Chapter 154: The Bell Rang

The moment the heavy gates were locked shut, all the townspeople of the Ma Family Village instinctively retreated to the sides.

In no time, Yin Cheng and I were left standing alone in the center of the clearing.

Every gaze directed at us was filled with intense revulsion, and all of this was solely because of a single name: Lin Feng!

"That old hag Lin Feng! Years ago, she pretended to renovate the ancestral hall for our Ma Family Village, only to steal away the remains of our ancestors!"

"If I ever lay eyes on that old witch, I'll make sure she faces justice!"

Lin Feng shared such a history with the Ma Family Village?

I knitted my brows tightly. Wasn't this place supposed to be Lin Feng's stronghold?

My mind raced.

The information that the Ma Family Village was Lin Feng's stronghold shouldn't be false, and the bitter feud between the village and Lin Feng shouldn't be false either.

There is a phenomenon known as hiding in plain sight. The villagers of Ma Family Village could never have imagined that Lin Feng and members of the Cicada Sect had long since infiltrated the village, turning it completely into their base of operations.

They simply adhered to an unspoken rule: leave the locals of the Ma Family Village undisturbed.

That was why the villagers had remained entirely oblivious all this time.

"What has happened here?"

Hearing about their grievance with Lin Feng, I softened my tone slightly. "Tell me about it. Perhaps I can help you."

"You greenhorn, don't try to pull any tricks in front of me! You still haven't explained why you're looking for Lin Feng, what your relationship with her is, and why you tracked her down to our Ma Family Village."

Just as I was about to open my mouth to explain, someone suddenly rushed out from inside the ancestral hall. "Mayor! This is bad! The bodies! All the bodies are moving!"

Upon hearing this, the mayor—the man wearing gold-rimmed glasses—panicked. "Quick! Quick, go invite the master!"

"Why bother calling a master when there's one right here? Though I must warn you, my fees aren't cheap!"

"You? You little brat, don't go throwing your life away! We've already invited the most powerful master of all, and he'll be here any minute!"

A series of angry growls echoed from the inner room of the ancestral hall, followed by a young man being hurled out.

After hitting the ground, he struggled twice before passing out completely, fresh blood staining the corner of his mouth.

My brows knitted tightly together, because at that very instant, I sensed a dense aura of death rolling out from the inner room.

It was something I hadn't felt when I first stepped inside.

Ignoring the mayor, I lunged straight into the room.

The moment I kicked the door open, I saw a corpse with only half a skull raising its hands, attempting to grab me by the throat.

I immediately formed a seal with one hand. "Swiftly as the legal decree demands!"

My sword-finger thrust directly toward the corpse's throat.

It was as effortless as piercing through tofu; my sword-finger passed right through.

The corpse slowly collapsed to the ground. Raising my gaze, I discovered to my shock that the entire ancestral hall contained over thirty corpses in various horrific states!

Even someone like me drew in a sharp breath at the sight.

Just how many people had died here? Judging by their wounds, these deaths had occurred very recently.

What on earth had happened in the Ma Family Village?

As I observed the corpses, I was astonished to realize that I even recognized a few of them—people I had inadvertently crossed paths with just yesterday.

If I wanted to figure out what had happened, these corpses certainly couldn't give me any answers.

Had I encountered such a situation a day ago, I truly wouldn't have known how to handle it.

Things were different now, though. It was the perfect opportunity to test out my newly acquired ritual artifact.

The Soul-Suppressing Bell!

Though these were merely corpses, their souls still lingered within their flesh.

I took a deep breath, bit down on my finger to draw blood, smeared it across the Soul-Suppressing Bell, and roared, "Specters, heed my command! Return to your vessels at once!"

I shook the bell three consecutive times. As the final echo faded, all the corpses snapped to attention, standing rigidly upright.

They stood when I commanded them to stand, and lay down when I ordered them to lie.

To think the Soul-Suppressing Bell was truly such a peerless treasure.

Without this item, I honestly wouldn't have known how to deal with so many corpses.

At that moment, the mayor walked in. He had heard the chiming of the bell from outside, followed by sudden silence within the room.

When he stepped inside and saw all the corpses lying quietly on the ground, he was struck completely dumb.

Finally, he stared at me in absolute disbelief. "Did you do all this?"

I smiled without answering him directly. Instead, I gave the bell a gentle shake and uttered a single word: "Rise!"

Every single corpse snapped to their feet in unison, causing the mayor to instinctively take a step back. "I never would have imagined... to think that someone so young could be this powerful!"

I grinned. Who doesn't enjoy hearing praise? "Mayor, I'm here for Lin Feng. If you know her whereabouts, tell me."

"What on earth do you want with her?"

I shook my head and replied, "Nothing much. I just want to turn her into a corpse as well. It's as simple as that!"

The mayor looked at me with an entirely different expression now. "Do you really think you're a match for her? I've witnessed her methods firsthand!"

I chuckled. "Only one way to find out. But Mayor, what is actually going on in this place?"