Jiang Si fell silent, a rare occurrence for her.

This thing takes on countless forms, so no name is appropriate. They just kept calling it that, and over time, that became the common name.

She carefully considered her words: "Is it possible that he calls it that thing?"

This time it was Xu Yingting's turn to be silent. Are you Taoists really just casual or just lazy when it comes to naming yourselves?

"You are standing in this circle."

Xu Yingting obediently went inside.

Jiang Si's expression turned serious: "You must remember to stay inside, do not come out, and do not speak."

“That thing is ever-changing and adept at illusion. No matter what, you must remember that it can’t do anything to me now. No matter who you see in danger, it’s all fake, even your comrades, they’re all fake, understand?” Jiang Si stared at him and said, word by word.

The power of that thing lies in its ability to manipulate people's minds, making it easy to kill or maim them.

He has no physical form, and ordinary things cannot harm him.

Only by having Xu Yingting act as bait inside could he be trapped, which is why Xu Yingting had to come.

Xu Yingting nodded emphatically.

She Zhang carried Qi Yan carefully through the mountains and forests. The smoke from the burning fire drifted gently in the wind. With their four small eyes, they saw a phantom seemingly floating out from the darker mountain valley in the distance. The phantom took on a human form and sniffed around like a dog.

The incense burned out at this point.

The snake and the rat worked together perfectly, immediately throwing away the incense and disappearing to play dead on the other side.

The flavor is naturally stronger at the source.

Xu Yingting stood nervously inside the circle Jiang Si had drawn, while Jiang Si had already hidden on the other side.

At this moment, all was quiet except for the occasional chirping of insects. The moon was high in the sky, casting a layer of silvery light upon it.

If it were in Pingming, he would definitely think it was good.

But now, even with his strong mental fortitude, he's starting to feel a little uneasy.

He felt like he was the flesh of Tang Sanzang, meant to lure monsters.

Just then, he heard the sound of a tree branch snapping underfoot.

Xu Yingting almost cried out. After taking a deep breath, he looked in the direction of the sound and saw something under the tree branch... something that could probably call out to people.

Now he understands why Jiang Si wanted to train him.

How can a person look like this?

We are called human because we have four limbs and five senses, but aren't these in the wrong places?

Are facial features arranged in random order?

Why is the mouth at the top, the nose at the bottom, and the eyes in the middle?

The key was that those eyes were incredibly bright. When they stared at him, it was unclear whether they were looking at prey or thinking about how to cook him. For a moment, Xu Yingting's legs went weak and he wanted to kneel down.

The thing seemed to possess human-like intelligence. It cautiously approached, speaking in an unpleasant voice with a strange accent: "Who are you?"

Xu Yingting forced himself to remain calm and did not speak.

Jiang Si said that once he speaks, his yang energy will leak out, and that thing might be able to take away all of his yang energy, and then all his efforts will be in vain.

It didn't speak to people; it seemed to be thinking about something.

His figure vanished in an instant, leaving no trace.

Xu Yingting realized that his surroundings seemed to have changed in an instant. He saw his comrades being chased by a monster and falling off a cliff, while another one managed to grab a tree trunk.

He reached out his hand to Xu Yingting: "Come and help me."

"I'm going to fall."

"Yingting, please help me." As she spoke, her voice trembled with tears.

Xu Yingting's slightly confused gaze instantly cleared.

Holy crap! This guy's insane!

He cursed eight hundred times in his heart, wondering if this guy even knew that his comrades would never call him Ying Ting, which was so disgusting.

Unable to curse, Xu Yingting simply sat down and silently recited the Heart Sutra in his heart.

Thanks to his grandmother, he was exposed to Buddhist scriptures from a young age and knew a little bit about them.

Whether it sensed Xu Yingting's thoughts or not, that thing burst into laughter.

Xu Yingting: "..." Is he sick?

"Who was it that came here? It turns out to be a fool who only knows how to chant the Heart Sutra." This time, the thing changed its appearance again, this time like a wisp of mist, floating in the air, leaving only its mouth open.

In a flash, Xu Yingting seemed to understand something.

He forced himself not to have any other thoughts, and recited the Heart Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, and the Vajra Sutra from memory, though his recitation was somewhat chaotic and impatient.

Now, that thing was even more smug.

Transforming into human form, he strode over with an air of nonchalance, and Xu Yingting began chanting even faster.

Just as the thing was feeling smug, it suddenly realized that it seemed to be trapped by something, with an invisible barrier around it.

He roared, "You!"

He moved with lightning speed, reaching out to grab Xu Yingting by the neck. "No one has ever dared to plot against me!"

Xu Yingting's neck was almost broken from being choked, and his face turned bright red. Just then, the thing seemed to sense something hitting his arm, forcing him to let go.

"Come out," Jiang Si shouted.

The moment he let go, Xu Yingting, thanks to his excellent physical abilities, immediately rolled five, six, seven, or eight meters away from the circle Jiang Hua had drawn.

Jiang Si tossed him a pill. "Eat it."

Xu Yingting coughed heavily and swallowed the medicine as instructed.

Seeing that he was alright, Jiang Si turned her attention back to the thing.

At this moment, Qi Yan and She Zhang also returned.

Commenting on the circles drawn by Jiang Si.

"Is this what it is? It looks so ugly."

"No wonder he's so perverted, it must be because he's too ugly that his mind is twisted."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!