Hongfa Temple.
The entire temple was situated in the eastern Area of Dachang City, close to Dachang City's Seventh High School. The temple was not large; in fact, it was rather small compared to other temples.
Many years ago, Hongfa Temple was quite famous, but in the last decade or so, its popularity had declined, and fewer and fewer pilgrims visited.
"No need to look anymore!" Su Mu Bai looked at Hongfa Temple not far away, opened the rear door of the taxi, and stepped out. He casually pulled out a hundred yuan bill from his pocket and tossed it onto the front passenger seat.
"Got it, thank you." After verifying the authenticity of the banknote, the driver quickly thanked Su Mu Bai's retreating figure.
"What a great start! If this trip were calculated by the meter, it would only be thirty yuan. Now I’ve received a hundred directly. After deducting gas money and the taxi company's commission, that’s a net profit of ninety!"
The taxi driver rejoiced inwardly, stomped on the accelerator, and the taxi instantly sped forward.
Su Mu Bai paid no attention to the departing taxi behind him; his gaze was entirely fixed on Hongfa Temple ahead.
The first thing that caught Su Mu Bai's eye were three tiers of stone steps, above which was the main Door entrance to Hongfa Temple.
It was already five in the morning. Although Hongfa Temple did not have much incense burning, the temple's Door was already open.
Through the wide-open temple Door, Su Mu Bai clearly saw two monks sweeping the ground in the temple courtyard.
"There is nothing wrong with the temple above; the place truly harboring the Supernatural is in a Secret Room beneath this temple."
Having read parts of the Original Work, Su Mu Bai completely ignored Hongfa Temple situated above the stone steps, withdrawing his gaze after just a few glances.
"I remember that Secret Room was constructed of Gold, capable of isolating the Supernatural, preventing even a Ghost Domain from invading."
"But precisely because of this, that Secret Room is even easier to find. Spread the Ghost Domain over the area; any place the Ghost Domain cannot cover must be that Secret Room!"
Su Mu Bai pondered, and layers of seemingly tangible Black Mist began to surge from his body, then spread toward Hongfa Temple ahead.
Su Mu Bai's Ghost Domain Strength was not very strong, and the Area it could cover was not very large. Even so, covering a temple that wasn't particularly large was easily achievable.
"Why did it get dark?"
"No, it suddenly started misting!"
"Strange, why is this Mist black...…"
The monks in Hongfa Temple all stopped what they were doing, looking at the sudden Black Mist with curiosity and bewilderment.
………………
Su Mu Bai ignored the discussions and shouts inside the temple. He wasn't here to kill; everyone in the temple was an Ordinary Person, with no Ghost Controllers present, so Su Mu Bai simply disregarded them.
"Found it!" Su Mu Bai's eyes lit up. A blank spot appeared in his Ghost Domain—a strange location beneath Hongfa Temple that isolated his Black Mist Ghost Domain.
Taking one step, Su Mu Bai instantly appeared in a basement room of Hongfa Temple.
The style of this basement did not look like it was built in modern times; judging by the decoration style, it seemed to be from the Republic of China Era, using ancient green bricks.
At the end of the basement was an Old Wooden Door, and Su Mu Bai was currently standing before it, quietly observing the Door.
"This is it!" Su Mu Bai whispered.
Gold foil was pasted on this Old Wooden Door, and the Door was shut tight, as if some primordial beast lay behind it, or perhaps the passage led to an endless abyss.
"Supernatural Power cannot affect Gold, so the only way to enter is by physically opening this Wooden Door." Su Mu Bai reached out, tore off all the Gold foil, and then gave a gentle push.
With a "creak."
The Wooden Door was opened.
The moment the Wooden Door opened, a chilling, icy wind blew out from within, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees instantly.
Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap………
Su Mu Bai did not hesitate, stepping directly inside, completely unafraid of any demons or monsters in the Secret Room behind the Wooden Door.
Behind the Wooden Door was a desolate, lifeless dark space, surrounded by moldy, moss-covered green brick walls.
"Drip~ Drip~~~"
Faintly, Su Mu Bai heard the sound of dripping water coming from the dark space ahead. The sound was small, yet extremely distinct, ringing clearly in the dark environment.
Su Mu Bai looked toward where the dripping sound originated, and a chilling sight was imprinted in his eyes.
A bizarre White Bone Tree, skeletal and eerie, was rooted in the ground. Hanging from the tree were many strange things: withered human heads, old rags...
And nailed to the trunk of this White Bone Tree was a massive Black Shadow, over three meters tall.
The Figure seemed to be condensed from darkness, hanging upside down motionlessly on the White Bone Tree, its head toward the ground.
The Black Shadow's head had no facial contours, only a concave opening. That opening seemed to be the location of the Black Shadow's eyes, but it was empty now.
What was even more eerie was this:
A rusty Coffin Nail pierced through the body of the Tall Black Shadow at its chest, and it was precisely because of this Coffin Nail that its body was pinned to the tree.
The Coffin Nail in the Tall Figure's chest had been nailed to the tree for an unknown number of years; it was so rusty it looked like it could break at any moment.
The "drip" sound Su Mu Bai had just heard was the sound made by the black blood continuously dripping from the wound of the Tall Black Shadow.
"The true Lord of Ghost Eyes... The Terror Level is truly high. Even though it's pinned down by a Coffin Nail, it still gives me an immense Sense of Oppression!"
Su Mu Bai was certain that if he were to compete in Terror Level with the Lord of Ghost Eyes before him right now, he would be utterly defeated at the first encounter.
As a Fierce Ghost himself, he could clearly perceive that the opponent's Terror Level was extremely high; they were fundamentally not on the same level!
Because of this, Su Mu Bai hesitated. He wasn't sure if pulling out the Coffin Nail now would provoke an attack from the Lord of Ghost Eyes.
If he were attacked after pulling out the Coffin Nail, how would he manage to withstand the Lord of Ghost Eyes' attack?
"Should I pull it or not...…" Su Mu Bai was thinking, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
"I'll risk it!"
A moment later, a sharp glint flashed in Su Mu Bai's cold eyes. After thinking for a long time, he resolutely stepped forward and walked toward the White Bone Tree.
"Now is the best time to obtain the Coffin Nail. Even if I am truly attacked by the Lord of Ghost Eyes, I shouldn't die, because I am a ghost; I won't die, at most I'll just be suppressed."
"And if I successfully obtain the Coffin Nail, it will be a huge gain, as there are very few Fierce Ghosts or Ghost Controllers in the early to mid-stages who can ignore a Coffin Nail!"
………………