Book 1: Chapter 197
The logic was very simple. Every level of this tower so far had been all about idol worship, and gods from various religious myths were used to create Bodhimaa (1). But the common people had a low level of education when the Bodhimaa was made here, so they couldnt distinguish between the religious attributes clearly. But it didnt matter because they would worship whoever was best. This was also the reason why cults had prevailed for thousands of years. In essence, it was the inability to control one's own life. Countless natural and man-made disasters made people turn to believing in the power of nothingness.
At least this power wouldnt turn its back on you. If you had it, you had it. If you didnt, you didnt. With the three pillars of incense (2), you could rest easy, which was extremely cost-effective.
But when we got here, two strange things suddenly appeared: one was sealed in the bell that was hanging in mid-air, and the other had sank into the water below. There was a threatening aura of wickedness as all the evil and sinister ghosts of the Jin Tong Sect manifested in an instant. Based on my past experiences, it had to be a corpse that changed into a zombie.
They were all fake clay idols before, but now there were actual dry and wet things here, so I was afraid this floor was more important. It was possible that the floor below this one contained something extraordinary, so that was why there were "things" here.
And this underwater thing may be uncontrollable, so the Jin Tong Sect taught people to use this poisoned bait method to get rid of it. But it appeared to be unsuccessful in the end.
My analysis was perfect, and everyone was deep in thought. If that was the case, then how could we get into the water? It was one thing to have so many dead children soaking in the water, but now we were even more afraid of going down. We couldn't see clearly underwater, so it wasnt like we could come up with countermeasures.
"Then let's go up and stand on the top part of this floor, Fatty said. Well remove the spells, break the chains, and then watch the show. If the situation doesnt look good, well run up and withdraw. Hurry up. Little Brother will help. This is a rare life experience, after all."
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TN Notes:
(1) Bodhimaa is a term used in Buddhism meaning the "position of awakening". According to Haribhadra, it is "a place used as a seat, where the essence of enlightenment is present". Bodhimaas are regularly visited by Buddhist pilgrims, and some have gone on to become popular secular tourist destinations as well. In many forms of Buddhism, it is believed that bodhimaas are spiritually pure places, or otherwise conducive to meditation and enlightenment.
(2) Three-pillar incense is used to worship Buddha. There are three incense sticks, which mean: precept, concentration, and wisdom. They can also be considered as offerings to "Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha". This person explains in more detail on Baidu.
(3) Old Black Mountain Demon is a character from the 1987 movie A Chinese Ghost Story. Hes a black mountain in the underworld that cultivated into a spirit after tens of thousands of years. He was so powerful that he was both the king of monsters and the king of ghosts. He also appeared in Journey to the West. Baidu link here. The Xiangxi Corpse King was a Yuan Dynasty general that appeared as an overpowered zombie in Ghost Blows Out the Light. Baidu link here.
(4)Sun Wukong is the Monkey King from Journey to the West. Bull Demon King is a major antagonist of Journey to the West.