Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 561 Welcome
Uncle Chen's words remained the same, like those of a dying man, as if he might breathe his last at any moment.

however.

Both the drunken senior apprentice and the three-meter-tall giant fell silent at the same time.

The tranquility here is exactly the same as before.

The people who were silent just now were only from the Five Elements Temple, but this time, even the giants from the outer sect, and even their rivals, fell silent for a moment.

—Where does that crippled, dying man get such a strong deterrent effect?
However, no one offered any answers.

The drunkard remained slumped on the table, pouring himself one glass of wine after another in silence, while the giant walked to the innermost side and respectfully bowed to the figure behind the curtain.

"Mr. Chenghua, it's been a long time. Our mountain lord misses you dearly. It's a pity that he has bad legs and cannot come in person, so he specially sent his junior to wish you a happy birthday."

Throughout the entire conversation, the giant only spoke of 'birthday wishes,' not 'celebration' for the great sacrifice.

The old man behind the curtain was breathing heavily. After a while, he coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and said in a low voice.

"Is it Chen Luo?"

The once arrogant giant now lowered his head and spoke sincerely.

"I am a junior. May I ask what instructions Mr. Chenghua has for me?"

The old man suddenly fell silent, and remained silent for an exceptionally long time. Just when Zhou You thought that the old man might be dying, he slowly spoke.

"When I first met you, you were just a tiny little kid, constantly begging your master for candy, crying your eyes out if he didn't give it to you. And yet, in the blink of an eye, you've grown up so much!"

"—Pfft."

That was Xuanji's undisguised mockery.

But the giant didn't have time to pay attention. Hearing about his own embarrassing situation, he showed a certain embarrassment on his face, but still answered in a low voice.

"That's all in the past. I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Mr. Chenghua."

The old man coughed twice and said.

"Sigh, time really flies. Now I can only stay here and wait to die, while you, kid, have already climbed to a high position. Things change, and the world turns upside down. By the way, what did you say you came here for?"

The giant quickly called to his servants, who carried over a box.

When it was opened, a strong medicinal fragrance filled the entire hall.

And that's how he explained it.

"This is a thousand-year-old ginseng that I specially found in Cangyuan Mountain. It has already begun to take human form. I brought it here especially for you, Mr. Chenghua, hoping it can help nourish your health."

His reply was a self-deprecating sneer.

"I'm already in this state, what need do I have for recuperation? Take it back and give it to your old ghost Qu."

"Mr. Ke."

"The thought is enough. You may leave now."

Seeing that things had gone this far, the giant could only swallow his words and walk away—but as he passed his drunken uncle, he still gave him a provocative glance.

Today is the most important day for Wuyun Temple, and naturally, there are more than one person from famous temples and sects who have come to celebrate.

Soon, another bald man walked in.

When they saw this guy, everyone else acted very naturally, but Zhou You straightened up instead.

There's no other reason than that, judging from this guy's clothes and appearance, he is clearly a member of Tantric Buddhism.

Moreover, they are not cannon fodder like gurus, but Khenpos, who are at the top level.

Are these guys cockroaches? Why are they everywhere?
Under Zhou You's wary gaze, this person did not take many actions. Instead, he leaned on a staff with dozens of human bones attached to it, walked step by step to the front of the curtain, chanted a Buddhist chant, and then spoke.

"Khenpo Wangmu of the High Mountains has come to celebrate Mr. Chenghua's birthday. May you enjoy the Pure Land in life and return to the Womb Realm after death, always by the side of the Buddha, and forever enjoy peace and joy."

The old man behind the curtain was not so polite to this.

He opened his mouth while panting.

"I remember that your Tibetan Buddhist sect has an agreement with the eight schools of Buddhism that, unless absolutely necessary, those above the rank of Khenpo are absolutely not allowed to set foot in Han territory. How did you manage to get here?"

The monk named Wangmu answered calmly.

"Reporting to Master Chenghua, this time it was because my disciple encountered an accident in another continent, and his body was left to rot in the wilderness with no one to collect it. So this humble monk specially brought him back to the mountains. All the itinerary has been reported to the Eight Sects of Han China, so please do not worry."

Another bout of coughing.

Soon, the old man waved his hand from behind the curtain and said with a knowing look of boredom.

"Alright, you can go now after you've finished congratulating us. We two old men don't have much time, and we really can't afford to waste it."

The words were extremely impolite, but just like the giant before, Wangmu simply put her hands together, bowed again, and then obediently walked to the place arranged for them, sat down, and began to softly chant prayers.

The giant stared at him with his bull-like eyes, but said nothing—while the smaller sects seemed to have seen a ghost, hurriedly making way for him.

However, the commotion quickly subsided, and the next person to enter was a woman.

As soon as he entered, many people were dumbfounded.

It's not that it's beautiful, it's that it's ugly.

Physically, this man was only in his thirties, yet his face was covered with pustules and scars, with countless pits covering his skin, and vaguely visible worm-like creatures peeking out.

Wait a minute, haven't I seen this guy somewhere before?
Zhou You racked his brains, thinking back and forth for a long time, before finally finding a name in some long-forgotten corner.

"The Five Immortals Sect?"

Sure enough, Lin Yunshao, who was standing next to him, immediately whispered something.

"That's right, this is someone from the Five Immortals Sect. Judging from her appearance, she should be a 'fairy maiden'—this sect was originally a subordinate of the Tantric sect, but later a powerful figure emerged who made the sect independent, which also caused enmity with the Tantric sect, and the two sides have been constantly clashing. Wait, will they start fighting later?"

Just as the little girl said, the moment this person appeared, the bald man from the Tantric sect stopped chanting and looked at her with extremely cold eyes.

The ugly woman didn't care at all. Instead, she took out a handkerchief from somewhere, covered her mouth, and giggled. As she did this, more maggots crawled out of the hole and fell to the ground like rain.

Seeing this, many people with weaker tolerance covered their mouths, almost vomiting.

Then, the ugly woman spoke.

"Hiss, isn't this Khenpo Wangmo? I remember you don't have much time left to live, do you? Why aren't you in your dilapidated monastery preparing for the rebirth ritual? What are you doing here?"

Before the other party could respond, she added with a smile.

"Look at my memory. Your disciple died at the hands of Rashomon, didn't he? Tsk tsk tsk, how pitiful. Knowing who the murderer was, he didn't even have the courage to take revenge. He could only swallow his anger and retrieve the body—and he didn't even know if it was intact. In my opinion, you should stop calling your sect Tantric Buddhism and start calling it Turtle Sect instead."

These words were so hurtful that even bystanders couldn't bear to listen, but Khenpo remained calm, his voice as composed as ever.

"Thank you for your concern, benefactor. Those who offend our Tantric sect will be retaliated against sooner or later, it's just a matter of time. But you, benefactor, the Old Man Chenghua is waiting for you. Is it alright to leave them aside?" Upon hearing this, the ugly woman's expression changed. She seemed to want to argue back, but after glancing at the motionless curtain, she gave it a fierce look and hurried over to do her work.

"The Five Immortals Sect's Fairy Maiden pays respects to Master Chenghua."

This time, the response from behind the curtain was even slower, and after half a day, the old man uttered only eight words.

"Understood, you go down first."

The ugly woman quickly bowed, but instead of heading towards the door, she followed the example of the other minor sect members and went to the gate of Martial Aunt Qingxia.

Upon seeing her, Martial Aunt Qingxia stood up, a slight smile appearing on her usually icy face.

“Ming Xiangu, thank you for coming all this way to help me.”

The ugly woman waved her hand and laughed nonchalantly.

"Aren't we getting too distant? Given our relationship, there's no need for so much talk. I'm going to find a place to sit in the back."

"How dare I be so disrespectful? Fairy, please sit next to me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xuanji, who was standing next to her, tactfully stepped aside, then pulled out a futon with gold trim and politely placed it where she had been standing.

The ugly woman didn't refuse. She sat down cross-legged and started eating the food on the table without any manners.

Ugliness and beauty, aloofness and vulgarity, create an extreme contrast here.

But Qingxia didn't care at all, and her gaze toward Chongxu became even more confident.

After that ugly woman, a few more guys arrived.

However, unlike the previous three, the later ones were all very low-key—or rather, they didn't send any important figures at all. They simply bowed, then stepped back and hid in an inconspicuous place.

It makes sense when you think about it. Although they are important figures, they are only here to go through the motions. Now the situation is clearly tense again, so why risk their lives for this?

Then, the sacrificial ceremony moved on to the next stage.

Uncle Chen opened his mouth and said hoarsely.

"With the host and guests all present, we shall now proceed with the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven."

Otherwise.

Just then, a sharp voice suddenly broke in.

"Wait a minute!"

Who? Who dares to stop us at this crucial moment? Do they have a death wish?

The disciples of the Five Aggregates Temple exchanged glances, realizing that the speaker was not one of their own. They then turned to look at the members of those famous sects and schools—only to be met with innocent stares.

Finally, everyone looked at where the smaller sects were sitting.

Then, I saw a guy whose face was flushed red, as if he was having a stroke.

Who is this?
Zhou You scratched his head and glanced at Lin Yunshao, the encyclopedia.

As a result, even the all-knowing little girl frowned.

"I vaguely remember this guy being from the Quansheng Sect, right? He's not a subordinate of our Wuyun Temple; he's probably just here to make up the numbers. But how could their tiny sect dare to do that?"

Before he could finish speaking, one of his senior brothers stood up with a face full of anger.

"How dare you, a petty scoundrel, disrupt the sect's grand ceremony! Get out of here!"

As soon as the words fell, a giant hand covered in black mist appeared out of thin air, its stance suggesting it intended to throw the guy away.

However, a Buddhist chant was heard.

“Om, Amida Vashyapa”.

The next moment, the giant hand exploded out of thin air. Although it scared the Quanshengmen guy half to death, it did not harm him in the slightest.

The senior apprentice who had made the move turned around and said with a face full of anger.

"Wangmu Khenpo, what do you want to do!"

But the Tantric monk simply put his hands together and spoke calmly.

"Please understand, benefactor. This humble monk has no other intention. However, since this person has spoken up to stop me, there must be a reason. It would be better to let him finish speaking first. I presume that Benefactor Chen Wen and Mr. Chenghua have no objections?"

No one answered him.

Uncle Chen simply lowered his eyes, lost in thought, while the old man behind the curtain...
The reception he had just received seemed to have exhausted him, and now he was leaning against the cushion behind him, seemingly fast asleep.

Seeing this, the guy who was almost crushed to death became even more excited. He raised his neck and shouted loudly, like a victorious rooster.

"I have no other intention than that I feel there is something wrong with the ritual procedures in your temple—I would like to ask how your temple plans to perform the Heaven Worship ceremony in the future?"

Normally, someone as dim-witted as him would be crushed to death in the sect, but now, under the watchful eyes of everyone, especially at this crucial moment, they could only forcibly suppress their anger.

A middle-aged man with a stubble beard—who was also the master of the two brothers, Cheng Wen and Cheng Wu, and was known as Uncle Lei, nicknamed Xiao Bo Yi—slowly stood up and then answered in a low voice.

“Is there anything wrong with offering sacrifices at a naturally purified altar to please the immortals?”

Upon hearing this, the guy burst out laughing.

“Normally, there’s nothing wrong with it, but I remember that to invite a celestial being, one must be one of the thirty-six sects, right? Your temple doesn’t seem to be one of them. Isn’t doing this a bit presumptuous?”

Uncle Lei suppressed his anger and replied.

“Our Five Aggregates Temple originally belonged to one of the Thirty-Six Schools, and this sacrificial method has been passed down for hundreds of years and has long become a custom. What’s wrong with it?”

The man sneered.

"The past is the past, and the present is the present. My ancestors were legendary immortals who were among the gods. How can I call myself an immortal now? Obviously not. Your sect has been kicked out for so long, and now there are hardly any capable people in the temple. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to continue to worship according to the thirty-six sects?"

Zhou You, standing to the side, finally understood what was going on.

This guy was just a cannon fodder who was pushed out. It seems he wanted to take this opportunity to test the temple's bottom line. He was probably offered an extremely high reward, and the other party might even guarantee his personal safety. That's why he dared to act so disrespectfully.

—But to be honest, in some ways he is right—at least for now, no one in the sect can actually lay a hand on him.

Putting aside the fact that his question was perfectly normal and no one could criticize it, the conflict between Qingxia and Chongxu was now only a thin veil away, and neither of them wanted to make a rash move at this time and expose their weaknesses to the other.

So, in this narrow space, the guy actually survived and was even able to continue questioning others with smug satisfaction.

"As the saying goes, 'Without rules, there can be no order.' Your family has been overstepping its bounds for so long; it's time to change. In my opinion..."

But suddenly, a soft sigh came.

"On such a joyous occasion, some clueless person has to come and ruin it. By the way, you said you have a problem with our temple, right?"

(End of this chapter)