The promotional work of Fa Wang Temple had been going on for a long time.
The temple had dozens of monks, large and small, who traveled daily to villages and towns, offering free ceremonies while promoting the miraculous events of Fa Wang Temple. They announced that a grand temple fair would be held on the 8th of July to showcase a miraculous consecration ceremony of the newly revealed Great Daxiong Hall, which had descended from the heavens.
Over time, many people had visited Fa Wang Temple to offer incense, but the back areas of the temple were off-limits. It was said that the Great Daxiong Hall, which had descended from the sky, was located there.
Everything was proceeding as planned by Fa Wang Temple, and things seemed to be going smoothly.
However, the only flaw in their plan was that yesterday, Shaolin Temple had also revealed a miracle—a bell tower appeared right before the eyes of hundreds of people, manifesting on the spot.
While Fa Wang Temple's miracle involved a Great Daxiong Hall, the spectacle was not visible at the time of its arrival, which caused some to speculate that Fa Wang Temple's miracle was a hoax. After all, Shaolin Temple's miracle was visible for everyone to see, and it seemed more legitimate.
The situation began to turn against Fa Wang Temple.
In response, Fa Wang Temple introduced a new initiative: free porridge.
Anyone attending the temple fair could receive free rice porridge and steamed buns. This gesture was especially attractive to the impoverished families who heard that they could not only witness a miracle but also get a free meal.
It didn't matter whether the miracle was real or not—if there was food to be had, people would come.
Moreover, since Fa Wang Temple had been promoting the event for so long, the entrance to the South Mountain of Shaoshi Mountain had already been taken over by vendors. By the morning of the 7th, the place was bustling with activity.
The monks of Fa Wang Temple also announced exciting news: the abbot of the temple, Li Kong, would be visited by a prominent monk from the Great Xiangguo Temple in the capital—Li Zhi, the temple's abbot—who would personally attend the miraculous consecration ceremony.
Great Xiangguo Temple was the most prestigious Buddhist temple in the Tang Dynasty, as it was the royal temple where royal ceremonies were held.
Although Great Xiangguo Temple might not be the most powerful in martial arts or in the martial world, it was certainly the most renowned due to its royal connections.
Normally, temples had abbots, but only those with profound knowledge of Buddhism and great moral standing could hold such a position. Very few, like Huo Yuanzhen, would become abbots at a young age.
Li Kong, the abbot of Fa Wang Temple, was certainly not on the same level as Li Zhi, the abbot of Great Xiangguo Temple.
The abbot of Great Xiangguo Temple, as the second-in-command of the temple, could meet the emperor without the need for formalities. This kind of status was incomparable to that of Li Kong, who was simply the abbot of a local temple. The fact that Li Zhi would attend Fa Wang Temple's consecration ceremony made it clear that the miracle could not be a hoax.
With the support of high-ranking monks from the capital and the governor of Zhengzhou, Fa Wang Temple's prestige soared, and more and more people gathered at the South Mountain of Shaoshi Mountain to witness the consecration ceremony.
The ceremony was scheduled to begin at noon, which was also a strategic move by Fa Wang Temple. The longer the pilgrims stayed at the temple, the more donations they would make. The temple had been quiet for some time, and with all the money spent on promoting free ceremonies, it desperately needed new funds to survive.
Huo Yuanzhen received an invitation from Fa Wang Temple as well.
The invitation came as a surprise, but when Huo Yuanzhen read it, he smiled.
The invitation read: "The abbot of Fa Wang Temple, Li Kong, wishes to invite you, the abbot of Shaolin Temple, to witness the consecration of the miraculous Great Daxiong Hall. As an abbot of over seventy years of age, having studied Buddhism since childhood, I have gained profound knowledge. I humbly offer this invitation for you to attend the opening ceremony, and I sincerely wish for you to cleanse your spirit and receive the teachings of the Buddha."
The tone was condescending, and the implication was clear—it was an insult to Huo Yuanzhen, implying that a young monk who had barely been an abbot for two days was trying to deceive the public.
Huo Yuanzhen laughed and handed the invitation to Guan Shanyue, who read it with fury and almost tore it up.
"Yichen, what do you think? Should we go?" Huo Yuanzhen asked.
Guan Shanyue snorted. "Master, you are the one who can truly communicate with the Buddha. What is Fa Wang Temple? If you go, you're only elevating them. Let me go and burn down their temple instead."
Huo Yuanzhen chuckled. "No need for that. We spent all that effort last night setting things up, and we can't let it go to waste."
Guan Shanyue smiled knowingly. "Yes, let them proceed with the consecration. We'll see how it ends for them."
"Such a spectacle, we should definitely go and see."
"But Master, we just came back."
"No problem. Let's hitch up the white horse again and return to Fa Wang Temple. Otherwise, those monks will think we're too timid."
The two of them hitched up the white horse to the carriage, and Huo Yuanzhen instructed the horse to take them to Fa Wang Temple. In no time, they arrived at the foot of the temple's mountain.
Fa Wang Temple had deliberately delayed sending the invitation to Huo Yuanzhen because they didn't want him to come. However, due to some instigation by Li Xuan, who had a personal grudge with Huo Yuanzhen over a loan, the insulting invitation was sent to provoke him, hoping that even if Huo Yuanzhen came, the ceremony would be over by the time he arrived.
However, they had not anticipated that Huo Yuanzhen would come early, and the consecration ceremony hadn't even started yet. The monks who had been sent to Shaolin Temple had not yet returned.
When Huo Yuanzhen and Guan Shanyue arrived, the people at Fa Wang Temple were too busy to properly greet them, so they simply joined the crowd.
Huo Yuanzhen and Guan Shanyue followed the crowd into the temple's courtyard. No one noticed them, as they assumed they were just monks from Fa Wang Temple.
They reached the middle courtyard, where they stopped, for beyond this point lay the area where the Great Daxiong Hall was located, ready for the consecration ceremony.
"Master, let's wait here. It should start soon."
"Why wait? We have an invitation. Let's go in directly."
Huo Yuanzhen did not want to wait in the crowd, so he and Guan Shanyue walked to the back door where a few young monks were standing guard.
The monks looked at the invitation with strange expressions, unsure whether they should let them in.
"What? Don't you know the rules? This is the invitation from your abbot! How dare you stop us!" Guan Shanyue shouted.
The young monks, slightly intimidated, stepped aside.
Huo Yuanzhen and Guan Shanyue entered the back courtyard. Not many people were there, and the Great Daxiong Hall was covered in red silk, which had cost over a hundred taels of silver. The nearby silk merchants had almost run out of stock.
Tables and chairs were set up in front of the hall, with empty spaces for important guests to sit, though no one was there yet.
At the back, there were rows of tables for those who had received invitations to sit. Many influential people had already gathered, including some regular visitors to Fa Wang Temple.
Further back, there was a wide open space for the public to stand and watch.
Huo Yuanzhen and Guan Shanyue found their seats among the invited guests and waited for the ceremony to begin.
Around them, people were eagerly discussing the upcoming consecration ceremony, some even mocking Shaolin Temple. Huo Yuanzhen remained silent and smiled, but Guan Shanyue seemed unable to hold back, wanting to argue. Huo Yuanzhen stopped him.
"Yichen, be patient. Look over there. Some of those monks aren't from Fa Wang Temple."
Guan Shanyue followed his gaze. Several monks in bright red robes were seated in the front row. They didn't speak, but their presence exuded an air of superiority, as if they were of a higher rank than everyone else.
"They must be monks from Great Xiangguo Temple, following Abbot Li Zhi," Huo Yuanzhen commented. "It seems things are about to get even more interesting."