Wu Qing had anticipated this, and while retreating, she used the Ancestral Staff skill, instantly activating the Taunt Totem.

The black tiger's claws fell, and the damage was transferred to the taunt totem.

"Perfect timing!"

Zhao Feng blocked Black Tiger's back, shouted loudly, and swung the Firestone Giant Axe in a wide arc, aiming for its waist.

Black Tiger tried to dodge, but Ge Dalong's ice spikes and Zhang Shi's arrows from the four-man group shot at it simultaneously, causing it to stagger. Its paws were frozen, hindering its movement.

The giant axe, wreathed in flames, struck the black tiger's back, cleaving its body in two. The pieces fell to the ground and dissolved into a pool of dirty water.

Zhang Shi emerged from the underground palace and, seeing the opportune moment, decisively struck, taking out a holy silver crossbow bolt and piercing the black tiger, which was about to reconstruct its physical body, through the heart.

"Aww!"

With a sharp screech, the four of them were unaware of what had happened when Black Tiger was once again reduced to a puddle of sewage.

Zhang Shi showed no mercy, squatting down beside the sewage and opening the lid of the porcelain pot.

As he expected, the porcelain teapot acted like a small black hole, suddenly generating a powerful suction force that drew every last drop of sewage from the ground into the teapot.

Feeling the strong shaking coming from inside the porcelain pot, Zhang Shi quickly put the lid on, and the pot immediately fell silent.

"What's going on? Where did that black tiger go?"

"They probably ran away."

Seeing that Black Tiger had disappeared and the crisis was temporarily over, the four of them checked the mission panel again.

"The quest has been updated; we now need to obtain the [Soul-Relieving Bell]."

The group simultaneously turned their gaze to the underground palace. According to the script, this was the place where treasures were most easily hidden.

...

The group carefully descended into the underground palace. Upon seeing the memorial tablets, Ge Dalong frowned, paced back and forth along the edge of the palace several times, and finally spoke with deep concern.

"Everyone be careful, this is a spirit-gathering array."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi became very interested and stood next to the group of four to wait for what they would say next.

"Old Ge, stop messing around. Isn't the Spirit Gathering Array something from cultivation novels? How could this lousy village have such a thing?"

Zhao Feng became Zhang Shi's mouthpiece, speaking up for him to voice his questions.

“Unlike that one, there are different types of spirit-gathering arrays. In cultivation novels, they usually gather spiritual energy, but the one in front of us clearly gathers yin energy.”

“I have an elder relative who is in business. He was once tricked by someone using a similar formation. I was present the whole time when the trap was broken, and I have a deep memory of the arrangement method.”

Zhao Feng scratched the back of his head suspiciously.

"No way, we're supposed to be doing wilderness survival, how did we start talking about feng shui and metaphysics?"

"Look at what we've encountered and the monsters we've met since entering the dungeon. How does that have anything to do with wilderness survival?"

Wu Qing retorted.

Ge Dalong continued speaking.

"It is said that this kind of formation can continuously gather Yin energy, and over time, it can nurture a powerful evil spirit."

Zhang Shi, one of the four, pointed to the memorial tablet of Grandpa An in the center of the formation and said...

"Then there's a problem; the porcelain pot that's the key to this formation is missing."

Zhang Shi took out Master An's porcelain pot, feeling puzzled.

According to Lao Ge, it was clear that someone wanted to use the spirit-gathering array to nurture Master An's soul. However, when he first entered the underground palace, the porcelain bottle belonging to Master An was already empty.

When the Black Tiger was first purified by the Holy Silver Crossbow, a wisp of black mist drifted towards the graveyard and was collected by the strange creature. When the strange creature was purified, the black mist within it drifted back to the ancestral hall. What is the connection between the two?

There's also Huo Linjian's tombstone, Huo Xiuxiu's memorial tablet in the secret room, what is the relationship between the strange creature and the two of them, and what is the black tiger guarding in the ancestral hall?

Zhang Shi felt that the events happening in the village were becoming increasingly perplexing.

The four-person team didn't act rashly. Finding no clues about their mission in the underground palace, they left. After leaving, they searched the surrounding houses, centering on the ancestral hall, but found no useful clues.

As darkness fell, the four of them unanimously decided to abandon the mission and return to the shelter.

Zhang Shi couldn't wait for them to leave, so he could perhaps be teleported back and end this bizarre journey.

As four beams of white light appeared, the group of four vanished from their spot, leaving only a dazed Zhang Shi helplessly spreading his hands.

"I haven't gotten on the bus yet!"

After checking the team panel several times, Zhang Shi confirmed that his and his teammates' status remained unchanged. He was certain that he and the four who had teleported away would likely not have any further contact, and his anxiety grew.

The longer he lingered here, the more dangerous his teammates' situation would become. Zhang Shi racked his brains, trying to forcibly teleport away using the parchment he had obtained from Chen Hu, but found that the parchment was unusable.

"This is fucking weird!"

Even now, Zhang Shi still couldn't figure out what state he was in, and couldn't help but curse.

...

As darkness fell completely, Zhang Shi dared not wander outside and hid inside the ancestral hall. If there was any real danger, Zhang Shi would run to the underground palace, release all the spirits from those porcelain pots, and watch them fight like dogs.

After making up his mind, Zhang Shi hid in a side room and began to study Master An's porcelain teapot.

Meanwhile, in the underground cave beneath Huo Youming's tomb, strange creatures reappeared in the secret chamber.

It glanced at the vanished treasure chest and revealed a smug smile.

"Although we paid a price, it was worth it since the bell was finally taken away!"

"Splash!"

The porcelain pot inside Huo Xiuxiu seemed to boil over. The strange creature was even more delighted to see this, and with a determined heart, it punched the stone lid.

The moment the strange creature came into contact with the stone cover, it was like snow meeting fire; its entire arm seemed to melt away.

The strange creature, however, ignored the discomfort and slammed its fist onto the stone cover.

The stone cover was ultimately an inanimate object and could not withstand the force, so it was shattered.

Huo Xiuxiu's porcelain pot seemed to have been unsealed, shattering completely, and a figure even more solid than the strange creature appeared in the secret room.

The figure was a young girl. Her eyes were fierce, as if she carried a deep-seated hatred and loathing for everything.

Upon seeing the girl, the strange creature excitedly rushed forward and embraced her.

"Xiuxiu, I've finally waited for this day. I've waited too long for this moment. I'll have no regrets even if I die."

Clearly, this more solid figure is Huo Xiuxiu.

Upon seeing the strange figure tightly embracing her, a hint of tenderness appeared in Huo Xiuxiu's eyes. With trembling hands, she also embraced the other person.

"Brother Jian, you've suffered all these years. I'll avenge you and Father right away!"

Inside the ancestral hall, Zhang Shi examined An Ye's porcelain vase as if it were a treasure. Suddenly, the soul-binding bell in his backpack, which had been silent for half a day, rang on its own once again.

Zhang Shi immediately perked up and drew Lao Duan out for protection.

"When this thing makes a sound, it's never a good sign."

Sure enough, within two minutes, a gust of black wind swept in and blew open the tightly closed gate of the ancestral hall.

Two figures, a man and a woman, appeared at the entrance of the ancestral hall.