You made all the streamers on the internet kneel before you when you were asked to make a game.

The keeper gestured "please" again and turned to walk deeper into the main hall.

The ghostly flames in the eyes of those gray-robed Taoists slowly died out, and they returned to their previous lifeless state.

The group exchanged glances, all seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.

There was no other way but to go along.

They followed the keeper through a long passageway into a magnificent hall.

In the very center of the hall, there is a bronze incense burner with three legs and two handles.

The incense burner is two meters tall, with an ancient and simple design, and is covered with densely packed blood-red runes.

The keeper walked up to the incense burner, stopped, and picked up three sticks of incense from a wooden tray next to him.

Then, he handed it to Professor Chen, who was walking at the front.

"Professor Chen, please."

Professor Chen reached out his hand, ready to take it.

But when his gaze fell on the three so-called "incense sticks," his hand froze in mid-air.

That doesn't smell good at all!

Those were three human finger bones that had been ground to an impeccable smoothness!

The finger bones were grayish-white, with traces of dried blood still remaining on them.

At the tip of the finger bone, a layer of dark red, oily substance was applied.

[Holy crap! Those are... fingers?! They're using human bones as incense?!]

[The Earth Immortal Temple is absolutely amazing! Not a single thing there is from the mortal world!]

If this were lit, what would be burned? A life would be burned!

"What's wrong?" The observer asked with a smile, looking at Professor Chen who was frozen in place.

"Professor Chen, why aren't you answering?"

"Do you think the incense in my temple isn't 'sincere' enough?"

His tone remained gentle, but that invisible pressure once again enveloped him.

Professor Chen's forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

Human bones are used as incense, and human oil is used as a flavoring agent.

This point is Yang Fire.

This burning represents your lifespan!

Once you receive these three incense sticks and light them, it's as if you're offering your birth date and lifespan as a sacrifice to the "ancestor" enshrined in the incense burner.

This incense is not to be accepted!

But if you don't accept it, it's considered "insincere" and "rude".

Those gray-robed Taoists outside the door would probably pounce on them immediately and tear them to pieces.

"Enter the temple and offer incense."

Professor Chen pondered these four words.

The guardian said this was "propriety".

Once this "ritual" is completed, they will be temporarily safe.

But the price of this "etiquette" was their lives.

Is there a possibility...

To replace their "life" with something else to complete this "ritual"?

Professor Chen's gaze swept across the entire hall.

Apart from them and that huge incense burner, there was nothing else.

wrong!

Professor Chen's gaze finally settled on the wooden plate in the guardian's hand.

In the wooden tray, besides the three human bone incense sticks handed to him, there was also a small pile of spares.

There were at least a dozen of them.

A glint flashed in Professor Chen's eyes.

He slowly raised his head, looked at the watchman, and gave a slightly apologetic smile.

"You misunderstand, sir. It is not that I am being disrespectful."

"only……"

Professor Chen sighed, his tone carrying just the right amount of "difficulty".

"My old bones are weakened by declining yang energy, and my lifespan is nearing its end."

"I'm afraid... I'm not qualified to offer the first incense stick to our ancestors."

"If my actions spoil the ancestor's enjoyment, I will gladly die a thousand deaths."

In my humble opinion...

Professor Chen's gaze swept over Brother Long, Lancet, and the old driver.

"This first incense offering should be made by someone with a prosperous destiny and abundant yang energy to show sincerity."

"How about... letting a few of them go up first in my place?"

His words completely stunned Brother Long and the others.

【? ? ? 】

[Professor Chen, what are you doing, Professor Chen!]

[Selling out your teammates like this is unacceptable! You're practically pushing Brother Long and the others into a fire pit!]

Brother Long almost jumped up and cursed.

Good guy!

I treated you as a teammate, but you treated me as a sacrifice?

But before he could speak, the white text of the lancet calmly appeared before his eyes.

Don't move.

Listen to the professor.

This is an open conspiracy.

Brother Long was taken aback.

A calculated scheme?

He looked at Professor Chen again, only to see that Professor Chen was giving him a very subtle wink.

Oh no, I need to develop a brain again.

What exactly is Professor Chen's purpose in doing this?

"Oh?"

Upon hearing Professor Chen's words, the perfect smile on the observer's face froze slightly.

He seemed to have not expected Professor Chen to pull this stunt.

His gaze slowly swept over Brother Long, Liu Yedao, and the old driver.

Brother Long felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and instinctively straightened his back, trying his best to look like a tough guy with "I'm full of masculinity".

Lancet remained expressionless, calmly meeting his gaze.

The experienced driver, with his head down and body trembling slightly, perfectly portrayed an ordinary person who was terrified.

The watcher's gaze finally fell on Brother Long.

Or rather, it landed on the ghost bride outside Brother Long's arms.

"This benefactor has a rather peculiar destiny."

"Possessing a body of extreme yang, yet coexisting with things of extreme yin, yin and yang complementing each other, forming a unified whole."

He saw through Brother Long's true nature as a "ghost walker" at a glance.

"It's quite... appropriate for you to offer the first incense."

As the guardian spoke, he was about to hand the three sticks of human bone incense to Brother Long.

Brother Long's heart jumped into his throat.

He looked at Professor Chen for help.

Professor, that's not how the script goes!

Professor Chen, however, remained calm and stepped forward again, blocking the path between the onlooker and Brother Long.

"Please wait, sir."

"My grand-disciple is impatient and has excessive yang energy, which may cause him to lose control."

Professor Chen said with a "worried" look on his face.

"Furthermore, our Earth Immortal Temple is a legitimate Taoist sect, emphasizing 'quietude and non-action.' Using this body, which is a mixture of yin and yang, to offer the first incense might be... against the rules, wouldn't it?"

Professor Chen directly labeled the other party as the "orthodox Taoist sect".

The watchman paused again.

He looked at Professor Chen, and a ripple seemed to appear in the stagnant emptiness in his eyes.

He got caught up in it.

Professor Chen's logic, seemingly to exonerate Brother Long, is actually based on the principle of "thinking of our ancestors" in every sentence.

To say that one is old and frail and that one's lifespan is short is "disrespectful" to one's ancestors.

Furthermore, Brother Long's ambiguous nature pollutes the "purity" of Taoism and is also "disrespectful" to the ancestors.

Either way, it's "disrespectful".

Then how can we offer incense?

[Holy crap! I get it! Professor Chen is playing word games!]

He transformed the act of "offering incense" from a "rule that must be followed" into "a supreme honor"!

We are not worthy! Because we are too worthless! We are not worthy to offer incense to your ancestors!

[Incredible! Using your own rules to manipulate you! This is the ultimate example of a cultured person's power struggle!]