The light of the formation faded, and the darkness gradually transformed into a silvery moonlit night.
The originally thin moonlight became bright, allowing them to almost see each other’s faces clearly under its glow.
Only then did Mu Bai dare to believe that the evil entity was indeed sealed within the formation, and its corrupting influence on the town and the Mountain God Temple had likely vanished.
“Ye Xi, let’s go in and take a look,” Mu Bai said, implying something.
Besides having the pendant for protection, if they encountered a treasure chest, she could use her [Portable Space] to take it away without any burden.
And Ye Qi’s Weapon Strike Fist had absorbed energy from a Fierce Ghost, making her slightly stronger than Tang Shifu.
Having too many people would only make it easier to run into trouble they couldn’t handle.
It wasn’t like before when they had the Little Spirit Flame Talisman that could kill a Fierce Ghost outright.
Besides, the room housing the spirit tablet wasn’t that big; two people were enough to search for the treasure.
“Yeah,” Ye Yin nodded.
Mu Bai took the Strong Flashlight handed to her by Mo Cha and, together with Ye Qi, crossed the courtyard and entered the room.
After a quick scan and seeing no treasure chest or anything resembling a treasure, Mu Bai walked directly up to the altar holding the spirit tablet and yanked the tablecloth up.
A treasure chest, about the size of a laptop, was hidden underneath the altar.
It was golden, shimmering brilliantly under the beam of the strong flashlight.
A Golden Treasure Chest!
‘Is this the treasure of the Promotion Site?’
Mu Bai immediately stored it in her [Storage Space].
It wasn’t safe to check now; they could tally their gains after returning to the Train.
[Congratulations to players Mu Bai, Ye Xi, Tang Shiyan, and Mo Cha for obtaining the Site Treasure. The Primary Train Upgrade Module has been issued.]
[The Upgrade Module cannot be traded. Please cherish it~]
‘Ugh…’
Mu Bai was speechless.
This settlement notification was probably received by all players at the site.
‘Isn’t this just telling others they can snatch it? With the Train System’s twisted sense of humor, it’s definitely intentional.’
A fist-sized Mechanical Core appeared in her hand, which she then put into her storage space.
At that moment, Mu Bai suddenly felt a sense of dissonance.
‘Something’s wrong. Absolutely wrong. If obtaining the treasure triggers a system prompt, wouldn’t “resolving the mutation source” also have a mission settlement?’
‘Could there still be unknown danger, or maybe that thing wasn’t completely sealed?’
“Let’s go, Ye Xi!”
she said urgently.
But the next moment, Tang Shige’s anxious shout came from outside.
“Get out here, now! Something’s happening!”
‘We’re too late!’
Ye Qi reacted swiftly, clearing the way as Mu Bai followed closely behind.
Exiting the room, Mu Bai used her flashlight to check the situation.
In the center of the courtyard, the spirit tablet altar hadn’t been sealed within the formation.
It was continuously emitting a strange black mist.
The black mist swirled, gathering and solidifying.
It clearly didn’t look like anything good.
Mu Bai’s expression changed.
Gritting her teeth, she quickened her pace.
‘Run! Run with all your might!’
She didn’t choose a detour but ran in a straight line!
The 4 points of Agility gained on Blue Star came into play.
In just two seconds, she had already crossed half the distance of the courtyard.
Ye Qi stayed close, protecting Mu Bai, keeping the distance between them to just half a step.
At that moment, they were right next to the altar.
The black mist had already formed a shadow, more solid and more grotesque than the Slender Ghost Shadow.
The ghostly figure tilted its head, its mouth splitting open, and spoke in a hoarse, venomous voice.
“Do you think I look like a God?”
Mu Bai’s face paled with fright.
She said nothing, just lowered her head and charged forward, clutching the pendant tightly in her palm.
A white halo of light completely enveloped her and Ye Qi, but it brought Mu Bai no sense of security.
“Answer me! Answer me!!”
The ghost’s roar assaulted Mu Bai’s eardrums.
But the more terrifyingly it screamed, the calmer Mu Bai became.
‘The more it rages helplessly, the more it proves the seal is working!’
‘This ghostly figure is probably just a few remnants of power left in the spirit tablet. It can’t be compared to the complete evil entity.’
Seeing that Mu Bai and the others didn’t answer, the black shadow then transformed into a chaotic mass before reforming into the shape of a giant hand, continuously growing larger and longer.
Mu Bai didn’t dare look back, afraid it would affect her speed, but the looks on Mo Cha’s, Tang Shifu’s, and Xiao Wei’s faces made her realize something.
The next second, her Mental Power was plummeting rapidly!
Soon, Mu Bai began to panic again.
The mental power drain was one thing; she could hold on for a few more seconds.
But even at their full sprinting speed, they still hadn’t reached the courtyard gate!
Looking down, the ground was covered in a layer of rustling shadows, spreading outward from the altar’s position.
If not for the direct beam of the flashlight, it would have been almost invisible under just the moonlight!
Ye Qi sensed something was wrong, but she was powerless against the shadows on the ground.
Turning to look back, a giant hand composed of black shadow pressed against the pendant’s halo.
It was constantly repelled by the halo; the fingertips that entered the halo dissipated into black smoke only to quickly solidify again.
Mu Bai’s face was already looking quite bad—a symptom of mental power dropping rapidly in a short time, something they’d seen before with Tang Shifu.
Ye Qi immediately halted her steps.
Pivoting on her left foot, she used her running momentum to spin her body, unleashing a full-force strike—
Weapon Strike Fist!!
Clang!
This time, it wasn’t the sound of striking iron, but more like metal colliding with another hard object.
This time, the metal was not herself.
An intense shockwave traveled through her limbs and bones.
Her chest and stomach churned violently, a hot surge rising against the flow.
Cough!
Ye Qi’s body was instantly flung out of the small courtyard.
Tang Shifu caught her, took several steps back to dissipate the force, and finally slammed against the wall.
Secondary injury was avoided.
If not for Tang Shifu, Ye Qi would have likely smashed into the wall like a cannonball!
The only good news was…
Ye Qi’s desperate strike had actually worked!
Mu Bai felt her mental power stop dropping, and she also briefly escaped the influence of the shadows underfoot.
Taking three steps in two, she quickly lunged toward the courtyard gate.
With a final, powerful leap forward to avoid touching the ground again, she was caught in Mo Cha’s embrace.
The shadowy giant hand was still lengthening, having completely broken through the original formation’s boundary, determined to wipe out Mu Bai and the others.
From the formation within the courtyard, threads of light, like the last embers of a dying fire, broke free from their restraints.
They coalesced in mid-air into a long Sword Phantom, resembling the burnt and ruined wooden sword beside the Taoist Priest.
Swish!
As the sword slashed out, it erupted with a brief burst of flame, similar to the Little Spirit Flame Talisman.
The shadowy giant hand was severed at the wrist.
The severed part dissipated into smoke, and the remaining part of the hand, along with the altar and the black mist, was forcefully pulled back into the center of the formation by countless threads of light.
The formation’s light flared one last time before completely fading, leaving only the silent courtyard under the moonlight.
Only after the shadowy hand vanished at her feet did Mu Bai feel slightly relieved, finally feeling far from danger.
“I was worried about you,” Mo Cha retorted but still set Mu Bai down.
She felt she could have held Mu Bai a bit longer; it was a bit of a shame.
“Ye Yin, are you okay…”
Mu Bai asked worriedly after getting down, looking at Ye Yin.
Ye Yin was being carried down on Tang Shige’s back.
If it weren’t absolutely necessary, given Ye Yin’s personality, she wouldn’t have stayed silent for so long.