Ancient Temple Shadows and Rebirth Mists

Leaving the miasma-filled Mount War God region, the surroundings gradually took on the bleakness of late autumn. Following the directions on the tattered map, Su Yan and his party headed northeast. The closer they got to the area where "Lanruo Temple" was located, the more the temperature seemed to drop, not just a simple cold, but a chill that seeped into the bones. Sunlight filtered through the increasingly sparse, twisted branches of the trees, casting mottled, broken patches of light on the ground, yet offering little warmth.

"Such heavy Yin energy, we're not even there yet," Bai Zhi said, rubbing her arms. The Mount Putuo Buddhist arts she practiced were most sensitive to this kind of energy, and a faint, soft Buddhist light now spontaneously emanated from her body, dispelling the encroaching chill.

Mo Hen slowed the flight of his mechanical bird, a compass-like detector in his hand swinging wildly. "Magnetic field is chaotic, the spiritual energy is mixed with too much deathly stillness. Everyone be careful, this region might have more than just Lanruo Temple as a problem; the entire leylines could have been subjected to long-term erosion by Netherworld forces."

Su Yan silently circulated the Star Qi Drawing Art. His Star Power was pure and peaceful, carrying a hint of the emptiness of the vacuum of space, offering some resistance to the Yin energy, but he could still clearly feel the lingering oppression in the surrounding environment. The Star Vortex on his shoulder seemed restless, the tail vortex spinning faster than usual, its vertical eye crystal constantly scanning the shadows of the forest, emitting a low, warning hiss. Since its evolution, it had become more sensitive to energy, especially negative energy.

Yun Ji still followed quietly at the end of the group, her surrounding mist seeming thicker than usual, separating her slightly from the eerie environment. She would occasionally stop, bend down to examine the patterns of inconspicuous moss or stones on the ground, a faint spiritual light trailing from her fingertips.

"Fellow Daoist Yun Ji, have you found anything?" Su Yan noticed her actions and asked.

"Plants wither in reverse, stone patterns reveal ghost faces," Yun Ji's voice came through the mist, tinged with a hint of coldness. "The imbalance of Yin and Yang here has existed for a long time, not a recent occurrence. Something has been slowly and continuously draining the life force of this place, converting it into Yin Netherworld death energy. Lanruo Temple might just be one of the outbreak points."

This news cast a heavier mood upon everyone. If the entire region was like this, it meant that what they were about to face might not be an isolated instance, but a land deeply polluted by Netherworld forces.

After continuing for about half an hour, the scenery before them changed dramatically. A vast, scorched black ruin appeared at the edge of their vision. Broken walls and remnants spread out, vaguely revealing the outlines of former palaces. Most striking was the half-collapsed, yet still stubbornly standing ancient pagoda in the center of the ruins. Its body was covered in black spots and cracks, as if it had been burned by fire and then eroded by the long passage of time. Not far from the ancient pagoda, a crooked locust tree forest, devoid of a single leaf, loomed like grasping ghost claws over a relatively intact ancient temple. A dilapidated plaque hung above the temple gate, on which the characters "Lan Ruo" could be vaguely discerned.

Above the entire ruin, visible masses of gray-black vengeful energy clouds gathered, with faint, ghostly wails and the phantom sounds of clashing weapons. The concentration of Yin energy here was several times stronger than on the way in!

"This is it, the ancient battlefield - Lanruo Temple," Mo Hen said, retracting his mechanical bird with a solemn expression. "Based on the energy readings, the monsters wandering the outer areas are roughly level 35-38. The core areas, like that pagoda and temple, likely contain elites of level 40 or higher, possibly even bosses."

Level 35-38 was a significant challenge for a party whose average level was just over 31. Challenging higher-level opponents was not impossible, but the margin for error was extremely low, especially in such an environmentally unfavorable place.

"Let's adapt to the outer areas first and get a feel for the monsters' characteristics and attack patterns," Su Yan made a prudent decision. "Try not to attract too many monsters."

The group concealed their presence and cautiously approached the edge of the ruins. Soon, they encountered their first "residents."

They were skeleton soldiers clad in tattered ancient armor, wielding rusted weapons, with eerie blue ghost fires flickering in their eye sockets. [Ancient Soldier Soul (Elite)], Level 36. They moved somewhat slowly but possessed considerable strength and patrolled in groups.

In the deeper shadows, there were also some floating, semi-transparent [Vengeful Spirits (Elite)], Level 37. They emitted mental shrieks that disrupted the mind and could bypass physical defenses to attack the soul directly.

"Physical defense is very ineffective against Vengeful Spirits; magic or enchanted attacks are needed," Mo Hen quickly analyzed. "My enchanted crossbow bolts, imbued with the Evil-Dispelling Talisman, can handle them. Miss Bai Zhi's Buddhist arts should deal high damage to them."

"Star Vortex, you focus on picking off the Soldier Souls; their physical defense should be no match for you. Mo Hen and I will deal with the Vengeful Spirits. Miss Bai Zhi, focus on dispelling negative status effects and healing. Fellow Daoist Yun Ji, provide support," Su Yan quickly assigned tasks.

The battle erupted instantly!

Star Vortex transformed into a silver lightning bolt, directly crashing into a group of three Ancient Soldier Souls! [Star Vortex Sky Rend Strike]! The tail vortex flashed, and its figure seemed to teleport behind a Soldier Soul. Its claws, carrying the aura of tearing space, pierced directly through its spine! -2103! A massive golden critical hit number floated up, and the Soldier Soul crumbled to the ground without even a groan!

The other two Soldier Souls swung their blades. Star Vortex neither dodged nor weaved. [Starlight Bodyguard] (its innate defensive aura) flickered, it tanked the attacks, and with a counter-attack, a normal claw strike sent one Soldier Soul flying. Simultaneously, [Starlight Breath] was exhaled towards the other. The silver-white breath not only dealt damage but also unexpectedly applied a "slow" effect, making the Soldier Soul move as slow as a snail.

On the other side, Su Yan's [Lightning Talisman] struck the Vengeful Spirits like a whip from the God of Thunder, erupting with dazzling electric light and dealing significant damage to the spiritual bodies. Mo Hen's enchanted crossbow bolts rained down like a storm, precisely targeting the Vengeful Spirits attempting to approach. Bai Zhi's Buddhist light shone universally, not only healing the Blood Essence Star Vortex lost from tanking attacks but also causing the Vengeful Spirits to emit pained shrieks as if encountering their nemesis, their forms becoming noticeably fainter. Yun Ji occasionally flicked her fingers, sending out a beam of clear light, either disrupting the Vengeful Spirits' mental attacks or temporarily solidifying the ground in an area to restrict the Soldier Souls' movement.

The battle was perilous but ultimately uneventful, and these were just the ordinary elite monsters on the outermost fringe. Su Yan noticed that although Star Vortex's attack power was astonishing, it couldn't achieve true one-hit kills against level 36 elites (unless it was a critical hit), and its spiritual energy consumption had indeed increased; after continuous skill usage, it required a brief period to recover.

"It seems that leveling and gathering information here is feasible, but to delve into the core, we need to improve further," Su Yan said as he collected materials like [Yin Soul Bead] and [Decayed Iron Ore] that dropped.

For the next few days, the four-person team cautiously operated in the outer areas of Lanruo Temple. They gradually became familiar with the characteristics of various monsters, such as the [Hanging Ghost], which could remotely strangle people with invisible ropes, causing suffocation and continuous damage; and the [Grave Corpse Demon], which would explode upon death, spraying poison.

Su Yan's level was slowly but steadily advancing towards level 32, and his understanding and application of skills became more proficient. Star Vortex honed its new skills through practical combat, its use of [Star Vortex Sky Rend Strike] becoming more precise, and its consumption better controlled. Mo Hen and Bai Zhi also made their own gains.

During this time, they discovered some clues: a broken stele inscribed with blurred Sanskrit but stained with blood; several skeletons dressed in attire more akin to ancient cultivators than modern Fantasy Westward Journey players; and some signs of combat, indicating that other "people" had been here recently and engaged in fierce conflict with the monsters.

"It seems we're not the only ones interested in Lanruo Temple," Mo Hen said gravely, examining a skull severed by a sharp blade.

One day, after they cleared out a nest of [Ghouls] holed up in a dilapidated monk's dwelling, Yun Ji stopped before a wall covered in stains. She extended her finger and gently brushed the wall. Spiritual light flickered at her fingertip, and the stains on the wall seemed to writhe like living things, eventually revealing several faint, shimmering golden characters:

"Trapped in a cage, entangled by resentment... bottom of the pagoda... Rebirth Incantation... Heaven and Earth Purifying Divine Incantation... col crack..."

The inscription abruptly stopped, as if forcibly erased by some power.

"Rebirth Incantation? Heaven and Earth Purifying Divine Incantation?" Bai Zhi recognized the characters. "These are profound Buddhist scriptures. Could the person who left these words be a high monk? 'Trapped in a cage' refers to that pagoda?"

Yun Ji gazed at the final word, "crack," and slowly said, "Probably not just that. These words contain a faint, lingering obsession to purify this place, but it was ultimately interrupted by a stronger force of filth. The person who left the message met a grim fate. And 'crack'... perhaps it refers to more than just a spatial crack."

Su Yan's heart stirred, and he took out his compass. Indeed, as he approached the wall, the silver light on the compass fluctuated slightly, pointing in the direction of the half-collapsed ancient pagoda. At the same time, on the Star Map in his mind, in the area representing Lanruo Temple, besides the original gray block, a faint illusory character "Seal," seemingly composed of countless tiny runes, appeared at the location of the ancient pagoda. This "Seal" character was already covered in cracks.

"There's something in the pagoda, or rather, the pagoda itself is a seal," Su Yan said gravely. "And the seal is about to fail."

Just then, a faint, ethereal, and mournful female singing voice suddenly drifted from the core area of Lanruo Temple, from the dilapidated temple bearing the "Lan Ruo" plaque. The song was melodious and haunting, seeming to contain endless sorrow and temptation, making one's mind sway.

"Be careful, this song has a mesmerizing effect!" Bai Zhi immediately chanted the Heart Calming Incantation, and a soft Buddhist light enveloped everyone, resisting the song's encroachment.

Star Vortex became extremely agitated, emitting a threatening growl towards the dilapidated temple.

Mo Hen's expression changed slightly. "Is it a 'Ghost Princess'? Or a 'Painted Soul'? A Beguiler of this caliber is usually a boss monster of level 40 or higher, isn't it? Why would it appear in the outer area?"

Yun Ji's surrounding mist churned as she performed a divination. After a moment, she said with a grave tone, "Yin and Yang are in reverse, the seal is loosening... A stronger existence is beginning to extend its reach. This song might be a signal, and also a trap."

Su Yan looked at the compass in his hand. The faint light pointing towards the ancient pagoda, the nearly shattered "Seal" character on the Star Map in his mind, and the eerie singing that lingered in his ears intertwined.

The waters of Lanruo Temple were deeper than they had imagined. The training in the outer areas would likely have to come to an end. Should they risk venturing into the ancient pagoda's seal, or should they go meet the entity producing the song first? Or perhaps, temporarily withdraw and seek more assistance?

Before them lay even more difficult choices and an increasingly mysterious crisis.