The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 523 Shaolin Temple's Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) Repository

Fishermen cast their nets to catch fish.

The smaller fish escaped through the grid.

Large fish, confined by the netting, cannot escape the fishing net.

Unbeknownst to her, Xu Xingchen had already reached this point.

He knew that it would be difficult for him to escape the world of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils this time.

"Does this mean I'm going to die in this world again?"

"If I hadn't felt the ceiling of the laws of heaven and earth, I might still be able to live a peaceful life."

"But now, I'm afraid I can't stand the feeling of being constantly bound by fishing nets."

"This feeling of not being free is really unbearable."

Xu Xingchen originally intended to calmly accept this constraint, and then, in a state of harmony with nature, to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth and see if he could coexist with them.

But after careful reflection, I felt as if I were locked in a small, dark room with solid walls on all sides, feeling extremely oppressed and uncomfortable.

Moreover, this feeling intensified day by day, leaving his heart constantly restless and unsettled.

As time slowly passed, feelings of anxiety and irritability arose again.

Increasing day by day!

Xu Xingchen wondered if, if things continued like this, she might one day go crazy? Go insane?
"Fishing net. Fish"

"It seems that this time, I have to break free from the constraints of this world and jump into a bigger and wider river."

After careful consideration, Xu Xingchen began to think about how to break through the fishing net.

He thought of a martial arts novel he had read in his first life, which mentioned a supreme realm of martial arts.

Shattering the Void
At this moment, this idea seems to be perfectly applicable to this world.

So, how do we shatter the void?
According to the story in that martial arts novel, it should be a duel with a master of equal skill.
"In this world today, Xiao Feng and his son, Murong Fu and his son, and the Three Elders of the Carefree Sect are no longer my match."

"The Old Monster of the Star Constellation, Ding Chunqiu, needs no further introduction."

"Only the sweeping monk of Shaolin Temple is worthy of being my opponent."

With that in mind, Xu Xingchen wasted no time and set off down the mountain towards Shaolin Temple on Mount Song.

This time, his trip to Shaolin Temple was merely a preliminary probe.

If things go as he expects, he will return to the manor, settle all the affairs, and then formally send a formal invitation to the Sweeper Monk to set a date for their final battle.

If things don't go as he expected, he'll think of other solutions.

Xu Xingchen thought that the second scenario shouldn't happen.

We traveled along the way, stopping frequently to sample local delicacies and snacks whenever we came across a town market.

Knowing that his time in this world was short, he wanted to savor as much of its delicious food and snacks as possible as a final farewell and memento.

Even with these extra measures, it didn't take long to reach the foot of Mount Song.

Xu Xingchen did not intend to formally visit Shaolin Temple this time, so he did not disturb the guest monk.

Quietly ascending the steps, if you encounter monks going up or down the mountain, you can quickly disappear into the forest on either side.

Although some of the monks were highly skilled in martial arts, they were still far from being able to detect Xu Xingchen's presence.

Xu Xingchen's figure appeared and disappeared intermittently. Under the bright blue sky, he walked up the mountain steps and through the forest, and not a single monk noticed him.

A fleeting shadow flashed across the wall of Shaolin Temple, and Xu Xingchen's feet landed on the bluestone floor inside the temple.

nearby.

A monk was holding a broom and sweeping the courtyard.

A monk happened to be passing by.

Two monks were whispering in the corner.

Xu Xingchen lifted her foot and walked, her figure quietly passing through the blind spots of the four monks.

One step, two steps, three steps.
They gracefully disappeared around a corner not far ahead.

From beginning to end.

None of the four monks noticed the commotion nearby.

During the day, the monks at Shaolin Temple are busy with their work.

Some people were sweeping the courtyard, some were burning incense and praying, some were sitting and chanting scriptures, some were carrying water and chopping wood, some were starting fires to cook, and some were practicing martial arts.
Xu Xingchen strolled leisurely through the Shaolin Temple, like an invisible phantom, always appearing in the blind spots of the monks.

When the monks' gazes shifted over, he had already appeared in another place.

Among the thousands of monks in Shaolin Temple, including many martial arts masters at the Earth Realm and even some top masters at the Heaven Realm, not one of them could detect Xu Xingchen's whereabouts.

Even the elderly elders and the newly appointed abbot of Shaolin Temple are no exception.

When Xu Xingchen arrived at the entrance of Bodhi Temple, she glanced inside and smiled slightly.

"I wonder if the Yi Jin Jing is still hidden behind the bronze mirror in this Bodhi Courtyard?"

"No, I should say, the storyline may have changed."

With the mindset of "I might get lucky, but I'll try my best," Xu Xingchen flashed into the main hall.

The hall contains three Buddha statues side by side, their dignified appearances and solemn presence making them rare and exquisite works of art.

At this moment, the hall was empty and deserted.

Xu Xingchen glanced around and quickly saw a huge bronze mirror with a Buddhist verse engraved on it. The first four characters were "A dream is like this".

He moved and came to the bronze mirror, his fingers lifting, pulling, pushing, and removing the four characters "一梦如是" (a dream as it is).

After several attempts, a slight mechanical sound came from behind the bronze mirror, and then the bronze mirror flipped over, revealing a sandalwood box behind it.

Xu Xingchen opened it and saw a book inside with the three large characters "Yi Jin Jing" written on the cover.

"Hey, knowing the details of the story, this supreme martial arts manual of Shaolin Temple came to me without any effort."

Xu Xingchen tucked the book into his pocket, and the bronze mirror returned to its original position.

A monk walked in at that moment, seemingly sensing something, and looked around the hall.

The three Buddha statues sat solemnly on their thrones, their eyes half-closed, silent.

The monk withdrew his gaze and left.

Xu Xingchen flashed past him and appeared in another courtyard.

He found a secluded monk's quarters, opened the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic) in his hand, and began to read it.

The pages inside were covered with images of monks, along with annotations in Sanskrit and Chinese characters.

The images of monks are depicted in various poses, some simple and easy to learn, others extremely difficult to perform.

The image also includes lines depicting the direction of internal energy flow within the meridians.

Xu Xingchen flipped through the book very quickly, and in no time he had finished reading the entire Yi Jin Jing.

Thoughtful in mind.

The contents of this Yi Jin Jing are simple and unadorned; it seems that after some practice, anyone can perform the movements described.

In reality, if one cannot achieve a state of mind where one is oblivious to success and acts without intention, one can forget about cultivating oneself.

He closed the Yi Jin Jing and put it in his pocket. Xu Xingchen left the monks' quarters and continued to wander around Shaolin Temple, searching for the Sutra Repository.

Although he had visited Shaolin Temple in other worlds, he did not know whether the layout of Shaolin Temple in this world was the same as that in other worlds.

After wandering around for a while, I found that there were indeed differences.

Even the location of the library has changed significantly.

It was daytime, and the doors of the library were wide open. Monks were going in and out, mostly copying scriptures or looking through books on the first and second floors.

Not many people go up to the third or fourth floor to look through martial arts manuals.

Shaolin Temple has its own rules.

Especially in martial arts, the rules are very strict.

They often start by learning the most basic Shaolin boxing techniques, and only after they have a solid foundation can they learn more advanced martial arts.

The Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts are stored on the third and fourth floors, and only a few monks in the entire Shaolin Temple have access to them.

Xu Xingchen seized an opportunity and strode straight in through the main gate of the Sutra Repository.

Doorway.

Behind a table, a monk who was registering the Shaolin disciples coming and going felt a gentle breeze brush against his forehead.

Looking up, I saw a Shaolin disciple descending the stone steps outside the door. I shook my head, looked away, and continued to register the name of a Shaolin disciple standing in front of me and copy the name of the scripture in the book.

Xu Xingchen avoided the sight of the many monks and walked among the many bookshelves on the first floor, casually pulling out a scripture and flipping through its contents.

He had visited Shaolin Temple in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes and read many Buddhist scriptures.

Looking through the scriptures in my hand now, I find that they are no different from the Buddhist texts of that world.

It is evident that both Taoist classics and Buddhist scriptures share a common thread that connects all worlds, and have endured through the ages.

He put the scriptures back on the bookshelf and then randomly picked up a few more to look through.

While the other monks were searching for scriptures in front of other bookshelves, no one noticed that behind the bookshelf a row away, a figure in blue robes was moving silently, just missing them.

Soon.

Xu Xingchen went up the stairs to the second floor.

There are even fewer monks on this floor.

Near the walls and windows, there was a row of wooden tables.

A monk was sitting on a futon next to a wooden table, copying scriptures with his head down.

Xu Xingchen did not stay on this floor for long and quickly went up to the third floor.

There are even fewer monks here, and each one exudes a powerful aura with a divine light shining in their eyes.

They are all top masters from Shaolin Temple!
There are even fewer bookshelves here, and they are filled with martial arts manuals from Shaolin Temple.

It not only has the 72 Shaolin Arts, but also many more basic techniques.

Xu Xingchen strolled among the bookshelves with great interest, avoiding the monks who were looking down at martial arts manuals.

I randomly picked up a book on the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Skills of Shaolin, which was richly illustrated and explained in great detail.

Xu Xingchen quickly flipped through the contents and saw a few classic Buddhist sayings on the last page.

The connection to the martial arts techniques mentioned earlier seems to be merely a Buddhist commentary casually written by someone before them.

Xu Xingchen opened several more martial arts manuals, each with Buddhist scriptures written on the back.

"I don't know much about Shaolin martial arts."

"I wonder if the Shaolin martial arts of this world truly need Buddhism to neutralize the malevolent energy generated during their practice."

"If these martial arts techniques are indeed based on scriptures, they are very likely the work of the Sweeper Monk."

Xu Xingchen pondered to himself, but his hands never stopped. After finishing reading one martial arts manual, he put it back on the bookshelf and then turned to the next one.

The library contains many martial arts manuals.

It has its own unique charm, just like the Langhuan Jade Cave of Mantuo Villa and the Huanshi Water Pavilion of Canhe Villa.

Otherwise, Murong Bo wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles to Shaolin Temple after faking his death, hiding in the Sutra Pavilion to secretly learn the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Skills of Shaolin.

Speaking of this matter, Xu Xingchen still had many doubts in her mind.

He remembered seeing a label in the Langhuan Paradise of the Sword Lake Palace in Wuliang Mountain, which stated that the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Arts of Shaolin Temple should have been collected by Wuyazi and Li Qiushui, with only the Yi Jin Jing missing.

The fact that Murong Bo was able to gift the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Skills of Shaolin to the Tibetan national teacher Kumārajīva suggests that the Murong family's Huanshi Water Pavilion should also contain the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Skills of Shaolin.

But why would Murong Bo come to the Shaolin Temple's Sutra Pavilion to steal knowledge?

Isn't this behavior redundant?
Moreover, if you're going to steal knowledge, then fine, but why do you have to stay in this library year after year, stubbornly refusing to leave?

Even though the content of the 72 Shaolin Arts is all-encompassing, many of its metaphors require interpretation by Buddhist scriptures.

That's not a reason for you to stay put.
Moreover, you are unaware that learning multiple of the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Arts requires a thorough study of Buddhist teachings to neutralize their malevolent energy; otherwise, serious hidden dangers would not have been left behind.

Could it be that?
It's like how murderers sometimes return to the crime scene.

Murong Bo had tricked the former abbot of Shaolin Temple, so he decided to stay here and observe how things would develop.

Xu Xingchen couldn't understand the reasoning behind it, so he quickly put those thoughts aside and continued to browse through the seventy-two extraordinary arts on the bookshelf.

Although he practiced Taoist techniques, he could still learn from others' experiences.

Both the 72 Shaolin Arts and the Yi Jin Jing in his possession could serve as resources to expand his martial arts knowledge base.

Once I started looking at it, I became completely engrossed.

By the time I came to my senses, it was already dark outside.

The monks on the third floor put their books back on the shelves, turned around, went downstairs, and left.

An old monk with a hunched back, a thin face, and lifeless eyes lit the lanterns in the four corners of the house, and then picked up a broom from the corner.

While carefully sweeping the floor, she tidied up the bookshelves that the monks had made somewhat messy.

Xu Xingchen was engrossed in watching the Seventy-Two Extraordinary Skills of Shaolin and was unwilling to meet the sweeping monk for the time being.

So while the sweeping monk was tidying up this side of the bookshelf, he appeared behind the other side of the bookshelf.

As the sweeping monk finished tidying up the other side, he reappeared in front of the bookshelf on this side.

The old monk moved slowly, his eyes were lifeless, and there was no trace of martial arts on his body.

However, Xu Xingchen clearly sensed a vast aura within its body, akin to the light of Buddha.

Hidden talents, returning to simplicity and authenticity.

Hidden deep underground, quietly observing the changes in the world?!

The sweeping monk also sensed something.

Although he didn't see Xu Xingchen, he didn't hear any footsteps from anyone else in the library.

But in his perception, a wisp of ethereal cloud flowed slowly through the library, appearing and disappearing, light and agile.

Both of them had reached the pinnacle of martial arts in this world, and they could clearly sense each other's presence.

For them, it doesn't matter whether they hide or not.

The other person's presence was like a candle lit in the darkness.

It couldn't be more eye-catching.
(End of this chapter)