Immortal I Speedrun Supernatural Game

It was a cold winter.

Cibei Temple is one of the larger Buddhist temples in the area.

Indeed, although Cibei Temple was of a decent size back then, it was only relatively large and far from being as famous and popular as it is today.

Even so, there were still quite a few monks among them.

Prepare for winter with essential supplies, especially warm clothing and bedding, as well as tools to repair any damage to the house to prevent drafts.

Kutou had to purchase and transport the supplies up the mountain before the heavy snow blocked the way.

Otherwise, once the wind and snow get heavy, the road up the mountain becomes extremely dangerous, and a slight misstep could lead to a fall or even tumbling to the bottom of the valley and dying.

It is said that a few years ago, a monk who had been expelled from Cibei Temple was killed in a snowstorm when he fell into the valley.

His Buddhist name is Wuzhen.

Du Ye was the head of the storehouse at Cibei Temple at that time.

He led Kong Bei and some of the monks in the temple, whom he had already bribed, down the mountain to make purchases.

At the same time, it's also a last hurrah before the arrival of winter.

After all, once the mountain was closed off, he couldn't use the excuse of purchasing supplies to come down the mountain anymore.

That meant he was really going to live like a monk in the mountains for a while.

Du Ye's destination was the wealthiest family in the city—the Jia family.

He had close ties with the Jia family.

Whenever high-ranking officials or nobles come to burn incense and worship Buddha, or when they invite eminent monks from Cibei Temple to come down the mountain to perform rituals, Duye would take the opportunity to tell them what they needed to ward off disaster.

The Jia family would prepare these items in advance to facilitate contact with high-ranking officials and nobles.

Over time, the three parties involved—Du Ye, the Jia family, and the nobles—became entangled.

By leveraging each other's identities to amplify their own advantages, it can be described as a win-win-win situation.

Having known for some time that Du Ye was about to visit, the Jia family had prepared a banquet in advance.

After several rounds of drinks, a tipsy Du Ye, led by the head of the Jia family, arrived at the familiar backyard.

This place houses a group of extremely beautiful women, a means for the Jia family to entertain "distinguished guests."

After their passionate encounter, one of the beauties most favored by Du Ye asked him—

"Does the venerable monk know which official has a particular fondness for rare and exotic animals?"

"Recently, the head of the family acquired a strange insect and is now worried about which family to offer it to."

She was sent by the head of the Jia family to extract information.

Du Ye was fully aware of this but did not object to it.

After pondering for a moment, he decided to go and see what kind of insect it was that the head of the family could call it "strange".

Under the cover of night, Du Ye arrived at the place where the Jia family kept their collection.

The head of the household took out a box made of expensive wood.

The moment it was opened, golden light flooded the house, illuminating Du Ye so brightly it was almost blinding.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the light did not come from any candle or similar source, but rather from an insect, or more precisely, a cicada, lying quietly inside the box.

Cicadas are insects that should only appear in the summer.

As the saying goes, you can't talk about ice with a summer insect; how could a cicada thrive in the cold winter?
Moreover, it is quite different from ordinary cicadas.

This cicada is translucent, resembling the finest amber.

The moment the wings flapped and the bird cried out, what Duye heard was not the buzzing noise that disturbed his peaceful sleep, but the echoing of the temple bell striking the Dharma drum and the sound of hundreds of scriptures turning pages at the same time.

The chanting of the sutras rippled outwards, and wherever it passed, it seemed as if the snowflakes on the branches had turned into relics, and the cold wind in the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

There's no need for the Jia family head to explain; this item is clearly extraordinary at first glance.

Du Ye acted decisively, stating that he had seen it in the temple's scriptures.

This creature is called the "Six Paths Cicada." It is said that it once cultivated itself beside the Buddha and needed to be bathed in chanting and fed with incense offered before the Buddha every day. Otherwise, it would die before the end of winter.

If it dies in someone's home, it is considered disrespectful to Buddha, and that family will be punished.

Such a taboo would probably be inappropriate to give to any official.

To avoid any unexpected incidents that might cause controversy.

In truth, Du Ye's unspoken meaning was that he wanted to possess this strange insect exclusively.

After all, isn't there a place right in front of us where we are bathed in the sound of chanting every day and where incense burns continuously before the Buddha?
That is the Compassion Temple.

The head of the Jia family understood perfectly well, and immediately offered to donate the golden cicada to the Cibei Temple so that Duye could take it with him to spread Buddhism in various places.

This was just an ordinary, dirty deal.

After all, in both sides' eyes, no matter how rare this thing is, it's nothing more than a toy.

It wasn't until the day the group reluctantly decided to return to the temple after several days of revelry at the Jia family's house.

As always, they did not leave through the main entrance.

Instead, they pretended to have finished the religious ceremony at the Jia family's residence and quietly left through a side alley.

However, on the way, they encountered a thinly dressed woman kneeling in front of a house.

Upon seeing Du Ye and the other monks dressed as monks, the woman immediately stepped forward, weeping and pleading her case.

She said she had been married into this family for several years, but had been unable to conceive.

The husband went to the doctor for a checkup and found that both of them were healthy, so he thought it was just bad luck on her part.

She not only frequently committed domestic violence against him, but also kicked him out of the house in the dead of winter.

She'd freeze to death if she stayed in this awful weather all night wearing such thin clothes.

Duye had to maintain the image of himself and other enlightened monks in public, and couldn't let gossip get back to Cibei Temple.

Therefore, he pretended to say that after returning to the temple, he would definitely burn incense and pray to the Buddha on behalf of the woman, so that she could have a son soon and the family could be harmonious.

It's really just empty talk.

The woman was deeply grateful upon hearing this. She knelt in the wind and snow and kowtowed repeatedly to Du Ye, hoping that the high monk would grant her wish.

Then something unexpected happened—

A faint golden light emanated from Du Ye's body and flowed towards the woman's abdomen in front of everyone.

For a time, the woman shouted the slogan of Buddha's miracle at the top of her lungs, attracting people outside the alley to stop and watch.

The group, who originally planned to quietly return to the temple with the supplies prepared by the Jia family, saw that more and more people were gathering and immediately urged Duye to find a way to leave this troublesome place to avoid any unexpected situations.

Du Ye had no choice but to quickly help the woman up and tell her to go to the clinic for a check-up. He lied and said that he had a religious ceremony to attend to and needed to return to the temple immediately, promising that he would not forget his promise to burn incense and offer prayers.

And so, the monks scrambled away from the town as quickly as possible.

On their way up the mountain, they were also curious about how Du Ye could perform that trick of golden light entering the body.

If they could perform more of these visually stunning acrobatic tricks in the future, it might even enhance their reputation among the high-ranking officials and nobles, bringing them endless wealth and honor. Du Ye casually made up a few lies to gloss over the situation.

In reality, only he knew that the golden light did not originate from his own body, but rather from the wooden box he carried in his bosom.

It's that strange golden cicada!

"After that day, Duye returned to the temple and was restless all day long. He often locked himself in his room to meditate and cultivate, but in reality, he was doing something else." Huiming recalled the part he knew calmly.

"When the spring of the following year arrived and the snow on the way down the mountain melted, he immediately went to the town under the pretext of purchasing supplies and inquired about the woman."

"Unexpectedly, this matter had already spread throughout the city."

Huiming's expression turned slightly serious.

He said earnestly, "The couple burned incense together, kowtowing repeatedly in hopes of having a baby. When they returned, their bellies were growing larger, and the news spread throughout the Cibei Temple. Everyone said that the Buddha truly shone here, and people wore out their doorsteps seeking the mystery."

"The woman was indeed pregnant."

Upon hearing this, Wu Wang's heart skipped a beat.

He had not only heard of such miracles, but had also witnessed similar ones firsthand.

The thing I've seen is called the "Miracle of Suffering".

Without a doubt, the golden cicada that Du Ye obtained was something mysterious, and the miracle it bestowed might have been obtained at some price.

If it's true, as I suspect, that this instance is related to [Twisted].

The eventual fulfillment of that wish will definitely not be normal.

This is somewhat like a certain urban legend I know—monkey paws.

It is said that this thing can grant people's wishes in an extremely twisted and cruel way, and will bring malicious consequences.

For example, you might wish for a monkey's paw to give you a huge fortune so you can use it to raise your children.

Perhaps the next day your child will die tragically in an accident somewhere, and the final compensation and insurance payout you receive will be the wealth you wished for.

Seeing Wu Wang's thoughtful expression, Monk Huiming continued, "Without a doubt, Du Ye also guessed that this matter must be related to the Golden Cicada. After returning, he tried various methods to recreate the miracle."

"In the end, we discovered that there was only one way to activate the golden cicada's Buddha light—that is, a sincere heart of seeking Buddha."

"It's ridiculous. Jin Chan stayed in the Jia family and with a group of monks for several days without being activated, but he felt the piety of a woman kneeling in the snow begging for a child to Buddha."

Monk Huiming couldn't help but reveal a mocking smile.

He then continued, reflecting further, and added:
"Later, Cibei Temple's reputation spread further and further, and Duye himself was deeply loved by the pilgrims, who believed that he was the incarnation of Buddha on earth. Countless pilgrims traveled from afar just to see this so-called eminent monk, Duye. After the previous abbot passed away, he naturally became the new abbot."

"Until one day, when Du Ye was reading scriptures in the library, the entire library was illuminated by a beam of golden light."

"When the other monks from Cibei Temple rushed over, they found that Duye had disappeared, and in his place stood a golden Buddha statue."

“The Buddha statue looks exactly like Duye.”

“The monks all say it is because of the love and expectation of sentient beings in the world for the cause of salvation that he is saved and can be saved to Buddhahood.”

Therefore, his name is "Buddha of All Beings".

After saying this, Monk Huiming let out a heavy sigh.

Because he thought so a long time ago.

Furthermore, since he was taken in by Duye and brought to the temple, he had an indescribable admiration and longing for Duye.

Wu Wang did not interrupt the monk Huiming.

He knew that the strange occurrences at Cibei Temple must have started after that.

After exhaling, Monk Huiming continued:
"When the monks in the temple were planning to move the golden Buddha statue to the main hall, it collapsed instantly in front of everyone and turned into countless golden cicadas flying around."

"Some of them fell into the monks' quarters and turned into locks, some disappeared into the dining hall, and some became prayer cushions in the meditation hall..."

"Cibei Temple has become a true Buddhist holy site. The number of pilgrims visiting has not decreased but increased. Everywhere you go is a pure land, and the monks are all practicing to attain Buddhahood."

Hearing this, Wu Wang squinted and asked, "Are these all recorded at the back of the logbook?"

Huiming wasn't surprised that this guy had guessed that he had read the diary before, and even that he had torn out and hidden the latter half of the diary.

“That’s right, I hid the second half of the log inside the hoe in the vegetable garden. If you don’t believe me, you can go back and break the wooden part of the hoe to see for yourself.” Monk Huiming said this with a self-deprecating laugh, “The more you hide it, the more dirt it gets.”

After a moment of contemplation, Wu Wang continued, "Then how did Kong Bei know about these things?"

Don't forget, that diary was written by Kong Bei.

Logically, most of these things should only be known to Du Ye.

In response, Huiming shook his head and said, "Duye thought he was hiding it well, but in fact, Kongbei noticed him the day he obtained the Golden Cicada."

"Do you remember? I said that the log recorded that when the cicada emerged from the wooden box, it shone with a golden light that illuminated the room. It was the middle of the night, and Kong Bei happened to run into this sudden golden light just as he was about to go out to the toilet after having fun with a prostitute."

"He wrote in his diary that after seeing the golden light, he hid outside the window and saw everything through the crack. When Du Ye went down the mountain to inquire about the woman after the spring, Kong Bei also went down the mountain to follow him."

"It wasn't until after he attained Buddhahood through the liberation of all beings, and the Buddha statue transformed into countless golden cicadas, that Kongbei truly realized that the liberation of all beings through the liberation of all beings and the attainment of Buddhahood were inextricably linked to the golden cicadas."

He deduced that Duye swallowed it, used himself to nourish the golden cicada, and then gathered the power of countless pilgrims' vows to finally become a Buddha.

"After Kongbei became the abbot, he searched for the traces of the cicada that had not yet been transformed in Cibei Temple day after day, especially the Sutra Repository where the karmic deities were saved and the Buddha was attained. He would take time every night to go there again to search."

"He wanted to find a cicada that was still in the shape of an insect, just like it was back then, and replicate the path of saving sentient beings to become the second Buddha."

Wu Wang narrowed his eyes.

He was skeptical of this claim.

Of course, it's not that I doubt that the monk Huiming would lie to me at this time.

But is the content recorded in Kong Bei's diary really completely accurate?

This golden cicada is definitely not a simple wonder that can turn the power of wishes into miracles.

Otherwise, Cibei Temple wouldn't have become such a bizarre place.

There must be some other cost involved!

It seemed that he had noticed Wu Wang's confusion.

Huiming took two deep breaths and sighed, "Benefactor, there's no need to worry. This humble monk already knows the price of the Golden Cicada, but I simply dare not face it."

"After becoming the head of the warehouse, I went down the mountain to inquire about the family of the woman who was given a child by the golden cicada. They disappeared inexplicably, and when people went to look for them, they only found a house full of insect eggs."

"Furthermore, the occasional disappearance of devout worshippers at Cibei Temple confirms my suspicions—"

"【The cicada is not a Buddha, but it feeds on Buddhas】"

“The more Buddhist a pilgrim is, the more delicious a delicacy he is in the eyes of the cicada.”

"Therefore, Kongbei deliberately selects pilgrims with Buddhist nature and tries to keep them in the temple in an attempt to lure out the cicada and capture it."

"That is why, after realizing that you and your companions were qualified to become offerings, I tried to dissuade you from leaving Cibei Temple and returning to your normal lives."

"Unfortunately, you refused."

"And now... it's too late." (End of Chapter)