The copy of the universe from the journey to the west

Chapter 177 Lu Chen: Junior-Martial-Nephew Zhongli? (asking for monthly votes)

When Lu Chen woke up, what came into his sight was the figure of a woman in red with soft features and a pale complexion.

"Why is it you..."

Seeing Lu Chen suddenly open his eyes, Xiao was startled and disappeared from Lu Chen in an instant, and the towel in her hand fell instantly.

Lu Chen blew a light breath, and his face was covered with a towel. The towel unfolded and flew backwards, then returned to the shelf and fell down, very naturally.

Lu Chen stood up and looked at the other people in the room.

Zhongli Quan was sitting aside leisurely drinking tea at this time, and the man next to him was standing respectfully with a relaxed face, like a qualified housekeeper, holding a teapot in his hand, as if he saw that there was no tea, so he went up to pour tea.

Xiao's figure reappeared and knelt in front of Lu Chen.

"I'm sorry, sir, I disturbed you."

Xiao said with great fear.

Okay.

People say people are afraid of ghosts, but why is it that when it comes to me, the ghosts are afraid of me?
There is no novel experience at all.

"It's okay, I just scared you."

Lu Chen said helplessly to Xiao: "How dare you scare people? I was thinking of asking you to guard the house."

Xiao was stunned.

Guarding the house?

Are you raising me as a guard dog?
"She's not afraid of people, she's afraid of you."

Zhongli Quan put down the teacup, his eyes lingering on Lu Chen, Xiao Shi and the ghost, and said in a playful tone: "Good boy, I thought you were an honest man, but you play so much."

The person behind him looked embarrassed.

Lu Chen smiled helplessly and said, "Senior, please stop teasing me. Did you bring me back?"

"Haha, if I don't bring you back, I'm afraid you'll turn into the Buddha."

Zhongli Quan said with a smile: "If I hadn't noticed something was wrong and brought you back earlier, do you believe that those bald guys in Donglin Temple would have surrounded us by now?"

Ren Liansong also hurriedly said: "Master, you don't know, when you came back, it seemed that golden light was coming out of your body. If it weren't for the master's intervention, Xiao Shi might have been directly converted by the golden light."

"Golden light?"

Lu Chen's mind concentrated, and he quickly focused his thoughts into the Purple Palace.

However, there was peace in the Purple Mansion. The cage formed by the purple air of the morning glow showed no signs of being broken, and the jailer Taibai Yugui did not react at all.

If it’s not the golden light’s problem, then what could it be?
Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. Could it be...

He quickly took out the relic, and sure enough, the relic that was milky white before had now turned off-white and somewhat gray. After carefully sensing it, he found that the power of the incense inside had disappeared without a trace.

Even the figure of the foreign monk had disappeared.

There was only a line of characters emitting a faint golden glow floating in the air.

"..."

The corner of Lu Chen's mouth twitched.

That is full of incense power, enough to support a Yuanshen Zhenren for ten years!
In the end, it just disappeared like that?

"What, are you feeling distressed?"

Zhongli Quan said unhappily, "I guess when you accepted the Yixin Sanzang method, you needed strength to support yourself, so the power of the incense automatically took effect. This is a good thing. Although you lost an alternative magic weapon, you got the inheritance."

"Junior knows."

Lu Chen nodded, and naturally knew that it was better to fish than to catch fish.

Zhongli Quan asked: "How is it, have you obtained the inheritance of Yixin Sanzang?"

Lu Chen nodded again: "Junior saw the remaining soul of Buddhayasas in it."

Buddhayasas had a red beard on his mouth and was good at lecturing on Vibhasa, so he was called Red-Bearded Vibhasa.

It is obvious that the foreign monk with a red beard inside the relic is Buddhayasas.

After calming down a little, Lu Chen recounted what had happened and was about to repeat the text of Yi Xin San Zang. However, when he opened his mouth, he was surprised to find that he seemed to have completely forgotten the method of Yi Xin San Zang.

"Don't even think about saying it out loud. The core of One Mind, Three Treasures is the One Reality Seal, which is the foundation of Buddhism. Only those who are predestined can obtain it. Or you can say it out loud when you have fully comprehended the One Mind, Three Treasures method and reached the realm of becoming a Buddha." Zhongli Quan saw Lu Chen's current state and gave an explanation.

Lu Chen finally understood. No wonder Buddhayasas used his fist to conceal the changes in Yixin Sanzang in front of him.

It turns out that he couldn't say it either...

Lu Chen thought of the last poem left by Buddhayasas in the relics and consciously recited it aloud.

As expected, there was no obstruction this time.

"Empty is not empty, non-empty is empty. Emptiness is not empty, non-emptiness is not empty."

Zhongli Quan didn't even need to think about it. He smiled and said, "The secret of Tathagata-garbha. This monk is not stingy at all. He will directly tell you the secret of achieving Tathagata."

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "If everything is empty, then Tathagata would be too meaningless."

"Hahaha! You're just being ungrateful after getting an advantage!"

Zhongli Quan laughed and scolded him, "You have obtained the Dharma of the Three Treasures of One Mind. Monk Fan is teaching you how to comprehend the true meaning of the Tathagata. If you cannot become a Tathagata, how can you know the good of the Tathagata?"

Lu Chen did not answer but asked: "What if you become Tathagata but find that Tathagata is not good?"

"Wrong sense!"

Zhongli Quan shook his head, but said nothing more: "Put the relic away. I will teach you the Dharma. Even though you are a Taoist priest and he is a monk, he still has the grace of teaching you the Dharma. Buddhayasas is also half of your master. Although this relic is of no use, it is still one of the few things he left in this world. People should learn to be grateful."

"The juniors understand."

Lu Chen nodded, and also thought about finding a time to enshrine the relics of Buddhayasas in a temple that he liked.

If reincarnation really exists in Buddhism, it can be considered as accumulating merit for him.

Lu Chen did not hate Buddhism, but he hated the methods used in Buddhism to force people to convert and make them lose their self.

Although Buddhayasas was a foreign monk, he was also an eminent monk.

Lu Chen didn't say a word to him, at most he met with his remaining soul.

But it's only one side.

Even if his remaining soul was completely gone, he still left a message for Lu Chen to understand the mystery of Tathagatagarbha.

This is love, Lu Chen must remember it.

Seeing Lu Chen carefully putting away the relic, Zhongli Quan said again: "The Buddhist method of one mind and three treasures is good for you, but don't get too caught up in it. The most fearful thing about practicing the sudden method is getting stuck in a dead end. Do you understand?"

Lu Chen nodded: "Junior knows."

Dun Fa relies purely on talent, but there is only a fine line between genius and madness, and he is also aware of this problem.

This is also the reason why even though the master taught him the method of sudden enlightenment, he did not pursue it with determination after he could not figure it out, but instead searched everywhere for the method of condensing the pill.

There is no point in thinking too much. A bird in the hand is worth a thousand in the bush.

Lu Chen asked again: "Senior, do you already know what will happen today?"

He remembered that Zhongli Quan had said that Taoism also had a method comparable to Buddhism's destiny-knowing method, which could know things in the past and future.

"Master Taoist, I can use my magical powers to know some things about the future, but not everything, especially for an anomaly like you." Zhongli Quan hinted at something.

"An anomaly?" Lu Chen raised his eyebrows.

He naturally knew what an outlier meant, but he didn't know why he was considered an outlier.

This is true in the world of Journey to the West, and it is also true in this world.

Is it because of the copy of the heavens?
Or is it because he is a spiritual being from heaven?
"Haha, don't be nervous. Anomalies are not rejected by heaven and earth. They are meant to exist."

Zhongli Quan suddenly smiled and said, "There are no anomalies under the Way of Heaven. The birth and end of all living beings and things are all the Way of Heaven. The so-called anomalies are only anomalies in the Way of Man. You are an anomaly because you occupy too large a share in the Way of Man, and you carry too much luck in the Way of Man, which will obscure the exploration of the secrets of Heaven. This is called an anomaly in the calculation of the secrets of Heaven."

"I see."

Lu Chen suddenly realized that this is what the anomalies in this world mean - no matter who it is, what happens, or what the reason is, it is all attributed to the evolution of the way of heaven.

Therefore, there is nothing unusual under the Way of Heaven.

You think you are an outlier, but since you did this, it represents the operation of the laws of nature.

The so-called outliers are just people with strong humanitarian luck and protection whose future cannot be predicted by humans under the calculation of heaven.

This is just like someone always saying "going against the will of heaven".

Is this really against the will of heaven?

If it was against heaven, why would heaven let you live all day? Since you keep saying you are against heaven and nothing has happened, it means that "against heaven" is actually the way of heaven!

Just tell me whether it’s infuriating or not?

Lu Chen changed his mind and asked, "Senior, are there many anomalies in this world?"

Zhongli Quan smiled and said, "There must be anomalies in the world, such as the emperor, who carries the great fortune of humanity and cannot be deduced by the will of heaven. Of course, apart from the emperor, there are not many other anomalies. Sometimes, there may be only a few people in an era."

Lu Chen's mind moved: "Since it is possible to know the future and the past, why would the development of the Dao Meridian be so chaotic?"

This is what Lu Chen doesn’t understand.

Since we know things about the past and the future, even though the past cannot be changed, then things in the future can always be changed, right?

Zhongli Quan did not give a direct answer, but first explained the position of his own sect: "Shaoyang Cave Heaven has always been a hidden immortal sect, and has not participated in any battles between cave heavens and the outside world. Therefore, there are few records of Shaoyang Sect in the human world. Moreover, our Shaoyang Sect practices the inner alchemy and cultivates both the body and soul, and it is not yet time for us to be born. As I have told you, we know the historical changes in the future, but we can only obey these changes, and we cannot change them."

"Why?"

Lu Chen frowned: "Not being able to do it and being able to do it but not doing it are two completely different concepts."

Lu Chen didn't understand why the Shaoyang Sect would do this.

Zhongli Quan shook his head and said, "It's okay to know, but this knowledge is limited. Just like your current fortune teller, if the fortune telling is accurate, wouldn't he be able to become an immortal and save the world? Everything has rewards. If you change the future, the future will inevitably take some things from you. It's not that you are born an anomaly. Whoever dares to look down on the world and try to change his fate will be punished by the world. You changed your fate once today, and there may be ten events caused by your change at the same time. After all, the way of heaven is unpredictable. You think you are changing your fate, but in fact it is just the way of heaven."

He patted Lu Chen's shoulder with his fan: "This is also a warning from me, Taoist. Whether it is a constant or an anomaly, it has never changed the world. The future you know is just what you know, but is the future you know real? Don't dream of changing anything. The world is so big that it is beyond human imagination. Maybe you think you are changing the way of the future, but in fact you are perfecting the future."

Lu Chen didn't understand and was about to continue asking, but Zhongli Quan said, "You don't need to know what these mean, because I don't know what they mean either. These are the original words that the ancestor gave to me."

As he said this, he laughed.

Lu Chen looked at Zhongli Quan speechlessly.

What a bad taste.

"Does this mean that the future cannot be changed?" Lu Chen guessed.

"The future cannot be changed, because everything you do now is actually creating the future, isn't it?"

Zhongli Quan spoke skillfully, a bit like he was reading a script.

Lu Chen looked at him: "Is this also what Master Shaoyang said?"

"Yes."

Zhongli Quan nodded and said without hiding anything: "The question you asked is exactly the same as the question I asked before. And the ancestor also answered me in the same way."

After hearing what Zhongli Quan said, Lu Chen really wanted to meet this Shaoyang Patriarch.

Lu Chen expressed his thoughts.

"Not yet."

Zhongli Quan smiled and shook his head: "The demons under Shaoyang Cave Heaven are peerless monsters that have not yet been completely refined, so the ancestors cannot easily leave the cave heaven. And you are not a member of Shaoyang Sect, and you have never become a disciple, so you cannot enter Shaoyang Cave Heaven."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Senior, do you want to accept me as your disciple?"

He thought that this was Zhongli Quan's reminder to him to remember to become his disciple.

Unexpectedly, Zhongli Quan shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "It's not me, the Taoist priest, but someone else."

Lu Chen was confused now: "Could it be Master Shaoyang?"

Zhongli Quan still shook his head, and now Lu Chen was a little confused about the situation.

Zhongli Quan did not keep the secret and said with a smile: "The one who accepted you as his disciple is Baiyun Shangzhen."

"Baiyun Shangzhen!?"

Lu Chen widened his eyes and looked at Zhong Liquan in disbelief: "Is there really a Baiyun Shangzhen!?"

He has always believed that Bai Yunshang is a fictional character. Just like the immortals and gods in other Taoist sects, there is no heaven in this world, so there are naturally no so-called gods in heaven.

"..."

Zhongli Quan's face turned a little dark.

Lu Chen hurriedly said awkwardly: "Senior, please don't misunderstand me, it's just... it's just that Baiyunshang is really a legendary mythical existence, and I am a little nervous."

Zhongli Quan said helplessly, "I know what you mean, Taoist priest. Baiyun Shangzhen did meet the Queen Mother of the West in Kunlun Cave Heaven. However, Queen Mother of the West is just a title, not a specific person. Baiyun Shangzhen has always been the inheritor of Shaoyang Cave Heaven. Well, it was called Zifu Cave Heaven at that time. In the battle for the power of heaven and earth, Kunlun, Penglai and other cave heavens intervened, and finally the cave heaven was shattered. Baiyun Shangzhen, invited by the Queen Mother of Kunlun, also died in the battle of Kunlun."

"So... accepting disciples on behalf of the master?" Lu Chen raised his eyebrows.

Zhongli Quan smiled and nodded: "This is what the ancestor meant."

Lu Chen licked his lips: "I have a bold guess..."

"You don't have to make a bold guess."

The corner of Zhongli Quan's mouth twitched slightly: "You are my junior uncle."

Lu Chen smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "I don't dare to bear the title of 'Uncle Master', Senior. Junior Brother Zhongli, thank you for being too polite."

"..."

Zhongli Quan raised the palm-leaf fan in his hand and widened his eyes: "You're asking for a fight!"

But the palm-leaf fan didn't come down in the end.

"Humph! This is just the Grandmaster's intention. Whether or not to accept you into the cave heaven will depend on how you perform in this trial."

Having said that, Zhongli Quan stopped hiding anything and told Lu Chen the truth: "The ancestor cannot come out easily, so only I can help you. However, I cannot intervene too much. If there is no evidence that can nail the monks of Donglin Temple to death, I cannot really take action."

"A real move? Or a fake move?"

Lu Chen grasped the key words.

Zhongli Quan just sipped his tea gently with a smile on his face, but didn't say anything.

Lu Chen came back to his senses.

Shaoyang Cave Heaven does not interfere in human affairs, but that does not mean it will not be involved in the world.

No one can find fault with the reason for entering the world to select successors.

The Shaoyang sect's trials are notoriously difficult, so if any trouble arises, someone will need to step in to resolve it, right?
Perhaps they will only be restrained when taking action against other caves.

However, it just means that one's hands and feet are restricted, it does not mean that one has no hands or feet!

It's not about killing anyone, but helping the inheritor to vent his anger, isn't that normal?
Thinking of this, Lu Chen felt relieved.

There is a limit to what can be done and what cannot be done.

He could stir up some trouble by using the Dong Feng inheritance as an excuse, but if there was no real evidence to prove that Donglin Temple had fallen into the "evil way", he could not act directly.

This is the bottom line issue.

Lu Chen hesitated and asked, "Senior, can you tell me how many caves there are now?"

Zhongli Quan stretched out his hand.

Lu Chen: "Five?"

"No, there are only five at most."

Zhongli Quan retracted his palm and said slowly: "We have Shaoyang Zifu Cave Heaven, Hulu Cave Heaven, and Lushan Xinglin Cave Heaven. As far as I know, the other two are Nanhua Cave Heaven, which is bound to exist. The last one is Changsheng Cave Heaven, which is considered to be in the same lineage as Lingbao Sect, but it is a lineage of hidden immortals. After Yin Changsheng's generation, it was divided into two Taoist veins. Now, everyone knows the two Taoist veins, but it is not certain which of these cave heavens still exists. For example, Hulu Cave Heaven is the most mysterious. Since ancient times, there have been rumors that the Seven Heart Pills in Hulu Cave Heaven can make people immortal, but no one has found it. As for whether it still exists, no one knows."

Lu Chen understood, and then asked: "Is there no Chicheng Cave Heaven?"

Chicheng Dongtian is the main branch of the Louguan School.

“It existed in the past, it was the inheritance of Yin Gui, the True Man of Taihe. However, its relationship with Kunlun was destroyed during the battles with Langya Cave Heaven and Penglai Cave Heaven.” Zhongli Quan said lightly.

Lu Chen was silent.

Then, Zhongli Quan briefly introduced the history of these cave heaven inheritances. The Xinglin Cave Heaven in Lushan Mountain was the inheritance of Dong Feng, and the Nanhua Cave Heaven was passed down from the Taoist Zhuang Zhou lineage. It was also a hidden cave heaven like the Shaoyang Zifu Cave Heaven.

The only time it appeared in the human world was when Zhang Jue obtained the "Taiping Yaoshu" passed down by the immortal Nanhua.

Changsheng Cave Heaven is the inheritance of Yin Changsheng, who passed it on to Zuo Ci, who passed it on to Ge Hong. At this point it split into two branches, the main branch is still the hidden immortals, while the branch was completely integrated into the Lingbao Sect.

Although the remaining caves had been destroyed, Zhongli Quan still gave a brief explanation.

The Kunlun Cave Heaven is extremely ancient, and its heritage claims to be the Queen Mother of the West. The Chicheng Cave Heaven was obtained by Yin Gui, the Taoist Master of Taihe, and later became the main branch of the Louguan Sect.

The famous figure in Langya Cave is An Qisheng, an immortal in the late Qin Dynasty. His last generation successor was Yu Ji, a Langya Taoist who was one of the immortals in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

There are no famous people in Penglai Cave Heaven, but Xu Fu, a Taoist priest in the late Qin Dynasty, once became a disciple of Penglai Cave Heaven. Most of the disciples there are overseas practitioners, and they are on good terms with Langya Cave Heaven, which is close to the East China Sea.

"Hulu, Lingshan, Xinglin, Shaoyang, Nanhua, Changsheng, Kunlun, Chicheng, Langya, Penglai..."

After Lu Chen counted, he didn't find the number right, so he asked, "There are only ten caves, where are the other two?"

Zhongli Quan shook his head and said, "There are two remaining caves. One is located in the north. It has long lost its inheritance and is occupied by a great demon. It led to the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China. There must be a demon behind the scenes stirring up trouble. The inheritor has never appeared, so it cannot be named. It can be called the Demon Cave Heaven. As for the last cave, no one knows its name. It is possible that it was destroyed before the beginning of history."

(End of this chapter)