Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

The warm, sticky sensation sent a shiver down Ning Caichen's spine, as if he had been bitten by a venomous snake.

He opened his mouth, wanting to scream, but found that he didn't even have the strength to scream. Only a hoarse sound like air leaking out came from his throat.

"This...this is..."

His teeth were chattering, and his legs were shaking like a leaf; he almost collapsed on the spot.

So that's what Shen Jue meant.

The people behind them turned into clouds of blood mist, which scattered into red dust in the night wind.

"I won't run!" Ning Caichen said, almost crying.

"Of course you won't run away." Shen Jue smiled slightly and gently patted Ning Caichen on the shoulder.

That hand was fair and slender, with rounded fingertips, and looked even more beautiful than a woman's hand.

But Ning Caichen felt as if a ghostly claw from hell was pressing down on his shoulder, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

"If you do me a good deed, I will naturally not treat you unfairly," Shen Jue said, flicking his finger lightly.

A pale golden light entered Ning Caichen's body, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones.

Ning Caichen felt a warm current explode within his body, and his originally thin body seemed to be filled with some kind of incredible power in that instant.

His muscles were bulging, his bones were trembling, and a surge of energy in his dantian was spinning wildly like a vortex, absorbing all the spiritual energy of the surrounding world.

In just a few breaths, Ning Caichen transformed from a weak scholar with no strength to a master martial artist with three flowers blooming on his head.

The force came too fast and too fiercely; he didn't even have time to process it. He felt his whole body swell uncomfortably, as if it were about to explode at any moment.

"What is this?" Ning Caichen looked at his hands in disbelief.

"At your current level, it would take that tree demon quite a bit of effort to kill you and drain you into a dried-up body," Shen Jue said lazily, making a casual gesture.

"Don't worry too much, I'll be your support."

"Go ahead and cause trouble."

Under Shen Jue's gravitational pull, Ning Caichen involuntarily flew up and crashed straight into the dilapidated gate of Lanruo Temple in the far distance.

He only felt the wind whistling in his ears and the scenery rushing past his eyes.

Just as he tried to use the newfound power to struggle, he found that his body was completely out of his control.

"Remember, find out the details of that tree demon for this humble monk. If you can lure out the Black Mountain Demon, this humble monk will reward you handsomely."

Shen Jue's voice drifted over from afar, carrying a hint of mocking laughter.

"If things go wrong... this humble monk will have to resort to his backup plan."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ning Caichen crashed headfirst into the dilapidated hall of Lanruo Temple, landing in a daze.

He scrambled to his feet and bumped into a half-overturned incense burner beside him.

The bronze incense burner fell to the ground with a dull, loud crash that echoed through the empty, dilapidated hall.

The noise was louder than thunder in the quiet night.

Ning Caichen knew something was wrong, but before he could react, a loud shout came from deep within the hall.

"Which blind fool came to this godforsaken place to die!"

The sound was like a booming bell, causing dust to fall from the roof of the palace.

A figure strode out from the shadows behind the main hall.

He was a burly middle-aged man with thick, dark eyebrows, a leopard-like face, and a broad, square face covered with a thick beard of steel needles, each hair standing upright as if it hadn't been groomed in a long time.

He wore a faded, old black Taoist robe, with frayed edges on the cuffs and hem, and a large, vermilion gourd hung from his waist, swaying with each step and making a dull gurgling sound.

He carried a broadsword slung diagonally across his back; the blade was extremely wide and thick.

His eyes are the most striking feature.

Those eyes were astonishingly bright, almost glowing in the moonlight. A glint of light seemed to flow deep within the pupils, as if they were not the eyes of an ordinary person, but a pair of divine eyes that could see through yin and yang and understand ghosts and gods.

This person was none other than Yan Chixia, the extraordinary man who resided in Lanruo Temple.

Yan Chixia walked up to Ning Caichen in a few steps. He leaned close to Ning Caichen's face, his tiger-like eyes scanning him up and down, before frowning.

"A scholar?" Yan Chixia sniffed, as if he had smelled something strange, and his expression became complicated.

"You look like you have some cultivation, yet you're in such a sorry state?"

Ning Caichen was speechless, unsure of where to begin.

Yan Chixia didn't give him a chance to speak. With a wave of his hand, he ignored him and turned to leave.

"Let's go! Let's get out of this awful place before it gets completely dark."

"Senior... I can't leave." Ning Caichen said with a wry smile. He stayed where he was, not knowing what to do.

He was particularly bewildered when he saw the fresh dent on the bronze incense burner he had knocked over with his head.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Yan Chixia's eyes widened, and his mustache stood up in anger.

"What do you think this place is? This is Lanruo Temple! A notorious cannibalistic den for miles around!"

"A thousand-year-old tree demon lives in the temple. It sucks the life essence and yang energy of passing merchants. There are at least eight hundred to a thousand people who have died here."

"You may have some cultivation, but to the tree demon, you're just a tough nut to crack!"

Ning Caichen trembled with fright upon hearing this, and almost collapsed again.

But the thought of Shen Jue's ambiguous smile sent chills down his spine, and his legs felt as if they were nailed to the ground, unable to move an inch.

"I appreciate your kindness, senior," Ning Caichen said with a bitter face, his voice trembling with tears.

"But I really can't leave!"

"Can't we leave?" Yan Chixia was taken aback, then flew into a rage.

"Do you think I'm joking? If you don't leave now, you'll be drained dry, leaving not even a soul to reincarnate!"

"I know, I know everything," Ning Caichen nodded repeatedly, his face contorted with grief.

"But if I were to leave, I fear there wouldn't even be a soul left to be reincarnated."

After staring at him for a long time, Yan Chixia saw his miserable look of resignation to death and finally stomped her foot in anger and turned her back.

"Forget it, I can't control you, and I don't want to anymore."

He strode toward the side hall, then stopped after a few steps and pointed toward the west wing without turning his head.

"There's a run-down house over there; you can stay there tonight."

"No matter what noise you hear at night, do not open the door, do not come out, and do not answer."

"If you're courting death, I, Yan, won't bother collecting your corpse."

After saying that, he went into the side hall and closed the door heavily.

Ning Caichen stood alone in the dilapidated hall, and breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Yan Chixia slam the door shut.

The night wind blew in through the broken window, chilling his back.

He touched his chest and hurried towards the west wing.

Before Ning Caichen could tidy up the dilapidated and messy west wing, a gust of cold wind carrying a hint of laughter swept into Lanruo Temple.