Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

However, this forest happens to shield the spirits from the sunlight, making it a place where yin energy gathers.

The more ghosts gather, the stronger the yin energy becomes. It's like water: a drop of water falling into the sun will quickly dry up, but if it accumulates into a small pool in a dark place, it will rot and even develop a foul odor over time.

And this forest has become such a ghostly place.

During the day, they are alright, as the evil spirits dare not show themselves because they are afraid of the sun. But at night, that becomes their domain.

Moreover, since they starved to death before they died, they only had one thought left after death: to fill their stomachs.

They will instinctively attack living things. Although they have no physical form, when they gather together, their yin energy can freeze living things to death, cause diseases in people, and entangle living beings.

No matter how much they tear and gnaw, they cannot satisfy their hunger. In the end, they only become more resentful and exist in constant pain.

This is not as satisfying as being blasted away by the sun.

But they didn't become like this on their own; they were trapped by something, just like Xiao An, and couldn't leave this bamboo forest.

Zhuang Xing thought that this must be the thing that caused the anomaly here. It might be a spiritual treasure, a strange beast, or even an array set up by evil cultivators, ghost cultivators, or demons.

In any case, among this group of ghosts, only Xiao An has not lost his mind.

"Father, hurry..."

She anxiously told her father that her soul had flown into the bones and was about to grab the bearded man's hand to take him away.

However, they were surrounded on all sides. When Xiao An's soul returned to its place, it also attracted many other spirits from the forest.

According to folk beliefs, these things have become evil spirits.

When they saw Zhuang Xing and Big Beard, and when they saw the group of living red pandas, all they could think about was "eating".

The only thing Zhuang Xing could do was to perform a ritual to help them pass on and give them a quick death.

"Uncle Wei, there's no need to panic. Just stand inside the firelight," Zhuang Xing said calmly.

As wisps of black mist rushed towards him, he also threw out five fire talismans. Five bright flames floated around him, illuminating the surroundings.

The firelight did not frighten away the evil spirits, but it calmed the bearded man's heart.

He recalled the scene of drinking with the Taoist priest yesterday, and the heartfelt words he had spoken to Zhuang Xing when he was drunk.

That's no lie. The only people who didn't find him scary when they first met him and were even willing to talk to him were Zhuang Xing and his daughter Xiao An.

He thought for a moment, then instead of running around, he picked up Xiao An and stood still.

The red pandas huddled trembling beside the bearded man. Strangely enough, having lived near this bamboo forest for so long, this was the first time they had ever known there were so many ghosts here.

There are many evil spirits, but they are not actually difficult to deal with.

Zhuang Xing raised his sword.

This sword can neither move mountains nor drain seas; it only protects those close to it.

The black mist dissipated, but the evil spirits were not afraid. They were already in great pain, and perhaps dying under the sword was what they wanted. They all rushed towards Zhuang Xing's sword without fear of death.

The bearded man's eyes blazed with fire, and the skeleton stared at the boy.

A huge, malevolent force rushed toward Big Beard and Xiao An. The malevolent force had the shape of a tiger and the shape of a leopard; it was two swirling spirits mixed together.

The tigers and leopards, now starving, fought tooth and nail, biting each other relentlessly, resulting in this deformed state.

The bearded man closed his eyes, bent down, and held Xiao An in his arms, using his back to shield his daughter from danger.

Even though he was holding only a skeleton in his arms, he was unwilling to let go.

That winter, he could only watch helplessly as his daughter coughed and had a fever on her sickbed.

But in reality, he would rather risk his life than let his daughter grow up healthy and safe.

He was willing to do anything to prevent his daughter from getting hurt again.

Just as the evil spirit was about to pounce on him, a flash of sword light appeared, and a flying sword circled around him.

Whatever evil spirits they may be, a single sword strike shattered them into nothingness.

After a short while, the bamboo forest returned to silence.

Only a faint fluorescent light floated in the forest.

The red pandas poked their heads out and stretched out their paws to scratch at the fluorescent light.

The forest became the forest they knew again.

They scratched at the fluorescent light, and when Zhuang Xing saw this, he reached out his hand, and the fluorescent light floated into his palm.

This was also a vengeful spirit, but it was extremely weak. Even in this place where yin energy gathered, it was like a candle flickering in the wind, about to dissipate.

It seemed unafraid of Zhuang Xing's true qi, and it had no resentment or evil aura about it.

Zhuang Xing felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing it for the first time.

It came into his palm, as if it wanted to borrow some of Zhuang Xing's true qi.

Zhuang Xing lent it his true qi, and its light brightened slightly before falling to the ground and transforming into a ball of light and shadow.

"mom!"

Red Panda asked in surprise.

"Mom, what are you doing here!"

"Mom, I miss you so much!"

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"

The red pandas all went to the side of the ball of light and shadow, which was a panda shadow that was slightly larger than the little pandas.

The light and shadow do not speak; they are about to disappear and have no strength left to speak.

It merely glanced back at Zhuang Xing before striding forward.

It seemed to be a way of telling Zhuang Xing to follow him.

Zhuang Xing sheathed his sword and pulled up the bearded man beside him.

"Uncle Wei, everything is alright now."

The bearded man looked at the skeleton in his arms, his true feelings revealed.

"Thank you so much for saving me, Taoist priest!"

Zhuang Xing smiled, pointed to the panda-shaped light and shadow in front of him, and said, "Uncle Wei, please come with me again. It seems to have something to tell me."

The bearded man nodded, afraid that another bunch of evil spirits would run out, so he picked up Xiao An and followed closely behind Zhuang Xing.

The group followed the light and shadow as they walked through the darkness. The pandas finally felt that the forest had returned to its familiar state. They ran to their mother and chattered, but their mother did not respond to them. She would only stop occasionally to look at their faces.

This was enough to make the little pandas happy for quite a while, and they kept talking in their mother's ear.

"Mom, we've found the King!"

"The king has so many cakes to eat, and such a huge cave!"

"Mom, it's Chinese New Year!"

"Mom, look! This is the name the king gave me!"

...

After walking for a while, Xiao An's spirit also flew out. She looked at Zhuang Xing curiously and circled around him.

She was a lively and bold little ghost girl, not afraid at all that Zhuang Xing would draw his sword and kill her.

"Are you Xiao An?" Zhuang Xing asked.

“Mm,” Xiao An replied.

“There are many evil spirits here, yet your soul is clear and lucid. Do you know how you maintain your clarity?”

“I don’t know either. Before Daddy came to find me, I felt like I couldn’t see anything and couldn’t hear anything outside. But every time I felt uncomfortable, I could hear Daddy’s voice. Daddy talked to me for a long time.”

Xiao An went back to the bearded man and sat on his shoulders.

She hugged her father's neck, and the bearded man felt a cool sensation around his neck, a smile appearing on his face.

"Does Uncle Wei often talk to Xiao An down the mountain?" Zhuang Xing asked.

The bearded man nodded: "I say it every day."

The bearded man was afraid that someone would return and discover a skeleton demon, so he hid Xiao An under that tree.

Although he hid under the tree, Big Beard actually spent most of his free time at the foot of the mountain guarding White Bone and talking to him often, because he knew that Little An was a child who was afraid of being alone.

If his daughter's soul is truly inside the bones, how could he let her live alone in loneliness?

After hearing what the two said, Zhuang Xing immediately understood.

“Xiao An, the reason you are trapped in darkness and feel that the world is unclear is because your soul is separated. One part is in the bones and the other part is trapped in the bamboo forest in the mountains.”

"Although you have turned into bones, your soul is separated into two places, yet there is still a connection between you."

"It's all thanks to your father, who often talked to you, that you weren't assimilated by these evil spirits."

“I’m afraid that a part of your soul has been trapped here since you were a child, which is why you appear to be mentally challenged to outsiders. Only when you go up the mountain can you regain a little bit of your spirit.”

If Xiao An's father had abandoned her, her scattered soul would probably have lost its mind and been devoured by evil spirits long ago.

Of course, she did not abandon her father; if she hadn't longed to stay by his side, her spirit wouldn't have turned into bones.

Xiao An did not lose hope of living; she always wanted to live.

"So...my daughter...should have been just like everyone else?" the bearded man asked.

“He should be even more intelligent and quick-witted than the average person,” Zhuang Xing said.

As they talked, the light and shadow led everyone to a hillside.

On this hillside, there was only one patch of sparse vegetation.

This hillside is outside the bamboo forest, and there are obvious signs of a landslide, indicating that it has been covered by soil from elsewhere.

The pandas looked around and felt that the place looked familiar, then suddenly realized what it was.

"Isn't that our old cave?"

Chapter 167 Yin-Yang Stone