Chapter 361: Big Willow Tree Village

When the crowd arrived at the entrance of the second checkpoint, Zhou Li suddenly halted his steps.

He turned around and looked at everyone with a serious expression.

"We are about to enter the second checkpoint. This stage is somewhat special, so everyone must listen carefully to what I am about to say next."

The atmosphere instantly grew tense, and everyone pricked up their ears.

Zhou Li continued, "Once we enter the checkpoint, everyone will be immediately teleported to a location, and the situations you encounter will all be different. When we set out earlier, I gave everyone a talisman; make sure you keep it safe. If you encounter a life-threatening danger, use that Teleportation Talisman, and you will be able to leave the Ancestral Land directly."

As his voice fell, an uproar broke out among the crowd, and even Ma Chulong and the others' expressions changed.

So, the second checkpoint required everyone to act individually?

Kong Nian's expression grew dark to the extreme. If that were the case, she, having lost her spiritual power, would be nothing more than meat on an evil spirit's cutting board. Furthermore, if they were separated by teleportation, how would she ever find Su Yan?

She cast a suppressed gaze toward Ruan Tao, who was standing nearby.

Ruan Tao lowered his voice and said, "Rest assured, Miss. I have a way to find you as quickly as possible."

Only after hearing him say this did Kong Nian's expression soften slightly.

Ruan Tao's gaze drifted through the crowd toward Su Yan in the Ma family group, filled with profound meaning.

"Once everyone has confirmed there are no issues, we can enter the checkpoint. However, there is no need to worry too much; we will try to clear it as quickly as possible. Once the checkpoint is cleared, the trials within will automatically end."

Seeing that many people showed signs of unease, Zhou Li increased his volume to reassure them.

Ma Chulong anxiously instructed Ma Chulan and the other Ma family disciples, repeatedly warning them that if they encountered an unsolvable danger, they must use the Teleportation Talisman immediately.

Du Jinsong and Zhang Ximing exchanged a glance; it seemed unlikely that they would be able to stay by Su Yan's side this time.

However, they weren't particularly worried about Su Yan's situation. If even she couldn't handle it, then perhaps no one here would be able to pass the checkpoint.

Zhou Li was the first to step into the entrance of the checkpoint. After a flash of bright light, he vanished.

Zhou Chong led the other Zhou family disciples in one by one.

"Su Yan, let's go in too," Ma Chulong signaled to Su Yan.

Su Yan nodded.

The moment she walked toward the entrance, she felt a powerful suction, but she did not stop her pace. She calmly said "Be careful" to the Ma siblings and stepped into the intense light.

Seeing Su Yan "disappear," Kong Nian immediately walked over to Ruan Tao.

Perhaps the closer the time of entry, the closer the landing locations would be?

As the number of people outside dwindled, those remaining were both nervous and expectant, entering the second checkpoint one after another.

Su Yan felt the bright light was blinding, but fortunately, it did not last long, and her vision soon returned to normal.

After coming to a halt, she looked at her surroundings and immediately realized something was wrong.

It was clearly night, yet the sky was filled with a brilliant, high sun.

In the next second, she steadied her mind. Since this was a trial within a checkpoint, it was only logical for time, location, and weather to be altered.

This was still the Zhou family's Ancestral Land; aside from it being daytime, everything was identical to the conditions outside.

Su Yan intended to let nature take its course and continue walking inward.

The weeds beneath her feet grew denser and denser, to the point where there was hardly any room to step, but she did not mind and kept moving forward.

After walking for a while, she took a pocket watch out of her Qiankun Bag, wanting to check the time. However, when she looked at the hands, she found that the time was still stuck at the moment before they entered the checkpoint.

Su Yan raised an eyebrow and looked up through the foliage at the sun hanging in the sky. Sure enough, even the position of the sun had not changed in the slightest.

She then unhurriedly took out her compass, only to find that even the compass was completely malfunctioning.

It seemed that in this place, there was absolutely no concept of time or direction.

Even so, Su Yan did not grow anxious and continued walking forward. She suddenly felt a bit curious—if the Zhou family ancestors had made such a massive spectacle in their own burial grounds, just how heaven-defying was that treasure?!

Although the pocket watch did not show the time, Su Yan kept a mental count. After walking for another fifteen minutes, the view before her suddenly opened up.

Looking at the small mountain village that had suddenly appeared not far away, Su Yan stood still. Her vision beneath the black cloth gradually darkened until, finally, her entire being seemed shrouded in shadow.

It wasn't that the village was particularly eerie, but rather that this place was far too familiar to her.

So familiar that even if she closed her eyes, she would know exactly which way to walk.

"Is this... an illusion?"

Su Yan murmured. After a brief moment of confusion, she was immediately certain.

"This is quite interesting."

The place where she stood was still the Zhou family's Ancestral Land, yet just a few miles away was actually her home, Big Willow Tree Village. Moreover, it was exactly as she remembered, so this checkpoint was playing the "emotional card."

A few seconds later, Su Yan began walking toward the direction of Big Willow Tree Village.

By the time she reached the small path outside the village, even the pebbles on the road were familiar to her.

"Oh my, isn't this Yan Yan? Yan Yan is back?!"

Coming toward her was Auntie Li from the village. She had a basket hanging from her arm, seemingly preparing to head to the market. Upon seeing Su Yan, her face filled with pleasant surprise and shock, and then she excitedly shouted toward the village: "Everyone, come out quickly! Yan Yan is back!"

Su Yan looked at Auntie Li expressionlessly.

Even though she knew well that Auntie Li was a manifestation of the illusion, the level of realism made it truly difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.

Following Auntie Li's shouting, the villagers began to run out of their homes one after another.

Soon, Su Yan was surrounded by familiar faces, and every face bore a joyful smile.

"Yan Yan, have you adjusted to living with your father?"

"Yan Yan, did you come back by yourself this time? Why didn't you call the brigade in advance so that Uncle Zhou could come pick you up?"

"Sister Yan Yan, you promised Hu Zi you'd bring him candy when you came back. Where is the candy?"

Hu Zi, whom she hadn't seen for half a year, was still the same cute and chubby boy from her memories.

Even though she knew clearly it was an illusion, the voices and faces of her fellow villagers gradually softened her expression.

She was escorted into the village, and even the Village Chief came out.

Everyone chimed in, one after another, as if they had endless things to say to her.

Su Yan answered them one by one. Here, she was no longer a cold exorcist, but simply the little girl they had watched grow up.

"Uncle Village Chief, where is my grandmother?"

Even if it was fake, the person she missed most should not be missing.

The smile on the Village Chief's face instantly froze, and he began to stammer.

The reactions of the others were much the same.

(End of Chapter)