Chapter 598
Without rules, nothing can be accomplished.
"Please, esteemed benefactors."
Seeing that everyone was still examining the brocade pouches, the white-browed old monk smiled and urged them on.
At the same time, the Buddha statue's hand slowly moved backward, and its palm gradually closed.
If I don't take the brocade pouch now, I'm afraid I'll never get it again.
Everyone had no choice but to quickly reach out and grab a brocade pouch.
They then exchanged confirmation messages.
Wu Xiaoyou held the symbol of "greed," the mug held the symbol of "anger," Jinxin held the symbol of "ignorance," Ruoshui held the symbol of "slowness," and the fortress held the symbol of "doubt."
Wu Wang and Bai Xiang Guo obtained the [Wrong View] and [View of Attachment].
In response, the white-browed old monk pointed to the side door next to the Jingxin Hall and said, "Go out through this door and you will see your living quarters. Only the corresponding key can open the corresponding door. I still need to prepare for the daily Buddhist rites, so I won't see you off."
"Before nightfall, you are free to visit and worship at the temple as you see fit, just don't break the temple's rules."
"After the night bell rings, please return to your room to rest and do not go out unnecessarily."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the gate of the Jingxin Hall.
The group looked at each other, about to say something.
Wu Wang called out to the white-browed old monk's retreating figure, "Bald monk! What are the rules of the temple?"
However, this time the other party ignored Wu Wang, and even quickened their pace, stepped out of the gate, turned left and disappeared from sight.
Wu Wang didn't tolerate him and darted out the door.
However, they found that there was no one outside the Jingxin Hall, and even the dust on the ground was evenly distributed without any trace of being trampled.
It was as if no one had ever left the gate of the Jingxin Hall and stepped onto this ground.
The white-browed old monk has disappeared!
Wu Wang wasn't too surprised by this situation, after all, the other party had appeared silently, and if they really wanted to leave, it would probably be easy for them to do so within the temple.
He turned around, ready to invite everyone to go and see where they were staying.
But he found that everyone except Wu Xiaoyou was looking at him with a look of utter disbelief.
"Mr. Wei, isn't this a bit too much...?" Passion Fruit asked, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly.
In the temple, they directly called the old monk a bald donkey.
We have to stay here for another 7 days!
Are we even going to live like this anymore?
Wu Wang seemed to have misunderstood their meaning and asked thoughtfully, "So, you also think I'm not aggressive enough, right? Then next time, if you have any better offensive tactics, you can come up with them."
Hearing this, everyone shrank back.
Brother, we wouldn't be so reckless.
Their gazes also fell on Wu Xiaoyou, revealing a puzzled expression that seemed to ask, "Is it normal for your companion to be like this?"
However, Wu Xiaoyou thought about it seriously and shook her head, saying, "No, I can't think of anything more offensive, and I'm too shy to say those kinds of things."
Damn! Is the point really about shamelessness?!
Isn't it because this might cause trouble?!
Now everyone seemed to understand.
Neither of these two people seems to be normal.
Wu Wang said, "Tsk, I also have my pride, okay? That level of attack is at most a greeting."
He walked towards the side door he had just mentioned.
Despite their helplessness, everyone still started walking and followed.
"With Mom as the center, relatives as the radius, Dad as the fulcrum, organs as weapons, and YY as the main skill, we radiate in all directions and overturn the entire family tree."
“These old bald monks are just bullying you educated people. Listen to me, go up and curse them directly, they can’t take it.”
"Let them see how people from Zaun greet each other."
Wu Wang, who had just said he had a sense of shame, launched into a lesson in insults.
During this process, everyone left the Jingxin Hall, passed through the corridor, and arrived at their dormitories.
From the outside, these appear to be just two rows of ordinary bungalows.
There are rows of doors on the left and right sides, with the doors facing inwards, and a corridor of just the right width in the middle.
Each row has five doors, and different words are written on the doors.
These characters perfectly correspond to the characters and colors on their brocade pouches.
Everyone looked each other up and down, but no one took the initiative to go and open the door with the key.
Suddenly, Fortress stepped forward, picked up the brocade pouch with the character "doubt" in its hand, and said:
"Everyone, let me first share my humble opinion."
"The five poisons on our left are greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. In Buddhist terminology, they can drive sentient beings to commit evil deeds and hinder spiritual practice and enlightenment like poison."
"If they are placed together with the row on the right [self-view, extreme view, wrong view, view of attachment to views, view of attachment to precepts], they are collectively called the ten afflictions."
"The former are the five dull envoys, and the latter are the five sharp envoys."
"I think that once you enter the corresponding room, you may also be tempted. Please be mentally prepared, or remember to use any defensive skills or items that focus on mental strength at any time."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked surprised.
After all, this kind of knowledge about Buddhist teachings can play a crucial role.
Mug asked in confusion, "The Five Poisons Heart represents the bad things, so does the Five Sharpness represent the good? After all, their arrangement is relative."
These words also caused the others' faces to twitch.
Because the five blunt objects made them take everything.
Only Wu Wang and Bai Xiangguo possessed the Five Benefits.
However, before the fortress could explain further, Wu Wang spoke first:
"Wrong. All ten afflictions are bad things. In Buddhism, they are the ten fundamental afflictions that drive sentient beings to transmigrate through the three realms of birth and death."
"The difference is that the five dull afflictions are caused by emotions and habits that hinder spiritual practice, while the five sharp afflictions are confusions at the level of understanding."
"If anyone doesn't believe me and wants to switch with me now, I don't mind."
After saying that, he generously handed over the brocade pouch embroidered with the words "Heretical View".
Seeing this, everyone said they didn't need it.
If they're all bad things, then there's no point in changing them.
Da da—
Just as they were planning to observe outside for a while, the Wu siblings strode straight inside.
This bold move also surprised them.
Wu Xiaoyou turned around and asked in confusion, "Why aren't you leaving? There's no danger now."
Hmm? No danger?
Seeing everyone's stunned expressions, she said matter-of-factly, "Didn't that old monk just explain the rules of conduct for the two periods before and after nightfall?"
"Since we can't move around freely outside after nightfall and can only stay in our rooms, it means that the danger from the dormitory mostly occurs at night, because we have nowhere to go then. Otherwise, we're out and about during the day, so who would we be showing the danger to?"
"That old monk wasn't lying, right, brother?"
Upon hearing his second sister's words, Wu Wang nodded.
His sudden realization meant he didn't sense a single lie.
"Are you siblings?" The others' expressions became even stranger.
Wu Xiaoyou raised an eyebrow and said, "What? Doesn't it look like it?"
swish—swish—
His gaze swept over her and Wu Wang respectively.
Everyone shook their heads.
Ruoshui said awkwardly, "This lady is as beautiful as an angel, and as for the big boss... well, he's got a face and a nose."
Wu Wang: "..."
To be honest, his appearance is definitely among the best of the normal people.
But compared to her second sister, she does look rather shabby.
There's no harm without comparison.
After rolling his eyes, he walked toward his room.
The tense and dangerous atmosphere was eased considerably by this joke, and everyone laughed and headed to their respective rooms. The key taken out of the brocade pouch didn't seem particularly special.
The first thing you see when you push open the door is darkness.
After all, these huts don't seem to have windows; light can only come in by opening the doors.
There wasn't much furniture in the room. Against the wall was a white wooden couch with dark blue quilts stacked neatly on it. A rattan pillow sat on the quilts, gleaming softly. Under the couch were an enamel basin and toiletries.
Next to it was a half-table and chairs, with a candle and a matchbox on it, presumably for lighting at night, and an old straw cushion lying on it for meditation and kneeling.
On the wall directly opposite is a shrine, but there are no statues of gods or Buddhas hanging in it.
This is the layout and structure of the entire room.
There was almost nowhere to hide.
After casually looking around, Wu Wang withdrew again, since he still needed to take advantage of the daytime to explore the area.
However, when he went outside, he looked up and discovered something strange.
"Everyone, I suggest you come out and take a look."
Hearing Wu Wang's shouts, everyone came out of the room.
Their expressions changed drastically, some of them puzzled.
"How...how is it already evening!?"
The sky is now bathed in the glow of the setting sun, giving it a yellowish-orange hue. It's estimated that the sun will soon set completely, plunging this place into darkness.
However, before the group entered the temple, and even when they came out of the Jingxin Hall, the sun was still shining brightly overhead, as if it had only been a short time past noon.
In the short time it took to enter and leave the room, it was already evening!
It's obvious there's a time issue here!
Before nightfall, you can visit and worship at the temple on your own.
After the night bell rings, please return to your room to rest and do not go out unnecessarily.
The old monk with white eyebrows' admonition is still vivid in my mind.
The expressions on everyone's faces also turned angry.
Where the hell are people supposed to have time to explore on their own?!
After walking over, it's "Darkness, please close your eyes"; next, it's "Werewolf, please open your eyes"?
This damn Compassion Temple instance is driving people to their deaths! It doesn't give players even the slightest chance to explore the temple's interior and uncover clues.
Upon noticing this unusual situation, Ruoshui suddenly frowned and said, "This sudden change in time seems to be rushing us back to our rooms. Why?"
Hearing her express such doubt, Wu Wang felt a little emotional.
Putting aside the difficulty of the Compassion Temple instance, the Spirit Disaster players I encountered were among the best I've ever met.
It's not that they're particularly strong, but rather that they're easy to manage.
In the past, running dungeons not only required outsmarting and outfighting the dangers within the dungeon, but also involved scheming against fellow players in the Spirit Disaster faction, with little room for cooperation.
In a sense, this was my first real raid experience.
There were no backstabbers or idiots, and no reckless fools who caused trouble everywhere.
If you have any information or notice anything unusual, please share it immediately for discussion.
This is what a team is all about!
He patted the broad, reliable shoulders of the soldiers, Emberheart and Fortress, with a look of satisfaction.
He asked, "If the intention was simply to urge us back to our rooms to prepare for the crisis of the Ten Envoys, the bell should have rung immediately. However, the bell for nightfall has not yet rung, which means that there is still some time before nightfall. Even if this time is short, it still exists."
"Then what is its reason for existence? We don't have enough time to go any further and explore it."
"Based on the principle that there must be a way to clear a dungeon in the 'Cataclysmic' game, I believe that its existence is justified."
"This short period of time is giving us the opportunity to go to a nearby place to handle something."
"Opportunity knocks but once, or it will never come again."
After he finished speaking, Wu Xiaoyou, who was standing next to him, immediately understood.
He asked Ruoshui and the others, "How did you complete the [hand cleansing] and [mouth cleansing]?"
Purifying the mind is a natural process, something we all experienced together.
But I don’t know how the other two steps before that differ.
Upon hearing this question, a look of confusion immediately crossed the faces of the other players.
Fortress immediately said to Wu Wang, "You two are the Three Purities? We only have the Purity of Speech and Purity of Mind."
Other players: "!!!"
That's where the problem lies!
A glint of light flashed in Wu Wang's eyes.
Sure enough, this was a hidden rule that could only be obtained outside the temple.
Because during the process of entering the temple, they will not encounter other worshippers explaining to them the need to perform the three purifications before nightfall.
The reason why the monks deliberately omitted the "washing hands" ritual was so that players would be punished by Buddha after nightfall.
Without the slightest hesitation, his figure flashed to the intersection leading from the Jingxin Hall and called out, "Then what are you waiting for? Waiting for love? Hurry up and wash your hands!"
Seeing this, everyone used their own methods to quickly catch up.
He kicked open the door of the Jingxin Hall. There were no monks inside anymore; only some traces of the fire that Wu Wang had burned remained.
They rushed through the Jingxin Hall and headed towards the Jingkou Hall.
This is the only place they've come across that has a water source so far.
They didn't know where the monks in the Jingxin Hall used to fetch water to put out the fire.
However, when everyone returned to the Pure Mouth Hall...
He immediately showed an embarrassed expression when he saw the completely dried-up water tank.
There's no water! The water here has disappeared!
In that case, how can one wash their hands?
While feeling anxious, everyone also felt a strange sense of oppression, as if a heavy stone was pressing on their hearts.
Without a doubt, something would definitely change at Cibei Temple after nightfall; they felt like they were struggling and running wildly on a conveyor belt in a meat grinder.
If you pause or slack off even for a moment, you will be completely destroyed.
Before they could even think about where the new water source might be, Wu Wang picked up a ceramic bowl from the stone platform and threw it into the water trough.
Pointing at the earthenware bowl, he cursed, "I wanted to come here, but I still have to come back to test your old mother!"
Holy crap! What is this guy doing?
The tension in everyone's hearts became disjointed.
Why did this guy suddenly start cursing the bowl?
However, amidst this blatant insult, a strange sound of flowing water jolted everyone awake.
Glug glug—
The trough was filled with clear spring water, as if it were springing from an underground spring between the rocks.
Wu Wang quickly picked up the earthenware bowl from the middle, tilted his head back, and drank it in large gulps.
No one had time to think about why this was happening; they could only quickly immerse their hands in the water and start rubbing them.
It hurts! It burns like crazy!
They felt as if they were washing their hands in lava, and their faces showed expressions of pain.
In addition, the pain from their fingers almost made them cry out.
Even the soldiers, Jinxin and Baobao, had veins bulging on their foreheads and their faces flushed red as they tried to suppress their trembling.
Even so, no one dared to pull their hand away.
After Wu Wang finished drinking, he looked up to observe the changing sky and explained, "This hall is meant to use spring water to cleanse our speech. Since we've all cleansed our mouths, we don't need the spring water anymore. If we want water, we can just create more negative speech, right?"
The other players gritted their teeth, feeling the pain in their hands.
But at that moment, they heard the sound of bells echoing from the distant horizon.
Deep and melodious.
"Boom-"
This made their expressions even more unpleasant.
It's over! Night has fallen! (End of Chapter)