Ancient Temple in the Deep Mountains

(It's another weekend. An Hei all my brothers and sisters a happy and joyful weekend! That concludes my wishes; please vote!)

Li Wei gave a wry smile. How could he not know Zheng Yutong's thoughts? In this mission, all of them had been weakened to ordinary people. Even though Li Wei arts had achieved some minor success, he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, far from reaching even one ten-thousandth of Li Wei's true strength.

In Zheng Yutong's opinion, it would be very unwise for someone with such limited abilities to go to a potentially dangerous place; at the very least, she wouldn't let her beloved man take such a risk.

However, Li Wei also had his own considerations. They had been in the mission world for a month now, and in another five months, the mission deadline would be reached. If they hadn't killed enough demons by then, they would only face the outcome of being wiped out.

Therefore, even knowing the danger, Li Wei had to go. He couldn't afford to miss any opportunity to become stronger.

The three men, Mu Yuan, approached, looking somewhat embarrassed. They had lost their initial ambition and were now mostly silent. Their expressions softened upon hearing that they were returning to Liu Family Village, and they volunteered to transport the bear monster's carcass.

The group returned to Liu Family Village unharmed. It was already evening, and it was clear that they couldn't make it Qingzhou Prefecture. So, at the warm invitation of the hunters in the village, the group stayed there.

The hunting of the bear monster was a major event in Liu Family Village. The hunters were overjoyed and wept upon seeing its carcass. They spontaneously brought out cured meat and strong liquor from their own homes to reward the brave hunters. With so many people, the elder surnamed Suo set up a banquet with more than a dozen tables in the village courtyard. Although the food and wine on the table were simple, they exuded a sense of sincerity, and Li Wei and the others ate with great relish.

Of the three from Mu Yuan, only Zhao Kai, who was injured, had gone to rest. The other two simply drank a couple of sips of wine in silence before hurriedly leaving, their destination unknown, seemingly ignoring even their fellow disciple.

These things were no longer relevant to Li Wei. During his meal, he had already used the excuse of needing to urinate to leave Liu Family Village and secretly slipped into the mountains.

He had only been in the woods for a short while when he saw a beautiful figure appear ahead of him. She was dressed in black, her hair tied in a ponytail, leaning against a tree, playing with a dagger in her hand. She had obviously been waiting for quite some time.

Li Wei was taken aback when he saw her. "Swallow, what are you doing here?"

The woman waiting in the woods was none other than Xue Yan. Upon seeing Li Wei, her eyes lit up, but she slowly walked over and said in a slightly reproachful tone, "All you ever think about is food! I've been waiting for you for half an hour! Hurry up and go, or Sister Zheng and Nina will definitely come chasing after you if they find you're gone!"

After saying that, he turned around and ran into the deep mountains.

Li Wei was speechless. Clearly, Xue Yan had seen through his plan to sneak away. With her around, Li Wei already felt it was a bit troublesome. If Zheng Yutong and Nina came too, it would be better not to go at all. After all, if anything happened to them, Li Wei would definitely not allow it.

Thinking of this, Li Wei had no choice but to quickly follow.

Xue Yan was a disciple of the Hunyuan Sect. Because she had her own unique flying knife skills, she did not practice any martial arts in the Hunyuan Sect. Instead, she focused on practicing a lightness skill called "Falling Swallow Step".

This lightness skill is just like its name suggests; once used, the body moves like a swallow, incredibly light and agile. If it weren't for this skill, Xue Yan wouldn't have been able to escape unscathed when fighting the Black Bear Spirit.

At that moment, moonlight streamed through the gaps in the trees, falling on the woman moving swiftly ahead, highlighting her lithe and graceful figure with a sharp and exquisite touch. Her black dress was tightly wrapped around her calves and waist, perfectly outlining Xue Yan's petite curves. Li Wei, following behind, glanced at her and couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. Considering the danger of their nighttime infiltration of the ancient temple, Li Wei quickly suppressed the ripples in his heart.

The two hurried along the direction the hunter had indicated. When they encountered a difficult path, they were able to pass through thanks to Xue Yan's light-footed skills, which made the young woman feel a little proud. More than an hour later, Li Wei and Xue Yan arrived at a valley. Through the thick forest, they could vaguely see an ancient temple nestled in the valley.

Upon closer inspection, Li Wei and Xue Yan couldn't help but marvel. Finding an ancient temple of this scale near Qingzhou Prefecture wouldn't be difficult. However, this wasn't the bustling Qingzhou Prefecture, but rather a remote mountain forest. There were no villages here, and even hunters rarely ventured into this sparsely populated area. Therefore, the mystery surrounding the ancient temple found here was self-evident.

Night had fallen, and the silver moon in the sky appeared and disappeared intermittently due to the clouds. Coupled with the desolate old forest and the chilly breeze, the ancient temple in the forest seemed even more mysterious... even eerie and terrifying.

Although Xue Yan had a strong personality, she was still a woman, especially in front of Li Wei. She had no need to hide her thoughts, so naturally, she took a few steps closer to Li Wei. The distance between them was reduced to about a fist's width.

Smelling the soft fragrance around him, Li Wei gave a wry smile, thinking to himself, "You were the one who insisted on coming along in the first place, and now you're scared?"

But since the two had already come this far, there was no reason for them to turn back. Besides, Li Wei already knew that this trip would be extremely dangerous, and if he went back out of fear, he wouldn't be Li Wei. Fortunately, Xue Yan possessed the skills of throwing knives and lightness of movement, so even if they encountered danger, she should be able to escape.

As for himself... naturally he was fearless. Li Wei exuded a fierce aura, gathered his true energy, and strode forward.

Xue Yan, holding a throwing knife in her small hand, followed after them with her body tense.

To be honest, she was indeed a little scared. After all, a woman who appears strong on the outside is bound to be incredibly weak on the inside—this is an age-old truth. Ancient temples should be solemn and sacred places that have withstood the elements, since most ancient temples enshrine Buddha or other deities. But the ancient temple in front of her exuded an evil aura, with gusts of cold wind blowing, making it look like a ferocious demon waiting for its prey to come to its door in the night.

As Li Wei stopped. Xue Yan, who was behind him, was lost in thought and almost bumped into Li Wei.

"What's wrong?" Xue Yan's nerves immediately tensed up, and she gripped the dagger in her hand even tighter, ready to throw it with all her might at the slightest disturbance.

Li Wei glanced back at her and smiled, "Why don't you wait here, and I'll go in alone? That way, if I encounter any danger, you can come to my aid immediately..."

After thinking about it, Xue Yan also felt that Li Wei's words made sense. If there were any traps in this ancient temple, if the two of them went in one after the other, they might both encounter danger at the same time, leaving one of them outside. If the person who went in encountered trouble, they could simply shout for help, and the person behind could come to their rescue.

"Okay, then I'll wait here. You... you have to be careful. If you encounter any danger, remember to shout loudly!" Xue Yan's fair face was full of concern, but her expression was also very stubborn. Two completely different personalities appeared in one person, especially such a beautiful woman. The effect was enough to drive any male animal crazy.

Li Wei swallowed hard, then nodded hastily and walked into the ancient temple without hesitation. He thought to himself, "When did Xue Yan become so charming? She's absolutely mesmerizing! It's better to stay away. After all, leaving her outside gives Li Wei a lot of peace of mind." As for what he just said, it was merely an excuse to reassure Xue Yan to stay outside. Even if Li Wei were truly in danger, he wouldn't shout for Xue Yan to come and risk her life.

Watching Li Wei's figure disappear into the ancient temple and slowly swallowed by darkness, Xue Yan suddenly realized that she was all alone in this desolate, deserted place.

"What's there to be afraid of? I've been through so many missions, I've seen all kinds of Devil, this mission is naturally no problem for me!" Seeing that no one was around, Xue Yan clenched her small fists tightly, cheered herself up, and then just waited there.

Time ticked by, and Xue Yan grew increasingly anxious. Li Wei had been inside the ancient temple for over half an hour, but there had been no movement whatsoever, as if he had been swallowed up by the temple.

"No, I have to go in and check. If he's in trouble, I'll risk my life to save him!" With that thought, Xue Yan decided to enter the ancient temple.

Just then, a loud bang suddenly rang out inside the ancient temple, and a person rushed out of the gate.

Xue Yan was startled. She could feel her heart pounding. The person who rushed out was actually Li Wei. If it were anyone else, she would have simply thrown a flying knife to finish them off. But this naked man who rushed out and ran towards her was Li Wei.

Looking at Li Wei's muscular physique, his well-defined abs, and his genitals, Xue Yan felt all the blood rush to her head. Almost instantly, her delicate neck and face turned bright red. So nervous, her body even stiffened until Li Wei grabbed her hand and pulled her backward in a frantic run.

"Li... Li Wei, what's wrong with you?" Xue Yan blushed, but she couldn't break free from Li Wei's hand. He had no time to pay attention to her and just kept pulling her along. At this moment, Xue Yan noticed that Li Wei had an old-fashioned thread-bound book in his other hand.

Before Xue Yan could even ask the question, a piercing scream came from the ancient temple. The sound was extremely sharp and seemed to be able to steal one's soul. After listening to it for just a moment, Xue Yan's body went limp.

"Ugh... I told you I didn't want you to come!" Li Wei was covered in sweat. He hoisted Xue Yan onto his shoulder, then gathered the last of his true energy and fled for his life without looking back.

Although he hadn't practiced any light-body techniques, having internal energy greatly increased his speed, so in just a moment, Li Wei had escaped several hundred meters. As the trees on both sides rushed past him, the screams behind him grew fainter and fainter, but Li Wei remained vigilant, running until his internal energy was completely exhausted before stopping. He then looked around again, found a low-lying tree hollow, first threw Xue Yan, who had been driven mad by the screams, into it, and then crawled in himself.

After entering the tree hollow, Li Wei first checked on Xue Yan's condition. Once he confirmed she was alright, he began to breathe heavily, letting sweat drip down his skin. After a while, he realized he was still naked.

"Damn it, I almost fell for that evil spirit's trick..." Li Wei sighed helplessly, but found two large leaves to temporarily cover his private parts. Only then did he have time to check the ancient book he had taken out, and at the same time, he began to recall his experience after entering the ancient temple.

After telling Xue Yan to wait where she was, Li Wei entered the ancient temple alone. After crossing the somewhat dilapidated gate, Li Wei entered the temple's courtyard.

The place was no different from the outside. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, which were more than half a person tall. The main hall was vaguely visible a dozen meters away. Li Wei was confident in his mastery of the Wandering Dragon Palm and his mental cultivation method. Although he knew there would be danger, he was not afraid. He stepped over the weeds and arrived at the entrance of the main hall.

Like the surrounding walls, the main hall had fallen into disrepair over the years, but it was clear that it had been built with solid materials, so despite the passage of time, it was only old but not dilapidated. However, when Li Wei looked into the main hall, he encountered the greatest danger, though Li Wei was unaware of it at the time.

Li Wei stared intently into the main hall, only to be met with a scene that struck him as somewhat absurd.

Inside the main hall, the decorations were surprisingly luxurious, and several lamps were lit. Inside the hall, there stood a rather majestic statue of a god. The statue was covered with colorful silk cloth, but its appearance was strange. Not only did it have four fierce faces, but its body was also covered with scales, and it had beast claws and sharp teeth. It was actually a strange god.

Li Wei knew that many ethnic groups in remote areas worshiped very strange gods, and the one in front of him was very likely one of them.

However strange it was, it was still just a stone statue, and it didn't really make Li Wei feel anything unusual. What Li Wei found incredible was that there were three prayer cushions neatly arranged in front of the statue, and three people were kneeling on the three cushions.

From behind, they were two women and one man.

This was what Li Wei found absurd: in such a remote and desolate place, who had built an ancient temple? And on this Black Wind and windy night, someone was actually worshipping gods here. If this wasn't bizarre, then nothing in this world was strange.

Li Wei knew this was definitely not normal. He hadn't sensed anyone in the hall when he was outside, and even now, Li Wei couldn't detect any presence of anyone inside.

Swallowing hard, Li Wei forced himself to remain calm, standing motionless and silent. He wanted to see what those three men were planning to do.

So Li Wei waited there while the three people inside prayed to the gods, without disturbing each other. This also explained why Xue Yan was waiting outside the gate, hadn't heard any noise. After about ten minutes, Li Wei finally grew impatient and steeled himself, stepping inside.

"What's meant to be will be, even if these three are demons, I still have to come in and see!" Li Wei strode into the main hall, only to find that the three people turned around and looked at him at the same time.

Upon closer inspection, Li Wei discovered that all three had normal human faces. The man was dressed as an ordinary hunter, very plain, except for his somewhat vacant gaze. The two women, on the other hand, were incredibly charming, not only with gentle movements but also with a hint of allure in their eyes.

One of the young women stared at Li Wei for a moment, then let out a soft snort. Though the sound was soft, it was like a demonic whisper in Li Wei's ears, instantly making him lose his senses.

In a daze, Li Wei saw the three people get up and slowly take off their clothes. One of them, a man and a woman, were embracing each other and engaging in illicit sexual activity. The young woman who had just looked at Li Wei was naked, with her white breasts sticking out and her two fair legs walking towards him.

Li Wei's clothes were stripped off at that moment. If Li Wei hadn't bitten his tongue hard to force himself back to his senses, there might have been another adulterous couple in that hall.

When Li Wei regained consciousness, his clothes had been stripped off completely, and he realized he must have been under some kind of illusion. Looking around the hall, the previous splendor was gone; it was now utterly desolate. Beside him, a 'monster' with a woman's body and a fox's head was moving on the man's body. With each movement, the man let out a low groan, seemingly drained of his life force until he was skin and bones. Yet, his expression was one of ecstasy, clearly still immersed in the illusion's concoction of pleasure. And in front of him, another monster with a human body and a fox's face crouched, grinning at him.

"What kind of demon are you? Die!" Li Wei was so frightened that his spine went numb. He thought to himself that if he had come to his senses any later, he might have ended up like the guy on the ground being ridden by the Banshee, having his life drained. Enraged, he suddenly gathered his inner energy and struck out with his palm. Unexpectedly, the demon reacted extremely quickly and dodged the attack.

Li Wei's combat awareness was already superb; if one strike failed, he immediately stepped forward and struck again. The demon continued to dodge, and in this back-and-forth exchange, Li Wei and the demon began to fight.

The main hall was already dilapidated, completely different from what I had seen before. Several load-bearing pillars were riddled with holes. During the fight, Li Wei struck one of the pillars with his palm, and with a 'crack', the wooden pillar broke in two.

The supporting pillar broke, causing a section of the main hall to collapse. The falling tiles, stones, and wooden beams unfortunately struck the statue. Perhaps the statue itself was also in disrepair, because this blow actually knocked down the enormous four-faced head of the deity.

In an instant, dust filled the hall, obscuring everything. Li Wei heard a muffled thud and discovered that a huge stone head had appeared before him.