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

Master An pointed to the ground and continued.

"Huo Village is quite special, situated at the intersection of the past, present, and future timelines. To put it simply, Xiuxiu's time and space are in the past, while you are in the present. The reason you can see and influence the past time and space is because the Soul-Binding Bell has brought your 'past' self to the 'present'."

"Furthermore, even if you obtain the Soul-Removing Bell in the 'present', you can't bring it back to the 'past'. This is one of the reasons why I stopped you."

Zhang Shi was confused by what Master An said. He always felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it for a while.

He stared at Master An, trying to find a flaw in his expression, but there was nothing on Master An's golden face except a bit of kindness and helplessness.

"So, according to what you said, wouldn't it mean that I, 'now', will never be able to obtain the Soul-Restoring Bell here?"

Master An nodded.

"That's right. Because of the Soul-Binding Bell, you can touch things from the 'past,' but when you return to your own 'past,' everything will be restored. Time will erase the effects you've created."

Zhang Shi's mouth twisted, and he placed the Lao Duan in his hand across the soul-binding bell.

"In that case, why did you bring me here?"

Master An waved his hands quickly.

"Hey, don't be anxious, just listen to what I have to say."

"Although you can't bring the bell back with you, you can learn about the developments ahead of time and keep an eye on the bell's location. Once things return to the normal 'past', you can then go and retrieve it. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Zhang Shi nodded, thinking that what Master An said made some sense. He took out Master An's porcelain pot and continued to ask.

"What's the deal with this black tiger? What about this spirit gathering array and the crypt in the cemetery?"

At this point, Huo Xiuxiu and Huo Linjian had already stopped searching. Apparently, they hadn't found what they were looking for, and in a rage, Huo Xiuxiu destroyed all the porcelain pots in the underground palace. Countless souls flew out, and Huo Xiuxiu and the other two also left towards the underground palace's exit.

Zhang Shi glanced at Master An and asked.

"I don't know about the conflicts in your family, but these are all your people. Are you just going to watch them?"

Mr. An shook his head helplessly, pointed to the exit, and signaled Zhang Shi to leave.

"Follow Xiuxiu, let's talk while we walk."

……

Outside, the wind howled in the ancestral hall courtyard because of the spirits. Mr. An was indeed emitting a bright golden light, like a walking moon, completely out of tune with the night.

"If I'm not mistaken, your special ability should be copying."

Zhang Shi was silent. Master An was also present when he opened the treasure chest, and the secret of his obtaining double the supplies could not be concealed.

Seeing that Zhang Shi didn't say anything, Mr. An didn't care and continued talking to himself.

"I was originally placed on the Soul Calming Platform. When you opened the seal, I saw with my own eyes that the Soul-Binding Bell transformed into two and appeared in your storage space. Even my soul felt torn apart. If it weren't for my tricks, I'm afraid my soul would have been split in two."

Zhang Shi thought of the cave where the soul-binding bell suppressed Huo Xiuxiu in the porcelain pot, and the feeling that something was wrong became stronger and stronger.

Without showing any doubt, Zhang Shi glanced at the requirements of the main task and continued to ask about the village.

"Don't change the subject. I just want to know what happened in this village. Why can't I see a single living person?"

Mr. An stopped, raised his head, and acted as if he was reminiscing about the past, then he slowly walked forward.

"It's a long story. Ever since the black fog appeared, strange things have been happening in the village from time to time, and some villagers have even disappeared."

"Over time, the number of missing people increased, and every household was running out of food. Everyone in the village felt insecure and panic was growing. To calm people, the village chief decided to hold a ritual in the village."

"After paying a certain price, the village chief successfully awakened me and the village's Black Tiger using two bells. However, the black fog was quite strange and dangerous, and even we couldn't pass through it."

"I originally wanted to set up a large formation to gather spiritual energy and disperse the fog, but I didn't expect the fog to have its own independent consciousness. It had already quietly corroded some villagers, and even Black Tiger was accidentally tricked."

"Under multiple blows, my golden body was shattered, and I had no choice but to rely on the Soul-Binding Bell to barely protect myself."

"The black fog invaded and ordered the Black Tiger to kill the normal villagers and place their souls in the Soul Gathering Tanks, forming a Soul Gathering Formation in an attempt to completely wipe out the Huo Family Village."

"The village chief, seeing the dire situation, chose to sacrifice his pawns to save his chariot. He sacrificed the lives of several villagers and set up a similar spirit-gathering formation to fight the black tiger. Xiuxiu's family was chosen as the sacrifice, and they perished at the underground altar."

"What's unexpected is that Xiuxiu was born with three souls in one. After death, her soul is immortal. She retains her intelligence and memory, becoming extremely powerful. She is trying to take revenge on the village chief and Black Tiger."

"Caught between two opposing factions, the village chief had no choice but to use a bell as a magical weapon to suppress Xiuxiu. But this also gave the Black Tiger an opportunity. With both sides suffering heavy losses, it swooped in and killed all the remaining villagers. From then on, Huojia Village became a ghost town."

After listening to Mr. An's statement, Zhang Shi took a look at the task panel and found that it had not changed. He knew that the old man was lying, but he did not point it out.

"So, the culprit behind all this should be this inexplicable black fog?"

Master An nodded, then looked at Zhang Shi with burning eyes.

"Since you outsiders are able to pass through the black fog, I saved you from the black tiger's jaws only to ask you a favor."

Zhang Shi had already guessed what Mr. An was going to say and replied indifferently.

"But it doesn't matter."

"Now, all the villagers of Huojia Village are dead, and I have no more concerns, but I am unwilling to sink into this ghostland forever."

"Young man, if you are able to leave this village, please take me with you. I am willing to teach you all the knowledge and skills I have learned throughout my life to repay you for saving my life."

Zhang Shi paused. Ahead, Huo Xiuxiu and Huo Linjian had already returned to the crypt within the cemetery. Zhang Shi toyed with the soul-binding bell, then glanced at the porcelain pot in his backpack, giving a meaningful smile.

"This black tiger swallowed another soul-binding bell, and it's now in this soul-gathering jar. Don't you have any thoughts of revenge?"

"I'm relying on you. My behavior will be corrected after I return to the 'past'. Good and evil will eventually be rewarded. It's not that there's no retribution, but the time has come. I have no karmic connection with this black tiger. Perhaps someone will deal with it soon."

Zhang Shi nodded, and his smile deepened.

"I already know Huo Xiuxiu's location. If that's the case, please teleport me back to the 'past'. I'm still worried about the safety of my friends. I promise, I'll take you away from here after this."

Upon hearing this, Mr. An smiled kindly and nodded in agreement.

"In that case, let's go back."