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Chapter 40 Bodhisattva's Descent
—What, I'm going to be the Buddha?
—Really?
Zhou You scrutinized the old monk's face, trying to find any signs of madness, but all he saw was a resolute expression.

“Yes, I hope you will become a Buddha, but don’t worry, I don’t mean you should stay on it like a real Buddha statue.” The old monk said calmly. “In fact, as long as there is incense and faith, whatever sits on it can perform the function of suppression. But the problem is that to receive faith, it must be re-consecrated. So I hope you will sit on it first and become a Buddha. After I consecrate it, you can come down and I will take your place.”

"However, there may be intense pain during this process—after all, we can't use the conventional consecration method that takes several days, so we have to resort to some unorthodox methods—I just don't know if you can withstand it?"

—Having said all that, what else could Zhou You say?
As I just said, at worst, you just have to pay a resurrection coin.

So he nimbly climbed onto the lotus platform, sat cross-legged there, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

"bring it on."

Without further ado, the old monk used one hand to scrape off the painted decorations from the Buddha statue, gathered them onto his robe, then grabbed the water-bag-like abdomen and slashed it forcefully!
The ghostly blood that had been gathered within the body poured out, mixing with the paint and turning into a pile of rotten and bizarre stuff.

Zhou You's heroic expression froze instantly.

Well, to be honest, I'm having second thoughts.

Before he could express his opinion, the old monk produced a box of extremely long gold needles from somewhere, dipped them in the mixture, and then stuck them into his body.

That one moment almost made someone jump up!

—This is fucking not just any pain!
This is beyond anything that can be compared to self-harm or cutting off flesh; it feels like someone has driven a steel nail into your medulla oblongata while you're still alive, and your whole mind is filled with the feeling of 'pain'!

However, Zhou You ultimately did not jump up. Looking at the old monk's cautious expression, he gritted his teeth and even swallowed his words.

So only the old monk's chanting remained in the hall.

"At that time, the World-Honored One entered a samadhi called the Samadhi of Vajra-Stabilizing Images of All Tathagatas. Ariseing from this samadhi, he spoke of the sculpting, painting, carving, and adornment of all Buddhas."

"May the Dharma Master, in accordance with the mantra and ritual, request the Buddha to enshrine the image, make offerings, and offer praise. Then the Tathagata and sages will descend to rejoice and accomplish merit."

After an unknown amount of time, just as Zhou You clearly remembered the forty-sixth needle piercing his body, the old monk's voice suddenly stopped.

Then came a sigh of relief.

"It's done!"

Finished?
Zhou You struggled to lift his head and saw a face full of apology.

Even with such a good opportunity, the monk still did not make a move.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you. Please leave the rest to me."

"Speak," the old monk said, extending a hand to help Zhou You down, but Zhou You just grinned, gently pushed the arm away, and then climbed down the lotus platform on his own.

"No need, I can handle this little thing myself. I just don't know what you, Master, are capable of."

The conversation abruptly stopped.

It wasn't that Zhou You noticed anything unusual, but rather that a mechanical female voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"Congratulations, player. You have received the blessing: the magical protection of the Sanjishumo."

"The level of blessing is: Blue."

"Sanzhi Xiuma is one of the twenty deities in Buddhism and the son of Hariti (the demoness Hariti). The Dharani Collection Sutra records that Hariti has three sons, the eldest named Vijaya, the second named Sanzhi Xiuma. Those who receive his blessing will have their physical condition improved to a certain extent."

"Your talent: keen observation has been enhanced and transformed."

"Observational Insight becomes: Eye of the Cause (Green)." "Effect: You can occasionally identify the properties of an item, and under certain specific conditions, glimpse the past of the person who comes into contact with it."

What is this?
Is there always a reward after suffering?

Before Zhou You could even process what was happening, the old monk had already finished his preparations.

He then placed all the golden needles stained with Zhou You's blood onto the lotus platform, forming something resembling a mountain of swords.

—The old monk did not consecrate Zhou You himself, but these terrifying long needles.

Then, he lifted his monk's robe and sat down cross-legged without hesitation.

Long needles pierced through his flesh!
The sharp needle pierced between the withered legs, but the old monk showed no sign of pain. Instead, he stretched out his only remaining hand naturally, palm facing outward, fingers spread and pointing downward, making the Buddhist gesture of granting wishes.

Then, his skin hardened rapidly as if eroded by wind, revealing a color like soil, and his head also stiffened quickly, becoming indistinguishable from the Buddha's head on the ground.

But before he was completely transformed into a divine statue, the old monk still managed to open his mouth with difficulty and speak.

"Benefactor, this humble monk must also remind you that because I have embodied Buddhahood, I am now unable to complete the final steps, and the suppression of these three temples is also difficult to achieve. Therefore, if you wish to completely seal away that Auspicious and Tranquil Ghost Mother Bodhisattva, you must find a way to evade her pursuit, then find her offerings and destroy them. Remember, they must be destroyed into fragments, otherwise—"

Before he could finish speaking, he froze.

Looking again, there was only a Buddha statue of Samantabhadra sitting there.

In most stories, this would be considered a magnificent sacrifice, a willingness to transform oneself into a clay or wooden statue to save the lives of the entire city.

Even before his sacrifice, he wasn't thinking about himself, but about how to completely seal away the monster that caused everything.

But the problem is...
For some reason, Zhou You felt a vague sense of unease, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

It wasn't quite like a fishbone stuck in his throat, since the old monk hadn't actually harmed him in the end, but it was just...
Is that strange?
But just as he was frowning in deep thought, he suddenly felt a chill.

He didn't have time to think about it further. He hurriedly picked up the incense, ran out of the temple, and looked into the distance.

Where long pine slope was in the distance, a burst of bloody light shot into the sky. Then, countless chunks of flesh poured in from all directions, piling up layer upon layer, eventually forming a flesh pillar more than ten meters high.

The next moment, the bright red pillar split open, and a ferocious Bodhisattva emerged from it. He had no skin on his body, only deep red veins and white fat covering his entire body.

—Perhaps finally sensing the crisis, this terrifying monster forced itself to emerge two days early!
Then, the Bodhisattva turned his head towards Zhou You's direction and softly uttered a word.

"Hum".

In an instant, he felt thick blood flood his nostrils—in the blink of an eye, he found himself amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, surrounded by countless skinned creatures screaming in agony, their cries consisting of only two sentences.

"help me."

"kill me."

"help me!"

"Kill me!!"

　I highly recommend the game "Infinite Mystery." Its high quality makes it a breath of fresh air in the suspense genre.
　　

(End of this chapter)