This time, Shen Qingzhe rallied his spirits, admonishing himself to be extra cautious. However, after running for more than twenty minutes, his legs were so tired he could barely move. Just then, another building appeared before his eyes!
Shen Qingzhe looked closely and fell into despair, for he realized he had returned to the Taoist temple once again. He felt as though he had truly seen a ghost tonight!
This time, outside the temple's perimeter wall, besides the monk with the shiny bald head, there was also a Taoist priest with an immortal demeanor. This Taoist priest was none other than Ling Tian's teacher, the master of Longpan Mountain Taoist Temple, Celestial Master Daoyuan!
When Shen Qingzhe was fighting Monk Jienu earlier, Celestial Master Daoyuan had been watching from the side. He hadn't intervened because Celestial Master Daoyuan was well aware of Monk Jienu's strength. If this person couldn't even defeat the monk, then his involvement would be of no use.
It was only when Shen Qingzhe was injured and turned to flee that Celestial Master Daoyuan silently activated the formation surrounding the Taoist temple.
As fate would have it, Shen Qingzhe blundered straight into the Maze Formation set up by Celestial Master Daoyuan.
What he encountered was not a ghost wall, but the formation misleading him. For nearly an hour, he had actually been within the formation, running in circles around the entire Taoist temple!
"Amitabha, keep running. Why did you stop?" Monk Jienu said mockingly, his large head gleaming under the moonlight.
Shen Qingzhe was on the verge of tears. He bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath, his voice trembling with tears.
"You two, this is a misunderstanding. I truly had no intention of offending your sacred ground...
I simply lost my way and stumbled into the Taoist temple..."
"Amitabha, I detest liars the most. Are you trying to fool ghosts?
There are no other human settlements or houses within a dozen kilometers of our Taoist temple, and it's situated deep in the mountains. You come here in the middle of the night and tell me you got lost?
Furthermore, I asked for your intentions earlier, and you attacked without distinguishing right from wrong. You call this stumbling in? How absurd!"
At this moment, Celestial Master Daoyuan spoke.
"Wuliang Tianzun, benefactor, my second brother has a very bad temper and cannot tolerate any wrongdoing. If you don't tell the truth today and provide a satisfactory explanation, you truly won't be able to leave.
To put it bluntly, if I wish it, even if you run for another day and night, you won't be able to leave the vicinity of the Taoist temple!"
"This... this was your doing!" Shen Qingzhe instantly understood and looked at Celestial Master Daoyuan with great displeasure.
"Wuliang Tianzun, don't glare at me. This humble Taoist hasn't spoken in vain. If I say you can't leave, then you can't leave!
Even if you sprout wings and pretend to be a chicken, or jump into the river and pretend to be a turtle, you won't be able to get out!"
In fact, Celestial Master Daoyuan had deployed more than just the Maze Formation around the Taoist temple. There were several other formations, including killing formations that could instantly eliminate someone upon activation. However, for an intruder like Shen Qingzhe, there was no need to deploy such formations.
"You two, as the saying goes, it's easier to resolve enmity than to create it. I admit defeat to you two today. I implore you to show mercy. If you are willing to let me go, I am willing to pay a high price as compensation!"
"We are ascetics and are not interested in money. I am only interested in your life!" Monk Jienu said with a sinister smile.
The monk was not exaggerating at all. Their Taoist temple truly had no shortage of money.
Whether it was Celestial Master Daoyuan, Third Master Gong Heming, or Fourth Master Xiang Yuntian, they all had numerous channels for making money.
Reading feng shui, treating illnesses, or even taking on assassination missions were all highly profitable ventures.
Especially with Ling Tian's Fifth Master, the business magnate Gu Tianxi, at the temple, money was merely a number to him.
It had been many years since they on Longpan Mountain had faced any financial difficulties.
At this point, Celestial Master Daoyuan said, "This humble Taoist keeps his word. Making me let you go is not a difficult matter, but I require you to tell the truth. Only by speaking the truth will you have a glimmer of hope for survival.
Otherwise, we can only help you transcend!
Furthermore, we have means to know if you are telling the truth. Your attempts to lie are useless to us. You can gamble, but I tell you, you only have one chance!"
Shen Qingzhe's expression was uncertain, his mind in turmoil. He didn't know if these people would truly let him go, but he also knew that if he didn't confess something today, it would be difficult for him to leave the Taoist temple.
Finally, he made a decision and chose to speak vaguely, avoiding the core issues.
"My name is Shen Qingzhe, and I've come to find Old Master Wang Chunfeng."
"Why are you looking for Old Master Wang? Couldn't you come during the day? Why do you have to come in the dead of night like a thief!" the monk questioned sternly.
"Uh... I have long admired Miss Wang Bingxia, the granddaughter of Old Master Wang Chunfeng, and I wish to find an opportunity to get close to her.
I know that Old Master Wang has a say in this matter, so I intended to propose to Old Master Wang. That's all..."
"Is that really how it is? Is the matter truly as simple as you say?" the monk looked unconvinced.
"What I've said is the truth. I admit, I wanted to use some means to coerce Old Master Wang, but after all, it was just a thought, merely a thought..."
Just then, Celestial Master Daoyuan raised his hand, and a young Taoist acolyte approached. Celestial Master Daoyuan whispered something in his ear. Before long, the acolyte reappeared, holding a tablet computer!
This action stunned Shen Qingzhe. This Taoist temple was very peculiar. Many rooms were still lit by candles and oil lamps, showing no signs of modernization.
The Taoist temple even housed monks, and now, the young acolyte produced a high-tech item like a tablet computer. It was incredibly incongruous. What kind of place was this Taoist temple?
The Taoist priest took the tablet computer, looked at the content on it, and then casually handed it to Monk Jienu.
Celestial Master Daoyuan smiled and said, "I knew things weren't that simple. Right, Sect Master Shen Qingzhe, Sect Master of the Joyful Union Sect, one of the newly promoted thirteen protectors of the Demonic Heaven Gate, currently ranked tenth among the protectors!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingzhe's eyes widened, and he once again felt as if he had seen a ghost!
His identity was quite secretive. The most famous person in the Joyful Union Sect was Yuliya, but the demoness Yuliya was merely an elder of the Joyful Union Sect.
Throughout the martial world, very few people knew Shen Qingzhe's name, and he was quite content to maintain this state. Wasn't it more advantageous to hide his tracks and play the pig to eat the tiger?
But to his utter surprise, this old Taoist priest had revealed his identity with a single sentence.