Deep Fate, Shallow Fate

"Let's keep moving. I can sense that our destination is not far off now," the puppet said with a hint of anxiety. "We truly don't have much time left!"

"Alright then." Lu Li had no objections. He held the torch in one hand and cradled the Buddha head in the other, quickening his pace to match the puppet. It had to be said, the Buddha head was quite heavy, but once Lu Li held it, he felt an indescribable presence guarding him. Even the relentless malice that had been lurking in the darkness seemed to have diminished significantly.

The sense of time seemed to have been stripped away here. Lu Li's keen senses could not determine how much had passed, only that they had walked for quite a while since finding the Buddha head. Suddenly, the puppet stopped. Ahead of them rose a mountain, shining with a brilliant light that seemed to connect heaven and earth. It was visible to everyone, and at the summit stood a temple. The only path to the temple was a seemingly infinite staircase. Lu Li could even see corpse-ghosts sprinting up the stairs, seemingly unafraid of the light radiating from the mountain.

"This mountain is an illusion," the puppet said. "Or rather, it is a manifestation of the protection set by that person. Under normal circumstances, you could walk until you died and never reach the summit, because this is a manifestation of a concept. As long as you cannot break it, this mountain is truly infinitely high."

"Then what should we do?" Lu Li asked straightforwardly, and he received an answer from the puppet.

"Karma, the Buddha saves those with affinity!" the puppet spoke in a cryptic tone. "Most of those monsters were originally monks or believers of the temple. Based on their karma, they are able to approach the temple to a certain extent, turning an infinite distance into a finite one."

The puppet pointed to a mutated corpse-ghost closest to the temple and said, "That monster has a great affinity with the object inside the temple, which is why it can get so close. Other ghosts and monsters without such affinity cannot even get near, or they would be scorched by the divine light of protection."

"And you were originally without affinity!" The puppet glanced at the Buddha head in Lu Li's arms before continuing, "But firstly, you are currently in a temple in reality; secondly, you are a living human and won't be suppressed by the divine light, so you don't need to expend karma to resist it; and thirdly, you are holding the Buddha head—this is the greatest affinity of all!"

"Once we start climbing, we will be separated due to our different karma. Although I have a way to get up, I might be slower than you, so please wait for me in front of the temple. You only need to watch out for the monster currently in the lead, and then wait for my arrival!"

"Understood. Time is short, let's hurry." Lu Li looked at the mountain with interest. If the puppet was correct, this mountain likely involved causality. Karma was causality; deep karma made it easy to ascend, while shallow karma meant one could walk for a lifetime and never see the summit. As for the ghosts and monsters, they would be suppressed by the divine light.

He walked forward, and the moment he stepped onto the stairs, the scenery before him changed. Looking ahead, he saw no corpse-ghosts, and the puppet was no longer by his side, giving Lu Li the feeling of having entered a solo dungeon.

Clutching the Buddha head, Lu Li glanced at his nearly extinguished torch. After a moment's thought, he decided not to discard it and began to climb. Step by step, Lu Li felt exceptionally light while holding the Buddha head, yet a sense of malice emanating from the temple became increasingly distinct!

"Is that... that treasure?" Lu Li speculated, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to suppress you again!"

With that, Lu Li felt the malice recede. A lighter feeling emerged around him, and a sense of goodwill was transmitted, as if praising him, telling him how powerful it was, and requesting that Lu Li take it away from here. Various invisible fluctuations rippled, stirring the greed in Lu Li's heart.

Climbing the stairs didn't even make Lu Li break a sweat or take a heavy breath; it was as easy as a stroll in the park. After just a few steps, Lu Li reached the final landing. It was effortless, devoid of any difficulty, which inevitably made Lu Li feel a bit bored.

Stepping onto the platform, Lu Li saw a smooth path behind him; there was no massive mountain at all. The surroundings seemed wrapped in divine light. The group of corpse-ghosts were all gathered outside the light, panting heavily but unable to move. The puppet was among them, even quite close, occasionally managing to take a step or two. The mutated corpse-ghost was even further ahead, its frequency of movement faster than the puppet's; it looked like it would be entering soon.

"Hm? That is!" Lu Li suddenly saw a corpse-ghost with blood-red liquid flowing from its eyes—those must have been tears! This corpse-ghost wore sandalwood prayer beads on its wrist and a tattered monk's robe, its face twisted in a sorrowful expression. It—no, he—must have been crying!

To be a monk yet unable to approach the temple, to be someone who lived here yet unable to return home—this was truly a tragic affair. Lu Li curled his lip and said, "Seeing as you're so pitiful, lacking even the karma to return home, I'll give you a hand!"

He walked up, cradled the Buddha head with one arm, held the torch, and reached out with his other hand to grab the corpse-ghost, pulling him into the temple. The ghost's skin began to melt and his fingers fell off, but his eyes shifted from blood-red to normal. He looked at Lu Li and the Buddha head in his hands, his lipless mouth curling into a terrifying yet pure smile. He pressed his fingerless hands together in prayer and knelt before Lu Li. It was as if he had seen the true Buddha. In that moment, Lu Li seemed to hear a voice: "Namo Amitabha!"

The monk dissolved into liquid, and a crystal dropped. Picking it up, a prompt appeared: [Obtained Rule Module: Will]

"Consider this a token of thanks!" Lu Li tossed the crystal in his hand, ignored the puddle of liquid, and walked toward the temple, finding it no different from the one in the real world, only much newer.

A roar came from behind. Lu Li turned around and saw the mutated corpse-ghost entering. White smoke rose from its body, and its eyeballs melted and fell out, only to regenerate a few seconds later. Its tongue flickered in and out of its mouth, a chrysanthemum-like structure that looked incredibly disgusting.

Seeing that the puppet was still some distance away, Lu Li smiled. With the nearly burnt-out torch in one hand and the Buddha head in the other, he spread his arms as if welcoming the mutated corpse-ghost. However, it did not appreciate the gesture; it let out a roar and charged straight at him.

"Muscle Release: 40%, Brain Release: 10%." Lu Li's muscles swelled, transforming him from a normal student into a hulking brute. Feeling the feedback from his body, Lu Li muttered to himself, "Only ten seconds. After ten seconds, most of my muscles will tear..."

Facing the lunging corpse-ghost, Lu Li's muscular arm hurled the torch, striking the monster in the head. Crimson blood sprayed, but it was useless; the corpse-ghost only paused for a moment before pouncing again.

The Buddha head in Lu Li's hand began to heat up, and green smoke rose from the corpse-ghost's body as its skin began to melt. Yet, the mutated monster roared and charged regardless, its sharp claws swiping at Lu Li. Lu Li quickly ducked, the whistling wind brushing his hair and stinging his scalp.

Lu Li threw a punch with his free hand, striking the corpse-ghost in the abdomen and halting its momentum. He then smashed the Buddha head into the monster's body with his other hand. His brain release increased by another 3%, constantly analyzing the corpse-ghost's movements, while the time limit for his muscle restriction in his mind dwindled to just three seconds...