The national teacher does not practice

"Sir, you..."

Han Bachi, who was driving, was stunned for a moment, but he immediately responded and quickly stopped the carriage outside the gate of Baita Temple.

Ji Ping'an didn't do it on a whim, nor did he really care about the life and death of a "little monk". It was the time when Xueting went crazy that touched him.

That happened to be around the same time when Master Yihong of Yunlin Temple became possessed by demons.

And Xueting's Buddhism is far more profound than that of Kazuhiro... Does this mean that Xueting has also heard the voice of "Buddha"?

Is this so-called madness related to it?

The act of breaking one's own legs...is very much like some kind of confrontation.

In the world of spiritual practice, once a monk becomes possessed, some with strong willpower will try to fight, even resorting to "self-mutilation".

What happened to Xueting made him unable to stop making this association.

As the vehicle came to a stop, Ji Ping'an did not use any magic, but stepped out of the car like a mortal and walked outside the White Pagoda Temple.

The entrance to the temple was deserted and cold, and the door was closed tightly. Ji Ping'an raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Not long after, the door was opened, and a vigilant face of a gray-robed monk appeared in the gap: "Who...ah!"

The other party obviously recognized Ji Pingan's face and looked extremely surprised. He subconsciously wanted to close the door, but Ji Pingan raised his hand to block it. He looked calm and said:

"I want to see the snow garden."

……

Without many obstacles, the monks in the temple carefully led Ji Ping'an into the temple and walked towards the back hall.

On the way, Ji Pingan casually asked about the situation in Xueting. The monk who led the way did not dare to breathe and answered all questions.

The general process is consistent with what Han Bachi said, but there are many more details.

For example, after Xue Ting went crazy, people from the Taoist sect and the imperial palace actually came to see him, and they came to the same conclusion. They all said that he was possessed by spiritual practice, and his energy and blood attacked his heart, and his soul was damaged.

"Abbott has been confused most of the time for the past six months. He only has a few moments of clarity occasionally, but he can't say a few words before falling asleep again," the leading monk said with a sad look on his face:

"Especially as you get older, the imperial doctors say that your life is short, and you probably won't be able to survive this winter."

Xueting's current situation obviously makes it impossible to advance further in practice, which also means that his lifespan cannot be extended.

Regardless of whether the imperial court or the Taoist sect officially started a war with the Buddhist sect of the Southern Tang Dynasty, they still wanted to save some face and were unwilling to deal with a crazy monk who was about to die.

According to the monk who led the way, Ji Ping'an was the only "noble person" who came to visit him in the past half year.

"The abbot is inside." When they arrived outside a cold Zen monastery, the leading monk said.

Ji Ping'an said "yes" and said, "Don't let outsiders disturb you."

As he spoke, his body disintegrated into a ball of starlight and disappeared. In the blink of an eye, he regrouped in the Zen courtyard.

The Zen courtyard is neatly clean and square, and the midsummer sun shines down, illuminating a wooden chair placed under the eaves.

Monk Xueting was sitting in the chair. He was still wearing the abbot's cassock, but he was already much thinner than last year.

The skin on the old face is full of wrinkles, the white hair and beard are messy, the eyes are wide open, staring at the sky in a daze.

If you look carefully, you will find that his legs are motionless and his posture is slightly weird.

The waist and the arms pressed on the armrests were tied with silk, as if to prevent them from moving and falling.

Only on the right hand side hangs a copper bell that can be shaken to call people.

Xueting seemed unaware of Ji Pingan's sudden appearance.

It wasn't until Ji Ping'an walked up to him step by step and blocked the sunlight shining on his face with his body, blocking his field of vision, that Xue Ting's hazy eyes turned slightly and murmured:

"Get out of the way...get out of the way..."

Ji Ping'an looked at him with a complicated expression. His spiritual consciousness had already covered his whole body, confirming that he was indeed almost exhausted. He was not pretending, but was real and had suffered great damage.

He said, "What are you looking at?"

Xueting murmured: "Get out of the way...get out of the way..."

It seems that he only repeats his intentions.

Ji Ping'an was silent for a moment and suddenly said: "What's so good about the fake sky? Isn't it enough after watching it for decades?"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was as if a switch had been pressed. Xueting was suddenly stunned for a moment, and finally focused his eyes on Ji Ping'an's face, but it seemed that he could no longer recognize him:

"False...false..."

Xueting suddenly laughed: "Yeah, it's fake, it's all fake. You also know it's fake, right? The sun, the bright moon, the stars, the gods and Buddhas... are all fake, fake..."

He laughed, a little crazy, his body swayed, and the bell jingled slightly, but the monks guarding outside the courtyard did not dare to come in and disturb him at this time.

Ji Ping stood quietly without saying a word.

After waiting for a long time, until Xue Ting had laughed enough, tears suddenly appeared in the old man's eye sockets:

"What is true? What is false? If it is true that the sky falls and the earth collapses, and all life is in ruins, then isn't it bad to be false? Isn't it bad?"

Ji Pingan squinted his eyes, looked at the old man who was crying bitterly, and said, "Do you still recognize me?"

At this time, Xue Ting's eyes seemed to have been washed away by tears, and she actually gained rare clarity.

The madness on his face slowly faded away, and the shaking bell stopped moving, which meant that he had entered a state of wakefulness.

"...It's...you!" Xueting struggled to identify it for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "National Preceptor...Master...you are not dead..."

"I'm not dead, I'm back." Ji Ping'an said.

Through the conversation with the leading monk, he knew that in the past six months, Xueting would ask about the outside world when he was occasionally awake.

So it's not surprising to know his identity - now, it's no longer a secret.

Xueting looked excited and showed a child-like smile, seeming to be happy to see an "acquaintance": "You came to see me."

"Yes." Ji Ping'an said with rare patience: "I heard that you have become a cripple. Come and see what happened."

Xueting shook his head, his eyes blank: "I forgot."

After a pause, he added: "That memory is gone."

Ji Ping'an said: "But you seem to still remember some things, such as the sky is fake, such as the broken dome? Catastrophe is coming and all life is in ruins?"

As if the word "dome" stimulated him again, Xue Ting's eyes suddenly brightened, as if he had recalled something.

Suddenly he leaned forward violently, using both arms to try to get closer to him. The bell also shook wildly. His face suddenly turned red and he said excitedly:

"Yes! Sir National Master, I heard a big secret. From the realm of Bodhisattvas, saints are immortals in the world of mortals. When the sky is broken, immortals in the mortal world will come and many people will die..."

Xueting's condition is obviously very serious. Even in the "awake" state, his mind is in an extremely unstable state.

And what he stammered to describe was also full of mess and blanks.

Others would be confused after listening to it, but because Ji Pingan had mastered the complete version of the story, he could tell that it was probably similar to what Tao Zun told.

This confirmed his guess: with Xueting's Buddhist practice, he had indeed obtained some information from the Buddha's consciousness. But this kind of information is less than that of the old master of the demon country, more fragmented, and of little value.

Xueting only knew that the catastrophe was coming, that the sky was collapsing, that the sky was fake, that the saint was a human being, and that the catastrophe was related to the saint, and knew nothing else.

This disappointed him a little.

Ji Ping'an shook his head and said, "We already know about these things and have already taken some measures."

Xueting was inexplicably surprised: "Great, by the way, have you recovered your strength? Are you sure you can prevent this disaster?"

Suddenly a sore spot was struck.

Ji Pingan subconsciously thought that Feng Qingyun was confident.

But he suddenly looked at the deserted courtyard, looked at the lunatic in front of him, remained silent for a moment, and finally sighed, shook his head, and said, "No."

Perhaps, only here, with a lunatic who only knows a little bit, can we express our true inner thoughts.

Ji Ping'an raised his head, his eyes fell on the sun-reflecting roof of the building, and said almost to himself: "The enemy is too powerful, even when I am at my peak, I am not sure."

Xueting was anxious: "Then find allies."

Ji Ping'an laughed at himself: "Allies... No, you don't understand. I suspect that there is one or several 'traitors' hidden among us. Sometimes there are many people, but we may not be strong, and we may be attacked from both sides..."

What he is referring to is the hidden "Tao Zun".

Ji Ping'an still suspected that Tao Zun was hiding in secret.

Just like Dean Chen said, before stepping into the dome, everyone may be innocent, but once they step into the dome, the hidden Taoist will may suddenly rush out of their bodies.

Xin Yaoguang...Dean Chen...Mo Pavilion Master...including the previous generation Wei Huayang and others are actually suspected.

Including Ji Ping'an himself!

He even has the slightest doubt about himself!

By the way, there’s also Senior Brother Xingzhi!

Although he didn't want to admit it, Senior Brother Xingzhi was indeed very suspicious, and Ji Ping'an had been suffering a lot these days.

On the one hand, he wants to find a way to break the situation, but on the other hand, he is worried that the person close to him will turn into another person and eventually fight against him.

Only at this moment did the emotion that left him nowhere to express finally find an opening.

Xueting was stunned for a moment and said seriously: "Then become stronger! You were once the strongest, even if you are reincarnated and practice again, why can't you become the number one in Kyushu again? As long as you are strong enough, you don't have to worry about anything."

Ji Ping'an felt bitter in his heart.

Become stronger? He had certainly thought about this path and weighed it more than once.

In Ji Ping'an's judgment, if you want to securely fight against at least three "saints" in the enemy's territory of the dome, you must possess overwhelming power.

Just reaching the peak of Shen Zang is not enough!

Therefore, he had pinned his hopes on being promoted to the Red Dust Immortal.

During the six months in the polar region, he had thoroughly understood the "chessboard" left by Taoist Master, and indeed saw a feasible way to advance.

It was precisely because of his thorough understanding that he left the Pole without regrets.

And with his understanding, which has ranked first in the world twice over the past thousand years, he is certain that he can try and succeed.

But he didn't dare!

Yes, I dare not, or rather, cannot!

The reason is extremely simple:

If the truth he speculated is correct, then the question arises. The Taoist Master's purpose is to seize the body, so why did he leave the method to advance to the Red Dust Immortal in the polar regions? To outsiders?

Doesn't this increase unnecessary risks?

Combined with the fact that Tao Zun has never shown up, the Hongchen Dharma hidden in the polar regions becomes very suspicious.

Ji Ping'an highly doubts that the way to the Red Dust Immortal is itself a trap. As long as anyone tries to walk, they will fall into the Taoist trap and officially become the carrier of his will.

This possibility is very high.

And he couldn't afford such a big risk.

"You don't understand. I do know a way to get to the Red Dust Immortal, but I suspect that the other party has laid a trap along this path..." Ji Ping'an said.

However, Xue Ting's reaction was different from what he expected, appearing extremely confused: "But... Sir National Preceptor, why do you want to follow someone else's path?"

Ji Ping'an was startled, lowered his eyes and looked at him: "What do you mean?"

Xueting, who was tied up in a chair, said seriously:

"You have created a unique star official path. With this path, you have become the first person in the history of Kyushu. You are the real Liyang of that year. Although he is strong, he is also following the path of others... So, you want Go one step further and become a human being, why should you follow someone else’s path?”

Xue Ting said it very naturally. It seemed that in his opinion, this was not a problem at all.

It was like a meteor piercing my mind and tearing open the clouds!

At this moment, Ji Ping'an was stunned and vaguely realized that he seemed to have caught some spiritual light. He opened his mouth and said:

"But back then, after many years of searching, I still couldn't break through to the divine treasure..."

Xueting said matter-of-factly: "That's because the sky is fake. Since you are a star official, the stars are fake. Isn't it normal that you can't break through?

As the saying goes, when the water is full, it will overflow. Based on your understanding of the Great Dao, I am afraid that it is already full, and the only difference is the last step... I still remember that you once taught the younger generations to practice, saying that there is no bottleneck at all.

The reason why I feel there is a bottleneck is that the accumulation is not deep enough. All things in the world are natural, and there is no fixed path. There is only accumulation..."

Like a bolt from the blue, when Xueting said these words, they seemed to him to be natural.

Ji Ping'an suddenly felt that some "shackles" in the depths of his mind suddenly shattered with a "bang"!

Yes!

Why follow someone else's path?

Thousands of years ago, he was able to go from being a humble person to being the best in the world.

Five hundred years later, he gave up his original path, learned from others' strengths, and created a new path of his own. He once again reached the first place and was stronger than the original Li Yang.

Now it's the third time.

He has reached the peak three times. With such an understanding, why can't he become a worldly immortal by himself?

He has reached the top three times. Who can compare with this kind of accumulation?

His accumulation has been enough, and his understanding of Tao has been enough. Just like a cup that is about to overflow, the reason why he failed to break through was just because his eyes were blocked by a barrier.

That's it!

In this case, why should we refer to other people's paths?

The four saints and the four mortal immortals each have completely different cultivation inheritances, and there is no overlap. This explains the problem.

If you want to become a human being, perhaps the most important thing is to make your own way.

There is indeed a trap in the inheritance left by the Taoist Master in Jiji. It is a mental trap.

When Ji Pingan saw it, he had already stepped into this trap and put a shackles on himself. He would naturally think that he needed to follow the other person's path in order to take the last step.

This is the real situation of Dao Zun.

But now, the shackles... are broken!

……

Happy New Year everyone!

Thanks to Odie and his father for the hundred-coin reward today (end of chapter)