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

Zhang Shi hid in the room and stuck his head out. It was dark, but Zhang Shi could still vaguely see the appearance of the person who came.

"Xiu Xiu, this is it. Over the years, the black tiger has been guarding the ancestral hall. The center of the spirit gathering formation must be here."

Huo Xiuxiu stopped at the door and looked into the courtyard. Seeing that the courtyard was empty, she took a step forward and wanted to break into the ancestral hall.

Seeing what Huo Xiuxiu did, Huo Linjian quickly stopped her.

"Xiu Xiu, don't be careless. I was attacked by some invisible creature today. It's very likely related to outsiders."

Huo Xiuxiu nodded, but did not stop moving.

The courtyard gate reacted as Huo Xiuxiu broke in, suddenly emitting a green light and blocking her.

Huo Xiuxiu took out a bell from her sleeve and shook it gently. The bell made a pleasant sound, and the green light dissipated into nothingness with the sound of the bell. Huo Xiuxiu and Huo Linjian walked into the yard side by side.

Zhang Shi stared at the bell, guessing that this might be the soul-releasing bell required for the mission. He immediately walked out of the side room, took out Lao Duan, and wondered whether he should just snatch it away.

Huo Xiuxiu couldn't see Zhang Shi's existence and ignored Zhang Shi's coveting. She put the bell back into her arms, wandered around the yard for a while, stretched out her hand and pointed, and the stone door of the underground palace opened automatically, revealing an underground staircase.

"The black tiger is not nearby. Let's act quickly before it comes back."

After saying that, the two of them, or rather the two ghosts, walked into the underground palace hand in hand, with smug looks on their faces.

Zhang Shi could guess that it might be because of their arrival that the soul-binding bell that was originally used to suppress Huo Xiuxiu was taken away, which allowed her to escape.

"I just don't know what the relationship is between these two ghosts and the spirit gathering array below."

After taking a look at Master An's porcelain pot in his backpack, Zhang Shi sneered and followed the two of them down to the underground palace.

-

As soon as Huo Xiuxiu came down, she noticed something unusual about Master An’s tablet. She flew to the side of the tablet and asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Why is the Soul Gathering Jar gone?"

Huo Linjian was also stunned and muttered.

"How is that possible? Could it be that Black Tiger sensed our arrival and left with the Spirit Gathering Jar?"

Huo Xiuxiu frowned, took out the soul-release bell, and gently shook it towards Master An's tablet.

Seeing that this was a rare opportunity, Zhang Shi came up to Huo Xiuxiu with Lao Duan in his hand, and was about to strike with the kitchen knife.

Suddenly, an old voice came from Zhang Shi's mind.

"If I were you, I wouldn't choose to take action at this time."

Zhang Shi's arm, which was raised in the air, froze. He looked around and confirmed that he and the two ghosts were the only ones in the underground palace.

"Ling ring ring~"

Huo Xiuxiu gently shook the bell in her hand, which seemed to have triggered the resonance of the entire spirit gathering array, and visible ripples appeared in the void.

Zhang Shi didn't know what Huo Xiuxiu was going to do, but he felt that the bell should be the mission item.

Thinking that his teammates were still in danger of life or death, Zhang Shi raised his arms again.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't move!"

The old voice appeared again.

Zhang Shi confirmed that he was not hallucinating, checked for a while, and finally found that the soul-binding bell in his backpack was emitting a faint light.

"What the hell, Yao Lao?"

Zhang Shi didn't expect that the plot in the novel would happen to him. He immediately took out the soul-binding bell and observed it carefully.

"My name is not Yao Lao, you can call me Master An."

Zhang Shi's mind moved slightly, and he placed Lao Duan across the soul-binding bell, threatening him.

"You've seen everything that happened to me today. Tell me, what are your origins and what is your purpose in hiding in the bell?"

"Hey, hey, hey, young man, peace is the most important thing. Don't resort to violence, or you'll hurt me."

"Stop talking nonsense and speak quickly."

"Young man, do you know that after you were injured by the black tiger, I used up the strength I had accumulated over the years to save you. How dare you turn around and threaten me?"

Zhang Shi sneered when he heard what Master An said.

"Haha, so it's you who made me into this state where I'm neither human nor ghost. Then I must repay you well."

After saying that, Zhang Shi brought Old Duan closer to the soul-binding bell.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't do it, don't do it. I'm telling you, isn't that enough?"

Seeing that Mr. An finally gave in, Zhang Shi let go of Old Duan.

At this time, Huo Xiuxiu had put away the bell and was searching for something in the underground palace with Huo Linjian.

Master An paused for a moment and revealed his figure.

Zhang Shi looked over and saw the figure of an old man with a golden glow and a hunched back.

Zhang Shi nodded to Zhang Shi and began to tell the story.

"I am the ancestor of the Huo family. My soul accidentally resided in this soul bell."

"Huojia Village was once prosperous, but as prosperity must decline. Suddenly one day, a black fog descended from the sky, enveloping the entire village and obscuring the sun. No one who went out to explore returned, and for many years, few were able to enter."

Zhang Shi interrupted and asked.

"You said that few people could get in. Does that mean someone had gotten in before?"

Master An nodded and replied.

"Outsiders like you are not the first batch."

"Oh? So what was their final outcome?"

"Some died, some left."

Zhang Shi became curious about what Master An said. If what Master An said was true, then there might be more than one scroll in this village of doubt.

Zhang Shi asked again.

"Okay, I get it, old man. Where are my friends? Why am I like this now?"

Mr. An blew his golden beard, seeming a little dissatisfied with Zhang Shi's attitude, but he still continued to speak patiently.

"Your friends are in the state of past karma, and your current state is called present karma."

Zhang Shi was a little confused by what Master An said.

"I don't understand what you're saying. I just want to know if they're safe and how we can get out of this place."

Mr. An stroked his beard and said with a smile.

"Since I was able to rescue you from the Black Tiger, I can naturally protect your friends as well. As for whether you can escape safely, that depends on you."

Zhang Shi looked at Mr. An's cunning little eyes and became more and more unconvinced.

"Stop playing dumb and look at ourselves."

"From what I understand, you outsiders have your own ways of getting around. If I truly had a way to leave the village, I wouldn't have ended up trapped in a soul-dwelling artifact, watching the village fall."

When Zhang Shi heard Master An say this, he turned his gaze to Huo Xiuxiu again.

"I see you're very interested in the Soul-Resolving Bell. I'm afraid the goal of your trip is that bell."

Zhang Shi nodded and asked back.

"Why did you stop me when I was about to take action?"

Master An pointed at Huo Xiuxiu's figure and answered.

"Xiu Xiu is the only being in the village with three unified souls. If you come into contact with her, she will ignore the barriers between the past and the present and see through your true and false selves. With your current strength, I'm afraid you will be in great danger."

Zhang Shi frowned when he heard this, and was quite confused about the "past and reality" mentioned by Mr. An.

"Elaborate!"