Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 127 - 127 127

127: 127.

Teleportation Formation 127: 127.

Teleportation Formation “`

Lu Li and a group of participants were led to an open space in the forest on the back mountain.

The ground was covered with lush green lawns, which were clearly planted by people.

A mysterious and complex array appeared in the open space, nearly encompassing the entire area.

Some young Taoists furrowed their brows, unable to recognize the array.

An elderly Taoist sat outside the array on a mat, instructing the participants to sit inside and said in a deep voice, “Next, I will teleport you all to the trial venue.”

The twenty-some participants looked at each other, unable to hide their shock.

Teleportation…

Had they heard wrongly, or did they actually belong to Cultivation Sects…?

Those doubting their own lives one by one sat down cross-legged on the grass, with Lu Li among them, remaining silent.

“Close your eyes and wait.”

The elderly Taoist continued and then ignored the participants as he closed his eyes and chanted.

As his murmuring began, the elderly Taoist’s robes and beard moved as if by an unfelt wind.

His hand gestures changed, and an aura permeated the air.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through, pushing down the grass, and the participants couldn’t keep their eyes open, deciding to close them in anticipation of the teleportation.

Only a few attempted to squint, hoping to catch a glimpse of the true nature of teleportation.

Sitting intentionally at the back, Lu Li put on sunglasses, feeling no pressure whatsoever.

Leaves swirled in the gusting wind, blowing straight towards them.

A hazy mist suddenly arose from the forest behind the elderly Taoist, carried by the wind, spreading towards the participants in the clearing.

Lu Li’s eyes narrowed beneath the sunglasses; something didn’t feel right.

His suspicions were entirely justified.

Before the mist drifted out of the woods, the elderly Taoist reached behind himself and quickly donned a gas mask.

The situation was taking a bizarre turn.

As the mist flowed out of the forest, it enveloped the figure of the elderly Taoist and slowly drifted toward the participants in the clearing.

The first row of participants bore the brunt, followed by the second and the third…

Just as the mist was about to reach him, Lu Li held his breath and watched quietly.

He didn’t believe the forum would harm the participants, but there was clearly something wrong with the mist.

In a hazy moment, the figures around him became ethereal, as if shrouded in a celestial mist.

Was this the start of the teleportation?

The wind had stopped, and the mist shrouded everyone, slowly changing.

To avoid drawing too much attention, Lu Li removed his sunglasses and put them away.

At this moment, a few of the sitting figures suddenly shook and quietly fell over.

“…?”

In Lu Li’s view, the participants collapsed one after another, powerless to resist, like cutting down wheat.

After contemplating for a few seconds, Lu Li leaned back, lying down, and then turned over, face down in the grass, to avoid being found out for pretending to be unconscious due to poor acting.

The mist lasted for nearly half a minute before another unexplained gust of wind blew through the woods, dispersing the mist.

With the mist over the clearing dissipated, a scene of bodies lying in disarray was revealed.

“`

“Huff…”

The old Taoist removed his poison-proof mask shrouded in a layer of mist, took a deep breath, patted his bottom, and climbed up.

He waved his sleeve, and behind him, in the woods, a group of Jinlongyu Taoist temple’s Taoists emerged, carrying away the unconscious competitors.

Transportation, or ‘transmitting,’ usually refers to the act of quickly reaching another place.

Here, it meant to knock people unconscious, have them carried to the trial location, and then wake them up.

From the perspective of those involved, it indeed felt like “an instant” before they appeared in a strange place.

…

The trials were initially a place for young apprentices of various Cultivation Sects to exchange cultures and compete in arcane methods, and the one-on-one fighting rules also included elements of demonstrating strength.

However, this was not entirely fair, as most Buddhist and Taoist methods were aimed at Ghost Creatures rather than people.

Moreover, with the spread of quality education, a large number of intellectual ghosts took up positions, significantly raising the average quality of Ghost Creatures.

This brought benefits—one being that a few ghosts could be persuaded to seek salvation through intimidation or fulfilling their last wishes.

But there was also an obvious downside: Ghost Creatures became harder to find and deal with.

A Hunter chasing a wolf is plainly different from chasing a pack of wolves with human intelligence.

This forced the frontline mages and Taoists to not only tire from dealing with Ghost Creatures but also to suffer from immense psychological stress over the long term.

Therefore, the trials altered their rules, with the new aim being to enlighten the young apprentices of various sects about Ghost Creatures.

In front of the Jinlongyu Taoist temple’s grand hall, a white screen several meters long hung down from the eaves, with the image from the projector cast upon it.

The monitoring screens appeared, one of which was specifically enlarged.

It showed a classroom where the unconscious competitors were being placed in their seats.

The bustling courtyard fell quieter as the adults from various Cultivation Sects took an interested look at the screen.

With a microphone in hand, the Taoist priest of Jinlongyu Taoist temple walked in front of the screen.

Amidst the collective gaze, he coughed lightly “The trial will begin soon.

Our little temple doesn’t have the means to equip each table with a monitor like those wealthy Buddhist temples.

Besides this projector, you will have to bring your own device.

You can log onto our official Jinlongyu Taoist temple website on your cell phones or laptops to watch.

For my Daoist Friends without data plans, there’s no need to worry—we have wifi here, and the password is qiandaov587”

The Taoist priest explained the temple’s financial difficulties, ridiculed the Buddhists and Taoists in the process, and added a comment asserting Qian Tao as the orthodox path, then walked away under the angry stares of those from the Buddhist and Kun Tao sects.

As the Taoist temple courtyard subtly descended into chaos, on the other side, all competitors had been placed.

Twenty-some competitors lay atop their desks, still not awake.

They only occupied half of the classroom’s seats.

As all the Taoists from the temple left, the other half of the empty seats began to show a hint of change.

Within the empty seats, twenty-some phantasmal ghostly figures appeared, becoming more solidified.

The classroom grew sinister as the Ghost Creatures emerged.

The semi-transparent ghosts stayed motionless, their eyes dull and lifeless.

This scene continued for several minutes, and suddenly the light in the classroom dimmed for a moment.

At the same time, all of the competitors and Ghost Creatures in the classroom underwent a transformation.

Gone were the competitors and ghosts in their varied attire, replaced by plainly dressed boys and girls around ten years old in their seats.

The Array activated, replacing reality with illusions at that moment.

The Taoist Priest of Jinlongyu Taoist temple rushed to the trial site behind the mountains and cast his spell in front of the Formation.

A few breaths later, the figures lying on the desks in the classroom began to rise.

But as they found themselves in pitch darkness, unable to see anything, they descended into confusion.

Just then, an old voice sounded in everyone’s ears.

“You have been transported to the location of this trial.

You are a group of adults undergoing training.

Apart from you, everyone in this training classroom is a Ghost Creature.

Your task is to remain undiscovered by the ghosts as a human until the period from 11 a.m.

to 1 p.m.

The haunted training room is under a sealed Formation; no one can leave, and we cannot enter at will until the period of the day from 11 p.m.

to 1 a.m.

So please hide your identity, for if you are discovered…

I think there’s no need to spell out what happens next.”

“The survivors at the end of the period of the day from 11 p.m.

to 1 a.m.

will be rewarded, and your reward will be…

what?

No reward?

Although we Jinlongyu Oil…

our temple is not rich, we cannot skip on the reward…

What do you mean expenditures have been exceeded?

The bank won’t grant a loan?…

Alright, I understand…

Ahem, your reward will be…

a Brocade Banner presented by our temple and fame.

With the latter, you could say you’ve made a name for yourself in our Lingling.”

“In any case—let the trial begin!”