Crossing the wilderness to survive, starting with a broken kitchen knife.

Following the village path to the low hill, traces of fighting can be seen everywhere. It seems that this was caused by the fight between Master An and Huo Xiuxiu.

Zhang Shi found Huo Youming's tombstone and discovered that the entrance to the underground palace was filled with rubble. He used Dingzhen to observe for a while and found no trace of any soul. The entire Huojia Village seemed to have become a dead village, and even the ghosts disappeared without a trace.

Zhao Feng dug a handful of soil from the ground, squeezed it in his hand, and found that it was a bit dry and hard.

"It's been a while. It seems that Black Tiger didn't lie to us."

Zhang Shi was at a loss for a moment and could only take the porcelain pot from Mr. An and put Old Duan on it to threaten him.

"Lao Deng, stop pretending to be dead. If you don't respond, I'll smash this coffin bottle of yours and leave you a wandering ghost."

There was no movement in Master An's porcelain pot. Master An's soul could be clearly seen inside, but it remained silent, as if it was sealed.

Zhang Shi shook his head at everyone and decided to walk around the village to see if he could find any clues.

Afterwards, the group began a thorough search of the village, taking every step with great caution, fearing they would miss any clues. The three animal friends also sniffed around, their five senses more acute, often able to detect details that humans overlook.

Although the village has been abandoned for a long time, some buildings are still relatively well preserved, but they have been eroded by time and unknown forces and are now mottled.

With the help of the Illusion Breaker, Zhang Shi noticed some clues that he had not discovered before.

Most of the existing houses in the village have strange talismans painted on their doors with unknown paint. A faint black gas flows on the talismans, echoing the black fog that shrouds the entire village.

"These charms look like they're used to seal something."

Zhao Feng pointed at a talisman and spoke, his voice low, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Zhang Shi nodded, thinking of the spirit-gathering formation beneath the ancestral hall, and a sense of unease welled up in his heart. If these talismans were truly used to seal something, then what was being sealed? Was it a spirit like Huo Xiuxiu, or something even more terrifying?

They continued walking until they reached the village's central square. The talismans oozing black energy crisscrossed and eventually extended here.

Only then did everyone discover that there was a deep groove in the center of the square, which seemed to be used to place some important items.

"This arrangement looks like an altar, and its style is somewhat similar to the one in the underground palace... Could it be related to the mission?"

Ge Dalong observed for a while and raised questions.

Zhang Shi stared at the groove, feeling an inexplicable discomfort well up in his heart. He remembered that he had passed by this place many times during his previous dungeon exploration, but he had not noticed such a conspicuous existence. This time, it was the blessing of the Illusion Breaker that allowed them to discover the clues.

"Is there any restriction?"

As everyone gathered around the altar for a discussion, the little white tiger suddenly let out a low roar, its gaze fixed on a corner of the square. Zhang Shi followed its gaze and spotted a stone tablet with blurred inscriptions. However, with the help of the Illusion Breaker, the words gradually became clearer.

"It looks somewhat similar to the carvings on those coffins."

Ge Dalong recalled for a moment and made a judgment.

"It should be that kind of glyph, but it's a pity that I can't translate what's written on it."

Zhao Feng suddenly had an idea and swung his axe down towards the ground where the stone tablet lay. Zhang Shi couldn't stop him in time; the immense force of the flint axe was too much to resist, shattering the floor tiles.

"Hey, it's hollow!"

Zhao Feng was overjoyed and worked even harder to knock open all the stone slabs made of unknown materials.

At this moment, Pipi suddenly roared towards the ground, as if the thing inside was very dangerous. The little white tiger and the leopard also entered a vigilant posture, looking at the bottom of the stone tablet as if facing a great enemy.

Zhang Shi realized that the things underground were of some significance, so he didn't dare to continue digging so recklessly. He quickly stopped Zhao Feng and then performed an appraisal on the ground.

Due to the obstruction of the ground, the identification effect was greatly reduced. Only some highlighted human figures could be seen below. There were a large number of them, and at a rough glance there were hundreds of people.

As a gap appeared in the ground, a bloody smell came from underground. Now everyone knew what was underneath without even looking.

"Why the hell does it smell so much like a zombie?"

Zhao Feng cursed.

He had to deal with the tide of zombies every night these days. He was very familiar with the stench of blood mixed with corpses on the zombies and could smell it immediately.

Wu Qing took out the ancestral staff and looked at Zhang Shi and asked.

"What should I do? Should I continue digging?"

Seeing that everyone was ready, Zhang Shi nodded and continued to move forward with Zhao Feng.

If it were just zombies, he wouldn't be afraid no matter how many there were. Now they were running around in Huo Village like headless flies. Having finally found a clue, they naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.

As Zhang Shi and Zhao Feng continued to dig, the secret beneath the stone tablet gradually emerged. Once the stone slab was completely pried open, a deep cave entrance appeared before everyone. An even stronger stench of blood and decay permeated the area, causing them to frown.

"Everyone be careful, the smell of blood is a bit strong, something is wrong."

Zhang Shi reminded him, and at the same time took out a few torches from his backpack, lit them and threw them into the cave. On the one hand, it could serve as a lighting, and on the other hand, it could also check the air circulation.

In an instant, the cave was illuminated by strong light, reflecting densely packed figures - just as they guessed, it was a group of zombies, some sitting and some lying, piled together in a regular pattern, as if they were performing some kind of formation.

"It seems that these zombies were left here as sacrifices or guards."

Wu Qing analyzed, her voice echoing in the empty cave, adding a bit of eeriness.

Zhao Feng jokingly said without comment.

"Don't scare me, what kind of good person would use zombies as sacrifices?"

"If it's to summon zombies, then using zombie sacrifices makes sense."

Ge Dalong suddenly said something that silenced everyone.

Zhang Shi noticed that while these zombies looked like ordinary zombies, their eyes shone with a strange light, as if they were being controlled by some force and had fallen into a dormant state. He was secretly alert, ready to respond to any possible emergency.

Zhang Shi and his companions carefully explored the cave entrance, trying not to make too much noise. The cave walls were slippery, so they had to be careful with every step to avoid slipping and attracting the attention of the zombies.

After going deep into the cave, they found an ancient altar in the center of the corpse group. The style was exactly the same as the one in the underground palace. On the altar were some strange instruments and a huge black crystal with a dark light flowing in the crystal.

Zhang Shi used an appraisal on the black crystal, but no information emerged. According to the normal plot development, this apparently unusual treasure must be the key to controlling these zombies.

Zhang Shi knew his goal was to complete the mission, and he had no intention of touching these strange objects. However, some things are not something you can just ignore, and trouble always comes to you unexpectedly.