Am I the only cultivator in this cultivation group?

I don't know if he's crazy or not.

Huang Yaoying's eyes darkened, and her grip on the sword tightened.

"But this thing is probably not something we can get past by brute force."

As soon as she finished speaking, the faceless Buddha on the Buddha's seat slowly raised his hand.

It has no eyes, no mouth, and no expression.

But the moment it raised its hand, the entire main hall seemed to be suddenly gripped tightly by something. The monks who had been standing quietly suddenly trembled with Buddhist light, and then gradually changed from pale gold to grayish-white, and then from grayish-white to a dark, murky gold.

That wasn't Buddha's light.

It looks more like incense that has been soaked in something dirty.

"Damn it, Dao Dan realm? Do you think we can even beat them by brute force?! Run!"

Guang Chengzi shuddered, frantically pressed the space bar, and quickly maneuvered his character to jump backward.

"retreat!"

Huang Yaoying reacted the fastest, stepping forward and already holding her sword in front of everyone.

Almost at the same moment she spoke, the rows of monks moved in unison.

Like a marionette, they took a step forward with stiff yet synchronized movements.

"Amitabha."

"Amitabha."

"Amitabha."

The low chanting of Buddhist prayers echoed simultaneously in the hall, sounding like dozens or even hundreds of throats vibrating at once, sending chills down one's spine. Although the sound was not loud, it carried a piercing, chilling coldness that seemed to seep into the brain through the cracks in one's ears.

Li Hu felt that the sharp pain in his head had not yet subsided when the sound of Buddhist chanting rang in his ears, and the scene before his eyes began to blur again.

What he saw was no longer these dead monks with black hair and surrounded by Buddhist light.

Instead, they were a group of living monks with terrified expressions.

Some people were backing away, some were whispering "Don't make a scene," and others were sweating profusely as they looked at the altar, as if they wanted to kneel but dared not.

The faceless Buddha was now even closer than before.

"The Buddhist altar is off-limits!"

Li Hu suddenly covered his head, his voice trembling.

"Don't look at it! Don't stare at it!"

Guang Chengzi had already picked up a thunder talisman, but upon hearing this, he was stunned for a moment, yet his mouth moved faster than his brain.

"It doesn't even have a face, and you won't let us see it? Aren't your rules for immersive puzzle games a bit too domineering?!"

Before he could finish speaking, he glanced at the Buddha altar again.

The next instant, his expression changed drastically.

"Holy crap!"

On the faceless Buddha's originally smooth and blank face, a blurry human face slowly emerged the instant he looked at it. The outline twisted and shifted, and it vaguely resembled himself.

"Don't look!"

Huang Yaoying let out a low shout and swept her sword out horizontally. The chilling sword light slashed down towards the Buddhist altar, forcefully interrupting Guang Chengzi's vision.

Guang Chengzi snapped back to reality, his back already covered in a layer of cold sweat.

"This thing has something dirty inside!"

"Nonsense!" Bai Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and cursed, "At the Dao Dan realm, how could I not be dirty?"

After she finished cursing, she casually pulled Li Hu behind her, and with a flash of red, her long sword was already drawn.

The sword flashed like fire as it slashed at the two temple monks who were rushing towards the front.

puff!

The sword pierced their bodies, and the chests of the two monks split open simultaneously, scattering Buddhist light and black energy in all directions. But before Bai Xiaoyu could even breathe a sigh of relief, the two bodies merely swayed, and a cloud of black smoke billowed from the splits in their chests before slowly closing up again in the blink of an eye.

"Can't be killed?"

Bai Xiaoyu's expression changed.

"wrong."

The Taoist priest with the lamp had already stepped forward, his voice cold and flat.

"They are using the Buddha's position to save their lives."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised the ancient lamp in his hand.

A wisp of dim yellow fire suddenly shot out, skimming the ground, and instantly burned through the waists of the three monks on duty. The flames traveled up their necks along with the black energy within their bodies, and the three monks froze for a moment before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

But at that moment, the faceless Buddha on the altar slowly raised its other hand.

All the candles in the hall went out at once.

The next instant, the fingertips of the three fallen monks twitched again.

"Let's go! We can't stay here!"

Huang Yaoying made a quick decision and turned to retreat.

"My disciple, stay close to me!"

Bai Xiaoyu stopped fighting and retreated to the right side door while protecting Li Hu.

As Guang Chengzi retreated, he didn't forget to throw out two talismans to cover his retreat, cursing incessantly:

"What kind of dungeon is this! There are Innate Bronze Men guarding the outside, and Dao Core Realm cultivators watching over things inside. Are they really treating players like cattle?"

"Shut up, say less."

Huang Yaoying didn't turn her head back.

"Your mouth is louder than a bell."

"I call this creating a lively team atmosphere."

"What you're doing is affecting your teammates' lifespan."

The two of them talked, but their feet didn't slow down.

But they were fast, and the things behind them were even faster.

The rustling of monks' robes against the ground, the approaching footsteps from between the prayer cushions, and the low breathing mixed with the chanting of Buddhist prayers, all surged out of the hall like a tide, chasing after the group.

Li Hu was being pulled forward by Bai Xiaoyu, but the scenery before his eyes kept overlapping.

One moment it's a deathly silent and chilling ghost temple.

One moment it's a brightly lit but chaotic Dharma assembly site.

He saw a monk running past from the side corridor, carrying one Buddhist lamp after another in his hands, looking flustered, and shouting something like "Take away the lamps first" and "We can't keep shining them." But his voice was drowned out by the chanting of Buddhist prayers and the sound of bells, and he couldn't hear it clearly.

"lamp……"

Li Hu's breath hitched, and he suddenly grabbed Bai Xiaoyu's sleeve.

"Master!"

"What's wrong?"

"Don't beat the Buddha statue first... extinguish the lamp first!"

Bai Xiaoyu paused in her tracks.

"What?"

"Turn off the light first!" Li Hu's face was pale, cold sweat dripping down his forehead, yet his eyes shone with a frightening intensity. "As long as the light isn't turned off, it will stay there!"

Guang Chengzi was completely dumbfounded.

"No, what lights? There are so many lights in the main hall. Explain yourself clearly. I can't exactly tear the whole temple down, can I?"

"They're offering lamps!" Li Hu's voice tightened. "Not for general lighting, but for the Dharma assembly! I saw people taking them down, they were taking them down!"

Huang Yaoying, who was leading the way, suddenly turned around and glanced at him upon hearing this.

"What did you see?"

"I can't explain it, I just saw it." Li Hu gritted his teeth, his head still throbbing. "Someone was running, someone was shouting, 'Take off the lights first, if you don't, the Buddha will still be there!'"

Guang Chengzi opened his mouth, intending to say, "This is too mystical," but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the Buddha's light emanating from the monk on duty behind him was noticeably brighter as it approached the eternal lamps on both sides.

His face stiffened, and he abruptly changed the subject.

"Wait a minute, it really does look a bit like it."

"The side hall on the right."

Suddenly, the Taoist Ran Deng spoke.

He carried the ancient lamp, and his gaze swept across the room, landing on a half-closed side door to his right.

"The lights are brightest over there."

"Walk!"

Without further hesitation, Huang Yaoying swept aside two monks blocking her way with her sword and charged towards them first.

The group retreated quickly, the chanting of Buddhist sutras growing louder behind them, as if countless cold lips were pressing against their backs and reciting scriptures.

Just as Bai Xiaoyu was protecting Li Hu as they rushed through a corridor corner, a blackened hand suddenly slammed down from the roof beam with a "smack" above their heads!

It turned out to be a monk on duty, hanging upside down from the beam. His entire face was blurred by darkness, with only a dark gold Buddha mark on his forehead shining eerily.

"Be careful!"

Bai Xiaoyu raised her sword and slashed.

With a flash of sword light, half of the monk on duty flew through the air, black blood splattering all over the corridor pillars. But at the same time, several more rotting corpses of worshippers burst in through the side window, shrieking as they pounced.

"You guys go first, I'll cover your retreat!"

Guang Chengzi, unusually, didn't act silly. He raised his hands, and several talismans flew out as if they were free.

Thunder and fire erupted simultaneously, sending rocks flying through the corridor and briefly halting the horde of corpses behind them.

"Don't play the hero," Huang Yaoying said coldly. "Catch up within three breaths, or I won't save you if you die."

"I know, I know." Guang Chengzi's lips twitched. "You have a really sharp tongue, no wonder no one dares to pursue you."

"I heard you." Huang Yaoying didn't even turn her head.

"Then just pretend you didn't hear that."

"Oh."

In the short time it took to exchange a few words, the crowd had already rushed to the front of the side hall.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a strong smell of lamp oil wafted out.

The blurry illusion before Li Hu's eyes suddenly became clear at this moment.

He saw many monks carrying lanterns, their expressions panicked, going in and out of the place; he saw someone overturn a lantern stand; he saw an old monk coughing up blood while hoarsely shouting "Remove the lanterns!"; and he saw a very young novice monk kneeling in a corner, clutching a lantern, crying and saying:

"This disciple dares not..."

"This is it!"

Li Hu's voice was hoarse.

"Master, this is it! Turn off these lights first!"

Everyone looked up.

Inside the side hall, countless ever-burning Buddhist lamps hung densely. The lamps were small and dim, but when gathered together, they illuminated the entire room in a dark light.

Under the glow of these lights, the monks and pilgrims chasing after them appeared even more solid in stature.

Huang Yaoying's eyes turned cold.

"There was definitely a problem."

Bai Xiaoyu had already drawn her sword and stepped forward to protect Li Hu, a smirk playing on her lips.

"My disciple, continue. Tonight, I'll listen to you on this book."

Looking at the long lanterns filling the hall, Li Hu felt a headache that was almost splitting open, but for the first time, the chaotic mess in his mind finally began to vaguely form a line.

First came the soup.

Next is Zhong.

Then there are the lights.

So what's the next step?

Just then, from deep within the side hall, a very faint sound of wood being dragged on the floor suddenly came from.

It looked as if someone was dragging something out inch by inch from the darkest part of the room.