Fu Shifeng

Chapter 179 Hidden under the rock
Changqing ran wildly, facing the cold wind that made his clothes flutter, and he flew up and down towards the courtyard at the foot of the mountain.

The Terma Palace is divided into two courtyards: the upper courtyard and the lower courtyard. The upper courtyard is hidden in the mountains and forests. It is quiet and secluded from the dust. It is protected by a maze of barriers and no other people can get close to it.In the past, it was the place where Master Daguan and Changqing practiced. Now that Master Daguan is no longer in the mountain, Changqing settled Cheng Sanwu here.

The lower courtyard is no different from ordinary Taoist temples. It worships the deity and receives pilgrims. Daguan Zhenren used to go to the altar to preach and teach disciples. It is also in the lower courtyard.

Daguan Zhenren had many disciples. Some of them left after attending the lectures for a few years to start their own business, while others stayed with him for many years.But only Changqing was able to follow Master Daguan to study in the upper courtyard, receive the true biography, and gain a respected status.

When Chang Qing came to the lower courtyard in a panic, several fellow disciples happened to be passing by. Seeing this, they came to inquire: "Brother, I wonder what happened? Is there anything we can do for you?"

Changqing waved his hand: "Nothing, I'm going to the mountain to collect dew tonight. If someone comes looking for me, I'll let them see you in the morning."

Several of his colleagues bowed their hands and said they were resigning. Changqing suppressed his emotions and walked around the Fuzang Palace as if nothing had happened. When the sky was getting dark, he went to the mountains alone.

Songyue is a famous mountain and blessed place in the Central Plains. There are many Taoist and Buddhist temples around it. There are also people who live in seclusion in the mountains. Daguan Zhenren was one of them.

It was a cold winter night, and most people would have gone to bed long ago, but Changqing shuttled through the mountains and forests with agility. After a while, he came to a huge rock, surrounded by thorns and impassable roads.

Changqing looked around and confirmed that there was no one around. Then he cast a spell and the thorns took the initiative to avoid it, revealing a narrow hole.

Drilling into the entrance of the cave, you go down for more than ten feet, and the surrounding area gradually becomes wider. When you step on the flat ground, you can see a huge cave room with a gurgling stream on the side and smooth air, without the feeling of being closed and trapped.

What's even more amazing is that the dome of the cave is actually filled with clearly visible stars in the night sky, with a Milky Way running through it.

"Did you know that the ancestors of the Central Plains first stargazed at Songyue Mountain?"

A gentle voice came from the center of the cave. Changqing was not surprised when he saw the other party, but his expression was complicated.

The man was wearing washed white cloth, and he looked like one of those poor and frustrated Confucian scholars. Who else could he be if he wasn't Master Wen?
"Songyue Mountain is located in the middle of the sky, and the terrain is high. It is not surprising that our ancestors would stargazing here." Changqing looked around: "But this is an underground cave, why are there stars?"

"Look carefully at the Big Dipper." Master Wen raised his hand and pointed.

Changqing stared at it for a moment and noticed something strange: "Why is Doubiao not pointing to the North Pole?"

"It shows that this star map does not reflect the current moment." Master Wen said: "The paths of the stars in the sky are not eternal. Over time, they will also be misaligned."

Changqing asked thoughtfully: "Mr. Chu, do you want to say that the astronomical phenomena are still uncertain, and the energy of the dynasties in the world cannot be permanent?"

Master Wen looked back and smiled helplessly: "Where did I say this? Do you have to guess the meaning from every word of mine?"

"It's just my imagination." Changqing lowered his head.

In fact, half a month after Changqing brought Cheng Sanwu to the Terma Palace, he met Master Wen, but he kept hiding it from Afu.Fortunately, she did not stay in the Terma Palace all the time, but arrived every ten days.

"Cheng Sanwu woke up?" Master Wen asked.

"Sir, you really have the ability to predict the future." Chang Qing's compliment seemed a little weak.

Master Wen glanced at Changqing for a few times, and then looked at the star map on the dome again: "You must have many questions, but there's no harm in talking."

Changqing stood there in silence for a long time, and finally summoned up the courage to ask, "Chu Yufu is just a pseudonym for Mr. Chu, right?"

Master Wen's beard twitched slightly, no longer covering it up, and said with a smile: "It is inconvenient to act under Master Wen's name after all."

Even though the other party actively admitted it, Chang Qing was still so shocked that he felt dazed for a while.

"Lu Yan looked like this when he first learned about my identity." Hearing Master's words, Changqing suddenly raised his head, astonished beyond belief.

Wen Fuzi smiled and explained: "After all, there is someone in the court who can do things easily, but he is no longer in Fu Shifeng. If there is nothing important, I will not disturb him."

Changqing was panicked, feeling that the knowledge and experience she had accumulated in the past were collapsing like a sand embankment, and all the people and things she was familiar with had changed.

Half a year ago, Changqing was wary when he heard that Master secretly came to find him. However, it was precisely because of his advice to use Xuan Mizhu to rescue Cheng Sanwu that Changqing vaguely felt that this "Chu Fisherman" might not be a big deal. A very evil person.

When Afu was not in Fu Zang Palace, Master Wen broke into the upper courtyard several times to visit the unconscious Cheng Sanwu, but he never touched the enchantment formation, which frightened Changqing so much that he had to cast spells to drive him away. .

However, Wen Fuzi easily broke through the various spells cast by Chang Qing with a flick of his finger, adding a few comments along the way, which surprised and delighted Chang Qing.

In the next six months, Master Wen came to the Terma Palace from time to time, saying that he was here to visit Cheng Sanwu, but in the end he always stared at Changqing, browsed the books without authorization, and even pointed out to his face the "Yinfu Tianji" annotated by Daguan. There are fallacies in "On".

Chang Qing was still tolerant, but he couldn't accept others insulting his master, so he immediately started to argue with him.

As a result, after hearing the master's brilliant argument, Changqing was speechless. He sat in a daze for several days, seemingly not enlightened. It was not until Afu came again that he noticed something strange about Changqing.

"You little kid can't even take care of yourself, why do you still want to take care of Cheng Sanwu?" It was late autumn, and the chill in the mountains was getting colder. In addition to sending a batch of cloth, Afu also asked Qin Wangshu and several hanging eaves to The maids stayed to help.

After hearing that the Master no longer visited the Fu Zang Palace at night, Changqing originally thought that he was afraid and did not dare to do anything rashly.

Later, when Changqing went into the mountains to collect wood for refining bait, he accidentally discovered a cave at the bottom of the rock.My master and apprentice have been in Songyue for more than ten years, and they have visited every corner of the mountain. They had never discovered this place before. Changqing was surprised and went inside to find out for himself.

This secret cave at the bottom of the rock seems to be naturally formed, but it has a unique mysterious atmosphere.Changqing was refining his Qi and concentrating his spirit in it, and could feel the five Qi naturally gathering together. Unknowingly, he remembered Chu Yufu's supreme ability to manipulate the five Qi, and his understanding gradually deepened.

When Chang Qing condensed his true energy into the true form of a divine general, he was pleasantly surprised that his Taoism had improved again, when he saw Master Wen sitting beside him with a face full of interest.Chang Qing was shocked and almost wanted to sacrifice the true form of the divine general on the spot.But in a second thought, he realized that he was practicing in seclusion alone in a strange cave. This move was extremely dangerous, but he heard that the master was protecting him.

"If you feel more comfortable practicing here, then come here." After hearing these words, the Master left.

But from that time on, Changqing could see Master Wen appearing here every time he came to this secret cave at the bottom of the rock.

In addition to protecting the Dharma from the side, Master Wen also gave some advice to Chang Qing, making him confused about his intentions.

Changqing had previously asked Master Wen about his origins. He was very honest and said that he was a member of Fu Shifeng, but he did not explain Fu Shifeng's principles and wishes. Instead, he asked Changqing to follow Cheng Sanwu by himself. inquire about.

"I didn't tell you before because I thought you would be suspicious. It's better to wait until Cheng Sanwu wakes up and let him tell you." Master Wen sat down on a flat rock and took out a fruit basket like a magic trick. Pineapple and red dates, plump and moist.

"Aren't you afraid that I will have preconceptions?" Changqing asked.

"It is inevitable that everyone in the world has prejudices, but there are some things that instead of listening to what others say, it is better to inquire about it yourself." Master Wen waved his hand and motioned Changqing to sit aside, and took out a red date by the way: "Want to eat?"

Changqing sat down in a daze and forgot to answer. Master Wen smiled and stuffed the red dates into his hand.

"There are so many things, it's really overwhelming." Master Wen picked up a pineapple, put it on the tip of his nose and took a deep sniff: "Let me start by saying, Cheng Sanwu first, what do you want to ask?"

Changqing looked at the red dates in his hand and asked, "Is there really a demon like Taotie in this world?"

"The term "demon" is not very accurate." Master Wen shook his head: "Even the name Taotie was added by later generations. It is a powerful creature that existed before the heaven and earth... No, the term "creature" is not enough to cover it. As for the name of gods and demons, it is inevitably mixed with too much human experience, so we can only broadly call them great evils."

Changqing frowned slightly, and Master Wen explained in detail: "Although there is no conclusion yet, I summed up what Fu Shifeng's predecessors have learned, and roughly speculated that Taotie should be a substance that condensed when the heaven and earth were not yet settled, and when the clear and the turbid were not separated. . To put it simply, they are innate disasters.”

"Them?" Chang Qing couldn't hide her fear: "Is there more than one evil? Could it be that the four ancient evils are also..."

"How can such a powerful character be everywhere? This is the only one in Kyushu in the Central Plains. The rest are just clinging to confusion." Master Wen said: "There was a senior in Fu Shifeng who traveled far to the west. According to his statement , there should also be a big evil being sealed in the far western region."

Chang Qing thought thoughtfully: "Could it be that the one who sealed the ancient evil was Jiulong?"

"Is this what Cheng Sanwu told you?" Master Wen smiled proudly and said, "It seems that he also has something unclear, so that's good."

"Is there another hidden meaning behind the theory of Nine Dragons?" Chang Qing asked.

"Then tell me first, what is Dragon Qi?" Master Wen said with a smile on his lips, just like a teacher examining a disciple in a school.

"Dragon is the vein of mountains and rivers, and Qi is the essence of heaven and earth. The so-called dragon Qi is condensed from the mountains and rivers of heaven and earth..." Changqing answered easily, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he understood: "Is it possible that Jiulong is not real? Dragon, but the heaven, earth, mountains and rivers themselves?”

"To be precise, it is the heaven, earth, mountains and rivers that have been divided into clear and turbid, and the order of air has been adjusted." Master Wen said: "Nine is the ultimate number. It does not exactly refer to which nine dragons. Of course, this is also related to the ancient delineation of Kyushu. . In short, the restraint of the gluttonous people in Kowloon is essentially a situation where the mountains and rivers of Jiuzhou gradually return to calm after experiencing great famine, forming a closed situation. In my opinion, this is like a pot of soup that has been removed from the charcoal below and gradually cools down and no longer boils. .”

This metaphor is too casual, as if in Master Wen's view, even the disaster of overturning the world is just like cooking. You only need to pay attention to the heat, and it is not a matter of life and death.

"Then what is the origin of Cheng Sanwu?" Changqing questioned: "According to your statement, Taotie is the incarnation of disasters caused by the turmoil of heaven and earth. There is no right or wrong, just like the flood does not like anyone who doesn't like it. Whose home is there specifically to flood?”

"That's a good statement." Master Wen praised, and then explained: "The Kowloon ban is not perfect. The earth, mountains and rivers themselves also have many gaps that are difficult for ordinary people to detect. With the shaking of the heaven and the earth, great evils come to the world through disasters.

"But as the creatures in the world multiply, the species that is sensitive to the great disaster will also evolve on its own. From here on, it will no longer be impartial like heaven and earth, but will truly become a great disaster that is prevalent in the world!"

Changqing gradually calmed down from the initial shock and thought about it carefully: "It seems that the old energy has been accumulated and turned into a ghost to harm people."

"If you look at it this way, it's not bad." Master Wen said: "But whether it is a flood that does not distinguish between rich and poor, or a vicious glutton that abuses and harms people, we must respond to it, rather than just sitting back and watching it become a disaster. Long."

"Is that why Fu Shifeng was born?" Changqing finally understood.

"Not yet!" As a result, Master Wen's answer once again broke the original idea: "Before Fu Shifeng, there were many sages and saints who wanted to destroy or seal Taotie, but there were also people who wanted to use Taotie or worship Taotie as a god. "

Chang Qing's eyes rolled: "So in ancient times, there were tribes that worshiped Taotie first, and then they called this great villain Taotie? There were even tribes that called themselves Taotie?"

"Although I haven't seen it in person, it's roughly the same." Master Wen nodded.

"Then before Fu Shifeng, who had tried to eliminate Taotie?" Changqing could roughly guess that Taotie was immortal, and his predecessors had paid countless tragic prices.

Master Wen said with emotion: "I won't mention the ones that are too far away. The person who really changed the situation is Zulong."

"First Emperor?"

"Zu Long unified the six kingdoms, collected the soldiers of the world, and cast twelve golden men. This move was not only to suppress the disloyal ministers, but also to deal with the reawakened Taotie." Master Wen said: "At that time, Zu Long's command gathered the heroes of the nine states, including There is the founder of Fu Shifeng. However, Taotie is immortal, so Zulong finally sealed it, hoping to find a way to kill the evil in the future."

"But when Zulong died, Kyushu fell apart, and the world once again fell into a situation where dragons compete with each other."

"That's right." Master Wen said: "Some people who followed Zulong felt that they had a heavy responsibility, so they came together like-minded and used the treasures of Zulong to finally create Fu Shifeng. In the past thousand years, after a long period of inheritance and changes, By our generation, we have really found a way to kill Taotie, and the situation has undergone unprecedented changes."

Changqing's face gradually darkened: "Is the method you mentioned turning Taotie into Cheng Sanwu?"

"Yes." Master Wen nodded slightly, looked at Changqing and asked seriously: "If one day in the future, I hope you kill Cheng Sanwu for the sake of the world, will you do it?"

(End of this chapter)