Sweat beads the size of beans formed on my forehead, what on earth is going on...
Said to be a mausoleum as well as a temple, this place neither resembles a temple nor looks like a mausoleum...
How does it seem like a prison?
Rumors have it that the Taoist Master Gao Tian Dao abducts children to enlighten and teach them the Taoist arts, but how could he be imprisoned here, and even die in such a state?
This is not a simple starved ghost, but more like a corpse ghost...
After the ghost came out, there was nowhere to go and it returned to its corpse body, which was fierce and violent.
Bony arms reached out desperately towards me, but their arms were too short to reach me.
Old Gong widened his eyes and kept coughing in great gasps.
Jia Yan tightly closed her lips, and it was obvious that a trace of unwillingness was visible in her eyes.
I cannot describe that feeling. The coldness from above is very intense. But since I am already hunched over, I can't lift my head to look up.
Straining to look up, it felt like being a turtle with its back pressed, barely able to glimpse the relief on the wall.
Three faces, six eyes, seemingly coldly watching us, or perhaps focused on the gate of the grille.
There was no extra noise, no struggling or wails, just the sound of dry bones rubbing against iron grills.
"Yang ghost is not here, Sir... we'd better get going as soon as possible. These bastards will swallow us alive once the door opens. They're starving mad."
Old Gong even appeared to tremble.
I continued to step forward, my expression unchanged, though I had withdrawn a half-foot copper sword from my hand and had not given the Four Rules Mirror to Jia Yan.
At this moment, Old Gong has appeared. Using the Four Rules Mirror impulsively may cause harm to Old Gong.
He doesn't say anything, and I can easily see that Yang Ghost Jin is not here.
Quickly passing through the second iron door in the opposite direction, two more arms suddenly reached out and scratched at us.
"Little kid... pitiful... such a good life cut short..." Old Gong wailed.
Third door, fourth door...
Approximately twenty-five doors later, it's fifty rooms in total. Each room contains one ferocious corpse who is starved to the point of skin and bones.
I noticed some details.
These dry corpses are all wearing Taoist robes.
I feel like this place is a prison. In fact, how can criminals be children?
Children wearing Taoist robes...
An idea popped into my mind.
These children in the rooms here were abducted to learn Taoist arts!?
Only when they have become accomplished in Taoist arts will they be released?
But why did they all die here?
In a blink, we reached the end of the corridor.
Here it's slightly higher, allowing one to stand up straight. The space is about ten square meters, shaped like a square, with one end connecting to the corridor and the other to another door. In this narrow space, a bed is placed against the right wall, and a table against the left wall, as if someone lived here and guarded it.
There is a string of characters on that door.
Treading the Taoist path, those who ascend the Taoist path tread.
Each set of four characters is the same, but arranged differently, making the meanings completely different and vague.
"Those who tread the path ascend, those who ascend the path tread... It's odd, what does it mean?" Jia Yan looked curiously at the characters.
Suddenly, Old Gong twisted his neck and muttered, "For the sake of justice, do we go up? Continue to practice the Taoist arts?"
"No, it's not that. Not to do justice for heaven, but to walk the Taoist path... walk the Taoist path..."
"Walk..."
Old Gong's eyes widened suddenly, and he murmured, "Master Gao Tian's Tao?"
My face slightly changed.
What is the Taoist path of Gao Tian Dao?
I know that Taoist priests act on behalf of heaven to uphold justice and exterminate corpses and ghosts.
And what about Gao Tian Dao?
Is it to concentrate on learning Taoist arts and achieve recognition from thousands, and to be acknowledged by all Taoists?
But this has led to a paradox.
Old Gong is analyzing the phrase "those who tread the path ascend." If we interpret it in my sense, those who see this phrase should go down, not up. It's not about "those who tread the path ascend," but about "the ones who have walked the path advance..."
Just as I was baffled, Jia Yan unnaturally said, "What is Gao Tian Dao? Is it that they are all practicing Taoist arts even after death? But the Taoist path of Gao Tian Dao is different. They are constantly abducting children to learn Taoist arts. They are selecting, selecting a child who can allow Master Gao Tian Dao to possess their body and revive himself."
Jia Yan's words were like a bolt of lightning, enlightening me instantly!
Old Gong and I had fallen into a cognitive trap, thinking of the Tao too straightforwardly.
Ah, upon further reflection, the Tao practiced outside the temple is all about selecting a suitable person!
And the true Gao Tian Dao, those ghosts who study Taoist arts even after death, is another path...
I think I understand...
"Little miss... there is, and there is also..."
"The children here, poor things... some are being taken down to be used as vessels for others, while others are being taken up to find vessels for others, so that other people may be like them..." Old Gong sighed again.
His eyes showed a trace of compassion.
I felt a sense of discomfort in my heart.
It's like the children abducted by Gao Tian Dao Temple either go down, and ultimately meet death.
Or they can leave and become the next generation of Taoist priests of Gao Tian Dao Temple.
Gao Tian Dao Temple must have methods to restrain them, preventing them from resisting or escaping. Or, their minds have become distorted over the years, so much so that they would not want to leave but would rather see others suffer in the same way.
A feeling suddenly surged up in my heart.
Should Gao Tian Dao exist?
His ghost is still in the statues, revered by people and receiving offerings.
These people are all those who have been tortured by generations.
His corpse is also properly kept here...
Can the Four Rules Mirror destroy his corpse?
Do I have a way to completely suppress his soul?
The disappearance of Gao Tian Dao Temple means that the entire temple has turned into a tomb.
It is definitely not something they did deliberately. There are too many children in those doors. It should be some unforeseen factor that destroyed Gao Tian Dao Temple.
But as long as that ghost remains, there is always a possibility of it reigniting the embers!
Particularly if that ghost attaches itself to Yang Gui Jin, who took away the sacred artifact, it would be extremely dangerous!
Thoughts settled, I pushed open the door in front of me.
A warm breeze suddenly blew out, dispelling the chill and coldness.
The light became slightly brighter, and there was another set of descending steps. Oil lamps poked out from the walls on both sides, more in number and closer together.
The faces on the walls are still high Taoist statues, still Gao Tian Dao.
The eyes of the reliefs have become less cold and more spiritually encompassing.
Even, it gives a sense of vague satisfaction, as if, after walking down the steps above and arriving here, Gao Tian Dao is extremely pleased.
Old Gong occasionally grunted and spat on the face of the relief.
This is not the emotions that should be present in him, but rather the influence of Wu Zhongkuan's character within him.
After approximately thirty meters, another door came into view.
In front of the door is a stone tablet that blocks the space between two doors, with characters meticulously carved on it.
There are a few large characters written on the door.
"Enter and cannot return!"
