My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

"Master Ye! Immortal Master! Please wake up! Something's happened! You were right, there's... there's one more!"

The other bodyguards also grasped at this straw, placing all their hopes on this sleeping "master".

Ye Qingfeng was half asleep when he was shaken awake and heard a noisy, suppressed whisper of panic in his ears.

He struggled to open his eyes, adjusting to the firelight, and saw the faces of the bodyguards gathered around him, their expressions a mixture of fear and anticipation.

"Hmm? What's the matter?" He rubbed his eyes, his voice still sleepy.

The dark-faced镖头 (bodyguard/escort) quickly recounted how Wang Ergou had discovered an extra person that the others couldn't identify, his tone filled with awe.

"The Immortal Master's words, 'One more person,' have become a prophecy! Now, demons have infiltrated, and our mortal eyes cannot discern them. We beg the Immortal Master to use his supernatural powers to save our lives!"

Ye Qingfeng's mind was still a little muddled after hearing this.

One more person? That joke he made before bed to scare people?

He subconsciously looked around. The light was dim, and there were many shadowy figures. He couldn't tell how many people there were.

As for what the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) said about demons and evil spirits infiltrating... that was his first thought.

Well, I overdid the suggestion and scared myself into having a collective hallucination.

He had no idea how many people were on the other side. He was starving after transmigrating, so he had no time to think about such things.

In his view, how could there possibly be ghosts in this world?

It was simply that the eerie environment, the frightening story, and his own "finishing touch" led them to have a misconception.

Seeing the group of burly men in front of him looking pale with fright, Ye Qingfeng was both amused and exasperated.

But more than anything, it's a kind of condescending tolerance and understanding from a modern soul.

Fine, since they're so convinced, let's just appease them with their logic.

They can rest easy as long as it's proven that "there are no ghosts".

So he slowly sat up straight, straightened his Taoist robe, and tried to make himself look calm and profound.

His gaze fell on the burning campfire, and an idea had formed in his mind—an idea based on the "scientific" placebo effect.

"May the Heavenly Venerable grant boundless blessings." He first recited the Taoist name to calm the atmosphere.

Then he slowly opened his mouth, his voice calm and rhythmic, which made people believe him involuntarily.

"Don't panic, everyone. Evil spirits and demons are of the yin and turbid nature, and they are most afraid of the pure yang fire."

He pointed to the campfire.

"Although this fire is an ordinary fire, it gathers in this temple and is surrounded by your vital energy."

It also carries some of the yang energy of the human world, and can temporarily serve as a mirror to reflect reality and illusion.

He paused, looking at the focused and hopeful eyes of the bodyguards, and continued to weave his "appeasement plan".

"Alright then, you will all step forward one by one and hold your palms about an inch above the fire, without touching them."

He thought to himself: Fire is fire, it's just as hot no matter who it's roasting.

Once everyone tries it, they will feel the heat when their palms are close to the fire, but there will be no "strange phenomena".

Once everyone has tried it and everything is normal, they will naturally realize that they were just scaring themselves, and that there are no ghosts in the world.

This is at most a simple group psychological counseling session.

So he added at the end, his tone resolute.

"Those who are upright and without evil will have a warm and gentle temperament and will not have any abnormalities."

If there truly are such sinister beings attempting to deceive us and approach this fire...

Fire, being of the extreme Yang nature, will naturally react, leaving nothing to hide, until... it is reduced to ashes.

After he finished speaking, he deliberately put on a calm and composed expression, as if he had everything under control.

But in my heart I was thinking: I need to finish testing everything quickly, prove that everything is fine, and then everyone can go back to sleep. Tomorrow I need to figure out a way to survive here.

Upon hearing this, the bodyguards felt as if they had heard a life-saving oracle, and they had no doubt about Ye Qingfeng's words.

The dark-faced镖头 (bodyguard/escort) was the first to respond: "I will obey the Immortal's decree!"

He took a deep breath, walked towards the fire first, and solemnly placed his palm over the leaping flames.

The orange-red flames licked the air above, bringing with them a scorching heat.

Business as usual.

The dark-faced head镖师 breathed a sigh of relief, stepped aside, and looked at Ye Qingfeng with even greater awe.

Seeing this, the other bodyguards also mustered their courage a little and stepped forward one by one in order, repeating the same action.

Ye Qingfeng watched quietly, waiting for this "farce" he had orchestrated to come to a peaceful end, so that everyone could be free from their inner demons and fall asleep peacefully.

It's the sixth one's turn.

It was that镖师 (bodyguard/escort) named Zhao Si. He had an honest face, didn't talk much, and was recognized as an honest man in the team.

He was in the middle of the line, and the fact that the people ahead of him were "unharmed" seemed to relieve him as well.

However, when he walked up to the fire and looked down at the leaping orange flames, his movements paused almost imperceptibly.

His gaze seemed to waver for a moment, unlike the firmness or fear of others, instead flashing a very subtle... hesitation?

There was even a hint of instinctive disgust and fear of the flames that he tried hard to conceal.

Ye Qingfeng, absorbed in the thought that "this is just psychological comfort," did not notice this subtle difference.

The other bodyguards were on high alert, their eyes mostly focused on the possible changes in the flames, and none of them pondered Zhao Si's momentary unease.

Zhao Si took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, or as if he was driven by an invisible force, and slowly raised his right hand.

His movements were slightly stiff, not as fluid as the previous ones. His palm slowly reached above the flames, the trembling of his fingertips becoming increasingly noticeable.

Time seemed to stretch out.

His palm hovered about an inch above the flames.

A scorching heat wave rushed towards me.

One breath, two breaths...

The flames burned steadily, their orange-red glow warm, just as before.

Ye Qingfeng thought to himself: See, nothing's wrong. Just as I thought… Before the thought even finished…

A sudden change has occurred!

The once gentle and vibrant orange-red flame suddenly shrank inward from its center without warning!

It was as if an invisible mouth had instantly sucked away a large amount of light and heat, causing a brief, chilling dark depression to appear in the core of the flames.

next moment!

"boom--!"

It wasn't a loud, explosive sound.

Rather, it was a dull, oppressive roar, as if it were a purging roar erupting from the very marrow of a flame, directed against some kind of filthy existence!

A line of fire, so intense it defied description, flashing a blinding golden-white.

Like a thunderbolt of judgment, it burst forth violently from the brief, dark recess of the flames!

The speed of the attack was beyond the limits of what the naked eye could perceive, and the target was so clear it was chilling.

It didn't pounce on Zhao Si's suspended hand, but instead made a strange and precise arc.

As if it possessed life and will, it lunged straight at Zhao Si's heart!

"Ugh—Ah!!!"

A short, distorted, and completely inhuman scream escaped Zhao Si's throat!

The sound was sharp and piercing, mixed with endless pain, resentment, and a sense of shattering as if a painted mask were being torn apart!

The blazing white flames instantly engulfed him!

It forms a fiercely burning human-shaped torch!