reborn and not reborn. Then he jumped into the void, showed eighteen kinds of magical changes, and burned himself in the Samadhi of Fire Light. The disciples built a pagoda to enshrine his relics..."

Zhao Ti said calmly, "How can there be such miracles? The 28th Patriarch Bodhidharma was just a martial arts master, a top expert. How can there be any magical powers? All the knowledge passed down by Shaolin is martial arts, there is no other way."

Jiumozhi murmured, "Then this person in the ice can't be a real Arhat..." As he spoke, he looked at the frozen corpse in front of him, and then slapped it with his palm.

There was a sharp and piercing sound, as if an ancient rock was cracking. The ice on the surface of the corpse fell off, revealing the shape of the person inside.

It turned out to be a monk, well-preserved and recognizable, with a serious appearance, broad eyebrows, big ears, a thick nose and a wide mouth, and he must be quite old.

The monk's body was also intact. He was wearing very simple clothes and holding half a long staff in his hand. The staff was also strange. One end looked like a round tube of a musical instrument with some mottled colors on it, while the body of the staff was dull gray-brown.

Jiumozhi looked at the monk's clothes, his expression changing. After a moment, he said, "This, this is indeed the monk's clothes from ancient India..."

"Ancient Indian monk's robe?" Zhao Ti nodded: "That staff is strange, what is it?"

Jiumozhi observed for a long time and said, "I don't recognize this staff. I have never seen a staff of this style. Donor, these things cannot prove that this person is the legendary 44th Arhat, the 18th Patriarch of Zen Buddhism. We can only say that he is indeed an ancient Indian monk..."

Zhao Ti smiled. Things were feeling very strange right now. Although the swordsman in white had Han-style hair and wore Han-style clothing, it was somewhat different from the common clothes in the Song Dynasty.

And this swordsman chased the monk from the West Sea to here, and there are many puzzles.

At this moment, we see the corpse of the monk that has been frozen for a thousand years, and the words engraved on the wall. The words say that the monk is the eighteenth patriarch of the ancient Indian Zen Buddhism, and the forty-fourth of the legendary Five Hundred Arhats. Everything is shrouded in mystery. Regardless of whether the words are true or false, what is the identity of the person who wrote them?
The name left on the ice wall is Lie Xiaozi of Kunlun Ice Silkworm Palace. What is Kunlun Ice Silkworm Palace? Is it a martial arts sect in Kunlun Mountain in ancient times?

Kunlun has had many martial arts schools since ancient times. Rumor has it that there is the Kunlun School and the Kunlun Sword Sect. If things continue to develop as they were, the Ming Cult headquarters will also be moved to Kunlun in the future. But this Ice Silkworm Palace...

Zhao Ti touched his chin and had never heard of this name.

"See if this monk has left anything behind." He said calmly.

Everyone immediately searched around, but found nothing. There was no identity certificate such as a certificate of ordination, nor any scriptures or other items.

Zhao Ti thought for a moment, looked at the distraught Jiumozhi, and shook his head: "Let's go forward and take a look."

Everyone nodded and continued forward along the passage. At this time, their mood for viewing the scenery inside the cave had been destroyed by the frozen corpses, and everyone felt complicated and confused.

Not long after they walked out, the little girl suddenly shouted, "There seems to be another body there?"

Everyone was stunned, and saw a humanoid figure leaning closely against the wall about ten feet away.

Jiumozhi walked forward quickly, looked carefully, turned around and said in a trembling voice: "Donor Zhao, it seems that he is still a monk."

"Oh?" Zhao Ti walked over and took a quick look. Through the ice, he could vaguely see that the person frozen inside had no hair bun and seemed to be a bald head.

Zhou Tong then said, "Sir... there are words engraved on this wall as well."

Zhao Ti looked at the ice wall and found words inside. He raised his hand and shattered two layers of ice, revealing the characters, still in seal script, which read: Gaiang of the Kunlun Divine Sword Palace, Nadi Kasyapa who killed five hundred Arhats is here.

Jiumozhi asked with a trembling voice: "Donor, what did you write this time?"

Zhao Ti said quietly, "Gaiang of Kunlun Divine Sword Palace killed Nadi Kasyapa of the Five Hundred Arhats here."

"Venerable Nadi Kasyapa?" Jiumozhi murmured, "Venerable Nadi Kasyapa is the sixteenth of the Five Hundred Arhats. He manifests the Buddha in his heart. Once he met robbers by the Nadi River. The robbers forced him to hand over his money. He said that there was Buddha in his heart. The robbers asked him to prove it. He took the sharp knife and cut open his chest, revealing the Buddha statue in his heart. The robbers were convinced by his magical power and vowed to convert and follow him to learn Buddhism..."

Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "This is even more ridiculous. It's just a legend."

Jiumozhi silently broke the ice statue into pieces, revealing the body of a monk inside.

This monk was also wearing ancient Indian monk's robe, but he was more sturdy and broader than the previous one. Although his skin color was ugly due to being frozen for thousands of years, it could be seen that it should have been quite dark originally.

But he was different from the previous Gayasena. There were no visible scars on Gayasena's body, but this monk had a big hole in his chest.

Jiumozhi was stunned when he saw the black hole on the monk's chest. The hole was very big, occupying almost half of the chest, and there was no heart inside.

The little girl said, "Didn't the master say that Buddha resided in his heart? Now... it's gone. I don't know if Buddha really ever resided in my heart."

Jiumozhi took a long time to say: "This is a sword wound. It was caused by a person with extremely high sword skills. He stabbed the left chest, and the sword energy exploded, shattering everything around it..."

Zhao Ti nodded: "It's a very powerful swordsmanship. It only shattered the chest organs without damaging other parts. It can be seen that the internal force is released and received freely, and the subtle parts are turned around as desired. However..."

"But what?" Jiumozhi asked hurriedly.

Zhao Ti pondered, "Could it be that he was not pierced by the sword, but that the sword energy directly hit his chest and pierced his body, causing this kind of injury?"

Jiumozhi pondered, "The sword energy hit the chest directly? If the energy of martial arts such as One Yang Finger, Six Meridians Divine Sword, and Formless Tribulation Finger broke through the body, it would only be a thin hole. Even if the sword energy is slightly thicker, it will not cause such a wide range of damage, right?"

Zhao Ti said: "This is indeed related to the strength of the sword energy, but it is also related to the purity of the internal force. The internal force is extremely pure and has extremely strong destructive power. It is not impossible to inflict such a large wound."

Jiumozhi thought for a while and said: "What you said makes sense, but I still don't agree with the words written on the wall."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "That's irrelevant. Who can know what happened thousands of years ago, or whether it's true or false?"

Jiumozhi nodded, as if he was relieved, but suddenly his face changed drastically and he said, "No, benefactor, I remembered something."

Everyone looked at him, and the girl asked, "Master, you are so startled, what are you thinking of?"

Jiumozhi asked, "The evil monk I met at Guimu Beach in Kucha was called Youlou?"

Huo Linglong nodded and said, "It is indeed called that name. We all heard it at that time. The Princess of Kucha was deceived by him and she even called him Master Youlou."

Jiumozhi said with a pale face: "Among the five hundred Arhats under the seat of the Buddha, the fourteenth is called Uruvilva..."

Zhao Ti smiled upon hearing this and said, "Indeed, he has such a title. Could it be that the one I killed is a legendary Arhat?"

Jiumozhi said: "Venerable Uruvilva is a disciple of the Buddha. He was originally the teacher of the King of Magadha and had 500 disciples. He believed in the fire-worshipping heretic. The Buddha showed all kinds of supernatural powers to convert him. At first, he insisted that although the monks were supernatural, they were not as true as my way. But later he was moved by the Buddha and finally converted to Buddhism."

Huo Linglong said, "Could it be Mahakasyapa?"

Jiumozhi shook his head: "It's not Mahakasyapa. People often confuse the two. In fact, they are not the same venerable one."

Zhao Ti said: "Mahakasyapa is the venerable who realized the flower-picking smile and created the flower-picking finger technique. He is also called Mahakasyapa. There are many people in the world, and they are not actually the same person."

Jiumozhi looked at Zhao Ti with horror at this moment: "Donor, this matter is too weird, I, I,..."

Zhao Ti said: "Don't worry, monk, look ahead."

Jiumozhi chanted the Buddha's name and said, "My mind is shaken, I will completely depend on you..."

The crowd then continued forward and saw two more frozen corpses, both of which were monks. There were words carved on the ice walls, describing someone from a certain sect in Kunlun Palace, and someone who killed five hundred Arhats.

Jiumozhi remained silent all the way, and then went forward. He saw that the cave became wider and brighter, and it was obvious that he was not far from the exit of this level of the cave.

But at this moment, two more human-shaped frozen bodies appeared. The distance between the two frozen bodies was very close, only about five or six feet. Everyone went forward to watch.

Through the ice, one can vaguely see that the two frozen people have hair in a bun, but one of them has a weird hairstyle.

Jiumozhi shook open the strange-looking ice block and saw the corpse inside. He couldn't help but step back several steps.

The girl yelled, "Why is your hair so weird?"

Huo Linglong looked unusual, and said in doubt: "This is a high spiral bun, this, this...only Bodhisattvas in temples wear this kind of bun, right?"

Zhao Ti squinted at the corpse that emerged from the ice block. It was indeed a high spiral bun, a hairstyle not worn by ordinary people, and extremely difficult for ordinary people to style. Most statues and Bodhisattvas in temples were carved with similar hairstyles.

He looked at the face again and saw that the corpse had a full face like the moon, thin curved eyebrows, closed eyes, a nose like a hanging gall bladder, thin lips and a small mouth, which looked quite peaceful and beautiful.

The girl spoke again: "Can you tell whether it's a boy or a girl?"

Zhao Ti glanced at her and said, "Xiao Xiao, what do you think?"

The girl said unhappily, "You call me by that name again. My name is Wu Xingyun. If you really want to call me by that name, it's better to call me by that name."

Zhao Ti shook his head: "No, it's better to be a little more appropriate."

The little girl said angrily, "As the head of the sect, how can you randomly name someone?"

Zhao Ti raised his lips and said, "You still know that I am the headmaster? Since you know the headmaster, you should obey his orders and never do anything in vain. You should obey him in everything."

The little girl puffed up her cheeks, her eyes rolling, and snorted, "I think this person is a woman." Huo Linglong wondered, "How did you know that?"

The girl looked down at the tip of her shoe and said, "Isn't it easy to tell?"

Huo Linglong looked at the corpse from head to toe and said suddenly, "I understand..."

Jiumozhi came to his senses at this moment. After hearing what everyone said, he stepped forward to take a closer look. After a long while, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Since it is in the shape of a woman, it cannot be a Bodhisattva..."

Wu Xiong asked in confusion: "Why?"

Jiumozhi said: "Bodhisattvas have transcended worldly existence, attained a certain state of enlightenment, and escaped from the cycle of life and death and all kinds of bondage. How can they have any concept of gender? The binary concept does not apply to Bodhisattvas. The Vimalakirti Sutra says that the male and female appearance is just an illusion. The wisdom of Buddhism does not cling to the appearance of gender."

Wu Xiong said: "But many Bodhisattvas in the temples are female."

Jiumozhi shook his head: "To spread the Dharma, to save all living beings, one must make his face look compassionate; to exorcise demons, one must make the Ming Wang look ferocious; to protect the Dharma, one must make the Vajra look fierce. However, it is just a facial appearance to facilitate all living beings. There is really no difference."

The little girl rolled her eyes and said, "But this man has a gentle and pretty face, and his body is like a woman's..."

Jiumozhi smiled and said, "That's why he can't be a Bodhisattva. His appearance can be transformed into impermanence and can help sentient beings, but his body won't change. He has cultivated into a oneness without form or shape, without any distinction."

The little girl said, "I don't believe it. Can a person cultivate to that level? No distinction between men and women? Isn't that a monster?"

Jiumozhi folded his hands and said, "Amitabha, the Buddhist scriptures say that I dare not lie. As for the truth and falsehood, the good and beautiful believe that my Buddha is true in everything, while the demonic do not believe that my Buddha is false in everything."

Huo Linglong snorted, "I've heard a lot about your past as a monk. Haven't you been told many lies?"

Jiumozhi's mouth twitched: "In short, this can't be a Bodhisattva. In this case, the names of Arhats written on the ice wall in front are also unreliable."

The girl said, "That may not be the case. There is no writing on the wall behind this person whether he is a Bodhisattva or not. He may just be an ordinary warrior. But the monks in front of him are written as Arhats. You can only verify that those monks are not Bodhisattvas. This person has nothing to do with you."

Jiumozhi was startled and looked upwards quickly, and saw that this place was indeed different from the previous one, with no words faintly visible.

Huo Linglong sneered, "Xiaoxiao is right. There is no word here saying what kind of Bodhisattva this person is. She may just be an ordinary female warrior. She has nothing to do with Bodhisattva. You can only prove that the previous ones are not Arhats. This has no reference value."

When Jiumozhi heard the two men singing the same tune, he became so angry that his face turned blue. He clasped his hands together, chanted the Buddha's name in a low voice, and held his breath without saying a word.

Zhou Tong searched the ice wall carefully again, then turned to Zhao Ti and said, "Sir, it turns out that no one has left any writing on this wall."

Zhao Ti nodded, his eyes fell on another piece of ice, and said, "Look at what kind of person this is."

Zhou Tong agreed and waved his palm to slap away the other frozen body, revealing the body of an old man with white hair and beard.

This old man was wearing Hanfu, which was authentic Han clothing and clothes in the style of the Han Dynasty.

The little girl came over and said, "Hey, this isn't a monk anymore."

Huo Linglong looked at the woman with curly hair, then at the old man with white hair and beard, and said, "These two people don't seem to be in the same group. Could it be... that they are two rivals who died here together?"

The girl said, "That's very possible. There are palaces and sects written on the wall ahead, all of which are about killing monks. The woman with curly hair looks like a Buddhist, whether she is a Bodhisattva or not. The old man is wearing Chinese clothes, so he might be from that palace or sect. The two of them died in the battle, so there are no words left on the wall."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "That makes some sense."

The girl was dissatisfied and said, "Just a few points? Shouldn't it be ten points?"

Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "How can there be ten points? The Great Derivation is forty-nine, and the Heavenly Dao escapes one. How can there be ten points in the world?"

The girl looked at Zhao Ti, blinked, chuckled twice, and said no more.

At this time, Jiumozhi walked back and forth in front of the two corpses, observing them. Neither of them was holding a weapon, but their clothes were torn and their skin had cracks, which meant they must have been injured in their lifetime.

He said, "It really looked like both sides were injured. I don't know what kind of skills these two used. The damage looked minor, but in the end, both of them died."

The girl said, "I'm afraid he was injured internally, and his meridians and organs were all shattered."

Jiumozhi said: "It should be so..."

Zhou Tong said at this time: "Sir, the light ahead is gradually getting brighter. I'm afraid we have reached the end of the cave. Do you want to go out and take a look?"

Zhao Ti thought for a moment and glanced at the passage: "Since we have come this far, let's take a look."

Everyone nodded when they heard this, and continued to move forward. After a while, they saw the exit. When they walked out of the cave, they found themselves on the other side of the mountain fault.

Looking into the distance at this time, Kunlun is not far away. The mountain peaks here are all tightly covered with ice and snow. Thousands of years of accumulated snow are piled up layer by layer on the peaks, reflecting a cold light under the sunlight, which is dazzling and breathtaking.

And I didn't know where exactly we were going down. The mountain walls were steep, revealing cold rocks. The dark green colors of vegetation were intertwined with the thick snow, outlining a rugged and majestic picture.

Further down, there was an even more astonishing sight: there were howling winds, flying snow, and snowflakes wrapped in ice, like sharp blades, as if cutting the world apart, with a majestic and solemn atmosphere stretching for who knows how many miles.

"What is that place?" Huo Linglong suddenly pointed to a place far away at the foot of the mountain.

When everyone looked, they saw a building vaguely visible at the foot of the mountain where the main Kunlun mountain range and its branch mountains met, where the blizzard was spreading for who knows how many miles away.

"It seems, it seems like a palace or something like that..." The girl put her hands on the pergola and rolled her eyes.

"Palace? How could there be a palace in a place like this?" Black Bear asked curiously because his power was not good enough and he could not see that far.

Jiumozhi said: "Why not? The palaces of Tubo are all built on the plateau, and many of the big temples are also in the snow-capped mountains. The Dalun Temple where I am located is in the snow-capped mountains, and the former Royal Court Hongshan Palace is even higher up in the mountains. Could it be that there is a big temple at the foot of the snowy mountain in front of us?"

Huo Linglong looked at Zhao Ti and said, "Master, can you come over and take a look?"

Zhao Ti squinted his eyes and looked at that area. He could see farther than anyone else. At this moment, he saw that there were indeed quite a few palaces in the distance, about seven or eight of them gathered together, and there were some smaller buildings surrounding them.

He groaned and said, "It's not a temple."

Jiumozhi said: "Donor, or the abandoned tribal royal city in ancient times?"

Zhao Ti shook his head: "Not really. Let's go and take a look. This place is hidden. I wonder if the monk and the man in white went there before."

Everyone said yes, and then they all flew away into the distance in the wind and snow.

No one knew where this snowstorm came from. It was just under the big mountain. I didn't know how far away it was, and it disappeared in the distance without any sight.

At this time, everyone entered the snow and used their internal energy to resist the cold. They were wearing thin summer clothes, and if they didn't use their internal energy to walk a short distance, they might be frozen to death.

Although Zhao Ti was also practicing martial arts, he had released all the meridians and acupoints. The Huan Yin Meridian was running rapidly and he was almost practicing while walking.

As they gradually approached the building, they saw a huge white stone tablet standing in a conspicuous place. Everyone stopped to look and saw that it was engraved with small seal characters similar to those of the Qin Dynasty, but they were thicker and of varying sizes.

"What kind of words are these?" the girl asked in surprise. "They are somewhat similar to the words on the ice wall in the cave, but they are quite different if you look closely."

Zhao Ti took a look and said, "This is the large seal script from the Zhou Dynasty. These three characters mean Bingcan Palace.

"Ice Silkworm Palace?" the girl asked, "Isn't it one of those palaces or sects on the ice wall?"

Zhao Ti nodded: "That's right."

Huo Linglong said, "Those corpses in the Layer Cave are probably thousands of years old. How could this Ice Silkworm Palace still exist after a thousand years? Not only has it not been heard of in the Central Plains, but it has also never been heard of in the Western Regions."

Jiumozhi pondered and said, "I have never heard of this place in the Western Regions. There is no record of it in any books."

Zhao Ti said: "Let's go and take a look."

Everyone continued to move forward, and when they got closer, they showed surprised expressions. The girl said, "This palace...why does it look like it was formed by ice?"

I saw a huge palace in front of me, which was clearly built with a huge block of ice. It was crystal clear and still sparkled even in the wind and snow.

"Not entirely, there are also stones." Huo Linglong stretched out her hand and pointed to the side. There were a few low houses over there, which were made of stones, but the surface was also covered with frost.

The girl blinked her eyes, looked around, and looked back at the hall in front of her: "Why is there no one guarding it?"

Wu Xiong also wondered, "There should be someone guarding outside a place like this."

Huo Linglong took a few steps forward and when she arrived in front of the hall, she saw words carved in ice above the door. She didn't recognize them and turned around to look at Zhao Ti.

Zhao Ti took a look and said calmly, "This is the Ice Silkworm Palace."

"Ice Silkworm Palace, Ice Silkworm Hall, these are good names." said the little girl.

Huo Linglong climbed the ice steps in front of the hall and walked to the door, but found that the ice door was closed and there was no movement inside.

She called out, "Is there anyone in there?"

No one responded. She called out a few more times, but still no one spoke. Then she pushed the door open, took a look, and turned back to say, "Master, it seems like there's really no one here."

Zhao Ti nodded and led a few people up the ice steps and into the ice palace. In an instant, they seemed to have fallen into a dreamland.

I saw that the inside was different from the outside, with clear ice piled up layer by layer without any impurities, like natural crystal, refracting colorful light, like a world of glass.

Every ice edge and ice brick is carved to perfection. The ice patterns on the palace dome and walls are naturally winding, so exquisite that it is breathtaking and beautiful beyond imagination.

Several people looked around, but found that the hall was empty, without a single person in sight.

(End of this chapter)