System: Infinite Evolution into Qilin Bloodline

"Isn't this a hexagonal bronze bell?!"

The fat man exclaimed in surprise when he saw the bell.

The same bells appeared in the Lu Palace and the underwater tomb. The sound of these bells could cause hallucinations and erase people's memories.

The bell in front of me is exactly the same as the one I saw before.

"Fat!"

Zhang Hao's eyes widened, and only then did the fat man realize what was happening.

The man reeked of dirt, so the origin of the items was obvious.

We were sitting in the hotel lobby, which was crowded and not suitable for discussing business.

"Hey buddy, what's your name? I see it's lunchtime, you probably haven't eaten yet. How about we eat first and then talk at my shop?"

The man patted his belly a couple of times, nodded, and found a chair to sit down: "You can call me Old Ma."

"Ok?"

As soon as he sat down, Zhang Hao smelled a faint stench of decay.

He was all too familiar with that smell; it was the smell emanating from someone whose body had been possessed by another person's soul.

However, Lao Ma's scent was very faint; even Zhang Hao had to get very close to smell it.

Zhang Hao glanced discreetly at the back of Lao Ma's neck and discovered a distinctive mark there.

Now he can be 100% certain that Lao Ma is no longer the original Lao Ma; he is a puppet whose body is occupied by the soul of a god.

Since that's the case, his taking out the hexagonal bronze bell at this time and place is definitely not a coincidence.

Has God discovered Zhang's identity as a member of the Zhang family and is preparing to take away his body?

Zhang Hao shook his head. He recalled the past and realized that his identity should not have been exposed yet, otherwise there would be more than just this one person in front of him.

If that's the case, then this person must have other motives.

He decided to refrain from alerting the man and observe his intentions.

After Lao Ma sat down, the fat man added a few more plates of meat for him to fill his stomach.

After the group had eaten and drunk their fill, they took two taxis to Fatty's antique shop in Panjiayuan.

His antique shop is the first shop at the entrance of Panjiayuan, a prime location.

"That fat guy is pretty good. He owns a shop in a location like this, so he'll never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life."

Wu Tianzhen joked when she saw the fat man's shop.

"They'll barely starve, but that's nothing compared to you second-generation thieves. You're rich and powerful, and all the ancient tombs in the world are your family's bank, inexhaustible resources. The only people who can compare to you are you second-generation thieves."

"Fatty, that's an exaggeration."

The fat man was loose-lipped and blurted out whatever came to mind, even on the street.

"Hehe, you naive one, you don't know, there are dozens of Qin Shi Huangs in Panjiayuan, what's a second-generation thief?"

Before the fat man could finish speaking, he heard the voice of a vendor soliciting customers at his doorstep.

"Boss, look at this dagger! It's the Fish Intestine Sword that Jing Ke used to assassinate the King of Qin!"

"If the Fish Intestine Sword doesn't like this, there's also the snuff bottle that Li Shimin used!"

……

Wu Tianzhen smiled upon hearing this, realizing that this was the typical tone of voice in the antique market.

Whether it's reasonable or not, everyone's words are exaggerated.

So it's really just like what the fat guy said: no matter what you say, it doesn't matter to the people around you. Everyone knows in their hearts that it's just a lie.

The fat man opened the door, invited Zhang Hao and the others inside, and then closed the door.

"Please sit down, everyone. I'll go make you some tea first, and we can talk about this later."

The fat man busied himself serving everyone until they were seated, then poured a pot of tea before moving a chair over and sitting down next to Zhang Hao.

"Alright, Lao Ma, everyone in the shop is one of us now, so just say what you want to say. Where did you get this bell?"

"I collected it from the countryside..."

Before Old Ma could finish speaking, Fatty interrupted him: "Don't give me that nonsense. You and I both know how it came to be. What I want to know is its specific origin. If you can explain it clearly, then I'll take the bell."

Upon hearing this, a sly glint flashed in Lao Ma's eyes, which Zhang Hao caught even though it was only for a moment.

His timid and submissive demeanor was just an act.

Sure enough, he came with a purpose; selling things was just a pretext.

"Let me tell you, I found this thing outside an altar deep in the Qinling Mountains. Inside that altar was a bronze sacred tree that was exactly the same as the one unearthed from Sanxingdui."

However, the bronze tree inside the altar was much taller and larger, at least a hundred meters high, possibly even more. I didn't dare go down, so I could only shine a flashlight into the altar; I still couldn't see the bottom even after reaching over a hundred meters.

"Sanxingdui is a civilization from thousands of years ago, and the bronze sacred tree that is similar to it is probably from the same era."

The bronze sacred tree at Sanxingdui, which was three or four meters tall, was extremely difficult to build. Now you're telling me there's a sacred tree with the same design but hundreds of meters tall? Who are you trying to fool?

If you don't tell the truth, I won't accept that thing.

Seeing that the fat man didn't believe him, Old Ma hurriedly explained, "What I said is true. If all the electronic devices in that area hadn't malfunctioned and wouldn't turn on, I would have taken pictures. If you don't believe me, you can go and see for yourselves. I still remember the exact location and can tell you."

Zhang Hao listened silently the whole time.

He instantly understood when Lao Ma said he remembered the exact location and could tell them.

Old Ma's role is similar to that of the Warring States period silk scroll that records the exact location of the Lu King's Palace; his purpose is to lure people into the ancient tomb.

They must have done the same thing to the ancient tombs in the Qinling Mountains as they did to the Lu Palace.

The goal is to select a suitable body from among the people who have been brought there, and then occupy that body for one's own use.

Previously, Zhang Hao had been misled by the information left by the senior official of the Heavenly Official of the Tomb Raiders, believing that the purpose of doing so was to achieve immortality.

But after meeting Uncle Wu in Myanmar, I learned that these consciousnesses that possessed other people's bodies all originated from a god.

Those consciousnesses were merely a wisp of his myriad consciousnesses; for some unknown purpose, this god had been searching for a body with certain characteristics.

The bodies of the Wu family and the Zhang family, including Zhang Hao's family, are exactly what God needs.

However, the ancestors of both families disappeared from the sight of the gods through special means, hiding themselves away.

Zhang Hao believed that the reason why the gods modified so many ancient tombs and went to great lengths to lure people in was definitely to find bodies with the same attributes as the Wu and Zhang families, or that this trap was originally designed specifically for the two families.

All that Uncle Wu has done over the years is to find a way to completely eliminate the gods, only in this way can the Wu and Zhang families completely get rid of the hidden danger.

Zhang Hao also disliked the feeling of having potential threats looming over his head.

Now that they've come to him of their own accord, even knowing it's a trap, he has to go through with it. Only in this way can he have more opportunities to come into contact with these people and find a way to eliminate them.