The donkey seemed as if it knew that he wasn’t in a great mood, and for once, it wasn’t being loud out of impatience. A moment of silence passed, and it turned around to leave. Wei WuXian sat by the stream, not responding at all. It turned around to look, throwing its hooves onto the ground, but Wei WuXian still paid no attention to it. The donkey had to come back sulkily, biting and tugging on the corner of Wei WuXian’s collar.

"Gosh! This donkey is so great." said a female cultivator.

"Now I also want to have a donkey like this one." said a random cultivator.

He could choose to go, and he could choose to not go. Seeing that the donkey had went as far as to use his mouth, Wei WuXian decided to follow him. The donkey took him to a few trees and circled around an area of grass. In the grass, there lay a qiankun bag, with a ragged golden net hanging above it. It probably fell off as an unlucky cultivator struggled their way out. Wei WuXian picked up the bag and opened it. There were quite a few items in it, such as gourds of medicinal liquor, talismans, miniature demon-reflecting mirrors, and so on.

"This one is so smart." said a random cultivator.

"Just how lucky Wei Wuxian is to have that kind of donkey." said another random cultivator.

"Hey don't call him donkey just like that. That's my brother out there." said Wei Wuxian.

"Wei Wuxian!" yelled Jiang Cheng that makes everyone laughed at him.

He fished around for some time and happened to pull out a talisman. Immediately, a ball of fire appeared in his hand.

The burning item was an gloom-burning talisman, which, like its name, used dark energy as fuel. It would burn automatically if it made contact with dark energy. The more energy there was, the stronger the flame was. It lit up as soon as it was taken out, meaning that there was a spirit not far away from Wei WuXian.

"Who could have left it there?" asked a younger disciple.

"I can feel that the atmosphere is getting exciting." said a female cultivator.

"How is it exciting when it may be a danger sign?" asked a male cultivator sarcastically.

"Whatever." she just said.

"You both shut up." Wen Rouhan shouted at them that made them shut up.

Seeing the light of the fire, Wei WuXian held it to detect the spirit’s direction, watching attentively. When he turned to the east, the fire weakened; when he turned to the west, the fire suddenly intensified. He walked a few steps toward the direction, and saw a white, stooping figure appear under a tree.

"Is that a spirit or a ghost?" asked a younger diaciple.

"It look scary." said his friend.

The talisman had finished burning, and the ashes fell from his fingertips. An old man was sitting with his back to him, speaking in faint murmurs.

Wei WuXian slowly approached. The words that the old man murmured became clear.

“It hurts, it hurts.”

Wei WuXian asked, “Where does it hurt?”

The old man answered, “Head. My head.”

Wei WuXian replied, “Let me take a look at it.”

"He even talked to him?" asked a random cultivator in disbelief.

"What could've happened to his head?" asked another random cultivator.

"Maybe an accident or the cause of his death." said Wen Qing.

He walked a few steps to the side of the old man, and saw a bloodied, large hole on his forehead. This was a ghost, probably killed with a weapon which was smashed onto his head. He was dressed in a burial robe made with fine material and craftsmanship, meaning that he had already been encoffined and buried properly. This wasn’t the soul that a living human had lost.

A lot of cultivators gasped seeing the hole on the man's forehead.

"Why are you reacting like that? Aren't you guys a cultivators?" asked Wei Wuxian in disbelief.

"If he was already dead then why was he still there?" asked Meng Yao.

"Just watch." said the juniors.

However, ghosts like this shouldn’t have appeared on Dafan Mountain.

Wei WuXian did not find an explanation to this implausible scenario. Feeling quite worried, he jumped onto the donkey’s back, slapped it with a shout, and rode toward the direction of where Jin Ling came up the mountain.

"He really prioritized his nephew's life." said Xiao Xingchen.

"Why wouldn't he? Of course he would, that's his sister's son." said Song Lan.

Around the area of the ancient tombs, there were a lot of cultivators who wandered around, in hope of a hare crashing into the tree trunk. Somebody dared to hold a spirit-attraction flag, but only attracted a
bunch of dark spirits who wept despairingly. Wei WuXian pulled on the reins, scanned around, and asked in a loud, clear voice, “Excuse me and sorry for the interruption, but where did the young masters from the Jin Clan and the Lan Clan go?”

Sure enough, after washing his face, people actually acknowledged him. One cultivator answered, “They left here, for Goddess Temple.”

"Is this some kind of discrimination against lunatics? They will only acknowledge you if you look okay." exclaimed Wei Wuxian.

"Yeah right." agreed Nie Huaisang.

"But at least they acknowledge you." said Jin Zixun.

"Do you want to die?" asked Jiang Cheng in calm tone.

Everybody shivers as it is the first time that he spoke in a calm tone. Even the Jiangs are shocked.

"He is not just worried about his nephew but also the disciples of Lan Sect." said MianMian.

Wei WuXian spoke, “Goddess Temple?”

The rural clan from back then had sneaked up the mountain again and joined the group of night-hunters, after hearing that all of the deity-binding nets were destroyed. The middle-aged man recognized his clothing and the grimacing donkey, realizing that he was lunatic who’d saved them earlier. He felt quite awkward, and pretended that nothing had happened. Nonetheless, the round-faced girl showed him the path, “Over there. It’s a divine temple in a cave on the mountain.”

"This girl is so kind." commented a random cultivator.

"Why do I don't feel good about this temple." said Nie Mingjue.

"Me too." said Jin Zixuan.

Wei WuXian inquired again, “Which deity is the temple built for?”

The round-faced girl spoke, “I, I think it’s a natural stone statue of a goddess.”

Wei WuXian nodded, “Thank you.”

After the conversation, he immediately ran toward the direction of Goddess Temple.

"I don't think this temple is safe." said Nie Huaisang.

"I guess it has something to do with the statue." said Wei Wuxian.

"What really happened?" asked Jiang Cheng to his son.

"As much as I want to tell you a-niang but I want you to find out on your own." said Jingyi.

The sluggard’s marriage, lightning that destroyed coffins, the fiance eaten by wolves, the father and daughter losing their souls, the extravagant burial clothes… It was as if a string was being pulled through all of the beads, tying everything into one perfect strand. No wonder the compasses of evil didn’t pick up anything, and the spirit-attraction flags didn’t work either. Everyone had underestimated the creature in Dafan Mountain.

It wasn’t at all what they thought it was!

"If my assumptions is true then it might be the goddess statue." said Wei Wuxian.

The juniors just looked at him.

On the other hand, Lan SiZhui and the other disciples did not find anything in the area of the ancient tombs, and had moved on to search for clues in Goddess Temple.

In Dafan Mountain, aside from the tombs of the Buddha’s Feet ancestors, there was also the Goddess Temple. The being of worship was neither Buddha nor GuanYin, but the statue of a “dancing goddess.”

A few hundred years ago, a hunter from Buddha’s Feet ventured into the mountains, and found an extraordinary stone in a cave. It was around three meters in height, formed naturally, and appeared strangely like a human, with four limbs making a dancing pose. The more peculiar thing was that human features could vaguely be seen on the statue, appearing to be that of a smiling lady.

"It looks creepy." said Nie Huaisang.

"I don't think the losing of souls is connected to this statue." said Jin Zixun.

"What a dumb." said Jingyi and Jin Ling.

The townspeople of Buddha’s Feet were all astonished, and thought that it was a magical stone formed by gathering the energy of Heaven and Earth, making up a series of legends about it. Some told the story of an immortal falling in love with the Goddess of the Nine Heavens, and carved a stone statue from the goddess’s appearance to convey the hardships of being lovesick. After discovering this, the goddess was furious, so the unfinished statue had to be left alone. Others told the story of the Jade Emperor and his beloved daughter who died young. The emperor’s longing for his daughter had, supposedly, turned into this statue.

"It's just a stone." said Su She.

"Legends and myths can also be true." said Nie Huaisang.

"They are called legends and myths because they are true." argued Su She.

"Whatever." Nie Huaisang just said with the 'I am so done' face.

Anyhow, there were all sorts of myths, able to make anyone gawk. In the end, the townspeople themselves also started to believe in these legends which came out of their own mouths. Hence, someone turned the stone cave into a temple, and the stone platform into a holy seat. The statue was named “Dancing Goddess,” and there were worshippers all year round.

The inside of the cave was spacious, similar to the size of an erjin temple, with the statue of the goddess set in the center. At first sight, it did indeed look like a human—the maiden’s waist could even be considered lithe and graceful. However, after taking a closer look at it, it would seem rougher. Then again, a naturally-formed statue being so similar to an actual human was enough to make most people gasp in awe.

"Awe? Really? That's creepy as f*ck." exclaimed Jin Zixuan.

"Hey, it looks beautiful." said Jin Zixun.

"Are you blind? Really? Beautiful? I don't thinks so." said Wen Xu.

"Maybe your taste is just so low." said Nie Huaisang.

Lan JingYi lifted and lowered the compass of evil, but its pointer still didn’t move. A thick layer of incense ashes covered the table for offerings, and disordered candles lay on there as well. A sickly sweet scent came from the plates for holding fruits. Most of the people from the GusuLan Sect had some degree of minor mysophobia. He fanned at the air in front of his nose and spoke, “The locals said that it is quite effective to pray at Goddess Temple, but how can it be this ruined? They should at least come and clean once in awhile.”

"It's because the townspeople is busy especially when the incident about losing souls happened." said Meng Yao.

"But at least if they worship the statue they will give time to clean it." said Zizhen.

"Why didn't they asked help on the statue then?" asked a random cultivator.

"I have doubts in this statue." said Wei Wuxian.

Lan SiZhui spoke, “There has already been seven people who lost their souls. Everyone is saying that lightning has let out a fierce creature from the ancient graves of Buddha’s Feet, so would anybody dare to come up the mountain? There is no attendance at the temple and so, naturally, there is nobody to clean the place.”

A disdainful voice came from outside of the cave, “It’s only a stupid rock, given the title of a goddess by who-knows who, and people dare to put it here, accepting incense and worship!”

"Brat!" muttered Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, looking at their nephew with a glare.

"Why are you talking like that?" asked Jin Zixuan.

"Why are you asking? Isn't it obvious that he got it from you?" exclaimed Jiang Cheng.

"Or from the both of you." said Wei Wuxian who snickered.

Jin Ling came inside, with his hands crossed behind his back. The time limit for the silence spell was not long, so his mouth could already open. However, nothing nice came out of that mouth of his, as he looked at the goddess statue and humphed, “These rural villagers don’t work hard when they face difficulties, but instead pray to the Buddha and other things every day. There are thousands and millions of people in the world, but gods and Buddhas are already hands-full with their own matters, so who would care about them? Let alone a powerless goddess without status, like this one. If it’s really that effective, then I’m gonna pray for the soul-consuming creature in Dafan Mountain to appear in front of me right now. Can the statue do it?”

"You should really mind the words you want to say before letting it out." said Jiang Cheng.

"This brat." muttered Wei Wuxian.

"I'm sorry." Jin Ling muttered weakly.

"You shouldn't say such things. What if cause you harm." said Jin Zixuan.

"Just don't be like that again, a-ling." said Jiang Yanli seeing the expression of her son.

A few cultivators from smaller clans came in behind him, and everyone laughed right after hearing him, agreeing with his words. The originally quiet temple became bustling with noise, after the group of people had rushed forth, and the space also seemed more cramped. Lan SiZhui silently shook his head, turning around and glancing without any aim. His gaze landed on the head of the goddess statue; the features of a compassionately smiling face could vaguely be seen.

Yet, he felt a strange sense of familiarity toward the smile, as if he had seen it somewhere before this.

"Stay away from there." said Wei Wuxian, getting worried as his instinct is not telling him that something good will happen.

"I have a bad feeling about this." said Jiang Cheng.

"That's just your mother instinct." said Wei Wuxian.

Where on Earth had he seen it before?

Lan SiZhui thought that it must be a very important matter, and couldn’t help but to approach the statue, wanting to examine the goddess’s features.carefully. At the same time, someone bumped into him.

A cultivator who was originally standing behind him had fallen down.without any noise. The others were alert with surprise. Jin Ling spoke in a vigilant tone, “What happened to him?”

"Yeah what happened to him?" asked a random cultivator.

"Just keep your mouth shut in order to know what really happened." said Wen Rouhan.

The cultivator closed his mouth and refuse to say anything to keep himself safe.

Lan SiZhui held his sword and bent down to examine it. There was nothing wrong with the cultivator’s breathing, like he had just suddenly fallen asleep. Yet, no matter how hard he was pushed or called, he would not wake up. Lan SiZhui stood up, “He seems as if…”

"He seems as if he lose his soul." exclaimed Wei Wuxian.

"Why are you still there? Get out now." yelled Jiang Cheng to his son and nephew on the screen.

"Chill a-niang." said Jingyi which is a wrong move.

"Chill? How can I be chill?" Jiang Cheng in disbelief.

"Don't worry, Wanyin. Our son is here so it means that they are safe." said Lan Xichen, calming him down which worked surprisingly.

Before he finished his sentence, the dark cave abruptly lit up. The cave was suddenly covered in a red light, as if a waterfall of blood was rolling off its walls. The candles on the platform for offerings and in the corners of the cave had ignited on their own.

With a few shings, everyone in the cave had either drawn their swords or taken out their talismans. At the same time, a person suddenly burst in from outside the temple, holding a gourd of medicinal alcohol. He threw it toward the stone statue, and raging flames sprouted from it, illuminating the stone cave so that it could even pass for daytime.

"Why do it seems like the most dangerous things happened the juniors are always present." said Nie Huaisang.

"Because they love trouble." said Jiang Cheng glaring at his son.

Jingyi feeling the glare of his mother, silently stood up from his mother's lap and sit next to his father.

"You think he can defend you?" asked Jiang Cheng.

"Wanyin." said Lan Xichen in his usual soft voice.

"Whatever." said Jiang Cheng, straightening his legs.

Wei WuXian used up all of the items he had found in the qiankun bag. He threw it away and shouted, “Everyone, go back outside! Be cautious of the soul-consuming goddess on the inside!”

"So I am right that the statue is the one who is responsible to those who lose their souls." said Wei Wuxian.

"Listen to him." a lot of cultivator said.

Someone yelled in surprise, “The goddess’s pose had changed!”

Before, the statute clearly had one foot lifted and both of its arms raised upward, of which one was pointing directly at the sky, its form graceful. However, amid the crimson and yellow flames, it had lowered both its arms and its foot. There was no doubt—it definitely wasn’t a mistake of the eye!

"Get out of there now." said Jiang Cheng.

"Jingyi." said Lan Xichen, getting worried.

"A-ling." said Jiang Yanli, getting anxious for her son.

The next moment, the statue lifted one foot again, and stepped out of the fire!

Wei WuXian shouted, “Run, run, run! Stop slashing around! It won’t work!”

"Just f*cking listen to him." cursed Jiang Cheng that made the juniors jump.

Most of the cultivators ignored him. The soul-consuming monster that they had tried so hard to find had finally appeared, so why would they miss out on the chance? However, even with so many swords chopping and stabbing, and so many talismans and magical tools being thrown at it, the statue’s advance didn’t stop at all. It was around three meters tall, resembling a titan as it moved, giving off a strong sense of oppression. It picked up two cultivators and lifted them in front of its face. The stone mouth seemed like it opened and closed, and the swords in the cultivators’ hands dropped to the ground with two clanks. Their heads drooped. Their souls were sucked away.

"It is that hard to listen to him?" asked Nie Mingjue.

"Oh My God! They're going to die." exclaimed Nie Huaisang.

"Lan Yuan." said Lan Wangji.