The game becomes reality: Black Myth invades the real world.

Chapter 13 The Cruel Truth at the Beginning of the Journey West

Option 1: This monk diligently cultivates the Vajra Subduing Demon Divine Skill in an attempt to forge an indestructible golden body.

One day, I saw a person and a monkey chatting happily and getting along well. I couldn't help but feel envious and wondered why I was all alone.

This leads to the growth of inner demons, the distortion of cultivation techniques, and the formation of tubes through the bones, ultimately backfiring on the body.

This is due to the impurity of the six senses, leading to demonic possession.

"Option 2: This monk is a loyal and brave protector of the Dharma, guarding the peace of the Five Elements Mountain and suppressing the demon monkey in the mountain's belly."

However, the cunning monkey took advantage of the monk's unpreparedness and separated a wisp of its original demonic power to mix into the monk's body.

Unaware of the danger, the influence deepened day by day, until the demonic power and the will within his body intertwined and condensed into gold dust, scorching through his bones.

This is a case of sacrificing oneself for one's cause, the task of suppressing the demon left unfinished.

Option 3: This mountain is the "Demon Refining Altar," which aims to transform the demon monkey's spirit over a hundred years.

This man was a rustic villager who, having witnessed divine power, disguised himself as a monk and longed day and night for the Buddha to descend and take him as a disciple.

However, more than a decade passed in the blink of an eye, and he made no progress whatsoever, which led him to harbor evil thoughts.

He happened to see an old man passing by, so he killed him to vent his anger and forced him to swallow pebbles, hoping to gain the Buddha's attention.

Little did they know that they had already been corrupted by the Demon Refining Altar. Sitting in front of the temple, their bones turned into tubes, and their souls were annihilated.

This is due to greed; all efforts will be in vain.

Once the text was generated, Chen Fu began to think seriously.

The first option mentions the cause of the old man's death, which is similar to the previous deduction.

But there's something wrong.

Why would a monk envy the relationship between an old man and a monkey?

He cultivates Vajra Subduing Demons, not the Seven Emotions and Six Desires.

Could it be that the old man's daily and yearly acts of giving peaches to the monkey aroused his jealousy?

Even if it's jealousy, shouldn't it be a matter between men and women?

Fundamentally, this is a big problem.

Chen Fu believed that this was definitely wrong and began to analyze the second one.

Option two seems to have no logical flaws: the monk guarding the demon monkey was affected and ultimately died tragically.

But this is the Five Elements Mountain. The talisman written by Buddha can suppress the demon monkey. Is it necessary to send another person?

Furthermore, since the demon monkey can separate his original demonic power, why doesn't he try to escape instead of harming a monk?

That's clearly not right.

However, the third option also has problems.

Even though it was explained that the old man was brutally murdered, the identity of the monk from Five Elements Mountain was changed to that of a demon-refining altar and a wild man from a village.

It doesn't match any of the stories I've heard or read since I was a child; it's eerie in every way.

Chen Fu looked conflicted, feeling that neither option was right.

A moment later, he realized that the truth of the myth was hidden in the dungeon.

If we take this as our starting point, we cannot use common sense to speculate about the current situation.

Perhaps the most illogical thing is the right one.

He made up his mind and selected the third option.

The Five Elements Mountain was not built to suppress the demon monkey, but to refine it.

A greedy country bumpkin accidentally stumbled into this deadly trap, and ultimately, due to years of pollution from the mountain, his soul was scattered.

This fits the characteristics of "Black Myth".

After clicking, Chen Fu stared intently at the screen without blinking.

Life or death, it all hinges on this one moment.

"The chosen one, you truly are extraordinary!"

"Your meticulous observation and careful analysis led you to the only way out."

"Death report being generated."

"This person was not a monk, but a foolish mountain dweller who had lived in the Five Elements Mountain for a long time. However, he did not know that this place was actually a demon-refining altar. He pretended to cultivate, but his greed led him to commit evil deeds. His death was neither a calamity nor a harm, but a consequence of his own actions."

After examining just two corpses, Chen Fu felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Although the situation is invisible and everything can only be judged through the game text, it is extremely difficult, and one wrong choice will lead to utter ruin.

Fortunately, his mission would be complete once the last body was identified.

Chen Fu waited for the game text to continue generating, but five minutes passed without any response.

Huh? The game is frozen? Is there a bug? Chen Fu raised his hand and tapped the screen.

The words then slowly appeared.

Having already examined two bodies, where are you headed next?

"Should we go down the mountain to the village, or wander around?"

It's impossible for me to go down the mountain; it's never going to happen in this lifetime.

Having just uncovered a sliver of the truth, it's time to press our advantage.

You start wandering around the temple, but find nothing.

"Do you want to go down the mountain? Please select 'Yes' or 'No'."

No.

Chen Fu's stubborn temper flared up.

If you won't let me know the truth, I'll investigate to the end.

You continued wandering around and eventually reached the top of the mountain.

"This place is full of lotus flowers, lush and green. Deep inside, there is a cave. You lie at the entrance, craning your neck to look inside, but you don't see anything."

"There are no corpses here, nothing else. You've wasted a lot of your time."

"Okay, even the most destined people make mistakes sometimes, but that's okay, it's something you have to go through in the process of growing up."

Something went wrong?

Chen Fu was taken aback, feeling that the game text was deliberately misleading him.

Based on the background of the dungeon, the cave was where the demon monkey was suppressed, but it had already died.

There's nothing to be disappointed about not finding a body here.

But does that mean we really have to go down the mountain to the village?

Chen Fu did not make a hasty decision, but prepared to wait and see, knowing that other options would definitely emerge later.

As he expected, the game text once again presented two choices.

"Mountain trees, grass and rocks also have a spirit, they are all life. Although the lotus flowers on the mountaintop are growing vigorously, there are also many withered branches and rotten leaves in the crevices of the rocks."

"Looking at it on a larger scale, perhaps the mountain called the Demon Refining Altar is also a unique form of life? After all, a hundred years have passed, and no one knows if it has changed."

"My chosen one, do you intend to free climb the mountain to find the withered roots of a lotus flower? Or will you use local materials to examine the mountain? Or perhaps, you will learn from your mistakes and head down to the village?"

I knew that as long as I followed one path to the end, hope would surely appear!

Based on his experiences, Chen Fu now knows how to conquer the dungeon.

Although dungeons are dangerous, and one wrong move can lead to death, they are completely different from exploring in the game.

Every option it offers will definitely leave a chance for survival.

As long as you think carefully and choose wisely, even if you get injured, such as getting blisters on your feet or feeling tired, you will never be killed outright like when you encounter bandits.

Now, Chen Fu is taking the final step.

If you choose correctly and examine the last corpse, you can successfully complete the level and receive three rewards. Choosing incorrectly, well, let's just say it's the same old story: account deletion.

He had seen a movie before in which Sun Wukong was also trapped inside a mountain covered with lotus flowers, and the lotus flowers were the key to the seal.

Dissecting the withered roots of a lotus flower may seem absurd, but in this context, it's not impossible.

The same applies to mountains, but it's even more outrageous, reaching an extreme level of madness.

Is this thing even capable of being dissected? No normal person would choose it.

Unfortunately, Chen Fu had already figured out the tricks of the dungeon.

What seems abnormal may actually be the right thing to do.

This isn't about doing everything the opposite of what you'd expect; it's a conclusion reached after careful consideration.

The old man died after swallowing pebbles, and the novice monk, who was impersonating a monk, also tightly clutched his stone prayer beads before he died.

Chen Fucai didn't believe it; it had nothing to do with the mountain!

After clicking the option, new text is generated but disappears very quickly, as if the game is letting out a sigh.

Then, a smile appeared on Chen Fu's lips.

He made the right choice again.

"Chosen One, I never imagined that besides your stubbornness, you also possessed an unconventional obsession."

"You begin to dissect the mountain using observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, as well as tools."

"You see the mountain surface covered with a layer of viscous, dark golden corpse oil, and you smell a rich, aged incense aroma."

You tap the mountain rocks with the handle of the autopsy knife, and the sounds vary, some hollow and muffled, others like tapping on rotten wood.

Suspicion arose within you, and you chose several unusual locations, using a hard steel chisel and hammer to remove a few fragments.

"You realize that this place, which is ostensibly Five Elements Mountain but is actually a demon-refining altar, has undergone unknown changes in the past five hundred years."

"You have revealed the cruel truth of the initial stage of the westward journey."

"That being, born of heaven and earth and whose soul is immortal, has long since died. The coffin is the mountain beneath your feet."

It turned out to be the case.

Chen Fu gleaned a glimpse of the truth through the game's text.

The Buddha of Mount Ling suppressed the stone monkey not so that he could travel west to obtain the scriptures five hundred years later, but to refine him to death.

The peach-giver provided food for the stone monkey day after day, year after year, from childhood to old age.

A rustic villager harbored evil thoughts, deluding himself to become a Buddha. He was controlled by the energy emanating from the Demon Refining Altar, killed the old man, and ultimately his soul was scattered.

This mountain is a coffin, a corpse, and also the Buddha's most ruthless means!

No wonder the monkey he met at White Tiger Ridge called himself the Great Sage, not Sun Wukong.

Perhaps for the sake of the great cause of reaching the Western Paradise, the real Sun Wukong had already died long ago.

Chen Fu shook his head sadly.

This glimpse of the truth caught everyone off guard.

"A paranormal event has been triggered."

"Just as you were about to write the death report, the entire mountain suddenly trembled."

"The ground beneath your feet instantly became scorching hot, and a surge of dark golden energy erupted forth."

"Two bright eyes, like red-hot irons, pierced through the layers of rocks and were fixed on you."

"A voice filled with resentment and violence rose up."

"How dare you, ants, peek into my secluded abode!"

The moment this text was generated, in reality, Chen Fu was struck dumb, and blood began to flow from his seven orifices.

He had a vision, as if he saw a gaunt figure surrounded by countless dark golden currents inside a mountain.

Sun Wukong is still alive?!

The altar for refining demons, built by Buddha using the Five Elements Mountain, did not completely refine him?!

No, that's not right.

It should be said that Sun Wukong used an unknown method to deceive everyone and cover up the fact that he was still alive!

If it weren't for the coroner's abilities, Chen Fu would never have been able to uncover this deeper secret!

It turns out that what we just learned was only part of the truth; now, we have the whole truth.

His mind raced, and despite the pain of blood flowing from his seven orifices, he stared wide-eyed at his phone screen.

To save yourself, you must carefully read the game text that is generated afterward and find a way to survive.

"You've uncovered all the secrets of the very beginning of the westward journey!"

"Are you going to reveal your identity, or conceal your past?"

At this point, what's the point of hiding it? It's just courting death.

Chen Fu immediately chose to reveal his identity.

The pain suddenly subsided, and text began to be generated wildly.

"The overwhelming rage paused slightly, and the being within the mountain sensed a trace of an old friend on you."

He said, "You still carry a trace of the clean scent of the old man who gave you the peaches. How did you treat him?"

"You frankly revealed your identity, saying that you encountered the old man's remains at the foot of the mountain and explained the cause of death in detail. You came here to examine the three corpses and had no intention of getting involved in the old grudges between gods and Buddhas."

"silence."

"After a long while, the voice, tinged with weariness and a hint of indescribable mockery, urged you to leave before he changed his mind."

"You were enveloped by a dark golden aura, and when you opened your eyes again, you were back at the foot of the mountain."

"You have two death reports in your hands, and you begin writing a third."

"This mountain developed sentience over a long period of time, but was reduced to ashes in the battle between gods and Buddhas."

It is alive, and it is dead.

The supreme being uses it to annihilate those who resist. The unruly stone monkey uses it to deceive the heavens and cross the sea.

It has killed the most greedy, and it has buried the kindest of people.

What does its existence really mean? Everyone has their own answer.

Chen Fu stared at the game text, remaining silent for a long time.

If he hadn't been the first to investigate the old man's cause of death and formed a karmic connection, he would never have survived after encountering Sun Wukong.

This instance set a trap for him right from the start!

Even if you are extremely careful during the process, you can still end up dying if you are not careful!

It feels like walking forward while wearing a blindfold.

People around me were saying that there was a wide road beneath our feet, and we could move forward with confidence.

But when I reached the finish line and took off my blindfold, I realized...

There are no wide roads; what you walk on is always a thin steel wire suspended thousands of miles in the air!

This experience also made him realize that

Behind this broken and distorted myth, there is never only cruelty in the story, but also in the cold and heavy reality.

Fortunately, he has already cleared the game.

Chen Fu stared at the text still being generated on his phone screen, then got up and tiptoed towards the bathroom.

He needs to clean it up first.

During the process, he began to think about something else.

If you follow the text's hints from the beginning and go to the village to ask the villagers for help, what kind of ending will you get?

Chen Fu believed that he should be able to pass the level.

The difference between the dungeon and the game is quite significant.

There are no certain deaths here; there is always a glimmer of hope.

However, in that case, the rating and rewards you get after clearing the level will definitely be much less.

After all, the game text stated from the beginning that the rewards for completing the game would be distributed based on the corpses examined.

The rewards for performing autopsies will vary depending on the subject of the autopsy.

Chen Fu suddenly felt a strong sense of anticipation.

The three corpses he examined pointed directly to the truth of the initial stage of the westward journey, and the reward he received was undoubtedly the most generous.

He quickly wiped the water droplets from his face, skipped back to his hospital bed, and picked up his phone to check.

This glance had a significant impact.

I originally thought the reward would be generous, but it turned out to be even more than I had imagined.

……