He asked, “Do you know the tasks of others? I’ve compared notes with Lin Zhen and Yu Feizhou, and the four of us have the same task. The people we know are mostly similar. Oh, and I ran into Song Cheng’an. I didn’t expect to see him here. His task is a bit different from mine, but both are positive.”
“What’s Song Cheng’an’s task?” Yan Mingguang asked him.
At this moment, Yan Mingguang was already holding incense in one hand and pulling Yan Wei up with the other, slowly ascending the steps of the Guanyin Temple.
Guanyin Town had been plagued by supernatural disturbances for a long time, and the townsfolk had become increasingly superstitious, more inclined to believe in ghosts and deities. The number of people coming to the Guanyin Temple to offer incense had grown, and the steps were bustling with people coming and going.
Today, the crowd was particularly large.
Yan Mingguang and Yan Wei were holding hands, and several passersby couldn’t help but glance their way.
Yan Wei ignored them entirely, feeling his other hand was also cold, so he took it a step further by holding Yan Mingguang’s hand with both of his, his fingers fidgeting restlessly.
Yan Mingguang let him.
Yan Wei said, “Song Cheng’an and Yu Zhengqing came by land. Their identities are as Taoist priests from another temple. They said that something in the Guanyin Temple had been damaged recently, and since there aren’t any major Buddhist temples nearby, they borrowed some ritual tools from a Taoist temple for temporary use. They’re here to deliver those items and are currently staying in the temple.”
“By the way, what about you?”
The two of them stepped over the threshold of the temple gate and entered the temple.
The Guanyin Temple was thriving with incense offerings. As soon as they entered the gate, they were greeted by a grand hall, with an open-air square in front where a large incense burner, as tall as two people, stood. Despite the cold weather, the burner was emitting a thick haze of smoke, the fumes curling upward, with faint flames flickering inside—a sight that only occurred when there was an excessive amount of incense burning.
Yan Mingguang handed him three sticks of incense and said, “Offer the incense first. There are people watching at the entrance. Only those who offer incense can enter.”
He clearly had already gained some understanding of the Guanyin Temple.
Without hesitation, Yan Wei took the incense and lit it on a lotus-shaped candle lantern nearby. As he did, Yan Mingguang spoke in a leisurely tone, “My identity is that of a former resident of Guanyin Town.”
“Former?”
“I was a classmate of that Mr. Bai. We studied together as children, but we weren’t close and never spoke. Later, my family’s fortunes rose, and we moved elsewhere. I only recently returned. This identity has been back for almost a month, but I just loaded into the instance yesterday.”
Yan Wei nodded. “Your identity has no connection to Guanyin Academy, so it’s indeed not suitable for you to go in directly.”
“It’ll be fine once Mr. Bai returns.”
“Mm. This Mr. Bai… I wonder what kind of NPC he is. Judging by his name and identity, he seems like a scholar, but he’s asked us players—who, in their eyes, are locals or outsiders who haven’t been in contact for a long time—to bring items. It seems like he’s preparing to deal with that female ghost.”
“The female ghost isn’t the hard part. The difficulty lies in the factions.”
Yan Wei was taken aback. “Are you sure there are factions?”
“After I loaded into the instance, my neighbor was holding a funeral. I met another high-level player there.”
Yan Mingguang briefly recounted his experience from when he first loaded into the instance yesterday.
Yan Mingguang’s identity was of a well-off family, living in the mountainous area of Guanyin Town, where most of the wealthy families resided. The funeral was a grand affair, with many people invited. As a “neighbor,” Yan Mingguang was naturally among the invited.
After entering the family’s residence, he met another player named Meng Lin, a veteran female player. Her goal was straightforward: to open the coffin and examine the corpse.
“I crossed paths with her, and her task is completely different from yours,” Yan Mingguang said. “After she loaded into the instance, she knew about the Black Sea and the female ghost. Her first main task was to understand the danger of corpse rising and the circumstances of the deceased, and to take away a corpse.”
So there were indeed different factions. Although Song Cheng’an’s task was different from his, their goals and direction were the same. But Meng Lin’s task was entirely different, even somewhat negative—not about resolving the corpse issue, but about taking it away.
From this, it seemed there were two factions: one entirely positive, which was Yan Wei’s side, focused on solving the supernatural disturbances. The other faction, like Meng Lin’s, was focused on the supernatural itself.
“Did she complete her task?”
“She died. After opening the coffin, the corpse rose and killed her.”
Yan Wei paused mid-step. “This is just the first main task. Meng Lin… I remember her as someone who always played it safe. And I’ve seen corpse rising before. I was by the sea once, and the corpse of the deceased was almost crawling out, but the mourners just closed the coffin and sealed it back in.”
A corpse rising that even ordinary people could handle actually killed a high-level player?
Yan Mingguang immediately noticed Yan Wei’s doubt and said, “At first, the corpse is weak, but it’s ‘unkillable.’ The more you attack it, the stronger it becomes.”
“Meng Lin was worn down to death.”
Yan Wei’s earlier concerns after encountering the female ghost a few nights ago were somewhat resolved.
That night, Lin Zhen had managed to make the red figure disappear with a single arrow. The female ghost was much weaker than he had imagined, seemingly not on par with the level of a top-tier instance boss. But if it existed, the corpses killed by the female ghost would grow stronger, and the abilities of these unclean entities could even transfer and accumulate among themselves. The female ghost could also use the corpses that hadn’t been water-buried yet to become even stronger.
This was why, despite the supernatural disturbances plaguing Guanyin Town for years, the townsfolk hadn’t resorted to cremation or burial—these methods couldn’t handle the corpses that died under strange circumstances. They knew the sea was growing darker, but they had no solution other than continuing with water burials.
Corpse rising was more dangerous than anticipated. Combined with the clearly different objectives of the two factions, their goals might even be in direct conflict. The success of one side would mean the failure of the other.
The difficulty didn’t seem to lie with the female ghost herself, but rather with the Black Sea behind her, the increasingly powerful corpse rising, and the opposing faction led by Mr. Bai, whose intentions were still unknown.
They had already walked into the main hall holding incense. The hall was filled with the murmurs of the townsfolk, each one a wish whispered to the Guanyin statue.
Yan Wei stood behind a prayer mat, the incense in his hand emitting a rising plume of smoke, slightly blurring his vision. Through the haze, he looked up at the towering golden statue of Guanyin in the center of the hall.
It was a female Guanyin, the most common Willow Guanyin form, holding a willow branch in her right hand and a vase in her left. The statue was as tall as the entire Guanyin Temple. Looking up, the crown on Guanyin’s head was just a short distance from the third-floor ceiling. In this three-tiered temple, resembling an inner courtyard, no matter which floor you stood on, the central focus was this golden Guanyin statue. The circular corridor on the third floor even allowed for a direct eye-level view of the statue.
The statue was entirely gilded, with a plump and serene face, as if benevolently overlooking the blessings of all living beings.
Most of the townsfolk walked with their heads bowed, kneeling and praying. But when Yan Wei looked up, he felt that Guanyin’s gaze upon the people wasn’t one of compassion, but rather a condescending, disdainful look.
After just one glance, Yan Wei felt uncomfortable and quickly averted his eyes.
“The reason I suggested meeting at the Guanyin Temple is that this place makes me feel very uneasy,” Yan Wei said in a low voice. “Also, Song Cheng’an told me that a few of the side halls in the Guanyin Temple have had items damaged. I think this temple might be related to the main storyline. You even prepared incense sticks, so it seems you also think there’s something wrong here?”
“I’ve looked into it,” Yan Mingguang said. “A few of the side halls have had items stolen.”
“Do you also think it’s an instance-specific item?”
Yan Mingguang glanced at him with a slight smile, which was as good as a confirmation.
“I have the Millennial Agarwood, Lin Zhen has the Soul-Slicing Blade, Yu Feizhou has something too, and you probably have something as well. If these items are related to dealing with the female ghost, I suspect that the items stolen from the Guanyin Temple are also items related to our goal of defeating the female ghost.”
“Let’s take a look at the side halls,” Yan Mingguang said.
He and Yan Wei walked forward, passing through the townsfolk kneeling on the prayer mats on either side, and inserted the burning incense into the large burner in front. They didn’t bow, however.
Yan Mingguang and Yan Wei were both tall and striking in appearance, standing out among the otherwise ordinary townsfolk. The simple clothes they wore somehow exuded an air of refinement on them. Yan Wei had a naturally gentle and obedient appearance, with peach-blossom eyes that gave him a youthful, boyish charm. Yan Mingguang, on the other hand, was a tall and slender young man, his handsomeness fully realized.
As a woman approached to offer incense, whether intentionally or not, a sachet fell from her and landed at Yan Mingguang’s feet.
Yan Wei: “…”
Before the woman could speak, he pulled a coin from his sleeve pocket—completely out of place with the era—and unceremoniously tossed it onto the ground.
“Clink—”
The coin landed next to the sachet, the cold metallic sound ringing out as it wobbled before settling, the side with the engraved swallow facing up.
Yan Mingguang sighed softly, his dark eyes filled with a hint of helplessness, yet still entirely focused on Yan Wei.
He bent down, picked up the coin, and stood up. Completely ignoring Yan Wei’s outstretched hand waiting to take the coin, he instead held it, gently tugged on Yan Wei’s collar, and with long fingers, tucked the coin into the inner pocket of Yan Wei’s robe.
Finally, he even adjusted Yan Wei’s collar and smoothed out his clothes.
The woman, watching as Yan Mingguang patted Yan Wei’s collar, turned as pale as the snow outside.
Yan Wei himself blushed and quickly crouched down to pick up the sachet for the woman. The woman took the sachet and hurriedly left the hall. As Yan Wei listened to the monks chanting sutras on either side of the hall, he preemptively accused in a low voice, “You could’ve just picked it up properly.”
Yan Mingguang didn’t respond.
Suddenly, a clamor of voices erupted outside the hall, accompanied by even louder sutra chanting, growing closer and louder.
Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang exchanged a glance and turned to follow the crowd out of the hall.
Outside, in front of the Guanyin Temple, a large flower cart was being pulled in, flanked by monks in robes and a band playing music at the back. The flower cart was adorned with silk lotus flowers, and in the center stood a woman dressed in Guanyin robes, holding a willow branch. She was singing, her voice blending with the clear sutra chanting.
At the front of the flower cart was a figure cloaked in a pure black cape, wearing a demon mask.
This person was clearly playing a role, rolling around at the front of the cart, emitting painful groans.
The flower cart stopped in front of the hall. The “Guanyin” continued to sing, the song seemingly telling a story, while the monks on either side walked into the crowd, apparently looking for someone.
Yan Wei extended his Perception and listened to the conversations around him. He leaned close to Yan Mingguang’s ear and whispered, “This is their custom. They’re reenacting a legend of Guanyin Town, which says that Guanyin Town was once a wasteland infested with demons. The demons merged into one, tormenting any living being that came here. Later, Guanyin heard the cries of this place, took her willow branch, and sprinkled water from her vase, subduing the demonic entity. The land suddenly became fertile, with bountiful harvests year after year, and gradually, Guanyin Town was established.”
“So they built this Guanyin Temple and occasionally hold such worship ceremonies, retelling the legend of Guanyin subduing the demons. Each time the flower cart circles the town and returns to the Guanyin Temple, they select a few people from the worshippers to play the role of the monks who once welcomed Guanyin.”
As he whispered this to Yan Mingguang, a monk approached them and silently bowed.
The surrounding townsfolk immediately cast envious glances their way.
Yan Wei: “…”
They had been chosen.
He glanced at the other young men and women who had been selected. While none of them were exceptionally good-looking, they were still more attractive than the average person.
…Was this a selection of monks or a beauty pageant?
“Go,” Yan Mingguang said to him. “It’s a custom of Guanyin Town. They believe those chosen will receive blessings from Guanyin.”
Not going would be strange.
Yan Wei naturally understood this. He muttered a few complaints to himself but still accepted the monk’s robes handed to him and Yan Mingguang, draped them over themselves, and followed behind the flower cart.
The sutra chanting continued, the woman’s song echoing through the cold sky, while the townsfolk bowed to the stone Guanyin statue in the hall, the incense offerings growing even more fervent. The flower cart began its journey from the front of the hall, heading toward the side halls, the sutra chanting slightly dispelling the gloom brought by the supernatural disturbances.
Exiting the triangular-shaped main hall, they passed by several side halls, each roof adorned with stone carvings of different Guanyin forms, likely housing different Guanyin statues.
After passing a few side halls, they came upon one with its doors tightly shut and chained.
These temporary “monks” followed behind the flower cart. Yan Wei walked behind Yan Mingguang and gently tugged on the robe draped over his otherwise stern figure, saying, “Teacher Yan.”
Ahead, Yan Mingguang paused.
“Are we even becoming monks together?”
Yan Mingguang grabbed the hand tugging at his robe and said, “It’s better to return to secular life together.”
With that, he pulled Yan Wei’s hand and ran out of the procession.
They were no ordinary people. Yan Mingguang used a skill, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them arrived at the locked door of the side hall. The flower cart procession continued forward, unaware that they had disappeared, and had already passed this side hall.
Yan Mingguang removed the robe draped over himself and began untying Yan Wei’s sash, helping him “return to secular life.”
Yan Wei looked at the lock on the door.
“These halls are all locked. They must be the ones where items were stolen.” Such an ordinary lock posed no obstacle to players like them. He reached out, fiddled with the lock a few times, and it opened. “Let’s take a look inside. If the items stolen from the main hall are indeed tools, it doesn’t make sense. Mr. Bai wouldn’t need to steal tools. With his reputation, he could just borrow them directly from the Guanyin Temple.”
Whoever snuck into the Guanyin Temple must be from a different faction, not the same group that Mr. Bai had gathered.
Yan Wei hung the lock on the door handle and pushed open the door to the side hall.
Inside, there was no candlelight. The daylight from outside streamed in, illuminating the Guanyin statue at the front. On either side were candle holders, and in front of the statue was a small incense burner. This Guanyin statue wasn’t as large as the golden one in the main hall—it was only the height of a person and carved from wood, its hands empty.
Yan Wei walked a few steps forward, approaching the statue. He looked at the mural behind it and said, “This Guanyin statue is the Scripture-Holding Guanyin. It should be holding a scripture… The scripture was taken. Is that also a tool to deal with the female ghost?”
Could it be that the final goal of both factions is to gather enough tools?
This side hall’s missing item was the Guanyin scripture. What about the other side halls?
A shadow fell beside him. Yan Wei turned and asked Yan Mingguang, “Do you think there could be players whose roles are those who previously came to the Guanyin Temple to steal these items?”
Like him, who, upon entering the instance, had the identity of someone entrusted with bringing the Millennial Agarwood. Other players would likely have similar roles, and it wouldn’t be unusual for some to be the ones who stole these items.
The man glanced down at him, his voice calm. “Very likely.”
Yan Wei’s expression froze.
The daylight and the darkness inside the side hall intersected, casting half of the man’s face in light and the other half in shadow. The light illuminated the floating dust, which blurred his vision. Looking into the man’s pitch-black eyes, Yan Wei suddenly took a step back.
“——Didn’t we play this trick in the last top-tier instance? No new tricks this time?”
The hall’s door suddenly slammed shut!
The faint daylight filtering through the paper on the door dimmed significantly. The dust floating in the beam of light seemed to freeze, as if everything in front of them had solidified, leaving only Yan Wei and “Yan Mingguang” as the living beings.
The malicious intent smiled with that always cold face, its ethereal voice echoing from all directions. “I never expected you to mistake me for him. I just wanted to ask if you’ve changed your mind.”
Yan Wei said coldly, “Where’s Yan Mingguang?”
The malicious intent raised a hand slightly, and behind the Guanyin statue, a black, bottomless hole large enough for a person to pass through appeared on the mural.
It emitted an aura recognizable by all players in the tower. Yan Wei was familiar with it, but he had never used this thing.
Yan Wei frowned—it was a Descending the Tower passage.
“If you walk through here, won’t you be able to stay with him longer?”
“This Descending the Tower passage is the only one in the Guanyin Temple, and the only one in this instance. It’s located behind Guanyin, and every side hall can activate it, symbolizing ‘Boundless suffering, the mercy of Buddha. Walking behind Guanyin will help you overcome calamity.’”
“You always like to use these false words to mask your desires… Ah, I’ve opened it for you. All you need to do is step back… step back… If you don’t go down this time, the Descending the Tower passage will be destroyed.”
The figure of Yan Mingguang in front of him suddenly dissipated. The dust in the beam of light began to float again, and time and space resumed their flow.
From the moment he stepped into the hall, the malicious intent had likely descended, freezing everything inside and opening this Descending the Tower passage.
The malicious intent didn’t want him to reach the top and exchange for Pandora’s Box.
He had known this for a long time.
This thought had just crossed his mind when Yan Wei suddenly felt a gentle push from behind, pushing him closer to the Descending the Tower passage. He turned to look, but there was nothing behind him.
“…So that’s how it is,” he murmured. “——‘Boundless suffering, the mercy of Buddha. Walking behind Guanyin will help you overcome calamity.’ As long as you harbor negative emotions, you’ll be led away by Buddha.”
Earlier, he had felt disdain for the malicious intent—a negative emotion. In front of the Guanyin statue, this was something that needed to be “overcome.” That’s why the Descending the Tower passage had pushed him. The more negative emotions he had, the more likely he was to be pushed into the passage.
Only with a clear mind and pure intentions could one leave the Scripture-Holding Guanyin Hall, and the Descending the Tower passage would close entirely as no one entered.
No wonder the malicious intent had descended, taking this opportunity to “help” him open the Descending the Tower passage. It couldn’t change the instance’s rules, but it could exploit them to lure him away from this instance.
But he refused to leave.
Yan Wei glanced at the Descending the Tower passage, just a step away, cleared his mind of distractions, and turned decisively to leave the hall and find Yan Mingguang.
But as soon as he turned, he saw a Yan Mingguang, and… himself.
“Yan Mingguang” held a Long Whip, one hand gripping the handle and the other clutching the whip itself, slightly leaning forward. “He” was sitting on the ground, the familiar thin, soft whip coiled around his neck. He struggled weakly before finally going limp, lifeless.
Yan Wei’s heart was in turmoil, nearly being pushed into the Descending the Tower passage behind him.
It was fake.
He took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and took a step forward.
Before his eyes, the illusion of “Yan Mingguang” killing him dissipated, only to be replaced by another “Yan Mingguang.” This time, “Yan Mingguang” gripped a dagger and plunged it into his heart.
Countless illusions floated around him, front and back, all of them Yan Mingguang attacking him.
In the Tower World, beneath the endless long stele.
The Players couldn’t see the moment when malice paused, but they could see the scene of Yan Wei entering the hall and triggering the Descending the Tower passage.
“This is actually a reverse Descending the Tower passage. The more negative emotions you have, the more likely you are to be sucked into it. Only with a calm heart can you walk out of this hall.”
“So what did Yan Wei see? Why is it so difficult for him to walk forward?”
“Isn’t the key point that Yan Wei chose to resist the Descending the Tower passage instead!?? This instance has only revealed the tip of the iceberg. Meng Lin has won the title of Best Player at least twenty, if not fifty times, and she’s already dead. It’s only going to get more dangerous from here. For a rookie like him to experience a top-floor instance and trigger the Descending the Tower passage, wouldn’t it be better for him to leave now?”
“What a fool—”
The man’s words abruptly stopped as he let out a scream.
“Ahhhhh—!!”
The surrounding Players scattered, leaving an empty space. The man had already collapsed to the ground, his arm cleanly severed from his shoulder, a pool of blood beneath him.
Everyone looked at Ding Xiao beside the man, both in awe and fear, completely unaware of why this person had provoked the lady of Manjusaka, and they dared not provoke her themselves.
Ding Xiao slowly stood up with a knife, smiling gently, but her voice was icy: “You can talk bad about him, just don’t let me hear it.”
Outside the Guanyin side hall.
Yan Mingguang stood on the thick snow, his robes swaying slightly in the cold wind. His back was straight, his gaze fixed on the closed door of the side hall.
Beside him, a “person” identical to him sneered: “This is a Descending the Tower passage I specially designed for him. He will see you killing him countless times. Over and over again, watching the person he loves most kill him in different ways. I don’t believe he won’t harbor evil thoughts.”
Yan Mingguang didn’t even glance at him.
The evil spirit was quite pleased: “This Descending the Tower passage is called ‘The Buddha’s Mercy.’ Isn’t it ironic? The merciful ones are the ones who stay, while those you despise, who harbor evil thoughts, are the ones who can leave from here.”
Yan Mingguang finally turned to look at him.
This identical face didn’t evoke any change in his expression. He simply said calmly, “Do you know why you are the evil spirit?”
The evil spirit paused.
“Because you consider cowardly escape a good thing, consider living a life of repeated mediocrity in the tower a good thing, but regard the kindness of going against the tide and the heart that stays to face danger as bad things.”
The evil spirit couldn’t argue with him and just laughed more wildly: “Hahahaha!! So what? As long as he harbors evil thoughts, he will be sucked into the Descending the Tower passage. Why don’t you go in now and leave with him, so you can start over from the Eighty-ninth Floor Instance?”
“‘The Buddha’s Mercy’? Hahahaha!! I don’t believe he has that kind of mercy, to watch you kill him thousands of times and still remain pure-hearted! No matter how kind Yan Wei is, he’s not a Buddha. He doesn’t have that self-sacrificing heart!”
Yan Mingguang took a step forward, seemingly ready to bring Yan Wei out.
His voice was calm, “The Buddha is merciful for the world, and he is also merciful for the world. I am also part of the world.”
The evil spirit had been fighting Yan Wei for so long, but it was far from understanding him.
What Yan Wei feared most was never this. He always claimed to be self-interested, constantly talking about selfishness, but he was always more obsessed than anyone with breaking the shackles of the Tower World.
He raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and said, “You should leave now.”
The evil spirit’s voice abruptly ceased.
A moment later, the door of the side hall was pushed open forcefully, and the young man stood at the entrance, panting, his clear eyes looking at him.
Yan Wei ran quickly and crashed into Yan Mingguang’s arms, whispering, “That stupid dreamer just tried to trap me with a Descending the Tower passage. I got to witness my three hundred and sixty ways of dying, and being stabbed was actually the most decent.”
Yan Mingguang chuckled.
He flicked Yan Wei’s forehead and said, “I just checked the other two stolen side halls. What’s missing are the Guanyin Lotus Seat and the Guanyin Fish Basket. There are no other clues.”
“There’s nothing interesting about that. Probably just three Items related to the main storyline, similar to my aloeswood. Let’s go find Song Cheng’an. I just realized he contacted me earlier, and our faction is almost complete.”
HMMMM we’re getting more clues about Yan Mingguang!!