In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

Over the next few days, he began searching through the old files of the Purification Department for records about the "forbidden area".

The files from the Purification Department, those from the last ten years, were on the shelves; those older than ten years were piled up in the storeroom in the backyard, covered in a thick layer of dust. He spent three days rummaging through the old files, unearthing a pile of useless, long-forgotten records, until the evening of the third day, when he found a line of text in a booklet that was mostly eaten by worms:

"In the 312th year of the Holy Calendar, unusual activity occurred in the forbidden area beneath the temple. Three officials, including the Director, entered to investigate but did not return. The temple ruled it an 'accident' and sealed the matter away."

The year 312 of the Holy Calendar.

He did the math—it was about a hundred years ago.

More than a hundred years ago, the Purification Department sent people into the forbidden area, but none of the three returned. The Temple ruled it a "mistake" and sealed the matter away.

And among those three people, did any of them leave anything behind?

He followed the trail and found a folded note hidden in the booklet. The handwriting on the note was messy, as if it had been written in haste:

"Below this forbidden land lies no human dwelling. The one who guarded the seal is long gone. If you see a pupil, do not look into its eyes."

Lin Qiye held the note, his gaze darkening.

If you see someone's pupils, do not look into their eyes.

He recalled Mo Wujiu's words—"The Holy Temple isn't what you think."

He suddenly had a feeling: that vertical pupil was waiting for something beneath the temple.

He didn't rush to the forbidden area.

He did something else first—he set a trap.

He forged a "Main Array Eye Repair Plan," which detailed the location and current status of seven sealing points, as well as his fabricated "weakest point in the array eye." Then, he deliberately left this plan on the desk of the Purification Department, so that someone "who shouldn't have seen it" would see it.

The next day, the plan was tampered with.

The plan he placed on the desk had been moved—someone had looked through it and then put it back exactly as it was, but the creases on the pages betrayed it.

Lin Qiye remained silent.

He "accidentally" slipped a tiny scrap of paper, stained with dark gold Origin Energy, into the plan. Whoever touches this plan will have Origin Energy clinging to their hands for three days.

On the third day, he went to the temple council chamber.

Inside the council chamber, several deacons were holding a meeting. He stood under the eaves, his gaze sweeping over each person's hand—but stopped when he reached the third person's hand.

That was an elder deacon of the temple, surnamed Shen, who was in charge of the temple's external affairs and had a long-standing relationship with the Purification Department.

Between Elder Shen's left thumb and forefinger, there was a very faint, almost invisible, dark gold mark.

Lin Qiye withdrew his gaze and left without making a sound.

Elder Shen.

He remembered what Gu Chen had said—the old men of the Purification Division were either transferred away or got into trouble. And Elder Shen was the one who proposed "reducing the number of people in the Purification Division" back then.

The one who broke the seal is in the temple.

He didn't act immediately. Elder Shen had only touched the plan, which didn't prove anything yet—but he already knew which line of investigation to follow.

That night, he went to the residence of the temple deacon.

It wasn't Elder Shen, but the deacon who had summoned him twice and had a sun-shaped, vertical-pupiled emblem embroidered on his chest.

The deacon was reading under the lamp when he saw the man's late-night visit. He wasn't surprised, but simply put down his book, poured him a cup of tea, and asked, "Have you figured it out?"

"I've figured it out halfway." Lin Qiye didn't take the cup of tea. "The other half, I need the steward to tell me—where is the entrance to the forbidden area?"

The steward paused for a moment as he held the teacup.

He put down his teacup, looked at Lin Qiye, and slowly said, "The affairs of the forbidden area are not the responsibility of the Purification Division. You may go back."

"Whether I go back or not is not up to the steward," Lin Qiye said. "I'm asking about the entrance."

"I have no idea--"

The deacon didn't finish his sentence.

Lin Qiye moved.

He didn't draw his weapon, but simply raised his hand, his five fingers spread, and a dark gold emblem lit up, instantly enveloping the entire room with an invisible pressure. The deacon's expression changed, and he sprang to his feet, trying to retreat—he was fast, but Lin Qiye was even faster. A hand had already pressed down on his shoulder; the hand wasn't heavy, but it felt like a mountain was pressing down on him. The deacon's legs went weak, and he was forced to his knees.

"I don't like asking the same question twice," Lin Qiye said calmly. "Where's the entrance?"

Cold sweat beaded on the deacon's forehead. In all his years of life, he had seen countless masters in the temple, but never had anyone given him a chance to even make a move—he hadn't even seen how Lin Qiye had gotten in front of him.

"Who...who exactly are you?" The butler's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Someone who wants to know the truth," Lin Qiye said. "Deacon, you have three breaths left."

The deacon remained silent for a moment.

He suddenly laughed, a bitter laugh: "My three senior brothers forced me into this situation too. Before they entered the forbidden area, they told me—if they didn't come back, I should find someone who could. I've waited over a hundred years, and today, I've finally waited."

He stopped struggling and calmly gave an address.

"In the main hall of the temple, behind the third statue, there is a hidden door," the deacon said. "That door can only be opened by the person who has held the Purification Commander's token."

Lin Qiye released his grip.

The deacon pushed himself up, brushed the dust off his knees, and looked at him with a complex expression: "Before my senior brothers went in, they left me a message—the things in the forbidden area don't belong to the temple. The temple is just guarding the gate for them. And that 'it' wakes up every now and then. Every time it wakes up, someone goes in and never comes out again."

"Why do we still need to go in?"

"Because if it doesn't go in, it will come out," the deacon said. "When it comes out, there won't be a single living person left in the entire holy city."

He paused, then added, "If you go in and see a vertical pupil, don't stare at it."

Why?

"My senior brother's last words were: 'If you see someone's pupils, do not look into their eyes.'"

Lin Qiye remembered those words, asked no further questions, turned around, pushed open the door, and walked out.

The night was deep, and the temple's spires cast long shadows in the moonlight.

He stood under the veranda and clenched the emblem in his palm.

The shrine is behind the third statue of a deity.

That vertical pupil was waiting for him.

The shrine's offering hall was located to the east of the main hall. During the day, incense burned continuously, but at night only two guards stood watch. Lin Qiye did not disturb anyone—he climbed onto the roof of the offering hall, silently slid in through the air vent, and landed in the shadow of the third statue.

It was a statue ten feet tall, its face indistinct, making it impossible to discern what kind of god it was. He went around to the back of the statue, his fingers tracing the stone base for a moment, until he found an almost invisible seam.

Hidden door.

He took out the iron plaque Gu Chen had given him and pressed it into the seam. The stone seat slid open silently, revealing a dark, bottomless staircase leading downwards.

A musty, rusty smell rose up from the bottom of the steps, mixed with a faint, fluorescent blue glow.