A Temple Fair for the Denizens of the Underworld

Me?

A chauvinist?

Captain Qin looked completely bewildered.

Watching Wu Hen and Ming Yi standing so close together, he suddenly realized he might have made an incredibly wrong decision.

Ming Yi was already sharp-tongued enough, constantly having the word "trash" on the tip of her tongue.

And this kid Wu Hen, at a glance, was the type with superior intelligence and a tongue sharper than a blade. With the two of them paired up, how were the rest of the team supposed to survive?

Captain Qin didn't dare to chime in anymore, honestly turning himself into a tool for holding an umbrella for the young master and miss.

"Besides having a sharp mouth, what else is he good at?" Fei Ying, the one-eyed tough girl, didn't indulge Wu Hen and said bluntly.

"You can't say it like that. If Wu Hen hadn't pointed out that there were ghosts, we might not have even had time to react," Ming Yi held a different view.

Upon first entering Yin Province, eight people had died.

Captain Qin and Captain Cai stood there with bitter expressions.

Especially Captain Cai; those eight who died were all his team members.

However, the rest of the team wasn't as pessimistic as Captain Cai, because they had all witnessed Ming Yi's strength!

Thunder Radiance level!

With such formidable combat power, their team's survival rate could see a significant increase!

For a moment, everyone in the team couldn't help but move a little closer to Ming Yi. After all, she was the only one in the team who could fight her way out from among the Yin Ants!

Wu Hen was very protective of his own.

Anyone who approached Ming Yi for no reason would be intimidated and driven away by the bared fangs and sharp teeth Wu Hen displayed!

"Our... our crowns... are fewer now," Little Stutterer said in a low voice.

Whether it was eleven people or thirteen, they all needed to light two Spirit Crowns.

The little remaining time of their lives had been compressed by nearly half.

Helpless, the group could only bite the bullet and move forward.

The ancient scenery of Yin Province unfolding ahead was even more prosperous. If not for the eerie atmosphere permeating every corner, it would truly feel like being in an ancient White City—bustling with noise and excitement, carriages and horses like a flowing stream, people selling calligraphy and paintings, hawking to customers, performing acrobatics on the street, and beating gongs in celebration...

"There are many people gathered ahead, and quite a few are Awakened," White Peacock Man said.

"There are so many Yin Citizens; it feels like they're holding some kind of event," Captain Qin said.

"I'm afraid it's a temple fair in Yin Province," Cai Jinlin remarked.

"There are temple fairs in a place like this?" Everyone was confused.

Wandering around aimlessly was a waste of time. Since so many Yin Citizens and Awakened were gathering in the center of the ancient city, there had to be a reason for it.

Unlike the places they had passed through before, the temple fair area in the center was not "temporarily erected." It stood quite abruptly in the middle of a vast emptiness...

As the group stepped inside, the Yin Ants that had been following them retreated like a receding tide, as if this temple fair ground possessed a sacred power that prevented such chaotic, monstrous entities from entering.

"It's a Domain Suppression Stone!" Soon, the sharp-eyed Fei Ying spotted a totem stone placed in the center of the temple fair!

The stone was pillar-like and suspended in the air. The totem patterns carved onto it were releasing a field invisible to ordinary people. The protective power it radiated was equivalent to five Spirit Crowns of the Azure Haze level, and it was far more sustained!

"If we bring it back, our Pure Land can be defended!" A trace of excitement appeared on Qin Sheng's face.

The purpose of their coming here was precisely to find this kind of Domain Suppression Stone.

The natural world simulated by the Nuwa Divine Terminal was, to a certain extent, an imitation of the ecology of Otherworld Desolate Dust. For example, the rule that "within ten paces, there must be an antidote."

If Yin Locusts formed a desert and Yin Ants formed a province, it meant there were corresponding repellents or solutions within. This was the most important duty of them as Patrollers!

"That would be a great achievement; our ranks would be promoted..." The White Peacock Man also grew excited.

Patrollers were judged by their contributions. If he wanted to improve his strength and upgrade his battle suit, he had to produce corresponding merits.

If he could bring this Domain Suppression Stone back, he should be able to apply for a battle suit of the same level as the Ice Phoenix Gao Huan!

"Welcome, welcome! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I am the Temple Attendant of this temple fair." At this moment, a person dressed in ancient costume, looking like a young boy, walked over enthusiastically, holding wooden sticks of various colors in his hand.

"What is happening here?" Wu Hen's social anxiety didn't just manifest when interacting with the living; even if the other party was a Yin Citizen, Wu Hen still struggled with social graces.

Wu Yingting often taught Wu Hen that information had to be acquired by oneself. If you didn't use your mouth, you would suffer a great loss once information asymmetry occurred. Never pass up any opportunity to communicate.

"It's a temple fair activity. Every so often, everyone gathers here, and we, the people of Yin Province, hold various ceremonies. Since you are guests, we will naturally treat you with courtesy. The various temple fair activities we organize have prizes, such as Yuan You, Mystic Artifacts, Divine Stones, Ancient Tomes, Spirit Techniques, Exotic Pets..." the Temple Attendant said.

Yuan You??

The eyes of the dozen or so people in the team all lit up.

Just as they had guessed before, such places usually contained Yuan You. They just hadn't expected Yuan You to be treated as a prize for a temple fair by these Yin Province citizens.

A temple fair, isn't it just small activities like guessing lantern riddles, fortune-telling, pitch-pot, archery, or writing poetry? As people with the heritage of the Nuwa civilization, they could handle those with ease!

"Then, if we want to take that Domain Suppression Stone away, what do we need to do?" Wu Hen was very direct and asked the Temple Attendant.

"Oh, that counts as the grand prize. As long as you collect five of these wooden sticks, you can take it away," the Temple Attendant said.

"How does one obtain this kind of wooden tally?" the White Peacock Man asked, sounding somewhat anxious.

"Naturally, by participating in the little entertainments hosted by us citizens of Yin Province. As long as you successfully play the mini-games and survive, you can receive one of these wooden tallies!" the Temple Attendant said.

"Your Yin Lord must be quite formidable. I imagine crushing us would be as easy as clenching a fist, so why go through the trouble of designing these little activities for us?" Wu Hen asked quite bluntly.

"Look at you, saying things like that. In this world, where is there absolute life or death? Where is there absolute evil or righteousness? The reason you fear us is because you have not seen the true interpretation. Parents all know that a newborn child will surely die in a hundred years, so why not just drown the infant at birth?" The Temple Attendant explained to Wu Hen, his tone calm and composed.

This... Wu Hen was momentarily stumped. He hadn't expected a mere temple attendant of the underworld to be reading Nietzsche.

"This place is the final destination for all people. The Yin Lord does not expect you to understand now, but he will guide and bestow charity upon you in invisible ways. Right now, this is the Yin Lord's charity; he will not forcibly keep those of you who have yet to attain the true interpretation," the Temple Attendant said.

"It's clear that your Yin Lord likes to win people over with virtue. If I have the chance, I must pay my respects," Wu Hen continued.

The Temple Attendant's eyes immediately narrowed into slits. He seemed to be gauging Wu Hen's nature. After a while, the Temple Attendant replied profoundly, "You are not sincere enough."

Having said that, the Temple Attendant stopped discussing the Yin Lord with Wu Hen.

He swept his gaze over the others in the group who weren't as active in the conversation and smiled gently. "A word of advice to you all: during the process of participating in the mini-activities, you do not need the protection of the Spirit Crown..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the people in Cai Jinlin's group clearly lit up!

They had originally been worried that there wouldn't be enough time to participate in these so-called underworld activities, but they hadn't expected that those who joined the Yin Citizen activities could receive a pass from death!

They finally breathed a sigh of relief!

With Yuan You, tempting rewards, and the ability to extend their time before death, what reason was there not to get along harmoniously with the people of the underworld?

The Temple Attendant had already left.

However, Wu Hen's gaze never shifted from him.

Damn it, he didn't reveal a single thing.

Who is your Yin Lord, and where are they watching from?

Come out and face my Holy Father, stop playing these useless games!

The truly powerful entities of the Desolate Dust were hidden behind the scenes.

Wu Hen knew deep down that there must be a great power of the Desolate Dust within this Yin Province—someone at the Heavenly Radiance level, even stronger than Zai Wu!

In other words, Wu Hen had two plans to crack the entire Yin Province anomaly:

The first plan: follow the logic of the question-setter and solve the puzzle according to standard reasoning.

The second plan: find the question-setter and beat them to death!

"Clang~~~~~~!" A gong sounded, and soon, the attention of most people was drawn to a White Bone Pavilion.

At the White Bone Pavilion, a woman dressed in a scarlet wedding gown sat by the window. Her graceful, curvaceous back made many Yin Citizens drool with tears of aesthetic overwhelm. Even sitting atop a pavilion of bones, she exuded a bewitching and stunning beauty!

"Tossing the embroidered ball~~~"

"Tossing the embroidered ball! Whoever catches it becomes the groom~~~"

The gong-beater, dressed in festive attire, loudly called for everyone to gather beneath the bride's bone pavilion.

"Look at what the bride is holding!" Suddenly, the White Peacock Man pointed at the embroidered ball, his face full of excitement!

The bride held the ball in her hands, but it was merely decorated with a few hydrangea flowers; the core of the ball was actually a crystal-clear Yuan You!!

"It's a high-quality Yuan You!" Ming Yi also revealed a look of astonishment.

This embroidered ball was truly extravagant!

As expected, upon seeing the true nature of the ball, a large group of Awakened who had wandered into this place surged beneath the bride's White Bone Pavilion. They reached out their hands in great excitement, hoping that the embroidered ball would be tossed into their grasp.

"This bride might be a Ghost Sin. Maybe when she turns around, it'll be a skull face!"

"How could she be a Ghost Sin? She's an auspicious omen!"

"Exactly! As long as she can let me leave this place, she's a living Bodhisattva!"

The Yin Citizen beating the gong revealed an honest, simple smile. He gestured for everyone who wanted the embroidered ball to stand on the flower platform.

Soon, the platform, built from piles of bones, was filled with people. They all craned their necks, staring at the bride's slender back, waiting for her to toss the ball.

"Wu Hen, you're quite good at coaxing girls, and your physique is sturdy. Why don't we send you to get a wooden token?" Ming Yi nudged Wu Hen and said with a smile.

"That won't do. I'm a pure-love advocate. Besides, what if you get jealous?" Wu Hen politely declined.

"What do I have to be jealous of?" Ming Yi retorted, annoyed. She glanced at the others in the team and saw that not a single sturdy man was willing to participate in such a thrilling activity. She simply said, "It didn't say girls couldn't participate. I'll go!"

Ming Yi's beautiful eyes were resolute. Her gaze swept over the others in the team once more, as if she were stamping the word "useless" even more heavily onto the entire group!