After a long silence, Sangmo asked again, "Monk, how are you holding up? Can you keep going?"
The monk closed his eyes, tore open his clothes, and then used a strip of cloth to tie himself to the cage.
"Do not worry, benefactor, I am certainly not one of those frivolous men."
Sangmo chuckled bitterly again, "I'm sure you're not."
If even this monk counted as a frivolous man, then there would be no gentlemen left in this world.
After she finished mocking, Sangmo felt a surge of heat rising within her. She quickly bit her tongue and began to distract herself, "Monk, where are you from?"
"From Wuxiang Country, Jinguang Temple."
"If I have the chance, I must visit your temple."
"You will have it."
"..."
Gradually, Sangmo's speech began to drift off topic. She started to glance unintentionally at the monk's muscular chest, her gaze growing increasingly fervent.
"Why don't we give it a try?"
For a long while after she spoke, Sangmo didn't realize what she had said, not until she heard the monk reciting the Pure Heart Technique again. Only then did she come back to her senses.
Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she could no longer sit still. She struggled with all her might to sit upright and began to knock against the iron cage, again and again.
"Bastard, let me out!"
She was completely trying to distract herself. After a few hits, Sangmo had no more strength left.
She turned her head to look at the monk again, only to see two trails of blood under his nose.
"Hey, you're bleeding from your nose."
The monk wiped off the blood with his hand, "It's nothing."
Sangmo was on the verge of tears, "Do you think we will die here?"
"I don't want to die, I still have very important things to finish." Sangmo murmured incessantly, suddenly remembering Shen Yanqing, "No, Master... even if I have to die, I must send Master back to the Upper Cultivation Realm first..."
"Master..."
Sangmo muttered to herself when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a fierce figure. Her eyes widened in shock.
There was Shen Yanqing, dressed in white, standing on the Auspicious Cloud Sword, his approach fierce and fast.
In the dimness of the Ghost Region, his arrival was like a beam of light, illuminating the surroundings and lighting up the darkness in Sangmo's heart.
"Shen Yanqing!" Sangmo called out weakly.
Shen Yanqing looked up, and upon seeing the scene around him, a flash of danger passed through his eyes.
He strode forward and shattered the iron cage with one palm, then quickly pulled Sangmo behind him.
Guan Nan was sent flying to the ground by the residual force of the palm, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Sangmo felt weak all over and could only stand by clutching at Shen Yanqing's clothes.
Gasping for air, she peeked out from behind Shen Yanqing, "Monk, are you alright? He just didn't control his strength; he didn't mean it."
Guan Nan struggled to sit up, pressed his palms together in a Buddhist salute toward Shen Yanqing, "The monk thanks the benefactor for the rescue."
Shen Yanqing: "..." In truth, he had done it on purpose.
Before he could react, the altar suddenly shook, the floor gave way, and an oversized red coffin quickly rose up. At the same time, the lid of the coffin fell from the sky, and before the three could dodge, they were all gathered inside the coffin.
The coffin contracted as if it had a mind of its own, unbreakable as if forged from solid gold. Shen Yanqing wanted to closely inspect the mysteries contained within it.
But unexpectedly, the coffin suddenly contracted, pressing the three of them tightly together.
Suddenly pressed against the scorching bodies of two others, Shen Yanqing's face darkened instantly.
Especially since both of them were under the influence of an aphrodisiac.
But the thought that if he hadn't come, it would be only Sangmo and a strange man locked in this coffin, made him feel the trip worthwhile.
Without a word, Shen Yanqing extended his arm to separate Sangmo from the monk.
Due to the tight space, the action looked more like he was pulling Sangmo into his embrace.
It should have been extremely intimate, except for the other burning body behind them.
Feeling the monk's abnormality, Shen Yanqing gritted his teeth and growled in a low voice, "Can't you just turn around?!"
"..."
Sangmo immediately understood and her face turned red with embarrassment as she lowered her head in annoyance.
It was all those little immortals' fault, always pulling her to look at those unhealthy illustrated books, which made her think that Shen Yanqing and Guan Nan were such a perfect match.
Would she have to call Guan Nan "Madam" in the future?
Guan Nan, however, was simple-minded. He only thought that it was the smell of his sweat that was bothering Shen Yanqing, so he quickly started to apologize, "This poor monk has not bathed for many days, please forgive me for my offense."
"..."
Now Shen Yanqing was even more devastated.
Sangmo once again chastised herself, praying to the heavens to forgive her filthy soul.
"Every magic artifact has a weak point. Find and break it, and you will be able to free yourself," said Shen Yanqing. "Turn around and look for it."
It was then that Guan Nan obeyed, turning over in the cramped space.
Finally, Shen Yanqing could breathe a sigh of relief. If Sangmo weren't there, he would have definitely given him a good punch.
While they were focused on finding the weak spot, a ghostly hand suddenly penetrated the coffin.
It groped about in the darkness as though searching for something.
Sangmo, without hesitation, grabbed the hand.
The touch was delicate, like that of a woman.
The owner of the hand seemed reluctant to harm Sangmo, but when Shen Yanqing was about to act, it suddenly stretched another hand into the coffin and fiercely reached for him.
Shen Yanqing, squeezed into the tight space, couldn't move and was stabbed through the ribs by that ghostly hand.
He bore the pain without a sound, but Sangmo quickly realized something was wrong. She cried out, "Monk, grab that hand!"
The monk reacted quickly, immediately grabbing the bloody hand firmly.
Now both of the female ghost's hands were secured.
Shen Yanqing formed a seal with his hands and fiercely struck in the direction of the ghost.
The coffin burst open in an instant.
They all stood back on the altar facing a woman in red.
She was exceedingly beautiful, with her long hair flowing like fine silk, willow leaf eyebrows, and cherry lips.
Her expressive almond-shaped eyes suddenly froze upon clearly seeing Shen Yanqing's face.
An ethereal female voice said, "Yun Ge, is that you, Yun Ge?"
Sangmo thought to herself: Is this the evil Daoist Lady Lord mentioned by the child? By the looks of it, she is the "Madam," right?
Expecting to see a dramatic reunion of beautiful people embracing and weeping, to everyone's surprise, Shen Yanqing suddenly thrust his longsword forward.
"..."
The lady did not anticipate such an action from Shen Yanqing and was stabbed straight through the chest.
Her eyes widened with shock, "Yun Ge, I was wrong. I did not know it was you. Can you forgive me just this once?"
Shen Yanqing's indifferent gaze flicked over her, coldly withdrawing his sword.
A trail of blood-born tears ran down the woman's cheek. "It makes sense; you probably don't remember me anymore."
As she spoke, she turned to Sangmo, her voice filled with sorrow: "Is this your disciple from the heavens?"
Disciple from the heavens?!
Sangmo was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward to grab the female ghost's hand to Grant Spiritual Power, "What are you talking about? Yun Ge? Who is Yun Ge?"
However, the female ghost did not answer Sangmo's questions, her gaze fixed on Shen Yanqing all the while.
As her life signs grew weaker and weaker, Sangmo had no choice but to use the Soul Fusion Technique to probe her memories.
Sangmo's eyes were slightly closed as she delved deeper with the Soul Fusion Technique, suddenly a scene appeared before her.
It was a Taoist temple, with statuettes of the Three Pure Ones, and a woman in a Taoist robe bowing down in worship.
"Great Polaris, respond without delay, drive out evil, bind spirits, protect life, guard self, wisdom clear and bright, heart and mind at peace, the three souls eternal, the spirits undiminished," she chanted, her eyes half-closed, reciting the Calming Heart Divine Mantra.
The wooden door behind her was suddenly kicked open, and Sangmo turned with the woman to see five or six men in armor.
They were covered in blood, their faces filthy with dirt, but their expressions turned to joy upon seeing the Daoist priestess.