Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 232 Abyss
At this moment, Yu Tianlun seemed to sense something as well, and his sharp gaze turned over, which happened to briefly meet Jin Shumei's gaze in the air.

Yu Tianlun's expression darkened slightly, and he whispered to Jiang Jin beside him, "Look, the Bloody Team has come in too."

Jiang Jin followed his gaze and saw Jin Shumei and her group negotiating with the monks in front of the mountain gate. He said, "So it wasn't just Zhou Chen and Qin Mei who came in."

Jin Shumei felt the scrutinizing gaze from Yu Tianlun's side and cursed inwardly, but she had to maintain a sorrowful and sincere expression on her face. Her mind raced as she thought about her next move, how to complete that damned order and survive in this eerie temple.

Inside Lanruo Temple, the abbot's funeral was still proceeding solemnly and sorrowfully. However, beneath this seemingly calm surface, various forces harbored ulterior motives, and undercurrents surged. The ordinary monks were immersed in grief, completely unaware that their environment had become the center of a huge, imminent vortex.

In a secluded guest room temporarily set up in a corner of the temple, Kim Suk-mi is conducting an extremely dangerous experiment.

She carefully took the shrine out of her bosom.

The shrine in Qingtan Community was damaged last time, but it has since been repaired.

With a solemn expression, Kim Suk-mi lit three specially made calming incense sticks and inserted them into the small incense burner in front of the shrine. Then she knelt down, formed a mudra with her hands, and began to chant an ancient and obscure prayer.

She plans to spy on and divine the two key targets of this Lanruo Temple instance—"Nie Xiaoqian" and "Grandma".

As she chanted, the runes on the shrine lit up one by one, emitting a deep light.

The cigarette no longer rose straight up, but instead spiraled and coiled eerily, gradually forming a blurry mist in front of her.

She concentrated all her energy, and as soon as the thought arose in her mind, she began to communicate with the shrine.

At first, the light mist simply rotated slowly without any response.

Just as Kim Suk-mi thought the divination had failed and was preparing to increase her energy output—

A sudden change occurred!

The light suddenly began to boil violently! The originally soft light instantly became dazzling, and its color changed from milky white to an extremely ominous, dark red, like bruises!
"Pfft—!" Kim Suk-mi was struck as if by a heavy blow, her body jerked backward, and a mouthful of scalding blood sprayed directly onto the shrine!
The blood did not flow down; instead, it was greedily absorbed by the shrine as if it were alive!
Immediately afterwards, the shrine emitted a teeth-grinding "crack" sound, and several fine cracks appeared on its surface!

"No, no way...it's broken again?"

But then, an indescribable mental shock, a mixture of extreme resentment, coldness, deathly silence, and some kind of intense malice, suddenly burrowed into Kim Suk-mi's mind like a leech, following an invisible connection!
"what--!!!"

Kim Suk-mi let out a bloodcurdling scream that was so shrill it was inhuman. She clutched her head tightly with both hands, curled up on the ground, and began to convulse violently.

Her eyes bulged violently, bloodshot, and countless terrifying, shattered hallucinations appeared before her: twisted limbs, endless darkness, icy stares, and eerie, soul-ripping laughs and cries...

Backlash! A terrifying backlash that far exceeded expectations!
She felt like a tiny ant, trying to peek into the true face of the abyss!
She struggled, trying to sever the connection, but the malicious attacks came wave after wave, assaulting her mental defenses.

She could feel her SAN value plummeting at an unprecedented rate!

Inside the main hall, the Buddhist service continued. The monks knelt on their prayer cushions, weeping bitterly. Among them, the two senior monks, Huiming and Huizhi, wept particularly bitterly.

Huiming was in tears, his voice hoarse, and he kept pounding his forehead on the floor in front of him, making a thumping sound, as if he wanted to vent all the endless grief and fear in his heart.

Looking at this scene, Huikong found it hard to connect him with the senior brother who had shed his skin directly after drinking well water the night before.

Finally, Huiming, overwhelmed with emotion, couldn't catch her breath and fainted from crying, her body slumping to the ground.

"Senior Brother Huiming!"

"Quick! Help him down to rest!"

Huizhi, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward and helped the unconscious Huiming up. Then he shouted to Huikong, "Junior brother, junior brother, come and lend a hand!"

Huikong hesitated to go over at first, but the monks behind him immediately pushed him forward, saying, "Junior brother, Senior Brother Huizhi is calling you over!"

With countless eyes watching, Huikong had no choice but to reluctantly go up and help Huiming up. Together with his senior brother Huizhi, they struggled to carry him away from the noisy main hall and to a quiet meditation room nearby to rest.

Huiming was laid flat on the bed in the meditation room. Huizhi went to pour water, while Huikong stayed by the bedside.

Seeing Huiming's tightly furrowed brows and twitching cheeks even in his unconscious state, Huikong felt a chill run down his spine. Was Huiming still "human" now? Do humans shed their skin like snakes? And did the shed skin transform into a new "person" who jumped into that well?

Just then, Huiming, still unconscious, moved his lips and uttered extremely faint, intermittent murmurs, as if repeating some kind of mark etched into his soul:
"...No...This temple has no girl named Nie Xiaoqian..."

"...Looking...Grandma...is looking at you...is watching..."

These unconscious murmurs instantly entered Huikong's ears, raising goosebumps all over his body!

The terrifying scenes from last night vividly reappeared before my eyes—the woman who called herself Nie Xiaoqian, the halting recitation of the Diamond Sutra, the sound of a neck breaking and the sound of the wooden fish…

What terrified him most was that he still couldn't remember what "Nie Xiaoqian" looked like!
That memory of his appearance seemed to have been completely erased by some force! The feeling of having his memory forcibly interfered with made him feel more helpless and horrified than seeing a ghost.

Just then, Huizhi returned with a bowl of water and overheard Huiming's sleep-talking. He sighed heavily, his face filled with complex emotions, and whispered, "Alas... Senior Brother Huiming... is also a person with a tragic fate..."

Huikong subconsciously replied, "I...I've heard that Brother Huiming...was so heartbroken after his wife tragically died in a car accident that he came here to be ordained?"

“Yes…” Huizhi put the water bowl aside, sat on the edge of the bed, looked at the unconscious Huiming, and showed genuine regret in his eyes. “Brother Huiming… he and the abbot had a very good relationship. You may not know, but Brother Huiming has a very high level of understanding of Buddhism. He is one of the disciples that Master has been most optimistic about in recent years.”

Seemingly to change the subject, or perhaps to let Huikong know another side of Huiming, Huizhi began to describe in detail: "Do you know that when Brother Huiming had only been in the temple for half a year, he could recite the Diamond Sutra backwards fluently. It was not by rote memorization, but because he truly understood the profound meaning of 'all phenomena are illusory.' He once left several old monks who were staying at the temple speechless during a Buddhist debate."

"He is also proficient in Sanskrit and can directly read many lost ancient Indian Buddhist scriptures. His understanding of 'Consciousness-only' and 'Madhyamaka' was praised by his master, who said that he 'has great wisdom and unique insights'."

"So impressive?" Huikong hadn't expected Huiming to be so skilled. No wonder he seemed so respected among the second-generation disciples of the Hui lineage. "The temple used to have a tattered commentary on the Shurangama Mantra. It contained many difficult passages, all of which were painstakingly completed by Brother Huiming after consulting numerous scriptures. He then provided a brilliant explanation. His handwritten commentary is still in the Sutra Repository, and many fellow disciples are eagerly copying and studying it..."

Huizhi recounted the story in a gentle and detailed manner, depicting the image of a talented and intelligent monk. This created an extremely strong and dizzying sense of disconnect between Huikong's usual encounter with the taciturn Huiming, and even the terrifying being who shed his skin by the well last night.

Listening to this, Huikong was somewhat lost in thought and subconsciously asked, "Then... Brother Huizhi, why did you... come to Lanruo Temple to become a monk?"

Upon hearing this, Huizhi's expression of emotion turned into a bitter smile. He touched his bald head and chuckled awkwardly, "Me? I don't have the same level of understanding and enlightenment as Senior Brother Huiming. Back then... I was just a pure layman, doing some small business in Hong Kong. But my investments failed, I was left with a mountain of debt, and my wife ran off with someone else. I was desperate and felt hopeless, so I came to this mountain, thinking I'd spend the rest of my life with a Buddhist lamp and a Buddha... I can't compare to Senior Brother Huiming, who truly saw through everything. I... had nowhere else to go."

Just then, the door to the meditation room was gently pushed open, and a young monk peeked in.

"Junior Brother Huiyuan?" Huizhi turned to look at the monk and asked, "Why are you here?"

“Senior Brother Huizhi, Senior Brother Huikong,” Huiyuan greeted softly, “I…I heard a commotion over here and came to check. Is there anything I can help with? What happened to Senior Brother Huiming?”

Huizhi sighed, "It's alright. Senior Brother Huiming just fainted from excessive grief. He'll be fine after a rest."

Huiyuan then cautiously walked in and looked at the unconscious Huiming with concern.

Huizhi seemed to remember something and introduced Huikong: "Huikong, this is Junior Brother Huiyuan. He was ordained and entered the temple just ten days earlier than you. You are considered to be fellow disciples of the same generation."

Huikong quickly put his palms together in a gesture of respect to Huiyuan, and Huiyuan quickly returned the gesture.

He had some impression of Huiyuan; he seemed introverted and rarely interacted with the monks around him.

Huizhi then asked Huiyuan, "The religious ceremony is still going on outside, why did you come here?"

Huiyuan looked puzzled and uneasy. He lowered his voice and said, "Brother Huizhi, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. Also... several new groups of worshippers came to the temple today, saying they came to mourn the abbot's passing. But... I feel that those people... are a bit strange."

"Strange? What's strange about it?" Huikong asked curiously.

Huiyuan struggled to organize his thoughts: "Well... although they were also dressed in mourning clothes and their expressions were very sorrowful, their eyes didn't seem like those of ordinary believers. It was as if they were always secretly observing the temple environment and us monks... In short, it felt quite awkward and gave me the creeps."

Huizhi frowned slightly upon hearing this, and patted Huiyuan's shoulder: "Alright, I understand. Perhaps you're being too sensitive. There are all sorts of people in the temple these days. Just do your job well, don't overthink it, and don't pry, understand?"

Huiyuan nodded as if he understood, but the doubt in his eyes did not completely disappear.

Meanwhile, Zhou Chen and Qin Mei were comparing a hand-drawn sketch of the temple, hastily marked with "safe path" and "abnormal area".

Just then, the door opened, and the two looked up to see Kim Suk-mi walk in.

"Sister Jin?!" Zhou Chen exclaimed in a low voice, instinctively peeking behind her. "You... how did you get in here? Shouldn't you be in the tent outside the temple directing and monitoring?"

Jin Shumei quickly walked to the two of them, her tone complicated: "It's a direct order from the commander."

"The commander's orders?" Qin Mei frowned. "What happened outside? Why were you suddenly brought in? This is too risky!"

Jin Shumei shook her head, her confusion deepening. "I'm not entirely sure what the commander is thinking either. The order came suddenly and urgently, simply instructing me to immediately go to the temple to meet you, strengthen internal reconnaissance, and assist the Xuanjia branch. He didn't even... have time to call me to explain in detail." She paused, lowering her voice further, a hint of barely perceptible unease in her voice. "I feel... the commander might also be facing some tricky 'special situation,' and is simply unable to attend to everything."

This guess made Zhou Chen and Qin Mei's hearts sink. Was the Nightmare Street dungeon really that dangerous?
“Let’s not talk about that now,” Kim Suk-mi shook her head, as if trying to dispel her unease, and looked sharply at the two of them. “You’ve been here for a while now, have you found anything specific?”

Zhou Chen and Qin Mei exchanged a glance. Zhou Chen spoke first, his tone still shaken: "We... both encountered monks in white and black robes. I encountered the one in white first."

He licked his slightly chapped lips and recalled, "It was behind the library. I think I was a little confused at the time, and the corridor seemed to stretch on forever. Then, the white-robed monk suddenly came out. He had his head down, so I couldn't see his face, but he didn't seem as scary as the one in black."

“I remembered that the temple rules said I could ask for directions, so I braced myself and asked how to get back to the guest room area. He… he didn’t look up, but just raised a hand and pointed in a direction. I walked in that direction, and soon the dizziness disappeared, the surrounding scenery returned to normal, and I was back in the Mysterious Layer. But when I looked back, the white-robed monk was gone.”

Qin Mei continued, her voice clearly filled with even deeper fear: "I encountered someone in black... near the back mountain. I felt a chill run through my body, as if I was being stared at by something extremely terrifying, my heart almost stopped! I didn't dare look at its face at all, the temple rules say you can't make eye contact! After it bowed to me, I immediately knelt down and shouted 'Disciple is dead,' my head was on the ground and I didn't dare to lift it... After a long time, I felt that cold gaze disappear, and only then did I look up."

She didn't say anything more, but her pale face said it all.

Jin Shumei listened, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper. She said in a low voice, "Our surveillance equipment covers almost all known areas. Although there is severe signal interference in some places, if it's a living person... or something of that form frequently moving around, it's impossible for it to go completely undetected. This means it hasn't yet infiltrated the material layer. They should still be lurking in the deeper 'contaminated layer' or even the 'lost layer,' only 'revealing' themselves when specific conditions are triggered, or when they accidentally fall into the deeper layers like you!"

The most terrifying enemy is the one that cannot be seen.

After a moment of silence, Jin Shumei's gaze turned cold again. She looked at Zhou Chen and Qin Mei, her tone becoming serious and even carrying a hint of admonition: "Also, the commander asked me to pass on a message to you."

Zhou Chen and Qin Mei tensed up instantly, their faces showing signs of nervousness.

"The raid leader hopes that you can make amends this time." Jin Shumei emphasized the last four words. "Don't forget, as the leaders, you two bear an unshirkable responsibility for the disastrous defeat in the [Headballoon] dungeon! The strength of two entire sub-raids, along with your own levels, was lost in it! Many people in the team still remember this debt."

Zhou Chen's expression turned ugly, while Qin Mei bit her lip in resentment, but neither of them could refute it.

"The guild leader went to great lengths to suppress internal criticism, protect you, and give you this opportunity." Jin Shumei continued to exert pressure, her voice low but carrying significant weight. "If you can't achieve decent results at Lanruo Temple, or find sufficiently valuable intelligence or items... not only will the guild leader not approve the precious resources needed to restore your LV3 level, but even your future positions within the guild will likely be..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the threat was unmistakable. The competition within the Bloody Team was extremely brutal; losers had virtually no place to go.

Jin Shumei took a step closer, her gaze as cold as a blade: "Because of your mistakes, our team has lost two divisions! You must fill this hole yourself! Understand?"

Zhou Chen and Qin Mei lowered their heads. Now reduced to LV2, they lacked confidence in speaking to her, and replied with difficulty, "We...we understand, Sister Jin. We will...we will do our best!"

“Very good.” Jin Shumei slightly toned down her imposing manner, but her eyes remained icy. “Then, let’s be alert. From now on, the three of us will work together. Key objectives: First, track down the white-robed monk and attempt limited contact to further verify his ‘guide’ properties and safety; second, avoid the black-robed monk as much as possible, but if encountered, record all his behavioral patterns and occurrences; finally, search for any clues that may be related to the ‘contaminated core’ or ‘meme carrier.’ The operation must be cautious, and any discoveries must be shared immediately!”

Recalling the failed divination, Kim Suk-mi still felt immense pressure!
(End of this chapter)