As the sky gradually darkened, the senior monk saw off the last pilgrim. The moment the temple gates closed, he quickly took out his phone to check his account balance. Then, with a beaming face, he was supported by a junior monk and walked into the meditation room.
The courtyard was silent for a while. Only then did Yu Nian and her group slowly emerge from the bushes.
When they reached the entrance of the Hall of the God of Luoshan, they were blocked by two tall and tightly shut iron gates.
Everyone looked a bit confused. "How can we get in?"
Yu Nian didn't say a word, just curved her lips into a smile.
The next moment, her slender hands slowly grasped the rails on both sides of the iron gate. She softly chanted the divine power incantation twice. With a soft click, the iron gate was pried open to form a gap wide enough for one person to pass through.
Yu Nian withdrew her hands and walked into the hall calmly.
"Let's go."
As soon as she stepped into the hall, Yu Nian smelled a fragrance. It was extremely faint, but different from the sandalwood used in ordinary temples. Instead of feeling peaceful and serene after smelling it, one would faintly feel a bit irritable.
The hall was dim, with only one candle left on each side of the offering table.
By the weak candlelight, everyone looked up and surveyed the surroundings of the hall.
A soft "drip" sound. It seemed that a drop of unknown liquid fell on Ming Mingzhong's face. A cold sensation spread throughout his body. He suddenly rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. "Why is it so cold here?"
He looked around. On the offering table in the middle of the hall stood a statue nearly six feet tall. It was elegant and majestic, with a compassionate face. It was looking down at everyone with lowered eyes, looking like it was saving all sentient beings. At the four corners of the hall, there were respectively dark - colored columns. There were many complex and strange symbols carved on the columns. Under the dim candlelight, they even revealed a hint of ghostly aura, looking like the deep black color formed after blood coagulated.
Ming Mingzhong was startled and quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look anymore.
Yu Nian walked to the bottom of the statue. As they looked at each other, a faint blue light seemed to flash in the eyes of the statue.
Immediately afterwards, a stinky smell quickly spread in the air. Yu Nian tilted her head slightly and saw a bright red figure suddenly rush out from behind the hall, pouncing on her with claws outstretched.
Yu Nian took a half - step back, then suddenly turned around and kicked the thing in the stomach.
She took out a red rope and neatly tied it up like a zongzi. Only then did everyone see what it looked like.
It seemed to be a person who had been dead for a long time. The body was shriveled and rotten. When it roared, blood foam kept spraying from its mouth. On its still - struggling hands, the black nails were long and sharp. If one was scratched by this thing, a whole piece of skin and flesh might be torn off.
The strong visual impact made Ming Mingzhong feel dizzy for a moment. "What the hell is this?"
Yu Nian replied calmly, "A fierce corpse."
She stepped forward and without hesitation hooked the tag on the neck of the fierce corpse. "Although there is no light in this temple, it is not damp. It's very difficult to raise such a fierce corpse in a short time. It seems that someone deliberately tamed it."
Yu Nian quickly threw out several red - and - yellow talismans and pasted them on the four corners of the offering table. Immediately afterwards, a strange rumbling sound suddenly rang out throughout the hall.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. Everyone subconsciously looked up and saw that the statue suddenly changed its appearance.
It was as tall as a mountain, with long black hair and a hideous face, sharp beak and teeth, just like a yaksha or evil ghost walking out of hell.
The monster let out two strange grins. There was a fierce look on its cold face. It suddenly pounced on Yu Nian.
Yu Nian held a talisman in her left hand and concentratedly shouted, "The fire order from the south, commanding the six celestial attendants. The heavenly warriors of the Nine Heavens, with millions of elite troops. Seal the spring and it will dry up, seal the stone and it will crack. Seal the mountain and it will collapse, seal the river and it will run dry. Seal the temple and it will be destroyed, seal the fire and it will be extinguished. Seal the god and the god will perish, seal the ghost and the ghost will be exterminated. By the edict of the Three Heavens, everything shall be captured. In haste, as the law commands!"
Ming Mingzhong knew Yu Nian's ability, so he wasn't nervous at this moment. He even sympathetically explained to the monster, "This is the Taoist incantation for sealing evil temples. It's specifically for dealing with evil temples and demon - infested monasteries."
Just as his voice fell, several talismans suddenly hit the monster and exploded like fireworks. Several sparks burst out. After a few soft "hissing" sounds, several wisps of white smoke rose from the monster.
A familiar fragrance wafted out. He Zhiping sniffed and said in astonishment, "Why does it smell like roasted chicken?"
The monster was in pain. It let out a fierce roar and fell in front of the offering table. It strangely rolled its eyes and suddenly pulled out a big knife condensed from demonic energy from under the table. It swung the knife at Yu Nian with all its might.
Yu Nian didn't move her feet. She quickly untied the seal with her left hand. Just as the knife was about to fall, it suddenly opened its closed eyes. A very faint golden light rose around it and bounced the monster to the ground.
Seeing that it couldn't defeat Yu Nian, the monster turned around and ran. Its steps were strange, but its speed was extremely fast, just like a free - range chicken. In the blink of an eye, it ran into the temple courtyard.
Unexpectedly, Yu Nian was even faster. She suddenly flew forward, neatly grabbed the monster by the back of its neck, and then stepped on it.
"How dare you, mortal! Let go of this deity quickly!"
At this moment, the monster's body couldn't move. Only its huge head could turn. It suddenly revealed its original form, turned its head in the opposite direction, and roared at Yu Nian in a shrill voice.
Everyone finally saw what it was - it was actually a multicolored pheasant spirit!
Yu Nian frowned and raised her hand to pat its furry head. "Be quiet."
Perhaps the effect of the divine power incantation hadn't worn off yet. Although Yu Nian didn't use much force, the monster's head still buzzed. It mistakenly thought that Yu Nian was warning it: If you're not obedient, I'll smash your head!
The monster immediately shut up and didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
Without the monster's magical power to maintain it, the originally magnificent temple suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, it became a dilapidated old temple.
Coupled with the fierce fight between the person and the monster just now, with a loud "boom", after the billowing dust drifted by, the dilapidated temple collapsed...
The monster suddenly trembled. Looking at the ruins, it seemed to foresee its own future.
Yu Nian sized it up for a while and asked, "You're a monster. Why do you pretend to be a star god?"
The pheasant spirit said carefully, "My lord, actually this can't really be considered pretending. There was indeed a star god in my ancestors!"
Yu Nian was a bit surprised. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Oh? Which star god?"
The pheasant spirit's eyes lit up. Its tone was full of pride. "The Star God Angri! Look, his original form is a big rooster seven feet tall, and I'm a pheasant. We're all birds. How can we not be related?"
Everyone:......
Yu Nian was silent for a moment and then asked, "You're a monster. Why do you collude with that fake monk to deceive people's money?"