A debt-ridden tycoon inherits a luxury mansion, but the tenants are not human.

Chen Mo closed the door and returned to the main room.

The spirit of the earth came up from the basement: "Wang the sorceress is right. The identity of the tomb keeper will protect you, but it will also bind you."

"From now on, you will face not only the obsessions of spirits, but also the scheming of the living."

"I know," Chen Mo said, "but since I've made the choice, I won't regret it. Besides, I need to figure out why my third great-uncle wants me to inherit the business."

In the afternoon, Chen Mo went to buy some things: a flashlight, spare batteries, rope, gloves, and a mask.

He also went to the pharmacy and bought a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao and some band-aids—just in case.

At 10 p.m., after he had eaten, he began to prepare.

The spirit copied the summoning circle drawn by Shen Mo onto a piece of yellow paper and handed it to Chen Mo: "Take this. When you get to the tomb, stick this on the center of the array, and Shen Mo's spirit will appear."

Chen Mo took the yellow paper, folded it, and put it in his pocket.

At 10:30, Chen Mo went out.

The church is located in the north of the city. It is a Gothic building with a very high spire.

The church is not open to the public at night; only one light is on at the side entrance.

Chen Mo walked to the side door and knocked.

After waiting for a long time, the door opened.

An elderly priest, over seventy years old, stood in the doorway, dressed in a black robe and wearing a cross. His hair was completely white, but his eyes were bright.

"Are you Father Wang?" Chen Mo asked.

"It's me." Father Wang looked him over. "You're Chen Mo? Grandma Wang's grandson?"

"I guess so," Chen Mo said. "She sent me to find you."

Father Wang nodded and stepped aside to let him in: "Come in. I know why you've come."

The church interior was spacious, with neatly arranged pews and candles lit on the altar. The air was filled with the scent of incense and old wood.

Father Wang led Chen Mo through the altar to a small door at the back.

There was a lock on the door; it was an old-fashioned lock.

"The burial chamber is down below." Father Wang took out his key and unlocked the door. "When the church was built, there was originally a natural cave underground, which was later converted into a burial chamber to hold the priests of all generations. But few people know that there is another layer below the burial chamber, which is the anchor point."

The door opened, and a stone staircase led downwards into the darkness.

Father Wang handed Chen Mo a flashlight: "There are no lights down there, use your own. I'll wait for you here. You must come up before midnight. After midnight, the seal on the tomb will strengthen, and you won't be able to get out."

"Aren't you coming down with me?" Chen Mo asked.

"I can't go down," Father Wang shook his head. "The rules for the gravediggers dictate that we cannot enter the core area of ​​other anchor points. It's forbidden."

Chen Mo nodded, turned on his flashlight, and walked down the stone steps.

The stone steps were very steep; it took about three floors to descend to the bottom.

Below is a large space. The walls are made of stone and have been carved with murals, but they are now blurred and indistinct.

There was a damp, musty smell in the air, mixed with a faint sandalwood scent.

Chen Mo shone his flashlight around and saw a stone platform in the center of the tomb chamber, with a stone coffin on it.

The stone coffin lid was engraved with intricate patterns, somewhat similar to the summoning array drawn by Shen Mo.

Chen Mo walked over and examined the patterns closely.

It is indeed part of an array. The lines intersect, the runes are dense, and there is a depression in the middle, as if it is for holding something.

Chen Mo took out the yellow paper and unfolded it.

The array pattern on it matches the pattern on the stone coffin lid.

Following Shen Mo's instructions, Chen Mo pasted the yellow paper into the recessed area.

The moment the yellow paper was pasted on, the stone coffin lid vibrated slightly.

Then, Shen Mo's figure emerged from the stone coffin, clearer than yesterday.

"You've arrived," Shen Mo said. "Time is short, so I'll get straight to the point. Look at the ground around the stone coffin; aren't there seven grooves?"

Chen Mo shone a flashlight on the ground.

Sure enough, there were seven fist-sized grooves on the ground around the stone coffin, arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper.

"These are the seven bases of the formation," Shen Mo said. "Each groove should have originally contained a formation stone, but it was removed. I'll draw it for you now to show you what the runes engraved on the formation stones look like."

He floated to the ground and drew on the dust with his finger (though it was just a blur).

As the complex runes were drawn out, Chen Mo quickly took photos with his phone.

After drawing seven runes, Shen Mo was already very weak, and his figure began to fade again.

"These runes are the same as those on the bones unearthed from the foundation of the department store," Shen Mo said. "If you compare them when you get back, you can deduce the location of the array's core. The core should be underground in the old house."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat: "The old house's underground?"

"Yes." Shen Mo nodded. "There are seven anchor points, and the central anchor point is the array eye. The array eye stone should be buried in the pit in the basement of the old house. But I'm not sure of the exact location; you'll have to find it yourself."

"How do I find it?"

"Use your willpower to sense it," Shen Mo said. "Every time you resolve a lingering obsession, a portion of the willpower absorbed by the old house will seep into the ground and activate the array's core. The more obsessions you resolve, the stronger the array's core will react. Once you resolve four obsessions, the old house will upgrade, and the array's core will become visible."

Chen Mo understood.

No wonder the Longevity Society and Zhao Shouyi are both eyeing the power of wills—wills can not only be used for cultivation, but also to activate formations.

"Shen Mo," Chen Mo asked, "besides completing the array diagram, what else is on your mind?"

Shen Mo paused for a moment, then said, "I want to know how my grandfather died."

"Your grandfather?"

"He was also a formation master, from the Republican era," Shen Mo said. "In 1949, on the eve of the city's liberation, he participated in a secret project—reinforcing the seals of seven anchor points. After the project was completed, he disappeared. Some say he went into seclusion in the mountains, others say he was silenced. I want to know the truth."

"Is this related to the formation?"

"Yes," Shen Mo said. "I suspect that my grandfather discovered the true secret of the formation—sacrifice. The Seven Star Dragon Locking Formation might be a decoy; the real formation is drawing upon the fortune of all living beings in the city to nourish the Longevity Society."

Chen Mo felt a chill run down his spine.

The entire city was sacrificed.

This is the sacrificial plot against the entire city mentioned in the document.

"Do you have any evidence?" Chen Mo asked.

"No." Shen Mo smiled bitterly. "I had just found a clue before I died, and then I was silenced. But you can continue your investigation. Check the municipal archives from 1949; you should be able to find records of that project. Also, check the list of members of the Longevity Society; there must be high-ranking officials on it."

Chen Mo noted it down.

Shen Mo's figure grew fainter and fainter: "Time's up, I have to go back. Remember, the array's core is beneath the old house; it will reveal itself once you fulfill the four obsessions. Also, be careful of Zhao Shouyi; he has someone backing him."

"Who?"

"One of the elders of the Longevity Society," Shen Mo said. "I don't know exactly who it is. But Zhao Shouyi is just a pawn; the real mastermind is very well hidden."

After saying that, Shen Mo disappeared.

The yellow paper on the stone coffin lid spontaneously combusted without fire and turned to ashes.

The tomb chamber returned to silence.

Chen Mo checked his phone; it was 11:50, almost midnight.

He quickly walked outside.

As he climbed the stone steps, he felt something watching him from behind, but when he turned around, there was nothing there.

After he left the tomb, Father Wang was waiting for him at the door.

"Found it?" Father Wang asked.

"Found it," Chen Mo said. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me." Father Wang locked the door. "I'm also a gravedigger, it's my duty to help you. But from now on, you'll have to rely on yourself. The Longevity Society has already started to take notice of you."

How did you know?

"Zhao Shouyi came to see me this afternoon," Father Wang said. "He asked me if I knew you, and I said no. But he didn't believe me. He asked me to tell you that tomorrow is the deadline. If you don't cooperate, he will use force."

Chen Mo's heart sank: "Tomorrow?"

"Yes." Father Wang looked at him. "Young man, take care of yourself."

Chen Mo left the church and took a taxi home.

On the way, he looked through the photos of runes he had taken on his phone; the runes looked somewhat eerie.

He shuddered as he recalled Shen Mo's words about sacrificing the entire city.

If that's the case, then his inheritance of this old house must be some kind of arrangement.

It was already 1 a.m. when I got back to the old house.

Inside the main room, the spirit of the earth was waiting for him.

"How is it?" the spirit asked.

Chen Mo recounted what happened inside the tomb.

After listening, the earth spirit remained silent for a long time before saying, "Sacrificing the entire city... If it's true, then everyone in this city, including you and me, is a sacrifice."

"Is there any way to stop it?" Chen Mo asked.

"Yes," the Earth Spirit said. "It can destroy the seven anchor points, or it can control the array's core. But either way, we'll have to face the Longevity Society. They've been operating for hundreds of years, and their influence is very deep."

Chen Mo leaned back in the armchair, feeling exhausted.

He just wanted to pay off his debts and survive, but he ended up getting caught up in a conspiracy that could bring down the entire city.

My phone vibrated; it was a WeChat message from Zhou Ming: "Mr. Chen, the ring has been placed in its place. Also, while sorting through my mother's belongings, I found a diary that mentions your third great-uncle, Chen Banshan, and contains some records about the Seven Star Array. I can send it to you if you need it."

Chen Mo's eyes lit up, and he replied, "Yes, I need it! Thank you for your help."

Putting down his phone, Chen Mo felt the pressure increase.

He looked at Di Ling: "What do we do when Zhao Shouyi comes tomorrow?"

"We'll meet force with force," said the Earth Spirit. "The old house's defenses can hold for a while. But it would be best to complete one more obsession before that, upgrading the old house."

"It's not that easy." Chen Mo smiled wryly. "Obsessions aren't like cabbages; they don't just appear out of nowhere."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the old clock in the main room suddenly struck with a loud "dong—", followed by a series of urgent alarm sounds that were almost continuous.

The pendulum swung wildly, the hands spun erratically, and finally pointed firmly to two in the morning.

Then, a new pattern slowly appeared on the floor of the main room, the shape of an old key.

Below the image, a line of text appeared out of thin air:

Urgent Obsession: The Key Ghost (Number Gengshen 41)

Obsession: To return a key

Time limit: 24 hours

Clue: The key belongs to Grandma Zhang in apartment 502, building 3, Pinganli; she has waited her whole life for it.

Difficulty: Low

Reward: Resolved, old house energy +1; only 1 more Obsession needed to upgrade.

Chen Mo and Di Ling exchanged a glance.

They came at just the right time.

"Ping An Li..." Chen Mo said, "It's not far from here. Shall we go now?"

"Go now," Di Ling said urgently. "The sooner the better. If we can complete this task before Zhao Shouyi arrives tomorrow, the old house can be upgraded, and then we'll have a solid foundation."

Chen Mo stood up, picked up his coat, and said, "Let's go."

The night breeze rustled the locust tree leaves.

In the distance, the city's lights never sleep, and also a vast net about to devour everything.

Chen Mo walked out of the main room, and Di Ling followed silently behind him.

This time, their motivation was not only to upgrade the old house, but also to survive.