After leaving Futu Mountain, Sanzang and Bajie traveled day and night, all the way to the west.
Although Xue Tianqing is not around, he still can't stop his obsession to go to Lingshan.
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any monsters along the way. Although there were some thieves, they would disperse as soon as Bajie took action.
On this day, the master and the disciple were walking when they suddenly saw a high mountain blocking the road.
Although this mountain is much steeper than Futu Mountain, the exotic flowers, rare plants, and rare birds and beasts on the mountain all prove that this is a blessed place.
Seeing that dusk was approaching, Sanzang dismounted and said, "Bajie, this mountain is a peaceful scene. It is definitely not a place of evil spirits. It must be the cave of the Immortal Family."
Bajie smiled: "That's right. Regardless of whether there are experts practicing or not, there are absolutely no monsters here. Master, it's getting late now, why don't we find a sheltered place to rest for the night."
Seeing Sanzang nodding, Bajie put his luggage on the horse and led the way. Sanzang followed and walked up the mountain along the path.
After walking not far, they turned a corner and suddenly saw a bright light before their eyes.
I saw a Taoist temple standing not far away, with yellow tiles, red walls, and green trees. It revealed an indescribable aura from the inside out.
There is a plaque above the mountain gate with six characters - Wuzhuang Temple of Wanshou Mountain.
Sanzang secretly rejoiced when he saw this: both Buddhist and Taoist families are outsiders, and today they have a place to rest.
Thinking of this, he told Bajie to wait, and stepped forward to knock on the door.
But before he could raise his hand, the gate of Wuzhuang Temple opened with a creak, and then two Taoist boys walked out of the door.
Upon seeing this, Sanzang quickly saluted: "Amitabha, you two fairy boys, this poor monk is so polite."
The Taoist boy returned the greeting and said, "You must be Tang Sanzang who went to the West to worship Buddha and seek sutras, right? Master, before leaving, told us that if you pass by Wuzhuang Temple, we should entertain you."
Sanzang asked in confusion: "Who is your revered master?"
"Master's Taoist name is Zhen Yuanzi, but he is an idle cloud in the world. I guess the elder has never heard of my master's name."
Sanzang wanted to be polite, but he really didn't know who Zhen Yuanzi was. In addition, the two Taoist boys spoke so humbly, so he could only make fun of it.
After careful questioning, Sanzang found out that the two Taoists, one named Qingfeng and the other named Mingyue, were the two youngest disciples of Zhen Yuanzi.
The day before yesterday, Zhen Yuanzi received an invitation from Yuanshi Tianzun, inviting him to go to Shangqingtian Miluo Palace to listen to the Hunyuan Dao Fruit.
Therefore, he led the other disciples to leave Wuzhuang Temple, leaving only Qingfeng Mingyue and others at home to guard him.
But for some reason, although they led Sanzang into the guest room, the two Taoist boys were not enthusiastic. After telling Bajie where the kitchen was, they went to the backyard and did not show up again.
Bajie was a little angry when he saw this. Since he said he was entertaining, he had to make a fast meal at least!
Sanzang didn't take this seriously, because even in Buddhist temples, it was common to treat guests like this.
What's more, now that the two of them are in the Taoist sect, it is very valuable for the other party to take them in.
Bajie suppressed his anger, and then went straight to the kitchen in the direction pointed by the Taoist to light a fire to cook.
After Bajie left, Sanzang calmed down and thought of Xue Tianqing again.
Although the Bodhisattva said that Xue Tianqing is still alive, where are they now?
It has been more than two months since the catastrophe. If Xue Tianqing is really alive, why not come to meet him.
The more Sanzang thought about it, the more depressed he became. Finally he got up and walked outside the room. When he saw the scenery in the courtyard, his mood suddenly lifted.
In the Wuzhuang Temple, you can see green pines, rows of green cypresses, swaying exotic grasses, and fragrant flowers.
Looking up into the distance, I saw the dark green mountains with occasional white clouds floating over, like a beautiful picture.
When he first walked in with the Taoist boy, Sanzang just immersed himself in walking, but now he realized that this was a paradise.
Then Sanzang sighed in his heart: Living in such a blessed place in the cave, I really don’t know what an expert Zhenyuan Immortal is.
Unknowingly, he followed the path to the backyard and saw another courtyard in the northwest corner with a wall ten feet high.
Within the wall, there is an unknown treasure, which emits a boundless light all the time.
Out of curiosity, Sanzang came to the door of the other courtyard and pushed gently, and the door opened in response.
But when he saw the scene in the courtyard clearly, he was shocked.
Because there is an old tree in the middle of the courtyard. Although it is not high, it has lush branches and leaves. The trunk alone is more than ten feet tall.
On top of the ancient tree, between the branches and leaves, dozens of naked young men and women sat cross-legged and hung there.
That ten thousand feet of golden light emanates from these men and women.
Although there was no pain on their faces, how could they feel better being hung in the air?
Just when Sanzang was surprised, he suddenly heard an angry shout: "You monk can't sit quietly in the guest room, why are you here to spy on my immortal treasure?"
Turning around suddenly, he saw Qingfeng looking at him with an angry expression.
Sanzang hurriedly saluted: "Don't be upset, fairy boy. I want to enjoy the scenery in the temple, but I don't want to wander into this place by mistake."
Qingfeng snorted: "Wuzhuang Temple is no better than your temple, and you don't know the secrets. It's better to see less things."
Tripitaka said yes, and then asked: "Fairy boy, what kind of Taoism have these people practiced? Why are they in such a posture?"
Qingfeng came to the door impatiently and locked the door.
"You're such a long-winded monk. You've already said you don't understand the mystery. Why do you ask more questions? Go back quickly."
Sanzang said: "I obey the fairy boy's order. I just entered the mountain gate. I haven't paid a visit to Sanqing yet. Can the fairy boy take me to see him?"
Qingfeng shook his head: "No need, you have a good night's rest today and leave as early as possible tomorrow. Wuzhuang Temple is not like other Taoist temples, and no one is allowed to enter. It is a great blessing that you, master and disciple, can enter the temple today."
Seeing that Qingyue refused, Sanzang had no choice but to give up and return to the guest room angrily.
Not long after, Bajie came back with a meal: "Master, eat early and rest early. The Taoist boy is too indifferent to us. It's better to leave as soon as possible tomorrow."
Sanzang nodded when he heard this, because since leaving the Tang Dynasty, he had visited many temples and Taoist temples, but he had never seen anything like Wuzhuang Temple.
After dinner, seeing Bajie clearing away the dishes, Sanzang said, "Bajie, have you ever heard that Taoism has a kind of Kung Fu? You practice it by hanging on an ancient tree without even a single hair on your body?"
Bajie said: "Master, I also know a little bit about Taoist magic, but what you are talking about looks like suicide."
Sanzang told Bajie everything he saw in the backyard, and finally said: "The vines hanging in the sky are definitely not hanging themselves. They must be practicing unknown skills."
Bajie frowned and said, "Master, are you sure that is cultivation and not a method of harming others?"
Sanzang was shocked: "This is a Taoist land, and this mountain is so peaceful. How can it be possible to use harmful techniques?"
Bajie shook his head: "Master, sit here and let me go and see what's going on. If this place is really a harmful place, we can help the people get rid of it."
Seeing Bajie going out, Sanzang chanted the Buddha's name, sat cross-legged and waited quietly.
After Bajie went out, he took advantage of the darkness to go to the backyard and saw the other courtyard mentioned by Sanzang at a glance.
Bajie originally planned to pass through the wall, but he didn't want to bump into a big bag. Only then did he realize that the courtyard wall had been cast by Zhen Yuanzi.
Then he flew into the air and prepared to fall into the other courtyard, but was still blocked by a transparent wall.
The more this happened, the more Bajie concluded that there must be an ulterior secret in the courtyard, otherwise the precautions would not be so strict.
Fortunately, although the other courtyard is tightly guarded, the lock on the door is very ordinary. It snaps with a slight twist.
Pushing open the door, Bajie stepped in and saw through the starlight that there was only one ancient tree in the huge courtyard.
Although it doesn't look very real, there is no doubt that there is a living person hanging on the tree.
After counting carefully, Bajie was surprised to find that there were twenty-eight people in the tree, half of them male and female, and all of them were naked.
Bajie jumped into the air, approached a man and called softly, but the man seemed to be asleep and made no movement at all.
Bajie scratched his head when he saw this, and then walked around to a woman again, with the same result.
In desperation, Bajie reached out and touched the woman's face and found that not only was her body the same as that of a normal person, but her breathing was also extremely even.
When Bajie was puzzled, he suddenly heard someone whisper from behind: "Those who are enlightened can do it, those who are enlightened can do it."
Bajie was shocked at first when he heard this, and then realized that he was calling him.
Following the sound, I looked carefully and saw a short old man appearing on the ground at some point.
Pressing the cloud head and coming to the front, Bajie asked carefully: "Who are you?"
The old man saluted and said: "In response to the traveler, I was watching the land in Wuzhuang. I saw the traveler here, so I came out to pay my respects."
Tu Tu's words stunned Bajie: "Are you from Tu Tu? Not long ago, my senior brother had a battle with Heaven. Don't you know?"
Tutu nodded: "Because of this, Venerable Guanyin went to heaven to meet the Jade Emperor. A few days ago, the Jade Emperor passed down a decree, asking us to try our best to protect Tripitaka in secret to prevent him from being killed by monsters."
Although the land in front of him looked a little wretched, it didn't have any unpleasant smell, which made Bajie somewhat relieved.
Seeing that he remained silent, Tutu added: "It has been more than two months since Monk and Tang Sanzang left Gaolaozhuang. During this period, they have not encountered any monsters. Don't you think it's strange?"
Bajie asked doubtfully: "Is it because you are secretly protecting me that you are like this?"
Tutu nodded: "Of course, Tang Sanzang is in trouble everywhere and deserves disaster at every step. Without our secret protection, I don't know how many demons will block the way. But this is the Jade Emperor's will. We are just following the order. There is no need to thank the traveler." "
Bajie almost cried out in joy when he heard this, wondering which of your ears could hear me thanking you.
"Then tell me, what's going on with the people in the tree? This is a Taoist holy land, why is there such a strange thing?"
Tutu sighed: "I'm here for this too. I hope the traveler will show mercy and save these poor men and women."
Seeing Bajie in a daze, Di Tui revealed the reason. It turned out that this tree was the only remaining building tree in the Three Realms.
Jianmu was originally a strange tree that connected heaven and earth in ancient times. Mortal creatures can directly enter the heaven through Jianmu.
At that time, there were frequent exchanges between heaven and earth, and humans and gods coexisted happily.
But later, the mortal masters could not see that the Heavenly Court had monopolized the Heavenly Realm, so a war broke out between the two sides. In the end, all the trees in the Tongtian Building were destroyed, leaving only one seedling, which was the one in Wuzhuang Temple.
