Two disciples of the Carefree Sect arrived at the Moon Goddess Temple, only to find the people there in a frenzy, desperately trying to extinguish the fire.
The fire had engulfed the entire grove of cinnamon trees, and through the flickering flames, one could barely make out the distorted eaves of the Moon Goddess Temple, distorted by the heat waves within.
Although many people were trying to extinguish the fire, passing buckets of water from hand to hand and splashing them onto the raging flames, the fire showed no sign of diminishing. This fire was no ordinary flame but a spiritual fire conjured by a cultivator.
The destruction of the Moon Goddess Temple shattered everyone's hopes, and despair spread among the crowd. Many people's heads began to float the wooden plaques on which they had written their wishes. The raging flames seemed to come alive, with sparks transforming into sharp swords that shot out and pierced through the wooden plaques, burning away the golden ink on them.
In just a few breaths' time, over a dozen wooden plaques had been destroyed by the fiery swords, and the people who had made those wishes fell to their knees, awakened from their dreams, and vanished from the realm of illusions.
Wen Li and He Yungeng were so shocked that their eyeballs almost popped out. They exclaimed in disbelief, "How can this be? This is too unfair!"
When they helped people break free from delusions, they always carefully understood the reasons behind their wishes, using reason to help them see through their inner barriers, guiding them to recognize themselves and return from their misguided paths. They had never thought of such a crude method.
Wen Li glanced at the crowd still rushing towards the temple and said, "But, Brother, this crude method is indeed very efficient. It's much faster than going door to door, painstakingly identifying who made the wishes, and then trying our best to persuade them."
They had spent an entire night just to persuade a scholar who had become a top candidate in the imperial examinations.
He Yungeng grabbed a man who was carrying a bucket and rushing towards the inferno, trying to stop him. He shouted, "You can't put out this fire. Don't go any further."
But the man seemed not to hear him, his expression blank, mumbling to himself, "I have to save the fire. The Moon Goddess promised me that Wang Er next door would die soon, and I want to marry his wife..."
He Yungeng's face twisted in disgust as he heard the man's fragmented words. "What kind of filthy wish is this? How dare he pray to the gods for such a thing."
The tradition of hanging wishes on cinnamon branches and making prayers had spread in this region, partly due to the influence of the sects. Cultivators secluded themselves from the mundane world, creating a natural barrier between them and the common people. When demons and evil spirits caused chaos, the local people often had no way to seek help.
Only when the demons caused significant bloodshed and the demonic aura soared to the heavens would the sects become aware and take action, but by then, it was often too late.
Since the Carefree Sect, Flame Splendor Sect, Jade Pendant School, and another sect all had adjacent territories and were not under the control of the three major noble families, their connections were relatively close.
Therefore, the four sects jointly created the Suspended Moon Realm, where a divine cinnamon tree grew. The sects took ninety-nine branches from this tree and planted them in various counties and prefectures within their territories. If there was any demonic activity, people could hang wooden plaques on these cinnamon trees, and the main tree in the Suspended Moon Realm would receive the messages simultaneously.
Disciples from the four sects could go to the main tree in the Suspended Moon Realm to accept tasks from the human world and go on adventures. Over time, the tradition of praying under the cinnamon trees became popular among the people, leading to the widespread planting of cinnamon trees, especially around temples.
However, the cinnamon grove outside Fengsheng County was just an ordinary one. The nearest divine cinnamon tree branch was in Liangzhou Prefecture.
The Moon Goddess was widely worshipped among the people and was considered a legitimate folk belief. How did it become so sinister here?
He Yungeng's grip loosened, and the man broke free from his hold, rushing fearlessly into the fire.
Just as a wooden plaque appeared above his head, a long sword flew past He Yungeng and pierced through the plaque.
He Yungeng suddenly turned around and saw Wen Li summoning his spiritual sword, looking at the points on his badge with joy. "Brother, this method works! Let's hurry, we can get as many points as possible."
As many wooden plaques were destroyed, the residual spiritual power could no longer sustain the realm, and the realm of illusions began to collapse.
He Yungeng and Wen Li fell out of the illusionary realm and landed in the cinnamon grove in front of the Moon Goddess Temple.
Outside, the night was deep, with a full moon hanging in the sky. The bright moonlight illuminated the scorched earth, revealing a grove of cinnamon trees that had been burned to ashes, leaving only charred branches scattered on the ground.
Many of the wooden plaques hanging on the cinnamon trees had also been burned, with only a few scattered remnants left among the black ashes.
The intersection of the realm of illusions and reality was at the Moon Goddess Temple. Therefore, the fiery swords that occurred in the illusionary realm also burned the cinnamon grove in reality.
Wen Li held his badge, stroking the rapidly increasing points with glee. "The cultivator inside is truly a genius. Such cleverness must not be from our sect. Could it be someone from the Jade Pendant School? I've heard they have many clever ideas."
He Yungeng snorted. "Don't inflate their ego. It's just a trick. By forcibly breaking the realm like this, these people's delusions won't disappear. They'll just fall into the same trap again sooner or later."
As they spoke, they saw many people carrying lanterns and buckets rushing towards the Moon Goddess Temple under the moonlight.
The people of Fengsheng County had dreamt of the temple catching fire in their sleep and were awakened. When they asked each other, they found they had all had the same dream, believing it was a message from the goddess. Many devout believers immediately got dressed and hurried out of the city towards the temple.
Those who arrived quickly were shocked to see the burned cinnamon grove.
He Yungeng and Wen Li were mistaken for the culprits who had burned the grove and were surrounded by the first to arrive. As more people arrived, they found it increasingly difficult to escape.
Meanwhile, the real culprit was inside the Moon Goddess Temple.
The temple was the boundary between reality and illusion. After the realm of illusions was broken, there was no significant change here, except that the fire outside had been extinguished, and the day had turned into night.
The burned cinnamon grove allowed the bright moonlight to pour directly into the temple, reflecting on the compassionate statue of the Moon Goddess. The goddess's eyes, which seemed to be made of clay, seemed to come alive with a shimmering light.
Yu Yi, sensitive to being watched, immediately looked up but only saw a pair of painted, lifeless eyes. The statue of the Moon Goddess didn't seem to have anything unusual.
But the feeling of being watched just now was too vivid to be a mere illusion.
Yu Yi carefully examined the statue, then stepped back to face it and looked up.
After pondering for a moment, she formed a hand seal and summoned the Green Bamboo Sword. The sword hovered above her, its blade polished to a brilliant shine, reflecting the divine figure on the altar.
The Moon Goddess held a silver moon disk in one hand and a cinnamon branch in the other, appearing sacred and majestic.
But in the reflection of the Green Bamboo Sword, this holy statue was entangled with a blood-red, wriggling line, like veins covering the statue's surface, embedded in every carved line of the statue.
The red light emitted by the bloodline created a bloody shadow that overlapped with the statue.
Unlike the statue, this bloody shadow exuded a strong demonic aura, yet it tried to imitate the statue's dignified and holy appearance, making it appear extremely distorted and eerie.
Yu Yi looked up and saw the statue's face in the blade's reflection. The shadow overlapping the statue's eyes seemed to move, as if it smiled at her and sighed, "Ah, you've discovered it. Then I can't let you live."
The silver moon disk in the Moon Goddess's hand subtly shifted, absorbing the moonlight and suddenly glowing brightly, illuminating Yu Yi.
Yu Yi grabbed the Green Bamboo Sword and slashed at the moon disk.
As Xue Chenjing stepped over the threshold of the temple, he saw the moon disk glowing brightly, swallowing the sword light that had slashed towards it, and then absorbing Yu Yi's figure.
"A-Yi!" He barely had time to think before he dashed forward, trying to grab the sleeve of Yu Yi's raised hand, but only caught air.
The moonlight pierced his eyes, leaving him in a sea of white.
The silver moonlight receded, leaving only Xue Chenjing's figure in the temple.
Yu Yi was sucked into the moonlight, her consciousness momentarily hazy. When she regained her senses, she found her limbs stiff and immobile, trapped inside a hard shell that confined her completely, not even allowing her to turn her neck.
Her senses were also blocked by something, rendering her unable to see, hear, or perceive anything outside.
Yu Yi felt a moment of panic and tried various methods, such as summoning her sword and reciting incantations, but none worked.
After an unknown amount of time in darkness, her initial anxiety subsided, and she gradually calmed down.
Although she couldn't perceive the external world, her consciousness remained clear and she could sense her own body. Yu Yi focused her awareness inward, examining her own body inch by inch, and gradually realized the familiar immobility she was experiencing.
This was the same posture as the Moon Goddess holding the moon in one hand and pinching a laurel branch with the other.
She was trapped inside the statue.
A soft laugh echoed in the darkness, "Oh, you're quite clever."
Yu Yi coldly asked, "Who are you?"
"Who else could I be? I am, of course, the mistress of this temple, the Moon Goddess," the voice replied, seductive and lacking any solemnity befitting a deity. It scolded, "You have the audacity to burn my laurel grove, break my believers' illusions, and ruin my faith. What crime do you deserve?"
Yu Yi chuckled, "You're nothing but a worm living off the incense offerings on the statue. Do you really think you're the Moon Goddess?"
The entity was startled by the revelation of its true form and momentarily lost its composure, but quickly regained its calm, no longer disguising its voice.
When it spoke again, its voice was much clearer and more childish, sounding like a five or six-year-old child from the mortal world, genderless.
"Since you're about to die, it doesn't matter if you know my true form. My previous life was indeed just a lowly earthworm. When this Moon Goddess statue was being sculpted, a careless craftsman ground me into powder and mixed me into the clay, embedding me within the statue."
The voice, though childlike, carried a mature tone.
The earthworm continued, "I enjoyed five years of incense offerings within this clay and gained spiritual awareness. This statue was made from my body, and I can also partake in the Moon Goddess's incense offerings. Naturally, I am the master of this temple, the Moon Goddess they worship."
"The people of Fengsheng County helped me gain spiritual awareness, so of course, I must protect them and fulfill their wishes. What does it matter to you cultivators?"
Yu Yi asked, "Is your way of protecting them to fulfill both good and evil wishes indiscriminately?"
The earthworm immediately retorted, "Of course not, I select them."
Yu Yi continued, "So, disregarding the mother's will, extracting the soul of a six-year-old girl and reinserting it into her mother's womb to produce a male child—is that a good wish in your eyes?"
The earthworm pondered for a moment, "Are you talking about the Du family?"
It became excited and boasted, "That wish was difficult to fulfill. The old woman from the Du family came to pray every day, month after month. I finally found a way for them. I already warned them in a dream about the gravity of the situation, that we would need to extract the granddaughter's soul, consume the daughter-in-law's essence, and use my power to create a clay male fetus. They agreed."
It turned out the male fetus was made of clay. Even so, the Du family agreed.
"Did Zhao Zhi agree?" Yu Yi pressed.
The earthworm's tone was defiantly unreasonable, "It's not her who prays to me day after day."
Yu Yi understood: only those who contributed enough incense offerings were its believers, deserving of its protection. As for others, it didn't care.
No wonder the Moon Goddess Temple was so popular, with a reputation for being efficacious. It was all thanks to these selfish prayers.
Yu Yi was furious and wanted to dig out this earthworm and beat it up. Suddenly, she heard the earthworm cry out in pain, and at the same time, she felt a sharp pain in her arm.
The earthworm screamed outside, "You dare to hit me! If you break me, your master will shatter with me. You can try it."
Inside the temple, Xue Chenjing saw blood seeping from the statue's arm. The oath tablet in his mind shook violently, causing his soul to tremble and cold sweat to break out on his forehead.
This indicated that he had indeed hurt Yu Yi.
Xue Chenjing cautiously retracted his hand, and his surging demonic energy subsided. With Yu Yi inside the statue, he couldn't damage the statue or use his "pupil technique" to subdue it, leaving him at a loss.
The self-proclaimed Moon Goddess, thinking she had him cornered, looked down at him and taunted, "If you light incense and kneel in earnest, praying for me to release your master..."
Before she finished, she saw him take three joss sticks without hesitation, light them, hold them flat in front of his body, and face the deity, "You'd better keep your word."
Seeing him about to kneel without hesitation, the earthworm felt no pleasure in teasing him and quickly retracted, "You have no backbone at all. Your heart isn't sincere; I won't allow it."
Xue Chenjing straightened his half-bent knee and snapped the incense in his hand.
He glared at the statue with a sinister expression, seemingly unable to endure its taunting any longer. He took two steps forward, grabbed the altar with both hands, and with a sudden force, overturned it.
The altar crashed to the side with a thunderous noise, and the offerings on it clattered to the ground, the fruits smashed into a mess by the overturned table.
Before the earthworm could react, it felt the statue being wrapped by something, and the heavy lotus pedestal began to move, inch by inch, from the shrine.
The two-man-tall Moon Goddess statue tilted forward, cutting through the air with a whooshing sound, and then plummeted downward.
The earthworm realized what he intended and panicked, screaming, "He's going to break me, he really is going to break me! He deceived me; he doesn't care about your life at all."
Yu Yi couldn't see or hear anything outside, confined within the statue, only hearing the earthworm's screams. She felt a strong sense of falling, about to shatter along with the statue.
In the last moment, Yu Yi heard the system's urgent plea, "Host, what are you doing? Don't be impulsive!"
