Everyone struggled to mask their astonishment.
"What is this?"
"Is this ball of golden light the source?"
"I don't know why, but I feel a sense of familiarity."
"Me too. Could our transmigration be related to this golden light?"
Suddenly, someone gasped in surprise: "There seems to be something inside!"
The crowd looked closely and saw a jade scroll.
It floated quietly within the golden light, only the size of a palm as a whole, looking particularly dainty compared to the ten-foot-wide golden light, making it difficult to notice.
"Hurry up and take it out to see!"
"Wait a minute," Xiao An said with concern, "could there still be some danger?"
Zhang Zhonghua said earnestly: "We can't worry about that anymore. This is our only clue right now. I'll take it. If an accident happens, the rest of you can discuss another plan."
As he spoke, he reached his hand into the orb of light and retrieved the jade scroll. Fortunately, no abnormalities occurred during the process.
Only then did everyone get a clear look at the full appearance of the jade scroll. Said to be a jade scroll, it was actually like an ancient bamboo slip, except that the bamboo had been replaced with jade.
"Hurry up and open it to see," someone urged.
Zhang Zhonghua unfolded the jade scroll as instructed.
Upon seeing the contents of the jade pieces, the crowd fell into silence for a moment, followed by a dead silence so profound that even a falling needle could be heard!
After a long time.
"This, this, this... how is that possible?" someone muttered to themselves, as if having lost their soul.
"Could everything have been arranged?"
Upon hearing the voice, Lin Shan finally snapped out of his daze, staring straight at the contents on the jade scroll. The jade scroll consisted of eleven jade pieces, with a person's name written on each piece.
Zhang Zhonghua, Zhao Xiaoan, Luo He, Yan Ruxin, Xia Xuan, Chao Yuxin, Wu Wang, Jin Tianzong, Huang Ying, Si Zhennan, Lin Shan.
"Why are our names on it?"
"Too bizarre. There is a feeling that it was predestined in the dark..."
The crowd stared at the jade scroll, pondering its meaning. They had thought obtaining the jade scroll would reveal the answer to their transmigration, but who would have guessed that the jade scroll brought no hints at all? Instead of decreasing, the problems had only become even more perplexing.
Lin Shan said: "Let's put the jade scroll away first. It might be useful later. This main hall is huge, let's go check out other places."
He wanted to see what the source of the black silk threads was, and whether it was also some kind of object.
"You guys pass it around to take a look first. Once there's no problem, I'll put it away." Zhang Zhonghua handed the jade scroll in his hand to the others for circulation.
The jade scroll was unremarkable and ordinary in style, but it felt warm to the touch. What was most astonishing was that when held in the hand, the jade scroll felt as though it shared a vague, elusive connection with oneself.
After everyone had taken a turn passing the jade scroll around, Zhang Zhonghua solemnly tucked it into the inner pocket of his clothing. To this, the others raised no objections; someone definitely had to hold the jade scroll, and Zhang Zhonghua, who currently held the highest prestige, was the most suitable choice.
Once that was settled, the group began exploring the main hall. Lin Shan took the lead and walked at the very front, following the guidance of the black lines to the second floor of the main hall.
The second floor of the main hall was not much different from the first floor, with the same folding screens, except that behind the screens there was no longer golden light, but rather a ball of black light. Curiously, the others turned a blind eye to the black light.
Lin Shan stared at that cluster of black light, walking forward as if soul-stepped to thrust his hand into it. The next second, his entire body shuddered, twitching uncontrollably as the whites of his eyes were dyed black like an abyss.
His skin also turned an eerie black, as eerie and mysterious forces were altering his body, driving his physique toward some unknowable transformation.
"What's wrong with you?" Xiao An's voice reached Lin Shan's ears as she forcefully shook his shoulder.
Lin Shan snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream, asking dazedly: "What just happened to me?"
"You suddenly started twitching over there just now. Did you run into some paranormal force again?" Xiao An replied, casting a somewhat worried look toward Lin Shan.
"I'm fine." Lin Shan felt the changes in his body, shook his head, and said: "It's just an issue with my own body."
A flash of strange light crossed someone's eyes, but they also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't the paranormal, it was fine; experiencing it once had already decimated well over half their numbers, and if it happened again, it was uncertain how many could survive.
Having regained control of his physical body, Lin Shan perceived that this body had gained a few extra things-an innate talent called a 'ghost body'.
He accepted this talent quite naturally, as if it were innate.
However, he did not know what use this talent had, as there were no prompts whatsoever. The only thing he knew was that this talent was called a 'ghost body', born from the modification by that cluster of black light.
At the same time, two eerie objects had also appeared in his mind: a piece of parchment and a quill.
Lin Shan felt he could take out the parchment anytime and anywhere, but now was not the time for research; he would wait until they got out alive.
"There is a third floor to this main hall, let's go up and take a look." A seductive voice drifted into his ears.
At this moment, Lin Shan's mind was racing with thoughts. Following the direction of the voice, he saw that it was the mature woman named Chao Yuxin, who was a member of the previously leading vanguard team.
Since I can see black lines others can't see, could someone else also see a certain kind of guidance? Lin Shan thought secretly to himself.
Temporarily putting aside his thoughts, he stepped forward and followed the crowd up to the third floor of the main hall.
They arrived at the third floor of the main hall.
"What is this?" someone exclaimed.
An altar, covered all over with various intricate symbols and chaotic lines. Surrounding the altar, countless ancient characters flickered, growing a fraction brighter with every single flash of the altar's overall radiance.
Staring at the altar, everyone was filled with profound astonishment, dimly feeling that this might well be their hope of escaping this place.
Meanwhile, the lines in the center of the altar also began to flash, gradually forming a huge, mysterious magic circle as a mysterious force vibrated outward.
"Why can't I move my body..."
"Me too, my body is out of control!"
Everyone found it difficult to move, terror rising in their hearts, yet they could change nothing.
Within the magic circle, brilliance continuously circulated, countless mysterious symbols flickering on and off. After the ancient characters on the outer periphery flashed dozens of times, the mysterious symbols finally all lit up simultaneously, emitting a dazzling light.
When the light dissipated and the magic circle returned to dimness, not a single person remained in the arena.
A moment later, the entire grand hall shifted once more from solid to ethereal, transforming into specks of golden light that dissolved across the earth.
Within the Ash Fog, a huge magic circle appeared on the ground, and the vanished crowd abruptly reappeared once more.
However, when everyone looked around, they all froze like clay sculptures carved from wood.
The earth looked as though it had been dyed with ink, presenting a pitch-black hue. Occasionally, a few unknown weeds grew tenaciously in the soil, and the visible line of sight entering the eyes did not exceed ten meters, everything beyond ten meters blurred and hazy in the gray mist, utterly unseen.
"Where... is this? Did we... escape that place from just now?" The speaker's voice trembled slightly.
"Why do I feel like this place is even worse than the forest from just now..." Someone muttered in complaint.
"This isn't a forest, where are we? Could it be that the magic array from just now teleported us across space again?" Many people revealed panicked expressions. There was no joy of escaping danger; there was only terror, and an ominous premonition rose in everyone.
Yet the next moment, the jade slip that had been tucked inside Zhang Zhonghua's embrace suddenly floated out on its own, releasing boundless golden light that illuminated the entire firmament, driving away the surrounding Ash Fog and forming a golden light barrier that kept the Ash Fog locked outside.
When the surrounding Ash Fog was dispelled, a scene of desolation and emptiness entered the eyes. Some huge rocks stood sporadically upon the ground, while trees and weeds grew sparsely across the earth.
Before you continue