Not far inside the temple gate, there was a very large pond. This pond contained many copper coins, and there was a stone with three characters written on it: Wishing Pool.
"No copper coins, I'll use this broken silver." Xiaoyao searched around and found he had no copper coins, so he directly took some broken silver and threw it in. Xiaoyao had always been casual about Buddhist and Taoist matters—he didn't care about the amount of money. It was all about sincerity, regardless of how much.
In his view, a copper coin and a gold ingot were actually the same, with no difference at all. The key was the heart, not the amount of money.
"Wait..." the old monk wanted to call out, but it was too late.
"How can you be so foolish? This wishing pool only works if things float on top—it's not about being valuable, otherwise this place would be full of gold!" At this moment, the cute young lady nearby spoke up.
"Oh, so that's how it is. It doesn't matter—I'll fulfill my own wishes anyway," Xiaoyao said unconcernedly.
"That's not how you play it, What's the point of saying that," the cute young lady frowned, somewhat displeased. She wanted to continue lecturing Xiaoyao, but just then, someone suddenly exclaimed.
An incredible situation appeared, an inexplicable situation...
"Floating... it's floating!"
"What?!"
"This is impossible, how is this possible?"
"Silver can actually float up?"
"No way..."
The scene was in uproar, with surprised exclamations everywhere. At this moment, the cute young lady looked toward the wishing pool and discovered that the broken silver Xiaoyao had just thrown in was somehow floating up.
What was this? This was called a miracle!
Everyone felt this was a miracle in their hearts—an impossible miracle. At the same time, the way they looked at Xiaoyao began to change, because the wishing pool's floating ability wasn't just about making wishes—it had another meaning: testing Buddha affinity.
Xiaoyao's situation made his powerful Buddha affinity almost unquestionable—at least that's what everyone present thought.
"Haha, young friend Xiaoyao is indeed a person of affinity—even silver can float up," the old monk laughed loudly. He had wanted to stop him. He wanted to see what Xiaoyao's Buddha affinity was like, but throwing silver made him think it would be impossible to test—he never expected such a result.
"What kind of affinity? Damn, no wonder this silver seemed a bit light—someone tampered with it. It's hollow inside," Xiaoyao said irritably. The reason the silver floated up was because someone had tampered with it—he could immediately think of this.
"Everything is fate. You're getting this silver proves this is fate," the old monk smiled.
"Fate is fate, but it seems to have nothing to do with Buddha..." Xiaoyao shook his head with a bitter smile. This time was quite interesting—it seemed he was about to become an honored guest of this Lanruo Temple.
Because of encountering such events, most temples would treat people with great hospitality, believing these people had Buddha affinity and that being with them could bring some Buddha affinity too.
"Regardless, young friend Xiaoyao must have affinity with our Lanruo Temple. Please come inside," the old monk said, inviting Xiaoyao to enter.
"Thank you!" Xiaoyao cupped his hands, then entered the temple. He wouldn't be pretentious about it—after all, he originally wanted to lodge here for a few nights.
"Young friend Xiaoyao, how about coming to my room tonight..." On the way, the old monk said to Xiaoyao, with expectation in his eyes and a different flavor.
Xiaoyao shivered: "...Old monk, I didn't expect you to have such preferences..."
"...What are you thinking, kid? This old monk just wants to have a candlelit conversation with you through the night!" the old monk said angrily. This was a rare expression from him, greatly surprising the nearby monks. But thinking about Xiaoyao's expression, even someone with the best cultivation would get angry.
"So that's it. What do you want to talk about? Life, career, or love?" Xiaoyao asked.
"Get lost! Does this old monk need love? We'll discuss Buddhist teachings!" the old monk was again made somewhat embarrassed by Xiaoyao.
"About that, I'm not very good at it..." Xiaoyao was stunned and said blankly.
"Stop pretending. That Buddhist verse you just recited contains very high Buddhist teachings, and I can sense that you comprehend it deeply—even more than this old monk!" the old monk immediately saw through Xiaoyao's act of playing dumb. He knew Xiaoyao probably didn't want such trouble.
"That might just be a coincidence!" Xiaoyao scratched his head and said with a silly laugh.
"Regardless, talking won't hurt. How about this old monk discusses your life, career, and love with you..."
"..."
Hearing the old monk's words, the nearby monks felt like they were dreaming. Why did the abbot value this poor scholar so much, speaking more than usual and being so friendly? Even when the emperor came, he might not receive such treatment.
But thinking about it, there was some logic—this scholar's broken silver actually floated on the water surface, indicating extremely deep Buddha affinity. This reason alone could make the abbot treat him as an honored guest.
Soon, these monks discovered that the abbot's decision was correct—couldn't be more correct. Because afterward they found that this poor scholar's Buddhist teachings were extremely profound. Not only could he discuss Buddhist teachings, he could even help them comprehend things they had long been unable to understand.
Originally, these monks didn't know this, because only the old monk discussed Buddhist teachings with Xiaoyao, while others felt this poor scholar couldn't possibly have any profound Buddhist knowledge. Having Buddha affinity was just having Buddha affinity—if he didn't enter Buddhism, he was just an ordinary person.
But later, the old monk's daily abnormal behavior—the old monk would actually be in a daze, then suddenly shout "I understand!"—that kind of excitement, in worldly terms, was like finding treasure.
With the old monk's cultivation level, everyone knew that if it were finding treasure, the old monk could remain unmoved. Even if he gained all the wealth in the world, it would be the same—these external things could no longer move him.
The only thing that could make him like this was comprehension in Buddhist teachings, and it had to be a very major breakthrough, otherwise he absolutely couldn't have such an expression.
Upon observation, they heard the discussions between the old monk and Xiaoyao—the Buddhist duel between the two was absolutely wonderful, something they might not have many chances to see in their lifetimes.
Both the old monk and Xiaoyao discovered people watching secretly, but they didn't stop them, because they also hoped these people could comprehend more profound Buddhist teachings. The old monk did so because he was the abbot here, while Xiaoyao felt these were all people of affinity, and the opportunities they gained were their own.
At the same time, Xiaoyao also greatly enjoyed dueling Buddhist teachings with the old monk, because not only did the old monk benefit—he also gained great benefits. The old monk's Buddhist cultivation was extremely profound, benefiting him greatly.
His realm improved a lot in these few days, not just in Buddhist teachings but in other aspects as well. As the old monk said, Xiaoyao was unique—his cultivation in mental state was at a height that made people look up to him, even making him feel this way.
"Abbot, exactly how high is Xiaoyao's Buddhist realm? Is it higher than yours?" a high monk in the temple asked. He felt he couldn't see through Xiaoyao either, which was incredibly unbelievable.
"Young friend Xiaoyao's Buddhist realm should be slightly inferior to mine!" the old monk said mysteriously. In Buddhist teachings, Xiaoyao was indeed not as good as the old monk.
"Then why can't this disciple sense his realm? Abbot's realm, this disciple can still sense, but his I cannot!"
"That's because, although his Buddhist realm is inferior to mine, his mental state cultivation far exceeds mine. If he specialized in Buddhist study, he might be slightly higher than me, but he's not like that. He also involves Taoist studies, martial dao, music, tea ceremony, calligraphy..." the old monk said calmly.
"..." The high monk was somewhat confused. Wouldn't learning so many mixed things have adverse effects?
The old monk seemed to see the high monk's confusion and said: "Some people think learning too much variety is bad—that's because they don't know how to learn. Actually, every kind of thing has the effect of promoting mental state cultivation, so he can always maintain mental state practice, making his mental state cultivation far exceed mine!"
"..." The high monk fell silent, thinking carefully. He felt he had grasped something.
The old monk continued: "What I learned from him isn't just Buddhist teachings, but it can improve my Buddhist realm, because my mental state is improving! Mental state improvement makes my feeling toward Buddhist teachings somewhat different, comprehending new things, thus making my Buddhist realm also improve accordingly!"
"This disciple understands! Cultivation lies in the heart. Heart improvement equals cultivation improvement!" the high monk said.
"Mm!"
"Then what realm has Xiaoyao's mental state cultivation actually reached? Abbot, didn't an Emperor-level martial artist once say your mental state was higher than his? Could it be that Xiaoyao's mental state cultivation is even higher than Emperor-level martial artists?"
"Hard to say. I feel his mental state has surpassed by a lot, but how much I don't know. I can only say it won't be weaker than any Emperor-level martial artist!" the old monk answered.
"..."
While the old monk was discussing Xiaoyao, Xiaoyao was already at Hanlin Academy. During the day, he would be here; at night in Lanruo Temple; at dawn in Martial Saint Hall.
Martial Saint Hall was vacated for this Dragon Gate Tournament, providing lodging for participants. Guxing and others lived there, and Xiaoyao naturally had to be inside to prepare breakfast for Guxing.
Xiaoyao's breakfast was sometimes vegetarian dishes made in Lanruo Temple, carried over on his thin horse to Guxing and the others while still steaming hot.
(End of Chapter)