The man in the suit returned the gesture and said loudly, “Yes, Master. We’ve come from afar, drawn by your reputation.”
Jiang Yan did not interrupt.
The Main Mission was to explore the secrets of the Monkey King Temple.
If they didn’t go inside, there would be no way to proceed with the next steps.
Too much interaction—
And it might unintentionally turn into debt-repaying with affection.
Otherwise, where did all those drama plots come from, where a young hero in distress is saved by a maiden and feelings bloom?
“Hmph!”
Xiao Bai pouted at Jiang Yan’s indifferent reaction, her cheeks puffed up like an angry little hamster.
The temple was divided into front, middle, and rear courtyards, with a main hall, side rooms, and a rear mountain.
The vegetarian meal was served in the main hall.
It was called the Hall of Zen Resolution.
Inside, red stone bricks were laid across the floor, and the surroundings were carved with numerous Buddha reliefs. Giant peach wood pillars stood tall, and in the center stood a gilt-bronze statue of a monkey.
It sat in a cross-legged posture, its right hand holding a peach the size of its head, expression compassionate.
Every detail was perfectly crafted. The strange thing was—
Its eyes were hollow, not yet painted.
“The Monkey King had a kind heart, spending his life upholding justice, subduing evil, and protecting the weak. To suppress a great demon, he even transformed his body into a mountain. After death, he still bore fruit, offering peaches to all beings. To commemorate him, we built this temple and offer incense and prayers. Unfortunately, due to lack of skill, we dare not paint his eyes.”
The Abbot of Longevity Calamity sat at the head seat, recounting the origin of Monkey King Temple with a nostalgic expression.
After speaking, he clapped his hands.
Young monks came forward carrying plates and placed them in front of Jiang Yan and the others.
“Dear pilgrims, please try our Monkey King Temple’s special vegetarian meal.”
The Abbot of Longevity Calamity said with a smile, “This is peach sauce brewed and fermented from blood peaches from the rear mountain, spread on steamed buns. There is also peach gum soup, along with radishes and green vegetables that we grow ourselves.”
The little monk in front of Jiang Yan stared intently at the food on the plate, unable to help swallowing.
As if enduring great temptation.
Though the colors, aroma, and taste were enticing, none of those present had begun to eat yet.
The Abbot of Longevity Calamity looked at this scene and asked curiously:
Huang Mao calmly analyzed, “For the Monkey King to turn his body into a mountain, he must at least be a peak Law Seed stage expert. His opponent was likely of the same level. But this temple doesn’t seem dangerous—less threatening than some Turbid Stream Grade B instances.”
“Huang Mao makes sense.”
Xiao Hei looked admiringly and offered a guess, “Most likely, the temple changes after nightfall.”
Huang Mao nodded. “Highly possible.”
Everyone gathered around him as the center of discussion.
As for Jiang Yan, he had already been silently relegated to the fringes.
He did not speak, merely listened in silence.
Xiao Bai watched his reaction curiously from the side.
Xiao Hei said, “We’d better follow the rules and avoid going out tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll explore the temple and the rear mountain in daylight. Once we understand the layout, then we can consider exploring at night.”
As she spoke, her gaze briefly paused on Jiang Yan.
In her heart, she worried he was a dangerous individual.
“See you tomorrow.”
After chatting a while, everyone took their leave.
But Jiang Yan noticed that although they were supposedly staying in different places, they all walked in the same direction.
Unsurprisingly, they were likely going to meet with Huang Mao.
Because he looked like an unstable factor and his strength was average, he had been excluded from their inner circle.
Unqualified to know any detailed plans.
All he was responsible for was lying flat.
The Coffin Spirit poked its head out from Jiang Yan’s pants pocket and said angrily, “Master, these people are just too much. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve buried all of them.”
It looked like a vicious little watchdog defending its master.
Jiang Yan patted the Coffin Spirit’s head... the coffin lid, expression calm. “Humans are creatures that pursue benefit and avoid harm. They dislike troublesome things. That’s normal. I’d be the same—I can’t blame them.”
The Coffin Spirit snorted a few times and then asked, “Master, are we just going to stay inside the room now? I brought playing cards—we can use them to pass the time!”
These were all entertainment setups the Coffin Spirit had prepared after Jiang Yan lay inside the coffin.
All about maximizing comfort.
Eventually, it planned to study how to receive a signal and move a TV in here.
Couldn’t be worse than some so-called hotel.
“No, I’ve got other things to do,” Jiang Yan smiled slightly and activated his thought.
The Ash Lamp emerged from the void, burning with a dim flame.
Atop the lamp, the soul of Fly Boy, now the size of an ordinary fly, kept fluttering about but was unable to escape the boundaries of the flame.
It could only watch helplessly as its body began to melt and slowly collapse.
Jiang Yan looked down at Fly Boy and asked, “What’s Lord Gaoshan’s goal in the real world?”
His voice was soft, but to Fly Boy, it was like thunder, frightening it so much it fell into the lamp oil. Its wings got stuck in the wax and instantly solidified.
It lifted its head and looked at Jiang Yan, who seemed as grand as a giant Buddha, trembling all over.
How did this man know about Shaolao Mountain and Lord Gaoshan?
Could it be…
Was this person the human reincarnation of the Buddha?
Omniscient? Omnipotent?
It pleaded, “Buddha, please let me go! I don’t know anything—I only escaped from Shaolao Mountain by sheer luck...”
‘Lucky again?’
Jiang Yan sneered and continued burning it with the flame, but the answer remained the same.
He then shifted to interrogating it for other intel about Shaolao Mountain. Only after confirming there was no further value did he begin refining it.
Rustle, rustle!
Fly Boy’s soul melted, once again releasing several streams of the same blue-gray aura as those from Lady of the Mountain’s soul.
But before he could capture them, they self-dissipated and vanished into the void.
“What exactly are these things?”
Jiang Yan frowned, vaguely sensing these mysterious auras held secrets.
Especially strange was how these fleeing monsters seemed unaware of the auras’ existence.
What exactly was Lord Gaoshan after?
While he pondered, Fly Boy’s soul condensed into a white candle.
This was one of the Ash Lamp’s abilities.
Named—the Candle of All Beings Method.
The Burning Lamp Fire Hell used the karma and souls of all beings as fuel for the candles.
The greater a creature’s karma and merit, the higher the level of the resulting candle.
Candles came in five colors: white, red, purple, gold, and rainbow.
Different levels of candles had different powers.
Lighting a white candle increased one’s fortune and soul strength, and granted the ability to sense the target’s emotions and malice—similar to telepathy.
But it only allowed vague sensing. To achieve mind-reading effects, an immense number of white candles would need to be burned.
Each lasted for three days.