Chapter 504: They are the overall situation
"Strange, why is this senior's beard on fire?"
Xiaotang saw a wisp of the old beggar's beard suddenly catch fire and turn into ashes, and his ugly face began to become hot and sweat kept oozing out.
After a while, he suddenly felt cold again, and his dirty white hair was covered with frost, which looked incredible in the hot summer day.
Xuanzang and Xiaotang couldn't help but move away from the old beggar.
"And the national teacher, he seems to be a little hot as well."
Xiaotang saw Li Daoxuan's body standing there, motionless, but his face was blue and red, and sweat began to appear on his forehead.
She held an embroidered handkerchief in her hand and wanted to wipe the sweat off Li Daoxuan's face, but as soon as she touched Li Daoxuan's body, she was blown away by a bolt of lightning.
Xuanzang hugged her from behind, and they both retreated more than ten steps before finally stopping.
"I heard that after a great cultivator in the Yang God Realm has released his Yang God, his body cannot move, but he is protected by divine power and cannot be harmed by human power. Now it seems to be true."
Xiaotang was held in Xuanzang's arms, her face slightly red, but she did not resist.
"Then why do they sweat and frost on their bodies?"
Xuanzang let go of Xiaotang and turned to look up at the sky. Looking at the sea of clouds that was as white as snow just now but now shining brightly with red gold, a trace of longing appeared in his eyes.
"When the Yang Spirit fights, the physical body will also feel something. At this moment, I'm afraid that big brother is fighting with that old senior."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the old beggar's hair and beard all stood up like a hedgehog, as if struck by lightning.
"At the moment, it seems that the eldest brother has the upper hand."
…
Above the sea of clouds.
The old beggar was smoking all over, with traces of lightning, fire, and ice everywhere. He looked extremely miserable. He waved his hands and said breathlessly: "No more fighting, no more fighting. You are simply a monster!"
He sat on the cloud, exposing his back to Li Daoxuan without reservation.
Li Daoxuan released the thunder seal, and the dazzling lightning around him dissipated instantly. He was now tall and slender, with a handsome face, his green Taoist robe fluttering in the wind, and he looked as elegant as a banished immortal.
However, he was not unscathed. His neatly combed hair became a little messy, and a lot of his magic power was consumed.
"Thank you for showing mercy, senior."
The old beggar shook his head and said, "I'm old now. The new generation will replace the old generation. From now on, the world will be yours."
He is now in the middle stage of Yang Shen cultivation, but he is unable to defeat a boy who has just entered Yang Shen. Instead, he is at a disadvantage in the fight, which makes him sigh with emotion.
"Boy, it turns out that you are practicing the True Immortal Dao, the Ancient Huangting Scripture. No wonder you have such fighting power just after entering the Yang God Realm."
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan was startled. He didn't expect that the old beggar could even see this. His knowledge was really amazing. What was his identity?
"Come, sit down."
The old beggar patted the cloud beside him and motioned Li Daoxuan to sit over.
Li Daoxuan did not show any disgust. He sat down casually, gazing at the endless Yunze in the distance and listening to the whistling of the nine-day long wind. An inexplicable emotion arose in his heart.
It seems that the word "immortal" is born lonely.
Just like this old beggar, he has amazing Taoism skills, mysterious origins, and looks like he is playing around in the world, but Li Daoxuan always feels that he is running away from something.
"The old beggar's name is Lu Bian Sheng. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, my mother was raped by thieves and then she became pregnant with me. Later, she took the opportunity to escape and gave birth to me on the road of exile. She named me Lu Bian Sheng."
A look of vicissitudes appeared in the old beggar's eyes. He didn't know when a jug of wine appeared in his hand. The jug was empty, but when he raised it towards the sun, countless golden rays of sunlight gathered and turned into drops of strong liquor, which soon filled the jug.
The old beggar took a big gulp, and Yang Shen's injuries recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Brew the sun and the moon to make wine!
Li Daoxuan narrowed his eyes slightly, both because of the methods displayed by the other party and because of his words.
Is he a person from the late Spring and Autumn Period?
If he was not lying, it would be quite shocking. You know, even Lady Green was only a person from the late Qin Dynasty and early Han Dynasty, and she later cultivated the way of ghosts and immortals to achieve immortality.
This old beggar is only in the middle stage of Yang Shen. If he cannot transcend the tribulation and become an immortal, he should only be able to live for two hundred years at most. How could it be possible that he could have lived from the end of the Spring and Autumn Period to the present?
If you calculate, he must be more than a thousand years old.
"Boy, do you want to try it?"
The old beggar handed the wine jug to Li Daoxuan.
"Thank you, senior."
Li Daoxuan was also a free and easy person, not fussy about details. He took a sip, and as the strong liquor entered his stomach, his dantian became as hot as fire, transforming into streams of pure magic power, which made up for the consumption of the fight just now.
"Okay, you are a straightforward person. For people below the Yang Shen realm, drinking this wine is as poisonous as arsenic. But for people above the Yang Shen realm, drinking it can increase their magic power, nourish their souls, and bring many benefits."
The old beggar took another big sip and continued, "My mother gave birth to me and took me with her into exile. In order to have milk to feed me, she gnawed on tree bark and swallowed grass roots, and fought with wild dogs on the roadside for food. Only then did I survive with great difficulty."
Li Daoxuan could imagine the dangerous environment he was in at the time. He was an orphan and a widow, and his mother was raped by thieves. Others would probably look down on them.
But the old beggar said it so lightly, even with a hint of nostalgia.
"I sigh deeply and wipe away my tears, mourning the hardships of people's lives. I was born in a humble family and have seen many starving people on the roadside and frozen bones on the streets, so I have a good impression of Li Shimin and you. At least you care about those insignificant people."
"I have seen everything you have done since you became the Imperial Master of the Tang Dynasty. To be honest, I don't want you to die."
Li Daoxuan stared into his eyes and said, "Thank you, senior, but I still want to take care of Master Sanle's affairs."
"Well, if that's the case, I'll tell you everything."
The old beggar sighed and said, "Sanle is a compassionate person like you. He has seen many hardships of the people, the sufferings of birth, aging, and illness in his life. He finally waited for the Li Tang Dynasty to come, but there was a Mara who was secretly stirring up trouble, making life miserable for the people. So he made a great wish to get rid of Mara so that you and Li Shimin can create a prosperous era."
"However, Mara was once the demon king of the sixth heaven of the Desire Realm. He was the product of the evil thoughts of the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats. He is formless and walks in the Prajnaparamita world, in the dream world. He has no entity. Even the Buddha could only suppress him in the Avici Hell."
Li Daoxuan was moved when he heard this, and said: "So if you want to get rid of Moro, you must first give him a physical body? Could it be that Master Sanle..."
The old beggar nodded and said, "That fool, in order to tempt Mara, actually decided to use his own body as bait. That is the body of the great Maitreya Buddha, a great fortune. Not to mention Mara, even an old beggar would be tempted!"
Li Daoxuan was moved.
In order to eliminate the devil, Master Sanle went to such lengths that he even gave up his own future.
With the physical body of Maitreya Buddha, he only needs to practice well, and in the future he will have great hope of achieving the status of Buddha, and even replacing Tathagata and becoming the supreme existence in Buddhism.
But he gave up resolutely.
Li Daoxuan felt inferior to him in terms of courage.
"In fact, Master Sanle's idea is not wrong. Moreover, using the flesh body of Maitreya Buddha as bait, even if Moro knows there is danger, he will probably take the risk. This is an open conspiracy."
Li Daoxuan has already understood Master Sanle's plan. He intends to lure Moro with himself first, and then send a message to others to let them kill him and Moro together.
Burn together !
No wonder Master Sanle specially rushed to Chang'an, entrusted Xuanzang to himself, and also gave him the Juque Sword. He was really entrusting his son to his care.
"Bullshit conspiracy!"
The old beggar cursed: "Sanle is not beautiful, but he thinks beautifully. He underestimated Mara. He is a demon king who has lived for countless years. He is best at conspiracy and trickery. How can he not have a way to deal with him?"
"Sanle dug a trap, and Moro took advantage of it and jumped into it, occupying Maitreya's body. The two souls kept fighting. At first, Sanle had the upper hand, but soon, Moro showed his true colors."
"He actually cast a spell to reincarnate with the flesh body of Maitreya Buddha, imitating the ancient gods and making the Zhou family's maid pregnant by stepping on his footprints."
Li Daoxuan blurted out: "The mystery in the womb!"
The old beggar nodded and said, "Yes, what Mara did is to cut off the firewood from under the cauldron. Sanle is a living being born in the flesh of Maitreya Buddha. He has a great advantage in the process of competing with Mara for the flesh. But once he is reincarnated, he will fall into the mystery of the womb and lose this advantage."
"On the other hand, Moro seems to have some special skills. He did not lose his memory after reincarnation and took over the physical body with absolute advantage!"
Li Daoxuan finally realized. No wonder the demon fetus gave people a feeling like Buddha, demon, monster and immortal, because he was indeed the reincarnation of Maitreya Buddha, but at the same time his body was occupied by Mara.
No wonder Xuanzang dreamed of Master Sanle gnawing on his arm. This should mean that Master Sanle’s consciousness was gradually being swallowed up by Mara.
"Now the demon fetus is growing rapidly. When the thirty-three days arrive, it will descend into the world. By then, Mara will completely control the body of Maitreya Buddha, and Sanle's consciousness will also be devoured by it. The whole Luoyang will be reduced to a Buddhist country on earth, or... a demon country!"
The old beggar said in a heavy voice: "Master Li, with Maitreya's body and Moruo's soul, do you think you can be their enemy?"
This is a very heavy problem that we have to face.
Maitreya Buddha is one of the Three Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future. His physical body is so strong that he may be able to rival the true immortals. And Mara is no pushover either. He is the demon king of the sixth heaven of the Desire Realm and the enemy of Sakyamuni's enlightenment. The combination of the two is terrifying to think about.
Moreover, relying on Maitreya's physical body, Mara can command Buddhists all over the world. Even the abbot Huichan of the White Horse Temple worships him as the Buddha, let alone other monks.
By then, a second country might really appear in the Tang Dynasty, a 'Buddhist country' on earth established by Moro and gathering countless Buddhist monks.
"What if we kill that woman now? Can we prevent Moruo from being born?"
Li Daoxuan's voice was very solemn, and contained a murderous intent.
Although killing the demon fetus is equivalent to killing Master Sanle, this is also Master Sanle's own request. He feeds the demon with his body, isn't it just to be able to kill Mara?
At the critical moment, Li Daoxuan will never show mercy.
The old beggar glanced at him and said, "If it were that easy, you wouldn't even have to do anything. I would have killed him myself."
"Moro is so smart. He had anticipated this step long ago. Even if you kill that woman, it will be useless. On the contrary, it will cause him to be born earlier. In short, this woman is just a temporary body he inhabits. If you kill her, you will help Moro escape from the cage."
"If we kill that woman now, Mara will immediately descend to the world and fly away. After thirty-three days, we will be able to obtain all the power of Maitreya's physical body!"
Li Daoxuan secretly felt lucky that he had good intentions before and did not kill the woman immediately, otherwise the demon fetus would have been born by now.
"It's not right to kill, and it's not right not to kill. What should I do?"
Li Daoxuan frowned, feeling that Moro had given him a very difficult problem.
If you kill a woman, Mara will break free from his cage and come to the world immediately. If you don't kill a woman, Mara will be born naturally at the end of the thirty-third day and will become a powerful figure immediately and will be almost invincible.
The old beggar said, "That's why I asked you to return to Chang'an and stop interfering in Luoyang's affairs. With your talent and the Four Saints Formation in Chang'an, if you fight for a few more decades, you may still have hope of defeating Moruo."
This is also the reason why he tried every means to get Li Daoxuan to leave, because he wanted to preserve a seed of hope for the world.
Li Daoxuan shook his head and said, "Senior, you wanted me to go back to Chang'an, but you returned to Luoyang instead. You also turned your spit into a toad and entered the White Horse Temple to secretly monitor the situation of the demon fetus. It can be seen that you are not planning to abandon it."
The old beggar did not hide it and said, "Yes, I do want to take care of it, but you can see that I am old and frail. I can't even beat you, so how can I be the enemy of Moruo?"
"This time, I came back to Luoyang to persuade you and Xuanzang to leave quickly. For other things, I can't help you."
Li Daoxuan stood up and bowed.
"Thank you for telling me, senior."
After saying this, he turned and left.
"Wait a moment!"
The old beggar stopped him and said, "Boy, are you going back to Chang'an or not?"
Li Daoxuan had his back to him and his voice was calm and powerful.
"Yes."
The old beggar breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that all his talk was not in vain.
But the next moment——
"Yes, but not now."
Li Daoxuan sighed softly, his black hair fluttering in the wind, and said: "Moruo, I must kill him, both for myself and for those who were killed by him."
He thought of the people who were drowned in the flood in Longyou County, his grandmother and many Longhushan disciples who died in the civil strife, and the orphans who lost their parents after the flood in Chang'an...
The deaths of these people are all related to Moro.
He didn't want the same thing to happen in Luoyang.
"Li Daoxuan, those who don't consider the overall situation are not qualified to plan for a region. Can't you consider the overall situation?"
the old beggar asked loudly.
"The overall situation..."
Li Daoxuan looked down, and his gaze seemed to pass through layers of sea of clouds and fall on the city of Luoyang.
In this prosperous ancient city, children are playing in the streets, merchants are calculating with chips, women are lingering in front of the stalls selling pearl hairpins and jewelry, and old farmers are wielding hoes in the sun. Although they are tired, they are also looking forward to the harvest in autumn...
"Seniors, they are the overall situation."
whoosh!
Li Daoxuan's yang spirit turned into golden light, fell from the sky, broke through the sea of clouds, and returned to his physical body.
The old beggar stared for a long time, with a hint of emotion and relief in his eyes.
"This kid is exactly like me back then..."
"Except that he's not as pretty as me."
