*I guessed right.* Zhang Yuanqing felt a slight wave of relief. In truth, after exploring the Mountain God Temple and taking care of the jiangshi, the entrance to the cavern would have opened naturally. However, the construction worker predecessors had taken the Demon-Subduing Pestle before that could happen.
If he hadn't noticed this detail and returned the Demon-Subduing Pestle, he likely would have been stuck at this step forever.
Zhang Yuanqing waited patiently, quietly tensing his nerves and focusing his concentration, not daring to be careless in the slightest. At the bottom of this cavern lay the likely source behind the ruin of the Mountain God Temple.
After a good while, seeing that nothing abnormal emerged from the collapsed opening, he resummoned the red dancing shoes and activated their second form, having them replace his running shoes to wrap around his feet.
He then walked up to the pitch-black, deep cavern and leaped down lightly.
*Patter.* The soles of his feet soon touched the ground, the red dancing shoes absorbing the impact of the fall for him.
Among the rubble, Zhang Yuanqing found the Demon-Subduing Pestle. He bent down, picked it up, and took control of this powerful item once more.
With the red dancing shoes and the Demon-Subduing Pestle, he felt confident he could face whatever dangers lurked in the cavern head-on.
Candlelight seeped down from above, illuminating only a limited area. Ahead was a dark, silent corridor, thick with the dread of the unknown.
In an environment like this, groping forward in the dark was utterly foolish.
Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment, then cast his gaze toward the item in his hand.
The item description had stated that it held the divine power of the sun; by offering a sacrifice of fresh blood, one could obtain this divine power.
A proper divine power of the sun ought to dispel darkness and bring light, right?
*It's worth a shot. It's just that the remark in the description is a bit unnerving...* Zhang Yuanqing let out a silent breath and drove the sharp triangular spike into his thigh.
A sharp bolt of pain struck. Blood welled up, but instead of trickling down his pant leg, it turned into thin streams of blood that flowed directly into the brass item.
Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of warm power gush from the Demon-Subduing Pestle, rushing up his arm and into his body. A pale gold radiance lit up his pupils, turning them into bright, brilliant golden eyes.
The Demon-Subduing Pestle did not dispel the darkness, but it granted him the ability to see right through it.
At the same time, all his negative status effects—the dizziness, shortness of breath, and ache in his heart and lungs—completely vanished, leaving behind only the weakness of blood loss.
The corpse poison inside him had been purged.
*It really is trading life for power, but it's manageable...* He focused his enhanced vision ahead. Before him lay a wide corridor stretching deep into the darkness.
The walls on either side showed chisel marks of human excavation; it was not naturally formed.
Zhang Yuanqing walked through the corridor at an unhurried pace, his footsteps echoing in the quiet space.
After walking for a dozen seconds or so, plant roots appeared along the corridor walls, crawling densely over the stone.
"Help... Help me..."
Suddenly, from the darkness ahead came a chilling cry for help, sounding like a weeping lament.
Following the sound forward a little farther, the space suddenly opened up. A massive stone cavern came into view. Right in the center stood an immense tree trunk that had pierced through the cavern ceiling to grow toward the world outside.
At the base of this thick trunk, tangled roots twisted and knotted around a stone coffin.
Most terrifying of all, pale arms protruded from the thick trunk, and pale human faces surfaced on its bark, unconsciously crying out, "Help! Save me!"
The dense thicket of arms flailed and grabbed blindly in every direction, as if grasping for a lifeline.
*My trypophobia is acting up...* But the candlelight from above and the Demon-Subduing Pestle gave Zhang Yuanqing courage. He felt only a mild prickle of numbness on his scalp, without succumbing to overwhelming fear.
Just then, a hoarse, weathered voice spoke up:
"After so many years, a living soul has finally come here for the first time."
Along with these words, the cries for help ceased. The arms swaying like seaweed retracted into the trunk one after another, and the faces sank back into the wood in terror.
"Who's there?"
Startled, Zhang Yuanqing looked left and right warily.
"Me? I am merely a tree..."
An ugly human face emerged on the trunk. Unlike the faces of the wraiths, its skin was the tree bark itself, as though embodying the tree itself.
*Is it the old banyan tree in the courtyard, turned spirit?* Zhang Yuanqing had not expected to encounter a being capable of communication in this godforsaken place, even if it was a tree.
He didn't dare approach, instead probing, "Did you kill the disciples in the temple?"
"Not me. It was her."
The tree spirit's gaze dropped down, as if staring at the stone coffin below, though it had no eyes to see.
"Who is she?"
"She is Lady Sandao."
It was like a blow to the head for Zhang Yuanqing, leaving his mind stunned.
*Lady Sandao is lying inside the stone coffin? That powerful Night Wanderer who was supposed to have ascended back at the start of the Ming Dynasty?*
*The source of the bizarre is Lady Sandao? She was the one who killed the disciples in the temple?*
Zhang Yuanqing blurted out, "Why would she do that?"
"Because the Dharma Ending Age arrived. Cultivators could no longer break through their bottlenecks. To achieve immortality, Lady Sandao fell to the demonic path. She sealed herself inside the stone coffin and used the banyan tree to bind yin souls, nourishing yin with yin to preserve her physical body and primordial spirit from destruction. She is a mighty Night Wanderer, and Night Wanderers are born with the ability to devour souls to strengthen themselves."
The face on the tree trunk sighed. "The banyan tree absorbed too many souls and took in their wills, slowly giving birth to sentience—which is me. Over the years, people have wandered into this place one after another and died here, ultimately becoming her nourishment. Bearing the hatred and resentment of those wraiths, I have been waiting for someone to come here and end her for me."
*So that's how it is. Does this count as triggering an NPC quest?* Zhang Yuanqing's eyes flickered. "What should I do?"
"Open the stone coffin and pierce her heart with the weapon in your hand, and you can end all of this. Heh, the Demon-Subduing Pestle holds half of her yang soul sealed within it. Driving it into her heart will seal the remaining yang soul in her flesh into the artifact. Without the protection of her yang soul, her physical body will die immediately." Having finished, the banyan tree spirit added slowly, "And you will be able to leave this place."
Zhang Yuanqing did not move, remaining silent.
The banyan tree spirit spoke slowly, "Young man, what are you still hesitating for?"
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly said, "I'm thinking about a question..."
The banyan tree spirit replied gently, "What question?"
Standing in the distance, Zhang Yuanqing stared at the face on the trunk and said word by word, "You wouldn't happen to be the temple master, would you?"
Silence descended abruptly upon the cavern. A few seconds later, the banyan tree spirit said in a low voice, "The temple master was the first person bewitched by Lady Sandao. He became her puppet, and later, became nourishment for that woman as well. If you do not believe me, come open the stone coffin, and you will see that I am not lying to you."
"Then open it for me."
"I cannot open it. I am merely a tree."
"Is it that you can't open it, or that you don't dare to?" Having seemingly received the answer he wanted, Zhang Yuanqing curled his lips into a smirk. "The one lying in the coffin is the temple master, isn't it? And you are his guardian—or perhaps his soul?"
Having delivered this probing deduction, he entered a state of high alert, waiting for the tree spirit's reaction.
As an otaku who excelled at walkthroughs and guide-running games, if he still couldn't see through the Mountain God Temple's secret after going through so many crises, he would be utterly pathetic.
First of all, Lady Sandao ascended at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Only after her death did the local government build this temple for her.
Meanwhile, the temple's disciples went missing without reason during the Yongle era—at least fifty or sixty years later, spanning one or two generations.
Secondly, the information hints in the main hall indicated that Lady Sandao was a righteous figure. The banyan tree spirit's claim that she had fallen to the demonic path was entirely one-sided; Zhang Yuanqing was far more inclined to believe the former.
Finally, and most crucially, what was written in the notes was: *Do not trust Master!*
Who the true enemy was had long been hinted at by the Spirit Realm in these details.
It was just that Zhang Yuanqing hadn't figured out why the temple master would kill his own disciples.
Now he understood.
If the person who sought immortality and fell to the demonic path was replaced by the temple master, every doubt dissolved.
Silence fell over the cavern. The banyan tree spirit sighed. "Your suspicion runs too deep. From start to finish, I have harbored no malice toward you, much less any intent to harm you."
"Is it that you won't harm me, or that you *can't*?" Zhang Yuanqing slowly took a few steps back.
"Mm, let me guess. Your method of killing is snapping necks, but the technique likely relies on illusions and mental tricks. Not long ago, you tried to kill me, but unfortunately for you, I didn't turn back."
This time, the banyan tree spirit's face changed abruptly.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing knew his deduction was spot on.
The Night Wanderer in the Taiyi Sect files had clearly pointed out two things: first, the banyan tree was very dangerous; second, do not turn around.
That was why his deep exploration of the ancient well had yielded nothing—because there was nothing wrong with the well. The problem was the tree.
Furthermore, he was able to accurately deduce an "illusion" because the female ghost had called out the name "Zhang Yuanqing," not "Yuanshi Tianzun."
Lastly, when Zhang Yuanqing discovered the ancient well, what came to mind was a famous horror movie from a certain island nation, which gave him psychological baggage and made him afraid to peer down to the bottom.
Immediately afterward, the female ghost that crawled out of the well was clad in white, with disheveled hair and no facial features—matching the hazy dread in Zhang Yuanqing's own mind.
"You put on an act and spoke to me in such gentle tones because illusions can no longer deceive me, right? After all, I have Lady Sandao's Demon-Subduing Pestle, which grants immunity to illusions." Looking perfectly calm, Zhang Yuanqing dissected the truth:
"Tricking me into coming over is because you want to kill me through another method. Since illusions don't work on me, that leaves physical attacks, doesn't it?"
He glanced at the tree roots crawling over the corridor wall and abruptly drove the pestle straight down into them.
Chapter 17