Chapter 46
Everyone couldn't resist getting closer to take a closer look, when suddenly they heard a rhythmic sound of a wooden fish.
The sound was crisp like the gentle swaying of a bell, yet also deep and resonant like the rushing of a waterfall, echoing from all directions around the Buddhist altar.
Thump, thump, thump...
As the sound of the wooden fish grew louder and louder, the dark clouds and thunder in the sky that had not yet completely dissipated were completely shattered.
A ray of golden Buddhist light pierced the sky and shone down.
The sound of the wooden fish faded into the distance, and then bursts of Buddhist chants rose from within the golden light. In an instant, auspicious seven-colored clouds spread across thousands of miles, and countless figures answered the call!
They ride on auspicious clouds, some wearing cassocks, others celestial robes, their appearances varied, obscured by the rules that prevent clear distinction. Some are fierce Vajras, others compassionate Bodhisattvas.
Numerous gazes remained calm and detached, as if he were aloof from worldly affairs. He stood majestically in the ninth heaven, exuding an aura of power.
These are... the three thousand gods and Buddhas of the heavens?
Did I really manage to invite the Buddha?!
The crowd was visibly shocked, but what happened next dealt them another devastating blow.
All the high and mighty gods and Buddhas in the sky lowered their heads.
Thousands of rays of light descended with their gaze, converging on the tall, slender figure in the center of the altar.
At that moment, their expressions were no longer devoid of joy or sorrow; some had complicated emotions in their eyes, while others nodded slightly.
Even more so, some bowed down, their posture conveying a sense of respectful submission!
The only thing that can make a lion bow its head is a male lion that is even stronger and more powerful than itself.
Similarly, the only thing that can make gods and Buddhas lower themselves to show respect is...
Everyone looked on in horror.
Phoenixes soar, lotuses bloom.
The snow-white robe moved without wind, and her cascading black hair cascaded down her slender shoulders. Her delicate, long fingers held white jade prayer beads, making her wrists and skin appear as white as snow falling from a high mountain.
The young man raised his head, his appearance was handsome and otherworldly, his expression was aloof and indifferent, and his eyes seemed to contain boundless compassion.
The altar was built on a mountain, and even with the diligent cleaning efforts of the Jiang family servants, a layer of dust and lime would inevitably accumulate.
But at this moment, all the dust and dirt on the entire altar disappeared completely.
Not a speck of dust on it.
The little tentacles were originally helping to create illusions of gods and Buddhas in the sky. They would build a lucky cloud here and release a bird there, having a great time.
Seeing this, it couldn't help but dart back and perch on Yan Shuo's head, gazing absently at the white-robed, long-haired youth on the Buddhist altar.
[…Bai Bai has changed so much! What did you do?]
Yan Shuo remained silent for a long time.
The hand holding the vermilion brush paused in mid-air, a drop of red ink lingering at the tip of the brush for who knows how long, half-falling and half-falling.
The little tentacle thought that He had done something to make Xie Xubai transform from the inside out, like a lotus flower washed by the water.
But only He Himself knew that this was Xie Xubai's true inner self, guided out by the power of Buddha, without any external embellishment or deception.
Just then, the young man raised his eyelashes, revealing his aloof and refined face.
A touch of vermilion adorned her brow, the crimson ink blooming against her white skin like a blood plum tree growing on a snow-capped mountain that has never melted, making her exceptionally beautiful.
Yan Shuo stared intently at the crimson dot, unaware that he was somewhat lost in thought.
Glancing at the stunned crowd out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but frown. With a flick of his finger, an invisible force enveloped Xie Xubai's brow.
The others were so captivated by the overwhelming spectacle that they had no time to notice the disappearance of the crimson mark between the young man's brows.
The red mole is still there.
But only He could see.
Then, Xie Xubai's indifferent gaze fell on the Jiang family members in front of the Buddhist altar, as if he could see through their bodies to their filthy and rotten souls.
He sighed and fiddled with the prayer beads in his hand. Suddenly, a hurricane rose from beneath the young man's feet, and a vortex of immense size shot straight into the sky.
boom--!
The deep, sacred Buddhist chant sounded like a great bell, shaking the heavens in an instant. Everyone was thrown about, swaying like turbulent sand.
Some people, like Yan Yue and other players, had their minds cleansed and their consciousness cleared by the boundless Buddha light.
Some people seemed to have their souls burned by the karmic fire of the red lotus, crying and screaming in pain, rolling on the ground begging for mercy, like the Jiang family members.
Buddha.
He is Buddha.
In an instant, the same thought arose in everyone's mind, and there was no doubt about it.
Another massive storm struck, sending bricks and tiles flying and leaves trembling violently.
Without exception, everyone's vision went black during the violent jolts, and they lost consciousness.
*
After an unknown amount of time, Yan Yue and the others gradually woke up, pressing their throbbing temples, their minds a complete mess.
They looked around and quickly recognized that this was the Jiang family compound.
The courtyard is lush with greenery and blooming flowers, with a fountain flowing continuously, and a luxurious villa stands in front.
There were no palaces, no altars, no boundless Buddha light, and no graceful, ethereal Buddhas.
The woman with the ponytail said in a daze, "Wow, I think I had an incredible dream."
Man in trench coat: "Me too..."
The woman with the ponytail felt that what she saw before she lost consciousness couldn't be real, and the scene before her eyes proved it.
She asked jokingly, "Let me guess, do you also have countless gods and Buddhas in your dreams?"
Man in trench coat: "..."
The latter remained silent, looking back at her in disbelief.
The woman with the ponytail understood the meaning in his eyes, and her smile froze.
The two stared at each other, the air deathly silent.
"Don't even think about it, it can't be true!"
The girl with the ponytail laughed seemingly optimistically: "Infinite Game emphasizes fairness and balance. If gods and Buddhas really exist, they'd have to be at least SSS-level, right? How are we supposed to fight them? Hahaha..."
Yan Yue rubbed his dizzy forehead without saying a word.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded beside me, followed by a gentle and pleasant voice: "Awake?"
All the players tensed up instantly and looked over warily.
When they finally saw what the newcomer looked like, they were speechless with astonishment.
"Damn it, Yu You!" The woman with the ponytail paused, realizing something was wrong, and stared intently at Xie Xubai's face.
The feeling she had towards this NPC suddenly became very unusual.
She wasn't the only one with this strange feeling; other players felt the same way.
The next second, Yan Yue's intense reaction cleared up their doubts.
The usually composed man hurriedly got up from the ground, and because of the sudden movement, his left foot even slipped hard on the cobblestone floor.
He quickly steadied himself and strode over to Xie Xubai, his lips moving hesitantly as if he didn't know what to say.
Xie Xubai met Yan Yue's eyes and seemed to read the confusion and unease in them. He smiled and greeted him first, "I didn't expect to see you again."
"It really is you...you!" Yan Yue's tense face relaxed, and he could no longer hide his excitement.
At this point, the other players remained relatively calm.
Having just woken up in the Jiang family compound and seeing the familiar buildings, they had already prejudicially concluded that their memories before falling into a coma were a mass illusion.
Moreover, the sight of the young man bathed in Buddha's light and walking on lotus flowers is truly surreal and dreamlike.
Those magnificent and sacred scenes surged through their minds like roaring waves, giving them a dizzying, drunken feeling upon recalling them.
For a moment, it was hard to reconcile the image of the young man in the white shirt with his gentle smile.
Seeing Yan Yue's incoherent speech as he faced Xie Xubai, the girl with the ponytail felt a sense of loss, as if her image of a composed, dignified man had suddenly turned into a shy, immature child. She tentatively asked in the team chat: "President Yan, do you know this NPC?"
Yan Yue replied quickly: He is Xie Xubai!
Xie Xubai... Xie Xubai?
All the players who saw the team-up message widened their eyes in shock.
They stared intently at Xie Xubai, scrutinizing every detail from his eyebrows to his beautifully shaped chin, not daring to miss a single detail.
As they looked, the group realized that the young man's features were indeed extremely similar to what the analyst had described!
But why didn't they notice anything when they first met Xie Xubai?
There were also two women with ponytails.
They didn't participate in the trial, but Yan Yue quickly clicked in to take a look near the end of his live stream.
Xie Xubai's backlit figure was absolutely stunning in the photos.
Why couldn't they recognize each other, or Yan Yue?
The players, of course, did not know that the reason they could not recognize Xie Xubai at the beginning of the trial was because the little tentacles were dwelling in the latter's shadow.
The small tentacles have the ability to mimic shapes, changing their form to confuse others.
After the cycle started, it fell into a deep sleep due to the rules, but its protective instinct towards Xie Xubai was ingrained in its instincts. Even when it was in a deep sleep, it was always using the ability to confuse the young man's perception.
When Xie Xubai learned about this from Yan Shuo, he couldn't help but pick up the little tentacle and give it a big, grateful kiss!
After all, even when the little guy is asleep, he's thinking about protecting himself. How can you not be moved by that?
In addition, there are players like Hu Chang who harbor hostility and malice towards him.
The little tentacles' ability directly saved him from being targeted, allowing him to investigate the truth without hindrance, which was a great help to him.
After kissing it a few times, Xie Xubai suddenly discovered that the little tentacles that received kisses would become incredibly soft and bouncy with happiness, making them feel wonderful and irresistible.
If Yan Shuo hadn't expressionlessly pulled the little tentacle away, Xie Xubai would have wanted to give this cute little guy a good cuddling.
Right now, as the players look at Xie Xubai, whose features are as beautiful as a painting, their hearts are in turmoil.
It wasn't just that they discovered Yu You was Xie Xubai, but also that they suddenly realized that the scenes they saw before they lost consciousness were very likely not hallucinations.
"Xie Xubai" is equivalent to "Yu You", which is equivalent to the "Buddha" with unfathomable power.
In an instant, the team-up channel exploded with activity.
The girl with the ponytail frantically tagged Yan Yue: 【President Yan, please quickly ask if what happened before was true, and what Xie Xubai's true identity is? Is he a Buddha? He must be a Buddha! This special NPC is so powerful?】
Even the introverted and taciturn man in the trench coat couldn't help but tag him: "President Yan, have you noticed? Xie Xubai and the Ghost King Jiang Kaile have a very close relationship. The latter even calls him his only teacher, and it was Xie Xubai who calmed the Ghost King down when it went berserk."
Trench Coat Man: It's exactly the same situation you were in the last dungeon!
The man in the trench coat: This means that Xie Xubai also plays an extraordinary role in this trial. He must be the key to our success in clearing the dungeon!
Several players inquired about the relationship between Yan Yue and Xie Xubai, Xie Xubai's views on the player community, and whether he would be willing to help them pass the trial.
Girl with ponytail: If you can help us pass the level, we'll do anything!
Yan Yue wanted to smile wryly again.
That's so easy to say.
Xie Xubai is both the teacher of the Ghost King and a seemingly omnipotent deity. What can players who are helpless against the A-level Ghost King do to help others?
Would people even look down on them?
Moreover, he and Xie Xubai had no connection whatsoever; in fact, one could say they were enemies. Xie Xubai had clearly intervened because of the Demon King's rampage, and saving the player was merely incidental.
Recalling his foolish attempt to manipulate Xie Xubai, Yan Yue felt so ashamed he wanted to disappear into a crack, and he couldn't bring himself to ask for help.
Xie Xubai noticed that the other players looked excited and were muttering to themselves, guessing that they had their own secret communication methods.
Yan Yue looked uneasy, most likely because other players were pressuring him for clues on how to pass the level.
Sensing Xie Xubai's gaze, the girl with the ponytail looked up as if she had noticed something and met his eyes.
Before she could compose herself and feign composure, the young man smiled gently at her, his eyes filled with a clear understanding of everything.
That smile instantly overlapped with the transcendent posture under the golden Buddha light, stirring up a storm in the ponytail woman's heart.
She couldn't come to her senses.
Seeing that her expression was strange, the man in the trench coat next to her was afraid that Xie Xubai would feel offended and attack her, so he nervously stepped forward and stood in front of her.
But then Xie Xubai suddenly said, "I have already explained the matter of you being misunderstood by the Jiang family as stealing. The Jiang family will not attack you again until you leave here."
How did they manage to evade the rule that guarantees death?
The man in the trench coat beamed with joy upon hearing this.
Then Xie Xubai smiled and tapped his cheek.
Before he could react, the ponytail girl, who had been pulled back to her senses by his voice, looked up and reached out to remove the grass clippings from the corner of the man's mouth: "When did you get that on? I didn't even notice. Uh, your face is so dirty."
The woman with the ponytail wiped his face with her sleeve, and the man in the trench coat quickly looked down, then paused, noticing the black grime on her sleeve.
He looked up at Xie Xubai again, and seemed to see a hint of teasing in those gentle, watery eyes. His cheeks flushed instantly, and he dared not look at him again.
Who would have thought that a powerful figure who could turn the world upside down would notice such a small detail?
Upon hearing Xie Xubai's words, Yan Yue suddenly remembered the special item he had just acquired. He quickly took out the sandalwood box and handed over the ancient manual containing the secret techniques to Xie Xubai.
"Take a look, is this useful to you?"
Xie Xubai was not used to being addressed with honorifics.
But Yan Shuo had previously told him that accepting the admiration of others was only the first step to becoming a god. Once he decided to embark on this path as an ordinary person, he would bear many responsibilities.
Xie Xubai had already realized this.
He paused, quickly composed himself, and took the ancient book.
The narration rang in his mind at just the right moment.
[I saw in the Jiang family's secret techniques that it says: The Jiang family members have become the dominant force in the region by accidentally obtaining secret techniques. They know that they have committed many evils. If anyone betrays the clan and reveals the techniques to outsiders, they will surely suffer the calamity of being killed and their clan wiped out.]
The current patriarch then used bloodline as a guide to perform a soul-binding technique, thereby binding all members of the clan...
After carefully reading to the end and finding a way to free Jiang Kaile from her restraints, Xie Xubai was overjoyed.
The other players secretly observed Xie Xubai's reaction.
Ancient books have hierarchical restrictions. Seeing that someone could actually understand the strange characters on them after carefully reading them, they became even more convinced that the other person was extraordinary.
"Thank you, this book will be of great use to me." Xie Xubai closed the book. "Besides that, I need your help with one more thing."
Before Yan Yue could speak, a virtual screen suddenly popped up in front of him.
[Would you accept the assistance task posted by "Xie Xubai"?]
Name: Xie Xubai (pseudonym: Yu You)
Identity: [Master of A-level Ghost King "Ping An"], [The only teacher of A-level Ghost King "Jiang Kaile"], [Close friend of [?] level Ghost King [?], [The beloved of [?] level Ghost King [?]]
[More identities await exploration.]
[Note: Completing the quest given by the special NPC "Xie Xubai" may allow you to directly pass this trial.]
Go straight through!
Although only Yan Yue received the mission notification, the mission panel was not hidden in team mode.
Seeing Yan Yue stunned, the girl with the ponytail couldn't help but lean closer to look at the mission prompts.
Then she froze.
Seeing the woman with the ponytail stunned, the man in the trench coat followed her up and stared in disbelief at the long list of identification information.
The remaining two players, not understanding what was going on, leaned over to look, and their jaws nearly dropped to the floor in shock.
At one point, they all turned to look at Xie Xubai, their eyes shining with an eerie light.
Yan Yue tried to calm his racing heart. He was too excited and needed to think of what to say.
In those few seconds of deliberating her words, the woman with the ponytail grabbed the man in the trench coat and rushed forward, grabbing Xie Xubai's hand tightly, her eyes brimming with tears!
Forget NPCs, forget mysterious and unpredictable characters. For players eager to complete the game, Xie Xubai has only one identity at this moment—
"Buddha, you truly are a living Buddha!" The woman with the ponytail enthusiastically promoted the two of them. "Look at us! We're quick and efficient, obedient and sensible. If you tell us to go east, we'll never go west. We're definitely much more useful than those rigid, wooden, and clueless men over there!"
Yan Yue, a rigid and straightforward man: "...???"
The solo player also hurriedly stepped forward to volunteer.
Seeing that Yan Yue was still standing there in a daze, the assassin took two steps to his side and advised him with a look of exasperation, "President Yan, the opportunity is about to be snatched away, why don't you hurry up?"
"You were the one who won his favor first!"
What favor? Why do these words sound so strange coming from your mouth?
Yan Yue looked at the heated scene of "competing for favor" before him, and before he could react, he had already strode forward and said: "Of course, I'll do whatever you ask!"
—You guys are really hopeless.
The players exchanged glances, their eyes filled with the same contempt and lust for battle.
Seeing their enthusiasm, Xie Xubai was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Then I'll trouble you. Please come with me."
The laughter was like a light feather tickling everyone's heart, instantly making them laugh until they were completely disoriented and followed along in a daze.
All the viewers outside the live stream were stunned when they saw the words "may be able to pass the trial directly", and screams erupted again, and the whole place was in an uproar!
Author's Note:
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