"Haha, your Majesty is so talented. I'm disrespectful. The verses your Majesty wrote are really brilliant. I admire you very much. I naturally passed this second level."
Although Zhishan was very reluctant to see such a result, since he had already agreed personally before, he naturally could not go back on his words now, so he had to announce that Li Xian had passed the second level.
"Haha, Brother Zhishan, the second level has been passed. I wonder where the third level is?" Xuanzang saw that Li Xian passed the test and his verses were very popular with him. Naturally, he was in a good mood and was eager to know.
I asked Master Zhishan about the next result.
Master Zhishan thought for a moment, and then said slowly: "This pass is in the back mountain, but whether you can pass it or not is not up to you."
"Huh? What does this mean?" Xuanzang couldn't help but be startled when he heard the words, and said slightly unhappy: "Brother, whether you can pass this third level is not up to you. Is it because you are praying to ghosts and gods? Senior brother is a great Buddhist monk, so what?
Are you seeking help from outsiders again?"
Before Master Zhishan could speak, he heard the young novice Wu Neng shouting: "Master Xuanzang must not lie. Since my master is a Buddhist monk, how can he seek outsiders?"
It turned out that this little novice monk had been defeated by Li Xian in a martial arts competition before, and he felt quite aggrieved. Today he saw that his master, whom he had always respected very much, was ridiculed by Xuanzang because of this person. He could no longer keep his temper, and did not care that Xuanzang was a Buddhist.
As a leader, he opened his mouth to defend his master, but his tone was stiff, as if he was reprimanding Xuanzang.
Master Zhishan was shocked when he saw the young novice monk being so bold, because even he did not dare to speak to Xuanzang in such a tone. The reason was for no other reason than that when it came to his status and reputation in Buddhism, although he was the abbot of Shaolin, he was not the abbot of Shaolin.
He cannot be compared with Xuanzang. In fact, looking at all the Buddhist disciples at that time, although there were many eminent monks, the only one who could compare with this person was the Fourth Patriarch Daoxin. Even the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, in terms of fame and contribution
, are much inferior to each other, not to mention that as the abbot of Shaolin, his reputation and status in Zen are far inferior to that of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren? Therefore, he has always treated Xuanzang as a half-teacher and half-friend. If Xuanzang had not insisted on
, he planned to treat him as a teacher.
Precisely because of this, Zhishan quickly shouted to Wu Neng: "You bad fellow, don't be rude. Master Xuanzang is a great sect of Buddhism. How can you offend him?"
But Wu Neng did not intend to bow his head, and said proudly: "Even in front of the Buddha, you can't speak nonsense. Master Xuanzang was impetuous and made random comments because he cared about his disciples. The disciples were just arguing with arguments. What's wrong with that?"
?”
"You, you are such a bad disciple..." Although Zhishan was eloquent, he was blocked by his disciple's words. Moreover, he himself was slightly dissatisfied with Xuanzang's previous words, so he could only point at Wuneng, looking furious.
Although he looked like the abbot of Shaolin, he respected his status as the abbot of Shaolin and could not get angry.
Unexpectedly, Master Xuanzang responded with anger and joy. He bowed and clasped his hands to the young monk Wu Neng, and then said sternly: "What the young master said is true. If I care about you, I will be confused and make false statements. So I will tell the young monk."
Master and the great monk apologize."
After finishing speaking, he joined his hands and bowed respectfully to Zhishan.
"Ah? Why is Master doing this? How can the disciples bear it?" Seeing that Xuanzang, with such a high status, actually saluted to him to admit his mistake, the little novice couldn't help but panic, and quickly returned the salute. He was excited and admired at the same time.
His little face turned the color of pig liver.
Now these people went through a lot of fuss and finally calmed down. After a while, Zhishan gently explained: "What the young monk said before is that I am not the one to make the final decision.
Since the young monk has not been taught the superior martial arts of our sect, he is just looking for disciples on behalf of others, and this last step is personally evaluated by those who have passed down the skills."
"Oh? I wonder who the person who teaches this art is?" Xuanzang was relieved when he heard this. At the same time, he also laughed secretly that he was too nervous before and blurted out such wrong words as wise and good to those who are heretics, but he did care about the person who taught the art.
Identity, then he asked.
Li Xian naturally cared more about the person behind the scenes than Xuanzang, so he turned his attention to Zhishan and listened attentively.
I saw Zhishan proclaiming the name of Buddha, and then slowly said: "This person is the successor of my uncle Tan Zong, the first disciple Zhikong of Luohan Hall in our temple. This junior brother of mine is a rare talent in Shaolin for a hundred years. He has only been around for more than ten years."
In 2000, he practiced the Yi Jin Jing to the seventh level and became proficient in eight of the eighteen Shaolin skills. His current martial arts skills are not inferior to those of Master Tan Zong in the past."
Xuanzang smiled when he heard this, nodded and said: "Oh? It turns out that this boy is a disciple of Senior Brother Tanzong. Haha, from the perspective of Senior Brother Tanzong, the disciples he has accepted must be good. In this case, then we will follow
Go to the mountain, if it meets the young monk's vision, it will be an opportunity for my disciple."
After finishing speaking, Xuanzang stood up, took Li Xian's hand, and started to walk out of the abbot's room. Unexpectedly, Zhishan had no intention of leaving.
"Master, wait a minute." Zhishan stroked his long beard on his chest and said mysteriously: "My junior brother has always liked peace and quiet. The place where he practiced asceticism was the Bodhidharma Cave where the ancestor Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years. He wanted to go there.
Here, it will be more convenient to pass through the back door."
"It turns out there is a back door here, that's really great." In fact, when Xuanzang heard Zhishan's words, he knew that it was more convenient to go through the back door. It was just an excuse. Zhishan's real intention was not to let more people in.
Knowing about Zhikong's recruitment of disciples, he did not want outsiders to know about the entanglement between Li Xian and the Shaolin Temple. In fact, this was exactly what Xuanzang meant. He also did not want to see the Buddhist disciples involved in the struggle for imperial power, because once
If you stand in the wrong position, it will bring disaster to the entire Buddhism.
Although Li Xian remained calm on the surface, he was also ecstatic in his heart, because he also did not want to leak his relationship with Shaolin. In this way, the forces of Shaolin Temple and even the entire Buddhist sect would become a surprise force, which might be able to act at a critical moment.
to reverse the crisis.
Therefore, except for the two eminent monks in the abbot's room, Wu Neng and Li Xian, no one knew that they had actually left the abbot's room and headed for the back mountain.
There is a distance of four or five miles from the abbot's room to Damo Cave. Although the mountain road is rugged, Master Zhishan possesses martial arts.
The quality was excellent, so the four of us arrived in just one stick of incense.
As soon as the four of them arrived at the entrance of the cave, they heard a thunderous voice coming from inside the cave: "Brother, I came as soon as I came. I just came with the little novice monk, but why did I bring two more people with me? Don't you know?"
The young monk likes to be quiet and not see any outsiders?"
But Zhishan stopped quickly, and then said with a smile: "Junior brother Zhikong, the person you brought with me this time is not an outsider. One of these two people is Master Xuanzang, and the other is the beloved son of the current saint, both of whom are the same as Uncle Tanzong."
It has a very deep origin.”
Unexpectedly, the voice from inside the cave came again: "Whatever the eminent monks and princes are, the little monk is nowhere to be seen. Senior brother, please send him away. You, the master and the disciple, don't have to come again... Huh? Wait a minute, let the kid come into the cave."
"
"Which kid? Could it be my disciple Wu Neng?" Zhishan actually brought his disciple Wu Neng to see Zhi Kong many times, hoping that he could pass on his skills to his disciple, but he was repeatedly rejected by Zhi Kong.
, seeing Zhikong relenting today, he immediately stopped caring about Li Xian, and quickly asked in surprise, and at the same time, he pushed his disciple and motioned for him to come in.
Unexpectedly, a cold snort suddenly came from the cave, and Zhikong's thunderous voice came again: "Does your stupid disciple deserve my true inheritance? With his qualifications, even if he spends his whole life, he can get 80% of my true inheritance."
The achievements are not bad. The young monk is talking about the prince. This prince is extraordinary. He has a long breath and a calm demeanor. He can be passed down by me. Anyway, the young monk is happy today. Come in with him, young novice monk.
, but you two eminent monks don’t need to come in again.”
Although Zhikong spoke very arrogantly, Zhishan was not dissatisfied at all. He pushed Li Xian and Wu Neng into the cave with great joy, and at the same time said to Xuanzang with an apologetic look: "Master, don't blame me, my junior brother is crazy.
Xiang Wu is not familiar with ordinary things, so he speaks in a stiff tone..."
"Haha, who do you think I am? I have practiced cultivation for many years, how can I blame him for this? Furthermore, this senior brother is so obsessed with Taoism that even I admire him, so how can I blame him?"
While Zhishan and Xuanzang were talking, Li Xian and Wu Neng had already entered the cave. The cave was narrow and deep, and the light in the cave was dark. Even though Wu Neng was brave, he couldn't help but feel fear in his heart and quickly held the front door.
Li Xian's hand, but seeing Li Xian calmly and calmly walking forward into the cave, he couldn't help but feel strange in his heart.
In fact, how could Wu Neng know? Li Xian was a tomb robber in his previous life. He had seen even dark spaces. He had already developed the ability to see at night. It was natural to walk in this cave with a glimmer of light.
but.
Not far away, Li Xian saw a lean monk sitting at the end of the cave not far away. Naturally, this monk was the only living person here before. Zhikong saw that this man was about forty years old.
He is young, his eyes are shining, and his temples are bulging. Based on the most basic common sense, you can judge that this person is definitely a master.
Li Xian was looking at Zhikong, so why wasn't Zhikong looking at Li Xian? He had already judged based on the sound of Li Xian's walking that the opponent was walking like a dragon and a tiger, and his martial arts qualifications were definitely the best. After the opponent entered the hole, he would
Seeing him walking calmly and calmly in the dark with twinkling eyes, it was obvious that he had good night vision ability, so his evaluation was naturally raised to a higher level.
"Disciple Li Xian has seen..."
"There is no need to be polite." Li Xiangang wanted to salute to show respect, but was interrupted by the other party, and he said straight to the point: "You are very good. Your talent for learning martial arts is rare. It is rare to see it in a hundred years. As long as you are willing, I am willing to give you a gift."
I will teach you all your skills, so please come here obediently and kowtow to me."