Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 564 Arrival
Zhou You stared blankly at the scenery.

This was the man who had once taught him in the library, the old and crippled man whose cultivation had been completely destroyed, yet who still commanded respect for everyone with his name.
Just gone?
But at that moment, the flames that had burned Chen Bo suddenly burst into flames and then abruptly went out.

Along with it, the candlelight that filled the Ancestral Hall was also extinguished.

In an instant, the place was plunged into darkness.

As dark as ink.

No one spoke—or rather, no one dared to speak. In the darkness, only the heartbeats of the crowd could be heard, growing louder and louder until they drowned out everything like drumbeats.

Zhou You was the only one among them who was able to move around freely.

Or rather, for some reason, he was unaffected from beginning to end, and could only watch helplessly as the surrounding scenery froze into a still frame.

Then.

Something has arrived here.

Zhou You found it difficult to describe what that thing was—it had no physical form, not even a trace, but everyone knew that it existed there, on the extinguished brazier.

He had experienced this feeling before.

It was not a corrupted god or Buddha, nor a relative of those ancient people, but a true extraterrestrial demon—though much weaker than the sealed object we saw before, it was essentially the same thing!
—Damn it, you bunch of bastards aren't playing by the rules! Shouldn't you have invited some kind of immortal or Buddha? Why the hell did you invite the big boss instead?
Zhou You suppressed his breathing, trying to blend in with the people around him as closely as possible—he even released the restraints of the Enlightenment Gu, letting it burrow around his heart and begin to pump forcefully.

But the thing did not speak after it appeared.

Even 'it' ignored the ritual, instead scanning everyone with a look similar to 'seeing'.

This looks like...he's looking for someone?

In an instant, Zhou You's expression turned extremely bitter.

Among this group of people, it's obvious even to a fool that the person 'it' is looking for is none other than himself, the one destined for greatness.

—Black Book, what kind of work are you doing? Didn't you say you had covered up all the cause and effect for me?
Sure enough, the object was merely glanced at by others, but when they focused their gaze on him, their eyes suddenly stopped.

Zhou You, on the other hand, sighed rather shrugged.

He was already prepared for liberation, just waiting for that thing to make its move so he could immediately throw out the Buddha relic, betting big, and then take Lin Yunshao and slip away in the chaos—

however.

at this time.

He suddenly felt something climb onto his body.

There was no malice involved, nor was it the work of extraterrestrial demons; it was extremely subtle, seemingly only he could sense it.

Soon, with the interference of that thing, its own aura was assimilated into that of the surroundings—after glancing at it twice, the extraterrestrial demon lost interest and turned its attention to the next person.

Zhou You immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

But soon, more doubts arose in my mind.

—Who helped just now? Was it Master Chongxu, Yun Zhongzi, or Qingxia and her disciples, or perhaps...?
Behind the curtain, there was only darkness.

Before long, the thing that had descended finally finished scanning everything, but still couldn't find what it wanted. So, with a muttered word that had no meaning, it finally left the Ancestral Hall.

As 'ta' left, all the candles instantly lit up again.

Everything was the same as before, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.

—Everyone here knows that this is not an illusion.

Russia.

A violent gasp suddenly rang out—the giant knelt on the ground, struggling to vomit everything in his stomach. After a while, he burst into a ferocious tirade of curses.

"My goodness! What was that thing that just descended? I've seen immortals descend to earth before, and that thing has absolutely nothing to do with immortals. Just looking at it made me feel like I almost peed my pants. Wait, why does it smell so foul? Could someone have actually peed?"

No one answered him. The vast majority of people here were still immersed in the instinctive terror, and several people even tilted their heads and fell to the table—they were scared to death!
However, after a while, a calm voice finally rang out in the face of this scene.

“That was a ‘true immortal’ who took pity on my Five Aggregates Temple and came to bestow blessings upon me. In all my years of life, I have only seen a true immortal descend twice. I never expected to see it a third time at this moment of death. In the end, my wish has been fulfilled.”

When Mr. Chenghua spoke, everyone had to put aside their doubts for the time being.

After a while, once the corpses had been disposed of and the rest of the people had barely recovered, the old man behind the curtain spoke again.

"Chen Wen has already sacrificed himself to bring peace to my Five Elements Temple for decades. The rest of the ceremony can only be performed by this old man. Fortunately, it's not far from over, and I should be able to hold on. By the way, what's the next step?"

Master Chongxu took a step forward and spoke first.

"Sect Master, after that, each sect should present their congratulatory gifts, and then you should inform the various ancestral masters that this grand ceremony is now complete. You don't need to participate in the remaining tasks of entertaining guests, revising the rules, or even the nighttime ritual ceremony. These miscellaneous tasks can be left to us juniors."

The old man behind the curtain nodded.

"Oh right, look at my brain, I've completely forgotten. Let's hurry up, who's going to present their congratulatory gift this time?"

This time, it was Qingxia who spoke first.

"Sect Master, the Qingxia Sect has a congratulatory gift to present."

Then, the icy beauty took a deep breath and carefully took out a brocade box carved with dragons and phoenixes from her bosom. She then nodded to the fairy maiden beside her, who immediately understood and used a finger to poke her temple. With a sound that made one's teeth ache, she forcefully dug out a fat worm.

"Take it. This is what I promised you. Consider it repaying the favor."

After the worm was removed, Ming Xiangu's unsightly face instantly shrank, and the pustules burst one by one. At first glance, she actually became quite beautiful—although not as beautiful as Qingxia and her apprentice next to her, she could still be considered an average-looking person.

However, compared to her restored appearance, her aura suddenly weakened, and her face turned as pale as paper. It seemed that she had also suffered a great loss of vitality after extracting the insect.

But Aunt Qingxia didn't care about any of that. After a simple thank you, she placed the brocade box and the Gu worms on the tray, then knelt down and presented them to the old man.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, I know that your time is near, so I have specially sought out several treasures. Although they do not have the power to prolong your life, they will surely be of great use to you in the future."

The old man behind the curtain coughed a few times, seemingly finally showing some interest.

"what is it?"

Qingxia immediately showed excitement. She quickly lifted the lid of the box, revealing what was inside. It was an ordinary-looking plant, which looked like a weed that had been picked from somewhere. Only a single blood-red flower on it was beautiful and delicate. Even though it was not planted in the soil, it still gave people a feeling of being fragrant and dewy.

However, upon seeing this thing, the people from the smaller sects did not react, but the expressions of the people from the major sects changed drastically.

Finally, it was the Tantric Khenpo who spoke, looking somewhat surprised.

"Yin Yao Flower, wasn't that thing extinct a long time ago? Where did you get it?"

A radiant smile appeared on Qingxia's usually cold face—in an instant, she was like a peony in full bloom, breathtakingly beautiful.

Then, she said proudly.

"Indeed, this flower was practically extinct in the world after the Jade Tree Sect was destroyed. But coincidentally, I know a friend who is a collector, and she happened to have such a unique piece, so I went to great lengths and bought it from her at a high price."

Seeing the greedy eyes around her, Qingxia smiled again and continued.

"This Yin Yao Flower can only be used as a material for prolonging life. Although it is precious, it is not very useful for those whose lifespan is nearing its end and who are exhausted. However, I happen to know that it has another way of being used."

She pointed to the blooming flowers, and then to the plump, white worms beside them.

"This is a cursed insect worm from a fairy maiden of the Five Immortals Sect. As long as the person involved completely consumes this flower, and then consumes this insect, their intelligence will be preserved. Even if they fall into the underworld, they will retain their memories and be able to reincarnate."

The rest of the people remained silent.

If it's just something to prolong life, then it's not particularly surprising. After all, as Qingxia just said, a person's lifespan has its limits, and when it's time to die, no amount of life-extending treasures will be of much use.

But if what she said is true
That can be considered a second life—although you will definitely lose all your cultivation after reincarnation, it is not difficult to regain it after the illusion of the womb is gone!
Moreover, unlike the flawed reincarnation in Tantric Buddhism, the risk of reincarnation through the Yin path is extremely low. In fact, it settles all karma from this life—such as irreconcilable enemies or the evil deeds one has committed, as long as one is careful not to expose them, they will not come after one again.

Instantly, dozens of intense gazes were cast upon these two items.

Martial Aunt Qingxia also raised her head, as if she could see the position of sect leader in sight.

But the old man behind the curtain simply nodded.

"This is a good product. You've certainly put a lot of thought into it. You may leave now."

The words were so simple that even Brigitte Lin was taken aback.

That's it?

I went through all sorts of hardships, exhausted all my savings and favors, to get you this precious, broken-down item. And this is your reaction?
However, the old man behind the curtain showed neither surprise nor joy; he simply repeated it in a flat voice.

"There are still people waiting behind us, Qingxia, please make way for us."

With things already said this far, what else could Qingxia say? She could only grit her teeth and slowly retreat.

As this scene unfolded, some people on her side became restless, and some even quietly moved away from her table.

However, Brigitte Lin didn't have time to pay attention to these guys who were swaying back and forth.

Now, only one sentence, three words, are in her mind.

That's it.

"--Why?"

After Qingxia, the sect leaders of each sect also presented their own congratulatory gifts. Even the drunken uncle, who was reeking of alcohol, presented a jar of what was said to be the most exquisite wine of the Drunken Immortal Sect.

However, with the two items presented by Qingxia preceding them, even the most precious treasures pale in comparison.

Soon, they arrived at Master Yun Zhongzi.

The fat man stood up with a chuckle, then took out a gourd and poured out several golden pills.

"Reporting to the sect master, I don't have anything good to offer, except for these few Taiji Pills, which are of decent quality. I'll present them to you here."

He was just being polite, but the Tai Chi Pill was anything but understated—each one of these pills would be worth at least several thousand taels of gold, and to exaggerate a bit, it could very well cause smaller sects to fight each other to the death.

But as before, the old man behind the curtain only replied softly.

"I see."

Unlike Qingxia, Yun Zhongzi didn't seem to care and retreated with a smile. However, as he passed Zhou You, someone looked up and glanced at him seemingly casually.

Immediately, Master Chongxu's voice came over.

"Ling Yuan, you come with me."

"Um, wasn't it supposed to be the sect leader who celebrated? Master, why did you bring me along?"

"The sect leader won't mind. Besides, that thing is on you, and you won't give it to me. Do you expect me to forcibly take it from you at this crucial moment?"

"Alright, then please go ahead, Master."

Zhou You followed Master Chongxu, head bowed, and walked to the curtain.

The old man remained the same, his breathing weak, making one feel that he might die at any moment. But when he saw the master and his apprentice, he tried his best to sit up straight and smiled.

"Ling Yuan, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to have grown so much. I've also heard about your reputation. It's amazing that the sect has produced such a talented young man like you. Thanks to you, at least I can give my master an explanation when I leave. Oh, I almost forgot, Chongxu, you're the last one. What do you want to offer?"

Chongxu nodded, and then said.

"I have two things to offer, one of which is the Fusang wood that I have found."

At this point, another round of whispers broke out around them.

"Hibiscus wood? That thing is about as valuable as the Yin Yao flower. If those guys from the Spirit Law Sect found out, they might fight tooth and nail to steal it."

"I originally thought the Five Aggregates Temple had completely declined, but I didn't expect these third-generation disciples to be so capable."

"However, the fourth-generation disciples are no match. Apart from the Heaven-Reaching Sword and the Xuanji Sword, I haven't heard of any particularly powerful ones."

Master Chongxu ignored the voices and continued speaking in a clear voice.

"And the other one is a piece of the origin that my disciple personally cut off from Lord Mude!"

(End of this chapter)