Episode 12

  One day, Wu Changcai suddenly realized that Jin Chan'er had not come to see him for several days, so he went to look for her. But at Yu Zhenren's place, there was no sign of Jin Chan'er! He was very suspicious in his heart, but didn't dare to make a sound. Returning to his residence in the library, he thought about it repeatedly, but couldn't figure it out. Then he went to the pavilion where Jin Chan'er used to read books and found a box with a golden shell inside, which contained a letter and a mirror-like artifact. The artifact was the Wuxiang Yinyang Mirror, specially designed to break through Xuan Gong, with incredible power. Wu Changcai was overjoyed, quickly putting the mirror in his bosom, looking around cautiously, and only then did he feel at ease. Later, when he opened the letter, it turned out to be written by Jin Chan'er herself:

  The Great Mirror of Talented Immortals and Noble Friends:

  I am a practitioner who has received much help. The Dharma instruments and other things are just tokens of appreciation.

  Jin Chan'er respectfully offers this

  Wu Changcai finished reading the letter, closed it, and seemed to have lost something. But then he thought about the preciousness of the non-phase yin-yang mirror, and his joy was evident on his face. The golden box that held it was also very valuable. Considering his low status, weak magical powers, and being a mere apprentice, it would take him thirty or fifty years to accumulate such wealth. He left with a happy heart. However, he didn't know who Jin Chang'er really was, what kind of handwriting this was, or why she was willing to deceive the sect by pretending to be a low-ranking disciple?

  All the countries in the secular world that are called Xingguo were established for no more than a few generations. The previous dynasty was extremely tyrannical and corrupt, and the people's grievances arose from all sides. The former ruler of Xingguo borrowed the strength of the people from all directions, cut down trees to make weapons, cast iron to make tools, and rose up with a banner. Da Ze perished, and Xingguo was established.

  Xingguo is hundreds of millions of miles away from the Upper Qing Gate, and ordinary people in the mortal world cannot reach it even if they live their whole lives. The ruler of Xingguo deeply investigated the reasons for the downfall of previous dynasties and found that it was due to the lack of wisdom among the people. Therefore, he restricted the people's wisdom, promoted Buddhist affairs to educate the people, used small favors to win over the people's hearts, and eliminated those who harbored different thoughts with strong measures. As a result, the country temporarily stabilized. After several generations of operation, the country became rich and prosperous, and Buddhism flourished greatly. Among its two major temples, the Imperial Temple and the Great Buddha Temple, the latter was particularly famous for its name and influence. The temple had many high-ranking monks with great virtue and extraordinary abilities that were unmatched in their time. Although the Great Buddha Temple was far from the imperial city, it took several years to reach even on horseback. However, the temple's incense guests and believers came continuously, and the number of people was no less than that of the Imperial Temple in the capital. The temple occupied an area of thousands of miles, but its influence extended to a radius of hundreds of thousands of miles.

  The number of books stored in the temple is second only to that of the imperial temple, but the works of Ye Xiu, the anecdotes of the immortal family, and the personal writings of cultivators are even more numerous than those of the imperial temple. Jin Tianer had already inquired about this.

  On this day, she recited incantations, hid her hair knot, and revealed the human form she had cultivated for thousands of years. She transformed into a young nun, wearing a large bell-shaped robe. However, nothing could conceal her stunning beauty! Her face was without makeup, yet it was elegant and refined, surpassing even the most beautiful flowers. Even if one were to exhaust their imagination and conjure up a beautiful goddess, she would still be inferior in comparison. How dare anyone compare themselves to her? Jin Cheng'er was walking on a relatively secluded road, and although there weren't many pilgrims, they were all astonished by her heavenly beauty. Some followed her from afar, while others drew near, surrounding her in twos and threes as if she were the center of attention. Moreover, her calm and serene demeanor made people think she was a Bodhisattva! Although some tried to tease her with false intentions, no one dared approach her. For beauty that is extreme can also be extremely powerful, and the crowd surrounding her felt oppressed, so no one dared to desecrate her.

  To the left of the Great Buddha Temple, there was a small nunnery called Miaofa. It was located in a beautiful place with a lake nearby. The temple buildings and pavilions were all small but exquisite. Inside the nunnery lived hundreds of female monks who were all practicing Buddhism. Among them was a nun named Chanxin Shitai, who was known for her exceptional Buddhist knowledge and teachings. She resided in this nunnery and gave lectures on scriptures. The nunnery was also under the jurisdiction of the Great Buddha Temple and was the only place where female monks could reside.

  Jin Channer arrived at Miaofa Nunnery and hung up a sign there. Every day, she would get up early and go to bed late, diligently performing her chores and duties. She got along well with a group of young nuns who lived in the same quarters as her. After half a year had passed, Jin Channer was already familiar with the nunnery.

  The nun Xinzhi Shijie, who lived in the same quarters as Jin Channer, treated her very kindly. Xinzhi Shijie was a diligent practitioner of Buddhism and often read scriptures from the Great Buddha Temple's treasure trove to increase her knowledge and improve her skills. When she returned books, Jin Channer would pretend to accompany her, and after several trips back and forth, she became acquainted with several monks who worked in the scripture storage hall.

  As a result, Xinzhi Shijie often asked Jin Channer to borrow scriptures for her, and sometimes they would go together. The abbot of the scripture storage hall did not suspect anything and allowed Jin Channer to come and go freely. Several young monks were also eager to meet with her and enjoyed her company.

  Pick up girls!

  The Great Buddha Temple is extraordinary, and the Miao Fa An can't be compared to it! The magnificent Daxiong Treasure Hall is over 100 meters high, majestic and solemn, even surpassing the imperial temples in the capital. Even the Tibetan Buddhist scripture hall occupies a valley alone. The library and scripture pavilions are arranged in a crisscross pattern, with hundreds of buildings each having its own unique style, without any duplicates. It's truly remarkable! Although this mountain valley is not very large, it's still impressive upon closer inspection. The valley stretches for nearly 80 miles, about 20-30 miles wide, and is protected by a massive array. Observing the array outside the valley, the spiritual energy is strong and vibrant, definitely not ordinary. Jin Chan'er and Xin Zhi Shifu entered the valley together, and when they passed through the entrance guarded by the monks who checked their monk's ID cards, Xin Zhi Shifu couldn't stop smiling.

  "Sister! Don't laugh anymore, if you laugh again I'll leave!"

  Jin Chan'er also smiled and complained.

  "Pin Ni didn't laugh at you, but rather laughed at the disciples of this great master! The great master is known for his profound Buddhist teachings, calm and unruffled like still water. But his disciples are all stirred up by worldly desires! Bah! What worldly desires? It's simply lust!"

  She finished speaking and laughed. Jin Chan'er also laughed.

  Two people entered a book building, and the Heart Wisdom Master took a Buddhist scripture to the book tower to study Buddhism. Jin Chen'er looked at each of the buildings, which had different shapes and names. There were Mahayana Dharma Tower, Hinayana Dharma Tower, Bodhi Sandalwood Dharma Tower, etc., and many towers were named after great monks. Even some external miscellaneous scripture towers existed. As for the smaller book pavilions, they were mostly named after high-ranking practitioners. The names were numerous and varied. Jin Chen'er entered casually without encountering any obstacles and observed calmly. Each of the book buildings and pavilions had a single collection of books, although some had a rich collection, but most of the towers only had a small number of collections. However, looking at the many book buildings and scripture pavilions in this valley, the collected scriptures were vast like a sea!

  Jin Chan'er wandered around the various buildings in the valley, but no matter how hard she tried to observe and learn, she just couldn't grasp the key points. This had happened many times before, and it was almost enough to make her angry! Today was no exception, and as the sun began to set, she let out a sigh and left the building to look for her teacher, Xinzhai Shisister, who was about to return from outside the valley. She arrived at the Miaofa An and helped with cooking dinner, diligently completing her chores. After evening prayers were finished, she returned to the monks' quarters, lost in thought. Xinzhai Shisister saw this and smiled at Jin Chan'er, saying:

  "Sister Hua is a bright and cheerful person, but why does she look so gloomy today?"

  "Alas! My senior sister doesn't know. Among my fellow disciples, there is a sister who is similar to me, but was born at the wrong time and suffered humiliation from a young age! I saw that the gaze of the monk in the scripture storage hall was lustful and evil, which made me uneasy!"

  "Hmph! Among the disciples of Master Taiyun, not a single one is clean. They're just good at pretending! Outsiders all think they're extraordinary in their cultivation, that they're divine monks, but in reality they're not even as good as beasts! But seeing them make fools of themselves in front of my two sisters is truly entertaining!"

  "Sister! You seem to be very enthusiastic about the ugly and strange things that come out of Master Yun's door, and you appear to enjoy watching them. But why is that?"

  "Hum! That Da Yun claims to be a divine monk, with a heart as calm as still water, but he indulges his disciples and makes no distinction between good and evil!"

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  "It's been many years since then, when my spiritual power was weak and I had difficulty forming a Dharma body after refining my physical body. At that time, I was already at the bottleneck, and those who didn't have a Dharma body couldn't enter the grand temple of the scriptures. Therefore, I sought out the monk's plaque from the Master to enter the valley, wanting to find a good method. But unexpectedly, I was humiliated by the evil monks under the great cloud gate, losing my innocence. At that time, it just so happened that the great cloud was entrusted with being the master of the grand temple of the scriptures, and he feared that I would shout out and ruin his good fortune. Not only did he not punish those evil monks, but instead, he used a secret method to bind me, threatening me. If I spoke out, he would chant spells to restrict my original spirit, ruining my cultivation. My body suffered humiliation, repeatedly facing difficulties, and my heart was filled with sorrow and indignation. But what could I do? Later, although the Abbot of my hermitage, Master Chan Xin, used great Dharma power to resolve my troubles, he could only instruct me to be careful in responding, and there was nothing else that could be done."

  "Sister, you now have a broad understanding of the Buddha's teachings, why don't you go find that scoundrel and settle the score?"

  "Alas, my junior sister, the heavens are unjust! I'm stuck at the bottleneck of gathering recognition, while that wicked monk has already succeeded in gathering recognition. Where can I find revenge? I can only endure it and let it be!"

  "Sister, you diligently cultivate Buddhist teachings, I believe you will definitely achieve your wishes!"

  "I hope it's as you said, sister! Sister, I've noticed that you seem unhappy and depressed. Has someone made you angry?"

  "Where is it? My will is on the path of cultivating immortality, but I was born with a weak spiritual consciousness, often hindering my cultivation. I hope to find a good method to strengthen my spiritual consciousness and assist in my practice."

  "Oh dear! This is going to be tough!"

  "What's so difficult?"

  "Augmenting the divine, strengthening the spirit is the secret method of each school and sect. These immortal formulas must be hidden in the Heart Buddha Tower where the Great Cloud resides. How can ordinary people enter?"

  "Oh! I'd better stop talking then. Can't bear the humiliation!"

  Jin Chan'er spoke like this, but in her heart she had already decided to go and try her luck at the Heart Buddha Building.