75: eerie temple

The group crossed mountains and ridges. The villagers' pace was not fast; they were mere Mortals, completely unable to compare to Cultivators.

It wasn't until noon that everyone put down their packs and sat by the roadside to drink clean water. There was a well here with plenty of water to drink.

"Everyone, drink some water to quench your thirst and then immediately get back on the road! We must reach the Temple before dark, otherwise, none of us will survive!"

The Village Chief rallied them with a shout. Although all the villagers were extremely tired, they gritted their teeth, finished their water, refilled some, and then immediately followed the Village Chief to continue their journey.

From their conversation, Li Haotian gained a new clue: a Temple.

The group continued along the rugged mountain path. Li Haotian quietly observed these villagers, unsure of their destination. How could there be a Temple in these deep mountains?

Moreover, those Bats from last night shouldn't all be dead; there were still many of them. If these Bats appeared at night, then these villagers must have figured out their habits, which is why they insisted on reaching the Temple before dark.

No matter how Li Haotian used his Divine Sense to search in these mountains, he couldn't detect the presence of a Temple, yet the sense of crisis lingering in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

Soon, the villagers followed the Village Chief to the top of a mountain peak. The sky was gradually darkening, and as the sun was about to set, they finally saw a golden Temple.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone upon the Temple, as if radiating brilliant rays of light, bathing everyone like Holy Light, filling all the villagers with joy.

Their day's exhaustion seemed to be completely wiped away at this moment. They were like reborn individuals, with happy smiles gracing every face.

When Li Haotian saw this Temple, he felt a chill throughout his body, not any warmth, because he couldn't sense the Temple's existence at all. It was as if this Temple could only be seen with the naked eye.

Such an existence was beyond his understanding. After Cultivating for so long and Fusing with the previous owner's memories, he had never heard of such a thing.

Anything that can be seen should have a physical form. Even if it were a mirage, he would be able to detect it directly.

Could it be that he had fallen into an illusion at some point?

While Li Haotian was pondering, the Village Chief had already led a large number of villagers into the Temple. At this moment, a Monk was sweeping the floor at the Temple entrance. He was wearing an orange-red monastic robe, holding a broom, and had a benevolent expression on his face.

"Benefactors, have you come from the village to offer tribute? It's getting late, please enter the Temple quickly."

The Monk showed a kind smile as he saw the group of villagers, then immediately stepped aside and instructed everyone to enter.

As Li Haotian passed the Monk, he clearly sensed an extreme killing intent emanating from the other party. The opponent only had Golden Core Stage strength, yet was utterly evil.

This strength was definitely not obtained through legitimate means. One didn't need to think to know it must have been accumulated through countless human lives.

The endless resentment carried within that aura could not be concealed.

Li Haotian took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the Temple. At the end of the path was a brightly lit main hall.

Led by the Village Chief, everyone entered. Countless Buddha statues stood there, with countless incense sticks placed before them on the altar, as if being worshipped by the crowd.

Below the Buddha statues, an elder, clad in a kasaya, held a Zen Staff in his hand, his right hand slowly placed before him, chanting Buddhist mantras.

He appeared extremely devout, and from his aged eyes, one could tell he was deeply weathered by time.

Before him, countless Monks knelt on the ground, hands clasped together, eyes tightly shut, muttering to themselves as if listening to some supreme Dao.

Li Haotian frowned slightly at the sight before him. The auras of these Monks were all utterly evil, as if they were man-eating fiends.

Because of this, he didn't make a sound or reveal his Cultivation.

He merely followed slowly behind the villagers, trying his best to conceal his aura and make himself appear more like an ordinary person.

The Temple's Abbot didn't notice him. After explaining the Buddhist Dharma to all the Monks, he dismissed them and personally received all the villagers present.

"Benefactors, you've all traveled so hard. Come, bring the vegetarian meal so these villagers can eat their fill."

Soon, a group of young Monks entered, carrying a large rice bucket. Behind him, another Monk carried a large bucket filled with green vegetables.

The appearance of these vegetarian meals immediately made all the villagers' eyes light up, because all the Monks in this Temple ate pure white rice. For them, being able to eat some coarse grains was already considered good usually; where would they get white rice?

Although the journey to the Temple was very dangerous, for them, it was also a rare feast.

Just plain boiled green vegetables along with steamed white rice made these villagers' mouths water, and they immediately began to feast.

Li Haotian wasn't disgusted by this and also ate heartily, but after one bite, he noticed something was wrong. To avoid letting others see through him, he had no choice but to continue eating it.

These things weren't rice at all; they were clearly individual insect eggs!

After realizing this, Li Haotian suppressed his nausea and collected all the rice. He wanted to thoroughly investigate what this stuff was.

Soon, the villagers wiped their mouths contentedly, as if they had eaten their fill.

"Abbot, a month has passed again. The black flower we used to ward off the Bats no longer emits its scent. Please bestow upon us new black flowers!"

The Village Chief said, kneeling devoutly, and slowly opened his package, revealing a pair of deer legs inside.

The others did the same; they opened their personal packages, which contained a large amount of fresh flesh and blood.

Among them, there was not only animal flesh but also human.

Li Haotian felt a chill in his heart. He hadn't brought anything, merely watching the Abbot on the platform calmly.

"Benefactors, some of you still haven't brought tribute to exchange for the black flower. I apologize, but for those who haven't brought tribute or whose tribute quantity is insufficient, I can only extract the corresponding payment from your bodies."

After speaking, the Abbot slowly shook the Zen Staff in his hand. The golden rings on the staff continuously clanged, and a blood-red stream of Qi flowed into it. The villagers who had no tribute could only close their eyes in despair. From their nostrils, wisps of red Qi continuously flowed out, and their bodies rapidly shriveled.