He had guessed correctly. Zhang Yuanqing felt a slight sense of relief.
In truth, after exploring the Mountain God Temple, defeating the Zombie, and solving the puzzle, the cave entrance would have opened. However, the construction team veterans had taken the Demon Subduing Pestle beforehand.
If he hadn't noticed this detail and returned the Pestle, he might have been stuck at this stage forever.
Zhang Yuanqing waited patiently, his nerves taut and his focus unwavering. He dared not let his guard down, for the depths of the cave likely held the source of the Mountain God Temple's decline.
After a long while, when no anomalies emerged from the collapsed cave entrance, he summoned the Red Dancing Shoes again, activated their second form, and had them replace his running shoes, enveloping his feet.
Then, he approached the pitch-black, bottomless cave and leaped lightly.
Thud. His feet quickly touched the ground, the Red Dancing Shoes neutralizing the force of his fall.
Amidst the scattered rubble, Zhang Yuanqing found the Demon Subduing Pestle. He bent down to retrieve it, regaining control of this powerful artifact.
With the Red Dancing Shoes and the Demon Subduing Pestle in hand, he felt confident in facing whatever dangers lurked within the cave.
Candlelight filtered down from above, illuminating only a limited area. Ahead lay a dark, silent tunnel, filled with the terror of the unknown.
In this environment, blindly stumbling forward in the dark would be foolish.
Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to the artifact in his hand.
The item description stated that it contained the Solar Divine Power. By offering a blood sacrifice, one could gain access to this power.
Genuine Solar Divine Power should dispel darkness and bring light, right?
It was worth a try, though the "Remarks" section of the description was unsettling. Zhang Yuanqing exhaled silently and drove the sharp, triangular spike into his thigh.
A searing pain shot through him as blood gurgled forth. Instead of flowing down his pant leg, the blood transformed into crimson threads that poured into the brass-colored artifact.
Zhang Yuanqing felt a warm surge of power erupt from the Demon Subduing Pestle, coursing through his arm and into his body. His pupils glowed with a faint golden light, transforming into brilliant golden eyes.
The Demon Subduing Pestle didn't dispel the darkness, but it granted him the ability to see through it.
Simultaneously, the dizziness, shortness of breath, and chest pain vanished, leaving only the lingering weakness from blood loss.
The Corpse Poison had been purged from his body.
This truly is trading life for power, he thought, but it's a price I can accept. Focusing his enhanced vision forward, he saw a wide tunnel stretching into the depths of darkness.
The tunnel walls bore the marks of human excavation, not natural formation.
Zhang Yuanqing walked at a steady pace through the tunnel, the silence broken only by the echo of his footsteps.
After walking for about ten seconds, plant roots began to appear on the walls, densely covering the stone surfaces.
"Help me... Help me..."
Suddenly, a chilling cry for help echoed from the darkness ahead, sounding both mournful and desperate.
Following the sound, Zhang Yuanqing emerged into a vast cavern. At its center stood a massive tree trunk, piercing through the cavern's ceiling and extending into the outside world.
At the base of the trunk, gnarled roots intertwined around a stone coffin.
Most terrifying of all, pale arms protruded from the trunk, interspersed with pallid human faces, all mindlessly repeating the cry for help.
The countless arms flailed wildly, as if grasping for a lifeline.
My trypophobia is kicking in, Zhang Yuanqing thought. The candlelight and the Demon Subduing Pestle lent him courage, leaving him with only a mild scalp tingle rather than overwhelming fear.
At that moment, a hoarse, ancient voice echoed through the cavern:
"After all these years, you're the first living being to come here."
With those words, the cries for help ceased. The seaweed-like arms retracted into the tree trunk, and the human faces vanished into the wood in terror.
"Who's there?" Zhang Yuanqing startled, his eyes darting around warily.
"Me? I'm just a tree."
An ugly human face emerged from the tree trunk, unlike the faces of the Vengeful Spirits. Its skin was bark, as if symbolizing the tree itself.
It was the Old Banyan Tree in the courtyard, now a Spirit? Zhang Yuanqing never imagined he'd encounter a sentient being in this ghostly place, even if it was just a tree.
He didn't dare approach, probing cautiously, "Did you kill the disciples in the temple?"
"Not me. It was her."
The Banyan Spirit's gaze dropped downward, as if staring at the Stone Coffin below, though it couldn't see it.
"Who is she?"
"She is the Goddess of Sandaoshan."
Zhang Yuanqing felt like he'd been struck over the head with a club, his mind reeling.
The Goddess of Sandaoshan lay in the Stone Coffin—the powerful Nightwalker who was supposed to have ascended to immortality in the early Ming Dynasty?
The source of this horror was the Goddess of Sandaoshan? She had killed the disciples in the temple?
Zhang Yuanqing blurted out, "Why would she do that?"
"With the arrival of the Era of Dharma Decline, it became increasingly difficult for Walkers to break through their bottlenecks. Driven by a desire for immortality, the Goddess of Sandaoshan fell to the Devilish path. She sealed herself within a Stone Coffin, using the Banyan Tree to imprison Yin souls and nourish herself with Yin energy, thus preserving her physical body and primordial spirit. As a powerful Nightwalker, she possessed the innate ability to devour souls and strengthen herself."
The human face on the tree trunk sighed. "The Banyan Tree has absorbed too many souls, absorbing their wills and gradually developing sentience—that is, me. Over the years, people have strayed into this place, died here, and ultimately become her sustenance. I bear the hatred and resentment of the Vengeful Spirits, waiting for someone to come and end her."
So that's it, Zhang Yuanqing thought, his eyes flickering. Does this count as triggering an NPC quest? "What must I do?"
"Open the Stone Coffin and pierce her heart with the weapon in your hand. That will end everything. Heh, the Demon Subduing Pestle seals half of her Yang Soul. Piercing her heart will trap the remaining Yang Soul within the artifact. Without the Yang Soul protecting her body, her physical form will immediately perish," the Banyan Spirit explained slowly.
"Then you will be able to leave this place."
Zhang Yuanqing remained motionless, silent.
"Huh?!" Kuroo exclaimed in shock. "What do you mean, Captain Kuroo?"
To be honest, when Chika had told Yaku Morisuke that the volleyball club desperately needed a responsible captain, she never imagined Kuroo would be standing before her.
At the time, she had simply thought, If it were Atobe-san, he'd surely find a way.
The disciples' disappearances from the temple occurred during the Yongle era, at least fifty to sixty years apart, spanning one or two generations.
Secondly, the Main Hall's information indicated that the Goddess of Sandaoshan was a righteous figure. The Banyan Spirit's claim of her falling to the Devilish path was merely its own biased account, and Zhang Yuanqing preferred to believe the former.
Finally, and most crucially, the journal entry warned: "Do not trust your Master!"
In truth, the Spirit Realm had already hinted at the true enemy through these subtle clues.
Yet Zhang Yuanqing couldn't understand why the Temple Steward would kill his own disciples.
Now he knew.
If he replaced the "immortality-seeking, Devilish path-fallen" figure with the Temple Steward, all the mysteries unraveled.
Silence descended upon the cave. The Banyan Spirit sighed, "Your suspicion runs too deep. From beginning to end, I harbored no ill will toward you, nor would I ever harm you."
"Is it that you wouldn't harm me, or that you couldn't harm me?" Zhang Yuanqing slowly retreated a few steps. "Hmm, let me guess. Your method of killing involves twisting necks, but the technique must be related to illusions or mental manipulation. You tried to kill me not long ago, but fortunately, I didn't turn back."
This time, the Banyan Spirit's expression abruptly shifted.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing knew his deduction was entirely correct.
The Nightwalker's records from the Taiyi Sect clearly stated two things: first, the Banyan Tree was extremely dangerous; second, never look back.
This explained why his deep exploration of the ancient well had yielded nothing. The well itself was not the problem; the tree was.
Furthermore, he had correctly identified the "Illusion" because the Female Ghost had called him Zhang Yuanqing, not Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
Finally, when Zhang Yuanqing first discovered the ancient well, his mind had flashed to a famous horror film from a certain island nation, creating a psychological shadow that prevented him from peering into its depths.
Later, the Female Ghost that emerged from the well—dressed in white, hair disheveled, and lacking facial features—perfectly matched the vague terror lurking in Zhang Yuanqing's mind.
"You're putting on an act, speaking to me so politely, because your Illusion can no longer deceive me, right? After all, I possess the Goddess's Demon Subduing Pestle, which grants immunity to illusions." Zhang Yuanqing analyzed the truth with unwavering composure.
"Luring me here was a ploy to kill me by other means. If illusions are ineffective, then it must be physical attacks, right?"
He glanced at the tree roots crawling across the tunnel walls and suddenly thrust the Demon Subduing Pestle downward.