Chapter 770: Piecing Together

"The Association's efficiency is just too high..."

"It's like committing a crime and immediately being livestreamed to the whole internet... It still feels a bit shameful..."

"However... this timeline isn't right... Could it be that the Wanfo Temple ruins were excavated long ago, and 'Fahuan' really was a historical figure?"

"Or is it... that my actions in the game world are causing interference in the real world... something like the butterfly effect?"

"Regardless... this is a very efficient Imprint Ritual!"

Aaron rubbed his face and continued watching the television.

The host, Xiao Yue, wearing a gray small suit paired with black stockings, had by now arrived at an archaeological excavation site:

"I presume the audience and friends must be very puzzled: five thousand years ago, did a dynasty really exist on this land? A series of recent domestic archaeological discoveries have already proven this point... This dynasty did indeed exist, and it developed a brilliant civilization... Its name is 'Daliang'!"

After all, I still need the main body to provide a wave of support for my Spirituality so I can turn on the cheat device.

"Hello, Professor Zhang!"

Aaron recalled, but he didn't seem to have heard of this place name before.

'Come to think of it... which mission in this trash game was ever simple?'

"However... it did bring up Fahuan after all..."

'Simulator, start simulation!'

Aaron smiled slightly and brazenly chose to cheat!

He didn't want to waste even a second on this garbage game.

But Aaron knew that none of this had actually happened.

"I am currently at the Wanfo Temple ruins. Five thousand years have passed, and paper books have long since rotted away... Only stone carvings can preserve some information. I would like to ask you to translate it for us; would that be possible?"

Professor Zhang proposed a wild idea: "As for the handprints and such... that is completely exaggerated... No one could strike such a large depression with a single palm... An earthquake would be more like it..."

【In the fifth year, a new dynasty is established, named 'Da-kun'!】

"Professor Zhang, what does the epitaph say?" Xiao Yue asked hurriedly.

At least...

And another interviewer also asked a rather inappropriate question: "According to some historical records... Daliang did not spend much manpower or material resources to build Wanfo Temple, but rather it was built spontaneously by monks at the time. Do you think this is possible?"

"We see that there seems to be a discovery here..."

"And now... we have climbed to a higher vantage point to appreciate this unparalleled... Forest of Towers!"

Ten thousand towers stood tall, majestic and spectacular...

It was as if he had traveled through Daliang in an instant, gaining extremely profound memories and insights into Daliang's mountains, rivers, and even the lives of the people in those chaotic times...

"As everyone knows... a Buddhist Forest of Towers is specifically arranged for burying the remains of high monks, with an Underground Palace set beneath it to bury sarira, and towers built above... The more towers a temple has and the more magnificent they are, the longer its history... Currently, the Qian-deng Temple, known to have the most towers in Daxin, has only over three hundred... Yet Wanfo Temple claims to have ten thousand!"

"The person above hit the truth, upvoted!"

"Such a magnificent and strange Forest of Towers... surely it is enough to apply for a world record. And what is even more astonishing is that, through research and analysis... many of these towers were erected in the same year, and the origin of these towers is all related to one high monk, who is—Buddha Lord Fahuan!"

The netizens were not stupid; they soon guessed part of the truth.

【You have died!】

"This is a monk's own account. He claims to be from Wanfo Temple, and because Fahuan was cruel, he could only temporarily lie low... What is interred in this Underground Palace is his Master's remains... And his Master was, along with the four Great Sage monks and hundreds of martial monks... killed by a single palm technique that descended from the sky! That technique... that technique is called—Great Sun Tathagata Palm!"

"Hello, host Xiao Yue."

An Underground Palace enshrining sarira was dug up, and what is astonishing is that there are many inscriptions carved inside the Underground Palace.

"Of course not!" Wang Hongyi laughed: "Unless Daliang had hundreds of thousands of monks at the time, and they were all conscripted to build Wanfo Temple!"

"The person above is too naive; don't you know that even livestreams have a delay of over ten seconds?"

"So, this is just a staged performance or a prank... Could it be a teaser for some movie?"

'But I feel like the secrets of the *Ancient* game and its players will continue to be locked away, right? Otherwise, it would be troublesome if everyone went to play *Ancient*...'

"It is a palm... these towers together form the shape of a palm!"

Aaron closed his eyes and sighed with some satisfaction.

"My Imprint Ritual... the progress is skyrocketing."

Below appeared a line of identity introduction—Daxin Library Curator, Professor of the History Department at Daxin National University—Wang Hongyi.

【You have received a mission—Head to Sanjie Mountain!】

【In the first year, you comprehend the principle of 'leaping out of the Three Realms, not within the Five Elements'... You have ascended Sanjie Mountain.】

"Of course." Professor Zhang, his hair combed meticulously, took out a magnifying glass to look at the stone rubbing from the Forest of Towers: "Hmm... this says Bathing Buddha Festival... and it uses a passage of scripture. When Buddha Lord Fahuan attained Buddhahood back then, Demon crowds attacked. The Buddha sat cross-legged, formed the Touching the Earth and Subduing Demons Seal, and thus the demons submitted..."

According to their distribution, they actually vaguely formed the shape of... a palm?

Professor Zhang pushed up his glasses: "I... I need to calm down."

Furthermore, judging from this disjointed description, this mission would certainly not be simple.

"Sanjie Mountain?"

Wang Hongyi nodded solemnly.

Host Xiao Yue said excitedly.

On the internet, there were countless videos of various "little supermen," and even official media were seriously discussing the issue of the Human Limit being broken.

The scene shifted, and the television screen returned to the host, Xiao Yue.

【In the seventh year, you ascend Sanjie Mountain, you have died!】

"Haha, slapped in the face on the spot, satisfying!"

If this were a live broadcast, there would surely have been countless bullet comments popping up by now.

Host Xiao Yue continued to lead the audience step by step toward the ancient and Mysterious, beginning to artificially reveal the secrets: "... Why is it said to be related to Fahuan? There is a legend here... At the ancient Buddhist Bathing Buddha Festival, Fahuan personally dealt with hundreds or even thousands of monks, killing until heads rolled, including the Sage monks of that time... After they died, these towers were built... Haha, but of course, this is impossible. Next, we invite Professor Zhang, who is most profound in the study of Daliang Script, to translate a section of the Wanfo Temple stele for us..."

【In the first year, you walk the world in the guise of the Buddha Lord; along the way, Martial Artists retreat from you, filled with awe and reverence...】

'Especially since I bear the fate of the Great Ominous, every previous choice almost got me killed...'

A faint golden swastika mark appeared in Aaron's eyes; he had stunningly utilized "Brahma-Self Non-Duality" to analyze the information of the Supernatural Power he had obtained with the wisdom of "Brahma."

The camera shifted, and the scene arrived at an elderly professor with white hair.

The feed on Professor Zhang's end was delayed by two seconds before he began to speak.

Subsequently, a newly excavated ruin appeared before everyone's eyes.

……

"Thank you, Professor Zhang."

Everything, absolutely everything, was just a simulation!

……

【You have obtained one of the Six Supernatural Powers of Antiquity. Perhaps you are the one destined to destroy the Demon Star and pacify the chaotic world!】

The screen split into two views: one at Wanfo Temple, and one in an exquisitely designed study.

Even the scene of him crushing Li Qiankun to death with his palm remained vivid in his mind.

"Should we organize another palm-comparison contest? Let's see whose hand shape matches this giant palm print the best?"

Xiao Yue maintained her smile as she arrived at an excavation site of a collapsed pagoda forest.

"By the way, hasn't anyone noticed? There is a depression in the middle of the pagoda forest; perhaps there was once a giant palm-shaped pit here!"

'And then there is the inexplicable death at the end. It feels like my consciousness becomes chaotic as soon as I climb Sanjie Mountain. What could be the reason for that?'

'What I need to do is simulate, simulate, and simulate again! From the simulations, I must continuously obtain fragmented information about the Supernatural Powers... Once I pass a certain threshold, perhaps I can piece together another complete Six Supernatural Powers of Antiquity?'

'I have already obtained the complete "Brahma-Self Unity," as well as partial information on the three Supernatural Powers of "Great Dream of a Thousand Years," "Demon Dyeing the World," and "Descent of the Heavenly God"... I have also gathered some pieces of the puzzle; in fact, there is no need to go on expeditions anymore.'

"Now... I am about to enter the most magnificent part of the ruins—the Buddha Pagoda Forest!"

Days passed one by one.

Xiao Yue's voice was slightly breathless; the intense sense of reality brought by this field filming, combined with the flavor of a live-streamed expedition, made the audience feel as if they were there in person.

"Wow... did you all see that, viewers? This is the first time the host has seen such a wonder where a pagoda forest forms a palm..."

【The fourth year: Daliang falls. You feel nothing about this...】

Aaron recalled the seven years he had spent walking the world; he had seen plenty of anti-kings and refugees, but he had truly never seen a "Demon Star"...

Even when Aaron went out to buy soy milk and fried dough sticks, he saw more and more old men and women practicing Ancient Martial Arts in the park.

"That would indeed require the power of ghosts and gods to be harnessed in order for a small number of people to build a Buddhist temple of this scale in such a short time..."

Accompanied by the host's voice, the camera gradually zoomed out.

Oh, taking advantage of this opportunity, Feng Ping also became an overnight sensation, becoming a true "successor of Ancient Martial Arts." Even if not a household name, he was at least an internet celebrity with millions of fans.

"Continue!"

"Top!"

And in the live-stream chat rooms on the internet, it was indeed already occupied by countless silly netizens:

Aaron opened the long-neglected game "Antiquity."

Wang Hongyi spoke eloquently with the temperament of a Scholar.

"Perhaps... this world is also a kind of simulation, similar to the Simulator... only then could one obtain information on Supernatural Powers while simulating?"

The next moment, Aaron's expression became somewhat dazed.

And all sorts of swindlers took the opportunity to come out and rake in money...

'Then... what does the Demon Star represent?'

This day.

Clearly, the Daxin authorities were also warming up the public for supernatural powers. As this program continued step by step, the extent of the revelations would only grow larger.

【The sixth year: You seem to have found Sanjie Mountain. This mountain leaps outside the Three Realms and is not within the Five Elements...】

"So what does this mean?" Xiao Yue asked on behalf of some of the audience.

In short, it was a scene of chaos!

Fortunately, with the joint efforts of the Folklore Association and the Public Security Bureau, some clowns could not stir up any major trouble.

【This simulation has ended. You have obtained seven years of internal energy, experience, and memories...】

【The second year: You travel along, subduing demons and eliminating devils, and arrive at Dajing, only to find that Dajing has fallen into war... You witness the scene of rebels entering the capital and the people suffering, and you cannot help but intervene... At that time, the Supernatural Army of the anti-king "Li Qiankun" had already slaughtered their way into Dajing, and the timing, location, and human factors were all against you... You laugh heartily, saying, "All strategic advantages must ultimately be cemented by tactical victories." Dressed in white, you charge into the Array alone, killing twelve of Li Qiankun's generals in succession, and finally slay the anti-king. The siege of Jingcheng is thus lifted... The Emperor of Daliang confers upon you the title of State Preceptor, but you firmly refuse and drift away...】

An expected death; the key was that he had gained nothing again.

"The attainments of the ancients in architecture often reached very profound levels... for example, the Pyramid... moving such large stones without the aid of engineering machinery is a mind-boggling thing. The scale of Wanfo Temple and the number of Buddha statues... far exceed any other temple, which also shows the technology of the Daliang Dynasty at that time, which had reached the Peak of Perfection in architecture..."

"Perhaps... the manpower used to build Wanfo Temple at the time was far less than hundreds of thousands, because the humans of that time possessed the power of ghosts and gods?"

And at this moment, looking at those inscriptions, Professor Zhang's expression became very surprised and shocked: "This... this is impossible!"

And at this time, on major live-streaming websites, things had already exploded:

"Everyone, as you can see, there are many historical documents here in the Underground Palace... Let us contact Professor Zhang again."

And recently, the pace of Daxin's revelations was getting faster and faster, fully allowing Aaron to feel what it meant by "the mountain wind is blowing, signaling the coming storm."

Then one day, everyone would suddenly realize—so the truth of the matter was actually like this!

'Fortunately, I have a cheat!'

……

……

"Haha... don't tell me the person above wants to say this giant pit was pressed by someone's palm? That would have to be the hand of a Titan, right?"

"This means that Master Fahuan once encountered an attack by Demon followers... Of course, this is a rhetorical device of exaggeration and metaphor. We can guess that perhaps Master Fahuan had many enemies back then, even people from the Buddhist sect. They lost the struggle and naturally were vilified, so they were described as demons..."

The interviewer suddenly said in a joking tone.

"Daliang, about five thousand years ago, was undoubtedly an era when Buddhism flourished... One can see a glimpse of it by the fact that it could support such a large Buddhist temple."

A beam of Light blinked before Aaron, condensing into text.

But gradually... as the aerial camera shot went higher and higher, the forest of pagodas on the screen started to look wrong.

Because there was a certain buffer period, Aaron did not log into the game the next day.

Xiao Yue walked through the ruins, introducing the cliffside carvings one by one; the Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures on them... even though only a few fragments remained, they still stirred endless imagination.

【In the third year, you traveled the world and carved out a resounding reputation, but you never heard any trace of 'Sanjee Mountain'...】

The interaction between those professors and the host seemed rather fake to Aaron, as if they had rehearsed the script beforehand.

【You have obtained incomplete information on 'Great Dream of a Thousand Years'!】

No!

Aaron looked at the next line, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

【You have obtained partial information on 'Great Dream of a Thousand Years'... You have comprehended the complete 'Great Dream of a Thousand Years' divine ability!】

(End of this chapter)