Chapter 718: Chapter 74: Departure
The monks all showed surprised expressions upon seeing the Ancient Buddha’s Golden Body and could not help but stop in their tracks.
This was an ability that only those who had achieved mastery in Buddhist Techniques could manifest, and yet an outsider had mastered it. Moreover, why was this Buddha Nature so pure?
They were baffled and perplexed by this.
The deeper one’s understanding of Buddhist Techniques, the purer the Buddha Nature becomes.
Right and wrong are sometimes difficult to discern, but for these monks, the words of one with a purer Buddha Nature are often right, as they have a deeper understanding of Buddha.
Therefore, in the Buddhist Sect, one’s status is determined by their Buddha Nature, with higher status granted to those with purer Buddha Nature.
"He is a Demon Monk, he killed the Abbot. Avenge the Abbot!"
An older monk, seeing the situation turning unfavorable, shouted out.
The others also hesitated no longer and rushed towards Su Changxing. Those leading the charge were either sent flying or crushed by the Ancient Buddha’s Golden Body with a single palm strike.
Such deaths did not count as true deaths because they could be resurrected in Thundercloud City.
Su Changxing, leaning on his Ivory Walking Staff, stood quietly watching them as if watching a play; it seemed as though none of this had any relation to him.
Although the Ancient Buddha’s Golden Body was powerful, it could not withstand such numbers and soon lost seven or eight arms. The Golden Body was broken, and the Buddhist light dimmed.
Yet the Buddha’s head was filled with compassion, as if pitying the monks who were about to die.
Immediately after.
Screams arose among the monks.
"What is this!"
A young, handsome monk stood still, noticing rotting spots appearing on his arm, and waves of paralysis coursing through his body.
The rotting parts seemed to be caused by the explosion of limbs, splattered with blood foam or fresh blood.
Soon, many monks around displayed the same symptoms, but it was not enough to stop their attack on Su Changxing.
However, as they were infected with the plague and it spread rapidly, the combat ability of these monks significantly declined.
Su Changxing fought while retreating and appeared to be in control, and increasingly relaxed.
Finally, the first monk collapsed from the plague, his body mostly paralyzed, muttering incomprehensible words.
As more people fell, the standing monks became scared.
"You demon!"
A monk wielding a large knife cursed and then turned to flee, but didn’t get far before collapsing as well.
Su Changxing looked at the scene and did not intend to shoot to finish, wanting them to die thoroughly from the plague.
Feeling it was about time, he slowly walked over and threw each corpse into the Pocket Galaxy, to destroy the evidence.
The ground was cleared, with even the bloodstains gone, only leaving some chaos.
Soon, more monks surrounded the area, but by then Su Changxing had already moved far away.
"Where are Kongji and the others?"
The monks glanced around, but didn’t spot the others and felt a bit strange, clearly having heard the sounds of battle earlier.
They quickly noticed that the avatars of these people had turned gray-black.
Dead!
"Why did they die?"
The elder monk who discovered this kept retreating, shocked.
It was widely known that players in this world couldn’t truly die; grudges could form through mutual combat, but never to the point of mortal enmity.
Many players, upon arriving here, were unwilling to leave, not for any other reason but fear of death.
This place was an Ivory Tower for the players.
At this moment.
Su Changxing limped to a spot near the exit point, which was a large plaza where many players queued up to leave.
In this plaza, it was a safe zone.
Players were forbidden from attacking each other, or they would face severe punishment, resulting in their instant obliteration.
A young man in a black coat, blue shirt, and glasses saw Su Changxing, covered in blood, limping, and laughed, saying:
"Brother, did you have a brawl outside? Escalated into a vendetta, I suppose."
Su Changxing leaned against a pillar in the plaza, turned his head towards him, and said indifferently, "Not a vendetta, just that some people keep bothering me, and I must retaliate."
The young man took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with a match, and said, "Well, there are always fools looking for trouble. It seems you won... need a smoke?"
Su Changxing shook his head and declined, "I don’t smoke. Where are you headed?"
The young man put away the cigarette and said, "Going on a mission, to a very desolate world where civilization is about to go extinct."
Su Changxing leaned against the wall and sat down, his body creaking as he said, "Because of what, the apocalypse?"
The young man smiled and said, "Sort of, but it’s because of demons. Even the weakest demon can destroy a low-tier world."
Su Changxing nodded thoughtfully, "Are you confident?"
"I can’t say I’m totally confident. If a powerful demon is hiding there, it would be troublesome, though the chances of that are slim."
"Have you encountered one before?"
"I have, but I escaped. Those powerful demons don’t target us specifically. As long as we don’t wander into their sight, generally nothing happens."
They chatted back and forth, like two people who knew each other but weren’t very familiar.
"I’m off, see you." The young man tossed away his half-smoked cigarette, turned, and walked towards the plaza, his figure gradually disappearing into the night.
Shortly after he left, a whistle sounded from the darkness ahead, as if a train was heading off into the distance.
Su Changxing closed his eyes and leaned motionlessly against the wall, the chants of Buddhist scriptures still echoing in his ears.
Seemingly, they never repeated.
The tone of each sentence and even each word varied slightly, conveying different emotions.
He tried his best not to pay attention to the Buddhist scriptures echoing in his ears, but couldn’t help trying to understand their meaning.
However, the sound was a bit softer than before, but just a bit.
People here weren’t many, mostly players going to other worlds for missions, making it a sort of transit hub.
Aside from that young man in a black coat with glasses, most players ignored him.
Here lay quite a few people like Su Changxing, appearing like homeless folks lying or sitting on the ground.
One homeless person lying by a flower bed noticed Su Changxing, climbed up, walked over, and said, "Judging by your disheveled state, you must be another player without a chance."
Su Changxing looked up at him and calmly asked, "What do you mean?"
He was somewhat curious why these players lingered here like homeless people. If they intended to stay in this world, the main city would be a better place.
The homeless man came over and patted Su Changxing’s shoulder, "Don’t fake it. Haven’t we all failed and escaped back early? Once you leave here, you’ll be obliterated by the game, so we can only survive here, hanging on."
"Do you have any food? Spare me some. It’s been months since I last ate something."
Su Changxing coughed twice, blood seeping from his mouth, and retrieved a bag of cookies from his Pocket Galaxy, handing it to him, "Staying here would eventually lead to death; otherwise, there’d be more homeless like you."
The homeless man gratefully took the cookies Su Changxing offered, "Of course, but you can at least live a bit longer. They only clear this area periodically due to special reasons."
Su Changxing propped himself up with a staff and slowly rose from the ground, "Hope I can still see you next time I come."
He limped towards the plaza, disappearing from the homeless man’s view.
"Ha, so he wasn’t a player without chances after all." The homeless man stuffed cookies into his mouth, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and bore a sorrowful expression.
For players like him, living wasn’t much different from being dead; it was only a matter of time.
Once deemed an illegal existence by the game, there’s almost no room for survival except in worlds untouched by the game.
But such worlds are generally considered incredibly dangerous, and even high-tier Extraordinary players might not survive there.
"Looks like an old-fashioned train station."
Su Changxing saw a green train stopped at the platform, with over a dozen players waiting.
Through that train, players can travel to other worlds, but appropriate identification is required.
Su Changxing’s destination wasn’t that train, but a pillar at the platform’s edge, where a black door shimmered, its shape not much different from a broken Bronze Mirror.
"This should be it."
Su Changxing glanced around and walked towards the black door, its frame rippling like water.
Others seemingly couldn’t see this black door.
As he approached, black eyes emerged on the door, bulging out like tumors, staring at him intently.
Taking one more step forward, a large black hand stretched from the door frame, grasped Su Changxing’s collar, and yanked him in with a swoosh.
The other players at the platform seemed oblivious to this scene, chatting or minding their own business.
From the moment Su Changxing walked to this side, it was as if they were in different spaces, separated by an invisible mirror.
Su Changxing was on the inner side of space, so he could see them.
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