Chen Nan felt a pang of guilt.
He wasn't a traitor.
But he wasn't Yue Shan either.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "I don't believe any of our brothers would become a traitor."
"Nor do I," replied Number Six. "However, it's not impossible for someone to have killed one of our brothers and taken his communication wooden token."
If Chen Nan had felt a little guilty before, he was now truly panicked.
After all,
He had killed Yue Shan.
And taken his communication wooden token.
Number Six's words described his exact situation.
Number Six continued, "There's something you might not know, Third Brother… is dead."
Upon seeing this message,
Chen Nan gasped, shocked.
He had absolutely not expected Third Brother to be dead.
Without further thought,
He quickly asked, "When did this happen?"
Number Six: "Five days ago. Third Brother said he was going to Fengdu City, but he was ambushed on the way and unfortunately met his end!"
Chen Nan knew that the information on the communication wooden token only lasted five days.
And he hadn't checked his communication wooden token during those days.
But…
He hadn't expected Third Brother to be dead.
Number Six: "Fifth Brother, though I don't want to admit it, this is the reality."
"We have a traitor among us."
"Otherwise, Third Brother wouldn't be dead!"
Chen Nan also felt the gravity of the situation.
Even though he wasn't Yue Shan,
He was already being perceived as Yue Shan.
If his identity were to be revealed,
Even if he was secretly an eighth-rank Yin Messenger of the imperial court,
Or the Director of the Celestial Observation Bureau,
He would be ruthlessly eliminated.
"Tell me the location of those medicinal herbs directly!"
"I'm not worried about being ambushed."
Chen Nan's eyes flashed with cold light. "Also, I will find the traitor among us and avenge Third Brother!"
Third Brother had been lying low in Qingyun Tower.
And had helped him more than once.
To be blunt,
Without Steward Wang,
His cultivation would not have improved so rapidly.
Therefore,
He had to avenge Steward Wang.
The next moment, Chen Nan received Number Six's reply: "I once plundered the herb storeroom of the Great Emperor of Fengdu and stored all his treasured herbs in a spatial artifact."
"Currently, that spatial artifact is located in a hidden compartment beneath the Acalanatha statue in Great Zhao Temple."
Chen Nan nodded slightly.
Great Zhao Temple.
Located in Fengdu City.
It was a very sacred place in Fengdu City.
In the hearts of the common people, it ranked second only to the Imperial Palace.
Every day, numerous devout believers would go there to burn incense and pray.
And Acalanatha was the foremost among the Five Great Kings.
Along with Guanyin Bodhisattva and Ksitigarbha, they were the three most revered deities among the populace.
Seeing that it was still early,
Chen Nan decided to try his luck at Great Zhao Temple. kanδん
Even though his whereabouts might be exposed,
However,
Only the deceased Third Brother knew his true identity.
Even if he went to Great Zhao Temple, no one would recognize him.
This was not something he needed to worry about.
He did not call for Di Ting.
The reason was simple.
The Heavenly Rebellion Cult knew that Di Ting was with him.
If he brought Di Ting along,
It would be tantamount to admitting his identity.
If someone were secretly monitoring Great Zhao Temple's every move,
Wouldn't he become a moving target?
"Steward Wang, rest assured, I will find the traitor, kill him, and avenge you!"
Chen Nan vowed silently.
------
Resplendent and magnificent.
Before the Great Zhao Temple, bathed in the light of Buddha,
Chen Nan stopped. What greeted his eyes was a palace nearly a hundred meters high.
A continuous stream of pilgrims entered.
This was undoubtedly the most bustling place in the entire Fengdu City.
Throngs of people,
Like the bustling New Year fairs he remembered from his childhood in the mortal realm.
The difference was,
Although there were many people here,
The atmosphere was remarkably quiet.
Upon entering the Mahavira Hall,
Acalanatha statue, approximately a hundred meters tall, appeared before him.
It was bathed in golden light,
Its countenance solemn and majestic,
Exuding an aura of unyielding power.
Countless devout believers knelt on the ground, praying and making wishes to Acalanatha.
Even Chen Nan felt a sense of peace wash over him.
He felt an urge to prostrate himself in worship.
After all,
The Buddha-light emanating from it was terrifying.
It even gave him a feeling of wanting to convert to Buddhism.
However,
His heart remained calm.
A silent anger even welled up within him.
Perhaps the world revered Acalanatha.
And made wishes to him.
But Chen Nan knew that Acalanatha was a manifestation of Tathagata.
Thinking that Tathagata's annihilation of that monkey had led to the current state of the Three Realms,
Chen Nan felt an urge to tear down this temple.
He wished he could melt the Acalanatha statue.
Of course,
He was only thinking about it.
If he dared to overturn the Acalanatha statue,
The surrounding populace would surely tear him limb from limb.
His intention was merely to find the spatial artifact hidden by Number Six.
He quietly unleashed his spatial laws,
But discovered that
The spatial laws were being suppressed here.
An invisible energy was repelling the spatial laws,
Making it difficult for him.
It felt like struggling through a swamp.
However,
It was only to this extent.
Even though a mysterious force here repelled him,
It could not restrict his spatial laws.
The spatial laws spread across the hall's floor tiles, penetrating them.
Finally,
Chen Nan found the hidden compartment that Number Six had mentioned.
But,
He did not see any spatial artifact in the hidden compartment.
"What's going on?"
"Could it be that this spatial artifact has been claimed by someone else?"
Chen Nan had a sense of foreboding.
If that were the case, the situation would become quite troublesome.
After all, he was counting on the herbs in the spatial artifact to refine the Grand Purity Divine Pill.
As Chen Nan pondered,
He frowned. "There seems to be a passage beneath the hidden compartment."
He could clearly sense a large stone slab beneath the hidden compartment.
And beneath the stone slab was a passage extending underground.
"I have no other choice!"
A glint flashed in Chen Nan's eyes.
He acted like a devout believer.
Kneeling on the ground.
Though he did not wish to kneel before Acalanatha,
This was the only way to avoid arousing suspicion from others.
After kneeling,
He detached his soul,
Intending to enter the hidden compartment to investigate further.
However,
The moment his soul detached,
His soul felt a tearing pain.
Countless rays of Buddha-light surged from all directions, attempting to tear his soul to shreds.
Terrifying golden light filled the entire hall,
Causing many devout believers to exclaim that the Buddha had manifested.
"Didn't they say the Buddha saves all sentient beings?"
"Why are you trying to tear me apart just for detaching my soul?"
Chen Nan's heart filled with immense rage.
"Could it be that there is something unspeakable underground?"
"The more you try to stop me, the more I will investigate."
"Not only that, one day, I will tear down this temple of yours."
The Buddha-light was terrifying.
But Chen Nan was no ordinary person.
His soul power was exceptionally strong.
And he had mastered spatial laws.
He could withstand most of the damage.
The next moment,
His soul entered the hidden compartment beneath the Acalanatha statue.
After passing through the hidden compartment,
A passage about two meters high appeared before him.
Stone steps, one after another, extended to an unknown extent.
However,
Chen Nan sensed a terrifying demonic aura emanating from the depths of the passage.
At the same time,
A seductive voice echoed in his ears: "My lord, I have finally waited for you. Come and have some fun!"