NOVPUBMost likely, those who led people into the dreamscape were characters that appeared within it, and certainly the key figures.
Tian Lin speculated that if Zhang Sheng swapped out the statue of Lady Qianshi, then the targets of his revenge would likely be the villagers and that senior monk.
"Who exactly is the goddess in the Goddess Temple? Only by opening the palanquin and seeing the true face of the statue can we know.
But Elder Ran is timid, how dare he risk going to the Goddess Temple?"
"Then, if we don't eliminate Lady Qianshi at the Goddess Temple, how else can we leave Yu Family Village?"
Tian Lin knew that who Lady Qianshi was did not matter much for him.
He didn't care about the ancient affairs from thousands of years ago. What he cared about now was how to leave Yu Family Village safely.
"A thousand years ago, 'Yu Family Village' had already been destroyed once by Zhang Sheng's hands, but there must have been people who successfully escaped. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a Yu Family Village now.
So I think, there must be a space leading to the outside world within Yu Family Village. This space is not restricted by any arrays and is a place the Evil Spirits cannot touch."
Tian Lin nodded, then shook his head:
"Yu Family Village being preserved until now may have been intentionally orchestrated by Zhang Sheng, to let these people repeat the ordeal of his sister on their ancestors.
What you speak of about an escape route is speculative, it might be more reliable to go to the Goddess Temple and find Elder Gao and Elder Fang."
Upon hearing this, Elder Ran immediately shook his head: "Are you joking? Let Tian know that I arrived at Yu Family Village before you. I personally saw that Elder Fang, who allied with your Elder Gao, is not any Elder Fang but the Silent Monk from Wind City."
"The Silent Monk? The forsaken disciple from the minor Luo Han Temple?"
Due to Tian Lin's interest in the Vajra Demon-suppressing Skill that built the Golden Dharma Body, he had paid attention to that Silent Monk.
He had been thinking about how to scheme for the Vajra Demon-suppressing Skill from the senior monk, but to no avail.
Now, hearing that Elder Fang was the Silent Monk in disguise, he felt both surprised and delighted.
"What is this Silent Monk doing in Yu Family Village?"
Tian Lin pondered, then suddenly said: "The senior monk in the dream, and this Silent Monk, are both disciples of the Buddhist Sect. Could there be some connection between the two?"
Elder Ran replied: "I'm not sure about the affairs of the Buddhist Sect, but I know the Silent Monk is no good. Also, your sect's Elder Gao—I'll be frank, I think that Lady of Fertility is actually Elder Gao, hiding in the valley."
"The Lady of Fertility, are you referencing that unknown deity?"
Tian Lin thought of the ghost fetuses throughout the village.
"During the Da Qi Dynasty, the Lady of Fertility was an uncanonized earth goddess, always revered by those people unable to conceive.
Consider this carefully; your sect's Elder Gao has only had one child in a thousand years. Naturally, it's because her cultivation is high and hence no longer conducive to childbearing. Could it be that she herself is unable to bear children?"
Tian Lin did not speak. Senior Brother Xue in his twenties meant that Senior Brother Xue was a child birthed by Elder Gao at the age of over a thousand.
Tian Lin realized Elder Ran's point that Elder Gao must have sought the blessing of Lady of Fertility to have Senior Brother Xue.
"Is the Lady of Fertility a True God or an Evil Spirit?"
Tian Lin asked, "Then, is Senior Brother Xue human or a ghost fetus?"
"Elder Tian, this is not right—in the eyes of us corpse chasers and the entire Funeral Science Cultivators, there are no gods or ghosts, no right and wrong in this world.
Only the sightless mortals regard flesh-eating immortals as Evil Spirits and those that save people as canonized gods.
But if a canonized immortal is a god, isn't the flesh-eating immortal also a god?"
Tian Lin was momentarily stunned by Elder Ran's words, and after a while, he laughed and said:
"What you say is pointless, a human is a human and a ghost is a ghost. There's no reason to worship it if it eats people."
Elder Ran no longer argued with Tian Lin; he simply said: "Although Lady of Fertility originates from a ghostly essence, she can grant both ghostly and human offspring.
It's said that the medicine sought from her can endow offspring with a complete Five Elements Spirit Root.
But to receive her blessing with the medicine, one must first aid her in creating ghost fetuses."
Tian Lin thought of his Class C female classmates, his eyebrows furrowing tighter.
According to Elder Ran's conjecture, Elder Gao must have had a previous experience of seeking a child from Lady of Fertility.
Coinciding with her son's death, she's grief-stricken and not likely to offend again.
Unfortunately, it sacrificed the female students of Class C.
"You're saying Elder Gao swapped the palanquins and placed Lady of Fertility's palanquin in the valley, leading the people of Yu Family Village to mistake Lady of Fertility for Lady Qianshi and carry her back to Yu Family Village.
What she intended to do—"
Tian Lin's eyebrows suddenly relaxed: "I understand now, Elder Gao might not have intended to harm the students of Class C. She merely used the women of Yu Family Village to gain a chance to seek medicine from the Lady of Fertility.
As for why the Class C students became pregnant? That's probably an accident."
Unfortunately, Elder Gao couldn't be found, so Tian Lin's conjecture couldn't be confirmed.
He tilted his head towards Elder Ran, "You're a corpse chaser by origin and seem quite familiar with the Lady of Fertility. Do you have any way to eliminate the ghost fetus?"
Elder Ran quickly shook his head, "The people of Yu Family Village have no way, how could I possibly have one?"
"Elder Fang was impersonating a monk from the small Luohan Temple, which means that Elder Gao has probably colluded with the silent monk and falsely transmitted the decree of the Xiangxi Sect.
If Wendaos Sect and Xiangxi Sect both investigate this matter later, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape when you return to Huilong Village!"
Hearing this, Elder Ran angrily said, "What does this have to do with me returning to Huilong Village?"
Tian Lin said, "Elder Ran, you just mentioned that whether it is a fairy that eats humans or one that saves them, they are both divine.
Let me also give you a saying—whether it's a sect that talks reason or one that doesn't, they are both immortal gates that you cannot resist.
Yu Family Village has invited two gods, although they were tricked. Yet with such a big disaster caused, the two major sects will need to vent their anger on someone."
This statement was somewhat alarmist, and Elder Ran felt it was all caused by Elder Gao of the Wendaos Sect and had nothing to do with his return to Huilong Village.
Wendaos Sect wouldn't likely target him, an unrelated person so far down the line.
But what if?
"What advice do you have, Tian?" Elder Ran asked.
"First, go with me to meet the brothers of my sect. If we can unite and solve this matter, later on, the brothers of the sect can also help you speak in Huilong Village."
What Tian Lin primarily thought about was how to get out of Yu Family Village.
Once safety was assured, he also thought about how to take down the silent monk.
After he, along with Elder Ran, returned to the array, the brothers indeed asked about Elder Ran's origins and why Tian Lin and he were not attacked by the undead.
Tian Lin briefly explained, then glanced at the group of female students whose abdomens were gradually swelling, asking, "Hasn't there been any news from Senior Brother Changxue and the others?"
Almost as soon as he spoke, Zhou Mengjiao said:
"My brother just sent a message; the two evil gods are battling each other.
Both Elder Gao and Elder Fang are trapped in the Goddess Temple. To leave Yu Family Village now, we must first rescue either Elder Gao or Elder Fang."
Elder Ran did not mention that Elder Fang was the silent monk in disguise because Tian Lin hadn't brought it up.
"With both Elder Gao and Elder Fang stuck in the Goddess Temple, with our little cultivation, how could we rescue someone from under the clutches of two evil gods? Unless we ask for external help—
But we're trapped by the prohibition here, making it impossible to send messages back to our sect for help. Even if we did, it would take time for the sect to send someone, and we might run out of time."
A male student shook his head to Zhou, "Zhou, send a message to Senior Brother Changxue and Senior Brother Zhou to come back."
At that moment, Zhou Mengjiao seemed to be in great pain as if she was about five or six months pregnant, her brows furrowed deeply.
While she was writing on the paper, Tian Lin suddenly turned to Elder Ran, "Let's go together to the Goddess Temple to check the situation."
Elder Ran's face changed, saying, "Tian, our cultivation is so low, why take the risk?"
Tian Lin said, "Now is the only chance to rescue from the Goddess Temple—once Lady Qian or the Lady of Fertility decides the outcome, whichever one of them frees up their hands, we won't have a chance to survive under their control."
Elder Ran was still reluctant, but some students stood up saying: "What Tian said is true, time waits for no one. If we can't find a way out, it will be dangerous for the sisters."
The male student wanted to accompany Tian Lin, but Tian Lin shook his head:
"Without mourning clothes, going out would only attract the undead to attack us. Only Elder Ran and I can safely reach the Goddess Temple by using these mourning clothes."
He again looked at Elder Ran, who, feeling cornered, reluctantly agreed.
The two left the grand array and successfully made their way through the undead crowd.
Both of them were not unfamiliar with the Goddess Temple. They had visited the temple when initially inviting the gods.
As Tian and Elder Ran approached the Goddess Temple, they soon spotted the trace of Zhou Jin and Senior Brother Changxue.
Zhou Jin had also noticed Tian Lin and Elder Ran earlier, but since they were dressed in mourning clothes, he didn't dare to acknowledge them at first.
"We were just about to leave, why have you come over?" Zhou Jin asked, and Tian Lin replied, "The situation with the sisters isn't good, I am afraid the longer it drags on, the less favorable it will be, so I came over to think of a solution."
Senior Brother Changxue shook his head and said, "The situation is difficult now, look for yourself from the top of the wall."
Saying this, he was the first to scale the wall outside the temple.
Tian Lin followed immediately. After leaping onto the city wall, he saw at first glance the courtyard inside the open temple gates, filled with Evil Spirits and crawling with ghost babies.
Among these Evil Spirits and ghost babies, Elder Gao and Elder Fang were kneeling in the front.
Two large sedans were slowly moving towards the altar in the middle of the temple.
"This is a battle for the divine position; whoever climbs the altar will win this battle," explained Elder Ran.
Elder Ran said, "Tian, what do you say we do now? Just entering the temple will turn us into temporary devotees of the Evil God like your sect elders."
Tian Lin thought for a moment, then took out a piece of water white paper from his Storage Bag.
