Unlimited employment

Chapter 144, Section 143: [Masters of the Song Dynasty]

Maintaining a Buddhist doctrine that could alter common people's perceptions, Chen Sheng and a group of monks walked through the brothel streets.

Amidst the coquettish laughter of women soliciting business, Chen Sheng listened intently as the abbot explained the masters within the capital city of Tokyo.

"If we're talking about the strongest cultivator in the world, then the emperor is undoubtedly the one."

Although the current emperor was merely a third-rank martial artist before ascending the throne.

However, once he ascended the throne, he was blessed with the dragon's aura and supported by tens of millions of people throughout the world. He built Genyue to aid in cultivation, and within just six years, he had cultivated his martial arts to the fourth level.

Although his pampered upbringing has made him unskilled in combat, the presence of the unreasonable dragon aura within him makes him the undisputed number one in the world, especially without a fifth-tier cultivator present.

"In addition, there is a rather old prince in the royal family who is also a fourth-level cultivator of the Dao of Fate."

However, to avoid suspicion, this person usually doesn't even leave the palace, so there's no need to worry that he would attack the Buddhist disciple.

As for the two fourth-level Life Dao cultivators, Zhong Shidao and Yao Pingzhong, they have been sent to Liangshan to quell the rebellion, so there is no need to worry about them either.

These four individuals were all the fourth-tier experts from the imperial court's side.

At this point, the abbot paused briefly before continuing.

"Because dragon energy can easily suppress Dao techniques below the fifth rank, the emperor has always favored cultivators of the nature path and disliked cultivators of the life path who pose a threat to him."

Originally, Buddhism and Taoism held equal status in this dynasty.

However, the situation changed after the emperor was misled by the immortality elixir mentioned by the sorcerers and proclaimed himself the Daoist Emperor.

Buddhism was suppressed, while the six Taoist priests at the Thunder Tribulation Realm in the current Taoist sect were appointed as imperial attendants in various palaces, the highest honorary title for Taoist priests.

Of the six attendants, Zhang Jixian of Longhu Mountain was in seclusion in the mountains for many years. However, Zhang Xubai and Wang Laozhi were sent out on business for the sake of the furnace of Qi that Liangshan was refining.

Currently, only Huang Shang, Wang Wenqing, and Liu Hunkang remain in Tokyo.

Now that the Buddhist disciple has read the *Wanshou Daozang*, he only needs to pay attention to these three people.

Upon hearing this, Chen Sheng couldn't help but ask.

"The Daoist sect has six cultivators at the Thunder Tribulation Realm, so what about the Buddhist sect?"

"Previously, our Buddhist sect only had two fourth-level cultivators. One was me—Yuanjue of the Great Protectorate Temple, and the other was Zen Master Qingliao, who was allied with Fang La."

Now, there is one more Buddhist disciple.

Yuanjue's explanation gave Chen Sheng a general understanding of the Song Dynasty's high-end combat capabilities.

He nodded and continued to ask.

"How many temples are there in the entire Buddhist community of the North, and how many believers and disciples do they have?"

Yuanjue respectfully said:
"There are more than 300 temples of varying sizes in the north that have a Buddhist lineage, with more than 2,000 disciples embarking on the path of spiritual practice, and countless believers."

However, after years of suppression by the Daoist sect, the number of monks in Tokyo has dwindled to less than five hundred, and they are now waiting at the Dahuguo Temple, hoping to hear the teachings of the Buddhist disciples.

"Forget about teaching him; it's not too late to teach him after I've conquered Tokyo."

During the conversation, Chen Sheng gained an understanding of the influence of Buddhism among the lower and middle classes in the Song Dynasty, and then asked the question he was most concerned about.

"Tell me about the martial arts and Taoist techniques these people practice, especially Huang Shang, Wang Wenqing, and Liu Hunkang from the Taoist sect."

"Reporting to the Buddha, Wang Wenqing cultivates [Controlling the Five Thunders], [Mass and Size at Will], and [Seeing Through Walls] from the Thirty-Six Arts of the Heavenly Gang. He is a fourth-tier Daoist in the later stages of cultivation, and for years he has been trying to condense the Thunder Emperor and the Radiant Yang God..."

Liu Hunkang is a member of the Maoshan Sect, specializing in the [Great Northern Dipper Divine Mantra]. He is at the mid-fourth level and is skilled in using the power of stars for prayer, combat, and array formation...

Huang Shang was an extraordinary talent. Originally a Confucian official, he was commissioned several years ago to oversee the compilation of the Wanshou Daoist Canon. Based on the principle of "Heaven's Way diminishes the excess and supplements the deficiency," he comprehended a technique called the [Nine Yin Manual]. Although he only possessed the cultivation of the fourth-tier initial stage, he was proficient in almost all major categories of Daoist arts…

……

As for Qingliao, this monk specializes in the Vajra Garbhadhatu Mantra, which allows him to cultivate a blooming Udumbara flower. The more demons he subdues by suppressing them within the petals, the stronger the power of the Buddhist teachings becomes.

Chen Sheng listened attentively to the detailed information from each master, and when he had learned about the Buddhist teachings practiced by Qingliao, he led the monks to the outer city wall.

At this point, Chen Sheng stopped and turned to the monks.

"No need to send any more. After I, the Buddha, have defeated Fang La, that heretic who eats vegetables and serves demons, I will return to lead you to establish a Buddhist kingdom on earth."

These words sounded like divine music to Yuanjue's ears, and he immediately burst into tears.

"Let this old monk accompany the Buddhist disciple. One more person means one more helper."

"There's no need for that. You just need to wait for my return."

What a joke! With Chen Sheng's current abilities...

With a cultivation level of the middle stage of the fourth rank, plus seven fourth-rank Buddha statues, plus the Sea-Stabilizing Needle, if he needed help to quell Fang La, what was the point of talking about overthrowing the Song Dynasty?
"May your journey be smooth and successful, and may all Buddhists in the world hope that you will achieve your goal quickly."

Amidst the blessings, Chen Sheng walked to the city wall and peered through it with his [bluish-green eyes], whereupon he saw the protective array deeply embedded within the wall.

The array, covering an area of ​​dozens of miles, connects the earth's veins and the heaven's veins, absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and constantly transforming it into an invisible protective shield.

The protective shield undergoes several changes every instant, evolving back and forth among the seven attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder.

At a certain moment, just as the protective shield transformed into lightning, Chen Sheng's body turned into a bolt of lightning and merged into the shield.

Using Taoist techniques of the same attribute, they pierced through layers of defenses and arrived outside the city.

……

Shangqing Palace, Daozang Hall.

Several Taoist priests dressed in purple robes were looking at a pool of ashes on the ground.

Wang Wenqing, using his "penetrating insight," carefully observed every tiny particle in the ashes but found no valuable clues.

Liu Hunkang, who was standing to the side, also shook his head after sensing the aura of the ashes for a moment while chanting the incantation.

"This Taoist priest named Qingsong had his body and spirit completely destroyed. The ashes were filled with the aura of thunder, and there was no trace of the mastermind behind it."

Seeing this, Huang Shang sent someone to inform those in the Shangqing Palace who were familiar with Qingsong, while speaking to the two Taoist priests in the hall.

"Then we can only try to find the thief of the Daoist scriptures by investigating Qingsong's past activities and finding clues in the traces left behind during his lifetime."

Just then, Wang Wenqing suddenly frowned.

He took out a jade pendant from his sleeve, pressed it to his forehead and sensed it for a while, then spoke to the two people in the hall.

"Misfortunes never come singly, but good fortune never comes in pairs."

Our spies planted in the Buddhist community have just sent word that the Great Protectorate Temple has actually found the Buddhist disciple they have been searching for for many years.

Just now, that bald monk Yuanjue handed over all the Qi he possessed to that Buddhist disciple and arranged for him to leave the city.

　The number of fourth-tier cultivators in this chapter has been revised in the previous text.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)