Although the clan chief said he was going to tell Miao Xiaoxian a story, the story he was telling was clearly the history of Ping'an Village.

Even though his story was told in a very simple way, it answered many of my questions.

People who have been irradiated by meteorites can only achieve immortality by using paper mulberry.

In other words, the monsters attacking us now are the royal family that once ruled the ancient tribes.

The fluorescent skeletons we saw when we entered the third level were warriors they had created using meteorites, who died of exhaustion in the passageway while trying to escape.

As for the vicious cycle the clan chief mentioned, before I could even figure it out, he took the initiative to explain: "After the ancient witchcraft was lost, the village clan could no longer completely eliminate these monsters using its own methods. So our clansmen have spent thousands of years constantly modifying them, not to prevent outsiders from entering the Temple of the Evil God, but to fill in the Temple of the Evil God and erase it from this world."

I suddenly realized: "When we were searching for the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, also known as the Hall of the Ferocious God, we found a large amount of blue clay in the mountains outside! Was that your doing? And everything you did was to fill in this hollow mountain?"

"What you see is just a glimpse of the whole picture. No one knows how many traps we have set up or how wide they are."

The clan chief paused for a moment: "The spread of the Flesh-like Gu has provided solid protection for the interior of this mountain. Their strength is such that even explosives cannot break through them! It is precisely because of their existence that we can arrange the filling materials more easily."

However, the existence of the Flesh Gu also has its drawbacks. That is, in addition to using the blood of the village people to lure it away, the dome cannot withstand the pressure and collapses!

But the spread of the Flesh-Flesh Gu was too great. If we really wanted to lure it away, we would probably have to use all the strength of the entire clan at that time. Do you know what that means? It means that our entire clan would perish together with this place!

Thus, our entire clan faces a tremendous dilemma! Leaving means abandoning the Temple of the Ferocious God, which has been guarded for thousands of years. If the demons inside escape, we will become sinners for all eternity!

Conversely, everyone would have to sacrifice their lives to protect this secret! Our deaths and our perseverance would remain unknown to the world! No matter which way we choose, it's a dead end!

After listening to the clan chief's story, Miao Xiaoxian stood still, without saying a word.

The chieftain sighed: "So, the leaders of several tribes in the village sat down together and came up with a plan. You can probably guess what they were discussing: life and death!"

Either the entire Ping'an Village clan will use their flesh and blood as bait to activate the trap and completely destroy the Temple of the Evil God! Or, everyone will live, but they can never leave the area guarding the Temple of the Evil God. If the demons commit evil, the entire clan will use their blood as a sacrifice to activate the mechanism!

"You...you mean..."

Upon hearing the clan chief's words, Miao Xiaoxian began to fight with all her might: "You mean, today, we need to sacrifice the lives of the entire clan to activate the mechanism?"

"Man is born free, and no one wants to be trapped in these endless mountains for the rest of their life. You are like that, and so am I! The reason why we have been able to persevere generation after generation is because everyone is racking their brains to find a way to destroy the Temple of the Evil God without making everyone sacrifice themselves!"

The reason we have endured this unbearable suffering generation after generation, choosing to live a life of humiliation in prison, is so that our descendants can be freed from these shackles and live normal lives! But because of these intruders, all of that has vanished; we have lost all hope.

After hearing the clan leader's words, Miao Xiaoxian stood there dumbfounded: "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"This is a secret that only the clan chief can pass down! What good will it do me to tell everyone that I've lived my whole life in a cage? Once everyone knows that I have no hope in life, who can guarantee that there won't be an extreme person like you who will step forward and lure outsiders into this place?"

A hint of pain flashed in the chieftain's eyes: "Ping'an Village has always been isolated from the world, not to use any methods to keep the people ignorant, but because we don't want outside information to flood in. Letting the villagers know too much about the outside world will only make them more miserable!"

This is an unsolvable deadlock. We must both abide by the ironclad rules left by our ancestors and maintain the continuity of the tribe! We were not born to enjoy this world, yet we want our descendants to enjoy it!

Miao Xiaoxian listened to the clan chief's words, her face already streaked with tears: "I thought everything I did was to save Ping'an Village, but I never expected to become a sinner who caused everyone to die! Why was I so foolish?"

“You did nothing wrong! I believe that every member of the Miao people has had the thought of escaping from here! You didn’t run away yourself, but wanted to pull your entire clan out of the mire. You are a member of the Miao people.”

The clan chief looked at Miao Xiaoxian and smiled: "But silly child, why didn't you think that if such a simple method could destroy the Temple of the Evil God and restore freedom to Ping'an Village, why would it have been delayed until today, and why would you be the one to do it?"

Miao Xiaoxian, like a child who had done something wrong, asked the clan leader in a state of utter confusion, "Is there any way to stop all of this? I'm willing to give anything to stop it!"

"It's too late. From the moment these monsters were released, it was already too late to turn the tide."

The clan chief shook his head: "If the Temple of the Ferocious God could be closed so easily, how could we have become the people forgotten by the world! However, time is fair. We have guarded the Temple of the Ferocious God for so many years, and we have not gained nothing. At least we have bought time."

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the living conditions of the people have undergone tremendous changes. Even though we were isolated from the world, we still enjoyed this benefit. In the past fifty years, the population of Ping'an Village has exploded.

We have already calculated that if all the villagers over forty years old from the seven tribes of Ping'an Village are willing to sacrifice themselves and offer their blood to the blood pool, it will be enough to destroy the Flesh Gu in this cave, activate the twenty-four mechanisms above, and pour quicksand and silt into the cave.

"This backup plan was already activated when the location of the Temple of the Evil God was announced. This morning, all 416 people from Ping'an Village assembled and entered the Temple of the Evil God with me!"

After hearing the clan chief's words, I felt a chill run down my spine.

More than four hundred people!

Our tomb raiding operation has caused an enormous disaster, implicating so many people.