As dusk approached, Bai Jingjing arrived at Xuanxiao Temple in the afternoon. After chatting with Liang the Perfected for a while, evening soon followed.
Liang the Perfected remained by Bai Jingjing's side, neglecting even dinner. Although Bai Jingjing couldn't guide his cultivation, he firmly believed that this was his own destiny, and perhaps one day he would suddenly have an epiphany and gain supreme supernatural powers.
Bai Jingjing was extremely annoyed and initially hesitated about whether to obey the orders given to her by the White Bone Madam within her.
Now it seems... let them all be destroyed!
"The opportunity for the revival of Daoism is right before our eyes!"
Inside Xuanxiao Temple, after dinner, Liang the Perfected gathered all the Daoist priests together and very seriously introduced Bai Jingjing to them:
"This is our distinguished guest. You must treat Fellow Daoist Bai with ten or a hundred times more respect than you would treat me. You must do your best to fulfill any request Fellow Daoist Bai may make. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" Although the Daoists didn't understand why Liang the Perfected was being so polite to Bai Jingjing, they would immediately agree to what their leader said, whether they could actually do it was another matter.
Of everyone present, only Tong Yucheng knew what was going on, but he didn't reveal the truth.
Since Master Liang the Perfected did not reveal Bai Jingjing's identity, only vaguely saying that she was a distinguished guest, it means that Master Liang the Perfected may not want to expose Bai Jingjing's true identity and let too many people know about the existence of extraordinary magic. Therefore, Tong Yucheng naturally had to follow in his master's footsteps and keep quiet.
"Master," a square-faced Daoist priest suddenly spoke up, "There are still some tourists lingering outside the mountain gate, seemingly not planning to leave tonight. What should we do?"
Liang the Perfected thought for a moment, then looked at Tong Yucheng and questioned, "Yucheng, didn't I just tell you to send all the tourists away? Why are there still some people left?!"
"It was my fault." Tong Yucheng admitted his mistake directly, offering no rebuttal. After all, the tourists had legs; could he really use a stick and stern words to drive them all away?
Liang the Perfected said sternly, "Fine, go again and tell those tourists that Xuanxiao Temple will not be receiving outsiders for the next few days. Tell them to leave quickly before it gets completely dark. We will not be responsible for anything that happens during the night!"
Tong Yucheng secretly groaned. He knew this kind of trouble would fall on his head. After all, he was a new apprentice and not a second-generation Daoist. He was the one who had to do all the hard and tiring work.
He had clearly notified the tourists loudly, and there was a sign at the foot of the mountain saying that Xuanxiao Temple was closed to visitors. Under these circumstances, some people still ignored everything and went up the mountain. This can only mean that these people are probably troublesome and unruly guests.
But he had no choice but to bite the Tong Yucheng and go ahead. He hurried to the mountain gate and was furious to see dozens of tourists gathered there.
"Xuanxiao Temple is currently closed to visitors," and this isn't just a single sign; there are reminders of this from the foot of the mountain to the top.
Are they all deaf and blind?!
No matter how angry he was, Tong Yucheng still had to put on the appearance of a kind and sage, advising, "Dear patrons, Xuanxiao Temple is temporarily closed and not offering any services. Please leave here as soon as possible and go to a hotel down the mountain to rest."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a middle-aged man walked up to Tong Yucheng, his tone unfriendly. "We are all believers in Daoism who came here because of its reputation. We climbed the mountain with great difficulty, yet you turn us away. Is this your way of treating guests?"
Tong Yucheng had anticipated that someone would cause trouble, so he still tried to persuade them in a kind and gentle manner, repeating the same old nonsense, but in short, he wouldn't let them in.
Even if the tourists were outraged, he didn't care. Surely no one would dare to cause trouble here and force their way through the mountain gate?
"Ah--"
Just then, a scream suddenly rang out. A young tourist suddenly collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably, as if he had suddenly fallen ill.
He stretched out his hand towards the Xuanxiao Temple, his eyes wide, his mouth opening and closing as if he were saying something.
Tong Yucheng frowned, fearing that someone would die at the entrance of Xuanxiao Temple, which would ruin the reputation of his sect. Other Daoist temples might take advantage of the situation and smear him!
"Young Daoist priest, aren't you going to let us in? What if someone dies? Can you take responsibility?" The middle-aged man leading the tourists shouted sternly.
Tong Yucheng was not intimidated by him and said directly, "There are no doctors in Xuanxiao Temple. What you need to do now is call 120 for emergency help and get the person to the hospital as soon as possible, instead of getting entangled with me here!"
The middle-aged man retorted, "Isn't Liang the Perfected somewhat skilled? Let him come out and take a look. If he can save people, we won't need to wait for the ambulance. The mountain roads are difficult to traverse; by the time the rescue team arrives, it might be too late."
Tong Yucheng remained silent, neither speaking nor calling for emergency medical assistance. He preferred to avoid getting involved in such matters, lest he face endless repercussions from the patient's family.
The middle-aged man continued his incessant lecturing, seemingly unconcerned about whether the tourist who had collapsed from illness was alive or dead. It was more as if he had found a suitable outlet to vent his anger from a moral high ground.
The next second, the young tourist who had been convulsing on the ground suddenly stiffened, and then a visible plume of black smoke billowed from his mouth and nose.
Immediately afterwards, the flesh on the young man's face rotted away, revealing the white bones. His eyeballs, not yet completely rotten, were half-fallen from their sockets, connected only by a few strands of flesh, exuding a chilling and terrifying aura.
"Creak--"
The newly born Skeleton Ghost leaped up and bit the incessantly talking middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man immediately shut his mouth, fell silent, and his body began to decompose rapidly, with flesh and blood falling away.
The process happened so fast that no one else around could react and could only watch helplessly as it all unfolded.
After a moment of silence, screams erupted one after another, and other tourists retreated in panic, clearing the area in front of Xuanxiao Temple.
"What... what exactly is going on?"
"Damn it, someone call the police!"
"It's haunted! It must be haunted! Why would the entrance to the Daoist temple be haunted?!"
"This is Zombie..."
The crowd was chattering amongst themselves. Some, clever and some timid, were already sprinting down the mountain, while others were pleading with Tong Yucheng to let them into Xuanxiao Temple for temporary refuge. Still others, more oblivious to the danger, were taking photos with their phones, both nervous and excited, eager to get a closer look.
Soon, the man from the Central Plains who had been bitten also transformed into a new skeleton. Now there are two skeletons, attacking living people everywhere.
Tong Yucheng looked at the scene before him, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He suspected that these skeletons were related to Bai Jingjing in Xuanxiao Temple, but he had no evidence. He didn't know whether he should return to Xuanxiao Temple or run down the mountain directly.
In that moment of distraction, he failed to guard the gate, and the gate of Xuanxiao Temple was smashed open by panicked tourists!
Tong Yucheng was genuinely startled. The door was so thick and heavy; how had these people managed to break it open?
The potential unleashed in life-or-death situations?
Or is it... that some unknown, mysterious force is interfering?
Tong Yucheng seemed to have misunderstood something, thinking that the patriarch had appeared to him and wanted these innocent tourists to take refuge in Xuanxiao Temple, so he stopped stopping them and ran down the mountain himself.
The Xuanxiao Temple gradually became noisy and chaotic, which soon made Liang the Perfected, who was in the middle of a meeting, frown. "What's wrong with Yucheng? I sent him to drive away the tourists, and he can't even handle such a small matter!"
After saying this, Liang the Perfected stormed out, and the other Daoist priests, both senior and junior, naturally had no choice but to follow.
As soon as Liang the Perfected stepped out of the room, he saw the tourists who had barged in. He immediately glared at them and said angrily, "Xuanxiao Temple is holding a ritual ceremony. Why have you barged in? Aren't you afraid of angering the Three Pure Ones?"
Liang the Perfected thought that his powerful words would be enough to intimidate these tourists who seemed a bit strange.
Unfortunately, upon hearing this, the tourists showed expressions of relief, shouting repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes! The Three Pure Ones are enshrined here! Everyone hurry to the Three Pure Ones Hall; maybe it can keep the monsters outside away!"
Before Liang the Perfected could figure out what was going on, and before he could say anything more, he suddenly heard a series of creaking sounds of bones grinding together.
When I turned around, I was so frightened that I almost collapsed to the ground.
Those terrifying skeletons, with bits of rotten flesh still clinging to their white bones and clad in blood-stained clothes, exuded a chilling aura that penetrated to the bone, even from dozens of meters away.
Looking at these skeletons, Liang the Perfected gasped, "The White Bone Spirit... it's the White Bone Spirit!"
"Where is Fellow Daoist Bai? Go find her quickly, she must have a solution!"
At the crucial moment, Liang the Perfected ran faster than anyone else, like a gust of wind, leaving his disciples and the young and strong tourists behind.
The skeletons attacked the living indiscriminately, and even the Daoist priest was not spared.
"Don't come any closer!"
"I'm your friend! Don't kill me, go kill someone else!"
"The Supreme Star Responds Without Ceasing, Exorcising Evil, Binding Demons, Protecting Life, and Safeguarding the Body..."
A Daoist priest chanted a spell, but it was to no avail; instead, the skeleton was the first to touch him.
The chanting abruptly stopped, followed by the decay and sloughing off of flesh, and a brand new skeletal imp was quickly born.
Tourists who fled to the Sanqing Hall discovered that the statues of the Three Pure Ones had not stopped the ghosts and monsters, and they screamed in despair.
Liang the Perfected has found Bai Jingjing and briefly described the situation outside, hoping that Bai Jingjing can lend a helping hand.
Although the situation was critical, Liang the Perfected's mind remained clear. He began to suspect Bai Jingjing and couldn't help but feel regret. What good could come from a demon walking into a Daoist temple? Why had he been so bewitched and insisted on keeping Bai Jingjing here?!
At this moment, however, he dared not break off relations openly and could only feign compliance to see what this demon's true purpose was!
Bai Jingjing agreed to Liang the Perfected's request, walked out of the room, looked at the skeletons, and with a wave of her hand, wisps of black smoke surged from her body, entangling the skeletons.
In less than half a minute, all the mischievous skeletons fell down and could no longer harm anyone.
Regardless of what Liang the Perfected was thinking, he maintained a perfect facade, immediately bowing to Bai Jingjing and saying, "Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Bai!"
"Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Bai!" The other surviving Daoists followed suit and expressed their gratitude.
"It was nothing." Bai Jingjing waved her hand calmly, like a hermit.
She suddenly felt a slight sense of pleasure from this act of secretly causing trouble and then showing off in front of others to solve problems.
Even though Liang the Perfected had already developed suspicions about her, he dared not say it aloud and could only keep it to himself while still maintaining a respectful demeanor on the surface.
Bai Jingjing experienced the wonderful feeling of possessing great power for the first time, and suddenly she was not so world-weary anymore.
"No wonder men are so fond of pursuing power, authority, and wealth; I like it too!"
A faint smile flashed across Bai Jingjing's face, unnoticed by anyone.
Liang the Perfected pointed to the motionless skeleton on the ground and tentatively asked, "Fellow Daoist Bai, what do you think... what's going on with these demons and monsters?"
Bai Jingjing pretended to glance at it a few times and said, "It seems to be an unknown evil spirit that has somehow set its sights on Xiaoguan. You should be more careful in the future."
This was practically nonsense, but Liang the Perfected didn't dare to retort. He could only turn to the tourists who were whispering among themselves, having survived the ordeal, and ask loudly, "Where did you come from? When did skeletons first appear?"
The online celebrity Daoist priest struck up a conversation with them, and there was also a female Daoist priest who actually knew magic. Some of the surviving tourists were so excited that they even temporarily forgot about the life-or-death ordeal they had just experienced.
A young man mustered his courage and replied, "Masters, we're from the same tour group, but we don't know each other very well..."
He seemed a little nervous about what had just happened, and spoke haltingly. However, he quickly composed himself and poured out his grievances to Liang the Perfected and Bai Jingjing, explaining in detail the events that had occurred at the entrance of Xuanxiao Temple.
Liang the Perfected lowered his eyes, constantly calculating in his mind. Although a murder had occurred in Xuanxiao Temple this time, resulting in the deaths of many people, Bai Jingjing's actions had been witnessed by many. Perhaps he could use this incident to generate buzz, attract attention, and elevate Xuanxiao Temple's reputation to a higher level.
However, the more pressing issue at hand is resolving these murder cases.
Liang the Perfected surveyed the Daoist priests and surviving tourists in the temple, and calmly said, "Everyone, don't panic. Stay at Xuanxiao Temple tonight. I will call the police later, and leave everything else to them."
No one objected to the suggestion, except for Bai Jingjing, whose expression changed.
The tourists were led away by the young Daoist priest to rest. They had been quite frightened that day, and many of them were too afraid to stay alone, so they huddled together in twos and threes to sleep in one room.
Liang the Perfected then ordered a tally of the disciples who had been injured or killed at Xuanxiao Temple that day.
"Master, one is missing." The Daoist priest in charge of the tallying said with a pale face. Those skeletons were truly terrifying; just looking at them made one uncomfortable.