Chapter 272: The Ancient Temple

Chen Fei didn’t hesitate for long. After a brief pause, he sat cross-legged on the mat.

The moment he sat down, his ears were overwhelmed by chaotic chanting.

“Heart-Linking Technique.”

Without delay, he activated the Heart-Linking Technique.

Under its influence, the noisy chants instantly vanished.

But then, his consciousness went black—only to reawaken in an empty, pitch-dark space.

“Benefactor,” a gentle voice spoke.

Before him, a monk appeared—kind-faced, calm, and clearly clad in garments from an ancient era.

“Where is this?” Chen Fei asked coldly.

The monk smiled.

“This is Chan Jue Monastery. This humble monk, Bu Yu, has waited here for millennia… and finally, a destined one arrives.”

Chen Fei couldn’t help but sneer.

Too fake.

Just like when he encountered the so-called “Spirit-Linked Immortal”—pretending to pass on some sacred legacy, when in truth they were trying to possess him.

As for this “millennia of waiting”… What nonsense!

The Tianzhang Mountain mystic realm had been opened countless times. Chen Fei didn’t believe for a second that he was the one-in-a-million chosen child of fate.

Quite the opposite—anyone who put on such a show was almost certainly harboring malicious intent.

“Destiny? And what exactly binds us in this so-called fate?” Chen Fei shot back.

Bu Yu the monk folded his hands together and softly chanted, “Amitabha. The fact that you’ve arrived proves fate. This humble monk shall… ferry your soul to peace.”

“Ferry me? You mean murder me, right?” Chen Fei laughed coldly.

A flicker of surprise appeared in Bu Yu’s eyes. He looked up in astonishment.

“Benefactor jests. I observe the ten precepts—I do not kill.”

“But all life is suffering. You were born to endure it. Allow me to liberate you from that burden.”

Without waiting for a response, Bu Yu began chanting again.

His low voice droned like an ancient dirge.

Chen Fei’s expression turned frosty.

This so-called “sacred ground of ancient inheritances” was really just a prison full of desperate ghosts, each using their final tricks to steal vitality and survive.

Whether it was Spirit-Linked Immortal, or this so-called monk—they were all the same.

“You’re too damn noisy,” Chen Fei muttered.

A red light flashed in his eyes, and the Void Heaven Cauldron suddenly trembled.

The tolling of a grand bell echoed throughout the temple, reverberating like thunder.

The chanting was disrupted, and the monk’s once-benevolent expression twisted into something feral and savage.

“What does this mean, Benefactor? You reject my compassion? Very well—then I shall ferry you with force!”

The monk’s hand flicked. His kasaya floated up, suspended in midair.

Mysterious Sanskrit characters shimmered across its surface. In his other hand, a Vajra pestle had already appeared.

Without another word, the kasaya surged toward Chen Fei, and the pestle followed.

A truly physical liberation, as expected.

But Chen Fei had long anticipated this. Since the Void Heaven Cauldron had already been activated, he was prepared.

This was a mental battlefield—a test of spiritual strength and soul defense.

And with the cauldron shielding him? Even Amitabha himself might not be able to break through, let alone this fake monk.

The monk’s weapon smashed into the Void Heaven Cauldron with full force.

Boom!

The cauldron absorbed the blow, then released a violent shockwave.

The Vajra pestle shattered, crumbling into glowing fragments that surged backward toward the monk’s projection.

“What is this cursed object?!” the monk roared.

His kasaya wrapped around him protectively as he tried to flee.

Too late.

The cauldron trembled again. Another wave pulsed outward.

The monk’s shocked expression froze solid.

—

Chen Fei snapped awake.

The once-empty ancient temple was now filled with towering, imposing statues of unfamiliar Buddhas, each exuding a chilling presence.

Their faces didn’t bring peace—they invoked unease.

Pairing that with the monk’s fake kindness and his attempt at “physical salvation”, Chen Fei felt something was deeply wrong.

“Boom, boom, boom—”

A dull rumble echoed beneath the statues.

The floor shifted, and a hidden dark tunnel was revealed.

“A secret passage?” Chen Fei raised an eyebrow.

This temple was clearly dangerous. Whatever lay inside wouldn’t be easy to obtain.

But as the saying goes, “I’m already here…” So why not?

He stepped into the passageway.

No sooner had he entered than a thunderous crash echoed from above—and the tunnel plunged into pitch blackness.

But Chen Fei activated his spirit vision—which allowed him to see through the dark.

Still, what surprised him was the complete absence of any living presence.

Bang!

A faint sound echoed as oil lamps lining the walls of the tunnel suddenly ignited one by one, continuing out of sight beyond a bend.

Chen Fei walked forward, down a stone staircase.

But as he walked… he began to feel something was wrong.

He’d been descending for a long time, and yet—he hadn’t gone anywhere.

Looking around carefully, he spotted a small notch in the wall above and to his right.

His pupils contracted.

“I knew it…”

That notch was there when he entered. And despite walking for so long—he was still in the same place.

“This is one tricky place.”

He muttered, then snapped his fingers.

With a flick of his arm, he tossed three top-grade spirit stones down the steps.

They rolled away and disappeared around the bend.

Seconds later—clatter, clatter—they reappeared behind him.

“So it’s like that. Not an illusion, but a loop.”

He grabbed the returning stones—and was stunned.

Even though they’d only rolled for a short while, the spiritual energy inside had already diminished by a tenth.

Subtle—but deadly.

If he hadn’t checked, he might never have noticed.

But walking this loop over and over would slowly drain his spiritual power—until it was too late.

“A brilliant trap,” Chen Fei praised.

Then smirked at the wall beside him.

“But it won’t work on me.”

He placed a palm on the left-side wall—and struck!

Boom!

Stone exploded.

A hidden chamber was revealed.

Inside, a skeleton knelt solemnly before a Buddha statue, hands clasped in prayer.

The room was filled with cobwebs and ancient dust—it had clearly been untouched for centuries.