Worshipping Buddha in the Great Hero Hall

The God of Gluttony did not respond.

Lin Baici wanted even more to ask what exactly was going on with the hunger that had started appearing when he was in middle school.

Ever since childhood, whenever he felt hungry, there would always be some valuable lost item nearby.

And now, he had discovered that his hunger reacted even more strongly to God's Taboo Objects.

As long as a God's Taboo Object appeared within a certain range, Lin Baici would feel hungry, and the closer he got to it, the stronger the hunger became.

Once he obtained a God's Taboo Object, he would feel as though he had just eaten a hearty meal.

It felt wonderful!

"Yingzhen, come in for a moment!"

Lin Baici called for someone.

The Goryeo girl immediately ran over, her dyed pale-golden hair flying behind her, brimming with energy.

"What does Brother Lin want?"

Sister Xiao Li was curious.

"Why don't you go see for yourself?"

Xu Xiu suggested.

"Why don't you go?"

Sister Xiao Li rolled her eyes.

"..."

Old Aunt gave an awkward smile. She did not dare; she was afraid Lin Baici would scold her.

"Oppa, what is it?"

The moment Jin Yingzhen entered, she saw the Black Altar Bowl in his hand.

It was quite pretty.

If it were not so new, it would have looked like an exquisitely crafted antique.

"Give me the cushion!"

Lin Baici wanted to put the Herbal Cushion inside. The thing was too large and inconvenient to carry around.

He was not doing it outside because he wanted to avoid suspicion.

After all, the fewer people who knew he had a God's Taboo Object, the better.

"Okay!"

Jin Yingzhen handed the cushion to Lin Baici, then saw him mutter something. A whirlpool-like halo appeared above the bowl.

Then, the cushion, so much larger than the bowl itself, was effortlessly placed inside.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

Jin Yingzhen exclaimed, "By the way, does it have any Divine Grace?"

There was no need to ask. This bowl had to be a God's Taboo Object. The Rule Pollution earlier had been caused by it. If Lin Baici had not stepped in, they would all have died to the pollution.

"No!"

Lin Baici shook his head, but he felt that the two effects, 'Purification' and 'Granary,' were no worse than a Divine Grace. "Let's go. We need to find the God's Remains quickly!"

According to Jin Yingzhen, there was at least one Divine Grace on the God's Remains.

When Little Girl saw Lin Baici come out, she immediately broke free from her mother's embrace and ran over on her short legs. "Hungry God Brother, thank you!"

Little Girl gave him a sweet smile, took out a piece of candy, and handed it to Lin Baici.

She still remembered Lin Baici jokingly calling himself a 'Hungry Person,' so she had replaced 'Person' with 'God.'

Her mother also ran over, repeatedly bowing to Lin Baici in thanks.

Quite a few rescued Tourists came over as well. Besides thanking him, more of them wanted to form a team with Lin Baici.

"Are you feeling very unwell?"

Lin Baici crouched down and patted Little Girl's head. Her face was pale, and she looked exhausted, as if she were seriously ill.

"I'm fine!"

Little Girl shook her head. She did not want her mother to worry. In truth, she felt terribly nauseated, as though she had been riding in a car for far too long.

"Here, have some candy!"

Lin Baici peeled off the wrapper and put the candy into Little Girl's mouth. "Don't worry. Big Brother will get you out of here soon!"

"Mhm!"

Little Girl nodded hard. "Hungry God Brother is amazing!"

"Baici, shouldn't we hurry up and find the God's Remains?"

Old Aunt did not want to waste time here.

Lin Baici raised his hand and checked his watch.

Two hours had passed since the God Ruins appeared.

"Whoa, a Rolex? Brother Lin is a Rich Second Generation!"

Brother Gu liked watches, but he could not afford them.

Sister Xiao Li's eyes lit up when she heard that.

Handsome, wealthy, intelligent, calm under pressure, and kind-hearted...

She was in love! Totally in love!

"No, I found it."

Lin Baici told the truth.

"Baici is too modest. Do you think you can just pick up a Rolex whenever you want?"

Sister Xiao Li thought Lin Baici was trying to keep a low profile.

Lin Baici thought to himself that, in Longchan Temple, that really was possible. After all, there were plenty of corpses around.

"Handsome Guy, what do we do next?"

The red-haired woman who had mocked Lin Baici earlier for being fearless through ignorance squeezed out of the crowd and asked with a flattering smile.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

A piercing, shrill bell rang above Longchan Temple. Beneath the shroud of Black Mist, it sounded like a monster's roar, eerie and sinister.

"All worshippers, please proceed immediately to the Great Hero Hall to worship Buddha!"

A majestic, deep voice repeated the announcement three times.

"Who is speaking?"

The Tourists looked terrified. Judging by that voice, could it be a monster even more terrifying than the Cook?

"Baici, we can't go. Absolutely not!"

Old Aunt was frightened.

"We have no choice!"

Jin Yingzhen said gloomily, "This must be Rule Pollution initiated by some God's Taboo Object. And judging from the signs, it should be an extremely dangerous one."

Lin Baici frowned. The God of Gluttony had warned him that the Great Hero Hall was dangerous, but now, there was no avoiding it.

"Why do we have no choice?"

Old Aunt argued, "We can hide!"

"How naive!"

The Black Mist had dispersed considerably, and Jin Yingzhen could now clearly see the Great Hero Hall. It was like a giant beast waiting to devour people, crouching there.

"Those who don't want to go can stay behind."

Lin Baici would not force anyone. Holding a Pine Torch and with a firewood cleaver tucked at his waist, he headed toward the Great Hero Hall.

Jin Yingzhen and Sima Mu immediately followed.

"Yueyu, what should we do?"

Sister Xiao Li did not really want to go.

"If we leave him, what do you think our chances of surviving are?"

After saying that, Hua Yueyu went after Lin Baici.

"Let's go. I trust Brother Lin!"

Out of professional habit, Brother Gu raised his Canon Camera, intending to take a photo of Lin Baici, but he had forgotten that the camera was already broken.

"Wait for me!"

Old Aunt jogged after them.

The remaining Tourists were all conflicted.

Going would definitely be dangerous, but if they did not go, would they be punished?

Little Girl tugged on her mother's arm. "Mom, let's follow Big Brother!"

Her mother shook her head.

In the end, only one-third of the Tourists went. The rest were either scared or too calculating, wanting others to scout things out first before deciding whether to go.

The Great Hero Hall had upturned eaves and elaborate brackets, roofed in golden glazed tiles. It looked magnificent and bizarre, like a monster clad in golden armor.

The grand, towering redwood doors of the hall were not open, so everyone could only wait in the open space before the steps.

More and more people gathered.

Some of them were in terrible mental condition, clearly having suffered greatly in the God's Taboo Game.

"One final warning. All worshippers, please proceed immediately to the Great Hero Hall to worship Buddha!"

The voice was majestic and stern, like a cruel official who enjoyed torturing prisoners.

People gradually arrived, but even more had failed to come.

Lin Baici checked his watch from time to time. When ten minutes had passed, the redwood doors of the Great Hero Hall, studded with brass nails, opened amid a teeth-grinding creak.

A melodic, solemn, sacred sound of chanting began to echo through the air, as if thousands of eminent monks were seated in meditation, reciting Scripture.

"You know, this actually sounds kind of nice!"

Hua Yueyu could not understand what Scripture was being recited. It was definitely not Chinese, but the melody and pronunciation made people feel comfortable.

If she recited this Scripture herself and made a Short Video, it would definitely become a modest hit.

"Oppa, let's wait a while before going in!"

Jin Yingzhen quietly reminded him.

"Mhm!"

Lin Baici listened to the chanting. It really was not bad.

More than eight hundred Tourists had gathered in the stone-paved open space, all glancing around and waiting for someone else to enter the hall first.

Suddenly,

Eighteen two-meter-tall monks in gray Buddhist robes, their entire bodies forged from steel, came charging wildly out of the Great Hero Hall.

"There are monsters!"

With a crash of panic, the Tourists screamed and scattered in all directions like ants doused in boiling water.

These eighteen monks were clearly not human. Each was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, wielding a thick Buddhist staff, with a vicious expression as though they were evil ghosts from hell.

However, they did not kill anyone. After descending the steps, they immediately split up and headed toward different parts of Longchan Temple.

"Are... are they going to kill those people who didn't come to the Great Hero Hall?"

Many people became frightened and wanted to leave, but upon hearing that, they immediately stopped.

"Those who enter a temple but refuse to worship Buddha deserve to die!"

A shout came from within the hall.

The crowd erupted.

Then came the fearful sound of people drawing in breaths.

"It's confirmed. Anyone who didn't come will die!"

Hua Yueyu let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, she had made the right choice. Otherwise, if others could hide and coast to victory, she would have been furious.

"That Little Girl..."

Lin Baici frowned and looked back in the direction they had come from.

Sima Mu and Old Aunt instinctively reached out and grabbed Lin Baici's arms.

They were afraid Lin Baici would go save them.

After all, this Big Male Student looked very kind.

"Hungry God Brother, we're here!"

Little Girl pulled her mother through the crowd.

"It's good that you came. Did you see? Anyone who didn't come would be killed by those Monster Monks!"

Hua Yueyu rubbed Little Girl's hair.

"We saw!"

Little Girl's Mother was named Zhang Ju. She was trembling slightly at the moment.

After Lin Baici left, it was her daughter who had stubbornly dragged her here, saying that Big Brother was a good person and that following him might help them survive.

Zhang Ju thought that made sense. They could hide outside the Great Hero Hall first. She just had not expected eighteen Monster Monks to rush out from inside, frightening her into quickly picking up her daughter and running over.

When the Monster Monks passed by her, she had nearly collapsed to the ground in terror.

One choice had decided life or death.

"All worshippers, please enter the Great Hero Hall to worship Buddha!"

That voice rang out again.

[What a rare sight. Food delivering itself to my doorstep?]

The God of Gluttony mocked.

"Let's go!"

Lin Baici called out to everyone and took the lead toward the hall.

Rule Pollution couldn't be avoided; early or late, it was all the same.

The main hall was vast and magnificent, its dome soaring high overhead.

At the front, atop the Buddhist altar, sat a nine-meter-tall Dark Great Buddha. It sat cross-legged, its right elbow resting on its knee, its palm propping up its cheek. Its sharp eyes watched these humans with great interest.

Excellent!

The toys had arrived!