Chapter 404 The Patriarch’s Hall in the Dead of Night
In Luojing, not far to the east of the imperial palace, there is a Taoist temple that is both elegant and luxurious.
This is the Guizhen concept where the main forum of Guizhen sect is located. Because the Xu family's fortune came from this, after the founding of the country, it was built near the palace to show respect for the Guizhen Sect.
But now the Taoist temple in Nuoda has been empty for a long time. Clothes, tables, chairs, incense burners, ritual utensils, etc. are scattered on the ground. The doors to the courtyard and rooms, whether good or bad, upside down or upright, are all wide open. It looked like it had been through a war, and it was very late at night, so it looked quite desolate, deserted, and messy.
When Emperor Xu Chenggao looked at the scene in front of him, the bitter smile on his face worsened, and he said to the queen and the little eunuch who followed him: "I thought that only those ministers were weak, and they were forced to fall against the wall. Grass, I didn’t expect that the Guizhen Temple would be like a tree falling and the monkeys scattered, and it would be difficult to see a loyal person.”
"The strong wind knows the strong grass, and the rough wind knows the loyal ministers. Your Majesty, you don't have to worry so much. There must be loyal and trustworthy people in the ten households of my Da'an Dynasty." There were still faint tears on the little eunuch's face.
There were no guards all the way. He walked from the palace courtyard to Guizhen Temple and saw the other maids and eunuchs scattered around. He actually slowly calmed down.
Xu Chenggao laughed: "You are a person who is familiar with poetry and books. Well, you can accompany me and the queen all the way here. You can be considered a loyal person. By the way, what is your name?" While talking, he and the queen supported each other. Then, continue to go to the Patriarch's Hall.
"My name is Wei Jing." The young eunuch supported Xu Chenggao's other side and answered in a low voice.
The three of them walked through the hall and soon arrived at the Patriarch's Hall. When they saw the lights shining in the Patriarch's Hall, which looked quiet and solemn, they couldn't help but hold their breath, let go of their supporting hands, stepped lightly, and walked cautiously. Go inside the palace.
Although the footsteps were small, they caused an echo in the extremely quiet Patriarch Hall. So when Xu Chenggao, Queen Ruan, and the young eunuch Wei Jing just entered the hall, they felt three eyes looking at themselves and others. Come, with a little surprise.
It turned out that there were three monks in yellow, two men and one woman, kneeling down and repenting quietly and devoutly in front of the statue of the Patriarch. It was not until Xu Chenggao and others came in and broke the tranquility that they woke up.
"Ignoble Taoist Zhou Wei, please pay homage to the Emperor." Among them, the monk in yellow, who was in his thirties, had seen Xu Chenggao when he visited the Patriarch's Hall every year, so he stood up and bowed his head.
"The poor Taoist Wan Xue, pays homage to the Emperor." "The poor Taoist Xu Hongda, pays homage to the Emperor." The other two monks in their twenties naturally followed Zhou Wei and stood up to salute.
Xu Chenggao was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that there were still disciples left in the Patriarch's Hall: "A few Taoist priests are exempt from courtesy. You, why don't you go with the others?"
Zhou Wei smiled faintly: "The poor Taoist was not abandoned by the sect. He was included in the door wall and taught the true method. From then on, he could have a glimpse of the supreme immortal way. It is difficult to repay the great kindness and virtue, so he could only choose to be with the sect. We will live and die together. On the other hand, Junior Sister Wan and Junior Brother Xu, Pindao have been urging them to leave, cherish this life, and leave some incense for the sect's inheritance, but they have not listened at all. "
Wan Xue and Xu Hongda said in unison: "Am I the only one who flies away when disaster strikes?" The two of them had such a tacit understanding that they couldn't help but look at each other and smile bitterly.
After a pause, Xu Hongda said: "Although Pindao is a distant relative of the royal family, all of his family members died young. It was the clan who raised me and raised me. How can I escape at a time like this."
Wan Xue nodded: "Pindao also grew up in the sect. The world is huge, and only here can I feel at ease. Besides, there are also some brothers who reluctantly left and kept their incense. I am not lacking in this."
After Xu Chenggao heard this, he laughed three times: "Okay, okay, okay. With loyal disciples like you, the Guizhen Sect will surely be revived in the future." Xu Chenggao's eyes widened at the chance to see such a person who never abandons him at this critical moment. A little wet, and very excited in my heart.
"I wonder what the emperor is here for?" Zhou Wei asked Xu Chenggao's purpose.
Xu Chenggao thought of himself and smiled sadly: "Those ministers and generals are waiting for Tianming to surrender as soon as the Dongyuan Sect's army arrives. I have no choice but to come to the Patriarch's Hall to see if I can ask the Patriarch to appear and overcome this difficulty."
Regardless of the common people or the ghosts and gods, for some reason, this sentence appeared in Xu Hongda's mind, but he was relieved in the blink of an eye. This crisis was not caused by the suffering of the common people in the world, but by the ghosts and gods. There is nothing wrong with praying to the founder, but it was just the three sects of Guizhen Sect. In more than a hundred years, only 2670 years ago, Patriarch Shi appeared once in Luojing. There has been no news since then, and there is almost no possibility of his appearance.
Zhou Wei, Wan Xue, and Xu Hongda are no taller than Xu Cheng. They have only begun to practice the visualization methods in the "Gui Zhen Jing". They are also familiar with various Taoist classics. They know that the so-called ascension is just an advanced level of Qi entrainment, and there are many realms beyond it. , Only then can you realize immortality, achieve the soul, and become a truly carefree immortal.
And even if there are ancestors who are still alive, they practice Taoism, not Shinto techniques. They cannot sense other people's prayers, so how can they just happen to manifest themselves by such a coincidence.
However, at this time, they did not want to defeat Xu Chenggao's last hope, so they moved out of the way and motioned Xu Chenggao to kneel down in front of the statue of the Patriarch and beg: "Your Majesty, please."
Xu Chenggao straightened his clothes and walked solemnly in front of the statue of the Patriarch. He saw three lifelike statues standing on the platform. The one in the middle was an old man with white hair and white eyebrows and an immortal spirit. He was dressed in black clothes and held a fly whisk in his palm. , on the left is a young man in his twenties, with a green robe and a high crown, an ordinary face but with a chic and unrestrained look, and green lightning feet. On the right is a delicate and solemn and holy girl, wearing a Dressed in red, with a gentle smile.
After lighting nine incense sticks, Xu Chenggao bowed nine times, inserted the incense into the furnace, and then knelt in front of the statue of the ancestor, knelt down and prayed: "Xu Chengye, Shi Xuan, Xu Jinyi, the descendant Xu Chenggao sincerely prays here. The evil demons and heretics are now holding blind faith and attacking cities and territories. The country is decadent and shaky. If the evil demons and heretics succeed, the Da'an Dynasty will not be restored, the Guizhen Sect will be difficult to survive, and the Taoist tradition will be cut off. Please show your spirit and save our Da'an Dynasty and the Guizhen Sect from the water and fire."
Xu Chenggao knew that the survival of the dynasty was a common thing in the eyes of the immortals like the ancestors, and they would not come down to earth for this. Only when the Guizhen Sect involved the Taoist tradition of the ancestors would the ancestors show their spirits, so he focused on the evil demons and heretics and the Taoist tradition.
A breeze blew, causing the smoke and burning incense in the incense burner to sway for a while, but unfortunately there was no abnormality afterwards.
Although Xu Chenggao had imagined the miracle of the ancestor responding to his prayers, he knew in his heart that the possibility was very small, so after a little disappointment, he continued to kowtow hard, while chanting: "Please come, ancestor, and save our Da'an Dynasty and Guizhen Sect from the water and fire."
He knew that the most likely one to come was Shi Xuanshi ancestor, after all, he had appeared once, but at this time, the possibility of the other two appearing could not be completely forgotten, so he did not refer to any specific ancestor in the name.
Dong, dong, dong, Xu Chenggao's head hit the cushion and it made a loud sound. It was red and swollen in a short while, but Xu Chenggao didn't care and continued to kowtow: "Please come, ancestor, and save our Da'an Dynasty and Guizhen Sect from the water and fire."
The ancestor statue still had no reaction.
Xu Chenggao's forehead was broken, blood was flowing, and the futon was dyed scarlet. He gritted his teeth and kowtowed without stopping, praying: "Please come down, Master Shi, and save our Da'an Dynasty and Guizhen Sect from fire and water." He had only one thought in his mind, even if he died here, he would not give up, and the name he called gradually became Master Shi.
Seeing this bloody and miserable scene, Queen Ruan and the eunuch Wei Jing held back their tears, covered their mouths, and knelt down, and kowtowed behind Xu Chenggao, but in front of them was not a futon, but a blue brick.
"Please come down, Master Shi, and save our Da'an Dynasty and Guizhen Sect from fire and water." The voices of the two people gradually overlapped with Xu Chenggao's voice.
Infected by this pious scene, Zhou Wei, Wan Xue, and Xu Hongda looked at each other, walked to the side of Queen Yuan, knelt down, and kowtowed and prayed: "Please come down, Master Shi, and save our Da'an Dynasty and Guizhen Sect from fire and water."
In the dead of night, this voice echoed in the ancestral hall, like rolling water, continuous.
…………
On the second floor of Tianya Haijiao Building, Shi Xuan was sitting cross-legged, with blood-red lines looming on his body, sometimes deep into his body, sometimes out of his skin.
After more than 30 years of slow blood transformation and integration, now is the critical moment for Shi Xuan's two bodies to merge into one.
Shi Xuan silently practiced the secret method, and his body exuded a fresh, pure, and vital light. As the red line rose and fell, Shi Xuan's face seemed to change between two and one.
When the red line went deep into the body, Shi Xuan's face and body were normal, and when the red line came out of the skin, another face appeared on Shi Xuan's face, and the body also changed into four arms.
Suddenly, countless clear light runes appeared on Shi Xuan's body, one fell on each red line, and then the clear light was strong, and Shi Xuan was like being wrapped in a dense cocoon of clear light.
After a moment, a purple light broke out of the cocoon, and then the clear light dimmed and gradually disappeared.
Purple light fell on the ground, revealing Shi Xuan's figure. Shi Xuan looked relaxed and happy as he checked himself. Now his body was full of strength, stronger than the master of the physical body. Even if the first-level Taoist technique hit him, it would be difficult to hurt his body.
Before Shi Xuan passed the heavenly tribulation, he no longer had to worry about the problem of his body, so he walked back to the futon leisurely, sat down and closed his eyes to rest, but at this time, Shi Xuan felt that someone was calling him in the dark.
"This feeling should be someone praying devoutly in front of my statue with their real name?" Shi Xuan thought to himself.
Normally, only the Golden Immortal Daoist Ancestor can sense his name when he thinks of it in his mind. Generally, Shinto monks can only sense the prayers of their own devout believers.
After surviving the first heavenly tribulation, Yang Shen Zhenren, who could feel his heart move on impulse, could not sense when others called his name. After all, he was not a Shinto monk. Only long-term, non-stop, very pious, and supported prayers could arouse such a weak sense of heart and blood.
And Shi Xuan now indirectly possessed this kind of heart and blood sense through the Xiantian Bagua and Tai Chi diagram.