New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 183 [Buddha's Cocoon]

The emerald green spear was rather excessively long, unable to fit into his mere 1-meter-long soul space, and it was trembling violently in his palm, trying to break free.

So he looked at Ah Miao with pleading eyes. Seeing this, the young lady stepped forward, reached out, and gently stroked the gun, and the 'flying sword' immediately fell silent.

Meng Xiyue was filled with curiosity: "What's the principle behind this?"

Ah Miao: "Trade secret."

Yuan Zhu leaned the spoils against his back, and his uniform automatically split open, binding him with threads. A Miao, standing nearby, simply wrapped her spear behind her back and vanished in the blink of an eye, clearly possessing spatial abilities or equipment as well.

The three of them checked the hall again.

Everyone instinctively stepped forward and rummaged through the pockets of the unconscious passersby. They emptied the wallets of those who came to deposit money, then tacitly put them back, arranging these generous, kind people in a comfortable and peaceful position to prevent them from getting a stiff neck or anything like that.

In less than fifteen minutes, the three of them had emptied the entire service hall, with each person's savings exceeding 3000 yuan. Truly, this is a wealthy place. Even in the ordinary service area, they've achieved such a fantastic result.

Yuan Zhu suggested, "How about we go check out the upscale neighborhood?"

"This way!"

Meng Xiyue chose a direction and continued to delve deeper into the bank, stealthily heading towards the next business area.

This time, they saw many figures collapsed on the floor in the corridors, all ordinary people with limited strength. Those who actually possessed some strength remained conscious, leaving traces of their movements in the corridors.

Some sections of the road even bore traces of battle and bloodstains, but there were no corpses or seriously injured or unconscious people.

Yuan Zhu: "Are we a step too late?"

He discovered that some ordinary people who had collapsed had their pockets searched. Sure enough, those who remained conscious were unable to resist such temptation. Great minds think alike.

After observing for a while, A-Miao said, "At first, those who remained clear-headed had the same thoughts as us. But gradually, their rationality changed, and they became attracted to other things, no longer valuing money, and becoming more hurried."

As they continued forward, they indeed found that the ordinary people lying on the ground showed no signs of having their pockets searched. On the contrary, the remaining tracks on the ground were more hurried, clearly indicating that they had abandoned their valuables and were accelerating towards the same spot.

Meng Xiyue analyzed, "Do they, like us, realize that they should go to areas where the wealthy are more concentrated to seek their fortune?"

Yuan Zhu: "I don't think so. Didn't you notice that there are more signs of a fight, and more bloodstains on the ground and walls? It doesn't seem like a simple robbery."

The three cautiously advanced, while Yuan Zhu controlled the [uniform], causing a few threads to split off and merge into the shadows beneath their feet, transforming into black tentacles that burrowed into the pockets they passed, trying to feel around. If they found something, they were given a treat; otherwise, they were passed over. Yuan Zhu then thoughtfully straightened the people and fastened their buttons.

"There are signs of intense fighting here!"

Suddenly, A-Miao pointed in a direction, and in the distance, one could see scattered building debris, as if a fierce battle had taken place.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered a large hole had been punched through the thick wall from the inside, and the attacker was recklessly charging straight ahead. Ignoring the existing corridor, they then created another equally enormous hole in the opposite wall.

"Which way... should we go?"

Looking at the direction the rubble was spraying on the ground, A-Miao pointed to one side and said, "The other side broke through the wall from this side and is moving towards the other end. I think it's best to move against them so we don't run into them. Besides, it seems they came from the direction inside the bank?"

How did you fight your way up from within the bank?

Meng Xiyue: "I think I smell wealth? Let's go in and see if we can find some scraps?"

The three exchanged glances, a tacit understanding inexplicably forming between them. Yuan Zhu controlled the rat-headed creature, guiding it through a large hole in the wall and forward.

Unlike the previous business area where there were unconscious customers everywhere, along the way they saw many strangely dead bodies, interrupted by external forces, scorched by high temperatures, or evenly smeared on the walls... Each one was a tragic and bizarre death, and left with extraordinary fluctuations.

"None of them are ordinary people. Wait, something's not right. Candle, come look at this!"

Meng Xiyue sensed something was wrong. She looked at a corpse leaning against the wall with its head drooping low, pointed to the hole punched through its chest, and said, "Take a look. Doesn't this look familiar?"

As Yuan Zhu approached, he sensed a familiar feeling. Little Spicy Strip immediately retrieved a similar pollution fluctuation from the [Pollution Database]: "It's Buddhist energy!"

He looked down at his chest cavity, which still bore a huge hole, and then exclaimed, "Whoa!" "Isn't this the [Buddha Cocoon]? How did it get smashed?"

On one side of the ruptured chest, there remained a small, tumor-like mass, about the size of half a silkworm cocoon, with a crookedly open eye on its surface, below which was a perpetually smiling mouth, and then a left ear...

The facial features on the surface of this "Buddha Cocoon" are misplaced and chaotically arranged; just a glance at it evokes a sense of mental pollution and 'chaos.' It has a low-budget version of 'Overlord's Egg. Behemoth's' feel to it.

Just as he tried to look away, the "Buddha Cocoon" emitted a mysterious attraction, making it hard for him to look away. It was strange, but he still wanted to take another look.

The more I looked at it, the more I felt that this dislocated and incomplete Buddha cocoon resembled a smiling Maitreya Buddha with a lot of fat on his face and a somewhat benevolent expression. I immediately filled in the complete image of Maitreya Buddha in my mind.

"hiss!"

Yuan Zhu gasped. This [Buddha Cocoon] is poisonous!

Despite being a deformed, tumorous fetus, it exudes a benevolent aura, devoid of any sinister or evil undertones, only radiating warmth, compassion, and kindness. The more it smiles, the more chilling it becomes.

Suddenly, A-Miao picked up a sharp piece of stone from the ground, flicked it, and severed the flesh connected to the [Buddha Cocoon], causing it to roll to the ground.

Yuan Zhu: "Holy crap? What the hell is this?!"

At this moment, Yuan Zhu and Meng Xiyue saw the other side of the broken [Buddha Cocoon]. Inside, it looked like a hollow meat naan, from which half of a 'human-faced maggot' covered in mucus was leaking out.

To be precise, it was a white, fleshy half-worm, with only the front half remaining, while the back half and the other half of the 'cocoon' were destroyed by an external attack.

Now, the fallen half of the insect's body has microscopic infant hand-shaped arms and legs growing on both sides of its abdomen, while its head is a 'smiling Maitreya Buddha' of infant age.

The human-faced worm's body, broken in half, contained no internal organs, only a pale golden sap that oozed out, emitting a faint sandalwood fragrance that was intoxicating and refreshing, as if one could be drawn into a state of Zen enlightenment at any moment.

At that moment, the [Transcendent Ritual: Buddha Maggot Incense] he had heard while passing through the Misty Mountains on his way to Taixi suddenly flashed through his mind. "This is... [Buddha Maggot]?!"

"Huh?" Meng Xiyue also looked confused and disgusted; this was a blind spot in her knowledge.

A-Miao nodded in agreement: "That's right, it's a Buddha maggot, not a fake. It's a pity it was damaged and won't be easy to preserve."

"Ugh! It looks disgusting!" Meng Xiyue frowned, looking disgusted. "What are these [Buddha Maggots]? How bizarre!"

A-Miao: "Since you recognized this as a 'Buddha's Cocoon,' what should be inside the 'cocoon'?"

"There should be worms inside the cocoon. So the Buddha head cocoon is teeming with Buddha maggots?!" The pink-haired girl's eyes widened, somewhat incredulous and unable to accept it. "Wait! As far as I know, the first stage of Buddhist practice is implanting a Buddha cocoon into the body, right?!"

A-Miao: "Hmm."

Yuan Zhu: "No wonder Taixi once launched an anti-Buddhist movement. Was he trying to eliminate pests? It's so sanity-lowering! I can no longer look at Buddhist monks the same way!"

A-Miao was puzzled: "Is this so hard to accept? Other systems, even at the beginner level, aren't that much stronger. Buddhism is a super power with a long history, officially recognized as the righteous path. Have you heard of the concept of 'inner demons'? Buddha and demons are one; cultivating Buddhism is cultivating the mind, cultivating Buddhism is subduing demons!"

Meng Xiyue: "This thing is [Demon]?"

Yuan Zhu: "Isn't the inner demon an instigator?"

A-Miao: "I'm not a monk, so I don't know much. I've only heard that the [Buddha Cocoon] contains the true essence of Buddhism, but also contains demonic nature. Buddhists often feed demons with their own bodies. If you have the [Buddha Cocoon], you can achieve enlightenment on your own and comprehend the boundless Dharma even without a systematic lineage. All of this is closely related to the [Buddha Maggot]."

Meng Xiyue: "I still can't accept it! This is the first time I've ever seen something so bizarre. My mind has been completely polluted. Oh my god! I remember when I was little, my mom bought me a 'Buddha's head cocoon' that grew naturally on the walls of a temple as a pendant. I can't look at my childhood the same way anymore!"

The thought of her as a little girl, wearing a 'Buddha head cocoon' pendant around her neck, happily running around and showing it off to her friends, makes her pale and unable to look at her life directly.

Yuan Zhu could only be thankful that Running City had very few temples. Even if there were, they were private temples that were high up and not open to the common people.

A-Miao: "The 'Buddha head cocoons' that grow naturally around the temple are just for show; they contain nothing. Only high-ranking monks can cultivate these cocoons that breed Buddha maggots. Within Buddhism, they are called 'Bodhi seeds' or 'relics,' and are an essential foundation for beginners."

She glanced at Yuan Zhu and added, "It's equivalent to [Holy Mark + Holy Seal]. You only need one [Buddha Cocoon] to comprehend Buddhist teachings on your own."

The three set off again. After this brief shock of mental pollution, they noticed more and more that the corpses that had died tragically along the way all had a faint sense of 'Zen' leaking out.

Pale golden sandalwood sap was found in the fatal wounds inflicted on the deceased. The attackers were clearly heading towards the location of the "Buddha Cocoon," killing the "Buddha Maggots" inside while inflicting fatal wounds on the physical body.

Yuan Zhu: "Is this a bank robbery orchestrated by Buddhist sects? Have we been caught up in some incredible storm?"

Upon hearing this reminder, A-Miao suddenly changed her outfit with a single click, switching from her fashionable and youthful attire to a plain black formal suit. Then, she took out a mask and covered her face to hide herself.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Zhu immediately activated the [Shadow Uniform], abandoning his usual racing suit style and choosing a black matching formal suit with A Miao. He also retrieved a mask from his [Soul Space], the one he wore when receiving his colleagues from the [White Feather Society].

Meng Xiyue stared in disbelief: "Why are you all so skilled?"

Then, she controlled the uniform to change to the same style. Unfortunately, she didn't prepare a mask, so she further wove the uniform to cover her head, only making two holes for her eyes.

Ah Miao said, "Don't panic. No matter what kind of conspiracy it is, we're going in the opposite direction, away from the center of the incident. Besides, I have unique methods of concealment. Even if the bank has any surveillance systems, they won't be able to capture our images. Now, we're fully armed. As long as we operate discreetly, we should be able to wait for the rescue to arrive."

Along their journey, the three encountered about ten different corpses, all emanating varying degrees of Buddhist aura, and all of their [Buddhist cocoons] had been destroyed. This eerie scene weighed heavily on their hearts.

Yuan Zhu recalled his first encounter and observations in the bubble world, wondering if the "Buddha cocoons" on those "eggplant monks" were also so bizarre.

Meng Xiyue also thought of what she had seen in the 'Buddhist Kingdom of That Leaf', so she asked, "Hey, can you tell which school of monks these are? As far as I know, Buddhism is divided into two schools: [Body Refinement] and [Spirit Refinement]."

A-Miao replied, "These [Buddha cocoons] all belong to the 'Vajra' lineage, which is body refinement, so the Buddha cocoons are in the physical body. For monks who refine their souls, the Buddha cocoons are in their skulls."

...

Finally, the three of them saw many ordinary people lying unconscious on the ground again. Apart from the traces of rampage, there was no more killing or fighting, and there was no more host of the [Buddha Cocoon].

They all breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a long-lost sense of relaxation. It was just an ordinary person in a coma, which made them feel safe.

Then they discovered an overturned metal suitcase, with large amounts of banknotes scattered on the table and floor.

"money!"

Meng Xiyue was the first to exclaim in surprise, followed by Yuan Zhu, who also saw the banknotes on the table and the floor. The three of them were instantly healed from their heavy mood.

He quickly stepped forward and, without hesitation, helped the unconscious person tidy up the carelessly discarded pieces of paper, then kept them safe for them.

Yuan Zhu bent down and diligently picked them up, only to find that the denominations were all very small: "Why are they all small-denomination banknotes?"

"It's good enough if we can find money here. Let's go around to the back and take a look..."

The three continued their exploration, but found nothing more. It was quite disappointing that the prestigious Star Bank didn't have stacks of deposits.

Fortunately, they were now in the interior area, where a detailed map of the interior had appeared on the walls. Meng Xiyue paused to observe for a moment, then suggested, "Hey! I have a bold idea!"

Yuan Zhu: "What?"

"Let's go steal some little pumpkins!"

Ah Miao was delighted upon hearing this: "Hey? This is great! Let's choose this one!"

Yuan Zhu quickly followed and asked, "What's a little pumpkin?"

Meng Xiyue: "The Star Realm Bank's special VIP gifts are only given to VIP clients. Of course, the truly VIP clients wouldn't even look at the little pumpkin, but those who need the little pumpkin aren't qualified to receive it. This is exactly what they mean by 'To those who have, more will be given, and they will have abundance; but from those who do not have, even what they have will be taken away!'"

(End of this chapter)