After reading the contents of the information box, Yang An unhesitatingly chose Purification, directly eliminating the price he might have had to pay for this item.

Even face-to-face with Elder Monk De Hou, the other party didn't notice a thing.

Just as Yang An had suspected, this third trial was designed to uncover their true identities and origins, and it might even have other objectives.

As an undercover agent, if his identity were exposed during this third trial, one could only imagine the consequences.

The four of them stood facing Elder Monk De Hou, all looking somewhat anxious.

Elder Monk De Hou formed a seal with his hands and then pointed at one of them.

"We will start with you."

Yang An was positioned at the very end of the line. Seeing Elder Monk De Hou point to the first person, he breathed a sigh of relief.

If the trial proceeded in order, it would give him some time to observe and adapt to the situation.

The moment Elder Monk De Hou finished speaking, the mirror on his face emitted a faint green light, instantly enveloping the first person.

The first person seemed a bit dazed. The Secret Seal that Elder Monk De Hou had cast appeared above his head, and a large amount of black qi immediately billowed out from his body.

The black qi coalesced into one human head after another, each with a different expression.

There was despair, wailing, joy, anger…

Dozens of densely packed heads surrounded the man, completely exposed under the faint green light.

At that moment, De Hou chanted a Buddhist phrase.

"Amitabha! There are five grave sins: matricide, patricide, killing an Arhat, shedding the blood of a Buddha, and destroying the harmony of the Sangha.

This humble monk asks you, have you ever committed these five grave sins?"

He was questioning the first person.

The man's face was blank as he immediately shook his head.

"Never!"

As soon as he said this, the Secret Seal above him merged with the green light, and nothing further happened.

But under the watchful eyes of the others, Elder Monk De Hou shook his head.

"Though you have not committed the five grave sins, judging by the aura around you, you will surely create sinful karma in the future. This conflicts with the Buddha of our Land of Goodness. You cannot go to the Land of Great Virtue and Goodness!"

And just like that, the trial was over. It ended abruptly.

"What?"

Hearing Elder Monk De Hou's words, the first person to be tested wore a look of complete disbelief.

It wasn't just him; the others hadn't expected it either.

'It's over already?'

'What does he mean, "will surely create sinful karma in the future"?'

'Does killing too many people mean you can't enter Great Virtue Temple?'

The three remaining people, including Yang An, all looked at the first man.

The man was shrouded in black qi. The heads formed from it were not created by a Technique; instead, they were filled with a significant amount of blood qi. He must have absorbed the vital energy and blood of many others.

Once illuminated by the green light from the mirror, there was nowhere for it to hide.

No wonder Elder Monk De Hou had come to a conclusion after asking just one question.

Without waiting for the man to offer any rebuttal, Elder Monk De Hou waved his hand. The Secret Seal above the man's head instantly expanded and pressed down, and the man's entire body dissolved into countless wisps of black qi, vanishing without a trace.

"Amitabha!"

Elder Monk De Hou piously chanted the Buddhist phrase, then turned his gaze to the next person.

"It's your turn."

...

Standing at the end of the line, Yang An observed while pondering his strategy.

'Based on the first person's situation, an aura tainted with the karma of killing, once exposed by the mirror on Elder Monk De Hou's face, also leads to failure.'

Yang An himself had killed quite a few people. The ones undergoing the three heart-examining trials with him were mere Fake Food and Yuan Shi. How many could they possibly have killed?

'Compared to me, they don't even hold a candle.'

On the way to Celestial Jing State, he had killed a great number of Demon Fiends and Cultivators to revive the Earth Spirit Stele.

He wasn't worried about this issue, though. He had already used Purification on the Great Cause and Effect Pearl's price, so he wouldn't suffer any backlash.

'But to be on the safe side, it's best to keep it under control.'

'Perhaps I can use a Technique to conceal this aura?'

'A Technique related to Buddhist Cultivators would be best!'

'Something like the Great Brightness Buddha Golden Zen Spell, the Treasure Light Glaze Purification Technique, or the Buddha's Radiant Wheel.'

'That way, there's no way I'll fail the third trial, right?'

Thinking this, Yang An made up his mind.

It was now the second person's turn. He was also enveloped in the green light from the mirror, a nervous expression on his face.

But within the green light, this person didn't have black qi like the one before. Instead, his entire body and appearance began to change.

He became green-faced and long-fanged. The flesh and blood all over his body twisted, seeming to want to escape the green light, but it couldn't break free from his physical form.

"This humble monk asks you, have you ever committed the five grave sins?"

Elder Monk De Hou asked the same question as before.

"Never!"

The man immediately shook his head.

He didn't have the blood qi and killing karma of the first person, he answered Elder Monk De Hou's question truthfully, and even the green light showed no abnormalities.

'This person should be able to pass,' Yang An thought to himself.

Indeed, after the man answered, Elder Monk De Hou gave a slight nod.

But just as a joyful expression appeared on the man's face...

"I see your bloodline is tainted, and you carry a trace of a Demon Fiend's aura. Did you stray from the right path in your youth?"

Elder Monk De Hou suddenly asked a new question.

The man was stunned for a moment but quickly replied.

"Before I was born, my mother was attacked by an Evil Demon, and I was born prematurely! I must have been tainted before birth. There was nothing I could do. I implore the Abbot to judge fairly!"