Bodhisattva Descends into the World

"What? I'm supposed to become a Buddha?"

"Are you serious?"

Zhou You studied the Old Monk's face, trying to find some sign that he'd lost his mind. But all he saw was utter resolve.

"Yes. I'm asking you to become a Buddha, benefactor. But don't worry—I don't mean you'll have to stay up there motionless like a real statue," the Old Monk explained calmly. "As long as there's faith and offerings of incense, anything seated up there can serve as a seal. The problem is, to draw in that faith, the statue has to be consecrated again. So I'd like you to sit there first and serve as the Buddha for a while. Once I've finished the consecration, you can come down, and I'll take your place."

"It may be intensely painful, though. We can't use the usual method of consecrating it over several days, so we'll have to resort to a few unorthodox methods. I don't know if you can endure it."

What else could Zhou You say at this point?

As he'd said earlier, at worst, he'd have to use a Resurrection Coin.

So he climbed onto the Lotus Throne without hesitation, sat cross-legged, took a deep breath, and said,

"Go ahead."

The Old Monk didn't waste any more words. He scraped the paint off the statue with one hand and gathered it onto his kasaya. Then he grabbed the statue's water-bag-like belly and slashed it open with all his strength!

The ghost blood stored inside poured out and mixed with the paint, turning into a revolting, bizarre mess.

Zhou You's resolute expression instantly froze.

...Well, to be honest, I'm starting to regret this.

But before he could say anything, the Old Monk produced a box of extraordinarily long golden needles from who knew where. He dipped them into the mixture, then plunged one straight into Zhou You's body.

At that single prick, Zhou You nearly leaped right off the throne!

That hurt like hell!

It was beyond anything as simple as cutting himself or tearing off a piece of flesh. It felt as if someone had driven a steel spike straight into his medulla oblongata. His entire mind was flooded with one sensation: pain!

But in the end, Zhou You didn't jump up. He looked at the Old Monk's painstakingly serious expression, gritted his teeth, and swallowed even his cries.

Soon, the only sound in the hall was the Old Monk's chanting.

"At that time, the World-Honored One entered the samadhi known as the Vajra Image-Installation Samadhi of All Tathagatas. Emerging from samadhi, he spoke of all the Buddhas, adorned through molding, painting, carving, and crafting..."

"...The knowledgeable Acharya shall follow the True Word ritual, invite the Buddha to be installed, make offerings, and celebrate. Then the Tathagata and the sages shall descend, rejoice, and bestow the merit of accomplishment..."

Who knew how long had passed? Just as Zhou You clearly remembered the forty-sixth needle being driven into his body, the Old Monk's voice suddenly stopped.

Then came a sigh of relief.

"It's done!"

...It's over?

Zhou You struggled to lift his head, and saw a face full of apology.

—Even with such a perfect opportunity, the monk still hadn't made a move against him.

"Sorry for making you suffer, benefactor. Leave the rest to me."

As he spoke, the Old Monk reached out to help Zhou You up. But Zhou You only grinned and gently pushed his arm away, then climbed down from the Lotus Throne by himself.

"No need. I can manage something this small on my own. I just don't know if you, Master—"

His words cut off abruptly.

It wasn't that Zhou You had noticed anything unusual. Rather, a mechanical female voice suddenly rang in his ear.

"Congratulations, player. You have received a blessing: Sanzhi Xiumo's Protective Incantation."

"This blessing's grade is: Blue."

"Sanzhi Xiumo is one of the Twenty Devas of Buddhism and the son of Hariti, also known as Ghost Mother. The Dharani Collection Sutra records that Ghost Mother had three sons. The eldest was named Weishewen, and the second was named Sanzhi Xiumo. Those who receive this blessing will enjoy improved physical abilities."

"Your talent, Keen Observation, has mutated as a result of this blessing."

"Keen Observation has become: Eye of Insight (Green)."

"Effect: You can occasionally discern the properties of items, and under certain conditions, glimpse the past of those you come into contact with."

...What was this?

Was it true that pain was always followed by a reward?

Before Zhou You could make sense of it, the Old Monk had finished preparing as well.

He placed all the golden needles stained with Zhou You's blood on the Lotus Throne, arranging them into something like a mountain of swords.

—The Old Monk wasn't consecrating Zhou You himself. He was consecrating those terrifyingly long needles.

Then the Old Monk lifted his monk's robe and sat down cross-legged without hesitation.

One by one, the long needles pierced his body!

Their sharp tips passed through his withered legs, but there wasn't a trace of pain on the Old Monk's face. He lowered his only remaining hand naturally, palm facing outward, fingers extended as his palm turned downward—the Buddhist mudra of granting wishes.

Then his skin hardened rapidly, as if weathered by the wind, taking on the color of earth. His head stiffened just as quickly, and in a daze, it became indistinguishable from the Buddha's head on the ground.

But before he could turn completely into a divine statue, the Old Monk forced his mouth open and said,

"Benefactor, I must remind you of one more thing. Since I'm becoming a Buddha with my own body, I can no longer complete the final steps, and the seal of the Three Venerables Temple will remain imperfect. So if you want to seal that Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva completely, you must find a way to evade its pursuit, then locate its sacrificial object and smash it. Remember, you must break it into pieces. Otherwise—"

His words went unfinished. His body had already stiffened.

When Zhou You looked again, only a statue of Sanzhi Xiumo remained, seated there.

...In most stories, this would have been a truly magnificent sacrifice. For the sake of everyone in the city, he had willingly turned himself into a clay-and-wood statue, saving countless lives.

Even before sacrificing himself, he hadn't been thinking of his own safety. He'd been focused on how to seal away the monster behind all of this for good.

But the thing was...

For some reason, Zhou You felt a faint sense of dissonance deep down, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

It wasn't as if something were stuck in his throat. After all, the old monk hadn't tried to harm him, not even at the end. It was just...

Strange?

—But just as he furrowed his brow in thought, he suddenly felt a chill.

He didn't have time to ponder it. He snatched up the incense and rushed out of the temple, then looked into the distance.

At Chang Song Slope, in the distance, a pillar of blood shot into the sky. Then countless chunks of flesh surged in from every direction, piling up layer upon layer until they formed a pillar of flesh more than ten meters tall.

The next moment, the crimson pillar split open, and a hideous Bodhisattva emerged. Not an inch of skin covered its body; dark-red veins and pale fat covered it from head to toe.

—Perhaps it had finally sensed the danger. The terrifying monster had forced its way into the world two days early!

Then the Bodhisattva turned toward Zhou You and softly uttered a single word.

"Hum."

In an instant, Zhou You felt thick blood flood his nostrils. In the blink of an eye, he was standing amid a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. All around him, countless skinned creatures wailed in agony, crying out only two things.

"Save me."

"Kill me."

"Save me!"

"Kill meeeeeeeeeeeee!!"