123: The Mysterious Golden Immortal Temple

"Demonic Path? Hmph!" Shen Lian gave a cold laugh, his laughter filled with disdain.

"What can the Demonic Path do to me? Monk, your compassion cannot save the souls of those two bitches."

The Monk sighed deeply, "Heaven's will, it truly is Heaven's will."

After speaking, the Monk's body began to slowly disintegrate, peeling away piece by piece like an eggshell, drifting away with the wind.

The next moment, only three life souls remained: two green and one gold.

"In consideration of your sincere and compassionate heart, I will leave you a wisp of your life soul to reshape your Physical Body. As for these two bitches..."

Shen Lian raised his hand and directly unleashed the human emperor cauldron. In an instant, the Divine Souls of Lan Feng and Yu Lian were drawn into the cauldron.

"Sigh, everything has a destined outcome." The Buddha Statue's soul sighed and then drifted toward the direction of the Buddhist Domain.

Having resolved the trivial matters on the outskirts of the Golden Immortal Temple, Shen Lian finally locked his gaze onto the Golden Immortal Temple before him.

Peering from the outskirts, the Golden Immortal Temple in the distance appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary Daoist temple; there was nothing unusual to be seen.

However, Shen Lian still sensed something amiss.

"Just now, when I fought the Monk, the shockwaves of my Qi reached a radius of a thousand miles, yet the Golden Immortal Temple, only three miles away, remained completely undamaged. What kind of mystery lies within this?"

Thinking of this, Shen Lian immediately activated his Eye of the Great Dao and looked again.

However, the Golden Immortal Temple remained unchanged, though Shen Lian keenly sensed a strange, misty aura circulating above it.

Putting away the Eye of the Great Dao, Shen Lian thought to himself, "Rather than wasting mental energy here, it is better to go inside and take a look before making a decision."

Just as he was preparing to move, Zuo Qianyue finally arrived.

"Fellow Daoist, I have finally caught up to you. Why do you run so fast? Why didn't you wait for me?"

Shen Lian's expression turned cold. "Did I ever say I would take you with me? Do not follow me!"

"Fellow Daoist, that is too distant of you," Zuo Qianyue said hurriedly.

"I went through so much trouble to tell you such important news; how can you leave me behind to enjoy the spoils alone? No, no matter what, you must take me along."

"Hmm?" Shen Lian's eyes turned cold, and he stared intently at Zuo Qianyue.

Zuo Qianyue felt a tightening in his heart and instinctively turned his face away to avoid meeting his gaze.

After a long silence, Shen Lian opened his Folding Fan. "If you want to follow me, I will not stop you, but you had best not interfere with my actions. Otherwise, killing you would be but a snap of the fingers."

"Rest assured, Zuo Qianyue will definitely follow your every word."

"Hmph." Shen Lian ignored Zuo Qianyue further, turned around, and walked toward the Golden Immortal Temple.

Inside the Golden Immortal Temple, it was desolate and bleak. Daoists could be seen moving back and forth throughout the temple, but not a single believer had come to pay respects to the Dao.

Walking in the front hall of the Golden Immortal Temple, watching the various people moving back and forth, Shen Lian felt an indescribable sense of eeriness.

At this moment, Zuo Qianyue spoke up, "I did not expect the Golden Immortal Temple to be like this; it is completely different from the rumors."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian stopped in front of the Three Purities Hall and turned to ask, "What is the Golden Immortal Temple like in the rumors?"

Zuo Qianyue replied, "In the rumors, it seems that just entering the Golden Immortal Temple requires passing a test of three strikes, but we have entered just like this, which shows it does not match the rumors."

Shen Lian frowned. "Is that all you know?"

Zuo Qianyue shook his head. "No, there is more. I heard that many people, shortly after entering the Golden Immortal Temple, lost their way and have been missing ever since. Over time, rumors spread that the Golden Immortal Temple eats people, that it is the vengeful spirits of the former dynasty's old capital coming to claim lives. After the news spread, no one came to the Golden Immortal Temple to burn incense or offer tributes, and since then, this temple has become desolate."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Shen Lian closed his eyes and pondered.

Opening his eyes again, he looked not far away to see two young Daoists carrying a plate of fruit and sacrificial vessels, walking toward the Three Purities Hall.

The two young Daoists seemed not to notice Shen Lian and Zuo Qianyue at all, walking straight into the Three Purities Hall, placing the sacrificial vessels, lighting three incense sticks, bowing to the Three Purities statues, and then turning and leaving the Three Purities Hall.

Throughout the entire process, the two young Daoists did not glance at Shen Lian or Zuo Qianyue once, as if the two of them had never existed.

Zuo Qianyue could not help but sigh, "The Daoists here have quite the temper; they completely ignored our existence. Could they have some major background?"

Shen Lian ignored Zuo Qianyue's complaint and stepped directly into the Three Purities Hall.

However, just as he stepped inside, the text on a stone tablet placed on the left side immediately caught his attention.

He saw several rules written in bright red characters:

1. The Golden Immortal Temple is a Daoist temple. Inside the temple, only Daoist figures are enshrined; absolutely no Buddha Statue will be enshrined.

2. After entering the Three Purities Hall, please take three incense sticks from under the stone tablet on the left, then burn them before the Three Purities statues; the Three Purities Dao Ancestors will surely protect your safety.

3. After the incense is lit, your sense of direction within the Golden Immortal Temple may become confused; please remember the route you came from and do not get lost.

4. If you inadvertently see a Buddha Statue within the Golden Immortal Temple, please constantly remind yourself in your heart: That is a Three Purities statue, not a Buddha Statue; there is no Buddha Statue inside the Golden Immortal Temple.

5. If, after reciting this three times, the Three Purities you see are still Buddha Statues, please carefully distinguish the features of the Buddha Statue. If the Buddha Statue has not opened its eyes, please turn around and exit the Three Purities Hall, then go to the Heavenly King Hall to drink a cup of holy water, grab a handful of Talismans from under the Heavenly King statue, and ignite the Talismans before the incense burns out, then leave the Golden Immortal Temple; the young Daoists will guide you on the correct path.

6. If you see the Buddha Statue open its eyes, then one can only hope that your cultivation is sufficient to survive this crisis.

After reading the content above, Zuo Qianyue could not help but rub his arms.

"Why do I feel an inexplicable chill? These rules make even a Cultivator as strong as me feel a bit terrified."

At this moment, Shen Lian curled the corner of his lips. "Terrified? Then if it is like this, do you still feel terrified?"

He saw Shen Lian sweep his Folding Fan, and a stream of light was instantly inscribed onto the stone tablet.

Zuo Qianyue was greatly alarmed and hurriedly looked at the stone tablet.

He saw a seventh rule written: 7. All fear stems from insufficient strength.

The next moment, Shen Lian's loud voice rang out in the Three Purities Hall: "Do you think such tricks of playing god and devil can disturb my mind? Regardless of whether you are Dao or Buddha, the only one who can make heaven and earth tremble is I, Shen Lian!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Lian struck out with his palm, and the Yin and Yang Qi instantly slammed into the Three Purities statues.

Boom—after a loud noise, the Three Purities statues instantly shattered.

Seeing this scene, Zuo Qianyue was completely shocked and unable to say a word.

Only hearing Shen Lian close his eyes and shout in a deep voice: "Now, tell me, are you Dao or Buddha? Destroying you means destroying the source of all this eeriness! What other means do you have! I am very much looking forward to it!"

The next moment, the surrounding space began to gradually distort.

Zuo Qianyue felt a wave of dizziness. The next moment, the sound of low chanting came to his ears, accompanied by the rapid tapping of a wooden fish, approaching from far to near, almost driving him to a mental breakdown.

"Hahahaha!" But the next moment, Shen Lian's laughter stabilized his mind.

"Dao and Buddha both receive incense, yet now one is inside and one is outside, confusing all living beings. What is this for!"

As the words fell, the two were already placed inside a dark temple.

The surrounding Buddha Statues were eerie and strange, and everywhere there was soul-capturing Buddhist chanting.