Chapter 22: The Flourishing of Chan Buddhism During the Hongzhi Era (Part 2)

  The chief had already been crying, and respectfully said: "Thank you, sir, for helping the Sha brothers with their funeral. We, the Kairuo tribe, will never forget what you have done today. Please come to our tribe to rest for a while. Let us treat you as our host." The villagers automatically made way for him. Hailong's stomach was indeed a bit hungry, and he had been eating wind and sleeping in the dew for days. He wanted to find a place to rest properly too. He turned his head to look at Hongzhi, then followed the villagers into the tribe.

  The tribes of the Western Regions were already hospitable, let alone that Hailong was their great benefactor. Every household brought out their best things to entertain Hailong and his companion, and for a time they slaughtered sheep and cattle, busily enjoying themselves.

  What made the sea dragon's jaw drop was that as soon as dinner was eaten, Hongzhi couldn't wait to tear off a leg of lamb and devour it, looking at his oily hands, where did he look like a monk.

  "Hey, I'm telling you, Little Zhi, aren't all of you Buddha-repairing people supposed to be vegetarians?" Hai Long asked in puzzlement.

  He savored the fragrant mutton, a look of satisfaction on his face, and said: "Our Zen sect is not taboo about these things. Master likes wine and meat the most, when I followed him to practice, every time he went out to buy some, he would say that after eating and drinking, the Buddha sits in the heart, practicing Buddhism doesn't have to be too rigid, as long as you sincerely believe in the Buddha, eating some wine and meat is not a problem. Wow, big brother, this mutton tastes great, so tender and fragrant, much better than those meats Master brought back! You eat too!" As he spoke, he immediately downed a large cup of kumis.

  Hailong stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, and sighed: "So you're still a monk who indulges in wine and meat. But I like it. I hate the most restrictive life. Eat, eat more."

  As he watched the two of them eating and drinking, the chief of the Kairuo tribe suddenly smiled with joy, repeatedly toasting Hai Long and his companion. Hai Long was naturally able to hold a lot of liquor, and the kumis had little aftereffect, so even after drinking several dozen cups, he still didn't feel the slightest bit drunk. As he ate, he asked the chief, "Do you know that in our Western Regions there is a mountain called Lianyun?"

  The chief hesitated for a moment, saying: "It seems to be. Mr. En, where are you going? Why not stay here with us for a few more days? Although our place is not very rich, I can guarantee that you will eat fresh beef and mutton every day." He had a genuine liking for the young man in front of him. Moreover, from his own selfish point of view, if Hailong could stay here for a long time, it would only be beneficial to the tribe.

  Hailong shook his head and said, "I still have to hurry back. That's my home! Chieftain, think carefully, as long as you can tell me the general direction of Lianyun Mountain, that's enough."

  The chief sighed, he also knew that he couldn't keep him by force. He said: "Sir, to be honest with you, we have a treasure in our tribe. With it, you will definitely find Lianyun Mountain. Wait a minute, I'll go and come back." After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked out of the tent. A moment later, he came back carrying a leather scroll.

  He handed over the sheepskin scroll, saying: "Sir, this is a treasure passed down from our ancestors, I'll give it to you." The Dragon King was taken aback, thinking to himself, could it be a treasure map? If so, he would be set for life. Thinking of this, he hastily took it into his hands. The chieftain explained: "This is a map of the Western Regions, it was obtained by our ancestors unintentionally. However, there were no names marked on it originally, our Kui'erke tribe's ancestors have been exploring and marking known place names over generations. I took a look just now, but didn't see any mention of Lianyun Mountain. But this map does have many high mountains and great rivers, if you're familiar with the terrain there, you should be able to find its exact location. That's all the help I can offer."

  Although Hai Long was somewhat disappointed in his heart, he also knew that this was what he needed most now. He thanked him and opened the leather scroll at the same time. This was a map made of sheepskin, with exquisite craftsmanship. Although it was obviously a very old thing, there was no damage at all. The map depicted various mountains, rivers and landforms, some of which were already marked.

  Hong Zhi curiously walked over, looked at the map and said: "This is truly a treasure, I don't know how much experience it took to create it! I think it's possible that it was created by an immortal."

  Hailong glanced at him and said, "Where are there so many immortals? Even if we cultivators of the truth can make it with a very long time, as long as we set our minds to it. Chieftain, thank you, but this map is too precious, just give us a copy based on it."

  The chief shook his head and said, "If it weren't for the two of you, our Kairuo tribe might not exist. We have a few copies left for ourselves, which is enough. This original treasure you must take! Otherwise, our tribesmen will also blame me. When it comes to friends, we Kairuo people have never been stingy."

  Hailong nodded and said, "Then I won't be polite, thank you, Chieftain."

  That night, under the influence of wine, Hailong and Hongzhi went to bed early. Early in the morning, before dawn, Hongzhi was pulled out of his quilt by Hailong.

  He rubbed his blurry eyes and took a glance outside the window. Hong Zhi said somewhat discontentedly, "Hai Long big brother, it's not dawn yet, why did you pull me up? Let me sleep for a while longer."

  Hailong knocked on Hongzhi's bald head and said, "What are you sleeping for? Hurry up and let's go. The people in this tribe are too enthusiastic, if we walk during the day, I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble."

  "Oh" Hongzhi reluctantly got up, stretched his waist, put on his kasaya, and infused the power of the Qiankun ring to take out a few things. Then he grabbed the map on the table and left the tribe with Hongzhi quietly. As they walked, Hailong asked Hongzhi: "Can you fly?"

  Hong Zhi nodded and said, "Of course, it's possible? But big brother, don't you think that walking like this will be very beneficial for our cultivation? I once saw in a book left by my master that reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Since we are traveling, we should naturally walk. Ah! Right, big brother, what did you leave behind in the tribe? It seemed to be a few pieces of paper."

  Hailong smiled and said, "You don't understand this, do you? I left behind a silver ticket, which is worth 10,000 taels of silver. With it, you can exchange for many things. Yesterday, we ate so much food and took their map, so we should give something in return. That village is already very poor." In fact, Hailong didn't have such a good heart; his usual style was to take advantage of others for his own benefit. It's just that the tribe had many similarities with his hometown, and he was moved by Sasha's behavior, so he did this. What Hailong didn't know was that as early as last night, Hongzhi had already cast a Fumo curse on the entire village, so even if another evil spirit like the Corpse Ghost invaded, it would be repelled without success.

  Hong Zhi looked at Hailong with admiration and said: "Big brother, you're really thorough in your thinking, I didn't even think of that! Following you is truly my good fortune."

  "That's a given, I'm the smartest person under heaven. Before you woke up this morning, I had already found the general direction of Mount Lianyun. This is also my first time out of the mountain, and it's not easy to find our way back!" He spread out the map, pointing to a place below: "This is our current location, look up at the top of the map, the place marked with cloud and mist symbols should be the Lianyun Mountain Range. After all, no outsiders can enter there except for people from our sect. Can't say it's definitely correct, but it's probably about 80-90% accurate."

  Hong Zhi Xi Dao said: "That's great! Let's hurry back to your Lian Yun Sect. Brother Lian, you're so powerful, isn't your master a divine being?"

  "It's only natural," said the dragon king. "That's because our place is a paradise on earth, and you'll understand once you get there. By the way, what kind of person was your master? How could he have passed away?"

  Hong Zhi said with a sad expression: "Master was very good to me, I don't remember much about my childhood, it seems like I didn't have parents back then. I was wandering the streets when Master took me in. Later on, I followed Master to cultivate in the mountains for about 100 years. Suddenly, Master told me that his time had come and he passed away peacefully in the mountains. Before he died, he said that he never had the courage to reach the ultimate state of Buddhahood, his will was not strong enough, and it wasn't suitable for him to continue cultivating. He chose to sit in meditation and turn into stone to preserve his Buddhist thoughts, maybe after thousands or millions of years, when his thoughts solidify, he can come back to life again. Master said I'm a genius at cultivating Buddhism, told me to close up for 100 years before coming out of the mountains, and then passed away. I was really heartbroken, Master was my only family member, after he died, I became alone. But Buddha has been kind to me, yesterday I met you, big brother, now I have someone to rely on again, thank you for letting me follow you."

  Hailong's heart slightly trembled, he knew that he was just trying to use Hongzhi, and didn't actually want to help him at all. A sudden surge of indescribable oppression rose in his chest, and he abruptly turned around, saying: "Let's go quickly." After speaking, he urged on his spiritual power and rapidly headed towards the distance. Hongzhi gazed at Hailong's back, softly sighing and saying: "Big brother, following you might just be my most important trial journey." A yellow Buddhist glow lit up, without him making any gestures, he had already caught up to Hailong's back and was floating along as he followed Hailong forward.

  With a clear direction, it's much easier to move forward. According to the map, with one day's effort, they have already covered one-tenth of the distance to reach the Lianyun Mountains.

  Hong Zhi stopped in his tracks, looking worried and said: "Big brother, this is a poor and remote place, there isn't even a place to take shelter from the wind. What will we eat tonight? I'm already starving."

  Hai Long laughed and said, "You're like this, how can you be considered a Buddhist cultivator? You haven't even cut off the six worldly desires. Eating, drinking, sleeping - you don't forget any of them. Don't you know what it means to purify the six senses? If I let you indulge in food and drink all day now, your cultivation will stagnate in the future, don't come blaming me."

  He followed Hailong for a day, and Hongzhi seemed to have been infected by him, hehe smiled: "When I was cultivating, my six senses were already clear and pure. On ordinary days, being more free-spirited doesn't matter, this way I can focus my will even more! Really want to eat another meal like yesterday's, ah, just thinking about that oily mutton, I, I...

  "Alright, stop being so infatuated. Let's just rest here for today. I'm getting a bit tired from running all day." As he spoke, he plopped himself down on the ground with a thud.

  Hong Zhi blinked, saying: "Big brother, isn't it? Right here. Shouldn't we find a small grove or something behind the mountain slope? The highlands can get very cold at night. Look at my pale skin, can you bear to let me freeze?" Hai Long snorted disdainfully and lay flat on the ground, saying: "Don't be ridiculous, do you think I don't know that you've already reached a state where temperature doesn't affect you? Even if we didn't have anywhere to stay or eat for a long time, it wouldn't have any impact on you."

  Hong Zhi sat down on one side, dissatisfied, and said: "Even if my Buddha's power can reach the level you mentioned, I would still want to eat well and sleep well! After all, you are my elder brother, shouldn't you take care of me?" After finishing speaking, a huffing person was there practicing his breath, revealing the straightforward nature of a child.

  Hai Long didn't dare offend this bodyguard he had deceived, so he flipped over and sat up, leaning in close to Hong Zhi's side, saying: "What's wrong, are you angry?"

  Hong Zhi turned his head and ignored him, while Hai Long chuckled and grabbed at the air with his right hand. Suddenly, a plump and tender chicken leg appeared in his hand. He took a big bite and mumbled, "Ah, this chicken leg is really delicious! Unfortunately, some people are already full of anger and don't need to eat." As he spoke, he quickly devoured the chicken leg in three or two bites.

  All of this was seen by Hong Zhi, who couldn't help but widen his eyes. With his cultivation level, he still couldn't figure out where Hai Long's chicken leg came from. From the aroma emanating from the chicken leg, it was clear that it wasn't simulated using magic, but was a genuine delicacy.

  After swallowing and licking his lips, Hong Zhi tentatively asked, "Big brother, do you have any more chicken legs? Can you spare one for me? I'm really starving!"