Middle Snake Temple

In the middle of the night, Zhou Yi was woken by the sound of chanting. He immediately got up, took Han Guang in his hand, and looked towards the Three Talents Formation.

The room was dark, with only the runes on the Talisman Paper emitting a faint red glow.

Seeing that the Talisman Paper had not spontaneously combusted, Zhou Yi turned to find the source of the sound, but after searching for a long time, he couldn't find where it was coming from.

The chanting continued to echo in his ears, and Zhou Yi couldn't fall asleep. He just picked up Han Guang and sat quietly on a stool, vigilantly watching the formation. If there was any slight disturbance, he would act immediately.

Hearing the chanting grow louder, Zhou Yi couldn't help but wonder.

With such a loud noise, how could the people staying at the inn not notice anything?

Thinking this, Zhou Yi prepared to go out with Han Guang to take a look. Pushing open the door, he found that the door to the next room was open, and a chewing sound reached his ears.

Wary, Zhou Yi held Han Guang in his hand, used his footwork, and lightly approached the next room.

He saw an animal covered in black fur, shaped like a monkey, crouched by the bed, its body rising and falling as it did something.

Zhou Yi slowly walked behind the monster. As he got closer, he realized the monster was tearing at the person on the bed.

The bed was already covered in blood. The person had been split in half from the abdomen, and the monster was tearing at the remains, bite by bite.

Zhou Yi stood behind the monster and drew Han Guang. At this moment, the monster, hearing the sound, tried to turn its head, but with a flash of white light, it lost consciousness.

Zhou Yi kicked the monster's head, which had fallen to the ground, and muttered softly, "So it's a Mountain Imp."

Mountain Imps, resembling monkeys with human faces and long arms, are covered in black fur and like to eat people. Strictly speaking, Mountain Imps are not considered Weirdness.

Therefore, after Zhou Yi killed the Mountain Imp, the system panel did not make a sound.

Zhou Yi looked around the room. The burly man lying on the bed had also set up a Three Talents Formation in his room, just like himself. Unfortunately, he had encountered a Mountain Imp.

Zhou Yi returned to his room. Just as he was about to sit down, he saw the Three Talents Talisman by the window spontaneously combust.

"This is really not peaceful," Zhou Yi picked up Han Guang, and at the same time, his hand reached into his Talisman Pouch and pulled out an Evil Warding Talisman. The Evil Warding Talisman did not spontaneously combust, but it felt slightly hot in his hand.

"It seems to be just a Soul Grade Weirdness." A gust of wind came from the window, and in a blink of an eye, a Weirdness appeared in Zhou Yi's room. Zhou Yi immediately attacked, his Vital Energy dyeing Han Guang a faint red. When it struck the Weirdness, it felt like a hot knife cutting through butter.

With one slash, the Weirdness was cut in half by Zhou Yi, its body still trembling on the ground.

Seeing the Weirdness struggling, Zhou Yi stepped forward and stomped forcefully on its head.

"Yin Energy +30"

"So weak!" Zhou Yi pouted. It seemed to have been attracted by the smell of blood from the next room. He wondered if it would attract a Crimson Grade Weirdness. With this thought, Zhou Yi packed his luggage, took Han Guang, and moved to another empty room on the second floor.

After a night of tossing and turning, Zhou Yi set up the Three Talents Formation in the new room before lying down to sleep again.

Dawn arrived. Although the window was not open, the room still became bright. Zhou Yi got up. Fearing that he might encounter monsters like the Mountain Imp, he had not slept too deeply. As soon as it was light, his biological clock woke him up.

After tidying up, Zhou Yi went downstairs. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the old man guarding the inn packing up the room where the incident had occurred last night. The old man muttered as he packed, "What bad luck! I have to clean up all day again."

Clearly, the old man was used to this. Seeing Zhou Yi come out of the room, the old man nodded slightly at him and then thought with confusion, "Didn't this person stay in the next room last night? Why did he move to another room?" However, the old man suppressed his confusion and didn't ask further.

In this world, talking too much is not a good habit.

Zhou Yi did not explain to the old man, only saying, "I'm checking out."

The old man nodded at Zhou Yi and pointed in the direction of the stable, saying, "Your horse is in the stable. Go get it yourself."

He led the horse out of the stable, patted its back lightly, and then mounted it, holding the reins and heading towards the main road.

Since it was already winter, the cold wind from riding blew against Zhou Yi's cheeks. After riding for a while, snow began to fall from the sky. The horse's nostrils puffed out more white mist. Zhou Yi secretly stimulated his Vital Energy to keep warm.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up~

Finally, it was noon. The warmth from the sun slightly dispelled the chill. At this moment, Zhou Yi heard the faint chanting sound again.

This time, it resonated directly in his mind.

Zhou Yi was startled and pulled on the reins. A temple had appeared beside the main road in front of him.

The temple seemed to be in disrepair. Moss grew all over the surrounding walls, the red paint at the base of the walls was so faded it was almost invisible, the pillars by the door were pitted, and the door was wide open.

The chanting in his mind grew clearer, as if luring Zhou Yi inside.

Facing such a strange scene, Zhou Yi became more vigilant. He did not dismount to investigate, but instead pulled on the reins, flicked his whip, and urged the horse forward.

However, after the horse had galloped for nearly half an hour, the strange temple reappeared before Zhou Yi's eyes.

Zhou Yi's pupils contracted slightly. It seemed he had no choice but to go in today.

Zhou Yi led the horse to the temple entrance. He looked up. The temple's plaque hung high, inscribed with Snake Buddha Temple. In stark contrast to the dilapidated temple, the plaque looked as if it had just been hung, without a speck of dust on it.

Zhou Yi tied his horse to the side and walked in alone. Upon entering, he found a small courtyard. In the center of the courtyard stood an incense burner. Behind the incense burner was the temple's only building - the Middle Snake Buddha Hall.

Zhou Yi walked around the incense burner and went straight into the Middle Snake Buddha Hall. Inside, there was a huge Buddha statue. The Buddha had kind eyebrows and benevolent eyes, with one hand in a flower-picking gesture and the other holding a large snake. The snake's mouth was wide open, as if it were about to bite the Buddha statue.

Beneath the Buddha statue were three prayer mats. The hunched back of an old monk could be seen, seemingly praying to the Buddha statue.

Zhou Yi stepped forward, wanting to get a clear look at the monk's face. But upon closer inspection, he saw it was a skeleton, its head bowed, hands clasped in front of its chest.

At this moment, the chanting in Zhou Yi's mind abruptly stopped.