Chapter 230

The temple's atmosphere became strangely still; everyone seemed to freeze. Only after a moment did they gradually begin to stir.

Yin Meng: "Figures from myths and legends... they actually exist?"

Tan Wenbin: "Mengmeng, it's normal for others to say such things, but isn't it a bit odd coming from you?"

Yin Meng: "When I was a child, I always treated our ancestors' stories like fairy tales. Besides, I've never even met an ancestor. If it weren't for Xiaoyuan, my grandfather wouldn't have been able to enter the Yin family ancestral tomb."

Tan Wenbin: "Didn't you already see them in your dream last time? Your ancestor even actively urged you to go back and burn joss paper. It seems they truly dote on you."

Yin Meng rolled her eyes at Tan Wenbin, then she smiled.

Run Sheng took off his blood-stained clothes and put on a clean set.

All the seawater outside had flowed into the crevice canyon. He was too lazy to go back over the bridge for a shower, so he just made do for now.

Tan Wenbin: "How about wetting a cloth with some drinking water and wiping yourself down? Isn't it uncomfortable to be sticky?"

Run Sheng: "No point, I'll be bleeding again soon anyway."

Tan Wenbin picked up Run Sheng's blood-soaked clothes, feeling their weight. "It feels like there wasn't as much blood as it looked."

Run Sheng: "A lot of blood flowed out initially, but then, the blood that came out from my qi gate was reabsorbed back into my body through it."

Tan Wenbin swallowed. "Giving yourself a blood transfusion... Run Sheng, are you even human?"

Run Sheng lifted his arm and sniffed. In the heat of the battle, he'd caught a strong scent of malevolent energy on himself, much like that of the walking dead, but purer than any he'd encountered before.

Xiaoyuan had helped him suppress and seal it back home, but it seemed the seal had been broken just now. He couldn't smell it anymore, though.

Lin Shuyou took a little longer to 'thaw out', mumbling:

"So, I didn't motivate the Boy; he decided to act by overcoming his own fear?"

Tan Wenbin: "Without you, the Boy wouldn't have had the courage or the motivation to overcome that fear. He knows what he's doing. His action proves he's chosen a side, and isn't it all thanks to you?"

Lin Shuyou: "Thank you, Brother Bin."

Yin Meng: "Tan Wenbin, your body might be chilly, but your words are always warm and comforting."

Tan Wenbin: "Don't even mention it; I actually plan to install an air conditioner at Grandpa Li's house by summer."

Yin Meng: "How many units?"

Tan Wenbin: "One will be enough. We'll put it in the living room on the first floor. In the summer, when the AC is on, everyone can just grab a sleeping mat or even a coffin and sleep on the floor together."

Lin Shuyou: "We'll have to upgrade the wiring at Grandpa Li's house first, or the circuit breaker will keep tripping."

Li Zhuiyuan stood quietly to the side, not disturbing his companions as they decompressed.

Soon, the conversation about the air conditioner concluded, and everyone deliberately put on relaxed, casual smiles.

Li Zhuiyuan scanned them, as if seeing four 'new patients'.

"Let's clean this up, Run Sheng. It's time for the offering."

"Alright."

Run Sheng unfolded the portable altar table. The offerings were already placed in the grooves, ready to eat.

Li Zhuiyuan was in charge of burning joss paper, while his companions took turns lighting incense.

The biographical records on the stone tablets seemed genuine. In their time, these individuals also fought to eliminate evil and uphold righteousness, and therefore deserved respect.

The young man felt that since he had manipulated their remains into puppets, he owed them some closure.

While what he did was not wrong – the Gate-Guarding True Monarch was clearly bewitched and controlled, and the primary objective had been to neutralize him – Li Zhuiyuan still preferred to tie up loose ends when conditions allowed.

There was no time to wait for the incense in the censer to slowly burn down. After the offering, Run Sheng pulled out all the incense sticks and ate them with compressed biscuits.

The bodies inside the eight stone statues were carefully rearranged by Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou.

Bodies transformed into puppets become extremely fragile; they could crumble to dust with even slight force.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Lin Shuyou. "What's buried here is likely a historical lineage similar to the 'Officer and General Chief' tradition."

Lin Shuyou: "Xiaoyuan, is this lineage related to ours?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "The form has changed greatly, but the essence is the same."

After all, they all use the same core technique.

Lin Shuyou nodded. He now somewhat understood why the Boy had 'fled' earlier. From the Boy's perspective, he had likely personally killed a colleague from a distant past.

With this thought, Lin Shuyou looked at the red mark on the back of his hand again.

Li Zhuiyuan: "The Gate-Guarding True Monarch's lineage primarily focused on body cultivation. Once we're back, I'll help you research the heritage he left behind."

Since the Gate-Guarding True Monarch never obtained his starting weapon, he hadn't used any proper spells throughout the entire fight. Even when the Boy's trident broke, he knew how to continuously reshape it with magic.

Tan Wenbin: "Ayou, why don't you get a full set of wings for yourself too? Not black ones, but pure white ones, with lots of feathers. Then, whenever one of us gets married, you can be in charge of flying a few laps around the wedding venue with a little heart-shaped bow and arrow."

Lin Shuyou: "I have no problem with that."

Primarily, the defensive power of those wings was truly astonishing. If he could obtain them, Lin Shuyou would be willing to pay any price.

Li Zhuiyuan: "There's no need to jump on the bandwagon with wings. You're currently refining and strengthening your physique, which is the superior path."

Most importantly, the material for the wings was incredibly rare. The originally hard wing bones quickly dissolved after the Gate-Guarding True Monarch's death. That material seemed to possess some unique spiritual quality.

Li Zhuiyuan: "However, there are still things left behind here that we can take."

The young man climbed onto the altar, first dispelled the formation he had set up, then tore open the seals on the two stone pedestals.

"Run Sheng."

"Coming!"

Run Sheng, understanding, jumped onto the altar and brought his shovel down.

"Bang!" "Bang."

Each of the two stone pedestals contained a jian (bludgeon).

Tan Wenbin wondered: "Why would he store a set of items separately?"

Li Zhuiyuan picked up one jian. It wasn't as heavy as he'd imagined, seeming hollow in the middle. The young man tossed it to Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin reached out and caught it: "So light. Does it even hurt when you hit someone with it?"

As he spoke, Tan Wenbin swung the jian hard onto the ground.

"Thud!"

It left only a faint, almost imperceptible white mark.

"This is useless. Is there some hidden secret?" Tan Wenbin flipped the jian in his hand over and over. "Huh, I don't see anything special about it. It doesn't even feel as good as a brick for hitting people."

Li Zhuiyuan tossed the second jian to Tan Wenbin, who caught it with his other hand.

Instantly, Tan Wenbin's arms were forced to extend straight out to his sides as a powerful repulsive force emerged between the two jian.

"Holy crap, how do you use this thing?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Brother Binbin, twist your wrist."

Tan Wenbin twisted his wrist, and the repulsive force turned into an attractive one. The two jian quickly snapped together. It was a good thing Tan Wenbin let go quickly, or his arms would have been strained.

"That's incredible. Even magnets aren't that powerful, are they?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Ayou, pick them up."

Lin Shuyou bent down and picked up the two jian. After a few adjustments, he twisted his wrist to separate them and then tried swinging them. His movements were awkward and sluggish at first, but gradually picked up speed.

Finally, he interwove the two jian, utilizing their repulsive and attractive forces to amplify the impact, and slammed them into the ground.

"Bang!"

A crater was smashed into the ground, and Lin Shuyou hadn't even used his full strength yet.

Ayou exclaimed excitedly, "This is amazing, Xiaoyuan, truly amazing!"

Tan Wenbin looked at the white mark he had made, then at the pit Ayou had smashed, and nodded: "Is this martial arts talent?"

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, I can teach you."

Tan Wenbin: "No, don't bother. You can't teach that. You were dodging bullets even before you started channeling, for crying out loud."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Ayou, these two jian are yours. Your trident broke anyway."

Lin Shuyou was pleased by this, then looked at Run Sheng. "But I think Run Sheng's strength would make these even more effective."

Run Sheng shook his head, declining. "Using these is too mentally taxing."

Yin Meng tapped her foot into the pit. "Thank goodness Xiaoyuan sealed these jian in time. If the Gate-Guarding True Monarch had been holding these just now, combined with his power..."

Run Sheng: "I would have been smashed to death."

Yin Meng: "With Xiaoyuan here, you wouldn't have been smashed to death."

Run Sheng: "Then I would lose something very precious."

Yin Meng: "What?"

Run Sheng: "You wouldn't understand."

Yin Meng: "Hmph, fine if you don't want to say."

Run Sheng: "Because I don't understand either."

On the altar, Li Zhuiyuan turned around, facing the cloud wall.

The Gate-Guarding True Monarch had previously been suspended on the wall, surrounded by auspicious clouds and celestial bodies to enhance the atmosphere.

After observing for a while, Li Zhuiyuan took a step back, condensed a formation flag in his right palm, and gently waved it.

"Click..."

The cloud wall parted to both sides, revealing a path leading inward.

The others quickly dropped their smiles, packed their things, and walked inside.

This was a complex of buildings, not just temples connected to each other. What the Gate-Guarding True Monarch had truly guarded was merely a temple gate.

Upon entering the temple gate, they found an open expanse outside, covered in hair-like grass. At first glance, it looked as if countless human heads with thick hair were buried beneath.

Yin Meng: "This is Soul-Breath Grass."

As she spoke, she bent down, cut a handful with her dagger, hesitated, then cut another, rolling them up like braids and stuffing them into her backpack.

Tan Wenbin: "Very precious?"

Yin Meng: "This kind of grass usually only grows in mass graves."

Tan Wenbin: "That's not too rare then."

Yin Meng: "Even if a mass grave has it, it would only grow a single stalk at most."

Tan Wenbin: "I still have space in my bag. I'll cut some more for you."

True to his word, Tan Wenbin bent down and cut a handful. It felt greasy, like 'thick hair' that was also 'oily.'

Tan Wenbin: "You know, if we cut more and sold it to wig makers, wouldn't we get rich?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Wei Zhengdao mentioned in 'Tales of the Jianghu' that weaving hats from this grass using a special technique allows one to 'open the Yin and perceive evil' when worn, a sort of 'pseudo-Yin Realm journey'."

Hearing this, Yin Meng immediately squatted down and resumed cutting grass. Out of the entire team, only Run Sheng hadn't mastered 'Yin walking'.

After she finished cutting, the group continued forward.

As they walked, another temple appeared ahead.

Yin Meng: "Can we bypass this one?"

Tan Wenbin: "Not really. The layout here is like a mosquito coil; it looks like there's a lot of space between each turn, but to enter the next coil, you have to go through specific nodes."

Yin Meng: "So if we don't follow the rules, will there be formation restrictions?"

Tan Wenbin: "My skill isn't good enough; I don't see any traces of a formation."

Li Zhuiyuan: "There's no formation, but if you don't follow the rules, it's easy to enter a 'vortex,' just like when we came in."

Yin Meng: "That's even worse than a formation; at least you can tangibly feel those."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at everyone and asked: "Are you ready?"

"Ready."

"Ready."

"Let's enter the temple."

Before entering this temple, everyone expected a similar situation to the previous temple gate. However, once inside, they realized it was entirely different.

It was clear this was also a True Monarch's temple, but the central altar was empty, and all the accompanying stone statues on both sides had been completely shattered.

This temple was almost empty.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Check if there are any stone tablets."

The group climbed onto the side platforms, rummaging through piles of stones. Lin Shuyou was the first to lift a corner of a tablet and read, "True Monarch Ciren, Chen Huaiyue, born in..."

Tan Wenbin: "Then True Monarch Ciren must be the owner of this temple, and the Chen family would also be the lineage's spirit medium family."

Lin Shuyou: "According to what Xiaoyuan told us on the way, that should be it."

Tan Wenbin: "True Monarch Ciren certainly lives up to his benevolent name. He doesn't even guard his own temple, just lets us pass. How nice."

Yin Meng: "Why was this place vandalized, but the Gate-Guarding True Monarch's temple was generally intact?"

Lin Shuyou: "The Gate-Guarding True Monarch was bewitched and controlled."

Yin Meng: "Oh, right."

Tan Wenbin: "Maybe the fortress was breached from within, which is why the gatekeeper was spared."

Li Zhuiyuan agreed with Tan Wenbin's view.

The Gate-Guarding True Monarch likely guessed something before his death. His lament, "I didn't guard the gate well," might not have been a simple statement, but a profound sigh.

The altar wall of True Monarch Ciren's temple was adorned with paintings of black waves. There should have been three-dimensional small boats suspended on the wall, supporting a statue of True Monarch Ciren, but now the broken boat pieces were scattered across the altar.

Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou searched for stone pedestals on either side of the altar, but unfortunately, they couldn't find any.

Lin Shuyou: "True Monarch Ciren doesn't have a habit of hiding weapons."

Tan Wenbin: "I suspect he went out to fight with his weapons."

"Click..."

The young man on the altar had already opened the passage to the next circle.

The group looked back at the dilapidated temple, then followed him out.

In the next circle, three True Monarch temples appeared side by side.

All the temples here shared a common trait: when viewed from outside, before entering, they always appeared pitch black and were impossible to scrutinize.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped. "It's three choices now."

If they could choose a temple like True Monarch Ciren's from earlier and pass through unharmed, that would naturally be ideal.

Tan Wenbin extended a finger, chanting as he chose: "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... The first one!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Then the first one."

Tan Wenbin: "Xiaoyuan, don't do that. I can't handle such a huge responsibility."

Li Zhuiyuan: "These temples cannot be predicted or analyzed."

Tan Wenbin: "Then let Mengmeng choose one?"

Li Zhuiyuan said nothing, stepping forward. Run Sheng quickened his pace, walking ahead of the young man.

This temple was even more chaotic than True Monarch Ciren's. All the accompanying stone statues had been pulverized, and not a single floor tile remained intact. A high-intensity battle must have erupted here, so fierce that not even a single inscribed tablet could be found.

Li Zhuiyuan stood before the cloud wall, hesitated, and chose not to open it.

Tan Wenbin proactively suggested, "Xiaoyuan, why don't we retreat now and check the other two True Monarch temples as well? I think they're likely similar to this one, and I don't want to miss any potential clues."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded: "Okay, then let's take some risk."

The group retreated and proceeded to the second True Monarch temple, still entering in a defensive formation. However, the damage here was even more severe than the first; it looked as if it had been scorched black, offering no discernible information.

After exiting the second, they went to the third. The condition of the third was similar to the first.

Tan Wenbin: "That's five True Monarch temples now. Besides the Gate-Guarding True Monarch's, the other four are empty. Are they all dead?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Based on the layout, there should be twelve True Monarchs here, plus a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva temple."

Everyone knew the true secret must be hidden in the deepest part: the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva temple. That location was likely the key to this 'wave' of progression.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the cloud wall.

This time, the young man didn't rush in, because a one-meter high river of blood appeared before him.

It was called a river because it flowed. Although the cloud wall was open, the blood river outside didn't surge in, as if an invisible barrier held it back.

Li Zhuiyuan reached out, drew some in from outside, and sniffed it.

It was blood, indeed.

Li Zhuiyuan climbed onto Run Sheng's back. Run Sheng was the first to wade in, with the others following behind.

This entire section was filled with the river of blood.

Tan Wenbin: "Run Sheng, you were right not to wipe yourself down."

Run Sheng: "We'll wipe down together later."

Yin Meng: "Selling wigs is nothing compared to making money from blood plasma."

Tan Wenbin: "Who knows how many blood types are mixed here? How would we sell it?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Just one blood type."

Tan Wenbin was surprised that Xiaoyuan would join their playful banter, but then he looked up and saw a Buddha head standing in the blood.

Blood gushed from the Buddha head's eyes, pouring into the river — truly a Buddha weeping blood.

Tan Wenbin: "Is this the Buddha head from that large Buddha statue we saw when we came in?"

Earlier, when they entered by boat, they had almost crashed into a headless Buddha statue.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Yes."

Tan Wenbin: "Why is it here?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Go in and ask."

Tan Wenbin: "Huh?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Brother Binbin, there's someone inside the Buddha head."

The young man heard movement inside other than the flowing blood – human murmurs.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't make out what was being said, which implied the speaker wasn't human; their voice wasn't transmitting in a normal way, otherwise, with his hearing, he would surely have caught it.

"Then I guess I should go say hello."

Tan Wenbin waded forward into the blood.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Ayou, go with him and protect him."

"Understood!"

Tan Wenbin climbed onto the Buddha head. Its two eyes were like waterfalls, making entry impossible from there. In the end, he had no choice but to poke his head into one of the Buddha head's nostrils.

Seeing this, Lin Shuyou also imitated Brother Bin, wriggling his body into the other nostril.

Now, the nose was full.

It wasn't dark inside; something was glowing, sparkling, with flickering bloody light.

Tan Wenbin turned to look, finally spotting a shadow curled in a corner, constantly emitting rustling sounds, as if muttering to itself.

"The Bodhisattva is not the Bodhisattva... The Bodhisattva is the Bodhisattva... The Bodhisattva is not the Bodhisattva..."

Tan Wenbin: "Hey buddy, want a stick of incense?"

The sound stopped, and the person turned around, revealing its face.

Seeing its appearance, Tan Wenbin instinctively swallowed. The person's face was fluid, with blood constantly swirling, like a melting ice cream cone on a summer day.

Tan Wenbin: "Buddy, tell me if something's bothering you."

Lin Shuyou was somewhat surprised. Could communication really be this simple?

"Splish-splash..."

The figure moved closer, or rather, flowed closer. It came to stand below Tan Wenbin in the pool of blood and said:

"The Bodhisattva is not the Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva is not the Bodhisattva!"

Tan Wenbin: "Then who is the Bodhisattva?"

"The Bodhisattva is the Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva is the Bodhisattva!"

Lin Shuyou frowned. Why was it just repeating the same thing over and over?

Tan Wenbin suddenly said: "Wow, the Bodhisattva is right behind you!"

The figure immediately turned around, knelt, and clasped its hands together:

"Ah! Bodhisattva, I have sinned, Bodhisattva, I have sinned!"

Tan Wenbin asked in a deep voice: "What is your sin?"

"I didn't know he wasn't the Bodhisattva; otherwise, I would never have helped him suppress the Merit Dharma Field!

Bodhisattva, please calm your wrath, Bodhisattva, forgive me. I mistook him; he deceived me!

He deceived everyone here, for a very, very long time!"

Lin Shuyou took a deep breath. Did this mean someone was impersonating Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva here?

Then what Xiaoyuan said, that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was here, would be incorrect, wouldn't it?

No, how could Xiaoyuan be wrong?

Tan Wenbin: "So, do you confess your guilt and willingly accept punishment?"

"I confess, I confess, I willingly accept the Bodhisattva's disciplinary punishment here!"

Lin Shuyou frowned. That sentence seemed to imply the Bodhisattva again. Was it the Bodhisattva who condemned it to punishment here?

Tan Wenbin: "Has the person who impersonated me confessed?"

"He... he... he..." The figure suddenly paused. After a moment of silence, it shrieked, "He's coming out! He's coming out!!!"

"Splat!"

Suddenly, the figure's body exploded into a pool of blood. The blood level inside the Buddha head instantly surged, spraying wildly outward.

The eyes were no longer enough; this time, it surged out directly from the ears, nose, and mouth.

Lin Shuyou had been on guard against anything unexpected, but he truly hadn't anticipated it would unfold in such a way.

He and Tan Wenbin were expelled from the Buddha head's nostrils like snot being blown.

The only thing Lin Shuyou could do was to immediately pull Brother Bin up after they landed.

But no sooner had he pulled him up than Brother Bin broke free from his grasp, shouting, "Quick, feel!"

Immediately, he dove back down.

Lin Shuyou didn't know what Brother Bin was doing down there, so he followed suit, sinking down and fumbling around with his hands.

As it turned out, he did feel something the size of an egg. It floated to the surface, and after wiping off the blood, its pure white interior was revealed.

And Brother Bin was holding a stack of these large white beads in his arms.

The two immediately waded back through the blood.

Tan Wenbin recounted the conversation from inside, then pulled out a white bead and handed it to Xiaoyuan, asking, "Xiaoyuan, what is this?"

Li Zhuiyuan took it, rubbed it between his fingertips, and said, "Sarira."

"Sarira?" Tan Wenbin looked down at the armful of sarira he held. "How severe were this master's gallstones to produce so many sarira when cremated?"

"They should be the sarira of a group of enlightened monks."

"A group?"

"They were placed inside the Buddha head, with the statue positioned on the periphery, serving as the cornerstone for establishing the dharma field. What a grand scale."

True enlightened monks are already rare in this world. Those who can produce sarira of this quality aren't simply cremated after their passing; they 'voluntarily enter nirvana' with utmost sincerity.

But then again, if that person could operate under the guise of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, it would be enough to make eminent monks willingly offer themselves in sacrifice, viewing it as the highest honor.

Tan Wenbin: "Xiaoyuan, should we take all these sarira back with us?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "What you saw earlier inside the Buddha head was the collective spiritual consciousness of those eminent monks manifesting through the blood. As for these sarira, they've long lost their spiritual essence from being washed by the blood; they're just ordinary stones now."

Run Sheng reached out, took a sarira, bit into it, chewed a few times, and then spat it out.

Tan Wenbin shrugged and tossed all the sarira he had just collected back down. Even Run Sheng wouldn't eat them, so they truly seemed worthless.

After bypassing the Buddha head, the group continued wading through the blood.

Ahead, a True Monarch temple appeared again. This time, it was just one.

Moreover, a small vortex appeared in the blood water in front of the temple.

The vortex grew steadily larger. Though the blood here was only one meter deep, from the edge, the vortex appeared terrifyingly profound.

"Tap... tap... tap..."

A figure slowly emerged from the depths of the bloody vortex.

He was hunched over, his body covered in thick hair. Though human in form, he had the appearance of a monkey.

Once he reached the temple steps, he turned to face them, his gaze meeting Li Zhuiyuan's, who was still on Run Sheng's back.

"Heh heh, the Gate-Guarding Boy, as expected, couldn't stop you."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at him, saying nothing.

The other party tilted his head slightly and said: "What, don't you recognize me?"

Li Zhuiyuan naturally recognized him: he was the individual who had plotted on the island, attempting to join their team, only to end up losing everything.

It seemed he was also a True Monarch here.

"Come on, enter my temple and have a cup of tea."

After saying that, he walked into the temple and disappeared.

This was the only path deeper inside. The other party clearly wasn't worried that they wouldn't enter.

"Let's go in."

The group silently formed a defensive formation and walked into the temple.

Upon entering, everyone was shocked by the exquisite furnishings and the ancient charm of the layout.

The main reason was that, throughout their journey, almost all other True Monarch temples had been ruins, save for the Gate-Guarding True Monarch's place which was relatively well-preserved. This temple, however, was almost perfectly intact.

And in terms of style, the Gate-Guarding True Monarch's temple simply couldn't compare to this one.

However, this temple had no accompanying stone statues on either side; there weren't even any indentations or reserved spaces for them.

The altar was adorned with paintings of mountain forests and orchards, ethereal like a fairyland, but there was no statue of a True Monarch.

"Don't worry, my true body isn't here. Heh heh, except for the Gate-Guarding Boy, none of our True Monarchs' true bodies are in their respective temples; they're all in the innermost section."

Li Zhuiyuan got off Run Sheng's back. The blood water had not flowed into the temple.

"Tea?" the other party invited.

"No." Li Zhuiyuan refused.

The figure wasn't angry, merely stating calmly, "Those three on the island earlier were just trifles I casually brought out decades ago, nothing significant.

As for the Gate-Guarding Boy, he's actually nothing special, just a fool.

If it weren't for his diligent gatekeeping, and the fact that one of the twelve True Monarch positions happened to be vacant at the time, he would never have been allowed to fill in as a mere placeholder."

Li Zhuiyuan said nothing.

"What, do you think I'm deliberately trying to scare you, bluffing?" The figure pointed at Lin Shuyou. "This kid should know best how terrifying the power of a Yin God is, and I am the Yin God he needs to worship."

Li Zhuiyuan said: "You said the Gate-Guarding True Monarch was a mere placeholder."

"That's right."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Then what are you?"

The figure's gaze sharpened, its fur bristled, lips pulled back, teeth grinding together.

Li Zhuiyuan continued: "The Gate-Guarding True Monarch had accompanying stone statues and spirit medium successors on both sides, but you don't even need those."

"Heh, that's because this True Monarch looks down on those spirit mediums."

"That's because you're not human; you're just an animal. You can't possibly give birth to a troop of monkeys to be your spirit mediums, can you?"

"Aah!!"

Hearing this, the figure leaped violently onto the altar table, glaring fixedly at Li Zhuiyuan, frantically scratching its own body.

"You said the Gate-Guarding Boy was just a placeholder. I think the one truly used to fill a spot is you, this pet."

"Heh heh heh heh..." The figure let out a sinister laugh. "What good does it do you to provoke me?"

"It makes me happy."

"I am True Monarch Liyuan, serving under Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva."

"Oh, which Bodhisattva?"

"One who performs the deeds of a Bodhisattva is naturally a true Bodhisattva in the human realm!

No matter how outsiders view it, in my heart, he is the supreme being. Without his guidance and training, I wouldn't be who I am today."

"Then why did you betray him?"

True Monarch Liyuan clenched his fists tightly and roared, "Who told you that?! The Gate-Guarding Boy has no idea what happened inside!"

Li Zhuiyuan gestured around. "All the other True Monarch temples are destroyed, yet yours is perfectly intact. Doesn't that prove you offered no resistance, and perhaps even helped lead the way?"

True Monarch Liyuan sneered, "Heh heh, who told him to be so audacious as to actually dare impersonate a Bodhisattva? What a colossal sin! He not only went mad himself but also concealed it from all of us, deceiving everyone into madness alongside him!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "You truly have a monkey's face; it changes in an instant."

True Monarch Liyuan: "If you were in my position back then, you would have made the same choice as I did."

Li Zhuiyuan: "So you regret it now, don't you? You betrayed him, and now you're forever trapped here yourself."

True Monarch Liyuan: "As you can see, I have greater freedom compared to the other True Monarchs."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Let me guess, he deliberately spared you, didn't he?"

True Monarch Liyuan sighed. "That's right, he knew I betrayed him out of necessity, so he forgave me. Although he confined my true form in the main temple like theirs, he still granted me freedom of consciousness."

"Do you really think that?"

"Why else? There was, after all, a deep bond between us. Do you know, he personally raised me."

"I don't think so."

"Oh?"

"Because only when one's consciousness is clear can one truly feel the pain of imprisonment."