A Clash of Gods - Chapter 140

Chapter 140 Go down the Mountain

In the next two days, Zhenbi kept his word and told somebody to deliver food for Yang Ning every day. There was enough food with different kinds of dishes. Zhenming had been in the temple for more than ten years, but he never enjoyed such rich food, and he was lucky because of Yang Ning.

Nevertheless, Zhenming could control himself well. Although the dishes for three meals were rich and delicious, he just ate a little more than usual and wasn’t a glutton, while Yang Ning was happy to enjoy the food alone.

Yang Ning had to admit that Zhenbi was not a very good man but his cooking skill was excellent. The Temple of Great Light was a Buddhist temple and they were not allowed to eat meat or fish, yet the vegetarian food he had cooked every day still made Yang Ning have a good appetite. No wonder that this guy could work in the imperial palace those years and even Duke of Huainan wanted him to work in his mansion.

They still practiced these two days. When it was time to practice every day, Zhenming would lead Yang Ning to sit in meditation by the cliff and practice breathing according to Purity Scripture.

They would do that for three times a day and at least more than two hours every time. If Yang Ning had to sit quietly for six to eight hours every day at ordinary times, he would be unable to stand it, yet there was nobody else on this Tianbao Peak, and Zhenming was boring, so Yang Ning felt bored and could do nothing but practice breathing to kill time.

He knew that the people in the Temple of Great Light had cured his wound, and he just needed to wait for somebody to become a monk for him. Then he could go down the mountain, yet he didn’t know when his substitute could come.

However, he was confident that Gu Qinghan would never leave him alone or let the inheritor of the Marquis of Honor become a monk on a mountain. Then he remembered that according to their agreement, Tang Nuo must have arrived in the capital city, but he didn’t know if she went to the marquis’ mansion to look for him. He didn’t make an arrangement in advance, so he had no idea what the people in the mansion would do to help her settle down.

He had thought that Master Jingchun would come back to the temple after they finished the job at the Shui Lu Rite, yet he didn’t see the master get back. Somebody was sent from the Five Cereal Hall to give them food every day, and Yang Ning asked them, to know that Jingchun didn’t come back, and even none of the ten eminent monks who went to the imperial palace returned. At the same time, in order to prepare for the crown prince’s ceremony to take the throne, the Ministry of Rites had sent many people into the temple and started to make preparations on Beigao Peak.

Yang Ning had waited three days. He was skilled in practicing breathing with Purity Scripture. He just knew it yet didn’t make much progress. Every time the breaths entered his body, they would disappear before they started to flow. However, he could still feel a full force flowing in his elixir field, while he didn’t feel unwell as before.

He was clear that Purity Scripture was a mental cultivation method for Buddhists. The Buddhist martial arts attached importance to following in order and advancing step by step to build a deep foundation. It needed to accumulate slowly year after year. It was daydreaming if he wanted to get instant results in merely a few days.

Nevertheless, when Yang Ning thought that the crown prince would take the throne soon, he knew that the capital city must be turbulent now. Before the crown prince officially took the throne, anything might happen, and the family of the Marquis of Honor was involved. Yang Ning might just be concerned with Gu Qinghan’s safety if they didn’t break up with the Qi Clan, but now he had different feelings. The life or death of the Qi Clan had nothing to do with him, yet he cared about the ups and downs of the family of the Marquis of Honor.

Early in the morning of the fourth day, a monk came to this peak and told Yang Ning to see Jingkong. Yang Ning didn’t know what had happened and followed the monk into a courtyard next to the Brilliance Hall. He entered the courtyard and came to a Buddhist hall. Then he saw Jingkong who was sitting with his legs crossed and putting his palms together.

Jingkong looked gentle as always. Seeing Yang Ning come over, he asked with a smile, “Are you used to staying in the temple these days?”

“Fine. Master, why did you tell me to come today?” Yang Ning asked. “Are you going to let me go down the mountain?”

Jingkong smiled. “Don’t you want to stay in the Temple of Great Light?”

“Yes,” Yang Ning answered. “But I don’t want to be a monk for now. I have many things to do, so I can’t delay for too long here.”

Jingkong smiled gently and turned his head. “Bring it for me.”

Yang Ning turned his head and saw a monk walk over from aside. The monk came up with a long sword held in both hands. It was the sword Vairocana that Yang Ning had used to compete with Bai Yuhe.

“Qi Ning, I have seen my senior fellow apprentice, the abbot and reported to him about your information.” Jingkong smiled. “The abbot gave this sword Vairocana to you and hoped that you can treat it well. Since you have practiced swordsmanship, you must know that some swords have spiritual power, and this sword naturally has spiritual power, too. Do you know what its name Vairocana means?”

Yang Ning was shocked and thought that the sword Vairocana was one of the top ten famous swords in the world and ranked fourth. It was quite priceless, but unexpectedly, the Temple of Great Light was so generous, so he was surprised. Hearing Jingkong’s question, he shook his head. “Master, please tell me.”

Jingkong responded, “The word Vairocana means that the glory of Buddha spreads everywhere. That day, you said in the Brilliance Hall that the purpose of practicing swordsmanship is not to seek to prevail over others but to comprehend the meaning of practicing it. These are words with wisdom. Since this sword Vairocana means that the glory of Buddha spreads everywhere, you can carefully figure out how to use it from experience.”

Yang Ning asked in disbelief, “Master Jingkong, do you…mean it? You really give this sword to me?”

Jingkong replied, “The monks should never tell a lie. The abbot has promised, so this sword is yours now.” He gestured for that monk to walk forward. The monk gave Yang Ning the sword with both hands. Yang Ning hesitated for a moment and then received it. He still couldn’t help but ask, “Master, do you have some requests? Am I really the owner of the sword Vairocana from now on?”

“We do have a request if you say so.” Jingkong smiled.

Yang Ning thought, “I knew that you old monks are cunning. This rare sword can only be seen by accident. I don’t know how many people in the world want it, yet you gave it to me so easily, so you must want me to pay a huge price. I won’t allow you to control me because of a sword.” He laughed and was about to give the sword back when Jingkong said, “The request of the Temple of Great Light is that you need to spend several days on listening to Buddhist scriptures in the temple every year. Especially the abbot gives lectures about Buddhist scriptures every year, which is the Rite of the Temple of Great Light. Not only all the monks in our temple will attend the rite, but many eminent monks in other temples would also come here to join the rite, and you should come to the lectures, too.” He smiled. “It will be helpful to you, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

Yang Ning asked, “How about the other requests?”

“Only this one.” Jingkong chuckled. “From now on, the gate of the temple is open to you, and you can enter it at any time.

Yang Ning didn’t expect that their offer was so simple, so he maintained his composure and withdrew his hand which planned to give the sword back. Then he said with a smile, “Master Jingkong, don’t worry. I will come here to attend the lectures every year. I think that I feel fidgety sometimes, so I need to listen to Buddhist scriptures and cultivate my mind. I agree to this request.” He asked cautiously, “You really don’t have other requests?”

Jingkong stated, “My fellows have jointly turned the force in your body into pure vital energy, and it is saved in your elixir field now. When you can practice the method of directing the strength well, you can use the energy in your elixir field.” He smiled and asked, “By the way, did Jingchun teach you the method of directing the strength?”

Yang Ning remembered that Zhenming had told him that he couldn’t tell anybody else that they taught him Purity Scripture, but he thought that since Jingchun taught him Purity Scripture as the method of directing the strength, Jingkong wouldn’t be unclear about that. His thoughts changed quickly on his mind, yet he still answered, “Before I woke up, Master Jingchun had gone down the mountain, and the little monk…oh, Zhenming leads me to chant every day. He said that it can make my mind peaceful. I can’t understand it. As for the method of directing the strength, what should I do?” He stepped forward and laughed. “Master Jingkong, you are nice and powerful in martial arts. Can you teach me some methods of directing the strength so that I can make progress?”

Jingkong smiled faintly. “You are too modest. You have a famous master to teach you swordsmanship, and he would naturally teach you how to direct the strength. That great master taught you martial skills, which is more than enough.”

“Great master? What great master?” Yang Ning suddenly remembered that after Bai Yuhe was defeated, he had asked a strange question before leaving. He indistinctly remembered that Bai Yuhe seemed to think that somebody taught him swordsmanship, and Bai Yuhe was in awe of that person seemingly. Now hearing Jingkong’s strange words, Yang Ning was doubtful.

However, Jingkong didn’t answer and just raised his hand. “Somebody from the mansion of the Marquis of Honor is waiting at the foot of the mountain, and you can leave now. Don’t forget to come here to attend the lectures sometimes.”

Hearing that somebody from the mansion of the Marquis of Honor was waiting for him, Yang Ning got excited and cupped his hands. “Master Jingkong, thanks for taking care of me these days. I don’t dare to forget it.”

Jingkong didn’t speak and put his palms together, continuing to chant silently.

The monk raised his hand. “I will lead you to go down the mountain.” He didn’t say more and just led the way in the front. Yang Ning glanced at Jingkong, to see that the old monk remained silent and unmoved. So he bowed to Jingkong and then turned around to go out. After he walked out, he looked at the sword Vairocana in his hand. He was joyful as he never expected that he could get this treasured sword from the temple.

In fact, he didn’t expect that he could be outstanding after practicing swordsmanship, but this sword Vairocana was quite valuable, and it was his possession now. If he was poor in the future, he could sell this treasured sword and get a lot of money, which would make him have adequate food and clothes.

Of course, he couldn’t reveal his plan. Otherwise, if Jingkong knew what he was thinking about, he might grab the treasured sword back on the spot.

“Bro, can you wait a moment? Let’s go to Tianbao Peak. I just leave here all of a sudden and need to say goodbye to Zhenming.”

The monk didn’t even look back. “No need. He is on the mountain, and you are in society. You’d better not keep in touch.”

Yang Ning expressed, “You are wrong. Master Jingkong said that I can enter the temple at any time. Can’t I say goodbye now?”

“Since you will enter the temple, it’s not farewell. Why do you need to say goodbye?” the monk responded.

Yang Ning was stunned and thought this monk really had a silver tongue, but after pondering, he believed that it was true. Since he had chances to enter the temple, he didn’t need to bid farewell.

That monk led Yang Ning to go down the mountain. On the way, every time they met a monk occasionally who saw the sword Vairocana in Yang Ning’s hand, the other party would look respectful. Every time they met somebody, that person would stand aside and put his palms together as a salute.

After they passed a decorated archway, it was a road of bluestone stairs to the foot of the mountain, with green bamboos on both sides. Yang Ning was about to say goodbye, but he saw that the monk looked down at the stairs. Yang Ning followed his eyes, to see that two people walked up on the stairs. The man in the front was dressed in a grey robe, and he was an ordinary monk. The person following the monk was a teenager dressed in brocade clothes with a package in his hand. Yang Ning looked at him carefully and then frowned. He recognized that the teenager following the monk to climb up the mountain was Qi Yu.