IPCFS: Chapter 107 Part 1

Ji Li immediately became interested when he saw the name of this movie.

He had taken the time to learn about Xu Cheng’s ‘Godslayer’ series during this New Year’s Day holiday. It could be said that the first three parts of the Godslayer series, ‘Charming Fox’ and ‘Outstanding Young Lady’ and ‘Fox Demon’, had created a new upsurge in China’s mythological movies.

No matter whether it was the plot itself, the actors’ acting skills, the composition of the scenes, or the sophisticated production in the later stages, it was an all-rounded development that achieved the best results.

Therefore, it was expected that it could steadily win the box office championship during the period when it was released.

At the beginning, how many female stars fought to get the female protagonist role of a movie directed by Xu Cheng?

It was a series of movies with a solid audience base. As long as their acting was above the passing line, it would completely improve their career to a higher level.

Of course, Director Xu Cheng had strict requirements for the acting skills of the actors.

The heroines of the trilogy were all from acting school backgrounds.

“The original trilogy all focused on the theme of the ‘main female protagonist.’ I didn’t expect that the fourth movie, ‘Demon Monk’, would be replaced by a main male protagonist.” Yu Fuya sat on the sofa and the interest in her eyes was very strong.

Casting auditions were conducted secretly in the industry, with companies and agents vying for the few audition spots.

The moment Yu Fuya learned of the news, she immediately used her contacts to get in touch with Director Xu Cheng’s team. She asked for an audition spot for Ji Li.

Of course, there was also a synopsis of the characters in the movie.

She knew that no matter how good the team, Ji Li always paid the most attention to the quality of the work itself.

“The complete script and plot won’t be revealed to the outside world for the time being. Do you want to look at the character synopsis first?”

“However, I think Director Xu Cheng’s script shouldn’t be bad. There are jewels in front, and he won’t easily smash his own signboard,” Yu Fuya analyzed.

She heard that the script creation of ‘Demon Monk’ and the previous ‘Flower Demon’ were carried out at the same time. However, the former had been repeatedly revised and polished until now, and there was finally the intention of starting the project.

It was said that a series of movies was difficult to shoot well. Director Xu Cheng was such a famous director. The fact that he was preparing to start the fourth part showed he was full of confidence in the filming technology and the script.

Ji Li nodded. His eyes fell, and he couldn’t wait to scan the character book brought by Yu Fuya.

The story of ‘Demon Monk’ revolved around the male protagonist Chen Yi.

During the Great Barbarian period, the world was torn apart.

Wars raged, demons and ghosts were rampant, and the world was difficult. The world was divided into four categories: people, gods, demons, and ghosts.

It was said that people and gods could be distinguished, and Buddha and demons could be recognized.

However, there was one existence that was difficult to identify as a person, a god, a ghost, or a demon. It was because he killed people and demons, collected ghosts, and was rumored to have even killed gods.

It was the demon monk Chen Yi, whose whereabouts were unknown.

It was said that when he had a mortal body, he became a holy monk. Then in the year when he ascended to the heavens and was enshrined, he personally killed the people of the entire country and privately used their blood as an offering for his path to become a god and Buddha.

On the day when he was enshrined, his crime was discovered by the gods, and he was re-imprisoned in the mortal world.

From then on, he no longer aimed to become a Buddha. He filled his hands with evil blood by sucking up human blood, swallowing demon beads, destroying ghosts, removing the god’s divine channels, doing evil deeds, and reciting the path of Buddha.

It was said that Chen Yi lived for over a hundred years.

Some people said that his face was hideous and was more terrifying than a monster. Others said that the face was beautiful and he used his beauty to deceive and kill people.

In fact, no one had ever seen Chen Yi’s true face.

In addition to the gods, the other three widely circulated a saying: only those who are dying can see the true face of Chen Yi.

……

Ji Li saw the background introduction of the first half, and the interest in his eyes became even stronger.

He liked a role with the sense of a ‘villain’, which was emotional and contradictory.

Moreover, according to his experience of reading scripts, such a male protagonist was bound to have a few little-known truths about his life.

Sure enough, he turned the page and saw the content of the character’s background.

Chen Yi was born in the already collapsed Su Dynasty.

In the beginning, the Su Dynasty believed in Buddhas and Daoism. The most famous Buddhist temple of the dynasty, ‘Shoushen Temple’, was said to be a passage connecting the divine world and the mortal world. The four chiefs and eight elders in the temple had left their mortal bodies and were servants stationed in the sky to serve the gods and Buddhas.

In the year when Chen Yi was born, the abbot, who had been in seclusion in Shoushen Temple for a long time, suddenly came out and said it was the gods’ will for him to take Chen Yi as a disciple.

It was because from the moment he was born, auspicious rain fell for seven consecutive days and solved the biggest drought in the past 100 years of the Su Dynasty. This incident, combined with the guidance of the abbot and the entire nation, recognized him as a blessed person.

The abbot converted Chen Yi into Buddhism, and he would soon be able to rank among the gods, saving all beings in the near future.

The moment the emperor of the Su Dynasty heard about this, he made Chen Yi a foreign prince and prayed for Chen Yi with the power of the whole country. They sincerely hoped that Chen Yi could practice the Dharma and ascend to be a god or Buddha, so as to protect the well-being of the common people in the mortal world.

Chen Yi did have spiritual roots. After being brought into the path of Buddhism, he devoted himself to cultivation. It took him one year to understand the wisdom, two years to understand the laws, and three years to reach the highest point of Buddhism.

In 10 years, he personally killed and surpassed many demons and became the most famous holy monk in the Su Dynasty.

Of course, this was inseparable from the great worship and publicity he received from the emperor of the Su Dynasty.

Chen Yi had an outstanding appearance, and his temperament was gentle and refined. The women of the Su Dynasty loved and admired him, while the men were jealous of him. Even so, they had to submit to his ability to slay demons and were willing to worship him.

Once Chen Yi was 18 years old, the abbot told him that the time had come. According to the instructions of the gods and Buddhas, the abbot was willing to help him get rid of his human flesh and bones so he could become a god or Buddha.

Chen Yi thought that it was because he had trained hard for many years. He didn’t expect that on the day he ascended to the heavens and was enshrined, he would learn the news that ‘a war caused disaster in the country, and the Su Dynasty had collapsed.’

The abbot told him that in order to become a god or Buddha, he had to acquire enough devoted faith.

Enshrined in heaven and hell on Earth.

When people were about to die, the power of their devout prayers was enormous. The power of the entire country was devoted to helping one person become a Buddha. This was what the Su Dynasty had to do for him, a prince.

After all, if Chen Yi hadn’t been born 18 years ago, then the Su Dynasty might’ve died in that drought long ago.

It wasn’t just Chen Yi. The other gods and Buddhas were also like this.

The so-called compassion of the heavens turned into ruthlessness in the end. The Buddha’s light that was revered by people was covered up by blood.

What about gods and Buddha saving sentient beings? They were just a group of existences that treated mortals as ants!

Chen Yi tore the so-called ‘enshrinement robe’ to shreds. His actions angered the group of high-ranking gods and Buddhas, and all of them joined forces to suppress one person.

Chen Yi, who had just obtained the power of faith of the whole nation, seriously injured many gods and Buddhas before succumbing to his serious injuries. He snuck back into the mortal world and vowed never to set foot in that dirty place again.

In order to cover up this fact, the other gods and Buddhas fabricated a lot of false news and spread it to the world. In addition, after descending to the mortal world, Chen Yi had indeed committed many ‘killing’ actions that violated Buddhism.

So 100 years later, Chen Yi had become a demon monk who ‘screamed and killed’ and caused ‘fear and dread.’

This was where the movie’s plot began.

……

Ji Li read the character synopsis, and his interest didn’t disappear.

Compared with the concept of ‘honoring gods’ in the traditional mythological stories, the Godslayer series was the opposite. He hadn’t seen the full script, but he was already looking forward to the plot of the gods and Buddhas being slapped in the face.

In addition, the true story of Chen Yi’s past must have been hidden in the plot as a hidden thread. For future movie viewers, there would be a sense of enlightenment as they slowly dug up the truth.

“How about it? Do you want to give it a try?” Yu Fuya asked. “This movie is tentatively scheduled to be launched in early November. We have time to decide.”

If it could be achieved, then a big movie project would be confirmed for the second half of the year.

Moreover, there was a gap of four or five months after the end of the trip and the start of ‘Demon Monk. He could pick up another movie with a shorter filming period.

If the audition for ‘Demon Monk’ wasn’t successful, then it wasn’t a loss to them.

“Yes,” Ji Li responded.

He needed a big male protagonist movie that could gain a high box office. ‘Demon Monk’ was suitable in all aspects. Of course, he couldn’t take the audition lightly.

Ji Li thought for a while before asking, “In four days, I’m going to leave for a new round of filming for the variety show. Is there time for the audition?”

“There is time. As long as there are no problems with you, I have confirmed with Director Xu’s team that the audition will be set for the day after tomorrow.”

This arrangement wouldn’t delay the next day’s filming of the variety show.

Yu Fuya remembered something and reminded emphatically, “By the way, the first round of auditions isn’t an audition for acting skills but for styling.”

Director Xu Cheng paid great attention to the consistency between the appearance of the actors and the characters.

To put it bluntly, Chen Yi was a monk, and his ‘bald’ look couldn’t make people amused. It had to make people feel with one glance that he was beautiful and immortal. There should also be a sense of elegance and compassion that came with Buddhism.

Yu Fuya had never regarded Ji Li as a so-called ‘idol-like actor.’ When looking for a role, she didn’t care about the one-sided judgment of him by the outside world.

The role just had to be good, and she would be willing to arrange audition qualifications for Ji Li so he could try it out.

Ji Li nodded calmly.

He was an actor and should interpret roles with different styles and shapes.

So what about a bald head?

He could still gain the love of the audience as long as the character was brilliant enough.

Yu Fuya poked his face and teased him, “You have to take good care of your skin for the next two days. Chen Yi might behave in a bewitching manner, but his appearance is still white and tender like a holy monk.”

Good and evil, pure and lustful.

Yu Fuya saw the character adjectives and secretly thought, ‘This is almost like a tailor-made character for my family!’

Ji Li smiled helplessly. “Sister Yu, I know.”

“Okay, let the driver send you back to rest early. Rest well at home and recharge your strength. The day after tomorrow, I will pick you up so we can go to the audition venue together.”

“Yes.”

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Proofreader: Azure