Upon contact, they dissipated, these Taoist Priests would be ejected as soon as they touched the barrier, but they continued to struggle, trying to break out.
"This barrier is imprisoning them," Xu Zii realized in an instant.
Xu Zii did not bother with these people, and walked straight ahead, arriving in front of the largest hall within the Taoist Temple.
The hall was over fifty ters tall, with its entire body gilded, and an elliptical shape above.
There were six large red pillars in front, surrounded by iron railings.
Xu Zii walked up the steps, ca in front of the hall, and saw the signboard above which read "Hall of Atonent."
He frowned slightly, pushed open the vermillion door, and with a creak, entered the hall.
The hall was divided into several rooms, and in the room Xu Zii had just entered, there were three statues displayed.
From left to right, the first statue was entirely brown, with the facial features in pure black.
Both its hands were raised, with the left foot on the ground and the right foot lifted forward, and its clothes were wrapped in gold ribbons.
The middle statue was a one-eyed lone wolf, with a single eye and fiery red fur.
It lay on a raised platform, sowhat resembling the reclining pose of Maitreya, appearing strange and peculiar.
The statue on the right was a monk with black beads, wearing a kasaya and black beads all over his body.
Even his eyebrows, eyes, and lips seed to have been made up, looking extrely pitch-black.
The monk’s ears were very large, almost as if hanging from his earlobes.
"What exactly is this Taoist Temple venerating?" Xu Zii felt bewildered.
Just then, a coughing sound arose.
An elder dressed in a Taoist robe erged from a room next door, his complexion waxen, appearing very weak.
"Who are you?" the elder looked at Xu Zii, his expression greatly changed, and he asked warily.
"I am a traveler passing through these mountains," Xu Zii replied.
"What a joke, there’s a seal at the foot of the mountain, how did you get up here?" the elder said in a cold voice.
His aura of the Divine Vein Realm surged, eying Xu Zii predatorily.
"I am on my way to the Nine States Domain, just passing through here," Xu Zii said.
"Besides, I didn’t see any seal."
"To go to the Nine States Domain, you need to cross another mountain, this White Sacred Mountain has been sealed for many years, don’t you know?" the elder said.
"I have not been here before, I ca with others," Xu Zii shook his head.
Looking at the elder, he asked, "Are you True Man of Qiankun?"
"Seems like you are no ordinary passerby, you even know my title," True Man of Qiankun said, squinting his eyes.
"Don’t get wrong, your disciple called Xuan Yu told ," Xu Zii replied.
"Xuan Yu, it was him who brought you in," True Man of Qiankun fell silent for a mont.
He looked at Xu Zii, his expression seemingly torn, and Xu Zii felt a murderous aura emanating from him.
Struggling between killing and not killing for a long while, eventually, True Man of Qiankun sighed.
He said, "Don’t go anywhere tonight, just stay here, and leave first thing in the morning."
"Your Black Demon Temple is quite lively," Xu Zii said with a smile.
"Leave this place, forget everything, it won’t do you any harm," True Man of Qiankun said.
"Don’t get involved, act as if nothing has happened."
"It seems you don’t want to talk," Xu Zii said.
"What’s the use of telling you, just stay put," True Man of Qiankun settled down on a cushion next to him, silently chanting sothing.
Xu Zii did not insist, if True Man of Qiankun was unwilling to speak, forcing him with the threat of death was pointless.
He just couldn’t help but wonder about the nature of the entities being venerated.
Xu Zii did not leave the hall but went to check out a few other rooms, and the old man did not stop him.
The other rooms were all quite similar, hosting creatures that Xu Zii had never heard of.
It could even be said that this place was not a Taoist Temple at all.
...…
A night passed in silence, and as dawn approached,
the sound of three bell chis emanated from within the Taoist Temple. True Man of Qiankun had been seated there the entire night.
It was only when the bell rang that he stood up and left the hall with Xu Zii.
"Master," as the two had just stepped out of the hall, they encountered a rather plump Taoist Priest.
This plump Taoist Priest, Xu Zii rembered seeing him the night before, frantically running towards the barrier’s edge, just like Xuan Yu’s state.
"Master, do we have outsiders?" the plump Taoist Priest asked with so surprise as he looked at Xu Zii.
"You needn’t worry about it, clean up the Hall of Atonent in the morning," True Man of Qiankun said indifferently.
The plump Taoist Priest nodded and then humd a tune as he walked into the hall.
Xu Zii felt the man was completely different from the one he t the night before, as though he had a split personality.
"I’m getting more and more interested in your Taoist Temple," said Xu Zii with a smile.
True Man of Qiankun did not reply but directly took Xu Zii to the Distant Pavilion.
He instructed a group of people to leave imdiately.
When Xu Zii arrived at the Distant Pavilion, he found Cai Yue and the accompanying servants chatting with Xuan Yu.
"Sister Yue, why did you bind up?" Xuan Yu asked, puzzled.
Cai Yue hadn’t had the chance to answer when she saw Xu Zii and others walking in.
"Master," seeing True Man of Qiankun, Xuan Yu promptly shrank her neck.
"Leave," True Man of Qiankun said, looking at Cai Yue and her group, his face growing increasingly gloomy.
Cai Yue looked at Xu Zii, but saw him gently shaking his head.
"Xuan Yun," True Man of Qiankun called out softly.
"Master, I’m here," a loud call ca from afar, and a man dressed in a black cloak was seen rushing from a distance.
The man looked quite ordinary, but his ears were exceptionally large, resembling folding screens.
"Escort them down the mountain," True Man of Qiankun ordered calmly.
Then he looked at Xuan Yu and said, "You co with to the Hall of Atonent."
After he finished speaking, he left without another word or glance at Xu Zii and the others.
"Please, this way," said Xuan Yun with a smile.
Xu Zii, along with Cai Yue and the others, started walking outside without further ado.
"Hold on a mont," called out Xuan Yu hurriedly.
He pulled Xu Zii and the others aside and stealthily pulled out several sachets from his pocket.
Apologizing, he said, "I’m really sorry, these sachets are blessed, please take them as a gift for our eting."
Cai Yue patted his head with a smile and accepted the sachets.
Following that, the group departed with Xuan Yun from the Taoist Temple, heading down the mountainside.
"This is the first ti in my life I’ve seen outsiders co up the mountain," said Xuan Yun with a sense of wonder.
"What did you do last night?" Xu Zii asked Xuan Yun.
"Last night? I didn’t do anything. I just ditated and slept in my room," replied Xuan Yun gently.
"It seems these people don’t rember anything at all," Xu Zii said, squinting his eyes.
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