Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 503 Teaching the Dharma
Seeing Zhou You staring intently at the worm, Master Chongxu turned his head, his expression unchanged, and asked calmly.

"What's wrong? Did you see something interesting?"

Zhou You paused for a few seconds, then spoke calmly and normally.

"It's nothing, she just looks familiar. I remember she was the one who was married off to bring good luck, and she even received a reward from you, Master. How did she end up like this?"

Master Chongxu sighed, his tone seemingly full of regret.

"Well, I used to admire his talent and thought he was a good candidate for cultivation. Who would have thought that his temperament would be so bad? He was devoured by worms in just a few days. We were master and disciple, after all, and I couldn't bear to let him rot and die in the house, so I moved him here. What's wrong with that?"

Zhou You remained silent, then shook his head.

"No, it's nothing, please don't mind it, Master."

Master Chongxu didn't seem to care. He led Zhou You to the guest room and pointed to the cushions.

"Please sit down first."

Zhou You obediently sat down.

Then, Master Chongxu brought out two more cups and handed one to Zhou You.

"I almost forgot, do you drink tea or wine?"

Honestly, in a place like the Five Aggregates Temple where status is clearly defined, this is already considered extremely courteous to scholars. Normally, Zhou You should be flattered—but at this moment, he only felt his hair stand on end.

—If someone is being unusually helpful, they must have ulterior motives or be a thief. What exactly is this old devil up to?
However, after a while, he still spoke.

"Tea bar".

It wasn't that he didn't want to drink, but in this godforsaken place, who knows what kind of stuff they'd be using to brew the drinks?

Master Chongxu seemed somewhat disappointed, but he still brought over a pot of hot tea and filled it to the brim.

He took a small sip and then sighed.

"My apprentice, do you know why I called you here today?"

"This disciple does not know."

However, Master Chongxu did not offer any explanation, but instead raised a second question.

"Then let me ask you, do you know why this temple is in such a mess?"

Zhou You's eyes finally turned serious.

This is a crucial question, closely related to whether I can get through this main storyline. Is this old guy planning to reveal something here?

Even so, he didn't reveal any flaws, he just bowed slightly.

"Please instruct me, Master."

"I won't offer any guidance, I'll just give you a hint—let me tell you about our sect leader first. You met him in the Ancestral Hall, what was your impression of him?"

Zhou You thought about the figure behind the curtain for a moment, then frowned and answered.

"He is kind and approachable, cares about his disciples, and seems to be in poor health?"

Master Chongxu was taken aback, then suddenly burst into laughter.

At first, it was just mocking laughter, but it quickly turned into loud, leg-slapping laughter, and finally into breathless, heart-wrenching laughter.

What's wrong with this person? He suddenly went crazy?

Just as Zhou You was feeling completely bewildered, Master Chongxu's laughter suddenly stopped.

It wasn't the gradual cessation that happens normally; rather, it was like a radio being abruptly unplugged, abruptly stopping.

Russia.

With that lingering smile, he asked another question.

"Kind and approachable, caring for disciples? Fifty years ago, that would have been a laughing stock. My disciple, do you even know what kind of relationship the sect leader has with us?"

"Normally speaking, a master and apprentice?"

Master Chongxu shook his head and smiled.

"Wrong, completely wrong. According to seniority, we disciples are just his grand-disciples."

At this point, Zhou You also realized something was wrong.

"I don't think I've ever seen the sect leader's disciples at the temple. Are they outside or something else?"

However, before Zhou You could finish speaking, Master Chongxu interrupted him.

"It's normal that you haven't seen it before, after all."

“Besides Uncle Chen, my master and all my uncles were all killed by the sect leader himself.”

"."

There was a long silence.

Seemingly somewhat taken aback by the news, Zhou You spoke after a long pause.

"Why?"

"—That's not something a junior like you should know." This time, Master Chongxu didn't answer, but took another sip of tea and said, "But you're right about the last point. Even such a powerful figure can't escape the ravages of life. Do you know that our sect leader is about to die?"

This was not something Zhou You, in his capacity, should comment on, so he chose to remain silent.

However, Master Chongxu did not pay any attention and continued to talk eloquently.

"His health has been deteriorating for some time now, and in recent months he hasn't even been able to stand the light, which has led to strange occurrences within the sect. We've had to put in a lot of effort to suppress them. But that's not the point. The point is, who should be his successor?"

Having said all that, Zhou You understood pretty much. He sat up slightly and asked.

"Master, what do you mean?"

"It's very simple. It's just like what I said before about raising Gu. In sects, strength is paramount. The strong can take everything, while the weak can only squat behind and can't even get a piece of shit."

At this point, Master Chongxu dipped his fingertip in the tea and tapped it lightly on the table a few times.

"Although there are about ten disciples in our generation, only eight sects are qualified and capable of competing for the position of sect leader. Two of these sects have also fallen into depravity, so in reality, there are only six opponents in total."

"Although your master is a miscellaneous scholar, in terms of strength, I dare say that among all my fellow disciples, none can truly surpass me. It's just a pity that the struggle for the position of sect leader depends not only on oneself, but also on the level of one's disciples."

"It's a pity that the level of my disciples is the lowest among our fellow disciples."

After speaking, Master Chongxu didn't wait for Zhou You's reply, but instead waved his hand. Soon, several tree trunks floated over, seemingly carrying a book on them.

“Junior Brother Qingjing just left not long ago. He also told me that although you survived the night patrol purely by luck, luck is also a kind of talent. Moreover, I think you are quite resilient. Originally, you only had an empty title, but this time I will be generous and make an exception to make you a personal disciple. This is originally an advanced technique of the Tongxuan Scripture. You can keep it for now.”

Is this an attempt to attract talent?
Zhou You remained silent for a long time before finally accepting it respectfully. But as soon as he held it in his hand, he suddenly froze.

—The long-absent system notification sound suddenly rang out.

It wasn't that familiar female voice, but rather a halting, indistinct sound, like a poor signal.

"The player has obtained fragments of the Free and Unfettered Scripture, one of the fundamental mental techniques of Taoism. It should be unpolluted, but due to its essence being forcibly broken and distorted, it has become scattered fragments. If the player can gather them all, they can attempt to restore and purify it."

The conversation abruptly stopped, leaving Zhou You standing frozen in place.

He had previously come into contact with a fundamental Daoist cultivation method, a fragment of the Xuan Yuan Tai Xu Ascension to Immortality, which was forcibly modified by the patriarch of the Hun Dao Sect into the mortal Bei Dou Tian Xing Tempering Method—even so, its power was still terrifying.

Judging from his meaning in this script, it seems that he can collect a complete fundamental mental cultivation method.

On the other side, seeing that Zhou You had not replied for a long time, Master Chongxu frowned slightly.

"Disciple, do you think your master wants to harm you, so you don't plan to accept it?"

Zhou You then came to his senses and coughed several times to cover up his daze.

"No, no, no, no, that's not it. I'm just a little surprised—I've only been a disciple for less than two months, and I'm already so highly regarded by Master. It seems many of my fellow disciples don't even receive this kind of treatment."

"It's not that there are few, but that only you and Xuancheng have received this personal instruction."

At this point, Master Chongxu seemed to be getting tired. He waved his hand and said...

“Remember this: I don’t care how long you’ve been here or what your qualifications are. As long as you’re capable, I’ll always have a place for you. Alright, you can leave now.”

Zhou You stood up, bowed, and then left without any hesitation.

After a while, when there was no other sound in the room except the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops, Master Chongxu slowly exhaled.

He glanced at Zhou You's untouched teacup and suddenly a smile appeared on his lips.

"You are cautious, but what's the use of being cautious? The Gu worm has already been planted. Whether you live or die is still in my hands."

After saying that, he suddenly looked up at the gloomy sky outside the window.

"Old man, I still haven't figured out what you're plotting. But even if you have a plan, it doesn't matter. I'll just play along—after all, one day, this Five Aggregates Contemplation..."

"In the end, it's still mine."
-
After leaving the lecture hall, Zhou You did not return to his own house or the dining hall to pass the time. Instead, he followed the familiar mountain path and headed towards the library as always.

Firstly, Uncle Chen had taken good care of me, and after surviving this night patrol, I had to go and say hello first.

Secondly, according to what Master Chongxu just said, the owner of this library is the only survivor among the disciples. Although he is extremely cold, I might be able to learn something from him if I spend more time with him.

"However, judging from what they just said, there's only been a power struggle within this sect that's gotten out of control—but here's the problem: have they been coexisting with these strange beings all along? What's the difference between them sleeping on a powder keg and that?"

However, just as he was deep in thought, he suddenly felt himself bump into something.

Having not rested well these past few days, and having been deep in thought just now, Zhou You didn't realize he had bumped into a living person until he felt a force on his shoulder.

He instinctively reached for his sword—only to realize immediately that he didn't need it.

the reason is simple.

—The other person lay down on their own.

What's going on? Are you trying to stage an accident?
Zhou You was stunned for several seconds before squatting down to examine the person who had just jumped out of the bushes.

He was unshaven and unkempt—that was being kind. His Taoist robe was still in relatively good condition, but it was covered in water stains and vomit. Even though it was broad daylight, he reeked of alcohol, so much so that even a heavy drinker like Zhou You couldn't help but take a few steps back.

Did he die from drunkenness?
Zhou You frowned, thinking of going around the man again—after all, the weather wouldn't freeze anyone to death, and he had no relation to this drunkard, so why bother with him—but suddenly the bushes next to him swayed, and a living person emerged from them.

Upon seeing each other, both were taken aback.

acquaintance.

The previous senior brother, Hanxuzi.

The other party seemed surprised that Zhou You would appear here at this time, but after a moment, he still cupped his hands and said.

"So it's Junior Brother Zhou here. Excuse me, did my master offend you just now?"

"It's nothing, it's just that it startled me a bit." Zhou You replied politely with a cupped-hand salute—but before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly realized something was amiss. "Wait a minute, is this your master?"

Zhou You looked at the drunkard lying on the ground, then at Han Xuzi, who was neatly dressed and had a serious expression, and couldn't connect the two at all.

Han Xuzi looked somewhat embarrassed, but the expression only flashed by. He quickly apologized again, then went to the drunkard's side and gently shook him.

"Master? Master? Can you hear me?"

The drunkard let out a loud burp, then opened his dazed eyes and grinned foolishly.

"This, isn't this Hanxuzi? What, what's wrong? You want to have a couple of drinks with your master too?"

Han Xuzi frowned, but still spoke politely.

“Master, it’s getting late. You’ve been drinking all night, you should go back and rest. Besides, getting drunk every day isn’t good for your health, and it will also interfere with your cultivation.”

However, the drunkard ignored him completely and continued to laugh foolishly.

"What time is it? Let me go! I... I can still drink, and I still have time to cultivate."

As if he had been struck on some crucial point, the drunkard suddenly burst into laughter.

"What the hell am I supposed to do? The world's become like this, what's the point of my cultivation? I might as well live a life of debauchery, at least then I'll have some enjoyment."

Seeing that the drunkard was getting more and more outrageous, Han Xuzi hesitated again, seemingly unsure whether he should take action. Zhou You, standing to the side, could only sigh, step forward, and knock the drunkard unconscious with a single chop.

Hanxuzi opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he cupped his hands and said.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, junior brother. I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

Having said that, he didn't waste any more words. Instead, he carried his heavy body and slowly made his way down the mountain.

Zhou You was left rubbing his chin with great interest.

"These are the two corrupt sects that Master Chongxu spoke of? And what he just said... tsk, this script is truly..."

"That's really interesting."

(End of this chapter)