Mysteriously, a sudden black qì came, and Zhang Gan was taken away!
Chen Yun had no chance to even see the appearance of the opponent.
Even though the other person only said one sentence, he could still judge that this person was coming for him!
He believed that in this world, besides Lin Feiyun, there were no other enemies. Now that the other person was coming for him, it was likely related to Lin Feiyun.
Exactly for this reason, he grew angrier and angrier towards Lin Feiyun, wishing to kill that witch immediately.
Now is not the time to consider whether or not to kill Lin Feiyun.
As one of the few close friends he has in this world, Zhang Gan was taken away because of his involvement, and Chen Yun had no more thoughts about anything else.
Without hesitation, he took out the "Divine Movement Sign" and stuck it onto his legs, then ran straight towards Luoyang.
The speed of the Divine Movement Sign is three times that of the Horse-drawn Token, allowing for a journey of 2,400 miles in one night.
Now, Chen Yun is only one thousand miles away from the city of Luoyang, and he can reach there in a maximum of a few hours.
The roaring wind whistled past his ears, and a dark cloud loomed overhead.
Chen Yun, who was racing at full speed, was initially disoriented out of concern, only wanting to reach the city of Luoyang as quickly as possible to see what that black qì intended to do.
However, after racing for a certain distance, perhaps because the cold wind hit his face, he suddenly realized.
"That black qì was able to easily take away Master Zhang from my side, indicating that the person's cultivation must be beyond my current comprehension. If the person is indeed targeting me, then even if I manage to chase down Master Zhang to Luoyang City, I will most likely end up as a collateral victim."
Chen Yun thought as he ran at full speed, "But there is something rather strange. If the other party is targeting me and clearly has the power to quietly eliminate me just then, why go through the trouble of capturing Zhang Qian and making me rush to Luoyang?"
This question stumped him for the time being.
However, one thing Chen Yun was certain about was that he would not be able to save Zhang Gan by going alone, and there was a possibility that he would die along with him.
"No!"
"I need to find a strong-willed help!"
Chen Yun's first reaction was to pass back to the Daoist Temple for help, but he soon realized that the distance from here to Zhongshan Mountain was nearly 8,900 miles, and even with the Divine Movement Sign, it would take him a day and night to reach. Including the return journey, Zhang Gan might have already been killed by then.
It's too late to return to Zhongshan Mountain.
So, how can I find a powerful ally in Luoyang City?
Suddenly, Chen Yun recalled a person, a righteous deity!
That's right, Lord Guan!
That's right, Lord Guan had mentioned before that if I ever went to Luoyang, I could visit his temple and pay him a visit.
In the legends, in the 24th year of Jian'an, Sun Quan murdered Guan Yu after which he sent Guan Yu's head to Cao Cao. Cao Cao buried Guan Yu's head in Luoyang with the ritual of a vassal.
Because of this, after Lord Guan was enshrined as a deity, he has been protecting the people in that region in Luoyang.
"Think about it, back when I was at the foot of the Zhongshan Mountains, I had a chance encounter with Lord Guan and became friends with him. If the other party is indeed as righteous as the literature records, I would go seek him out, and he would certainly not ignore me."
Chen Yun had an idea roughly.
Taking advantage of the fact that it was not yet completely dark, Chen Yun knocked on the door of a villager's house near the village, continually asking for directions to Lord Guan's temple.
"Old sir, can you tell me where the temple of Guan Yu is located?"
"The temple of Lord Guan? Taoist, you mean the temple of Ksitigarbha, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes, the Ksitigarbha Temple."
"Oh, about three hundred li ahead in the Guan Village is a temple of Ksitigarbha. Additionally, within Luoyang City is the Temple of Wucheng Wang. As one of the sixty-four distinguished generals in history, Guan Jing also has an altar in honor of him there."
"Thank you, old sir."
After learning the approximate location of Lord Guan's temple, Chen Yun continued to ask a few more questions along the way and then headed straight towards the Ksitigarbha Temple.
About an hour later.
Chen Yun arrived at the Guan Village, and in front of him stood an ancient and majestic temple with a hanging signboard inscribed with the five characters "Gelan Zunwang Temple."
It's known that Lord Guan holds a very high status in Buddhism. Although he is a Ksitigarbha, the way of worshipping him is consistent with the Vajrapani, which can be said to represent Buddhist guardians.
Chen Yun saw that the temple door was closed, estimating that the templekeeper was already asleep.
If it were not an emergency, he might have waited until morning. But right now, the situation was urgent, and he didn't care about disturbing the templekeeper's rest; he knocked on the temple door directly.
Tap, tap.
A senior man's voice came from inside, "Who is the guest knocking on the door so late?"
Chen Yun introduced himself, saying, "I am Chen Yun, a disciple of Zhengshan Mountain Qingyang Cave Daoist Academy's Zengyang Pure Sovereign, seeking an audience with the Venerable. I kindly request that the temple doors be opened."
The moment he finished speaking, the door opened from inside.
A thin, bony old monk, with half a foot of white beard and six feet tall, appeared.
He bowed with hands clasped together and said, "I am Hui Yan, a disciple of the Wolf Mountain Holy Sage Bodhisattva. I greet Chen Dao friend."
The monk from the Wolf Mountain Holy Sage is said to be an incarnation of the Goddess of Mercy or the Great Virtue Bodhisattva. He has three disciples, namely Hui Yan, Hui An, and Muxia.
As for why Hui Yan, the senior monk, referred to himself as "poverty" instead of using his full name, this is because when Buddhism was first spread in China, it tried to be as close to Taoism as possible. Therefore, it was common for practitioners to refer to themselves as "poverty."
This practice continued until after the Song Dynasty.
Especially during the Song Dynasty, Buddhist Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were also called "Great Awakened Golden Immortal," "Great Saint," and so on.
For instance, why was Guanyin Bodhisattva called Guanyin Great Saint? This is because during the Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong issued an edict to rename Buddhist statues and figures "Great Awakened Golden Immortal" and "Great Saint" for others. Monks were renamed "Moral Saint," nuns were renamed "Females of Virtue," and female Daoists were renamed "Females of Dao."
The term "Golden Immortal" generally refers to the Buddha, not to the sacred immortals of Taoism.
Chen Yun didn't expect to run into another historical figure from the Buddhist tradition here.
He quickly bowed again and said, "I greet Hui Yan Dao friend. I did not know that the friend was a disciple of the Holy Sage Bodhisattva. Why are you at the Temple of Venerable?"
Hui Yan laughed and said, "I came here today to give lectures to the other Daoist friends. They are all asleep. The night was restless, and I couldn't sleep. I didn't expect to wait here for you."
As he spoke, he made room for the other person, saying, "Friend, please come in."
Chen Yun thanked and walked in.
They chatted for a while and arrived at the main hall where the Venerable was worshipped.
Hui Yan spontaneously took out three incense sticks, lit them, and handed them to Chen Yun.
Chen Yun accepted the incense, thanked again, and then kneeled on the mat, loudly saying: "General Guan, Chen Yun has a favor to ask. I humbly request that the Venerable manifest himself for a discussion."
As soon as he finished speaking, a melody of ethereal sounds echoed from the divine temple, followed by a burst of red light illuminating the area.
As soon as he felt a terrifying pressure, Chen Yun quickly looked towards the front of the temple, towards the red light.
This look was better left unnoticed.
On looking, Chen Yun was startled.
Looking at that sight, Chen Yun was frightened.
The terrifying pressure was coming from the imposing man in gold helmets and silver armor standing beside the carriage.
At this moment, Hui Yan seemed to have seen him too and quickly bowed respectfully, "I greet General Guan."
The imposing man in gold helmets and silver armor responded with a bow, "Hui Yan respects the elder, I am Guan Ping, under my father's command to invite Mr. Chen for a discussion in the divine realm. Does the elder wish to accompany us?"
Chen Yun never expected that the imposing man in gold helmets and silver armor was actually Guan Yu's eldest son, Guan Ping.
He remembers that Guan Ping has not been deified yet. According to official history records, Guan Ping will not be deified until the Song Dynasty, when he is finally granted the title of Wuning Hu and becomes a true deity. Currently, he is worshipped as the eldest son of Guan Yu along with his father.
To put it simply, this is a form of quackery, but since Lord Guan is willing to share his divinity with his son, the gods and bodhisattvas turn a blind eye and no one bothers Guan Ping.
Hui Yan smiled and waved, saying, "When Chen Dao friend's soul comes out of the body, it will resemble a withered corpse. If no one guards it and the monks in the temple mistake it for a corpse, it would be unfortunate. I will guard it here."
"Good," Guan Ping said with a smile, looking at Chen Yun and gesturing towards the carriage, "Mr. Chen, please."
Chen Yun said, "Thank you, General Guan."
Then he looked at Hui Yan, "Thank you, elder, for guarding my physical body."
Hui Yan said, "No problem, Dao friend, go and return quickly."
After saying that, Chen Yun's soul came out of his body and was invited by Guan Ping to sit inside the carriage.
