A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

The White Snake and the shepherd boy had a destined connection.

The White Snake transformed into a little girl in a white dress and followed the fairies down the mountain to help the world. They saw a young shepherd boy tending three cows. It was early spring, and because of the snow disaster, the vegetation was growing exceptionally lush.

The young shepherd boy was fair-skinned and tender. Facing the rising sun, he called out to the cow and two calves.

"oops!"

The white snake suddenly cried out in surprise.

The little shepherd boy rushed over and asked the white snake, "Sister... what's wrong?"

The white snake, with a mournful face, quietly placed a snake into her bosom, saying, "My foot was bitten by a snake!"

I rolled up the trouser leg, and sure enough, there were two small holes with teeth on my snow-white ankle.

The little shepherd boy immediately said, "It's been bitten and needs to suck blood."

The white snake was about to speak, but the shepherd boy, without a word, bent down, his mouth agape, and began to suck blood. He sucked a mouthful, then spat it out…

The blood that flowed out quickly turned bright red.

The little shepherd boy stood up and said with a grin, "Sister, it's alright now."

The White Snake wanted to say, "Oh, young man... I have no way to repay your life-saving grace, so I can only offer myself to you..."

Before he could even finish speaking, Komaki Tom collapsed stiffly to the ground.

It fell to the ground with a "thud".

The white snake leaned closer to take a look and saw that the shepherd boy's face was bluish, clearly a sign of poisoning. The white snake was terrified; its own wound wasn't poisonous.

He pulled the snake from his pocket and asked, "Are you poisonous?"

The snake flicks its tongue: It's not poisonous.

It was definitely a non-venomous snake, so how did the shepherd boy fall to the ground?

Panicked, he threw away the snake and, carrying the little shepherd boy, ran quickly towards the Taoist temple.

"Help! Taoist priest!"

Ignoring the astonished looks of the demons along the way, the White Snake plunged into the Taoist temple. But when she saw that no one was there, she caught the Spider Demon who was about to cook.

"Where is the Taoist priest?"

The spider demon stared wide-eyed at the shepherd boy in the white snake's arms: "He went fishing in the river, no... are you giving him an extra meal?"

The White Snake Demon roared, "Get out of Garm's meal!"

Feeling the body he was holding getting cold, he disregarded everything, transformed into his original form, and a white snake suddenly rose into the air from the Taoist temple, heading straight for the Minjiang River.

The Taoist priest was fishing, and a fat monk was watching him fish.

"Fellow Daoist, your demeanor is extraordinary. Even your fishing style is admirable. I wonder which temple on Mount Qingcheng you cultivated in?"

The fat monk asked after seeing Zhang Zhengdao catch a fish.

Zhang Zhengdao glanced at the fat monk.

The fat monk's face twitched twice.

No, I looked at the Taoist priest, who was shrouded in mist and clouds, and I couldn't understand him. So why did I feel a sense of dread whenever he looked at me?

Zhang Zhengdao asked, "Where are you from, monk? There don't seem to be any temples on Mount Qingcheng."

The fat monk forced himself to remain calm and laughed, "I am a monk, yet I am not a monk. I go where I come from, and I come from where I go..."

Zhang Zhengdao glanced at him sideways and said, "Speak properly."

"A wandering monk!"

"So you're just a wandering monk, huh? Hmph—you wandering monk, how come you're so fat? Is it because monks eat better when the world is in chaos, or are the families you beg from all wealthy enough to spend money on food and drink?"

Monk:  …

"I gain weight even from drinking water."

Zhang Zhengdao nodded: "Monk, you didn't come to Qingcheng Mountain just to pass by, did you?"

The fat monk chuckled: "Fellow Daoist, you can see that I was passing through Yizhou and found Qingcheng Mountain to be quite spiritual, so I decided to settle here."

Zhang Zhengdao: "You're planning to build a temple? Do you have the money?"

The fat monk shook his head: "I plan to stay at your Taoist temple for a while."

Zhang Zhengdao resolutely refused: "How can a monk stay at a Taoist temple? No way, no way!"

In fact, he had already realized that this monk's cultivation was extraordinary; at least all the demons here combined were no match for even a fraction of this monk's level.

However, it's unlikely that a powerful being has come to find him.

What kind of great power is someone whose cultivation level can be seen through at a glance? So I'm not worried, but don't even think about eating and drinking for free in my Taoist temple.

The fat monk seemed to have seen through Zhang Zhengdao's thoughts.

He pulled out several gold ingots from his pocket and said, "I have money!"

Zhang Zhengdao: "Ah—haha, that's not impossible, but you have to understand, the people in my Taoist temple are all demons who cultivate..."

The fat monk said, "I think the demons in your temple are kind-hearted. They even harass the people around them, which can be considered their good deeds. How can you discriminate against them?"

Zhang Zhengdao: "I'm afraid they'll discriminate against you."

The fat monk was taken aback: "What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Zhengdao said, "I'm not trying to be mean, but the people of this Southern Continent only know Taoism and few know Buddhism. You are a monk, and although you have some cultivation, during this great snow disaster, when Master Zhang of Fuqing Palace led his disciples to save people and relieve their suffering, what did your Buddhist sect do?"

The fat monk remained silent.

Zhang Zhengdao continued, “In our Qingcheng Mountain, when the demons, big and small, of our Taoist temple go up the mountain to catch beasts and go down into the water to catch fish, and then give their catch to the people in the surrounding area, where is the Buddha?”

The fat monk remained silent, his expression turning somewhat grim.

Zhang Zhengdao: "The world is in chaos, war is raging, and people are displaced. Before Fuqing Palace, Master Zhang traveled thousands of miles and saved countless lives. Master Wujiao, along with his disciple Master Ge, persuaded officials to provide relief to the people. At this time, where is Buddhism?"

The fat monk's face turned red.

Zhang Zhengdao unfolded the gold ingots that the fat monk had just handed him.

"Oh, so this is where it is."

The fat monk was filled with shame. He put his palms together and bowed to Zhang Zhengdao, saying, "What you say is right, Daoist. I was presumptuous. Cultivation is about repairing deficiencies, thereby cultivating a flawless body. I have learned a lot."

Zhang Zhengdao sighed, "It's not that we necessarily need to find a right or wrong, but the merit of this is simply to ensure that everyone in the world has enough to eat and wear, and that the world is at peace. As the Confucianists say, 'When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame.' When the people are healthy and well, they will naturally do good. Why do we need Buddhist scriptures to teach them..."

Upon hearing this, the fat monk felt he should refute it, and immediately said, "Since we've come to Buddhism, this humble monk has a slightly different opinion..."

"I promise you!"

The fat monk originally wanted to argue a bit more, but Zhang Zhengdao's words swayed his thinking.

“I said, I agree, let’s go, these few ingots of gold are a deposit.”

Zhang Zhengdao put away his fishing rod and headed towards the Taoist temple on his own.

The fat monk panicked. How could these few ingots of gold only be considered a deposit? He knew he didn't have any spare money. It wasn't that he couldn't conjure money with magic, but he simply couldn't outsmart the Taoist priest.

It might backfire.

After all, everyone here is a cultivator, and I can't even tell how high this Taoist's cultivation level is, so I have to be careful.

Just as they were about to leave, the fat monk suddenly looked in the direction of the Taoist temple.

A white snake descended from the sky and landed right in front of Zhang Zhengdao.

"Master... help me!"

It was the White Snake. Zhang Zhengdao was taken aback, then looked at the little boy being carried by the White Snake and couldn't help but sigh.

They're not even adults yet!

You white snake, how dare you...?

"Your Majesty!"

Zhang Zhengdao was still furious.

With a "plop," the white snake lay down on the ground, carefully letting the shepherd boy roll off her back and lie flat on the ground. Without caring about anything else, she transformed into human form and simply wept.

Zhang Zhengdao knew what was going on after just one glance.

He said angrily, "What can I say about you? Look at yourself! You bit yourself with a non-venomous snake to lure the shepherd boy into sucking out the venom for you. The snake was non-venomous, but you are venomous!"

Upon hearing this, the white snake immediately understood and her face turned deathly pale.

Looking at the shepherd boy again, it seemed he had no more breath left.

The fat monk clasped his hands together and compassionately chanted, "Poor thing, poor thing, this shepherd boy is dead. Let this humble monk perform a ritual for him so that he may go to the Western Paradise..."

"Bah! Go to your mother's Western Paradise! The shepherd boy isn't dead! The Taoist priest can save him!"

The white snake glared angrily at the fat monk.

The fat monk shook his head: "He is indeed completely dead. If he is to be resurrected, he will have to go to the underworld and return his soul. However... reversing yin and yang goes against the Great Dao..."

Zhang Zhengdao looked at the fat monk, who was speaking in a series of sentences.

"Survival is easy enough, why go to the underworld!"

The fat monk was taken aback, then turned to look at Zhang Zhengdao: "If it's not going to the underworld, there is another way. With profound magical power, we can keep the physical body alive, but the soul will still have to go to the underworld no matter what..."

Before the words were even finished, a long, hissing sound was heard.

The shepherd boy sat up on one side.

Fat monk: ...

Zhang Zhengdao laughed, "You monk, you're good at fooling people. You make such a simple thing so complicated. Hehe, I know, that's how you monks make money. Isn't that right? Haha, don't deny it, I used to have a lot of experience with this..."

He patted the fat monk on the shoulder and walked along the path toward the Taoist temple.

The fat monk was dumbfounded. He looked at the white snake and the little shepherd boy next to him, who were crying with their heads in their hands. After confirming that the shepherd boy was alright, he couldn't help but touch his bald head.

Bringing the dead back to life disrupts the cycle of reincarnation, which is not permitted by the laws of Heaven.

The fat monk looked up at the sky.

Where has the Way of Heaven gone?