Chapter 323 : Disappeared
His sudden outcry felt like a curse, making everyone's hearts sink.
Jiang Mo's expression immediately darkened, but before she could do anything, Yun Qingyue restrained her. Her senior sister stepped forward, fixing the man with a cold, clear gaze and asking frostily: "What exactly happened last night?"
At her words, the man's face twitched, once again appearing on the verge of madness, but upon meeting Yun Qingyue's gaze, he somehow froze.
Time was rapidly slipping away, and Jiang Mo had little patience. She was about to abandon this man and leave directly. Just then, however, he spoke, this time with clear logic and articulation: "Last night, last night all those monks turned into monsters. They were killing everywhere, and everyone tried to run, but there was a barrier outside the wall—nobody could escape. They were all killed. I was lucky enough to run back here and barely saved my life."
At this point, he suddenly raised his head: "Everything I'm telling you is true. The monks in this temple are all monsters. They'll tear out your heart on sight! Only here, only here is safe. Don't go outside—you'll die!"
Judging by his demeanor, Jiang Mo and the others didn't think he was lying, but when they considered it carefully, his claims seemed somewhat absurd.
They had also gone out last night, and although they had mostly been observing in the Great Buddha Hall, it had only been for half an hour. When they emerged half an hour later, apart from Jiang Mo saying she had smelled a hint of blood, everything outside the hall had appeared normal. They hadn't seen any blood, any corpses, or any signs of battle, and their return journey had been entirely peaceful.
Surely the monsters couldn't be selective, sparing them because they were attractive? As for Zhu Baiyi's concealment formation, Jiang Mo felt it hadn't been particularly effective when the small Buddha statue in the hall had fixed its gaze on her.
After considering everything, they remained perplexed, but from the moment they had stepped outside earlier, they had all sensed the difference between the temple at night and during the day.
Cultivators' perceptions are always acute, and at least when they had gone outside earlier, Jiang Mo and the others hadn't sensed any threat. So while they believed the man's words, they weren't about to cower in fear and still intended to leave.
"Regardless, we're leaving now. Do you want to come with us?" Jiang Mo finally asked.
The man who had been on the verge of madness now looked at them as if they were the insane ones, shaking his head frantically: "No, no, no, I won't go. I won't go outside."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo and the others didn't press him further and simply turned to leave.
Before departing, Jiang Mo looked at the dozen or so quarters and decided to push each door open. Most rooms were empty, their doors yielding immediately to her push. But there were clearly several clever individuals—occasionally, when a door wouldn't open, it meant either the occupant hadn't gone out last night or they too had fled back. However, these survivors had clearly been badly frightened and now dared not leave their rooms. By the time they recovered their senses, the sun would certainly be high in the sky.
Jiang Mo and her companions felt deeply that the fate of those who remained was uncertain, but these were all demonic cultivators and had no connection to them. So while they could guess there were survivors, they didn't feel obligated to play the role of good Samaritans and quickly departed.
Emerging from the quarters, they found a scene of tranquility outside. When they reached the Great Buddha Hall, a group of monks was performing the morning ritual inside.
Jiang Mo took a deliberate look and discovered that the abbot who had transformed into a stone statue last night had returned to his original form, sitting benevolently at the head position, leading the temple full of monks in their morning service. Whether or not he had noticed their arrival, he didn't so much as open his eyes.
Even so, having witnessed the ferocious stone statue the previous night, Jiang Mo couldn't help but shudder involuntarily and quickly withdrew her gaze. As if afraid her voice might disturb him, she lowered it and said to her companions: "Let's go."
None of them objected, but just before leaving, Yun Qingyue's steps suddenly faltered.
Jiang Mo turned and asked: "What's wrong?"
Yun Qingyue frowned slightly: "The man from this morning is gone."
With her reminder, they suddenly remembered that the first man to leave that morning had disappeared. He had clearly said he wanted to watch the monks' morning ritual, but there was no sign of him outside the hall, nor had they encountered him on their way—this person was quite peculiar. He evidently hadn't been involved in last night's events, and now he had mysteriously vanished. He certainly didn't seem like a Nine Abyss Sect disciple who had come on a mission.
However, they didn't have much time to investigate. After hearing Yun Qingyue's words, Jiang Mo only hastily glanced into the hall. The man wasn't outside, and inside were only shaven heads, indicating he wasn't there either.
"Let's go, don't worry about it anymore," Jiang Mo said, pulling Yun Qingyue along as they hurried away.
The four made their way to the temple gate as morning light bathed the land. When sunlight hit the temple walls and gate, there seemed to be a faint distortion. Zhu Baiyi and Yun Qingyue particularly sensed a slight warping of time and space in this place—just like the temple's sudden "revival" last night, it seemed about to "die" again.
Jiang Mo had no desire to linger. She walked quickly to the temple gate, reaching out to lift the bolt.
Just at that moment, the young novice who had opened the door for them yesterday evening appeared from somewhere. He looked at them curiously and asked: "Are the benefactors leaving?"
Jiang Mo's hand had already touched the bolt, and she was about to disregard everything and simply open the door to leave, but Yun Qingyue pulled her back at the right moment.
Simultaneously, Zhu Baiyi replied politely: "Indeed. Last night it was late, and we had no choice but to trouble your esteemed temple for shelter. Now that daylight has come, we have other matters to attend to and must take our leave."
"I see," the young novice murmured.
Although Jiang Mo had been restrained by her senior sister and had stopped, she hadn't released her grip on the bolt—she still remembered what the man had said, that the monks in this temple were monsters who wouldn't let them leave.
However, this proved untrue. After a murmur, the young novice didn't make things difficult for them and even stepped forward to open the temple gate himself. Afterward, Zhu Baiyi thanked him, and he politely bid them farewell: "It was a fortunate connection that brought the benefactors to our humble temple. There's nothing to thank us for. Now that our karmic bond has run its course, the benefactors are free to go."
Jiang Mo impatiently pulled her senior sister outside, stepping onto the soft yellow sand at the threshold, feeling somewhat dazed.
Once outside the temple gate, the danger seemed to be left behind. Looking back, she saw the temple indeed beginning to distort in the morning light. Through the still-open gate, the young novice's face bore a slight smile, but his entire visage was becoming transparent in the sunlight.
Shortly thereafter, the Buddhist temple vanished, and in its place stood only a few broken walls and ruins.
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The desert remained the same desert, and the ruins remained the same ruins, except the four or five dozen people who had arrived there yesterday now numbered only four, standing before the crumbled walls.
Jiang Mo stood in place for a while, feeling somewhat apprehensive, intending to pull her senior sister away a few steps before deciding what to do next.
The desert climate was harsh—at night it could be cold enough to freeze water instantly, while during the day it could scorch a layer of skin off. Early morning was slightly better, but within a short time, the temperature would rise. Even cultivators who were not afraid of heat and cold wouldn't be comfortable in such weather, especially when their minds were already agitated.
Jiang Mo wanted to leave this place quickly, but the other three didn't share her urgency. Yun Qingyue held her back, while Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu unhesitatingly stepped into the ruins before them.
A moment later, the two emerged, shaking their heads: "There's nothing."
Seeing their actions, Jiang Mo frowned in confusion: "What were you looking for?"
Before the two could answer, Yun Qingyue explained for them: "Bodies. So many people died last night, but we didn't see any corpses when we left, nor did we notice anything unusual on our way out this morning."
They had originally suspected that the bodies might have been thrown outside the temple, but after searching, they found nothing. This was perhaps not good news, and both Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu furrowed their brows.
Hearing this, Jiang Mo pressed her lips together, her gaze sweeping across the ruins once before quickly withdrawing.
This time, the four didn't linger any longer and quickly left the place. Last night's events felt like a dream to them. But this dream clearly hadn't ended, because not long after they departed, Zhu Baiyi said: "Let's visit the temple again tonight."
Jiang Mo's steps faltered as she instinctively looked back and asked: "Will the temple appear here again tonight?"
Zhu Baiyi shook her head: "Not necessarily, but once night falls, I can find it."
As she spoke, she too looked back deeply—their visit to the temple last night hadn't been in vain. She had left something in that temple and could sense its location. Even now, the temple still lingered at those ruins, but it seemed to have entered another dimension of time and space. Ordinary people could no longer detect its presence, much less enter that realm.
Jiang Mo was completely unaware of this. Upon hearing her words, she didn't question anything, only saying: "If we go again tonight, I wonder if those people are still alive?" She was referring to last night's survivors, but as the words left her mouth, her steps suddenly halted.
Yun Qingyue, whose hand she was holding, noticed immediately and turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Mo raised her head to meet her gaze, appearing somewhat dazed and uncertain: "I just remembered, earlier I caught a glimpse of someone familiar in that great hall..."