After a fierce battle, the group finally approached the stone platform. At this moment, the surrounding ghosts seemed to sense their intentions and surged forward frantically, trying to prevent them from getting closer to the crystal ball.

Zhao Feng roared, channeling all his power into his giant axe. A dense light emanated from the axe blade, and with overwhelming force, he temporarily forced back the swarm of ghosts before him. "Quick, I'll hold them off! You guys quickly figure out how to activate the crystal ball!"

As Ge Dalong conjured more ice spikes to shoot at the ghost, he shouted, "This crystal ball seems to require a specific injection of spiritual power to activate. Miss Huo, do you have any ideas?"

Huo Xiuxiu's expression was solemn. The bell in her hand swayed incessantly. She closed her eyes, trying to sense the patterns of spiritual energy fluctuations in the crystal ball. After a moment, she opened her eyes and said, "I can feel that the crystal ball resonates with an ancient musical spiritual energy, but I need some time to adjust the frequency of the bell's spiritual energy. You all hold on!"

Zhang Shi took a deep breath and charged into the horde of ghosts like a whirlwind, each swing of his knife dispelling a swarm of spirits. "Alright, Miss Huo, hurry! We'll hold on!"

Despite everyone's strenuous efforts, Huo Xiuxiu finally found a suitable spiritual frequency. She gently touched the crystal ball with the bell, and a strange melody rang out. The crystal ball began to tremble violently, emitting beams of bright light. These beams of light, as if alive, shot towards the surrounding ghosts.

The ghosts struck by the light let out sharp screams as their bodies began to dissipate. As the light spread, more and more ghosts were destroyed, and the mysterious aura in the valley gradually dissipated.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the valley that was gradually calming down, their hearts filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.

Zhang Shi stepped onto the stone platform and carefully examined the crystal ball. He noticed that there seemed to be some blurry images moving inside the crystal ball. "This crystal ball seems to be hiding some secret, perhaps related to our current objective."

Huo Xiuxiu also came closer. Looking at the images in the crystal ball, she said, "These images look like some ancient rituals or the inheritance of some kind of power. Could they be key clues to the treasure or power guarded here?"

Ge Dalong scratched his head and said, "No matter what, now that we've found this place, we can't give up easily. Perhaps if we explore further, we can find the answers we're looking for."

Zhao Feng gripped his giant axe tightly and said, "That's right. We've overcome so many hardships and obstacles along the way, we can't back down now."

Zhang Shi nodded and said, "Then let's search around here to see if there are any other clues or entrances that might help us understand the secrets of this crystal ball."

So, everyone began to search carefully around the stone platform. They left no corner unchecked, hoping to find the key to solving the mystery. During the search, Zhang Shi discovered a faint runic pattern on one side of the stone platform. The pattern looked very ancient and emitted a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

"Come quick, look! There's a rune pattern here; it might be related to the crystal ball," Zhang Shi shouted.

The crowd gathered around, and Huo Xiuxiu carefully studied the rune pattern, her brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing. "I think I've seen this rune pattern recorded in ancient books. It seems to be an ancient sealing rune, but I need to recall the specific method of breaking it."

Zhao Feng said jokingly.

Are there any ancient books left in Huo Family Village?

Huo Xiuxiu ignored it and focused her attention on the crystal ball.

Just as Huo Xiuxiu was trying to recall the solution, a muffled rumbling sound suddenly came from outside the valley, as if some huge monster was approaching.

"Oh no, danger is coming again! We need to speed up!" Zhao Feng said warily, looking out of the valley.

Everyone tensed, knowing that at this crucial moment, they couldn't afford to be disrupted by a new threat. Zhang Shi made a quick decision: "Ge Dalong, you and I will search around this rune together to see if we can find any clues to breaking it. Miss Huo, continue to pay attention to the connection between the crystal ball and the rune, and inform us immediately if you find anything. Zhao Feng, you guard the edge of the stone platform to stop anything that comes in and buy us time."

Everyone responded in unison and quickly took their positions. Zhao Feng gripped his giant axe tightly, ready for battle. His heavy breathing could be clearly heard in the silent valley, and his eyes revealed determination and fearlessness, like an insurmountable fortress.

Ge Dalong and Zhang Shi carefully examined the rune pattern. Ge Dalong reached out, feeling the faint fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from the runes, muttering to himself, "The flow of this spiritual energy seems to follow a certain pattern, as if it's guiding something." Zhang Shi crouched down, carefully observing the lines and textures of the runes, trying to decipher the hidden information. "Look," he said, "the lines here echo those over there. Could this be the trigger point for some kind of mechanism?"

Huo Xiuxiu stared intently at the crystal ball, fine beads of sweat gradually forming on her forehead. Her bell trembled slightly in her hand, resonating with the spiritual energy fluctuations of the crystal ball. Suddenly, her eyes lit up: "I think I'm getting it! The way this rune connects to the crystal ball's spiritual energy might require a specific sequence of spiritual energy to activate."

Just then, the rumbling outside the valley grew louder, and a colossal rock beast slowly appeared. With each step it took, the ground trembled, and the rocks on its body scraped against each other, sending sparks flying. Seeing this, Zhao Feng fearlessly charged forward. He leaped high into the air, his giant axe whistling through the air as he slammed it down on the beast. However, the axe blade struck the beast's hard rock shell, only sending up a few sparks; the beast remained completely unharmed.

"This shell is too hard; ordinary attacks are ineffective!" Zhao Feng shouted.

Upon hearing the shout, Ge Dalong turned and conjured a massive ice spike, its surface shimmering with a ghostly blue light and imbued with powerful spiritual energy. He roared and hurled the ice spike at the behemoth. The ice spike struck the beast, instantly freezing it in a thick layer, slowing its movements.

"Now's the time! Attack its joints!" Ge Dalong shouted.

Zhang Shi immediately understood. He gathered his inner power to its limit, and Old Duan's blade shone brightly. He moved like a ghost to the side of the giant beast and thrust it forcefully towards the joint of its leg. Old Duan's blade pierced the giant beast's joint, and the beast let out a painful roar, its massive body swaying violently.

Huo Xiuxiu wasn't idle either. She adjusted the spiritual energy frequency of the bell, sending out sound waves towards the giant beast. The sound waves interfered with the beast's movements, making it difficult for it to concentrate on attacking the group.

With everyone's combined efforts, the giant beast gradually found itself in a difficult situation. But it was clearly not going to be defeated easily. Suddenly, the giant beast opened its enormous mouth and spewed out a stream of scorching magma, which swept towards the group.

"Watch out!" Zhang Shi exclaimed, but fortunately Ge Dalong released a water wall that enveloped everyone. The lava crashed against the water wall, splashing up a burst of fire.

"This can't go on. We must find a way to break the rune as soon as possible and activate the power of the crystal ball to fight it!" Huo Xiuxiu said anxiously.

Knowing that time was of the essence, everyone focused their attention once again on the runes and the crystal ball. While fending off the giant beast's attacks, Zhao Feng would occasionally turn back to check on the group's progress, silently praying that they could find the key to resolving the crisis as soon as possible.