The average person knocks on the door, but the Doomsday Temple does not respond.
Yet when this peculiar being knocked, the Doomsday Temple opened.
The elderly monk who opened the door glanced at the strange figure, and then at the group of Xu Zii.
He asked, "What brings you here, esteed guests?"
"How can one be without a soul? We've co to find his soul," Xu Zii calmly stated, pointing at the odd person before them.
"There is no soul here, just a small temple," the elderly monk shook his head and replied.
Xu Zii didn't argue with the monk.
Instead, he said to himself, "I heard that among the three major forces of Demon City, only the Doomsday Temple stands out remarkably."
"Neither revealing themselves to the world nor fighting for territory, they seem to have vanished from the spotlight."
"If not for the temple at the center of Demon City, many would have forgotten you."
"Why do you seclude yourselves, not revealing your presence?"
"All worldly matters are rely illusions," the elderly monk perford a Buddhist gesture.
He said, "This old monk no longer values those people."
"What aning do power and territory, attention from countless people, truly hold?"
"Has the abbot genuinely seen through worldly illusions?" Xu Zii smiled.
"If you have truly seen through them, why do you not acknowledge the existence of the soul?"
"I believe you understand better than anyone, abbot. You have not seen through the world; you are still attached to it."
"You have rely understood the essence of Demon City."
"I don't understand what the benefactor ans," the elderly monk shook his head.
"If you don't comprehend, let put it plainly," Xu Zii laughed.
"All of Demon City, including everyone here, is actually an illusion."
"Simply put, you're all fake."
"Like the moon in water, people reflected in a mirror, all are false illusions."
These words were like a bolt from the blue.
The elderly monk's expression instantly beca unnaturally grim.
Even Liu Ruyan beside them was montarily stunned.
"Fake, everyone is fake?"
"How can that be possible? This place feels nothing like an illusory realm; everything is flesh and blood."
"Your realm is too low, so you naturally cannot see clearly," Xu Zii said to Liu Ruyan.
"Not just you, even others within Demon City cannot perceive it."
"They don't understand, unaware of their own reality."
"Each day they fight fiercely over territories."
"And the Doomsday Temple was the first to awaken, thus they closed off their temple, deeming everything aningless."
At this, Xu Zii smiled.
The elderly monk was silent, reflecting on Xu Zii's words.
Clearly, he had already accepted it as truth.
To the elderly monk, even the greatest power, the grandest life, held no significance.
Because everything was fake.
At this mont, on the distant street.
Many silhouetted figures moved as if a large crowd was gathering here.
"It's from the Corpse Burial Mound and Blood River Valley," Liu Ruyan reacted first.
After all, the Black Soul Mage and the Moon-picking Fairy were crucial figures to both forces.
Now that they had died, there was no way those forces would take it lying down.
"It's fine; just a group of illusions struggling," Xu Zii shook his head.
Then he turned his gaze to the elderly monk.
He said, "The soul, will you give it to , or shall I take it myself?"
"The soul of the deceased is here; you can take it anyti you wish," the elderly monk calmly replied, neither obstructing nor angered.
Xu Zii walked into the Doomsday Temple.
From the outside, the Doomsday Temple seed vast and imnse.
But inside, the space felt as if it had been compressed.
A simple main hall, a resting ditation room.
Just these two buildings, appearing plain and clear.
"Simple als, the light of an ancient Buddha, this is enough," the elderly monk said.
Xu Zii ignored the ditation room and walked into the main hall.
Inside, the hall did not honor any figures from Buddhism or Taoism, but soone Xu Zii didn't recognize.
That person's expression was neither smiling nor crying, very peculiar.
His hair was sparse, forehead shiny, wearing a yellow robe, and holding a Jade Ruyi in his hand.
"Who is this person?" Liu Ruyan asked involuntarily.
"Sect Master of the Bliss Sect, Sikong Xingyun," Xu Zii calmly replied.
"Do you know the history of Demon City?"
Liu Ruyan shook her head.
After all, she might not have been born when Demon City existed.
Regarding even older matters, she knew little.
"It's said that this place wasn't originally Demon City, but was once known as the Bliss Sect."
Xu Zii said.
"The Bliss Sect was a very intriguing sect."
"Their cultivation thod treated people as furnaces."
"But they never forced anyone to beco furnaces; those individuals volunteered."
"Why would anyone volunteer?" Liu Ruyan clearly found it hard to believe.
"Why couldn't they?"
"Humans inherently have desires. As long as desires are fulfilled, even if it ans dying, they won't hesitate."
Xu Zii said.
"And that was the aim of the Bliss Sect."
"Bliss, bliss, what do people seek in life but pleasure?"
"The Bliss Sect can fulfill all of a person's desires."
"Whether one desires power, beauty, or other demands, the Bliss Sect can satisfy them."
"And when soone is satisfied, they can die contentedly."
"If you were asked to cure your elder's illness in exchange for becoming a furnace, would you agree?" Xu Zii asked.
Liu Ruyan fell silent montarily.
It was a difficult choice.
"And furthermore, if not only the illness was cured but also such that your elder's strength reached another level.
Leading the Radiant Moon Sect to glory, would you agree?" Xu Zii asked.
This ti, Liu Ruyan paused briefly.
Then she said, "Perhaps, I might be willing too."
"See, nothing is impossible. There are always places for transactions," Xu Zii said.
"Because of this, within hundreds of years of establishing, the Bliss Sect developed rapidly."
"And although their cultivation thod was inherently evil, because of this mutual willingness, no one called them a cult."
"Many people even considered it a holy land."
"Even those wishing to die would find them before their end."
"If the Bliss Sect was so powerful, why did it ultimately fall, becoming Demon City?" Liu Ruyan asked involuntarily.
"Because of one word."
"Greed."
"The human heart is never satisfied like a snake trying to swallow an elephant."
"The fifteenth Sect Master of the Bliss Sect obtained a treasure, matched perfectly with their cultivation thod."
"With enough power invested, the Bliss Sect could beco self-sufficient, not needing furnaces."
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