When the Scorpion King brought Jiang Yuebai out from underground, she suddenly thought that she had left the Quicksand Region and arrived at some fairyland.
The courtyard has apricot-yellow walls, blue-gray tiles, and a tall and green Bodhi tree in the yard.
The green lamps and ancient Buddhas are serene and Zen-like, but most of the main hall has collapsed, the Buddha statue has fallen over, and there are weeds and spider webs everywhere.
Ruosheng, dressed in red, was holding a broom, sweeping away the dust in the hall and pulling away the cobwebs like an ordinary person.
Jiang Yuebai walked to the gap in the wall and found that the temple was located on a low hill. The endless Gobi Desert below was filled with ruins of halls and houses, as well as a dilapidated forest of steles that were half buried by sand.
Prajna Temple was indeed once glorious, and one can still sense that from the scale of the ruins today.
Going further, Jiang Yuebai saw a row of tents standing on the edge of the Prajna Temple ruins, with flags of various temples erected and a battle line facing the east. A huge barrier formed by golden Buddhist light was shining in the sky.
Thousands of Buddhist disciples patrolled the camp like ants, and the atmosphere was solemn and murderous.
"Stand back so no one finds out we're here."
Ruosheng's voice came from behind, and Jiang Yuebai retreated into the yard.
Ruosheng was leaning on a broom, and his cynical temperament was much restrained. Except for the red robe that didn't fit in with the place, he looked like a high monk.
"More than a hundred years ago, they gathered here, with their knives pointed at the Prajna Temple. Now they are stationed here under the guise of protecting the last Buddha land. What a irony."
"Why don't they retreat into the ruins?" Jiang Yuebai asked puzzledly.
Ruosheng raised a beautiful smile, "Because this place is haunted, many people have come here to search for treasures over the years, and many have disappeared for no reason. Even if a Jindan Zhenren Yuanying Patriarch came, he would not be able to find any clues."
“So much so that no one dared to come here for many years, until recently when someone said that a small secret realm appeared here and that those who disappeared were trapped in it. Only then did people start to venture in to investigate, but it was still the same as before, with people disappearing frequently.”
Jiang Yuebai's scalp tightened, "Then you're not afraid?"
Ruosheng lowered his head and swept the floor, saying casually: "I am the one who did it, why should you be afraid? You are the one who should be afraid."
Jiang Yuebai stepped back, "Why did you call me here? I have no grudge against you, right?"
Ruosheng looked up and sighed, "If I could stop you, do you think I would have called you here? I wanted to stay here quietly and watch them fight each other, but you broke through my defenses many times and attracted the attention of Wuzong. What do you want to do?"
Jiang Yuebai narrowed his eyes and stared at Ruosheng, paying close attention to the slight changes on his face, "I want to find a spiritual object from heaven and earth."
Ruosheng's expression was gloomy and he lowered his head and continued sweeping the floor.
"I told you long ago that the thing is gone. Considering that you have helped me, please leave the Sea of No Return from the back mountain as soon as possible, otherwise don't blame me for being rude."
Jiang Yuebai was sure that Ruosheng knew about the spiritual creatures of heaven and earth.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuebai simply calmed down, said nothing, and helped Ruosheng clean the temple.
Ruosheng raised his eyebrows in surprise and opened and closed his mouth.
One of them was sweeping the floor while the other was pulling weeds.
"You are the monk from Prajna Temple." Jiang Yuebai pulled out the weeds and rearranged the blue bricks on the side of the road.
Ruosheng swept the fallen leaves into a pile and did not deny it.
Jiang Yuebai glanced at him and said, "I can't see through your cultivation level, so your cultivation level must be higher than mine. If you are from Prajna Temple, then you must be over 120 years old. I think you should still be a child when Prajna Temple was destroyed."
"You told me that you were born a monk, and that Prajna Temple was your home. It was the abbot who adopted you, but you watched Prajna Temple being destroyed. You must have a huge hatred in your heart. If I'm not mistaken, the struggles between the various sects in the Liusha Region over the years..."
"It's all you who did behind the scenes, all for the sake of this war. You're not trying to help the Buddhist Sect, nor are you trying to help the Martial Sect. You want them all to die in the Sea of No Return."
Ruosheng turned his back to Jiang Yuebai, paused while sweeping the fallen leaves, and then continued sweeping.
Jiang Yuebai said honestly, "I'm afraid, but I guess you can't. It's possible to reach the Golden Core Realm in 120 years, but I've never seen you take action since I first met you. When facing two foreign monks in the late Foundation Establishment stage, you also used a trick to escape."
"If you have that ability, just go and kill Sha Yingjie yourself. Why do you need to control the Hades Ants and use the Scorpion King to lure the enemy deeper, and then rely on me to exhaust Sha Yingjie's spiritual energy? So there must be a reason why you can't take action easily."
Ruosheng was sweeping the ground with a broom, turned around and looked at Jiang Yuebai seriously, and suddenly smiled.
"Since you know all this, why don't you tell those people?"
Jiang Yuebai shook his head. "There's no need to say it if you don't want to. No matter what you are doing, and no matter whether those sects know you are behind them, they are not stupid. They must be fighting because of some compelling interests."
"Including the Sha Clan, I don't believe that they got involved in this fight just for Sha Yingjie. Rather, it's because the Buddhist Clan is weak and will soon be defeated by the Martial Clan. They want to come out and reap the benefits, and you just gave them a good excuse. But no matter what, this matter has nothing to do with me."
"I'm not saying this to threaten you. I don't have any other purpose, and I won't stop you from doing anything. I'm really here to find the spiritual object. It's very important to me. If you know the clue to it, just make some conditions. I'm willing to do my best to exchange it with you."
Jiang Yuebai's eyes were sincere and firm. Ruosheng looked at her for a moment, then lowered his eyes and looked away.
"Help me fix the temple first."
"good."
Ruosheng stopped talking and cleaned the temple silently. Together, they quickly cleared all the weeds in the yard, re-laid the blue bricks, propped up the fallen Buddha statue, swept away the dust, and set up the incense table.
The afterglow of the setting sun poured through the broken roof of the main hall, casting a layer of golden light and holy brilliance on the dilapidated and paint-chipped Buddha statue.
Ruosheng stood in front of the Buddha statue, looked up, clasped his hands together, and chanted the Buddha's name devoutly.
"Master, I still can't let go."
Jiang Yuebai was waiting under the Bodhi tree outside the hall. Seeing Ruosheng walking slowly towards him, as if he had a lot to say, he took out a gourd of wine and handed it to him.
"How can a monk drink alcohol?"
Jiang Yuebai's eyes widened, with a forehead full of question marks.
"Do you know what kind of person the abbot of Prajna Temple is?" Ruosheng asked while looking at the Bodhi tree.
Jiang Yuebai shook his head, "I'm not sure, maybe he's a highly respected monk."
Ruosheng turned to Jiang Yuebai and said, "Actually, he is not like that. He is better looking than me. He is highly respected in front of others, but he is unruly behind others. He doesn't look like a monk at all."
"ah?"
Ruosheng shook the red robe on his body, "This 'cassock' of mine was made by him for me. He said that the Prajna Temple lacked bright colors. He said that the Buddha is in our hearts, and we don't need to abide by the rules and regulations. He said that great kindness is the most ruthless..."
"He behaved eccentrically and did not follow the rules, but he just liked to be a monk. As a result, he was expelled from the Vajra Platform and drifted alone to the Flowing Sand Region. He built the Prajna Temple in the depths of the Sea of No Return. The monks in the Flowing Sand Region were not serious, and the root of the trouble was him."
Ruosheng turned to Jiang Yuebai, spread out one hand, and scratched the palm of his hand little by little with his fingertips.
Jiang Yuebai's pupils trembled violently, and he saw that what was constantly flowing out of his palm was not blood, but...
Endless yellow sand!
Ruosheng had a sad smile on his face. "I am this sea of no return, a handful of yellow sand in this quicksand region. I listened to him chanting under the Bodhi tree for five hundred years, and received his Buddha seal to give birth to my spiritual consciousness. He named me Ruosheng, hoping that I would have Prajna in my heart, but in the end, I brought disaster to Prajna Temple for him."
That's all for today. Tomorrow is the New Year's Day holiday. I wish you all a happy New Year's Day and a happy holiday in advance~
(End of this chapter)