Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 445 Becoming a Buddha
Zhou You took two steps back and carefully examined the face in the clouds.

That's strange; he doesn't seem like that starving bald monk from the night watchmen.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"What do you mean?"

The face formed from clouds and mist smiled.

"Don't be so wary, bro, would I ever scam you?"

Zhou You didn't answer; just like before, he simply stared at him.

After that, Shi Dakai had no choice but to surrender with his hands raised.

"Alright, alright, according to those foreign devils, it's just that you really have no sense of humor. After thousands of years of fighting against demons and monsters, the Zhenxie Division's treasures are indeed not much left, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easily wiped out by Empress Dowager Cixi. But what's that saying again?"

Shi Dakai scratched his head—though it was unclear whether he still had the sense of a head—and then spoke.

"Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. The Zhenxie Division still has some trump cards up its sleeve. Although they can't use them, you can."

"Even the gods in the Demon Suppression Division can't use this stuff, how could I?"

Zhou You pointed to himself, clearly not quite believing it.

Although Shi Dakai's voice remained calm, it carried a firm conviction.

"You'll definitely be able to use it."

"Why?"

"Because that is a Buddhist treasure, and you have the relic left behind by the Buddha when he entered Nirvana."

Zhou You immediately frowned.

"Dude, did you peek at my stuff?"

Shi Dakai waved his hand.

"I'm not that despicable, but since we are both destined for greatness, I let you know a little bit about your book so that it would be easier for me to help you."

How come I never knew the system was so talkative!
Zhou You sighed, and then said.

"Okay, so what do you suggest we do next?"

"It's very simple, we'll break this process down into three steps."

"Three steps to putting an elephant in a refrigerator?"

"I know what an elephant is, but what's a refrigerator?"

"It's nothing, you can continue."

Shi Dakai pulled a wisp of cloud from his body and then drew a line in mid-air.

"The first choice is the treasure left behind by the Exorcism Bureau—it is a nine-grade Pure Land Lotus Platform, which is said to be the one that the Buddha sat on before his enlightenment. Your Buddha relic can be used twice. First, use it as a key to open the lotus platform, and then sit on it and be a Buddha in the present world for a while."

"A Buddha in this world? Isn't that the lowest of the low? You expect me to use that to fight against a golden body of a Buddha?"

"Let me finish explaining; this is where it needs to be used a second time."

At this point, Shi Dakai suddenly looked up at the sky, then opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He simply used telepathy to inform Zhou You.

He didn't speak again until he had finished explaining everything.

"The plan is basically like this, but the problem is that you need someone to help you before that, to open up a few nodes, at least to divert the attention of the Water Buddha."

"Who will help?"

Shi Dakai pointed upwards.

“Those soldiers, all those who have been connected to you along the way, all those who have received your help.”

As they were talking, the road finally came to an end.

Shi Dakai waved his hand, and a small passage appeared in the air. He gestured with his lips and said.

"After you sit on the lotus platform, I will bestow blessings upon you. As for the path ahead, I will not accompany you. However, as your senior, let me give you one last piece of advice."

"No matter how desperate the situation, you must always stay true to yourself."

“‘That thing’ is just a medium, and it itself can even be contaminated. The only thing you can never fake is yourself.”

Zhou You looked at Shi Dakai.

He had only spent half an hour with this man, and had never met him before; at most, he had only heard some stories about him from books.

But now
Zhou You, however, felt that he was facing a vivid and real heroic spirit.

Although his soul has already disintegrated, he is now left with only the obsession to 'save the world'.

After a moment of silence, Zhou You suddenly spoke.

"Brother Shi."

"what happened?"

There's someone who's a lot like you.

"Who?"

“Feng Qianlin”.

Shi Dakai was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.

"That young master of the Feng family? I remember when I was still alive, I mistakenly arrested him once, but after it was cleared up, we quickly sent him back—after all, we didn't want to make another enemy. What happened to him now?"

"He died. He died at the hands of the Qing army's rebel soldiers while trying to open up a path for hundreds of millions of ordinary people. In fact, he was influenced by you to embark on this path."

Shi Dakai fell silent for a long while before shaking his head.

"What a pity. At least in my memory, he was a pretty good kid. What merit do I, Shi, have to deserve this?"

However, before he could finish his reflection, Zhou You spoke up.

"That's why I said he and you are extremely similar, you are the same kind of people—I don't know what others think, but I, Zhou You, am sincerely grateful to you."

"After all, without people like you, there would be no peace and prosperity for future generations."

After a long while, Shi Dakai slowly spoke.

"I feel bad about what you said, so let's leave it at that then, young Zhou. Have a safe journey."

Zhou You returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute.

"I also wish Brother Shi that his wish will be fulfilled and that he will be free from this burden."

After saying that, Zhou You turned around neatly and stepped into the door.

Only Shi Dakai shook his head and laughed.

"The young people of the future, well, what can I say?"

"It really is"
-
Travel around here.

The gloomy shadows faded, revealing a small, cramped space to Zhou You.

There was nothing superfluous inside, just a pile of junk scattered around, and the ground was covered in dust, indicating that no one had visited this place for a long time.

Everything was fine; it looked like an ordinary storage room.

"But...is that why you escaped the Empress Dowager's subsequent retribution?"

Zhou You casually lit a talisman to make his vision clearer.

Then, following Shi Dakai's instructions, he walked to the innermost part and lifted a piece of felt cloth.

Inside, there were still only miscellaneous items. Forget about Buddhist treasures, there wasn't even a trace of magical power to be seen.

However, just as Zhou You touched it.

But like a curtain being drawn back, the simple and unadorned traces quickly faded away, and what was finally revealed before our eyes was—well, still a dusty and inconspicuous lotus platform.

"That's strange, Brother Shi, are you sure you didn't give me the wrong directions? Or has this thing been unused for so long that it's broken?"

Looking at the items that resembled a supermarket clearance sale, Zhou You circled around them several times but still couldn't find any switches or slots. In the end, he had no choice but to try his luck, taking out the Illusory Light Relic from his ring and flicking it onto the item.

Strangely enough, although the two things were inconspicuous and seemed unrelated, the moment the relic touched the lotus platform, a bright yellow light suddenly shone, and then they reflected each other.

The light was not dazzling; instead, it always had a peaceful and warm feel to it. Right in front of Zhou You, the bead suddenly started spinning around the lotus platform.

As the rotation speed increased, the light became brighter and brighter, until finally—

It swallowed up the entire house.

When I opened my eyes again, the scenery around me had changed.

The road is paved with gold and the railings are made of seven treasures. Although there are no sun, moon and stars, the endless Buddha light shines here. In the morning, the heavens rain down wondrous flowers, and the petals touch the ground and become a necklace of seven treasures. At noon, they dissipate with the wind, leaving no trace of dust.

And the chanting of Buddhist hymns echoed throughout the place. All beings were born from the Seven Treasure Pond, free from the three evil realms and the eight sufferings of the human world. All beings attained enlightenment and enjoyed eternal bliss and peace.

Zhou You recognized the place.

Lingshan.

Back when the Buddha Heart script was being played, he had been pulled into it once and witnessed firsthand how this paradise went from prosperity to collapse, from being radiant with golden light to being corrupted by the Heavenly Demon.

but
How did I end up here again?
However, just as Zhou You was scratching his head in confusion, a voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"Greetings, benefactor."

What the hell?
He looked around, but saw no living creatures in his vicinity.

Finally, he could only ask.

"who are you?"

There was still no trace of them, but the sound somehow reached Zhou You's ears.

"This humble monk has come to help you attain Buddhahood."

"The helper left behind by Brother Shi? Alright, can you show yourself and say something?"

The sound was faint and indistinct, as if it could be carried away by the wind at any moment.

“I’m sorry, like Benefactor Shi and Benefactor Yehenara, I am also bound by a lingering obsession, and my situation is even worse than theirs, as I can hardly even manifest my physical form in this world.”

Zhou You listened to the voice and felt that there was no malice in its words, so he casually replied.

"Then if you can't get out, you can't get out. Speaking of which, whose obsession are you? The welcoming monk of Mount Ling?"

Otherwise.

The man who called himself a "little monk" only let out a series of laughs, but did not give any reply.

"Okay, okay, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. Time is of the essence. What should I do next?"

"It's very simple. All you need to do is bless the attainment of a great being and temporarily guide their power into this world—ah, please don't misunderstand, I don't mean anything by 'temporarily,' nor am I saying that you are not qualified to become a Buddha, but rather..."

Upon hearing the explanation in those words, Zhou You waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m not the kind of person who’s pretentious. I wouldn’t have thought of this if you hadn’t said it. Besides, I don’t want to be a Buddha. I can’t live without meat. If I really came here, I would only break your rules and regulations.”

The voice spoke with a light laugh.

"Let's not even mention that Mount Ling has its own Pure Altar, nor that there are thousands of ways to cultivate oneself. Who in this world cannot become a Buddha? All sentient beings can attain enlightenment; it's just a matter of time."

"Moreover, you have the potential for wisdom. No matter how far you go or what Dharma you practice, in the end, you will be able to attain enlightenment."

Zhou You also laughed.

"Monk, you're really something. Alright, time's running out, let's not waste any more time, what should I do next?"

The moment those words were spoken, the lotus platform that had been in the warehouse reappeared before Zhou You's eyes.

However, unlike its previous dull and unremarkable appearance, this lotus platform is now radiant with golden light and surrounded by colorful radiance, giving it an aura of boundless solemnity.

"Please sit down, and I will assist you from now on."

"Then, please, benefactor, save all of this."

Ruan Jingde's face was ashen.

At this moment, he was soaked in blood from head to toe, some of it his own, but mostly from the chaos, the Qing soldiers, and...
Teammate's blood.

Look up and gaze around.

The troops he led were already reduced to less than one-tenth of their original strength.

How many hours have passed since the beginning?
The sky remained leaden gray, and the heavy clouds were hanging lower and lower, as if it could snow at any moment.

No, not possible.

According to reports, snow has already begun to fall in Beijing, and it's likely that it won't be long before it reaches our area.

Ruan Jingde was not afraid of death.

Or rather, ever since joining this revolutionary party, he had long since disregarded life and death.

He was from Anping, Hebei, and was among the most severely affected by the famine. Under the tyranny of the Qing Dynasty, his elderly mother, elder brother, and younger sister had all starved to death, and he himself had long since lost all ties.

What he feared was that even if he died, he wouldn't be able to stop the old hag's final desperate attempt.

The ring-pommel sword slashed down, instantly severing the alien's body.

Although he possessed no magical abilities, his innate aura of deadly power was enough to injure these monsters, but...
Before our eyes, one monster falls, and immediately a second, a third, and countless others fill the void.

The disparity in numbers is so great that it has already led to despair.

The strength to swing the knife was waning, and his vision was getting darker.

Ruan Jingde knew that he couldn't hold on for much longer.

He turned around and looked at an ally next to him.

The other person was also looking at him with a wry smile.

I remember this was one of the various social classes, but I don't care what it was called.

He used to look down on these disorganized and undisciplined guys, thinking they were all just money-grubbing individuals with no principles whatsoever.

but now.
Regardless of their motives, they deserve credit for fighting this far!
He nodded to the other person, and although he didn't say anything, he understood.

Then, Nguyen Khanh Duc raised his knife and took a deep breath.

Looking around, they saw that all the other friendly forces had been slaughtered, and now only the two of them were left standing.

At this point, we've reached a dead end.

So what is there to hesitate about?

Only death awaits!

Seeing countless sharp teeth and claws coming towards him, Ruan Jingde struggled to raise his hand and pinch the talisman in his arms.

The person next to him did the same thing.

—But at the very least, even if I, Ruan Jingde, die, I will die like a man!
However, for some reason, at the very end, the image that flashed before his eyes was that of the young man he had met once before.

I think his name was Zhou You. He seemed like a nice guy, and I just hope he can turn the tide.
I'm talking about you.

—He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but at that moment, he also heard a voice.

Ruan Jingde was stunned for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

I was really stupid to do that at this time.
But the next moment, the voice materialized in his ears.

"You look like you need a small favor?"

(End of this chapter)