The copper gong rings, disaster is upon us!
In Chen Family Village, from the elderly with white hair to the toddling children, everyone knows that when the village copper gong sounds, it implies someone has died an unnatural death.
Rumors of supernatural encounters spread, and many people ran out of their houses in anxiety.
The young and strong men and the elders were the main ones gathering; the women and children mostly stayed timidly indoors.
"Seventh Uncle, what happened?"
Someone cautiously stopped the old farmer who was sounding the gong to ask.
The old farmer hurriedly said, "Everyone hurry to the mountain path entrance and see, someone's two people collided with spirits there."
Two people?
Everyone's expressions changed and they quickly ran toward the mountain path entrance.
"Mother, I'm going out to take a look."
Zhang Yuan, hearing the commotion outside, said to his mother, "I'll be back soon."
Mother Zhang worriedly replied, "Be safe."
"Mm."
Zhang Yuan nodded, then stepped out to join the curious crowd.
Many villagers jogged to the mountain path entrance and immediately saw the dried corpses on the ground.
The sky was already dark, and these two corpses looked exceptionally terrifying, with a chilling aura silently spreading around.
Sure enough, there was a supernatural event happening!
Everyone shuddered, looking at one another in shock, seeing fear and panic in each other's eyes.
"Move aside, out of the way!"
More people arrived, equipped with torches for illumination.
The household servants from Landlord Chen's family came, Steward Zhang came, and even the village head of Chen Family Village was there!
Steward Zhang's face was extremely gloomy as he scanned the dry corpses on the ground and said, "Check them."
The servants he brought looked at each other but did not dare to step forward to examine.
Anything related to supernatural events inevitably scared ordinary people!
Seeing that no one was following his orders, Steward Zhang angrily pointed at a servant and commanded, "You go!"
The servant had no choice but to brace himself and step forward to investigate.
As soon as his hand touched one of the dried corpses, the corpse's shriveled body directly broke into several large pieces.
Almost scared this servant to death.
But some things hidden in the dry corpse's embrace fell out.
One servant exclaimed, "Nurse Sun?"
He recognized one of the copper hand tokens as the credential held by Nurse Sun!
Landlord Chen's family had only two nursing homes, both Entering Force martial artists, and the other was currently in the old mansion in the village.
So this dried corpse must be Nurse Sun without a doubt!
"This is Chen San?"
At this moment, a sharp-eyed villager recognized the other dried corpse: "Three fingers on the left hand, it's definitely him!"
Chen San was one of the very few thugs in the village; all the villagers present knew him.
Everyone knew this guy had his fingers chopped off a few years ago when he cheated in gambling.
On the left hand!
Now the identities of the two dried corpses have basically been confirmed.
But the question remains, how could a nursing home from Chen Family and a thug from the village die in a supernatural encounter at the mountain path entrance simultaneously?
No one knew the answer!
The night wind blew from the distant mountains, making the torch flames flicker erratically, casting twisted shadows.
Many people shivered in unison.
The old village head said solemnly, "It's already dark, it's not safe here. Let's take them back to the village and talk."
This village head had a high reputation in Chen Family Village, coupled with Steward Zhang's agreement, several villagers mustered the courage to pack up and carry away the bodies.
Everyone returned to the village, gathering in front of the ancestral hall, finally feeling a bit relieved.
The depths of the mountains hide supernatural; for hundreds and thousands of years, in remote villages like Chen Family Village, generations of villagers have relied on the protection of the ancestral hall to survive.
Ordinary supernatural events would not approach villages protected by an ancestral hall.
But villagers leaving the village's boundaries would lose protection, hence the occurrence of supernatural events.
Generally, the surroundings of the village are relatively safe.
But this time, the fact that the scene where Nurse Sun and Chen San were killed wasn't far from the village was frightening.
Could it be that something terrifying has appeared near Chen Family Village?
"Ancestors, bless us!"
Everyone burned incense at the ancestor tablets in the ancestral hall, sincerely praying for ancestral protection.
Meanwhile, Steward Zhang and the servants inspected Nurse Sun's corpse again, but found no clues.
Following the old village head's suggestion, his corpse along with clothes and personal belongings were thrown into the fire pit to be incinerated into ashes.
So even if there's any evil, it will be burned to nothing!
Chen San followed and was thoroughly burned as well.
Zhang Yuan squeezed into the crowd of onlookers, witnessing the entire process.
It proved that Zhang Yuan's decision to fabricate a supernatural encounter through sacrificial means was very wise.
First, absolutely no one would suspect him, thinking he killed Nurse Sun and Chen San.
Secondly, it undoubtedly caused a huge mental distress to Landlord Chen, who just moved to Chen Family Village, leaving him uneasy and paranoid.
Thus, Zhang Yuan, an outsider, would feel less pressure in the village temporarily.
Deceive the heavens and cross the seas, achieving multiple gains at once!
As for scaring innocent villagers, Zhang Yuan could only apologize silently in his heart.
Earlier, he heard villagers discussing that Chen San was also listed on the manual labor roster.
This guy apparently took a risk for duty and ended up being countered and killed by Zhang Yuan!
As for why Nurse Sun appeared on the mountain path, maybe he was watching Chen San, or maybe he was watching Zhang Yuan, but there was no way to know the answer.
The night grew deep, villagers gradually dispersed to their homes.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Zhang Yuan also returned home and briefly spoke with his mother about the event.
Prompting Mother Zhang to take out incense and offer three sticks to Father Zhang's tablet.
Praying for her deceased husband to bless Zhang Yuan with safety from the heavens!
Zhang Yuan listened silently beside her, feeling moved.
After Mother Zhang fell asleep, he opened the Divine Nest panel in his room.
[Host: Zhang Yuan]
[Divine Nest: Level 1 (15%)]
[Host Body: Level 1 Black Giant Ant (12%)/2 times Strength]
[Qi Blood: 23/75]
[Source Material: 3.7]
The evolution level of Divine Nest's first host body—the Black Giant Ant—has risen from 1% to 12%, not slow at all.
But Zhang Yuan was not satisfied, and he invested all the Source Material into the nest room without hesitation.
The more Source Material invested, the faster the host body grows naturally.
And investment in Source Material would not be wasted; it could continue to help evolution after upgrading.
Currently, Zhang Yuan urgently needed to enhance his own strength, the stronger, the better!
Today's encounter, Zhang Yuan fortunately won the victory.
But luck couldn't always be on his side.
Therefore, the most important thing was his own strength!
Closing the panel, Zhang Yuan reached under the bed to retrieve a beast hide bag.
Then took out the book inside.
Rock Foundation Skill!
On the small table beside the bed, an oil lamp emitted a dim yellow glow, reflecting the light in Zhang Yuan's eyes brightly.
Like a starving mythical beast seeing a feast!