Chapter 618: The Three Teachings Are Originally One Family

Dazhu Peak, Back Mountain.

Tian Ling'er wore this fire-red garment, light and soft, standing prettily in the depths of the bamboo forest, as if she were a wisp of red cloud drifting down from the horizon, or as if she might be blown away by the wind at any moment.

She lowered her head, her gaze seemingly rippling with autumn waves, carrying a faint radiance; she appeared much more mature than on ordinary days.

The mountain breeze was subtle, brushing past her and seeming to turn gentle as well, lightly stirring her lapels and beautiful hair, setting off her snow-like skin.

"Ling'er."

A clear, bright voice suddenly rang out, and it was the young monk walking over slowly.

Tian Ling'er lifted her head at once, her delicate and pretty face revealing joy: "You've come."

Upon seeing that handsome face and warm, gentle smile, the young girl could not help but lower her head again, a thin layer of crimson flush appearing on her face; her long eyelashes covered her eyelids, and her jade-white teeth bit her cherry-like red lips, though not very hard.

"Apologies, I was slightly delayed by something; I've kept you waiting a long time, haven't I?" The White-Clad Wonderful Monk walked before Tian Ling'er and said softly.

Tian Ling'er had originally felt a slight touch of coquettish annoyance in her heart, but for some reason, upon seeing this figure, it vanished without a trace. She said softly: "It's alright, I haven't been waiting long." She toyed with her lapels with her fingers, as if she felt these slender hands had nothing to do and needed to find something to occupy them: "Why did you ask me to come here?"

"I owe you a song, and today I have come to repay it, though it is a pity the zither has snapped, and I cannot express my heart's voice with it." The White-Clad Wonderful Monk sighed, then smiled: "Fortunately, there are musical instruments here on Dazhu Peak."

Tian Ling'er asked in confusion: "Dazhu Peak has musical instruments?"

"Naturally, there are."

Having said this, the White-Clad Wonderful Monk plucked a bamboo leaf and placed it lightly against his lips; immediately, a melodious sound rang out.

Tian Ling'er closed her eyes, her expression growing increasingly gentle as she listened quietly.

Under the moonlight, the White-Clad Wonderful Monk, the red-clad young girl, the clear breeze, and the slender bamboo seemed to form a perfectly harmonious picture.

When the song ended, the two began to chat, just as they had before.

Perhaps knowing that the White-Clad Wonderful Monk was to leave the Qingyun Sect tomorrow, the young girl chattered away, though her expression was slightly dim. When the two were about to part, a faint red glow suffused the girl's face, and biting her lip, she seemed to have made a great resolution; then, standing on tiptoe, she pressed her rosy cherry lips against the monk's face in a dragonfly-skimming-the-water kiss, and after scattering a string of silver-bell-like laughter, she rode her dharma treasure and left.

……

The next day.

On a small path through the forest.

The White-Clad Wonderful Monk and an elderly monk walked side by side, heading down the mountain.

The White-Clad Wonderful Monk recalled last night and could not help but reach out to touch his cheek. Even now, his heart was still beating non-stop.

He rarely heard the sound of his own heartbeat.

And he had almost never felt that kind of flutter.

In his past memories, there were also mellow wine and beauties, but they were fleeting and blurred.

Perhaps he had once held many beauties in his arms, but now he was truly and properly a young lad.

"Amitabha." The White-Clad Wonderful Monk recited a Buddha name in his heart, suppressing all sorts of romantic thoughts. Since he was already a monk who had severed the three thousand strands of worldly vexations, why bother to get entangled in the debts of human emotion?

He turned his gaze toward the monk Puzhi beside him and smiled: "Brother Puzhi, did you gain anything from this trip to Qingyun Mountain?"

Puzhi shook his head and sighed: "The Daoist arts are profound and miraculous, especially the Divine Sword Lightning Control True Formula, which can even command the divine powers of the heavens. If we could verify them against our Buddhist teachings and learn from each other's strengths, we would surely be able to pierce the mystery of life and death. It is a pity that although Daoxuan Zhenren's cultivation is far superior to mine, he remains just like my three senior brothers, obsessed with sectarian biases and unable to let go of status and position. Sigh."

The White-Clad Wonderful Monk said: "You laugh at Daoxuan Zhenren and your three senior brothers for being obsessed with sectarian biases, but Brother Puzhi, are you not also obsessed with the idea of immortality?"

Puzhi's body stiffened, and he sighed: "That is indeed so, but this is my lifelong obsession; how could I ever let it go?"

As a Divine Monk of Tianyin Temple, he was admired by the world and his honor was extreme, but to him, his lifelong obsession was to break the mystery of life and death and resolve the tribulation of life and death. It was just that fifty years ago, he had already realized that no matter how diligently he practiced Buddhist dharma, he could only increase his cultivation and power, but could not solve the mystery of immortality.

From ancient times to the present, those brilliant and talented prodigies have all turned into a handful of yellow earth; how regrettable is that?

He pondered bitterly: the three teachings of Buddha, Demon, and Dao are prevalent in the world; if Buddhist techniques alone are insufficient to see through life and death, then what if the other two were added? Of course, the Demon Sect's evil arts are cruel and devoid of morality, and they have withdrawn from the Central Plains in recent years, so they are not to be considered. It was just that he had not expected that whether it was his own three senior brothers or the Qingyun Sect's leader Daoxuan, they all considered it heretical, and in the end, they failed to achieve a fusion of Buddha and Dao to see through life and death.

In the world today, perhaps only this junior brother could slightly understand him, yet even he thought his obsession was too heavy.

How could he not understand this himself? But his obsession of several decades could never be let go, and instead, it grew ever deeper.

The White-Clad Wonderful Monk was silent for a moment, then said: "Senior Brother, actually, during this time at the Qingyun Sect, I discovered a secret that might be related to your immortality."

Puzhi became interested and said: "Junior Brother, please speak."

The White-Clad Wonderful Monk seemed to have made a very difficult decision before slowly spitting out seven words: "The three teachings are originally one family."

"What?!"

Even though Puzhi was knowledgeable and experienced, his body still shook, and he looked sharply at the White-Clad Wonderful Monk: "Puzhen, do you know what you are saying?"

"Naturally, I know."

Since he had already spoken this secret, Yu Liancheng no longer hid it, his expression appearing slightly solemn: "These days, I have read through the books in the Qingyun Sect's library. Although I did not see the legendary Taiji Xuanqing Dao, I have glimpsed the Daoist methods of cultivation from some books."

"The Daoist school draws the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body to perform the Great Zhou circulation. This is diametrically opposed to our method of realizing one's own nature and severing external objects. But if one thinks about it carefully, they are complementary and share the same roots."

Puzhi showed a thoughtful expression; this matter was of great importance, and given his junior brother's character, he likely would not lie.

Moreover, with his junior brother's talent, it did not seem hard to understand that he could glimpse the Daoist cultivation methods. For a moment, he was exceptionally excited, but then his brows furrowed again: "Even if Buddha and Dao share the same source, neither my Tianyin Temple nor the Qingyun Sect has any records regarding the Demon Sect's techniques. Junior Brother, how can you be certain that the three teachings are one family?"

Hearing Puzhi's words, a few blurred images flashed through the White-Clad Wonderful Monk's mind.

That was a collapsed cave.

A mother and daughter were trapped in the cave.

And hidden in the cave were Demon Sect techniques, which his predecessor had obtained. Although he now only remembered fragments, he vaguely felt they were connected to the techniques of the Buddha and Dao schools and were complementary.

It was just that if he said this, Puzhi probably would not believe it.

Puzhi saw Yu Liancheng's difficulty and did not continue to press him, but instead smiled: "If the three teachings are truly one family, I wonder if combining the techniques of the three teachings could really pierce the mystery of immortality. And since they are one family, why must there be sectarian differences, fighting and killing all day long, causing suffering to the world's cultivators and suffering to all living beings?"

Yu Liancheng also shook his head and said: "Sectarian bias is already hard to break, let alone the fusion of the three teachings."

……

Deep night.

That night, the White-Clad Wonderful Monk and Master Puzhi were resting in a dilapidated temple at the foot of Qingyun Mountain.

Boom—!

A peal of thunder, black clouds rolling, wind and rain about to arrive, a sense of killing intent everywhere.

Puzhi's eyes opened abruptly, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter. He saw that in the woods to the west, a black mist had risen, thick as ink, surging without end.

Suddenly, that black mist coiled and spiraled upward, heading straight toward the direction of the Grass Temple. It was incomparably fast, like a bolt of black lightning, arriving in the blink of an eye.

How sharp were the eyes of Puzhi; at a single glance, he saw that the black mist actually contained a small child, and he had even met this child once before.

"How bold, to dare to act so wantonly at the foot of Qingyun Mountain!" Puzhi's expression sank, and without further hesitation, he made no visible movement, yet his withered, thin body suddenly shot up from the ground, crashing directly into that mass of black mist, urging the Great Brahma Prajna, as a Swastika Buddha-light shone brilliantly, holy and majestic, solemn and dignified, with the power to repel a hundred ghosts.

The monk in white also opened his eyes, his brows slightly furrowed, feeling that the scene unfolding before him was somewhat familiar.