Chapter 121: Trigger Conditions for the Time Loop

"Did you notice something from our experience in the previous cycle?" Jiang Yang asked.

"What exactly is the node that triggers Longshu Temple's time reset and starts the next loop?"

"The end of the day?" Gao Tian guessed.

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized the flaw in his logic.

Had he actually witnessed the end of the day before being teleported back to before dusk?

No. Everyone in Longshu Temple had died. No one was left alive to witness the end of the day.

He had been the last to die, just after nine o'clock—still a while before the day ended.

Wang Wenbo's death hadn't triggered the time loop.

Neither had Lan Zhu's.

Nor Jiang Yang's.

The starving ghosts inside the Buddha had long since become ghosts; they didn't count as human at all.

The day had ended with the death of the final living person: Gao Tian. The next day restarted, and everyone returned to their original positions.

Gao Tian already had a rough idea of what Jiang Yang was about to say.

If Jiang Yang's deduction was right, this was likely the key to breaking Longshu Temple's endless loop.

Jiang Yang followed his own train of thought. "There's a possibility that the starving ghosts in the Buddha didn't lie to you.

"Their master really will come tonight.

"The reason you think the master didn't show up is because we all died before he arrived. Your death triggered the time loop. You died too early to meet him.

"To put it simply.

"We died at nine o'clock, but the master of Longshu Temple arrives at ten.

"Only by surviving past nine can we push into new time and meet the old monk at ten.

"But every time nine o'clock rolls around, we encounter that terrifying bear roar and everyone dies. So time reverses back to five or six in the afternoon.

"We are one hour short of seeing the old monk. But this single hour is like an endless abyss that we can never cross."

Wang Wenbo looked up. "If your hypothesis holds true, there is still one contradiction that can't be explained.

"May I ask about it?"

"Of course," Jiang Yang said.

Wang Wenbo continued, "We can never get past the nine o'clock mark and survive until ten.

"Why couldn't the monks in the temple cross this point either?

"If they survived past nine and met the old monk at ten, why would they enter the next loop?"

The answer was simple.

"I already mentioned the reason," Jiang Yang said.

"Time only resets when every living person in Longshu Temple dies.

"Before we arrived at Longshu Temple, the living people here were the monks.

"Their deaths used to trigger the time loop.

"Used to."

He went on. "No one knows exactly what happened that day. Early in the morning, the temple's grandmaster seemed to realize something. He told them to wait in the temple while he went out to check.

"At nine o'clock that night, the monks heard that terrifying bear roar. Every monk hiding inside the great Buddha died.

"They entered the next loop carrying their obsession—the absolute certainty that their master would return.

"Through countless loops over years, decades, or even centuries, their bodies eventually began to mutate. They finally died completely and transformed into starving ghosts.

"Yet even as ghosts, they remain bound to Longshu Temple's infinite loop, unable to break free."

"If they were living humans, they'd die from the bear roar at nine," Wang Wenbo pointed out.

"But after becoming ghosts, why can't they get past nine o'clock?

"Aren't ghosts immortal and indestructible?"

"They lost their status as living humans, and with it, the function of 'death triggers time reset,'" Jiang Yang explained.

"These monks are already part of the Supernatural Zone.

"Only outsiders like us, newly entering Longshu Temple, can determine when the reset triggers."

Therefore, no one had ever survived until ten o'clock at Longshu Temple.

Neither the temple's original monks nor the newly arrived Gao Tian.

Of course, without the exploit provided by Gao Tian's Ghost Card, Jiang Yang would likely have become part of Longshu Temple after going through the endless loops. Just like the monks inside the Buddha, he would have become a new Killing Rule.

Future investigators exploring Longshu Temple would have encountered a "four-person squad" of agonizing Fierce Ghosts, constantly repeating their obsession to complete the Green Text Mission.

The main objective of this mission was now crystal clear.

"If all the above hypotheses are correct," Wang Wenbo said, "our objective is to survive until the moment the temple master returns. Only then can we break free from the time loop and enter the next phase of the scenario."

Surviving past nine o'clock meant evading the temple's other Killing Rules, which were relatively easy to avoid. However, they still hadn't figured out a foolproof way to survive the final bear roar.

Regardless, Gao Tian decided to enter the temple first to retrieve the coffin. That would at least prevent Wang Wenbo's destined death.

While empty, the coffin could still be moved.

Once it swallowed Wang Wenbo and filled with blood, its weight would exceed what human strength could move.

Gao Tian's gaze fell on Lan Zhu. "I'll have to trouble you, Lord Lan Zhu. Accompany me into Longshu Temple, and the two of us can carry the coffin out.

"Remember, we are only going in to move the coffin. Don't touch anything else in the temple—especially the great Buddha with the black hole in its back."

This woman was incredibly strong. Back in Mirror Alley, she had dragged the Mirror Ghost by a Dog Leash without her movements being hindered in the slightest.

Lan Zhu had no objections. She was actually quite interested in the place where she had died in the previous loop.

With Jiang Yang and Wang Wenbo's help, they scavenged a few round wooden logs from the area to place beneath the heavy Transparent Coffin and reduce friction.

Ten minutes later.

With Gao Tian pushing from behind and Lan Zhu pulling from the front, relying on the logs underneath for support, they successfully moved the Transparent Coffin out of the temple.

Only after dealing with the Supernatural Item that was guaranteed to kill Wang Wenbo did the four members of the squad finally step back into the temple.

Caw, caw, caw.

The crows in the trees let out shrill cries the moment they saw Gao Tian return. They fluttered frantically from one tree to another and back again, creating a chaotic frenzy in the branches.

Jiang Yang turned around and asked, "Were these crows this active in the last loop?"

Gao Tian watched the overly active birds darting through the air, deep in thought. "No.

"In the last loop, these crows were very quiet. They had almost no presence."

As they passed a tree with blood-red leaves, he caught sight of a dead crow lying at the base of the trunk. Its wings were already stiff; it was as dead as could be.

Gao Tian suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Count them. How many crows are in the sky?"

One, two, three, four... There were six crows in total.

The group quickly finished counting.

"Why? Did you notice something else?"

Gao Tian stayed silent for a moment, unsure if he should bring it up. "The requirement for the Green Text Mission is for us to survive in Longshu Temple for seven days, right?"

"That's right," Jiang Yang said.

"Seven days," Gao Tian said, "might be a metaphor.

"We suffered a total wipeout once. That counts as spending one day in Longshu Temple.

"There are six crows in the sky and one dead on the ground. Originally, there were seven crows here in total.

"In the last loop, I didn't see any crow corpses.

"Because our team wiped out once, one of the seven crows died as well."

He didn't need to finish; everyone had a rough idea of what would happen next.

Six crows meant they could reset six more times. Six more "days" to spend in Longshu Temple.

If they died six more times, what would happen?

Nobody knew.

Perhaps they would become a permanent part of Longshu Temple, just like the monks inside the Buddha.

In truth, as long as they retained their memories, six days was plenty of time to unravel the mystery of Longshu Temple.

It all relied on Gao Tian acting as a human cheat code. Even if they wiped out, they could carry their experience and lessons into the next day.

Jiang Yang turned and looked at the dilapidated Buddha seated in the center of the main hall. "The starving ghost monks you mentioned are inside the belly of this Buddha, right?

"Right now, the clues regarding the bear roar at nine o'clock and the master returning afterward are likely all concentrated on these ghosts.

"Is there any way to talk to them without triggering their Killing Rule?"

Gao Tian shook his head. "I'm afraid not.

"You can only see them down at the bottom by looking through that black hole.

"But if you get too close, the starving ghosts hiding inside will instantly devour you, not even leaving your bones behind."

As he spoke, Gao Tian took a few steps closer to the main hall, picked up a rock, and tossed it at the great Buddha.

Thump, thump.

It produced a hollow sound.

The Buddha's outer shell was actually quite thin.

No wonder such a massive black hole had formed in its back.

Wang Wenbo thought for a moment before suggesting tentatively, "We could just break open the front of this Buddha. If the starving ghosts are hiding inside, they'll have nowhere to run and will be forced to face us.

"Jiang Yang, you can shoot a few holes in it first. Then, using those weak points, I'll find a thick log and easily punch right through the Buddha's belly."

Truth be told, Gao Tian was also quite curious about the internal structure of the Buddha's belly.

Why couldn't anyone outside detect the "people" inside until the starving ghosts revealed themselves?

Still, he maintained a cautious attitude. "Even though these starving ghosts still think of themselves as human, they are Fierce Ghosts at the end of the day.

"If we tear open the Buddha's belly directly, what if the starving ghosts lose control and just walk right out of the main hall?

"We'd be in serious danger."

Wang Wenbo reminded him, "You said earlier that the starving ghost monks adhere to their pact with their master. They will definitely stay inside the Buddha and won't leave it for a second.

"Besides, if we just waste time here, we won't find any other clues, and it'll be nine o'clock before we know it.

"Then we'll all die again, just like in the last loop.

"This little risk is absolutely worth taking. What do you think?"

He had a point.

"Hold on a second," Gao Tian said.

"Let me test if my Mirror Ghost ability works normally first. Then we'll smash open the Buddha's belly."