An Ye was surrounded by a brilliant golden light, so bright that Zhang Shi couldn't even open his eyes.
When Zhang Shi opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in the center of the ancestral hall courtyard, with Black Tiger looking at him in confusion in front of him.
"Hmm? You managed to retain consciousness even after being hit by the dark light. You're quite remarkable."
Having said that, the black tiger gathered its strength again, and another stream of dark light shot out from its mouth.
"Get out of the way!"
An Ye's voice appeared in Zhang Shi's mind.
Zhang Shi hurriedly rolled to the side, barely avoiding the glare of the dark light, while loudly rebuking Master An.
"Old man, why didn't you remind me before the teleportation?"
Ignoring his banter with Master An, Black Tiger pounced upon them. Zhang Shi quickly scrambled to his feet and placed Old Duan in front of him.
Black Tiger stared intently at Old Duan, wary and hesitant to approach.
"Your kitchen knife is quite good; it cuts through iron like mud, and even Black Tiger's steel skin and bones are no match for it. Where did you get it?"
An Ye's voice echoed faintly in his mind. Zhang Shi ignored it, remembering that Wu Qing should have left a while ago, and worried about his friends' safety. Zhang Shi just wanted to finish this quickly.
Looking at the backpack, just as Master An had said, the spirit-gathering jar had vanished into thin air, and it would take some effort to seal the Black Tiger.
"There's no need to deal with it; it won't be able to leave the ancestral hall."
Grandpa An seemed to know what Zhang Shi was thinking and gave him a timely reminder.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi remained on guard and slowly retreated towards the courtyard gate.
"Hmph, trying to escape?"
Seeing that Zhang Shi wanted to leave, Black Tiger panicked and rushed over in a black shadow, disregarding everything else.
With Wu Qing not by his side, his attributes have decreased, and he dares not confront Black Tiger head-on.
As Zhang Shi retreated, he haphazardly waved Lao Duan's sword, trying to stop Black Tiger's charge.
Unexpectedly, the black tiger seemed determined to take Zhang Shi's life, charging forward like a mad dog. Old Duan's blade formed a dense net, severing both of the black tiger's front paws. However, the black tiger's momentum did not diminish, and it crashed headfirst into Zhang Shi's chest.
In desperation, the Soul-Binding Bell shook on its own, and a faint golden light enveloped Zhang Shi.
Master An intervened and blocked some of the impact for Zhang Shi. Even so, Zhang Shi was still sent flying backward and crashed in front of the door, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Zhang Shi staggered to his feet, feeling a sharp pain in his chest as if all the bones in his body were broken. Not far away, Black Tiger, without its front paws and unable to move, lay on the ground staring at Zhang Shi, waiting for its body to regenerate.
Zhang Shi gritted his teeth, rushed out the door, and ran a long way before looking back. Just as Master An had said, the black tiger had indeed not chased after him.
Worried that Wu Qing might be in trouble, Zhang Shi disregarded his injuries and ran towards the direction of the low hill cemetery.
A moment later, Zhang Shi arrived at the foot of the low mountain and could see a pale blue light screen flashing rapidly in the distance. Each flash of the light screen dimmed a little, and Zhang Shi recognized it as the protective shield of the mocking totem. It seemed that Wu Qing was under attack.
Wu Qing was currently searching through the coffins for traces of Zhao Feng and Lao Ge. Ever since she entered the graveyard, evil spirits had appeared from nowhere and begun to attack her relentlessly. Fortunately, the Taunt Totem transferred the damage to her protective shield, giving her time to search carefully.
However, after so much time, she had searched every coffin she could find, but still couldn't find any trace of Zhao Feng and Lao Ge.
"Wu Qing!"
Zhang Shi staggered over, and when Wu Qing saw his disheveled appearance, she quickly stepped forward to help him and asked him with concern.
"What happened? Are you injured?"
After saying that, he took out a pill from his backpack and handed it to Zhang Shi.
Zhang Shi didn't stand on ceremony, swallowed the pill in one gulp, and waved his hand.
"I'm fine. How are things on your end? Have you found anything?"
Wu Qing shook her head and told Zhang Shi what had happened. Zhang Shi nodded, took back Dingzhen, and began to cleanse the evil spirits with Lao Duan's help.
Evil spirits are the lowest level of monsters. Zhang Shi killed them one by one with a single strike. Even though he was injured, it didn't take him long to eliminate them all.
Having resolved the immediate problem, Zhang Shi inquired about Grandpa An.
"Old man, do you have a way to find my friend?"
Upon hearing this, Master An revealed himself. It was the first time Wu Qing had seen Master An, and she curiously sized up the old man whose body was radiating golden light.
Zhang Shi briefly recounted his past experiences and An Ye's situation to Wu Qing, leaving Wu Qing speechless with astonishment.
Grandpa An pointed in a direction and spoke.
"Your friend was devoured by a possessed soul. His physical body should be sealed at the core of the spirit-gathering array. You can go and look for him in that area."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi immediately led Wu Qing to Huo Youming's tombstone.
"Who is Huo Youming? What is his relationship with Huo Xiuxiu?"
Grandpa An stroked his beard and answered calmly.
"He is Xiuxiu's father."
Seeing that Master An did not intend to say more, Zhang Shi did not press the matter further.
Wu Qing circled the tombstone, found nothing unusual, and pointed to the burial site, asking a question.
"Could it be down there?"
In the 'past', Zhang Shi did not allow his friends to be devoured by the possessed souls that Master An spoke of, nor did he know the specific locations where they were sealed.
Seeing this, Master An gently shook the Soul-Binding Bell.
As the bell rang, ripples appeared in the surrounding space, and a moment later, two coffins appeared next to the tombstone.
Zhang Shi quickly stepped forward and opened the coffin. Sure enough, Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng were lying inside peacefully.
Master An continued to shake the Soul-Binding Bell, and Zhang Shi noticed that the bell's light in his backpack was growing stronger. Seeing that Master An had managed to control the bell so completely, bypassing him, Zhang Shi became increasingly wary of him.
Soon after, Zhao Feng and Ge Dalong woke up one after the other.
"Holy crap, what's going on? How did I end up sleeping here? Who's that old man next to me, and why is he radiating golden light?"
When Grandpa An was offended, he immediately put on a stern face.
Zhang Shi stepped forward, checked the two of them, and after finding nothing amiss, told them everything.
Ge Dalong checked the evacuation button again and found that he still could not evacuate. He looked at Zhang Shi and said.
"We don't know what's going on, so we still can't evacuate."
Uncle An was very concerned about the evacuation. He glanced at Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng and spoke up.
“You two are possessed by spirits, and in my opinion, it is because of these spirits that you are unable to leave.”
Zhang Shi recalled that when Zhao Feng disappeared, a cloud of black mist appeared from his body. He figured that this must be the soul possession that Master An had mentioned, so he pressed for an answer.
"How do we remove the possessed spirit?"
Grandpa An pointed to the cave.
"There is only one way, and that is the Soul-Releasing Bell."
Ge Dalong narrowed his eyes, glanced at Grandpa An, and then looked at Zhang Shi.
"It seems that the only way to leave is to rely on that Soul-Solving Bell."
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