Great Xiangguo Temple was a famous temple in Kaifeng, its buildings meticulously arranged, towering and magnificent.
Founded in the sixth year of the Northern Qi dynasty's Tianbao era, the temple was said to occupy the former residence of Lord Xinling, a prince of Wei during the Warring States period. Ordinarily, incense burned in abundance, and worshippers came in an unending stream.
Its current abbot was a renowned elder of the Jianghu, an eminent master of his generation: Master Ciguang, the "Long-Browed Buddha."
His mastery of Great Xiangguo Temple's supreme art, the "Hannya Finger," had reached perfection. He had once killed Situ Shang, the "Blade Demon," the previous generation's eighth elder of the Demon Cult, with a single touch of his finger, shaking the martial world.
Now over eighty, Master Ciguang spent year after year in seclusion in Guangze Cave on the mountain behind the temple, contemplating Buddhist teachings.
Night fell.
Two young novices carried vegetarian meals from the dining hall toward Guangze Cave, talking quietly along the way.
"The abbot's had such a good appetite lately. He's been finishing enough for two..."
"Exactly. Master Guangyuan's shredded bamboo shoots are too tough to chew, but the abbot ate them all without leaving a scrap... Do you think he's perfected his divine art and regained his youth? How else could he swallow them? Strange..."
"What's strange about that? I heard that when you reach the highest level of Shaolin Temple's Marrow-Washing Scripture, you can regenerate what's damaged or missing. Blind eyes can see again, and lost teeth can grow back. Maybe our Great Xiangguo Temple's True-Form Hannya Sutra can do that too. They both come from Patriarch Bodhidharma's lineage, after all."
"Yes, yes, that makes sense!"
The two young novices carried their trays into the cave and soon emerged with empty plates