Guanyin Grand Temple.
Under the night sky, the temple exuded an even more solemn atmosphere. The incense burner at the base of the hundred-step staircase still emitted faint wisps of smoke in the chilly air, as if remnants of the day’s offerings lingered within. Above the steps, the main hall of the Guanyin Grand Temple stood wide open, its lights burning incessantly. At the center of the hall stood a towering, three-story-high golden statue of Guanyin, its serene yet slightly eerie gaze overlooking all.
Song Cheng’an and his companions, who already had the status of guests at the temple, were allowed to stay overnight under the pretense of studying Buddhist teachings. The temple monks, unsuspecting, left the main hall to them.
Yu Zhengqing stepped over the threshold and entered the hall: “There’s no trace of Jiang Jingyun’s ghostly presence. I used a Legendary Item designed to track ghosts, but she never manifested here. Unless she has a way to deceive a Legendary Item, it seems she has no direct connection to this temple.”
Song Cheng’an stood directly in front of the golden Guanyin statue, slightly tilting his head to meet the statue’s gaze.
“The more I look at it, the more I feel it’s not something of the righteous path,” Song Cheng’an remarked.
Lin Qing sat cross-legged on a nearby cushion, holding paper and pen from this era, seemingly sketching something.
Yu Zhengqing walked up behind Song Cheng’an and also glanced up at the golden statue. “Although I didn’t find any ghostly traces, you’re right—there’s something off about this temple.”
Song Cheng’an turned to him, signaling him to continue.
“The main hall of the Guanyin Temple is surrounded by thirty-three side halls, each housing a different manifestation of Guanyin, arranged in a circular formation around the main hall. This layout, which also aligns with the four directions of Guanyin Town, is a classic design for warding off evil. However, these manifestations and the main golden statue all seem to exude a sinister aura,” Yu Zhengqing said with a grave expression. “A few days ago, it wasn’t as noticeable. We only occasionally sensed an eerie presence while staying here. But now, after walking around the temple, I can clearly feel that these thirty-three Guanyin manifestations are leaning toward malevolence.”
Song Cheng’an pulled out the temple-suppressing array he had obtained from Mr. Bai and asked, “Old Lin, are you done?”
Lin Qing, calm as ever, stood up with his paper and pen. “Yes.”
Yu Zhengqing, unaware of Song Cheng’an’s plan, glanced at what Lin Qing had drawn and exclaimed, “A map of Guanyin Town? What’s this for?”
Song Cheng’an’s brow twitched as he placed the array diagram on the ground, then took the map of Guanyin Town from Lin Qing and set it beside the array. He pulled out a vermilion brush from somewhere, first marking the four corners of the array diagram, and explained, “The array used to suppress Jiang Jingyun’s coffin uses water from Guanyin’s vase to dispel the Resentment around the coffin. We then place our Items at the four corners of the coffin, with the Millennial Agarwood at the center to stabilize the array…”
He then moved the brush to the map of Guanyin Town, circling the four corners of the town. “Guanyin Town has a square shape, wide at the edges and narrow in the middle—”
“It’s a coffin,” Lin Qing stated calmly.
“It’s a large coffin with weights already pressing down on its four sides. And at the very center…” Song Cheng’an slowly sketched the outline of the Guanyin Grand Temple in the center of the map.
This time, even Yu Zhengqing understood without needing further explanation: “So this entire Guanyin Town is a massive suppression array, with the Guanyin Grand Temple acting as the Millennial Agarwood at the center!?”
The entire Guanyin Town was nothing more than a massive coffin integrated into the array!!
However, Song Cheng’an’s expression grew even more serious as he studied the two diagrams.
“The method Mr. Bai gave us to suppress Jiang Jingyun’s corpse is just a smaller version of this massive array. He said it was collected over many years, and Guanyin Town has existed for a long time. This suppression array should have been maintaining order, warding off evil all this time. So why…”
Why is the Guanyin Grand Temple becoming increasingly eerie?
With such an array in place, Guanyin Town should be a peaceful, prosperous place. So why are there now strange occurrences like the Black Sea disturbances?
Song Cheng’an looked up once more at the towering golden Guanyin statue, then slowly closed his eyes.
Yu Zhengqing was about to speak when Lin Qing raised a hand to stop him, whispering, “He’s using his skill. Don’t disturb him.”
Song Cheng’an’s skill was array mastery.
Both Lin Qing and Song Cheng’an were veteran high-level Players. Yu Zhengqing didn’t dare to act presumptuously in front of them. He took a step back and lowered his voice, “We’re making progress here. I hope your brother and the others don’t mess things up on their end.”
Lin Qing glanced at him, “We need to be careful not to hold them back.”
Yu Zhengqing choked, feeling increasingly that the dynamics of their faction were strange. Song Cheng’an seemed to lead the faction, but in reality, he never made major decisions. Instead, it was Yan Wei who dictated their actions. Then there was Yan Mingguang, who rarely spoke but, when he acted, was so powerful that Yu Zhengqing couldn’t even blink fast enough to keep up. Yet, such strength lurked behind Yan Wei.
Lin Qing was even stranger. In the Tower World, he was known for being ruthless and reckless, appearing calm but once he made a decision, he would stop at nothing to achieve it.
Yet, here he was, saying something like “We must not hold them back.”
It was as if…
As if Yan Wei was some ancient monster like Zhuo Xidong.
Yu Zhengqing was beginning to sense that Yan Wei had a mysterious past and unfathomable strength, but the man was so young, with a face he’d never seen before. Could he really be some ancient monster?
At that moment, Song Cheng’an suddenly opened his eyes.
He tossed the vermilion brush aside, leapt up, and in an instant, scaled the golden Guanyin statue’s robes, landing atop its crown.
The moment he steadied himself, Song Cheng’an’s usually calm expression drastically changed!
Lin Qing asked, “What did you see?”
“…An array.”
“The suppression array?”
“No, the Guanyin Grand Temple itself is the array’s focal point, serving the same purpose as the Millennial Agarwood. This is a new array.”
“You’re saying that, in addition to Guanyin Town being a suppression array, there’s another array on the golden Guanyin statue that’s reversing its effects?”
Yan Wei followed Zhong Bufan, with Yan Mingguang bringing up the rear, ensuring they wouldn’t be discovered.
Zhong Bufan led the way, heading east within the Shen Estate based on his memory. Yan Mingguang maintained constant communication with Lin Zhen, ensuring that Lin Zhen wouldn’t be discovered while pretending to be Jiang Jingyun’s ghost.
This task was originally Yan Wei’s, but Song Cheng’an urgently requested contact, so Yan Wei had Yan Mingguang use the Black Ring to stay in touch with Lin Zhen while he answered Song Cheng’an’s call.
The three of them moved stealthily through the Shen Estate at night, the Black Ring transmitting Song Cheng’an’s voice: “Yes, I’ve confirmed it. This array is designed to reverse. But I can’t break it yet. This array has been in place for a long time, and its effects are strong. It’s reversed the entire suppression array of Guanyin Town, turning this evil-warding array into something that fosters Resentment and malevolence!”
That’s why the golden Guanyin statue is increasingly exuding a sinister aura, and why Guanyin Town is becoming more and more eerie.
Yan Wei frowned, “Is the Black Sea connected to the reversal of this suppression array?”
“Possibly.”
“Then what’s Jiang Jingyun’s connection to this array?” Yan Wei still felt something was off.
The suppression array was an ancient method left by predecessors. But this reversal array must have been created by someone later. Who would do such a thing? Besides causing hauntings, it serves no purpose. What was the later person’s goal?
Originally, Yan Wei thought that Jiang Jingyun’s unrelenting Resentment had stirred up the greed, anger, and Resentment of those buried beneath the sea, causing the waters to darken and phenomena like corpse rising to occur in Guanyin Town.
But with this Resentment-boosting reversal array in place, was it Jiang Jingyun’s Resentment that triggered everything, or was it the overwhelming malevolence that amplified Jiang Jingyun’s Resentment? Which was the cause, and which was the effect?
In the distance, screams erupted, with several panicked voices shouting things like “Ghosts!” and “Help!” These cries for help shattered the night’s calm in the Shen Estate, as lights turned on and chaotic footsteps sounded from all directions.
They had reached the vicinity of the two small courtyards in the east. Yan Wei could clearly sense several people with data fluctuations rushing out.
The fish had taken the bait.
“Song Cheng’an,” Yan Wei said, “You need to figure out that reversal array first. I want to know how it was constructed. Only by understanding the array diagram can you determine how long it’s been in place.”
“Alright, I’ll try to reconstruct the method used to set up the reversal array.”
Yan Wei ended the communication.
Ahead, Zhong Bufan suddenly stopped, looking at Yan Wei with a shocked expression.
Yan Wei: “…What?”
“Were you just giving orders to Song Cheng’an?”
Yan Wei: “…” He thought something had happened.
Behind him, Yan Mingguang stepped forward and said, “Lin Zhen has done his part. He’s now leading Zhuo Xidong and the others as far away from here as possible.”
At the same time, Yan Wei received a message from Geng Liang—all the Players from the Shen Estate faction had gone to chase the “ghostly form of Jiang Jingyun,” while Geng Liang, under the pretext of needing someone to stay behind in case it was a diversion, remained in the courtyard.
On the courtyard gate hung the bodies of two Players, clearly the ones Zhuo Xidong had killed earlier to intimidate the others.
Yan Wei walked straight toward the courtyard gate, saying, “We need to hurry. Although Lin Zhen is fast, he’s being chased by a dozen old foxes. If this drags on, he won’t be able to hold out.”
Geng Liang had already emerged from the courtyard and met up with Yan Wei and the others.
Zhong Bufan was shocked and about to take action, but Yan Wei stopped him, saying, “He’s one of us.”
“What?”
“Why did you take such a risky approach? If Zhuo Xidong and the others return, even with the five of us combined, we might not be able to escape unscathed,” Geng Liang said anxiously, stepping up to Yan Wei. “And this will alert Zhuo Xidong. He’s bound to notice something’s wrong.”
Geng Liang had been so diligent in his task that Zhong Bufan couldn’t find any reason to doubt him. He was stunned, “Wait, so you’re really one of us? That makes nine of us then.”
Yan Wei: “If we alert Zhuo Xidong, so be it. Once we get the water from Guanyin’s vase, we can leave temporarily. We’ll come back with everyone once we’ve captured Jiang Jingyun’s ghostly form.”
As he spoke, Yan Wei spread out his perception, sensing the situation within the two small courtyards.
The moment his perception touched one of the courtyards, he recoiled at the thick, suffocating Resentment within.
Beside him, Geng Liang was explaining to Zhong Bufan how he was a mole. Given the current situation, where he was actively helping Yan Wei with the diversion, there was no reason to doubt his allegiance.
Zhong Bufan wasn’t stupid and quickly stopped questioning.
But the fact that their faction now had nine members was undeniable.
“What’s going on? I’m willing to believe you’re one of us, but if that’s the case, it’s possible we have a mole from the opposing faction. But everyone here is reliable. Who from the opposing faction would come here and help us so actively, practically wishing for the Shen Estate faction to be wiped out?”
Yan Wei raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yan Mingguang.
Yan Mingguang lowered his gaze, showing no sign of guilt.
Yan Wei chuckled softly, “Maybe it’s just an idiot.”
Yan Mingguang: “…”
Yan Wei knew his priorities and, after teasing Yan Mingguang, turned his attention to the courtyard filled with malevolence.
Geng Liang quickly called out to him, “That courtyard is where Jiang Jingyun’s corpse is stored! It’s filled with overwhelming Resentment and malevolence. Anyone who touches it will die. Earlier today, Zhuo Xidong killed two Players who opposed him by pushing them into the Resentment.”
Yan Wei smiled, “That’s exactly why I’m going. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t bother.”
Geng Liang was stunned, while Zhong Bufan clapped and exclaimed, “The things you can’t find even after digging three feet underground are always right under your nose, in the place you’d least expect!”
Yan Mingguang had already taken Yan Wei’s hand, interlocking their fingers. He said calmly, “I’ll go in and get it.”
Yan Wei turned back, quickly blinking his peach-blossom eyes, which were full of amusement.
“Concern makes you careless, Teacher Yan,” he said. “Have you forgotten? Today, it’s uncertain whether the Resentment will kill me or I’ll chase after it.”
