Chapter 296: The Golden Mace Granted by the Emperor

Cao Jie looked at Mount Wutai and found that it was indeed a beautiful mountain.

According to legend, Mount Wutai was originally named Mount Wufeng. The climate was extremely harsh. In winter, water turned into ice. In spring, sand and rocks flew everywhere. In summer, it was extremely hot. The people could not grow crops in the fields at all.

Manjushri Bodhisattva happened to come here to preach, and seeing the suffering of the people, he decided to change the climate here.

So he transformed himself into an old monk and borrowed a magic stone from the Dragon King of the East China Sea, called "Xielong Stone", which could make the dry climate become humid.

When Manjusri Bodhisattva returned to Wufeng Mountain, the sun was blazing brightly. Due to the long drought, the earth was dry and cracked, and people were suffering from endless suffering. Manjusri Bodhisattva placed the sacred stone in a valley in the middle of the mountain, and a miracle happened:

Wufeng Mountain immediately turned into an extremely cool natural pasture.

Therefore, this valley was named Qingliang Valley, and people built a temple here, named Qingliang Temple, and Wufeng Mountain was also renamed Qingliang Mountain.

But see this mountain:

Clouds cover the peak, the sun turns to the mountainside. The jagged peaks seem to reach the sky, the jagged peaks invade the Han Dynasty. The flowers and trees in front of the rocks dance in the spring breeze and emit fragrance; the vines at the entrance of the cave hang upside down with tender threads covered by the rain. The flying clouds and waterfalls, the shadow of the Milky Way is immersed in the cold moonlight; the pine trees on the cliffs, the iron-horned bells shake the dragon's tail. It is dyed with indigo, and made of natural green. The root plate presses three thousand feet straight, and the momentum swallows four hundred states.

Cao Jie, Lu Zhishen and a dozen others went up the mountain. When they arrived at the Manjusri Temple, the temple's abbot and the abbot had already come out to greet them.

When the temple's abbot Zhizhen learned about this, he led the abbot and attendants out of the mountain gate to greet them.

"The King of Wei has come to my small temple. I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar."

"The elder is a hermit, and I came here uninvited. I am sorry for disturbing you."

Elder Zhizhen looked up at Cao Jie's head and saw that his eyes were deep, but Cao Jie had his own gift of [Demon Star] to turn the world upside down.

The elder stared for a few seconds, was startled, and clasped his hands together and said, "King Wei, please!"

Immediately, the mountain gate was opened to welcome Cao Jie into the temple.

Let’s not even talk about paying homage to Manjushri Bodhisattva.

In the abbot's meditation room, Buddhist incense was curling up, and Cao Jie, Lu Zhishen, and Elder Zhizhen were sitting in meditation.

"Back then, I gave Zhishen four lines of advice: Rise when encountering a forest, become rich when encountering a mountain, prosper when encountering water, and stop when encountering a river. Now it seems that I was not good enough in Taoism and said one of them wrongly. Zhishen has now entered the realm of day travel, and it is unknown whether he will become an infant in the future. Once he enters the realm of an infant, it will be like bringing dead water to life, and he will be able to attain Taoism!"

"Elder, I was just practicing blindly and luckily entered the Sun Travel Realm." Lu Zhishen touched his bald head and smiled naively.

Elder Zhizhen said with a smile: "The unintentional is better than the intentional. You have grasped the true meaning of the Vajra Wrathful Eyes Technique, and you have a promising future. I think the King of Wei is also in the Sun Traveling Realm, and is even more advanced than Zhishen!"

"Elder, what I learned is the inheritance of King Bao Yueguang."

"Oh! The inheritance of King Bao Yueguang was in the Liao Kingdom, and was obtained by King Wei."

After some small talk, Cao Jie said, "Elder, this time I came here for the sake of the people."

Elder Zhizhen invited Cao Jie to drink tea, and then said: "I know a little about the purpose of the King of Wei's visit. Is it because of Lin Lingsu of the Shenxiao Sect?"

"The elder is truly a living Buddha of the time. I am here just for Lin Lingsu."

The biggest reason why Cao Jie didn't go straight to attack Kaifeng Prefecture was actually Lin Lingsu.

Masters who have reached the state of being a god possess various magical powers.

In terms of the art of conceiving gods, only Gongsun Sheng, the "Dragon in the Clouds", can show off his skills in Liangshan. Wu Song's wrath of the wise king, Lu Zhishen's angry Vajra, and their own various magic skills are actually no match in front of real masters.

Not to mention "Devil King of Chaos" Fan Rui and "Phantom Demon Lord" Qiao Daoqing. Lin Lingsu, the "Golden Gate Feathered Guest", is still quite skilled.

Even if he doesn't have the strength of Elder Zhizhen or Master Luo, he is definitely better than Gongsun Sheng.

Have to be careful!

Elder Zhizhen smiled and said, "King Wei, don't worry about that Taoist friend. He can't protect himself now and can't pose a threat to you."

Cao Jie asked: "Why? Elder, please give me some advice."

"This man is trying to please the imperial court, and all he wants is to use Zhao Song's luck to break through and condense a baby. But how much help can Zhao Song give him now? It's all in vain. According to my guess, Lin Lingsu will be punished by heaven in one or two years."

"God's punishment?"

"If he breaks through and condenses into a baby, he can change his fate, but he cannot change his fate, so he will be punished by heaven. It is said that practitioners who conceive a god can achieve immortality and live freely in the world, but in fact they are bound by heaven and earth. The King of Wei came to find me, but it is difficult for me to help him!"

Elder Zhizhen shook his head: "People like me and Luo Zhenren can be free and at ease hiding in this paradise. If we go out into the world, we will inevitably be struck by lightning from the heavens. People like us really shouldn't stay in this world for long, but the gates of heaven won't open, what can we do!"

"The elder has been able to ascend?"

The 108 Liangshan heroes are all star gods from the upper realm who have descended to earth.

But Cao Jie had no idea what the upper world was. Even though he had snatched Song Jiang's chance by chance, he only had a fleeting glimpse of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady.

"Amitabha, how many people have been able to ascend to heaven from ancient times to the present? I am a person with little blessings, and I cannot comprehend the way to ascend to heaven."

After chatting with Elder Zhizhen for a long time, when he was about to leave, the elder actually took out a golden mace.

"King of Wei, this is the golden mace bestowed by the Emperor Taizu to the Eighth Sage King. Now that Zhao Song's luck has been cut off, you should use it to protect yourself! Even if you encounter Lin Lingsu, you can use it to break his magical powers. Don't be afraid of him!"

"Golden mace? Are there also Panlong stick, Dawang whip and purple gold hammer?"

"The King of Wei actually knew that these four magical weapons were the weapons used by Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin during his life of military campaigns. They embody the destiny of the Zhao and Song dynasties and can not only defeat evil, but also break all laws."

"How can I control the destiny of Zhao Song?"

Elder Zhizhen smiled mysteriously: "The King of Wei can handle it himself."

Cao Jie said no more. In the eyes of this living Buddha, it seemed that he had no secrets.

Holding the golden mace, he indeed felt a tremendous force.

When Emperor Taizu of Zhao secured his throne, he bestowed all four treasures on his most trusted ministers and inscribed on them the eight characters "Although there is no imperial carriage, it is as if I were here in person".

The golden mace was given to his beloved son, Prince of Qin Zhao Defang. Therefore, later on, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi became the emperor by "the succession from elder brother to younger brother". For a while, he held the golden mace in his hand and refused to bow to him, and Zhao Defang, the "Eight Wise Kings", was helpless.

The Panlong Staff was said to be the favorite weapon of Emperor Zhao Taizu. Some people also said that it was the predecessor of the later three-section staff. It was given to Gao Huaide, the Prince of Bohai, a famous general who had rescued Emperor Zhao Taizu many times. There was also a red-lettered iron certificate that read:

The former king bestowed the Panlong Stick upon me, and I accepted the order to stand for ten thousand years in times of crisis. I will loyally protect the Song Dynasty and will not tolerate flatterers, evildoers, or treacherous people under the stick.

The purple gold hammer was given to Zhang Lingduo, a famous general of the founding of the country.

Finally, there is a whip, which was given by Emperor Taizu of Zhao to Huyan Zan, a famous general he cultivated personally and later known as the "Iron Whip King".

But now, this magical weapon that embodies the country's destiny has fallen into the hands of a traitor like himself.

(End of this chapter)