Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 230 Abbot's Passing Away
The night was as dark as ink, enveloping Lanruo Temple tightly.

Master Mingxin sat on the meditation cushion in the meditation room, seemingly in deep meditation, but his aura was not calm.

Suddenly, he slowly opened his tightly closed eyes, his gaze clear yet profound, as if he could see through the wall.

"Benefactor Yan, Benefactor Xiahou, since you've arrived, please come in." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to the door.

The door to the meditation room was pushed open silently.

Then, Master Mingxin saw Yan Chixia and Xiahou walk in one after the other.

"Master, you summoned me so late at night, is there something you want to say?" Yan Chixia got straight to the point, his gaze sweeping across the meditation room to confirm that nothing was amiss.

Master Mingxin gestured for the two to sit on the prayer mats opposite him, and then arranged for a young novice to come in and pour tea.

"I am deeply grateful for your willingness to stay and help our temple. The reason I invited you here is to... tell you more about the true situation of Lanruo Temple."

After the young novice monk who had poured the tea left, Yan Chixia and Xiahou exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes, and waited for what would happen next.

Master Mingxin remained silent for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, before slowly speaking. His first words were earth-shattering: "Lanruo Temple, though it exists in this world, should not actually exist in this world."

Upon hearing this, Yan Chixia and Xiahou's pupils suddenly contracted!
"Master... what do you mean by that?" Xiahou leaned forward slightly, his hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the sword hilt.

Master Mingxin's gaze seemed to pierce through them, looking at a grander and more terrifying truth: "Literally. The very existence of this temple is a 'mistake,' or rather a paradox. It is anchored here, yet it does not entirely belong here."

He paused, then continued, his voice filled with deep weariness and helplessness: "My spiritual practice has reached its end; I am burning out tonight. However, the second-generation disciples in the temple, such as Huiming and Huixuan, have tried their best, but ultimately... most of them are still unable to resist the erosion of 'heretical demons,' and their day of decline is probably not far off. After my passing, the temple may undergo a great upheaval. Therefore, I earnestly request that you two, within your power, help them as much as you can."

"A heretical demonic appearance?" Yan Chixia keenly grasped the term. "What exactly is the thing the master mentioned? Is it some kind of powerful ghost or monster? Or..."

Master Mingxin slowly shook his head: "It is not the demons and monsters you usually understand. Lanruo Temple is not a sacred pure land either. On the contrary, this land has long been completely tainted and assimilated by an extreme 'demonic barrier,' forming a... extremely exclusive and highly autonomous 'demonic land.'"

His metaphor became vivid and terrifying: "This demonic barrier is invisible and intangible, yet it is omnipresent. It is like an incredibly powerful and continuously operating signal transmission tower, whose 'signal' has already permeated every inch of air, every handful of soil, and every drop of water in the temple, forming the most basic 'rules' of this place. Any living thing that does not belong to this demonic barrier system but carries other 'contaminations' will be regarded as a 'heretic' when it enters this place, and its 'signal' will be completely covered, interfered with, and even... utterly annihilated by the more powerful 'signal' here."

The old monk's gaze seemed to sweep over the two of them unintentionally: "Just like... the 'Gu worms' that your companions went to great lengths to bring into the temple."

Xiahou was startled upon hearing this and almost stood up: "Master...you know all this?!"

Master Mingxin revealed a bitter smile: "I can sense everything that happens in the temple that is related to 'demonic obstacles' to some extent. The art of witchcraft is essentially a kind of curse. But here, the demonic obstacles that Lanruo Temple has suffered from are enough to completely crush the witchcraft curse carried by the Gu worms."

He used an analogy that Yan Chixia and Xiahou could better understand: "Well, if we use the concept of computers that are gradually emerging now... it's like a piece of crude, low-level code trying to run at the bottom layer of a sophisticated and highly privileged high-level operating system. The system will directly judge it as a malicious virus (heresy) and then... forcibly delete (erasure). As the carrier of the curse, the Gu worm will naturally be annihilated without any suspense."

Xiahou and Yan Chixia exchanged a glance.

“I see,” Xiahou nodded. “Now I know why Lanruo Temple rejects Gu worms.”

Master Mingxin continued, "And this demonic obstacle... it is not an inanimate object. It is constantly growing and spreading, constantly tempting the monks in the temple whose cultivation is still insufficient, intending to use their physical bodies and souls to break through the existing shackles of Lanruo Temple and spread its 'rules' to farther places..."

Xiahou immediately pressed, "Is it the so-called 'Grandma' who's manipulating all of this behind the scenes?"

After all, in the original movie, Grandma was the mastermind behind everything, manipulating Nie Xiaoqian and many other ghosts.

Master Mingxin shook his head again: "There's no need to be fixated on such a name in the temple rules. Whether it's 'Grandma' or 'it,' it's just a name, it's not important. I can only tell you that it is by no means what you know... a mere tree demon that has cultivated itself into a spirit. Its essence... far exceeds your imagination."

“Master…you don’t even know what a ‘grandmother’ is as we know it…”

“Previously, more than one group of benefactors with special identities and knowledge of the ‘plot’ have entered this temple.” Master Mingxin’s tone was eerily calm. “From their accounts, I already know how the outside world describes this place. But those… are merely glimpses, or perhaps even smoke and mirrors deliberately released by ‘it’.”

He coughed violently a few times, his breath quickly becoming weak, and an unnatural flush rose on his face: "That's all I have to say... This humble monk's time has come, tonight. If you two still wish to explore anything here, or wish to live, you must remember this: abide by the temple rules, keep a sliver of clarity in your minds, and do not allow yourselves to be completely eroded and assimilated by demonic influences... Otherwise... Amitabha..."

As the chanting of the Buddha's name faded, Master Mingxin slowly closed his eyes, his body still in a seated meditation posture, but all vitality dissipated rapidly like the receding tide, eventually returning to complete stillness.

An abbot with profound spiritual cultivation, who seemed to know many secrets of Lanruo Temple, passed away.

His passing was like a silent thunderclap, instantly shaking the entire monastery.

The large bell in the bell tower tolled three times in a deep, mournful tone, its sound echoing throughout the mountains and fields.

The following day, Lanruo Temple was shrouded in solemnity and sorrow.

A large-scale funeral was held with great solemnity.

The main hall was transformed into a solemn mourning hall.

Incense smoke filled the hall, and prayer flags hung low.

Master Mingxin's remains were placed in a huge golden "Nirvana Shrine," which was surrounded by pine branches and white flowers.

He was draped in a magnificent robe woven with gold thread and wore a Vairocana hat. His face had been specially treated to appear exceptionally serene, as if he were simply asleep. However, beneath that serenity, there seemed to be an indescribable weariness and sense of liberation.

The monks of the entire temple, dressed in mourning clothes, lined up in order and, led by their second-generation disciples Huixuan and Huiming, took turns chanting the Ksitigarbha Sutra, the Amitabha Sutra, and the Rebirth Mantra day and night. The chanting was solemn and dignified, and they attempted to use this great merit to help the abbot ascend to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss as soon as possible and be reborn in the Western Pure Land.

For a time, the only sounds in the temple were the continuous chanting of sutras and suppressed sobs.

Yu Tianlun and Jiang Jin also stood in the guest area, observing everything.

Yu Tianlun recalled what the abbot had said in the meditation room yesterday and asked in a low voice, "What do you think of what the old monk said last night?"

Jiang Jin frowned: "There's a lot of information, but we can't trust it all. It at least confirms one thing: the plot of Tsui Hark's 'A Chinese Ghost Story' that we knew before is almost useless here. Even if you watch the original film dozens of times, you still won't be able to explore the core truth of Lanruo Temple. The problems here are far more complex and terrifying than a tree demon."

Jiang Jin had to admit that, having seen the movie, he had a preconceived notion and subconsciously underestimated this instance. But now, that underestimation had vanished! His dark eyes gazed at the old abbot's body and said, "Unlike the monk Huizhen who passed away before, under the observation of the dark eyes, he is still as usual."

Yu Tianlun nodded. He remembered that Jiang Jin had said that when the monk Huizhen died, from You Tong's perspective, he was a completely dried-up corpse, just like Xia Hou and the others who died tragically in the movie "A Chinese Ghost Story"!
On the other side, Huikong, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt among the monks, but his body trembled slightly from time to time.

He dared not look at Huiming, the senior brother who was presiding over the ceremony, in front of him.

The terrifying scene of "molting" from last night played like a nightmare in his mind. He kept his head down, afraid that if he looked up, he would meet Huiming's eyes.

He dared not tell anyone what he had seen the night before; the immense fear was almost crushing him.

During a break in the Dharma assembly, Huikong walked out of the hall for some fresh air, looking lost and dejected. At that moment, he suddenly paused, startled.

"Those are... Benefactor Yan and Benefactor Xiahou?"

Like a drowning man grasping at a last straw, Huikong, emboldened by some unknown source, rushed forward and knelt down before the two men with a thud. His voice was trembling with sobs and extreme fear: "Hero Yan! Hero Xiahou! Please! Save me! Save me!"

Both of them were taken aback by his sudden action and frowned, asking, "Master Huikong, what are you doing? Get up! What happened?"

Huikong refused to get up. As if he had found the only outlet for his emotions, he lowered his voice but spoke very quickly as he recounted the terrifying experiences of the past few days: the bizarre meat dishes in the dining hall, the horror of the black-robed monk, Nie Xiaoqian's murderous intent, the abbot's strange explanation, and especially... following Ning Caichen last night, witnessing him disappear into a dead end, and later seeing the terrifying scene of Huiming drinking water by the well and splitting apart!
“…That Ning Caichen! He just…whoosh! Vanished into the dead end! A perfectly healthy man! And Senior Brother Huiming…he…he drank the well water…and actually…actually…”

Huikong spoke incoherently, trembling like a leaf, his face streaked with tears and fear: "I suspect... I suspect they're all problematic! This temple is full of monsters! Please, you must have a way, right? You're powerful people, you can definitely save me!"

After hearing this, the two men's expressions became extremely serious.

"Master Huikong, what you just said... about Ning Caichen's disappearance, is it absolutely true? You didn't see it wrong?"

“It is absolutely true! If there is even a sliver of falsehood in it, may I be condemned to eternal damnation!” Huikong swore to the heavens.

At that very moment, another conflict broke out in a secluded spot within the temple.

After Feng Ya's death, the remnants of his team and some temporary cooperative squads were suddenly leaderless and became like headless flies.

To make matters worse, last night, at the same time that Master Mingxin passed away, a total of six reincarnators in the group, including Fengya, mysteriously disappeared!
They were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead!
Panic spread rapidly. Some could no longer withstand the pressure, and some even began to hesitate, wanting to use their precious "return-to-town items" to leave the instance directly.

Ye Xiu's widow, Lan Li, also felt deeply powerless and frustrated. Her husband was unconscious, and now the temporary leader was missing, and the team was on the verge of falling apart.

The team began to split and argue with each other. After a long time, Jiang Jin came to find them.

He took out the skull key and the judge's pen that Feng Ya had entrusted to him before his death, and handed them to one of the men who seemed to be the leader: "Everyone, it is with great regret that we announce that Commander Feng Ya passed away last night. These are Commander Feng Ya's belongings, which he entrusted to me before his death. Now they are returned to their rightful owner."

A commotion erupted among the crowd, and then Jiang Jin recounted his entire experience from the previous night.

He meant well, but he never expected to stir up a hornet's nest.

The leader was stunned at first, then his eyes instantly turned red, and he roared, "The relics?! Commander Feng is really dead?! It was you! It must have been you! Otherwise, with the commander's strength, how could he have fallen into the hands of a Level 3 sorcerer! Did you get greedy and resort to such underhanded tactics?!"

Others also gathered around, their eyes filled with suspicion, anger, and greed, venting their intense fear on Jiang Jin.

"That's right! Hand over the commander's legacy! Especially that Zhong Kui Judge's Pen!"

"An inheritance alone isn't enough! There's also compensation! Compensation for our losses! Twenty crystallized resentments! You won't be leaving today without even one!"

"Yes! Hand it over! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite! A mere LV2 dares to covet the guild leader's belongings?!"

"Wait, are you guys crazy? He's a big shot who took down several old core bosses!"

"Hmph, we are members of the Holy Temple team, subordinates of Minister Long. Does he dare to be so audacious as to oppose us? That would be tantamount to opposing the imperial court!"

Completely disregarding the solemn atmosphere of the funeral being held in the temple, their shouts drew the attention of many monks.

Lan Li tried to calm things down: "Everyone, calm down! Mr. Jiang is also very upset about Commander Feng's matter. There must be some misunderstanding..."

But nobody listened to her.

She was not a member of the temple, and her voice carried little weight at this moment.

Jiang Jin's face darkened completely. He tossed the skull key and judge's pen back into his Reincarnator watch and coldly stared at the group of Reincarnators who had almost lost their minds: "I kindly returned the relics, but you turn around and accuse me, demanding compensation? How utterly ridiculous! Since that's the case, I'm not returning the key and judge's pen! If you have the guts, come and take them!"

"Damn it! You little brat, you're asking for it!" the leader roared, about to make a move.

"Who dares to touch him!"

A cold, sharp shout rang out! Yu Tianlun's figure had already appeared beside Jiang Jin. Although his longsword was not yet drawn, his incomparably sharp sword intent had already locked onto several of the leading provocateurs!
This sword was found in a treasure chest belonging to a deceased, bloodthirsty reincarnator! There were so many treasure chests back then that he forgot which reincarnator's chest it came from.

"Yu Tianlun! Do you still think you're the same LV4 boss you used to be?" The speaker was Wang Sen, the vice leader of the Xuanjia division of the Holy Temple team. "Twenty resentment crystals, not one less! If you don't return them, do you think Minister Long will let you leave this instance alive?"

Yu Tianlun sneered: "Wang Sen, who do you think you are, to represent Minister Long?"

"What did you say?"

"I said..." Yu Tianlun swiftly drew his sword, "Who do you think you are, Wang Sen!"

Yu Tianlun understood one thing very well: some beasts couldn't understand human language, and it was impossible to reason with them. The only language they could understand was swords and bullets!

The situation instantly became tense, and a fierce infighting between the reincarnators was about to erupt in this peaceful Buddhist sanctuary at the abbot's funeral!

(End of this chapter)