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

However, before anyone could catch their breath, Zhao Feng's shout made everyone alert again.

"Fuck, look around, we're surrounded!"

Everyone was startled by Zhao Feng's shout and looked around hurriedly. They saw a dense swarm of small worm monsters appearing all around them. While not as large as the one they had just defeated, they were numerous, their eyes flashing an eerie blue light, and they hissed as they slowly approached them.

Zhang Shi gripped Old Duan tightly and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, don't panic. Move closer together, back to back, to form a defensive circle." Everyone quickly followed his instructions. Huo Xiuxiu stood in the circle, shaking the bell in her hand again, attempting to cast a spell to block the monsters' attack. Ge Dalong continuously condensed ice cones and shot them at the approaching monsters. The ice cones pierced the monsters, splashing black slime, but the monsters seemed unfazed by the pain and continued to surge forward.

Zhao Feng climbed to his feet. Despite his injuries, he managed to lift his giant axe and stood on one side of the defensive circle, shouting, "I'm not afraid of any of them. I'll fight them today!"

Zhang Shi observed the monsters around him while pondering a countermeasure. He discovered that while these small monsters were relatively agile, they seemed to be attacking in an organized manner, driven by some force. There seemed to be a vague connection between them, as if they shared a certain consciousness.

"Miss Huo, do you have any way to disrupt their connection?" Zhang Shi asked loudly. Huo Xiuxiu frowned and shook her head. "I'll try, but I can't guarantee success." Then, the frequency of the bell in her hand suddenly increased, and invisible sound waves spread towards the group of monsters.

However, these sound waves seemed to have only a brief effect on some monsters. Their attack rhythm only slowed down slightly before returning to normal.

Ge Dalong looked at the monsters approaching, feeling anxious: "This isn't going to work. We need to find a more effective way to break out."

Zhang Shi's mind raced, remembering that the diamond core had just absorbed the monster's energy; perhaps it could be used again. He pulled out the diamond core again and slowly poured the remaining strength into it. The diamond core glowed, gradually emitting a powerful attraction.

The small monsters around seemed to be affected by this attraction. The movements of some of them began to slow down, and their bodies involuntarily moved towards the diamond core.

"Now, let's break out in the direction with less attraction!" Zhang Shi shouted. Taking advantage of the monsters' confusion, everyone charged forward in one direction. Zhao Feng wielded his great axe, clearing the way ahead, each swing driving back a wave of monsters. Ge Dalong assisted, using ice spikes to attack those attempting to attack from the side. Huo Xiuxiu, behind them, used cyclones to block the pursuing monsters, protecting everyone's backs.

After a hard fight, everyone finally broke out of the encirclement of the little monsters. But everyone knew that the road ahead was still full of unknown dangers, and their strength was constantly depleting.

Huo Xiuxiu dispelled the fog and saw a small hill. There was a cave at the foot of the hill, not far from them.

"Let's go to that cave to rest and recover our strength before we continue on."

Everyone dragged their tired bodies and slowly walked towards the cave. Along the way, everyone was cautious, alert to whether there would be any new dangers suddenly appearing.

After entering the cave, Zhang Shi took the lead in setting up some simple warning devices near the entrance to prevent monster attacks. Huo Xiuxiu then cast a weak barrier spell inside the cave to conceal everyone's presence and minimize the possibility of being detected by the outside world.

Ge Dalong supported the injured Zhao Feng and found a relatively flat spot for him to sit down. Zhao Feng's face was slightly pale, but his eyes remained firm. He suppressed the pain and said, "This minor injury is nothing. Don't worry about me. The key is to recover as soon as possible."

Huo Xiuxiu took out some healing herbs and pills from her bag and handed them to Ge Dalong, asking him to tend to Zhao Feng's wounds. She herself sat aside, closing her eyes and trying to recover the mana she had just consumed.

Zhang Shi sat near the cave entrance, keeping an eye on the outside and reflecting on the battle he had just endured. The giant worm monster and the many smaller monsters that followed were no accident; they all seemed to be guarding a secret or area. They should be close to their target now, but what difficulties and obstacles lay ahead?

After a while, Ge Dalong stood up and said softly, "Zhao Feng's injuries have stabilized for now. He should be able to recover after some rest."

Zhang Shi nodded slightly and said, "Everyone, take some time to rest. We'll set off again in an hour. During this time, I'll stay here and notify everyone immediately if anything happens."

Everyone closed their eyes and began to rest. The cave suddenly became quiet, with only the occasional sound of breathing. Time passed slowly, and an hour quickly passed.

Zhao Feng opened his eyes first and stretched his body. Feeling much better, he stood up, picked up the great axe, and said, "I'm fine now. We can continue on."

Everyone stood up, packed up their things, and prepared to leave the cave. Zhang Shi deactivated the warning device at the cave entrance, and Huo Xiuxiu removed the barrier spell. Everyone walked out of the cave carefully, not noticing that a pair of eyes on the top of the mountain were watching them.

As they emerged from the cave, an even stronger, mysterious aura filled them. Huo Xiuxiu said with a determined gaze, "The target should be not far ahead. Everyone, be alert and be careful."

The group continued along the mountain path, and soon they came across a strange sight. In a valley shrouded in thick fog, a variety of strange lights flickered faintly, and within the light, there seemed to be some vague figures swaying.

"What is that?" Ge Dalong asked in surprise.

Zhang Shi frowned and said, "I'm not sure, but it's definitely not simple. Let's get closer and see what's going on, but don't act rashly."

The group slowly approached the valley, and as the distance shortened, they gradually made out the blurry figures. They turned out to be translucent, ghostly creatures floating in the valley, occasionally emitting bursts of strange cries.

"Don't alarm them. See if there is another way to go around them." Huo Xiuxiu said in a low voice.

However, just as everyone was preparing to find a way to bypass the route, a ghost seemed to sense their presence and suddenly floated towards them. Immediately afterwards, more ghosts also turned around and rushed towards the crowd.

"Oh no! We've been discovered! Prepare for battle!" Zhang Shi shouted, clutching Old Duan tightly, and charged at the ghosts. Everyone else reacted quickly, each displaying their abilities, ready to face the new challenge. Zhao Feng swung his great axe at the approaching ghosts, but the axe passed right through them, causing no real damage.

"These ghosts are illusory. Ordinary attacks are useless against them!" Zhao Feng shouted.

Upon hearing this, Huo Xiuxiu shook the bell in her hand again, and a golden sound wave spread out towards the group of ghosts. Wherever the sound wave reached, the ghosts' figures briefly distorted, but soon returned to normal and continued to approach the crowd.

Seeing this, Ge Dalong had an idea. He condensed a special ice cone, which shimmered with blue light. He aimed at a ghost and threw the ice cone with force. When the ice cone hit the ghost, a thick layer of ice instantly formed on its body, slowing its movements.

"Using attacks with spiritual power can restrain them!" Ge Dalong shouted.

Everyone was inspired and changed their attack methods. Zhang Shi used Shadow Slash to attack the ghost from a distance. He swung the Old Duan, and each swing could hit the ghost and cause a crack to appear on the ghost's body.

Huo Xiuxiu increased the intensity of shaking the bell, and the sound waves coordinated with the spiritual attacks of the crowd, gradually suppressing the group of ghosts.

But there were too many ghosts. They kept pouring in from all directions, and the crowd gradually felt overwhelmed.

At this moment, Zhang Shi suddenly discovered a huge stone platform deep in the valley. On the platform seemed to be a crystal ball emitting powerful energy fluctuations. He had a strong premonition that this crystal ball might be the key to resolving the current crisis.

"Everyone, rush to the stone platform deep in the valley. There might be a solution there!" Zhang Shi shouted.

Upon hearing this, everyone rushed towards the stone platform with all their might. Under the siege of numerous ghosts, they advanced with difficulty. Every step was filled with hardship and danger, but there was no sign of retreat in their eyes.