Chapter 59 Pure Land Temple

Jiang Chen continued to travel on foot, covering a hundred li on this journey.

The weather was scorching, and from time to time, there were travelers resting in the shade along the road.

Some people, upon seeing Jiang Chen, would kindly invite him over to have a cup of herbal tea.

The current State Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty was a practitioner of the Dao, and the Emperor also believed in the Profound Gate, so Daoist priests and monks were considered upper-class people among the common folk.

However, Jiang Chen declined them all.

The roads approaching Chang'an City were much smoother, with no obstacles from mountain bandits.

Even an ordinary person, riding a horse, could make a round trip in half a day.

Although Jiang Chen was protected by his True Qi and did not feel the heat.

He could still sense roughly how high the temperature was.

Even here in the mountains and forests, with springs flowing and trees providing shade, the temperature was likely as high as 40 degrees.

Of course, if this were modern times, it wouldn't be an issue at all, because modern times don't reach 40 degrees—only 39.99 degrees.

This kind of sweltering weather was definitely abnormal.

And it was currently just noon, not yet the hottest part of the day.

Rustle!

A locust flew toward the grass and was quickly submerged within it.

Jiang Chen looked at the fields by the road, which were planted with rice. Even in the sweltering heat, farmers were still inside, driving away locusts and reinforcing the boundary dikes.

There were not many locusts floating above the rice, but if left to develop, it would easily brew into a locust plague.

Jiang Chen formed a seal with his left hand, and a golden light rippled out, spreading across the entire field without harming a single grain of rice.

However, the moment the locusts above the field touched this golden light, they fell into the fields in droves, becoming fertilizer.

The farmers in the fields did not notice, only wondering why the locusts flying in the sky had suddenly decreased.

Jiang Chen sighed slightly; he could not help everyone, only those within his sight, helping where he could.

In such hot weather, there was not much water left in the fields, and it was on the verge of drying up, leaving only a thin layer.

Without moisture to nourish them, these rice crops would likely wither and die.

Then a drought would occur.

Unless a high-ranking Immortal Master from the Profound Gate was invited to pray for rain, it was unlikely that this disaster could be avoided.

Even the area around Chang'an City was in such a state; Jiang Chen dared not imagine what the situation would be like in other provinces.

"Amitabha. Daoist, is it not a bit too cruel to harm many lives for the sake of a few?"

An old voice rang out.

Jiang Chen turned back and saw an old monk with white eyebrows and beard, wearing a kasaya, standing behind him, looking at the rice fields with an expression of compassion for the world.

Jiang Chen almost laughed out of anger.

"Monk, you're just full yourself and don't care whether others live or die."

The monk shook his head: "All living beings are equal. Locusts are also living beings. Locusts eating rice is naturally the correct principle of Heaven."

"That is utter heresy. Bald donkey, which temple are you from?"

"This poor monk became a monk at Pure Land Temple in Luoyang, and my Dharma name is Master Chengjue. Since the Daoist asks me, shouldn't you also state your own background?"

Jiang Chen's expression was calm, then suddenly shifted into a sinister grin.

"It is your honor that this Daoist master asks you!"

Clang!

Jiang Chen drew his Maoshan Dharma Sword, and a streak of sky-splitting crimson light pierced into the old monk's eyelids.

He had long sensed that this old monk's cultivation was unusually high, so he had no intention of talking about martial virtue with him; when facing such a spineless thing, there was no need to be polite.

He unleashed his ultimate move right from the start.

The massive Sword Qi tore through the sky and earth; the moment the Dharma Sword was unsheathed, it swept toward the old monk.

"Maoshan Dharma Sword!"

Master Chengjue was shocked. He had originally come to advise the Daoist because he saw that Jiang Chen was young but had strong cultivation.

Before the Dharma Sword was unsheathed, not a trace of Sword Qi had leaked out, so he had not recognized it.

But now that the Dharma Sword was unsheathed, he finally knew who was standing before him.

There had been rumors that His Majesty the Emperor had invited Great True Lord Xuanyi, the closing Disciple of Grand Master Sima Chengzhen of the Maoshan Sect, to the Mid-Autumn Feast in Chang'an.

Seeing this Daoist holding a Maoshan Sect Dharma Sword, who else could this Daoist be but Great True Lord Xuanyi?

Originally, he had wanted to teach Jiang Chen a lesson, but now, seeing this Dharma Sword, he had lost all will to fight.

"So it is a Fellow Daoist from Maoshan. This poor monk was reckless!" Master Chengjue resisted the onslaught of Sword Qi and shouted loudly.

If he harmed Great True Lord Xuanyi, Master Chengjue truly believed that Grand Master Sima Chengzhen would carry his Dharma Sword and slaughter his way from Maoshan to Luoyang.

Back when Grand Master Sima Chengzhen purged demons, even Taotie, one of the Four Perils, had retreated three times.

"No wonder your Pure Land Temple gets worse year by year. You couldn't keep Master Xuanzang and lost His Majesty's favor. Arrogant to those below and fearful of those above, obsessing over trifles while losing the greater righteousness—Pure Land Temple deserves to perish!"

Jiang Chen's wild voice resounded, audible even to travelers in the distance, and many people stopped to watch.

"You brat!" Master Chengjue was furious, but then he recalled the background of the man before him, so he restrained his anger.

"This poor monk acts solely for the sake of the common people. Today, I cannot bear to cross blades with a Daoist, so I shall withdraw. Forget it, forget it."

After speaking, the old monk Master Chengjue performed a Spell, intending to escape.

"Old bald donkey, if you're afraid to fight, just admit it. Why are you barking like a dog!" Jiang Chen did not relent, attacking from behind Master Chengjue.

Crimson sword light filled the air, and the aura of slaughter made the sweltering weather feel cooler for a moment.

Master Chengjue stumbled as he fled, then moved with great speed, disappearing several li away in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Chen stopped and sheathed his sword.

It had to be said that although the old monk was not a good person, his cultivation was truly not weak, especially his escape technique, which Jiang Chen could not catch up to even on horseback.

Just now, he had been bluffing. If the old monk had truly gone mad, the one running would have been him, Jiang Chen.

The Maoshan Dharma Sword and the Shangqing Image-Aspect Sword could assist him in killing monsters at the Peak of Mystic Light who were not good at head-on combat, even across ranks.

But they could not help him fight against a Buddhist Cultivator in the Life Wheel Realm.

However, he had noted this debt in his little book; sooner or later, he would make Pure Land Temple pay.

On the main road, there were others watching this farce.

"Teacher, is this young man the successor of the Maoshan Sect, the number one School in the Great Tang?" asked a young man with a fair complexion and Middle Eastern features.

Beside him, a slightly older, middle-aged man also had a fair, Middle Eastern face.

"That is correct, Timothy. Under the rule of this new Emperor, our Nestorianism has finally recovered some of its Origin Qi. We can only befriend these native sects of the Great Tang; we cannot offend them."

"Teacher, rest assured, I will become friends with this young Daoist," Timothy replied.

The middle-aged man was named Monk Yisi, and because of his presence, he had successfully revitalized Nestorianism in the Great Tang.

This time, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was holding the Mid-Autumn Feast and had also invited him, so Monk Yisi had brought his Disciple, Timothy, along.

Jiang Chen felt the weight of their gazes, so he looked back from afar and saw the two of them.

Monk Yisi smiled at Jiang Chen in a friendly manner and waved.

"Let's go. It will not be too late to befriend this Maoshan Disciple once we reach Chang'an."

...

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