Everything is proceeding according to plan, without any surprises.
In the foresight, the avatar was killed, and Su Nan was unsure if the wedding could continue without a groom. If the ceremony were to be terminated due to the lack of a groom, his main body might avoid the crisis.
[The avatar was killed, and the wedding lacked a groom, angering all the guests.]
[Just when you thought the ceremony would stop, the child attendants conducting the ceremony scanned the guests and selected you as a replacement groom to continue the ritual.]
"Fortune! So the reason I keep getting chosen as the groom is because of my fortune!"
Seeing this, Su Nan's expression changed slightly as he finally understood why he kept getting chosen as the groom. At the same time, he felt disappointed once again.
Clearly, he had failed once more. The ceremony didn't stop due to the lack of a groom; instead, they selected him from the guests, which was unexpected.
However, something about the number of guests mentioned in the foresight puzzled Su Nan.
"Five guests?"
"Besides me, there are four other guests!"
Su Nan was surprised. It was evident that the guests mentioned in the foresight couldn't refer to the soul-eating demons and corpses. Otherwise, there would be more than five of them. These guests must be other warriors or creatures with souls.
This was strange. In theory, there should only be one guest in the temple, which was him. How could there suddenly be four more guests?
"Could they be players?"
Thinking about a possibility, Su Nan's eyes brightened. It was highly likely. Warriors who entered the temple probably met with accidents long ago and couldn't have survived until now. This was evidenced by the two powerful figures from the Point Star Sect and the Sky Wolf Clan.
Players were different. They could exit the game, and even if they died, they would only be unable to log in for the rest of the day. The next day, they could log in and continue playing as guests.
"This place is deep within the Divine Ruins. Ordinary players can't possibly reach here. It's possible that a few unlucky ones ended up here as soon as they entered the game and have been trapped in the temple ever since."
Su Nan thought of a possibility.
He didn't know that, just as he suspected, three players had appeared in the temple at this moment. However, contrary to his assumptions, there weren't four players but only three.
"They said there's a treasure here on the forum. I wonder what kind of treasure it is?"
"This place is a forbidden zone for life. Even if there is a treasure, we wouldn't have a chance, especially since we're trapped here and can't leave!"
Clearly, they had been lured by the information about a treasure appearing on the forum and had immediately logged into the game.
As Su Nan had thought, these three had very bad luck. As soon as they entered the game, they found themselves in the Divine Ruins.
After several deaths, they had all ended up in this temple, where they were unable to leave.
"For us, this might be an opportunity. If other players come here to search for treasure, maybe they can help us escape."
"Too optimistic. This place is too bizarre. Even if those top players like Zhang Yang, Wang Nan, and Lang Thirteen came here, they would probably be kneeling here just like us!"
In the face of being unable to leave, they had been collecting relevant information and even spent a lot of money to have information dealers on the forum help them find information.
However, when they learned that they were in a forbidden zone for life and that they were trapped in a temple called the Temple of Joy, they felt hopeless.
"I hope Zhang Yang and Wang Nan come here. What if they have a way to get out?"
Someone said with hope.
More than half of the time for the human crisis mission had passed, and they hadn't even completed the beginner's mission. If they continued like this, their fate would be elimination.
"Don't be delusional. Didn't you see that the King-level expert is trapped here just like us? We can only pretend to be dead to survive."
In their conversation, the three of them instinctively looked at an elderly man in gray robes not far away.
There were many screenshots on the forum of the battles between the Point Star Sect and the Sky Wolf Clan. They immediately realized that the elderly man was the King-level expert from the Point Star Sect!
If Su Nan had heard their conversation at this moment, he would have been astonished. According to their conversation, it seemed that the elderly man from the Point Star Sect, who was also a King-level expert, had survived!
...
[Unfortunately, you were chosen as a substitute groom.]
[All the guests looked at you in anger when the ceremony lacked a groom.]
[Just when you thought the ceremony would stop, the child attendants conducting the ceremony scanned the guests again, and you were selected as the replacement groom. You found yourself wearing a wedding gown in the presence of the statue of the bride. You continued the unfinished ritual.]
[As the child attendants conducting the ceremony shouted "One bow to heaven," the ceremony officially began, and you immediately felt that your body was out of control. You bowed down together with the bride in front of the statue.]
[As you and the bride bowed together, you immediately felt an invisible force draining your vitality. That was your lifespan, and in an instant, you aged ten years.]
[You wanted to resist, but you found that at this moment, you couldn't use any of your powers, whether it was magic or divine abilities. You could only continue like a puppet.]
[The ceremony didn't stop. As the child attendants conducting the ceremony shouted "Two bows to the Joy God," you and the bride bowed down again, and this time, your luck would be drained.]
[However, at this moment, the wheel of destiny in your body turned uncontrollably, and the power trying to drain your luck was blocked.]
"The Wheel of Destiny! The Wheel of Destiny is blocking the temple's power!"
Seeing the foreseen information, Su Nan was stunned and then pleasantly surprised. He suddenly realized that his Wheel of Destiny could control his fate.
"I just don't know if the power of the Wheel of Destiny can completely block the temple's power."
Su Nan's eyes filled with anticipation.
The ceremony was just beginning, and the extraction of luck had not yet finished. Whether the Wheel of Destiny could completely block the temple's power was uncertain, and whether there would be further changes due to the lack of luck extraction was also unknown.
[The ceremony continued. You knew that the next part would be the wedding feast.]
[As you scanned all the guests, you noticed that among the guests, three figures stood out. They were three young men.]
[Unlike the other guests who looked dull, these three men stared at you with shock. You instantly understood that these three were outsiders.]
"Three people? Why are there only three?"
Su Nan was puzzled. The foresight clearly mentioned that besides him, there were four genuine guests.
[As the child attendants conducting the ceremony shouted again, the wedding feast officially began.]
Apologies for the deviation. Continuing with the prompt:
"The Crown Princess once again tried to persuade him. She didn't realize that her priorities had shifted, and now, she was more concerned about Su Nan's well-being than her own revenge.
Su Nan shook his head and continued to ponder, "Since the Wheel of Fate Scripture can protect my luck from being stolen, now I just need to find a solution for my lifespan."
Having your lifespan drained would affect your bloodline, a severe problem for a martial artist.
Fortunately, Su Nan had switched to the identity of Lang Thirteen to complete the temple exploration task. He had been using Lang Thirteen's character for all his foresights. If he had been using his Wang Nan character, he might have lost control due to the lifespan reduction.
"If I use my avatar to play the groom during the ceremony, would they draw my lifespan, or would they draw the avatar's lifespan?"
A thought suddenly crossed Su Nan's mind.
He realized that his avatar, which was a projection of his soul, might not have a lifespan like his real body. It could potentially be a way to avoid losing his actual lifespan during the ceremony.
Su Nan immediately began another foresight to see if his theory was correct.
[Chapter Complete]
Su Nan sighed. It seemed that his attempt to use his avatar to avoid losing his lifespan during the ceremony had failed.
Now, he was faced with a difficult decision – how to protect his lifespan while participating in the ceremony and complete the mission.
The Crown Princess, who had been observing his expressions, couldn't help but speak, "If there's no way to avoid the temple, you can still go back the way you came."
However, she didn't realize that her words showed her growing concern for Su Nan's safety. Her focus had shifted from seeking revenge to worrying about his well-being.
Su Nan contemplated his options and replied, "I can't give up now. I have the Wheel of Fate Scripture to protect my luck, but I need to find a way to preserve my lifespan."
He understood that losing his lifespan would have dire consequences, especially in this temple.
As the ceremony continued, Su Nan's avatar bowed and went through the motions, but he felt a strange force trying to draw his luck once again. However, this time, his Life Wheel Scripture resisted it successfully.
The ceremony went on, and Su Nan's avatar aged rapidly due to the draining of his lifespan. Still, his luck remained intact. The power of the temple was blocked by his Life Wheel Scripture, preventing it from affecting his luck.
Su Nan was relieved to see that his theory had worked. His Life Wheel Scripture could indeed protect his luck from being drawn by the temple's power.
As the ceremony progressed, Su Nan noticed three outsiders among the guests. These individuals were different from the others; they were not under the temple's control and seemed shocked by the proceedings.
Su Nan wondered why there were only three outsiders when the foresight had mentioned four guests. He suspected that these newcomers might be players who had entered the game and ended up in the temple due to bad luck.
The ceremony continued, and the Soul-Eating Demons and Corpse Puppets gazed greedily at the three outsiders. Su Nan realized that these newcomers were in danger as the other guests closed in on them.
The outsiders tried to escape, but they were quickly surrounded by the other guests. Moments later, they fell into a comatose state, just as the foresight had predicted.
The Soul-Eating Demons and Corpse Puppets placed the three outsiders on tables, and the young boy conducting the ceremony began to cut into their bodies. Blood flowed, staining the tables red. The hearts of the outsiders were removed and presented to Su Nan, waiting for him to consume them.
Su Nan hesitated. He didn't want to consume the flesh and blood of these guests, but he also didn't want to disrupt the ceremony.
However, before he could make a decision, a sudden pain coursed through his body, and the three outsiders woke up in fear, looking at their own bodies in terror.
In an instant, the three outsiders disappeared from the view of the guests, and the hearts offered to Su Nan vanished as well. The outsiders had died, and the feast items disappeared, causing the other guests to lose control and become furious.
The young boy officiating the ceremony was also enraged. He scanned the hall and spotted an old man in the corner among the Soul-Eating Demons and Corpse Puppets. The old man was one of the two strong experts from the Stellar Point Sect.
The Soul-Eating Demons and Corpse Puppets all turned their attention to the old man, and Su Nan followed their gaze. The old man had a blank expression, but now he displayed anger as he glared at Su Nan.
The old man suddenly attacked Su Nan with a blue light, and due to Su Nan's weakened state, he couldn't react in time. He was struck by the old man's power and met his demise.
"The old guy from the Stellar Point Sect is still alive!" Su Nan exclaimed in surprise, finally understanding where the missing person had gone.
It seemed that the old man had survived by disguising himself as a Corpse Puppet, deceiving the other Soul-Eating Demons and Corpse Puppets. Although he couldn't leave the temple, he had managed to save his life.
Now, with the old man's final attack, it appeared that his arrival had exposed the old man's true identity, leading to the old man's angry retaliation.
Su Nan found it intriguing and considered attempting to disguise himself as a Corpse Puppet as well.
However, his attempt to use his "Shape-Shifting and Bone-Changing" technique to become a Corpse Puppet failed. The technique could only deceive beings below the King level and was ineffective against the temple's power. As soon as he entered the temple, he fell into a coma.
When he woke up, he was once again wearing wedding attire.
Su Nan sighed, realizing that his technique couldn't deceive the temple's power.
Nonetheless, he couldn't give up and began to contemplate other possibilities.
The Crown Princess, who had been watching his expressions closely, suggested, "If there's no way to avoid the temple, you can still go back the way you came."
However, she didn't realize that her concern for Su Nan's safety had grown, shifting her focus from seeking revenge to worrying about his well-being.
Su Nan pondered his options and remarked, "I can't give up now. I have the Wheel of Fate Scripture to protect my luck, but I need to find a way to preserve my lifespan."
He knew that losing his lifespan would have severe consequences, especially in this temple.
[End of Chapter]