After a long moment, Nie Chuan finally asked, "Are you serious!?"

DaXiong nodded, asserting with certainty, "That’s right. I, Lord Xiong, have explored countless tombs; what kind of sights haven't I seen? Ordinary demons and monsters can’t scare me anymore, but what I just saw completely overturned my worldview."

"How is that possible? I have to see it too!" Nie Chuan said, moving to pull off his hat.

I grabbed him and shook my head, saying, "These things are hunting us right now. If you do that, you’ll be dead in less than a second."

Nie Chuan slowly lowered his hand, his brow furrowed tightly like a knot.

I patted his shoulder and said, "Calm down. Something is definitely wrong here. What DaXiong saw might not be real; it could be some kind of illusion."

Nie Chuan asked, "How so?"

I explained, "Think about it. The giant that lured us in from outside must know what these Bodhisattva ghosts look like, yet he showed no reaction when he saw our faces. What does that tell you?"

Nie Chuan caught on, "Oh, right, why didn't I think of that? If these people really looked like me, the gatekeeper would definitely think we were escaped prisoners upon seeing us."

I nodded, "There are plenty of strange things here. Let’s figure out how to escape first, and then we can try to figure out what’s going on."

"Damn it, so it was an illusion, it almost scared me to death," DaXiong said, patting his chest.

I had initially thought we were like actors in a Lin Zhengying movie; once invisible, the Bodhisattvas and monsters would run around like headless flies.

But the creatures here were clearly much smarter than zombies. They all dropped what they were doing and formed a fixed formation, systematically sweeping every corner of the room.

Their formation resembled a fishing net, spread out in a semicircle, slowly closing in on us. We couldn't find any gap to escape.

Although they couldn't see us, they could feel us, just as we could feel them. Once they surrounded us, they would quickly find us and toy with us until not even our bones remained.

At this point, DaXiong was covered in a cold sweat. Watching the silhouettes approach, he muttered, "Damn it, isn't this the trick I used to herd fish in the pond when I was a kid? These guys are treating us like fish—I can't stand for this."

We couldn't hide, nor could we use our psychic powers. Now even I was stumped.

But fighting desperately wouldn't work; we needed a plan.

So, I remained silent for a moment, closed my eyes slightly, thought for a bit, and then announced, "I have an idea!"

The other two immediately looked at me. DaXiong interjected with, "You remind me of a monk…"

I cut him off, "What monk or nun!"

DaXiong pointed his left index finger toward the top of his head and said, "The clever Ikkyū-san!"

I scolded, "Stop the nonsense and listen to me. One of us must draw them away now. The person drawing them away must primarily disrupt their formation, and then quickly put on the cloak so we can all rush up the stairs together."

DaXiong gave a thumbs-up and said, "As expected of you, *—you've got a mind like a ghost."

I wasn't sure if he was praising or cursing me, but there was no time to analyze it; I had already stripped off my cloak.

The two of them were utterly surprised that I volunteered to lead the diversion, freezing for a moment.

But there was no time for them to react; I bolted and ran.

As expected, those gods, demons, and monsters all chased after me.

At this moment, they were no longer just black shadows but mythical figures dressed in bizarre clothing. I also noticed that the entire room was actually decorated with richly carved pillars and painted beams, truly magnificent.

Looking at the delicious delicacies on the tables, I momentarily thought I had accidentally stumbled into the Peach Banquet like the Monkey King.

I dared not look at their faces, afraid of seeing something unbelievable, and just kept running.

But as I ran, suddenly a figure in white blocked my path ahead.

I was forced to stop and looked up. The face of this person was my cousin’s.

Moreover, the white clothing was very familiar—it was the exact attire of the white-clad maiden we saw underground in Lop Nur.

I truly froze, instinctively asking, "Lanlan, why are you here…"

Before I could finish speaking, Nie Qilan suddenly started laughing eerily. The corners of her mouth split upward, all the way to her ears, and then she opened her mouth, revealing a set of teeth sharp as saws, and lunged toward me.

Startled, I quickly retreated and realized she was holding a jade vase, something only Guanyin Bodhisattva possesses, and she had a limp.

I knew this was the Guanyin Bodhisattva we saw playing the zither in the corner. She actually had my cousin's face—it was incredible.

The demons and monsters behind me were getting close, and now a Bodhisattva blocked my way. I quickly pulled the cloak over myself.

The surroundings immediately reverted to how they were before. I saw DaXiong and Nie Chuan already standing on the stairs beckoning me.

I rolled across the ground, escaping the encirclement, and sprinted toward the staircase.

My speed was fast; in a few quick movements, I reached the bottom of the stairs. The two figures above pulled me up, and we scrambled toward the upper floor.

But as we ran, I suddenly felt my leg being grabbed by someone, and a chill went through my heart.

I looked back and saw the shadow of that Guanyin Bodhisattva, who looked like my cousin, tightly clutching my ankle.

Having been disgusted by her bizarre appearance earlier, I immediately kicked her away.

"Brother! It’s me, it’s me, Nie Qilan, help me get out." At this moment, the woman spoke, her voice identical to my cousin’s.

After all, blood is thicker than water; my cousin and I share the same Nie family blood. I instantly softened, unsure of what to do.

"You are not my cousin! You monster!" Just then, a sharp shout rang in my ear.

I saw Nie Chuan, eyes blazing red, clutching the knife given by Little Brother, and plunged it straight into the crown of the woman holding me.

The monster instantly let out a 'wah' sound, deflating like a leaky balloon, shrinking into a ball.

Seeing her twisted form, I knew this was not my cousin, but some unknown demon. However, I was simultaneously shocked by Nie Chuan’s ruthlessness.

He and I are the same person, so why did hearing my cousin’s voice make me falter, while he could strike so decisively, a killing blow? Even knowing it was fake, one should feel a moment of hesitation.

Seeing me still frozen, the other two rushed to pull me along.

The door on the upper floor was open, and we slipped right inside.

As we entered, I glanced back. I saw those divine monsters and ghosts rushing toward the door with claws and fangs bared.

But once we were inside, the door slammed shut with a bang.

Instantly, the surroundings went silent, enveloped in pitch darkness without any light source.

The contrast between the previous chaos and this sudden quiet was too stark, leaving us disoriented for a moment.

After catching our breath, DaXiong reached for his flashlight to turn it on.

But Nie Chuan grabbed his hand, saying, "Look carefully ahead, there seems to be a light."

DaXiong and I both stared forward and indeed saw a very faint light shining in the darkness.

It must have been a candle, one burning down to its final flicker.

Because the light had changed too quickly before, we hadn't noticed the candle. Now, as our eyes gradually adjusted to the dark, we saw not only the candle but also a vague human silhouette sitting beside it, facing away from us, meditating.

"There seems to be someone else…" DaXiong murmured.

Nie Chuan nodded, saying, "Yes, there is someone. I wonder who it could be here?"

The previous chaos of demons dancing wildly made things confusing, but now there was only one person here, and since we were invisible, we had nothing to fear from him.

So I said, "Let's go over and see."

The two nodded, and the three of us slowly walked toward the figure.

As we got closer and closer, I could clearly see that this person was holding a staff, wore strikingly strange clothing, and his hat had two very long tassels.

In truth, I already had a guess forming, but this suspicion made my heart pound wildly.

"Could it be… that person!" DaXiong clenched his fists tightly, his jaw set, looking as if he was about to cry.

"If it really is that person, just seeing him once in this lifetime is enough," Nie Chuan’s emotion also became somewhat agitated.

Only I remained relatively calm, saying, "If it is that person, then he will certainly be able to see us. This is very dangerous."

DaXiong could no longer control himself, saying, "To hell with that! Can you really convince yourself not to go take a look?"

I paused, then sighed. Because I also couldn't resist going to see; that person was the heroic figure we eighty-somethings had idolized since childhood—capable of anything under heaven, the king of both the celestial and terrestrial realms.

As we gradually approached, we finally saw him: a figure covered in reddish-brown hair, a thunder-god mouth, apricot-yellow eyes, clad in golden armor, leaning on a black staff, sitting before the candlelight, eyes closed in meditation.

"It really is him…" DaXiong’s eyes grew moist. He wiped them and said, "I never thought I’d actually see him in my lifetime!"

The three of us stared dumbstruck at the monkey figure radiating an aura of immortality, momentarily at a loss for words.

At that moment, although the monkey hadn't opened his eyes, his mouth already spoke, "Don't mind me. I am an illusion created by your imaginations. One of you summoned me, which is why I appear here."