NOVPUBUpon contact, they dissipated, these Taoist Priests would be ejected as soon as they touched the barrier, but they continued to struggle, trying to break out.
"This barrier is imprisoning them," Xu Zimei realized in an instant.
Xu Zimei did not bother with these people, and walked straight ahead, arriving in front of the largest hall within the Taoist Temple.
The hall was over fifty meters tall, with its entire body gilded, and an elliptical shape above.
There were six large red pillars in front, surrounded by iron railings.
Xu Zimei walked up the steps, came in front of the hall, and saw the signboard above which read "Hall of Atonement."
He frowned slightly, pushed open the vermillion door, and with a creak, entered the hall.
The hall was divided into several rooms, and in the room Xu Zimei had just entered, there were three statues displayed.
From left to right, the first statue was entirely brown, with the facial features in pure black.
Both its hands were raised, with the left foot on the ground and the right foot lifted forward, and its clothes were wrapped in gold ribbons.
The middle statue was a one-eyed lone wolf, with a single eye and fiery red fur.
It lay on a raised platform, somewhat resembling the reclining pose of Maitreya, appearing strange and peculiar.
The statue on the right was a monk with black beads, wearing a kasaya and black beads all over his body.
Even his eyebrows, eyes, and lips seemed to have been made up, looking extremely pitch-black.
The monk’s ears were very large, almost as if hanging from his earlobes.
"What exactly is this Taoist Temple venerating?" Xu Zimei felt bewildered.
Just then, a coughing sound arose.
An elder dressed in a Taoist robe emerged from a room next door, his complexion waxen, appearing very weak.
"Who are you?" the elder looked at Xu Zimei, his expression greatly changed, and he asked warily.
"I am a traveler passing through these mountains," Xu Zimei replied.
"What a joke, there’s a seal at the foot of the mountain, how did you get up here?" the elder said in a cold voice.
His aura of the Divine Vein Realm surged, eying Xu Zimei predatorily.
"I am on my way to the Nine States Domain, just passing through here," Xu Zimei said.
"Besides, I didn’t see any seal."
"To go to the Nine States Domain, you need to cross another mountain, this White Sacred Mountain has been sealed for many years, don’t you know?" the elder said.
"I have not been here before, I came with others," Xu Zimei shook his head.
Looking at the elder, he asked, "Are you True Man of Qiankun?"
"Seems like you are no ordinary passerby, you even know my title," True Man of Qiankun said, squinting his eyes.
"Don’t get me wrong, your disciple called Xuan Yu told me," Xu Zimei replied.
"Xuan Yu, it was him who brought you in," True Man of Qiankun fell silent for a moment.
He looked at Xu Zimei, his expression seemingly torn, and Xu Zimei felt a murderous aura emanating from him.
Struggling between killing and not killing for a long while, eventually, True Man of Qiankun sighed.
He said, "Don’t go anywhere tonight, just stay here, and leave first thing in the morning."
"Your Black Demon Temple is quite lively," Xu Zimei said with a smile.
"Leave this place, forget everything, it won’t do you any harm," True Man of Qiankun said.
"Don’t get involved, act as if nothing has happened."
"It seems you don’t want to talk," Xu Zimei said.
"What’s the use of telling you, just stay put," True Man of Qiankun settled down on a cushion next to him, silently chanting something.
Xu Zimei did not insist, if True Man of Qiankun was unwilling to speak, forcing him with the threat of death was pointless.
He just couldn’t help but wonder about the nature of the entities being venerated.
Xu Zimei did not leave the hall but went to check out a few other rooms, and the old man did not stop him.
The other rooms were all quite similar, hosting creatures that Xu Zimei had never heard of.
It could even be said that this place was not a Taoist Temple at all.
...…
A night passed in silence, and as dawn approached,
the sound of three bell chimes emanated from within the Taoist Temple. True Man of Qiankun had been seated there the entire night.
It was only when the bell rang that he stood up and left the hall with Xu Zimei.
"Master," as the two had just stepped out of the hall, they encountered a rather plump Taoist Priest.
This plump Taoist Priest, Xu Zimei remembered seeing him the night before, frantically running towards the barrier’s edge, just like Xuan Yu’s state.
"Master, do we have outsiders?" the plump Taoist Priest asked with some surprise as he looked at Xu Zimei.
"You needn’t worry about it, clean up the Hall of Atonement in the morning," True Man of Qiankun said indifferently.
The plump Taoist Priest nodded and then hummed a tune as he walked into the hall.
Xu Zimei felt the man was completely different from the one he met the night before, as though he had a split personality.
"I’m getting more and more interested in your Taoist Temple," said Xu Zimei with a smile.
True Man of Qiankun did not reply but directly took Xu Zimei to the Distant Pavilion.
He instructed a group of people to leave immediately.
When Xu Zimei arrived at the Distant Pavilion, he found Cai Yue and the accompanying servants chatting with Xuan Yu.
"Sister Yue, why did you bind me up?" Xuan Yu asked, puzzled. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
Cai Yue hadn’t had the chance to answer when she saw Xu Zimei and others walking in.
"Master," seeing True Man of Qiankun, Xuan Yu promptly shrank her neck.
"Leave," True Man of Qiankun said, looking at Cai Yue and her group, his face growing increasingly gloomy.
Cai Yue looked at Xu Zimei, but saw him gently shaking his head.
"Xuan Yun," True Man of Qiankun called out softly.
"Master, I’m here," a loud call came from afar, and a man dressed in a black cloak was seen rushing from a distance.
The man looked quite ordinary, but his ears were exceptionally large, resembling folding screens.
"Escort them down the mountain," True Man of Qiankun ordered calmly.
Then he looked at Xuan Yu and said, "You come with me to the Hall of Atonement."
After he finished speaking, he left without another word or glance at Xu Zimei and the others.
"Please, this way," said Xuan Yun with a smile.
Xu Zimei, along with Cai Yue and the others, started walking outside without further ado.
"Hold on a moment," called out Xuan Yu hurriedly.
He pulled Xu Zimei and the others aside and stealthily pulled out several sachets from his pocket.
Apologizing, he said, "I’m really sorry, these sachets are blessed, please take them as a gift for our meeting."
Cai Yue patted his head with a smile and accepted the sachets.
Following that, the group departed with Xuan Yun from the Taoist Temple, heading down the mountainside.
"This is the first time in my life I’ve seen outsiders come up the mountain," said Xuan Yun with a sense of wonder.
"What did you do last night?" Xu Zimei asked Xuan Yun.
"Last night? I didn’t do anything. I just meditated and slept in my room," replied Xuan Yun gently.
"It seems these people don’t remember anything at all," Xu Zimei said, squinting his eyes.
