Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 576 Counting
Amidst the crackling of the candlelight and the swirling smoke of incense, Zhou You slowly opened his eyes.

"A familiar ceiling. No, that's not right."

He suddenly realized.

—This dilapidated temple only has an arched roof, where is the ceiling?

He leaped directly from the floor, without anyone notifying him, and Wanren was already in his hand, while Duanxie also rose against the wind, ready to pierce the enemy at any moment.

however.

After a long while, there was still no sound from the surroundings.

Seeing this, Zhou You finally relaxed his tense nerves and looked around.

He was stunned when he saw it.

Unlike the temple he remembered, everything here was ambiguous, but...
how to say
It looks like it's been rebuilt?
Originally, this place could not be considered abandoned, but it had been in disrepair for many years. Except for the places where incense and candles flickered, it was basically covered with dust and mold spots. However, at this moment, in the places that Zhou You could see, the brackets were newly painted, the rotten rafters were replaced with iron and wood tenons, and the bronze incense burner in front of the incense table was filled with green smoke, reflecting the golden statue of the god sitting upright.

This was not what surprised Zhou You even more.

To his even greater surprise, this godforsaken place actually had windows!

Although it was still pitch black outside, and the window itself was unbreakable—he even tested it with the Duanxie—it at least proved that the temple was connected to the outside!
"No, I just took a walk outside, and you've already renovated this place. Hmm, where is everyone?"

Zhou You raised his head.

This time, however, the familiar female voice was not heard.

The entire temple was empty, with only the crackling of candlelight—just as it had been when he first arrived.

Frowning, he looked around again and found that the other person was indeed not there. He thought for a moment, then took out the black book and found that there was nothing unusual about it, nor any signs of damage. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

"The black book is fine, so it must have gone out. Oh well, we'll look for it again next time we come in."

My whole body ached and I felt exhausted. I was completely drained, and my vision was blurring. I felt like I could faint again at any moment.

However, he forced himself to keep his eyes open and opened the settlement window.

"Congratulations, player. You have completed the script 'Blood Rain Record'. The script's completion rate is 124%, which is higher than the current script progress. All your completion rate and impact will be carried over to the next script. Please take note."

"Let's begin the script settlement now."

"This script has an extremely high degree of corruption, therefore the number of Soul Stones obtained will be increased."

"The player killed Xuan Cheng, a key character in the plot, forcing Chongxu Shangren to change his original plan, which ultimately led to failure. The player received a reward of 700 Soul Stones."

"The player schemed to kill the two brothers, Sun and Wei, who were key characters in the storyline, thus setting the stage for the subsequent power imbalance. The reward is 400 Soul Stones."

"The player killed a special story character: Donghua Zhenjun, and severed one of the tentacles of the 'disciple' Heavenly Demon, and received a reward of 1980 Soul Stones."

"The player assisted in killing the story character, the great monk Hongyi, thus thwarting the rise of Hanshan Temple. Reward received: 1300 Soul Stones."

"The player has blocked the descent of the evil Buddha Nirvana and has received 3000 Soul Stones."

"Player."

All the miscellaneous things added up, plus the extra bonus from the high-erosion scenario, make it a considerable sum.

But even bigger things are yet to come.

"The player killed Master Chongxu, completely changing the predetermined fate of the Five Elements Temple, which finally made Mr. Chenghua decide to take a desperate gamble and sink the Five Elements Temple into the underworld, and he received a Soul Stone reward of 7000 points!"

"The player saved special story characters Wang Chongming and Lin Yunshao from death, causing the Heavenly Demon's manipulated thread of fate to break at two key points, and received a Soul Stone reward of 10000 points!"

"The player personally killed the last remaining corrupted remains of one of the Five Star Lords, the Wood Star Lord, and received a Soul Stone reward of 21000 points!"

With these three things combined, Zhou You instantly went from being penniless to a wealthy man.

But it's not over.

"Because of the high completion rate, players can open a special shop and exchange some of the abilities of the characters appearing in the scenario."

—Same as before, but since the completion level is not as high as Wan Yuan, there is no exchange shop for all abilities.

However, there are two things that have never appeared before.

"The remnant divine consciousness of the Arhat holding the alms bowl at Hanshan Temple, Venerable Nogabharadvaja, thanks you for stopping His corrupt descent into the world. He will grant you a special blessing, and two of your random items will receive a special enhancement."

"The Wood Star Lord of the Five Stars, whose remaining divine consciousness thanks you for destroying His last bit of essence, is finally able to stop harming this world. He will give you a special reward: you will randomly draw one ability that consumes faith and will."

These were two special surprises, but Zhou You sighed softly.

They would rather perish, body and soul, than bring disaster to the human world. Think back to the scenes of Mount Ling and the Heavenly Court they had seen before.
Perhaps these deities had their share of wickedness and scheming in the past, but their actions ultimately do not betray the thousands of years of incense offerings and sacrifices they have received.

After a while, he shook his head, put aside these inexplicable feelings, and then chose to start random.

The blessing given by the Arhat with the alms bowl was an iron bowl. All the items that Zhou You used were engraved on two multi-sided dice. When you casually tossed them into the bowl, they started spinning.

For him, the grand prizes are definitely the Exorcism and the Buddha's Relic, both of which can be used as decisive moves to win the game, while the worst ones are definitely some consumables.

His luck
Honestly, it's hard to say for sure.

However, whether it was the lucky jade pendant that worked or his good deeds along the way that finally brought good fortune, the dice stopped rolling just as he was feeling uneasy.

Not the best, not the worst—overall, it's not bad.

"Congratulations, player. Your Broken Moon Bow and Myriad Blades will be enhanced."

"The quality of the Broken Moon Bow has been upgraded by one level. It will come with ten Evil-Slaying Black Iron Arrows. These arrows will automatically refresh after midnight every day. The Moonlight Arrows will no longer be restricted by night or moonlight, but they must be placed in a place where the moonlight can be seen to recharge after each use."

"Wanren will come with the 'inherent' attribute. Under no circumstances will this item appear in your initial inventory. And since this item cannot be upgraded, a clue about the other half of this sword, the Jingyang Sword, will be provided in a later scenario."

The first Broken Moon Bow is a comprehensive upgrade, especially in addressing the two biggest problems with arrows and nighttime. If it could only be used as a distraction and surprise attack before, it is now one of the main weapons.

And ten thousand ren (a unit of length).
Zhou You scratched his head. He did remember that when he first received the sword, the description said there were two of them, and he initially thought it was some kind of dual-sword style, but now it seemed...
A single Wanren is actually just an incomplete product; it is only complete when both are combined.

Following this was a gift from the Wood Star Lord.

It's as if they cleanly and decisively discarded his last bit of essence, and then added to his overall completeness, so this person also gave him a gift.

Unlike the Arhat holding the alms bowl, the Wood Deity is a string of peach branches with about a dozen flower buds on them. It seems that Zhou You is to choose one of them. But the moment his finger touches the peach, the rest of the flowers wither instantly, leaving only this one in full bloom.

"Congratulations, player. You have obtained the method of calamity reduction. This is one of the powers of the Wood Star Lord. Each use requires a certain amount of divine idol faith power and soul stones to bring calamity upon a designated being. The degree of calamity reduction is proportional to the consumption. The method of calamity is randomly designated, but it will not exceed the specifications. Moreover, the stronger the player, the higher their resistance to calamity."

"This method has a fixed number of uses per script, and the number of soul stones consumed each time it is used will increase."

"The Eastern Wood Virtue Jupiter, Chonghua Star Lord, governs the birth of all things and transforms misery into comfort. If people encounter such good fortune, they will experience much happiness and celebration. They should cultivate virtue to welcome it, which can turn calamities into auspiciousness and also bring disaster upon those who do evil."

To be honest, it's quite mystical. Zhou You knew that the Wood Star Lord originated from the worship of Tai Sui, but he really didn't know what kind of power this calamity could have.

After all, hitting your little toe on a table leg is a disaster, and being struck by lightning is also a disaster, but the difference between the two is like heaven and earth.

"Never mind, I'll find some rats or cockroaches to use as test subjects later when I have time."

Zhou You shook his head and looked at the exchange options below.

Regarding cultivation techniques, since the number of characters involved in this negotiation was limited, and even fewer were those with whom I had a deep relationship, and after excluding those who were just there for show, the options available were actually not many.

The first one is naturally Master Chongxu.

This person calls himself a miscellaneous scholar, and he does indeed possess quite a few abilities. In terms of sheer numbers, he could even rival Xuan Yuan Zhenren. However, when it comes down to it, there is actually only one that is truly useful.

The Springtime Ceremony of the Eastern Lord

Pollution level: High

Grade: Silver

"This is a cultivation method derived from the Taoist classic 'Qingdi Jue'. It has a method for cultivating Qi and building a foundation, and it specializes in insidious and deadly techniques."

"Effect: This technique is divided into three levels: initiation, shape control, and spirit control. At the beginning, one can only manipulate things such as trees and vines, but as the technique deepens, the types of things that can be manipulated and the degree of corruption will gradually increase. It may even be possible to comprehend the method of 'planting demons' through this technique."

(Master Chongxu's cultivation level was the second level.)
"Combined with a curse: Seed of the Feet".

"Each time this technique advances (including the first time it is practiced), a tarsal bone must be implanted into the body. The tarsal bone implant flares up every twenty-four days, each time bringing the practitioner pain as if it were drilling into the bone marrow. Moreover, with each additional implant, the pain will increase exponentially, and highly corrosive substances such as human-made wine must be used as a remedy."

Although the Azure Emperor's Technique is not a fundamental classic of Taoism, it is a core secret method. Unfortunately, it was scattered after the destruction of the Shouyuan Sect. This technique was adapted by Master Chenghua after he found a fragment, and then at the request of Master Chongxu. Although it does not have the ability to protect the foundation, in terms of power alone, it is even more powerful than the original.

During the chaotic battle at the Ancestral Hall, Zhou You had seen Daoist Chongxu use this thing. Although he had called it useless at the time, its ability to hold off a Khenpo was evident, not to mention the resurrection techniques that followed—though they would inevitably come at a great cost.

The second one is Qingxia's martial arts technique.

To be honest, Zhou You's appearance was quite unexpected—he had little contact with Qingxia, had barely even met her a few times, and they were sworn enemies.
However, this technique itself is extremely powerful.

The Method of Using Yin and Yang to Control Rain and Transform Spirits

Pollution level: High

Grade: Silver

"Effect: After practicing this method, the practitioner's body will begin to transform into a perfect body, retaining eternal youth and never aging. All abilities will be enhanced, and the body will also possess resistance to most physical attacks, poison attacks, and attacks of the five elements."

"To cultivate this technique, one must designate a being of the same race as a vessel. Once designated, it cannot be changed. If the vessel dies, the cultivator will suffer a severe backlash. The gender of the vessel is not limited, but if the other party is of the same sex, it will slowly transform into the opposite sex. And regardless of its previous appearance, after the transformation, it will inevitably become a beauty that can topple kingdoms."

"Combined curse: Yin and Yang clash."

“Every three years, this cultivation method will enter a state of yin-yang imbalance. The practitioner and the cauldron must fight against each other. If they fail, the practitioner will become the cauldron, while the cauldron will take over the dominant position. At the same time, the genders of both will be reversed.”

"One of the fundamental mental techniques of the Joyful Union Sect, along with the Rainbow Mirage Technique, which teaches without discrimination, is considered one of the twin peaks—otherwise, why do you think that sect has no ugly people, but instead is full of people with unparalleled beauty?"

It's hard to say. That perfect body is definitely top-notch, but the problem lies in the side effects.
Tsk, it looks like it's meant to scam people.
The last one was even more unexpected.

It's Chen Luo, the giant.

Moreover, unlike the two above, he gave two different things.

The first is the ability of that tattoo.

The Incomplete "The Book of Physical Appearances"

Pollution level: Low to medium

Grade: Purple

"Effect: Grind rare materials into cinnabar, mix it with your own blood as a pigment, and insert it into the skin to gain the power of savage beasts and monsters."

"Because this version is incomplete, it only includes tattoos of the following types: 'Tiger,' 'Leopard,' 'Snake,' 'Crocodile,' 'Scorpion,' and 'Bull.' Players can only choose one of these at present. If they wish to get more tattoos, they will need to find the materials themselves (a list of required materials is provided)."

"Cursed by a malevolent spirit"

"Every time a tattoo is applied, the wearer is subject to the malevolent spirit within it for seven days. If they can endure this, the spirit will be tamed; if they cannot, they will be devoured by the spirit and become a walking corpse (this curse will not be triggered on the first tattoo)."

The incantations in the Demon-Subduing Transformation Texts are unfortunately lost due to the long passage of time; only a few chapters remain, collected by Wanfa Mountain.

The other one was the fist technique that almost killed Zhou You.

Hunyuan Jin

"Erosion level: None".

"Rank."

"red!"

(End of this chapter)