When Xuan Yang covered Li Huowang's mouth and the others holding the firebox quickly rushed forward, their hostile expressions surrounded Li Huowang.

"So you're not going to leave? Then you'll die here today! We won't let you go and inform that leper head!"

Despite his current life-or-death situation, Li Huowang remained calm. Rolling his eyes in silence, he cursed the dramatic turn of events in his mind and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself bound to a hospital bed with wide straps. All his fellow disciples holding the firebox had disappeared.

"Aunt Wang, I'm awake. Can you please untie me?" Li Huowang shouted into the microphone at the bedside, hoping that the night shift nurse would come and check on the surveillance cameras. He desperately wanted to see if the jade pendant was still in his clothes.

However, after shouting for a while without any response, Li Huowang realized that Nurse Wang must have sneaked off to watch her favorite TV drama again. She always loved slacking off during the night shift.

Li Huowang lowered his gaze to his chest, which was wrapped in blue and white hospital garb, and tried to twist his body to feel if the jade pendant was still there. But he was tightly bound and could hardly sense anything. After a few attempts, he reluctantly gave up.

Left with no other choice, Li Huowang could only lie on the bed and pray that Nurse Wang would finish watching her drama and finally check the surveillance camera.

In the late night environment, even the second floor where critical patients were kept was quiet. Li Huowang fell into a drowsy sleep. When he woke up again, he found himself lying on the cold ground of an icy cave.

He was in the same location, but all those who attempted to escape had vanished.

"Hmph, you NPCs think you can deal with me?" Li Huowang muttered under his breath, taking the jade pendant out of his pocket and gently flipping it in his hand before putting it back.

Returning to his shared dormitory, lying in a pile of hay, Li Huowang patiently awaited the arrival of daylight. The thought of the value of the jade pendant filled him with excitement, making it impossible for him to fall asleep.

Without a clock, Li Huowang didn't know how much time had passed. When he saw his fellow disciples starting to wake up, he sat up as well.

"It's getting bright outside. Aunt Wang should be changing shifts soon, right? Or maybe I should go check now? Nurse Ai is much more dedicated than her."

Just as Li Huowang was hesitating, they heard hurried footsteps at the door.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

A Daoist apprentice dressed in black robes with tied-up hair rushed in anxiously.

"Hurry up! Master wants everyone to gather in the Hui'an Hall!"

This sudden news left everyone puzzled, but since it was their master's order, they had no reason to refuse.

Soon, in the largest cavern called the Hui'an Hall, all the disciples had gathered. The torchlight illuminated the expressions of confusion on their faces.

Li Huowang keenly noticed that some people were missing. Aside from Xuan Yang, several of the senior disciples of the leper head master were also absent.

"Oh, they ran away together?" Li Huowang, always eager for drama, thought to himself, watching the scene unfold.

When a head emerged from the wriggling darkness of the tunnel, all the Daoist apprentices instinctively lowered their heads.

It was their master, Dan Yangzi.

"Cough~!" A cough made everyone tense up.

"Last night, at two o'clock, there were people attempting to escape, including two of this master's direct disciples. I am deeply saddened!" Although his mouth expressed sadness, the fierceness on his face was almost solidifying.

"They were discovered? Xuan Yang and his gang are really pathetic," Li Huowang sneered.

"Our sect cannot function without rules. Mistakes must be punished. This is the rule of our Xi Shan Donghua Sect! Follow me."

All the disciples dared not breathe heavily and silently followed behind Dan Yangzi.

Passing through various caverns, large and small, and crossing a turbulent underground river, they soon arrived at a damp cavern the size of a classroom.

Li Huowang saw that those who tried to escape the previous night were all tied up and huddled in a corner, their expressions dejected. They seemed desperate to convey something, but the cloth gag in their mouths prevented them from saying anything.

Dan Yangzi didn't seem interested in listening to their pleas. He pointed forward with one hand, forming a sealing gesture. "Open!"

The smooth ground in the cavern instantly opened up a large hole, and the escaping people fell into it.

In the next moment, the cavern erupted with hysterical muffled screams, accompanied by the sounds of flesh tearing, bones breaking, and blood splattering.

Faced with this horrifying scene, many Daoist apprentices' legs began to tremble, and their eyes longed to shut tight.

"Come closer! This is the consequence of their escape!" Dan Yangzi's words drained the color from everyone's faces.

No one dared to defy their master's command, and they were pushed to the edge of the hole.

Inside the hole, it was dark, pitch black. It seemed like a vortex, ready to engulf everyone.

Li Huowang carefully observed and recognized a large black cauldron inside the darkness. The edge of the cauldron was inscribed with twisted symbols.

Something seemed to be moving inside the cauldron, but Li Huowang couldn't see clearly. The only information his senses received was the nauseating and repulsive smell of blood coming from inside.

Regardless of what was inside, Li Huowang was certain that whatever Dan Yangzi was keeping in this hole was not a normal existence in the world.

As for what exactly it was, Li Huowang couldn't guess, nor did he want to take another look by walking closer.

Although he knew that these things were all created by his own mind, Li Huowang wanted to understand why his illusions produced such terrifying things.

Li Huowang's body trembled almost to the point of collapse as he was overwhelmed by sheer terror. He took a few deep breaths and immediately began self-soothing, following the techniques taught by Dr. Li.

"All of this is an illusion, no matter how real it seems, it's just an illusion. Li Huowang, you can't get lost in these illusions anymore. They are all creations of your own mind, so what are you afraid of?"

"Yang Na is still waiting for me. I can't let her down. I can overcome all of this! I definitely can!"

Through his self-soothing, Li Huowang gradually stabilized his emotions and was able to face everything in front of him with composure.