Da Zaojun

Chapter 143: Four Hundred and Eighty Temples of the Southern Dynasty

"Princess Wife"

A pale, hungry, and skinny man tied up his even skinnier wife with a straw rope and stuck a feather in her head.

Three or four naked boys with yellow and black skin were standing nearby, starving and confused, stuffing tree bark into their mouths.

This is proof of the woman's fertility. She gave birth to three or four boys. Families who cannot give birth to sons will choose such a wife if they want a son.

When Song Wuji stopped, the man looked over carefully and said, "Sir, do you want to try it? One liter of food for every sleep you take."

He thought to himself, "Why would such a well-dressed young man come to my place?"

This was not the first or second time that he had to pawn his wife. Every time he could not make ends meet, he would go to the temple to borrow money or pawn his wife to supplement the family income. His wife was very capable and became pregnant after two months of pawning. As soon as she became pregnant, he would have some money and food.

But the world is getting worse and worse now. In the past, people would introduce each other and there was no need to shout on the street. This year, fewer people are pawning their wives.

Song Wuji nodded and took out two steamed buns from his arms.

The man who pawned his wife's eyes lit up. Such white flour would probably cost eighty or ninety coins to buy one liter now. Even in normal times, it would cost seventeen or eighteen coins per liter... This man could afford to eat such fine flour buns, so he must be from a wealthy family and had no experience of the world.

He showed a hint of jealousy and looked around, wanting to make a fortune, but for some reason, he always felt that if he made a move, he would definitely die, so he started to play the victim: "Kind-hearted man, even if you give us two steamed buns, it will not help. If you don't pawn my wife, our family will starve to death!"

"If you are kind-hearted, buy my mother-in-law! Even if you don't buy my mother-in-law, you can buy these boys in my family."

He said worriedly, "These boys have no wisdom, otherwise they would have been sent to the temple to become monks' slaves long ago."

Song Wuji ignored his nagging, left the steamed buns behind, and turned away.

This secret realm is much larger than Song Wuji imagined, and more like a real country than Hufang Kingdom and Cangzhong Kingdom.

Song Wuji had already guessed its original form.

There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty, and there are many towers in the mist.

Only in this era are there so many temples. Compared with the prosperity of the temples, the starving people everywhere in the world can better highlight that Buddhism is a pure land.

Feed the monks.

Thinking of the name of the secret realm, Song Wuji probably knew who the demon was that produced so many hungry ghosts in the Hungry Ghost Tree in the Hungry Ghost Realm but claimed to be a Bodhisattva attendant.

Emperor Wu of Southern Liang became a monk three times and was redeemed by the court three times, spending more than hundreds of millions of dollars. Countless amounts of land were allocated to Buddhist temples, and monks were exempted from taxes and corvee labor. The entire dynasty provided food and clothing for Buddhism.

This led to the people living in poverty, starving people everywhere, and eventually the country was destroyed. He himself also starved to death and became one of the hungry ghosts.

Emperor Wu of Liang was called the reincarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva by Buddhists. He offered food to monks in order to cultivate the Bodhisattva path. However, when Hou Jing's Rebellion broke out, he was trapped in Taicheng and starved to death.

Song Wuji bypassed these people. There were too many low-class people who had to pawn their wives or sell their bodies, and he couldn't give them all alms even if he wanted to.

There was only one choice left.

The temples are filled with incense, the buildings are filled with obscenity, good and evil are intertwined, and cause and effect are endless.

Fortunately, although Song Wuji is not from the secret realm, he also has some strength and means.

[Tongtai Temple]

There are many temples in the secret realm, hundreds of them, large and small. It is impossible for Song Wuji to destroy every temple.

But this one is the most magnificent and dazzling.

There is a nine-story pagoda that enshrines the Buddha's relics. The pagoda body is made of glazed tiles. Every night, the relics emit golden light, and auspiciousness is reflected.

The Buddhist temple occupies a vast area, encompassing the entire Jiming Mountain. Besides the nine-story glazed stupa and the one-story Great Buddha Pavilion, all constructed with fine wood, the temple is comparable to an imperial palace. There are six large halls, over ten smaller halls, and dozens of halls within each. There are thousands of regular monks, tens of thousands of monk slaves, and countless donors. The temple's property is lavish, with countless manors, monk farms, and branch temples.

Song Wuji inexplicably thought of the Little Leiyin Temple in the Little Western Paradise in Journey to the West.

As we entered the temple gate, two monks at the gate said, "Amitabha! Benefactor, to enter the temple and worship, you must pay a hundred coins for incense."

"In addition, there are incense sticks for merit, incense for vows, incense for wealth, incense for seeking official positions, incense for marriage, incense for high status, and incense for big heads... The price of each stick varies."

Song Wuji saw the monk at the door. He had a ruddy complexion, exquisite monk's robes, and was strong and powerful. He looked much better than the starving people outside.

Providing food to monks is a great merit.

Slandering and slandering monks will bring great karmic retribution! You will go to hell and be doomed to eternal damnation!
As luck would have it, Song Wuji had been to the Luosha Karma Temple and had some understanding of karma. He chanted the Buddha's name: "Amitabha! If I don't go to hell, who will?"

The monk was surprised. This young man was well dressed and had a ruddy complexion, so why did he suddenly say such a thing?

But he saw that Song Wuji had an extra knife in his hand.

This knife is not the Tiger Soul Double Knife, but the "Karma Killing Knife" obtained from the Pig Demon. The Pig Demon specializes in slaughtering human sacrifices and has the power to collect the karma of killing. The Pig Demon is the "Messenger of the Buddhist Altar".

Song Wuji killed two monks in charge of the sect one by one with his sword.

The stove fire was used to refine two small bags of [incense millet].

[Incense and Millet] The starving corpses are burned into ashes of virtue, and the incense is used to irrigate a thousand bushels of millet.

Long-term consumption strengthens the three treasures
Suddenly, the entire scene changed. An angry shout echoed in my ears: "How dare you! Tongtai Temple, a pure land of Buddhism, commit the sin of killing! Put down your butcher knife!"

But when he entered the temple, he saw the Heavenly King Hall. The Four Heavenly Kings were glaring at him, and there was a group of monks holding swords, guns, sticks and clubs.

[Ninth-Rank Arhat Monk Guangzhi]

[Ninth-rank monk Fayuan]

[The Eighth-Rank Heavenly King Hall Supervisor. Lingxi]

Song Wuji said softly, "Killing is to protect life. I am kindly helping you to commit fewer evil deeds and ascend to paradise sooner. You should thank me!"

"This dormitory is home to evil demons from outside the domain!"

The abbot, Lingxi Monk, had his eyes gleaming. "An evil demon from outside the realm, slandering the Buddha and the monks! They are all Mara's kind. No need to waste time talking to them. Strike the bells and drums! Gather all the monks in the temple to defeat the demon!"

Song Wuji saw that he had the aura of the eighth rank, but he had only fought against eighth rank monsters, not an eighth rank humanoid.

So he stepped forward and said, "It just so happens that I also think that your temple is full of demons, and I came here just to subdue them!"

Song Wuji was full of might and power, and even among the eighth rank, there was still a gap between them. The abbot, Lingxi monk, endured it and rushed towards Song Wuji with a sword in hand.

"First of all, don't kill!"

The swordsmanship of the temple supervisor Lingxi is derived from the Buddhist and demonic precepts, and is called the Five Precepts Sword. Although there are only five swords, they contain the spirit.

Although he said he would abstain from killing, in fact, every blow he made was filled with murderous intent, aiming at Song Wuji's neck, heart, and even his genitals.

Song Wuji only felt a sense of malice, and could faintly see the Heavenly King Zhangzhang among the Four Heavenly Kings, revealing murderous intent and blessing the abbot.

"Wind, fire and mountain forest!"

Song Wuji used the Killing Karma Knife to chop it off, blocking it with a smile in his eyes: "Excellent knife skills!"

(End of this chapter)