Chapter 426: The Rule of Killing! A Great Terror!

Since the records mentioned that the Peach Talisman could summon the manifested form of the Fire Virtue Star Lord, that meant the ancestor who once entered the Mount Taoyuan Blissful Land must have known far more about this place than it seemed.

That left two possibilities: either Zhang Wei was hiding something, or that ancestor had deliberately concealed certain truths in his writings.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“Let’s go. We’ll take a look inside,” said Li Yanchu.

He pushed the door open and stepped straight in. The Daoist temple, aside from its ancient architectural style, appeared perfectly ordinary. Meanwhile, Zhang Wei followed closely behind him, staying within reach.

Inside the main hall, there were no divine statues, nor images of the Daoist immortals, not even the Three Pure Ones. The place felt empty and cold.

Only a single painting hung on the front wall: a deity with the head of a dragon and the body of a bird. Below the painting sat a small incense burner, about the size of a human head.

The incense within had long burned out. On the floor lay four meditation cushions, clearly relics of an older age.

Because Li Yanchu and Zhang Wei had arrived later than others, five people were already inside.

They were a feng shui master with a string of copper bells hanging from his waist, a wandering swordsman wearing a bamboo hat, two burly young men radiating the golden glow unique to Buddhist disciples, and finally, a mature, seductive woman whose lips were as red as blood, exuding an almost dangerous allure.

Li Yanchu didn’t bother with introductions; he strode straight into the hall. Zhang Wei followed, glancing curiously around the old temple.

Whether out of wariness of unfamiliar rivals or because the temple imposed some strange restriction, the other five paid no attention to the newcomers either.

From somewhere within the temple came the faint sound of chanting, echoing in their minds with a strange, almost demonic resonance. As a Daoist disciple, Li Yanchu immediately recognized it: it was the Scripture of Infinite Salvation.

Behind the painting of the dragon-headed, bird-bodied god, a hidden doorway led deeper into the rear hall.

The people in the room exchanged wary glances. Li Yanchu, expressionless, quietly analyzed the temple’s aura and mechanisms.

Then, suddenly, a deep bell sound rang through the hall. The tone was muffled and hoarse, lacking the pure, resonant clarity of a normal temple bell. Instead, it carried a harsh vibration that made everyone’s chest feel tight and uncomfortable.

At that moment, the painting in the center of the temple began to ripple like water.

From those ripples, an image gradually emerged: the portrait of a burly young man, whose sharp eyes turned directly toward the two Buddhist disciples radiating golden light.

The two young men immediately widened their eyes in shock. One of them shouted coldly, “What the hell is this? You think the Buddha can act according to your rules?”

The figure in the painting looked exactly like him! Previously, a person appeared, and then was compelled to draw a life-or-death lot.

Ignoring his companion’s protests, he snatched the prayer beads from his wrist and hurled them forward. In midair, the beads transformed into skull heads, forming a mysterious and powerful formation.

Everyone’s expression shifted; this wasn’t a standard Buddhist demon-slaying technique.

Li Yanchu, however, remained calm. As soon as he entered, he noticed that these two young men, who appeared to be Buddhist disciples, were entangled with vengeful spirits. They were undoubtedly demonic monks in disguise.

The skull beads enveloped the painting. This time, the bizarre life-or-death lots Zhang Wei had mentioned did not appear. The burly young man’s eyes lit up; this could work!

The skull-bead formation was a magical artifact personally blessed by his master, forged from eighteen human heads, with immense power. At this moment, it perfectly countered the strange painting.

But before he could celebrate, his skin began to crack in a grotesque manner. Dark golden blood seeped from his body, flowing onto the ground, yet the blood seemed to be instantly absorbed, leaving the floor smooth and pristine.

Li Yanchu frowned slightly. No wonder he had felt something was off the moment he entered; the floor was too clean, with not a speck of dust.

The next instant, the burly young man exploded into a mass of flesh, which was immediately absorbed by the floor. The other young man’s face finally showed true fear.

Earlier, when another cultivator had been killed by the painting, he hadn’t felt scared, but now, he was genuinely panicked as he realized the significance of the prayer beads. Even a master’s protection couldn’t guarantee safety. The confidence he had carried evaporated, replaced by pure terror in the Mount Taoyuan Blissful Land.

The others’ pupils constricted in alarm as well; they were extremely wary of this strange, lethal method.

Previously, a cultivator accompanying them had his likeness appear on the painting. Following instructions, he drew a lot. Unexpectedly, he drew a black lot. Instantly, he turned into a pool of flesh, absorbed into the temple floor. The scene was gruesome and horrifying.

Now, the young demonic monk, wielding his forbidden artifact, tried to forcefully attack the painting, but still could not escape death!

The middle-aged feng shui master’s eyes darkened. As if realizing something, he strode forward, ignoring everyone else, and forcibly pushed open the ancient hidden door, entering the deep, silent rear hall without hesitation.

It seemed this enigmatic feng shui master had discovered something. After all, as a feng shui master, surveying terrain was his specialty, so noticing clues faster than others was expected.

The mature, seductive woman followed closely, her eyes sharp and vigilant, radiating cold, lethal intent as she trailed the feng shui master.

Together, they gave off a strange impression, as if the beautiful woman were protecting the feng shui master.

In fact, this wasn’t hard to understand. If given enough time to prepare, a feng shui master could use feng shui to trap or even directly slay cultivators stronger than themselves. The downside was their lack of close-combat ability, making them vulnerable to a sudden face-to-face attack.

Thus, pairing a feng shui master with a powerful fighter was necessary to maximize their effectiveness.

A feng shui master who could both set formations, manipulate dragon veins, and fight in close quarters was considered an anomaly. Strictly speaking, it was more like a second profession.

The wandering swordsman with the straw hat chose to remain in the corner.

With his head lowered, his face was obscured, and no expression could be discerned. He had very little presence, and it was unclear what he was thinking. Essentially, he made no moves at all.

The remaining burly young man was pale and restless.

After his once-proud hidden cards failed, he completely lost composure, panicking. Among everyone present, his reaction was the most frantic, a stark contrast to the calm and confident demeanor he had shown before.

At the entrance, Li Yanchu and Zhang Wei exchanged a glance, silently communicating.

These people were not fools, and they had already been here for some time. It seemed that some of them had already noticed interesting developments...