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The ghost's familiar voice finally rang out: "Alright, go ahead and search! Let's see how much skill that old guy has over you."

Jiang Ping remained silent and strode forward diagonally. I finally saw clearly that the shape of this mountain was indeed very strange. A ridge jutted out in the middle and rushed into the river. The other side was symmetrical to the slope where we were, and it was also a concave slope. In the daytime, the mountain looked like a book or a butterfly.

We climbed the ridge, where dark clouds completely obscured the moon, plunging us into complete darkness. Jiang Ping stood quietly for a moment, then waved her hand: "Let's go down to the river."

We stumbled and staggered our way down to the riverbank. Jiang Ping stood on a small, slightly raised mound by the river and turned off his flashlight.

He calmly addressed the void, "Is it alright now?"

Only the sound of the river could be heard.

In the darkness, Jiang Ping took something out of his bag and slowly inserted it into the ground. Suddenly, the river water rushed towards the bank, quickly submerging the place where we were standing.

Jiang Ping pulled the thing out again, and the water quickly receded.

The ghosts of the clan chief and Bian Jizhong slowly rose from where we had just been standing.

The clan chief's voice was no longer mocking: "You are more talented than that old man, truly worthy of being the reincarnation of my favorite son!"

"If I had known, I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble," Jiang Ping said.

"Haha, then let's have a good chat? Why didn't you bring that feisty little girl along?"

Jiang Ping said coldly, "If I'm not mistaken, there shouldn't be a skeleton down there!"

The ghost was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Good, this is the first time in my hundred-plus years that I've met someone as smart as you. Dealing with smart people is so much easier."

"Then I'll ask you directly: have you been looking for Mr. Sun for over twenty years?"

Yes! How did you know?

"Why?"

The moon reappeared, and the spheres of light that had appeared earlier were arranged in a fan shape on the water's surface, surrounding the chieftain's ghost. They flickered and emitted faint, mournful sounds, like someone was crying, a cry that sent chills down my spine.

The ghost waved its hand: "Make it brighter, and be quiet!"

Sure enough, the ball of light brightened, and the crying stopped.

Bian Jizhong's ghost was expressionless, its eyes fixed on the moon. The clan chief, however, was backlit, and we could only see his silhouette, making the scene even more mysterious.

"After our ancient ancestor was torn apart by five horses, his five generals retrieved his body, stitched it back together, and used a special method to preserve the corpse from decay before transporting it back to the south. They lit lamps along the way and placed many talismans to guide the leader's spirit back to his homeland."

These five generals, according to the Five Elements theory, are the gods of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. They are working together to figure out how to save and resurrect their leader.

They gathered rare medicinal herbs, refining them day and night, praying day and night, but to no avail. Just as the fickle evil spirits were about to take their leader's soul away, they slaughtered countless animals, offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, and to the gods. Finally, they received the divine will.

It was a full moon night. They built a tall altar on the hillside of the tribe, and countless people lit bonfires and gathered around the altar to watch quietly.

The five generals took turns killing their daughters below the stage, collecting the blood in earthenware bowls, and then smearing the blood on the leader's forehead and lips.

When the earth god smeared his daughter's blood on the chieftain's lips, the chieftain's body twitched, and thousands of his followers excitedly shouted his name. But the chieftain's hand struggled for a long time, then suddenly stopped moving.

The leading general acted decisively and killed his second daughter. After this round of sacrifices, the leader finally opened his eyes, but his soul had not yet fully returned to its place.

The torches the general had ordered his people to extinguish shone brightly in the pale moonlight on the high altar. Countless shadowy figures silently gazed at the altar, their eyes filled with longing. They yearned for their tall and mighty leader to rise again; at his single call, they would surely roar, sing, and dance wildly!

So the generals killed their third daughter.

When the golden god smeared blood, he slightly raised his noble head.

As the Wood God smeared fresh blood, his majestic body slowly rose up, just like above.

When the water god smeared the blood, his eyes regained their lightning-like brilliance;

When the Vulcan smeared blood on himself, he let out a deep, powerful roar like a lion.

As the earth god slowly descended the mountain altar, everyone held their breath, their eyes burning like flames, awaiting the thrilling moment...

The clan chief paused here, gazing intently at the bright moon, and murmured, "The night of the full moon is just a few days away. I have been waiting for more than eighty years. It has been too long, far too long!"

It feels like it all happened yesterday... I should go back. This world has changed so much I don't even recognize it anymore. Will Xiuxiu and the others be able to adapt?

At the mountaintop, a small moon hangs directly above the summit, the dark mountain resembling a giant pedestal supporting a dazzling pearl.

For millions of years, the moon has remained the same, and its light has never diminished, but the passersby in the mortal world it has shone upon have changed time and time again.

The moonlight shone on the chieftain's thin face, revealing a dreamy, intoxicated look in his eyes.

The dozens of orbs of light suddenly dispersed and flew up to the mountaintop. Only a few points of golden light could be vaguely seen flashing, and a mournful cry, like weeping and lamenting, drifted over on the gentle breeze.

"They are all wandering ghosts who died far from home and were buried here. To this day, they still cannot forget everything about their hometown and stay here on this desolate mountain all day long."

For many years now, no one has dared to come here at night.

"Will they remain ghosts forever, just like that?" I asked curiously.

"Ghosts are actually a state of reincarnation in the six realms, just like humans, only they are more lonely than humans. Whether they become Buddhas, humans, beasts, or insects in the future depends on fate," the clan chief said proudly. "But I am a god, a celestial being in the six realms, and the most powerful one."

Seeing that he had recovered from his sorrow, I cautiously asked, "So, did the leader later come back to life?"

The chieftain suddenly revealed an angry expression. He said with grief and indignation, "No! When he smeared the blood on it, the chieftain cried out in pain, fell to the ground, struggled a few times, and died! This time it was a true and eternal death. Many people saw the chieftain's soul slowly float up from his body, rise leisurely into the air, circle around the forest for a long time, and finally disappear into the void."

At that moment, everyone was filled with despair. They had always believed that their leader could be resurrected, but their hope was shattered.

The chieftain's eyes flashed with hatred as he said bitterly, "That bastard couldn't bear to kill his beloved youngest daughter, so he secretly murdered the female slave who served her. The gods punished his infidelity, depriving our great leader of the chance to be resurrected! Otherwise, history would have been completely rewritten!"

"And then?" I asked.

"Later, the earth general's trick was exposed on the spot. The angry people slaughtered all his relatives, tore him to pieces, burned him to ashes, and buried him under the altar so that he could never be reincarnated."

I closed my eyes and seemed to see countless angry black shadows rushing towards the earthen altar in the firelight, followed by countless shrill screams. Fifteen young girls lay beneath the altar, their faces deathly pale, each with a petal-like red mark on their neck.

Jiang Ping asked with piercing eyes, "You want to use the same method to save your people and yourself?"

The clan chief said, "That's why I'm looking for that old man: the Earth God has vanished into thin air, and I need to find a god whose element is Earth to replace him!"

I shuddered, unable to believe that the chieftain's plan was so shocking—how many innocent lives would be sacrificed as offerings!

Jiang remained silent.

The moon hid behind the clouds again, and the light on the mountaintop chased each other. I could vaguely hear the sound of the wind, but I couldn't tell if it was crying or laughing.

After a long while, Jiang Ping asked, "Have you found the other gods' successors?"

The clan chief chuckled and said, "Don't worry about that. What have I been doing for the past eighty-odd years? I need your help."

Jiang Ping calmly said, "Such a plan is truly terrifying. How many more lives would it take to bring so many people back to life! I cannot help you!"

The chieftain smiled coldly and said, "You will agree!"

He whistled softly, and the orb of light flew down from the mountaintop, scattering everywhere and disappearing without a trace. The river water seemed to stop flowing, and all around was pitch black, yet the chieftain's wolf-like, reddish-black eyes were still visible.

He was whistling a strange tune. I heard footsteps coming towards us, but I couldn't see anything.

Then, the wind picked up, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and moonlight shone through the gaps. I witnessed the most terrifying sight of my life: dozens of white skeletons walked straight toward us, making guttural noises, and more skeletons kept rising from the ground to join them.

A rhythmic "clack-clack" sound drew closer.

"No!" I screamed, every pore of my skin filled with fear!

The chieftain stopped playing and made a gesture. The skeletons stood up, shaking their heads, eager to try.

Jiang Ping remained calm: "How do you want me to help you? Killing someone and drawing blood to save them is absolutely out of the question! Don't even think about it. I'd rather fight you to the death!"

"Sure, if you can come up with a better solution! Otherwise, you'll have to do as I say."

"Why do you insist on my help? Can't you just kill someone?" Jiang Ping asked.

"It's not that simple! Without the power of the five gods, killing ten thousand people is useless. So, will you agree or not? I can easily destroy this village with just a skeleton like you. You've seen this lackey's abilities. I'd like to say that while their magical power might not be as great as his, their destructive power is definitely on par!"

Mr. Bian suddenly interjected, "Have you overlooked a crucial issue?"

The clan chief asked in confusion, "Oh?"

Mr. Bian said, "I don't know how you want your people to be resurrected? Are you suggesting they be resurrected on a pile of skeletons? Neither human nor ghost? You should know that after so many years, their corpses may not even have bones left!"

The ghost grinned menacingly and said, "I thought of such a stupid question a long time ago! I considered this when I gambled with the lives of my own people. They just slept together. Sleeping together means they're dead? Who said they're dead?"

"But your son Ah Xiong's soul has already left the underworld, and his reincarnation is standing right in front of you! How do you explain that? Can you be sure they're still down there? Maybe their souls were released long ago!"

The ghost's eyes seemed to burn fiercely like fire, and suddenly he disappeared.

Bian Jizhong's ghost suddenly went mad, rushing into the pile of skeletons and sweeping them away. The skeletons were smashed to pieces, and the orbs of light in the air howled wildly.

Jiang Ping said, "Wait a moment!"

He ran quickly towards the small bridge. Bian Jizhong's ghost destroyed the pile of bones and knelt before Mr. Bian, weeping bitterly: "Great-grandson, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! Please let the Bodhisattva deliver me from suffering!"

Jiang Ping ran back quickly, carrying a jug of something in his hand. It smelled like gasoline. "Quick, quickly pile up those bones. We can't let them harm people anymore."

We piled up the bones, and Jiang Ping opened the kettle and poured oil onto the dry bones. Mr. Bian lit a piece of paper with a lighter and threw it onto the bones. The flames burst into flames, burning brighter and brighter, crackling and popping incessantly, while balls of light swirled around the fire, making a constant whistling sound.

Jiang Ping clasped his hands together and chanted incantations. The orbs of light gathered together one by one, forming a ball, and finally flew into the fire. The flames grew rapidly and then slowly went out.

Bian Jizhong's ghost cried out, "Please, please help me pass on to the afterlife as well!"

"Don't even think about it!" Before Jiang Ping could speak, the clan leader's voice descended from the sky. He suddenly reappeared before him, looking at the still-burning ashes, his eyes flashing with cold light.

"You bastard, you'll pay for this!"

"Hmph, are they still around?" Jiang Ping said provocatively.

"I've cast a curse on that land; anyone who goes in will surely die!" the chieftain said viciously.

"Don't talk big! At least some people went in and didn't die."

"Who? Impossible!"

“It doesn’t matter who it is. From ancient times to the present, no one has ever been heard of being resurrected after being dead for so long. Even the mighty Qin Shi Huang and Genghis Khan eventually turned into a handful of dust. Let it go, what’s lost is lost! Aren’t the two people you forced to their deaths now reincarnated and happy?” Jiang Ping said emotionally.

"Give up? There's no such easy thing as giving up! Have I waited all these years for nothing? Just because I haven't succeeded before doesn't mean I can't succeed. My ancestors just failed at the last hurdle."

"Are they still down there? Or are they still intact? There are lots of rats and bugs underground, you know. Didn't you go down and check?" Jiang Ping provoked.

"They're underground as quiet as if they're asleep. Alright, I don't want to say any more. Go to Yunnan tomorrow, and I'll tell you how to find that place. I believe you'll get there; otherwise, you'll bear the consequences. If you succeed, I won't hold tonight's events against you." The chieftain's voice was calm, but it was more powerful than a vicious threat.

"Actually, I wanted to help you fulfill this wish from the beginning, because I also wanted to know if the dead could be brought back to life. But I don't want to exchange more lives for the lives of your people, especially since it's still uncertain. You must swear a solemn oath to prove that you will not harm anyone, especially that the slaughter of Mr. Bian's family cannot continue!"

"Otherwise, we'll settle this right here tonight, with no room for negotiation!" Jiang Ping said resolutely.

The clan leader's gaze flickered, and the cold glint he had shown in his anger flashed once more. Whether he was human or ghost, he was accustomed to issuing commands with his religious name, and it was estimated that few would dare to contradict him to his face.

This was truly terrifying! My heart pounded wildly, fearing he would strike, or order Bian Jizhong to harm anyone. Fortunately, the clan chief gradually stopped panting and finally relented: "Alright, let's make a gentleman's agreement. Not counting Li Dagen, that lackey's subordinate, four people have already been sacrificed. I'm not indiscriminately killing innocents. I don't know who the Bian family's descendants are, but their temperament is very similar to ours. So using their blood to sacrifice to our clansmen and gods is most appropriate."

If you agree to take the place of the earth god, then the fifth sacrifice can be saved. As long as you cooperate with me, I promise not to harm them.

“You haven’t sworn that you won’t kill anyone else,” Jiang Ping said calmly.