Cen Qianshan cut the demon in front of him into two pieces with one sword, stepped on his head and raised the Frost in his hand.
"Could you please not chop my face and keep my head?" said the demon who was being stepped on calmly.
He has a pale and handsome face, but has a pair of huge black horns on his forehead, and his neck is covered with black scales.
Cen Qianshan was stunned, the tip of the knife just hanging between his eyebrows.
Along the way, they had conflicts with many such strange demons.
Whenever they were discovered passing by, the demons wandering around the Shinto would attack them angrily.
But after being defeated, they were no longer angry, and calmly accepted their fate of being dismembered. Most of them didn't even speak a word to them.
"It turns out they can talk. I thought most of these guys couldn't speak." Miao Hong'er bent down curiously to look at the man with horns.
"I need a reason." Cen Qianshan said coldly.
These strange demons seem to have eternal life. Cutting off their bodies and limbs will not kill them. They will reassemble themselves and recover after a short time.
But destroying their heads would delay the recovery time a little longer, keeping everyone safe.
"If the head is cut open, you will lose your memory for a long time, and there will be a feeling of 'death', which makes me feel scared." The demon with only half of the body left explained calmly, with no expression on his face.
But he did elaborate on a word that represents an emotion - fear.
The cut surface of his body did not ooze out any blood, but a piece of smooth black crystal. It did not look like a living thing at all, but more like a man-made sculpture.
"Why are you staying here?" Mu Xue asked behind Cen Qianshan.
"I don't know. Since I became conscious, I have been staying in this world. There is only one voice telling me that I must guard the temple and not let anyone pass through it casually. I know that is my mission."
"How long have you been here?"
"The sun never sets here. I don't know how much time has passed." The man with double horns on his forehead stared blankly at the dim sky.
Thousands of years have passed since the ancient god ascended to the upper realm and left the human world.
Mu Xue pulled on Cen Qianshan's clothes and expressed her wishes.
Cen Qianshan decisively put away the knife.
As she walked forward, Mu Xue looked back and saw the monster, with only half of its body left in the rubble, crawling forward with its hands outstretched, trying to reach the legs that were trying to crawl towards her.
"What's wrong, Xiaoxue?" asked Miao Honger, who was holding Mu Xue's hand.
"They look like another kind of puppets, advanced puppets made by gods." Mu Xue pondered this question all the way. Although they are different in structure, she, who is proficient in puppetry, can always find a familiar feeling from these demon gods. Perhaps this will be the ultimate goal of human puppetry.
"It's impossible for a puppet to be so smart. Even the most advanced puppet can only complete simple commands given by the master." Miao Honger said, "Look at the Wuchang on the Crossing Death Road. Even with so many of us, we are almost no match for him."
Mu Xue thought of the white-robed Impermanence in front of the Jiuyou Tower. At the last moment, Mu Xue clearly saw him stop and recall the undead, which could be considered as showing mercy.
Can a creature created by God without a heart have emotions and thoughts
"It is the long period of time that gives them the ability to think." Cen Qianshan, who was walking in front, turned around and spoke.
"The fact that they can think and have feelings means that they are already a kind of life, rather than cold 'dead objects'." Mu Xue discussed with him.
Mu Xue looked up at Cen Qianshan, who was also looking at her. There was a brief eye contact between the two.
Xiaoshan and she still have such a tacit understanding.
Sometimes, we don’t even need to talk to each other. Just a glance is enough to tell that the other person’s answer is the same as ours.
Cen Qianshan quickly turned his head, curled his hands hanging at his sides, and rubbed his fingers back and forth.
Mu Xue inexplicably had the illusion that he wished he could hold his hand instead of Senior Sister Miao.
The long-sought paradise was not filled with the fairy music and glittering palaces as imagined. What appeared before my eyes was a vast expanse of quiet and desolate gardens.
The tall stone pillars carved from white marble were almost completely submerged by green vegetation. The large fountain had long since dried up, and the bright smiling face of the flying fairy in the center of the spring was covered with moss.
Those colored glass lanterns, whose original colors could no longer be seen, floated in the air and slowly rotated. The squeaking sound of the rusty shafts was particularly harsh in the silent courtyard.
A group of people walked slowly along the road paved with five-colored stones in this deserted garden.
It was very empty here. No animals or birds were seen, and no insects or birds were heard. Even the demons that were wandering around were gone.
Occasionally, one or two stone statues appear in the dead silent garden.
The stone statues were as tall as real people and lifelike. Most of them were facing the direction they came from. The expressions of misery or despair were carved vividly, even the clothes, hair, and skin texture were all exquisitely detailed.
"Something is not right," Fu Yun frowned all the way, "Look at the clothes these people are wearing. They are not from ancient times at all. They are all popular recently."
He suddenly stopped in front of a sculpture and carefully examined it for a while. "I know this person. He is one of the best among the three generations of disciples of Tianyan Sect."
Cen Qianshan looked at a statue of a woman and said, "She is from the Yan family of Fuwang City. There is the Yan family emblem on her clothes."
It turns out that these stone statues were all living people who came to explore the temple.
Cen Qianshan and others exchanged looks and their expressions became solemn.
The stone statues that appeared sporadically at first gradually became more numerous. Suddenly, as if the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining, an extremely majestic and magnificent temple appeared in front of them.
Outside the temple gate, there were countless stone statues standing or sitting with terrified faces. They were wearing different clothes, some were popular now, and some were outdated styles from hundreds of years ago.
Over the thousands of years, the temple has appeared many times. Among the many explorers attracted to the temple, the best ones were forever turned into stone statues and left here.
The despair and fear of the last moment of life are solidified in time, reminding those who come after to stop moving forward.
The gate of the temple was sealed by a crisscross iron fence, to which was locked an iron chain as thick as an arm.
Looking through the gaps in the fence, one could see a large dim square, with a huge jade stone hanging in the middle of the square. The smooth stone surface was shining, revealing some vague and silent images.
In front of the jade stone projecting the image, countless figures sat on their own small benches, staring quietly and motionlessly at the glowing stone curtain in front of them.
"These are all ghosts, bound here for some reason. Perhaps they are the original spirits of the stone statues outside." Fu Yun stopped everyone, "Wait a minute, I'll go up and take a look."
As soon as he stepped onto the steps of the temple, a plain male voice came from inside the temple.
"Go back, this is not a place for humans.
The Great God Dongyue has long since broken through the void and left. There is no Paradise in the world anymore. There are no natural treasures like you imagined. Leave now."
Everyone used their spiritual sense to search, but could not find the person who spoke.
Fu Yun said tentatively, "One of our companions has been poisoned, and he wants to take a magical herb from the Endless Pond. He has no choice but to enter, so please let him pass."
The voice sighed, "It is not up to me to let you go or not. The iron chain on this door is called the Heart Binding Chain. To open it, a living person must use his bare hands to hold it. But you have already seen what the fate of those who touched this Heart Binding Chain is."
To push open this door, one must break the iron chain with one's own hands. Anyone who breaks the chain will have his soul sucked into the temple and his body turned into a stone statue, unable to escape. This is simply an unsolvable problem.
"May I ask if there is a way to crack it?" Fu Yun asked.
"It's not that there is no way to break it. All you need to do is get water from the Endless Pond within twelve hours after being petrified, and pour it over your body. Then your soul will return to its place and the stone will be restored to its original state." The voice replied, "Unfortunately, for so many years, I have watched you humans helplessly. Either your companions were unable to retrieve the water from the pond, or they found some treasures in the temple and didn't want to share them with others, so they left on their own. So many stone statues were left outside the temple."
Fu Yun turned around and glanced at Miao Honger and Mu Xue.
He took a deep breath and reached out to untie the chain.
"Wait a minute," Miao Honger stopped him, "I have something else to ask."
"According to what you said, people whose souls are bound can only wait for others to rescue them." Miao Honger walked slowly behind Fu Yun, put her hand on his shoulder, and asked with a smile, "Isn't there anyone who can break free by himself?"
The voice in the temple said, "You are young, but you have a lot of ambition. I have been guarding here for so many years, and there are certainly a few people who have freed themselves from their mental chains. It all depends on whether you have the heart to do it."
Miao Honger smiled and said, "Then I'll give it a try."
As she said this, she suddenly reached out, twisted Fu Yun's arm with one hand, tripped him, and pressed Fu Yun's arm to the ground. Then she stretched out her other arm, grabbed the iron chain on the door that could petrify people, and pulled it hard. The iron chain made a clear sound and broke easily.
Miao Honger's actions caught everyone off guard. No one expected that she, who was just smiling and talking, would take action the next second.
She broke the heart-binding chain, released Fu Yun, and slowly stood up. The heavy iron chain in her hand gradually disintegrated and turned into specks of blue light, which completely disappeared into her body.
Fu Yun stood up at once, his face pale, gritting his teeth, "Miao Hong'er, you!"
Miao Hong'er smiled and said, "Although your cultivation is better than mine, unfortunately your physical skills are still a little worse. Don't forget, I am the eldest sister of Xiaoyao Peak. According to seniority, I should come first."
As she said this, her face had already begun to turn gray, a sign that she was beginning to petrify.
Mu Xue took two steps up the stairs and held her arm, feeling really anxious.
Miao Honger raised her stiffened palm and touched her head. "Don't be afraid, Xiaoxue. We are cultivators and should act according to our true heart. If you can't avoid my calamity, you don't have to hide. Don't worry, follow your brother in first. Your sister is very strong and will soon be able to get rid of this restraint and catch up with you."
Her feet had completely solidified, and the gray-black color of the rock began to gradually spread across her healthy skin like water.
Fu Yun looked at Miao Hong'er like this, pursed his lips and clenched his fists.
Miao Honger raised her head and forced a smile at her junior brother in front of her, "Don't be angry, you are the strongest disciple of our Guiyuan Sect, it is more appropriate for you to go in than for me."
The lifeless gray color spread up from her neck and surrounded her face.
"There's something I've always wanted to tell you, so why not take this opportunity to tell you."
"When I was little, I didn't know much and always bullied you."
"It's not that I hate you, I just want to play with you but I'm too embarrassed to say it."
"I'm sorry, Senior Sister apologizes to you."
Her beautiful smile finally froze on her face. The warm hand that touched Mu Xue's head also lost its temperature, and was stiffly replaced by a lifeless gray, and froze in the air.
Mu Xue raised her head and stared at the familiar face that had turned into stone through the gray fingers.
She stood on tiptoe, clenched her hands that were frozen in the air, turned around and walked towards the open iron gate.
Cen Qianshan reached out from behind and grabbed her, "I'm just about to go to the Endless Pool. I promise to do my best to get you some water. This place is full of dangers, and you're still... so young. Just stay outside the door and guard your senior sister, okay?"
Mu Xue turned around and looked at him. "At first, I thought I came here for my senior brothers and sisters, but just now I suddenly understood. This journey here is also destined for me, allowing me to refine my heart and overcome my own tribulations."
She turned her head and looked at the open iron gate. "Given my current state of mind, I'm afraid I can't avoid this temple, and I shouldn't avoid it. Xiao... Let's go in together."
Fu Yun turned around and was the first to step into the iron gate that was glowing white.
Mu Xue looked back at Cen Qianshan, held his hand, and stepped into the white light inside the door.