Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 139 Discovering the Secret Chamber, Burning It Down

Chen Ye's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had only seen this kind of Buddha in some extremely obscure esoteric Buddhist texts.

He glanced again at Abbot Liaochen, who was bowing his head and chanting Buddhist prayers with a helpless expression.

This old monk exuded the air of a highly accomplished monk from head to toe.

However, Chen Ye could detect a very faint, chilling aura emanating from him, which seemed completely out of place with the incense-filled atmosphere of the Buddhist temple.

This aura was extremely well hidden; if Chen Ye's perception hadn't far surpassed that of ordinary people, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

"There's definitely something fishy going on." Chen Ye sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.

The search also yielded nothing, and Chen Ye left the Black Buddha Temple with Cong Bo, who was also facing a lot of trouble.

Cong Bo sighed all the way, worried about not being able to find any clues.

Chen Ye remained silent, his mind racing.

If Ms. Zhang and her group are indeed related to this Black Buddha Temple.

So how did they disappear without a trace in broad daylight?
With so many people, surely the monks in the temple couldn't have knocked them out one by one and carried them in?

That was quite a commotion.

Unless... they have other, more covert methods.

Chen Ye's gaze returned to the distant Black Buddha Temple, his eyes cold and sharp, like the glint of a knife.

……

night.

A waning moon hung high in the sky, casting its cool, pale light.

A black figure darted out of the darkness like a ghost and silently slipped into the now-silent Black Buddha Temple.

It was Chen Ye.

The daytime search had already ended.

The temple was quiet, with only the monks' steady breathing and the occasional chirping of insects.

Chen Ye did not alert anyone.

He moved like a nimble cat through every corner of the temple, carefully exploring every inch of the land.

He first arrived at the Mahavira Hall.

The dark Vairocana Buddha statue appeared even more eerie and sinister under the moonlight.

Chen Ye circled the Buddha statue, tapping it, touching it, and even using his internal energy to examine it.

It was eventually discovered that the Buddha statue was solid and there were no hidden passages or mechanisms underneath.

He then inspected every floor tile and every pillar inside the hall.

There are no problems at all.

"Did I guess wrong?"

Chen Ye frowned.

Undeterred, he thoroughly searched every part of the temple, including the monks' quarters, kitchen, and woodshed.

Still found nothing.

The Black Buddha Temple looks like an ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated, temple.

Just as Chen Ye was about to give up and plan to come back tomorrow.

His steps stopped in front of the rear hall at the very back of the temple.

This rear hall was used to store miscellaneous items and as a place for monks to meditate and chant sutras.

The Demon Slayer Bureau had searched the place during the day, but it was empty; there was nothing there.

But as Chen Ye stood outside the rear hall, looking at its silhouette in the moonlight, he keenly noticed something amiss.

From the outside, the rear hall appears to be slightly larger than it looks from the inside.

The difference is extremely subtle.

If it weren't for Chen Ye's amazing observation skills and extraordinary sensitivity to spatial dimensions, it would have been impossible to discover this.

During the day, with many people around and good lighting, it's easy to overlook these tiny visual errors.

But in the quiet night, under the moonlight, this sense of disharmony was amplified.

"There's a hidden layer in the wall!" Chen Ye's eyes lit up instantly.

He finally found the key to the problem!
But Chen Ye did not act rashly. Instead, he flashed and silently leaped onto a large tree next to the back hall, perfectly hiding himself in the dense canopy.

He decided to wait and see.

After all, in uncertain circumstances, acting rashly will only alert the enemy; it is better to wait and see.

He waited for most of the night, just when Chen Ye thought he wouldn't get anything that night.

Squeak—

The backyard door was gently pushed open, and a figure walked in.

Chen Ye looked closely and saw that it was Abbot Liaochen.

He went straight to the back hall and then closed the door.

Chen Ye found a good angle; from the tree, he could see into the main hall through the window lattice. Although the light was dim, Chen Ye's eyesight was still good enough to see the scene inside clearly.

Then Liao Chen walked to a wall in the back hall, reached out and groped around on the wall for a while, as if searching for something.

He quickly found the spot and tapped a brick on the wall a few times with his fingers in a specific order, neither too hard nor too soft.

Click...click...

A slight whirring sound of a mechanism turning was heard.

Then, the seemingly perfectly sealed wall slowly opened from the middle to both sides.

Then, a dark, secret passage leading underground suddenly appeared behind the wall!

The moment Chen Ye saw the secret passage appear, his pupils contracted sharply.

There is indeed a ghost!

This old bald monk puts on a respectable act during the day, with a face full of compassion, but who would have thought he was hiding such a secret behind the scenes.

Abbot Liaochen lit an oil lamp, picked it up, and walked into the secret passage without hesitation.

As his figure disappeared into the darkness, the wall slowly closed again, returning to its original state without any flaws.

Chen Ye waited on the tree for a while longer, and only after confirming that Chen had not come out immediately did he move and silently float down from the tree.

He came to the wall, but did not open the secret passage, because who knew if there was an ambush inside.

Chen Ye lay on the ground and listened carefully for a while, then, as if he had made up his mind, he turned around and left.

Meanwhile, in the large secret chamber beneath the rear hall, a simple altar was erected.

On the altar stood a puppet dressed in a magnificent red wedding gown and covered with a red veil!
The puppet's body was indistinguishable from a real person, even more perfect than a real person.

It has a slender figure, snow-white skin, and exudes amazing charm.

Around the puppet, more than a dozen corpses lay scattered about.

The corpses included both men and women, and judging from their clothing, they were the missing maids, servants, and guards from the Zhang family.

The corpses were all gaunt, like mummies, with wide-open eyes and faces filled with endless fear, as if they had seen something extremely terrifying before they died.

Beside the altar, a girl, bound hand and foot and with a rag stuffed in her mouth, leaned unconscious against a pillar.

Although her face was pale, she exuded an air of wealth and nobility; she was none other than the missing daughter of the wealthy Zhang.

On the other side of the altar stood two other people.

One of them was Abbot Liaochen.

The other was dressed in a light blue robe, with a handsome face and a small mole on the corner of his mouth.

It was the puppeteer Li Xiuwen had mentioned!

The man in the blue robe looked at the puppet on the altar with an almost obsessive, tender gaze, and said softly, "Junior brother, look, isn't my Ling'er becoming more and more beautiful?"

At this moment, his voice was so gentle it could melt water, as if he were looking not at a cold puppet, but at his most beloved lover.

Abbot Liaochen clasped his hands together, and the compassion he had shown during the day was gone from his face, replaced by a kind of fanaticism and reverence.

"Senior brother's puppetry skills have reached a state of perfection. This Ghost Bride is a masterpiece. It will truly come to life once the final step is completed. At that time, senior brother will become the second person after the patriarch to successfully create a Ghost Bride."

Upon hearing this, the man in the blue robe couldn't help but laugh smugly, "Yes, the final step."

As he spoke, he turned to look at the unconscious Miss Zhang, a burning glint in his eyes.

"This pure Yin body is the most perfect sacrifice I have found after searching for three whole years."

"As long as her pure Yin soul is completely extracted and poured into Ling'er's body, my Ghost Bride will be successfully completed!"

"At that time, it will possess intelligence no less than that of ordinary people, and its strength will soar to the heavens, reaching... the Inner Realm!"

Interior view!
You should know that there are seven stages for Qi cultivators: Foundation Building, Qi Nourishment, Unobstructed Flow, Sea of ​​Qi Condensation, Inner Landscape, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul Transformation.

Cong Bo, from the Ninghai Realm, could easily crush the evil spirits of Zuichunlou's architecture.

The Inner Realm is a whole realm higher than the Sea Condensation Realm!
At this level, one can roam freely with their spirit and transform their inner energy into physical form; their abilities are truly extraordinary!

So let alone a small Yuhuo County, he's a big shot who can roam freely in the whole of Qingzhou.

"Senior brother, when shall we make our move?" Abbot Liaochen asked impatiently.

"No rush." ​​The man in the blue robe waved his hand. "Refining the Ghost Bride requires the right time and place." "Tonight at midnight is when the Yin energy is at its peak and the moonlight is at its purest, which is also the best time to make a move."

"We still have a few hours to make further preparations and ensure everything goes smoothly."

"Yes, senior brother!"

Just as the two brothers began to get busy, thick smoke suddenly billowed from the main hall of the Black Buddha Temple and from various parts of the temple.

fire!
A raging fire!

The dry wood ignited instantly when lit with an oil-soaked igniter.

Fire borrows the power of wind, and wind aids the power of fire.

In just a few breaths, the flames greedily licked every beam and pillar, and every roof tile of the ancient temple.

The Black Buddha Temple, a place that should have been a peaceful Buddhist sanctuary, was instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire!
"It's water! It's water!"

"Help! Fire!"

Inside the temple, the monks, who had been awakened, screamed in terror.

They were carrying buckets of water and wet blankets, all in a chaotic frenzy, trying to put out the sudden fire.

However, the fire was simply too large and too fierce.

Their meager efforts were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in the face of the raging inferno, utterly futile.

Thick smoke billowed straight into the sky.

Even in Yuhuo County, several miles away, the sky on the outskirts of the city was clearly visible, its surface glowing a deep red.

"Oh no! It's heading towards the Black Buddha Temple!"

On the city wall, the soldiers on night watch were the first to notice the anomaly.

"Quickly, go and report to the county magistrate and Lord Cong of the Demon Slayer Division!"

Teams of constables and demon-slaying captains were urgently summoned from their sleep, lit torches, and rushed towards the outskirts of the city.

And Chen Ye, the instigator of all this, stands on the back wall of the Black Buddha Temple.

He stared coldly at the temple engulfed in flames, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

He knew that even if his fire didn't force Abbot Liaochen to surrender, it would at least disrupt the opponent's formation.

As expected, in the underground chamber, the man in the blue robe and Abbot Liaochen also felt the ground tremor and the scorching heat immediately.

"What's going on?!" the man in the blue robe asked in surprise.

Abbot Liaochen, peering through the ventilation hole in the secret chamber, saw the towering flames outside and was completely stunned. "The temple... how could the temple suddenly catch fire?!"

Abbot Liaochen watched as his home, which he had built up over decades, was reduced to ashes, his face filled with shock and anger.

"It's obvious that someone has discovered our secret and wants to force us out!" The man in the blue robe thought quickly and immediately understood the key to the matter.

"Damn it! Who is it?!" Abbot Liaochen was both shocked and furious.

"We always operate in secrecy, how could we possibly be exposed?"

"Could it be those people from the Demon Slayer Division during the day? They discovered the clues but remained silent, only to set the fire at night?"

"Impossible!" the man in the blue robe denied categorically.

"If those useless bastards from the Demon Slayer Division had this brain, I would have died eight hundred times over."

"And if it were them, what would be coming now wouldn't be fire, but knives."

He narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint in them.

"It's someone else!"

"A master strategist lurking in the shadows, who saw through our plan!"

The thought of this filled him with a strong sense of unease.

A person who can sneak into a temple undetected, find out their secrets, and dare to provoke them in this way must be incredibly powerful.

"Senior brother, what do we do now?" Abbot Liaochen asked, somewhat flustered.

"The Demon Slayers will be here soon. If they trap us in this secret room, we'll be sitting ducks!"

A flicker of struggle and resentment crossed the man's face.

He glanced at the ghostly bride in the secret chamber, whose mission was nearing completion, and then at the approaching torchlight outside; his heart was bleeding.

Just one last step!
Just a few hours left!
Is his masterpiece, which he has planned for years and devoted countless efforts to, going to be ruined at the last minute?
Do not!
He will never give up!
A glint of madness and determination flashed in the man's eyes. "Since we can't wait until midnight, let's make our move now!"

"Although the timing is wrong, it will affect Ling'er's character and may even damage her foundation, but it's better than getting nothing at all!"

"Junior brother, protect me!"

He shouted and turned to rush back into the secret chamber.

"Senior brother, this...this is too risky!" Abbot Liaochen tried to stop him.

Forcibly advancing the ritual could backfire and even render the puppet unusable.

"There's no time left!" the man in the blue robe roared.

"Either we give it our all now, or we wait for all our hard work to turn to ashes with this fire!"

"You choose!"

Abbot Liaochen looked at his senior brother's bloodshot eyes, gritted his teeth, and finally nodded.

"Alright, I'll protect my senior brother!"

Without further hesitation, the two immediately began to move within the secret room.

The man in the blue robe arrived at the altar, his hands moving rapidly as he formed various complex and strange hand seals.

He muttered incantations, reciting ancient and evil spells.

As he cast his spell, the array in the entire secret chamber was activated.

One by one, the runes on the wall lit up, emitting a faint, bloody glow.

A vast and sinister energy began to gather in the secret room.

Ms. Zhang, who was tied to the pillar, seemed to have been stimulated by something, and her body began to convulse violently.

Her face showed an expression of extreme pain.

Strands of visible, shimmering white light were being forcibly extracted from her seven orifices.

That was her most primordial soul!
"what--!"

Miss Zhang suddenly let out a shrill scream, her voice filled with despair.

On the other side, Abbot Liaochen took out more than a dozen black array flags and planted them in various corners of the secret room.

He sat cross-legged, hands clasped together, emanating a powerful aura.

His task was to stabilize the entire secret chamber and prevent the ceremony from being disturbed by external noise.

Outside the sealed room, Cong Bo had already led a large number of people to the fire scene.

"Quick! Put out the fire!"

He looked at the burning temple before him with shock and anxiety.

"Sir, the fire is too big and we can't control it at all!" A constable ran over and reported, sweating profusely.

Cong Bo's face was ashen. He knew the fire was big, but he was more concerned about how such a big fire could suddenly break out in this perfectly good temple.

Just as Cong Bo was filled with doubt and uncertainty, Chen Ye suddenly appeared behind him.

"Stop looking, everyone's underground. Come with me." He said, and started walking.

Cong Bo was startled, but knowing the situation was urgent, he didn't ask any questions and immediately led his men to follow Chen Ye to the back hall.

The fire in the rear hall was relatively smaller, but the entrance had been blocked by the fire.

"There's a secret room down there, and the person is most likely down there," Chen Ye said, pointing to the floor of the rear hall.

As he spoke, Chen Ye had already fumbled for the switch to open the secret passage.

Although flames raged outside, a chilling aura rushed out as the secret passage appeared, sending shivers down one's spine.

"Good lad, I knew you couldn't be wrong."

Cong Bo was overjoyed and immediately took the lead, charging in first with his heavy ghost-head broadsword.

Chen Ye and the other demon-slaying captains followed closely behind.

Meanwhile, in the underground chamber, the man in the blue robe was at the most crucial moment in casting his spell.

Miss Zhang's soul had been mostly extracted, transforming into a ball of light emitting a soft white glow, suspended in mid-air.

The ghostly bride on the altar was growing increasingly powerful and eerie.

Its head, covered by a red veil, even began to sway slightly, as if it might open its eyes at any moment.

"It'll be soon...it'll be soon..."

The man in the blue robe had a sickly flush on his face, and his eyes were filled with fanaticism.

He could feel an unprecedentedly powerful force flowing into his body through the connection between him and the puppet.

Once the ritual is completed, he will not only obtain an Inner Realm puppet, but he will also be able to break through his own cultivation level in one fell swoop!
But at this moment.

Suddenly a noise came from the entrance of the secret passage. Abbot Liaochen, who was guarding the Dharma, changed his expression and opened his eyes abruptly.

"Oh no, senior brother, someone has broken in!"

(End of this chapter)