Sure enough, as the sixth stroke of the wooden fish sounded, the chanting in the shrine grew louder.
Lao Han and Luo Ping's eyes were now somewhat red, and their entire bodies radiated a ferocious aura as they panted heavily.
They were still better off, having gone through the gradual process.
But...
Lin Nan did not. He had been comfortably lying on that special section of flooring, and the sudden blast of chanting nearly made his head explode.
His face instantly turned pale, and he let out a muffled groan as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood landed on the floor and quickly disappeared without a trace.
As Lin Nan grew increasingly irritable, he gritted his teeth and took out a vajra from his bag, gripping it tightly in his hand.
Rays of golden light emanated from the vajra, slowly restoring his calm.
But seeing that the three men were obviously at their limit and could follow the middle-aged woman's fate at any moment, Lin Nan clutched the vajra with a gloomy, uncertain expression.
He had caught a vague glimpse of something about this shrine in an ancient text, but only half a tattered page remained, very unclear.
But now the situation had forced him to gamble.
Staggering over, he carefully circled Xiao Si and looked at the reclining Buddha statue, the dazzling light from the vajra in his hand aimed straight at the statue's head as he smashed it down forcefully.
From that half-page remnant, he could vaguely guess that the key to breaking this plight lay with the Buddha statue, but he couldn't be sure of the exact method, so he could only try brute force for now.
As the vajra came down, the statue's surface shimmered with a layer of blood-red Sanskrit that blocked it outside.
The backlash sent Lin Nan flying back to heavily crash on the ground.
Even the vajra had fine cracks along its surface.
Wrong?
Looking at the statue, Lin Nan felt a trace of despair.
Wang Ye watched this scene unfold with composure, gaining a general understanding of the shrine.
Keeping his body firmly grounded, he controlled Xiao Si to return to his side and used the zafu to cover the first row of spirit tablets.
The energy fluctuations on the tablets gradually faded away, and the zafu remained still.
After doing this, Xiao Si went to Lao Han's side and stiffly extended his hand.
Lao Han paused for a moment, then cautiously backed up two steps despite the pressing chanting, still trying to be greedy.
Wang Ye was a little speechless. The next moment, Xiao Si flashed next to Lao Han and took an incense burner from his bulging pocket.
The burner still had ash inside, emitting a faint fragrance.
Ignoring Lao Han's nervous gaze, Xiao Si brought the burner to the Buddha statue at the back hall with Wang Ye controlling him.
If not for still needing these cannon fodder to explore ahead, Lao Han, Luo Ping, and even Lin Nan would already be dead by now.
Keeping these guys around could still make use of their residual worth.
But the one Wang Ye was most wary of among them was the one wearing his face.
He still wasn't sure where this guy came from.
Ever since entering the shrine, he had just stood motionless in front of the spirit tablet.
Even when Wang Ye deliberately approached him several times to give him a chance to make a move, he just ignored it.
With an imperceptible glance at the figure, Wang Ye controlled Xiao Si to lift the incense burner and gently tap the Buddha statue's left eye.
The left eye's color was slightly darker than the right one. After finding it odd, Wang Ye had examined the statue many times before noticing something off.
It seemed like the left eye's pupil bulged out a little more, and was also slightly different in size.
As Xiao Si moved, the statue's surface shimmered with blood-red Sanskrit again, illuminating the entire back hall in red.
But the incense burner floated through weightlessly and touched the left eye's pupil.
With a soft sound, the pupil contracted, and the statue shook slightly as its belly suddenly split open to reveal a hole.
The chanting in the shrine also gradually faded away.
So the incense burner was needed after all.
After controlling Xiao Si to store away the burner, Wang Ye imitated the ghost's stiff gait and went to the hole, standing motionless before it.
Seeing everyone else harboring the same thoughts, Wang Ye's empty gaze settled on Luo Ping in the corner.
Luo Ping's expression changed, seeming to guess Wang Ye's implied intention, but his feet appeared to have taken root as he didn't move.
Oh? Trying to hide?
Wang Ye sneered internally. He controlled Xiao Si to go next to Luo Ping.
Luo Ping looked a little gloomy but finally went to the hole without a word and was the first to crawl inside.
Next, Wang Ye's gaze landed on Lin Nan.
Lin Nan was quite decisive, boldly going in.
Before Wang Ye could signal him, Lao Han followed closely behind Lin Nan.
After the three cannon fodder went in, Wang Ye's gaze vaguely settled on the figure.
This guy had been mysteriously copying Wang Ye's appearance the entire time, and Wang Ye didn't want to provoke him recklessly.
But leaving him outside made Wang Ye uneasy.
Seemingly sensing Wang Ye's gaze, he finally shifted his eyes away from the spirit tablet to look coldly at Wang Ye, the two locking eyes from afar.
Finally, he entered the back hall under Wang Ye's watch and stepped into the hole in the Buddha's belly.
Wang Ye was slightly relieved. This guy was just too mysterious, unaffected by the spirit tablet, so by reason should be a ghost.
Yet he didn't have a trace of ghostly energy on him. Aside from the slightly stiff walking manner, he looked completely normal.
With some caution, Wang Ye followed behind Xiao Si and crawled in.
Inside the hole was a curved staircase that extended downwards without end.
The nauseating smell of blood permeated the air, making Wang Ye frown slightly.
The cannon fodder were already out of sight, likely at the very front, while the other Wang Ye unhurriedly walked ahead of him.
As they continued down, their surroundings gradually grew darker.
In the darkness, it was as if countless eyes were sizing up Wang Ye. He could vaguely hear cunning laughter in the air.
Finally...
After walking for who knows how long, a ray of light faintly appeared up ahead.
Arriving?
The figure walking ahead entered the light first, and Wang Ye followed closely behind.

villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)

his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…

shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]

or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?