As the pilgrims inside and outside Daliang Temple left one after another, the hustle and bustle of the entire Daliang Temple faded away, making Daliang Temple quiet before dusk, which was a rare occasion.
The temple is now so quiet that you can hear the birds singing, which makes the monks of Daliang Temple breathe a sigh of relief and feel a special kind of tranquility. Those monks who are enlightened and have a Buddhist heart can hear faint Taoist sounds no matter where they are in the temple.
“Crunch, creak, creak… bang.”
The heavy wooden door of the main entrance of Daliang Temple was pushed by two strong monks, and finally closed gently with a series of creaking sounds. The two monks inside then lifted the door bar and locked the door.
A large agarwood sign has been hung outside, on which is written "From now on, this temple no longer accepts visitors to worship Buddha or meditate."
No time or reason was given, but there was a golden Buddhist medal with a magic spell hung on the side, which was the one bestowed by the former emperor of Tingliang State.
As if they were waiting for the Daliang Temple to close, not long after the front and back doors of the entire temple were closed, under the big tree in the backyard of the Daliang Temple, the sound of discussions and strange visions began. Waves of misty hazy light extended across the courtyard, even covering the inner courtyard, and covering about half of the area of the Daliang Temple.
In this area, the closer you are to the center of the discussion of the Tao, the more Tao sounds and strange visions you can feel, and the greater the test you will face.
At this moment, among all the monks in Daliang Temple, only Monk Huitong could barely stand not far from the tree. The other monks of Daliang Temple, including the former abbot, had already collapsed and either went out on their own or were carried out by the monks who had sealed their ears.
On the periphery, monks either took their own cushions or simply sat on the ground, meditating at a suitable distance and slowly moving outwards as time passed.
However, although almost all the pilgrims outside cooperate, with so many people coming to Daliang Temple every day, there will naturally be some rebellious and curious people. If they think they have some abilities, they will tend to act boldly or entrust their curiosity to others to satisfy themselves.
More than an hour later, the sun was setting and the area around Daliang Temple was shrouded in the golden dusk. The shadow in front of the temple was stretched out and the view became dim.
At this moment, several nimble men quietly approached the empty market outside the temple from a distance. Although there were no stall owners or shoppers here, there were still many sheds and stalls.
After approaching quietly, a few people quickly found a shed on the outskirts, squatted down, and hid under the cover of the shed and the tables and benches inside.
Looking at Daliang Temple from this position from afar, it seems that the front of the entire building complex is dark and full of shadows, but with the afterglow of the setting sun shining from behind, it seems like there is golden light above, which is very Buddhist.
A man in gray clothes looked around for a moment and asked the people around him.
"Hey, brother, what happened in Daliang Temple?"
"If I want to know, why am I here?"
The person who spoke was a man wearing dark brown clothes, with a thin face and a small mustache.
There was another person wearing a blue suit nearby who also chimed in.
"Just now, everything was normal at Daliang Temple. Suddenly, a large number of monks came out and asked the pilgrims to leave. They even used the National Temple Buddhist Order, which had never been used since it was granted. It seemed extremely hasty."
The mustached man thought for a moment and suddenly his expression changed.
"Brother Tan, could it be that something happened to the princess in there?"
But the man in blue suit immediately shook his head.
"No, no, I asked Sixth Master before, and he said that the princess went to see Master Huitong today, but he was still meeting guests, so he had already returned to the Tongqiu Mansion. What happened in the temple should have nothing to do with the princess."
"Well, let's wait until it's dark and go in and take a look!"
The three of them were silent for a short while, watching the afterglow of the sunset fade away and the night grow darker.
"Brother, and Brother Tan, I heard that Daliang Temple really has great monks, the kind that can exorcise demons and ghosts, and Master Huitong, who is said to be over fifty years old, but still looks like a handsome young man in his twenties. Is it okay for us to go in?"
"Haha, Brother Tang is right, but there is no need to worry too much. Sixth Master has already said that the monks rely on Buddhism to exorcise demons and ghosts. This Buddhism is not very effective for living people like us with strong blood and energy. Martial arts are still the most useful. With the lightness skills of the three of us, we are enough to leave before the monks can react."
"Yeah, I don't have any other confidence, but I am still very confident in my Qinggong."
Finally, night fell completely, but for the three of them, tonight was considered a bad night, because the stars in the sky were so bright that they were even brighter than usual.
Under the starlight, the surroundings actually felt clearer than at the end of dusk, but there was no time to worry about it now. It was impossible to expect clouds to rise tonight.
"Let's go, remember to step lightly!"
"Um!"
The three of them came out from their hiding place, and after a few small leaps on tiptoe, they had reached the outer wall of Daliang Temple. However, they were not at the main gate, but at a corner of the wall.
I took a look at the agarwood plaque hanging in Daliang Temple from afar. The imperial gold plaque next to it was quite obvious under the starlight, with a touch of gold embellishing the wooden plaque.
"Are the monks of Daliang Temple really not afraid that the imperial gold medal will be stolen?"
"Who cares about him?"
After whispering a few words, they walked around the wall to the side of the temple. They concentrated their minds and did not hear any sound from inside. So they nodded to each other and climbed over the wall at the same time.
They were like three light swallows, flying over the wall and landing on their toes. The light body skills and body movements made almost no sound.
This place was a small square outside the Numu Mingwang Temple. The three of them looked around and saw that it was empty. Except for the eternal lamp in the temple, there was no light in other monks' quarters or halls.
The Daliang Temple was too quiet tonight, with no sound of chanting or bells ringing.
But the three men were skilled and brave, so they had no fear. Besides, this was Daliang Temple, so there wouldn't be any evil spirits here.
There are too many people in Daliang Temple. In order to divert the flow of people, there are walls everywhere in the temple. This can avoid the feeling of being crowded together. Although it is easier to get lost, there are usually monks waiting everywhere, ready to help people find the way and solve problems at any time.
But now, for the three of them, there was definitely no monk to show them the way. They walked through several courtyards but didn't see a single monk.
"Strange, where are the monks from Daliang Temple?"
The younger man named Tang was about to step out of an archway when he was stopped by his brother, who then pointed to the corner in front.
The three of them looked over there carefully and saw a dozen monks sitting in a row on cushions against the wall. Some were in a quiet meditation posture, while others were leaning against the wall as if they were asleep.
"How to say?"
"Don't alarm them. Let's go around and change direction."
The three of them changed their route and wanted to go deeper, but after they went around a place, they saw monks still sitting there meditating. They changed directions several times, sometimes there were one or two, sometimes more than ten, and there were always monks sitting on the periphery, most of them leaning against the wall.
After a long time, the three of them stopped in front of a courtyard wall on the west side, and there were two monks lying on the ground in front of them.
"They seem to have formed a circle, but I don't see any old monks. There must be something strange going on inside!"
"Yes, go in from here!"
After a brief exchange, the three of them kept walking, like three light swallows, flying over the wall where the monk was unconscious, and then leaping into the courtyard behind it four or five feet away.
After checking to see if there was anything unusual around them, the three continued walking forward. However, as they walked, the youngest one began to shake his head frequently.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Brother, there is always a sound like poetry ringing in my ears, long and short, and it makes me confused."
"There is no such thing as poetry. Stop talking nonsense and concentrate!"
After walking for a while, the man with a small mustache named Tang also noticed something unusual. As he passed by a small pond, he found that the lotus in the pond was growing and jumping out of the water. Then, golden lotus flowers immediately bloomed, and he could even smell a faint fragrance.
"Golden Lotus?"
The man exclaimed, and leaped over with his Qinggong skills, trying to break a golden lotus by touching the lotus leaf...
"Plop..."
The water splashed and the pool was turbulent, but there were no lotus leaves or flowers in the pool, and no golden lotus blooming.
"Shh... Brother Tang, what are you doing?"
"Golden lotus, there are golden lotuses blooming!"
"What golden lotus is there? Are you crazy? Pull your brother out now!"
Together, the two men pulled the mustached man out of the small pool, slapped his face to wake him up, and then continued forward. Along the way, they saw several unconscious monks, but even though they were unconscious, they still had calm expressions and smiles on their faces.
At this point, it was no longer just an illusion. Faint rainbow lights were floating around, and the stars in the sky were shining brightly, like silver rain falling.
There was a faint sound of conversation in my ears, sometimes like thunder, sometimes like the sound of a spring, sometimes like an old monk chanting, and sometimes like an elegant scholar playing the piano and the sound of flowing water in the mountains.
The three people's steps had already stopped, and their sight and hearing were in a state of intense shock.
A few times I even saw huge strange beasts flying in the air, falling from the sky and passing by. I also saw dancing cranes turning into fairies and approaching with smiles.
The three of them almost cried out loudly many times, but they managed to restrain themselves with their remaining calm.
“Immortals, Buddhas, spirits, demons, monsters… all sentient beings in the world have a heart that seeks the Tao.”
"Sir, you are wrong. Let's not talk about immortals, Buddhas, spirits, monsters, etc., but the devil may not be the same!"
"Master, what you said makes sense. Then I will correct you. Some demons still have the heart to seek the Tao, just like the demons of delusion and the demons of paranoia. Only those with firm minds can succeed."
"Good! If a person does not have any thoughts of life, he cannot give birth to demons. If a person's thoughts are too strong, the demons he gives birth to will also be too strong. He will seek gold and silver, seek power and authority, seek immortality and longevity. As his thoughts become stronger, his desires will become stronger..."
When this voice came, the minds of the three martial arts masters who had sneaked in were already in some kind of confusion, as if their desires were being aroused layer by layer, but there were others who were reminding them with angry eyes that this was not right.
“Ah~~~ I can’t stand it anymore!”
The young man named Tang couldn't help but swing his fists and kicks, knocking his staggering brother and friend back a few steps, but the two did not sober up. Instead, they wandered around as if drunk, with expressions of surprise and tears at times.
"Namo Moko Mingwang Buddha! The three donors should not have come!"
An old monk appeared in the courtyard, and decisively subdued the three men. He then tapped their acupoints to stimulate the flow of spiritual energy.
"Grandmaster… "
The man surnamed Tan stared blankly at the old monk in front of him.
"Three donors, this is why our Daliang Temple is closed to visitors. Please leave as soon as possible!"
"Yes, yes! Let's go now!" "Yes, yes, we'll go right away!"
"We apologize for our crimes, and let's go!"
Seeing that the monk had not offended them, the three men quickly leaped out as if they had been pardoned, and used their lightness skills to the extreme, getting out of the range before their heads became dizzy again, and then left Daliang Temple without looking back.