The crescent moon tonight brings back dreams of the past.

  Cheng Zhenqian held the steering wheel, driving while chatting and laughing with Liu Zhizhi and Cao Yuying. If it weren't for Cheng Zhenqian, Liu Zhizhi and the others would have had to take the train.

  The car had been out for more than a day, and Cheng Zhenqian was also familiar with Cao Yuying. He only then realized that what Liu Zhizhi had said to him earlier was true - Cao Yuying was from a different world compared to them. Although this girl looked very well-behaved, pretty, and gentle in demeanor, her behavior showed that she would be a master of office politics in the future. The subtle schemes that were unintentionally revealed through her words made Cheng Zhenqian, who had experienced many things in life, exclaim in admiration - he couldn't believe that Liu Zhizhi hadn't been taken advantage of by her after working together for two months.

  It was not clear to Cheng Zhenqian that Liu Zhizhi had no deep connection with her. When Cao Yuying met Liu Zhizhi at the beginning of school, she subconsciously carefully inquired about Liu's background. Liu was infatuated with martial arts and said that his family had two young children, but there was nothing special about his background. This time he came here by coincidence. Moreover, since Liu was from Shencheng, Cao Yuying knew that she would not have much chance to interact with Shencheng in the future, after all, their province was too far away from Shencheng. After several attempts, she drew a conclusion: Liu Zhizhi was not an official, nor did his family have any officials, and he had no interest in getting close to him.

  Liu Zhi didn't mind these things, he might leave in a year anyway, this place was just a stopover in his life, and his thoughts weren't focused on this aspect either, so it wasn't what Cheng Zhenqian thought.

  The sky was getting late, and the car left this mountain range. At the foot of the mountain, a few kilometers away, there was a large town. Cheng Zhen asked for the opinions of the two, and decided to spend the night in this town. The name of the town was Zhangji, an ordinary name. After entering the town, they found a relatively good hotel on the edge of the town. It was called a hotel, but actually it was just an inn, after all, it wasn't a city. After booking two rooms, they parked the car and asked the service staff if there were any good restaurants nearby.

  The waiter pointed to a farmhouse about half a mile outside the town and told them that there was a farmhouse restaurant there, which was very good, and they could go there to eat. Cheng Zhenqian and Liu Zhizhi discussed it for a moment and decided to go there. The three of them walked there, not far away, and not on the highway, but rather going inwards for a while. If they drove, the car would have to be parked at the parking lot by the road, then walk for a while. Walking allowed the three of them to take a shortcut, which was much closer.

  The three of them went out the door and could see Nongjiale in the distance. If they took a shortcut, they would arrive after passing through a village. The houses on the village were already gone, it seemed like they had been demolished, perhaps that land had already been acquired by real estate developers. The three of them followed the small path towards Nongjiale.

  The waiter initially didn't pay attention, seeing the three people taking a shortcut and leaving. Suddenly remembering something, he wanted to call out to them, but they had already walked far away. The waiter looked at the sky, although it was almost evening, it wasn't completely dark yet. These three people were outsiders, and he forgot to remind them, but since it wasn't dark yet, there shouldn't be a problem.

  The three of them arrived at the village, which used to have only a few households. The remains of demolition were still visible, but in the middle, one household seemed to have been burned down by a fire. The three of them chatted and laughed, not paying attention, as they passed through the village. Liu Zhi felt somewhat uneasy, looked around, didn't find anything, and thought he was just being oversensitive.

  The three of them arrived at the farmhouse, which was very exquisite. They ordered a private room and six local specialty dishes, which were also recommended by the waiter. They also ordered a case of beer. The meal lasted for over an hour, and the three of them were full and satisfied. Liu Zhi Zhuo and Cheng Zhen Qian argued over who would pay the bill, but in the end, Liu Zhi Zhuo paid it. Cheng Zhen Qian and Liu Zhi Zhuo agreed that he would pay the next day. Neither of them was a poor man, and they both had some spare cash on hand, so they made this agreement.

  The sky had completely darkened, but because it was close to the village and the moon had already risen in the sky, although it was just a crescent moon, the small paths between the fields were as if immersed in a faint mist, giving off a unique feeling. The three of them decided to return by their original route.

  Just as they were about to turn and walk down the small path, the receptionist suddenly shouted: "Three bosses, don't go that way!"

  "What's going on?" Liu Zhi asked in puzzlement.

  "Over there... Zhuangtai... I've heard that some unclean things are going on! The three bosses aren't locals, are they?" the receptionist said hesitantly.

  "Is it true or false? I've never seen it, why not go and see for ourselves?" Cheng Zhenqian became excited instead. He had also traveled to some places as a donkey friend and heard similar sayings, but he had never really experienced it. Upon hearing this, he was not afraid, but rather encouraged Liu Zhizhi to go with him.

  Liu Zhi Zhi had a different idea, when he came before, he felt that the place was not quite right, could it be haunted? He is now considered a cultivator and is not afraid of ghosts. Previously, he had five ghosts in his body, although they have dispersed, he feels that he is more than ten times stronger than before, so when Cheng Zhen Qian mentioned it, he was eager to try, however, among the three people, there was also a lady.

  "Never mind! Teacher Cao can be with us, you're not afraid, but we have to consider others." Liu Zhi thought for a moment and shook his head.

  "It's nothing, I'm a teacher, I've received scientific education, I don't believe in these things, let's just walk from that side, it's probably just a rumor!" Cao Yu heard Liu Zhi know consider for her, but she felt some discontent in her heart. She was influenced by her parents who were officials since childhood and unconsciously thought that she couldn't show weakness in front of others.

  "Brother Liu Zhi, neither Mr. Cao nor I believe you, are you afraid? You're a master of martial arts!" Cheng Zhenqian said this, and Liu Zhi couldn't refuse anymore, so he smiled and followed the two men onto the small path between the fields.

  Occasionally, some residual autumn insects chirped, and the three of them soon arrived at Zhuangtai. Cheng Zhenqian walked in front, Cao Yuying was in the middle, and Liu Zhizhi was at the back. As soon as they entered Zhuangtai, Liu Zhizhi immediately felt something was off, and he quickly concentrated his mind to form a Golden Light Seal, an invisible golden light protecting the three of them, with all surroundings naturally reacting within their minds.

  Cheng Zhenqian and Cao Yuying had not yet discovered anything unusual, walking two steps further, Cheng Zhenqian suddenly said: "This place is too quiet!" As soon as he spoke, Cheng Zhenqian felt that something was off, and Cao Yuying also felt uneasy. Liu Zhizhi calmly said: "This place is far from the village, it's originally quiet, and the insects stopped calling because we arrived, so it feels quiet."

  As they spoke, the two of them also put their minds at ease, but little did they know that in Liu Zhi's consciousness, he felt that this place was completely cut off from the outside world, with a heavy yin energy, yet there were no signs of any activity. Wasn't this a sign of a haunting? Why hadn't he sensed any ghostly presence? Instead, there were several invisible waves that seemed to be locking down the area. Could it be that someone had set up an array, like those legendary formations? Liu Zhi didn't understand arrays, and at this moment, he was secretly regretting not following his own instincts. He should have brought his Miao Dao with him, but now it was still in the car. At least he should have brought Li Yi's peach wood sword, which was still in the dormitory of Mazhai Elementary School.

  While thinking, the three of them didn't stop in their tracks. However, Liu Zhi knew that they were going around in circles on the spot. The other two hadn't discovered anything unusual yet, and their minds had been slightly affected. Fortunately, under the protection of Liu Zhi's invisible golden light, the yin energy hadn't taken hold, or else the two would have felt a chill to the bone.

  Suddenly, Liu Zhi heard a roar in his consciousness, full of resentment and anger, not like a human voice. His ears didn't hear it, but the two people in front of him shuddered. Cheng Zhenqian subconsciously said: "It sounds like someone shouted, why is it so scary?!"

  "You heard wrong, there's no sound at all!" Liu Zhi said calmly, he was the only one of the three who really knew that there was a howl, and as soon as the howling started, the dark energy outside suddenly became thicker, the protective golden light seemed to be unable to withstand it, and the five invisible fluctuations suddenly intensified, covering the ruins of the fire, and the howling came from within.

  A cry arose, and from the ruins of the fire, a dark and malevolent energy emerged, filled with resentment. It was suppressed by five forces, but these forces gradually lost control. A cold, willful power descended from the air, merging with the five invisible waves as soon as it arrived. In Liu Zhi's consciousness, the five forces seemed to seep into the central dark energy like fine threads, attempting to control it.

  Liu Zhi knew that although he sensed all this, he was in a crisis. Later, a seemingly conscious force appeared, and Liu Zhi didn't ask how he knew, but he just knew, as if it were an instinct. He felt the cold wave had consciousness, and this power automatically called upon the surrounding forces to press down on them. The three of them, including Liu Zhi, were under tremendous pressure, but Cheng Zhenqian and Cao Yuying didn't feel anything, only that something was off. An invisible light shield outside Liu Zhi's body shook violently, on the verge of collapse. If it collapsed, the surrounding yin energy would inevitably invade his body. For Liu Zhi, it would be a serious illness at most, but for the other two, it was hard to say what would happen if they were invaded by the yin evil energy - they would immediately fall into a state of hallucinations and possibly even go mad.

  Just as Liu Zhi was about to draw talismans and recite incantations, unleashing the spells he had mastered at this stage, the dark energy surrounding him seemed to sense extreme danger. Suddenly, it coalesced into a middle-aged man's virtual shadow, filled with resentment, and gave rise to layers of phosphorescent fire, like waves, which shook the five elements. The virtual shadow was faintly visible under the reflection of the phosphorescent fire, not just in Liu Zhi's consciousness but also to the naked eye.

  Cheng Zhenqian and Cao Yuying also discovered that Cheng Zhenqian's mind was completely blank, and there really were ghosts! Cao Yuying let out a sharp scream, the frequency of which was so high that it echoed on the Zhuangtai, but couldn't be transmitted further.

  That sharp cry was unexpected, and the willpower it carried seemed to stun him for a moment. Zhi felt all this in his consciousness, and a gleam of inspiration flashed through his mind. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin, a one-yuan nickel-plated coin, which he placed on the nail of his thumb. His thumb suddenly popped up, and the coin soared into the air, spinning and tracing a parabolic curve as it fell towards that vague shadow.

  Just as the virtual shadow was about to hit its head, the five waves of fluctuation landed exactly on the coin. The coin was originally rolling around, and suddenly it flipped over, perfectly destroying the parabola, flying out at an angle, like being smashed by a hammer, like a bullet flying past, with a loud crash. In his consciousness, Liu Zhi knew clearly that the coin had been embedded in a wooden stake on the east side. Then Liu Zhi felt that all the pressure around him suddenly disappeared, as if the big net covering the Zhuangtai had vanished instantly. A flash of phosphorus fire seemed to rush into the air, and everything from just now seemed like a dream.

  In a room about one mile northwest of Zhuangtai, a middle-aged man in his forties sat cross-legged on an altar, surrounded by forty-nine candles. The walls were covered with talismans and the floor was painted with strange patterns using cinnabar. On a low table in front of him were offerings of fruit, cakes, and pastries, as well as an incense burner and an open calabash gourd adorned with talismans.

  Just as Liu Zhi knew the coin was embedded in the wooden stake, all the candles suddenly went out, the gourd burst violently, and the middle-aged man's body shook, his eyes closed tightly and suddenly opened, but he did not get up, instead staring blankly at everything in front of him, lost in thought.

  Under a tree about 100 meters away from the villa, a young man in a suit was standing in the shadow of the tree. His eyes were fixed on the villa, and when Liu Zhi knew they were in danger, he seemed to be making some movements with his hands, as if he had seen Liu Zhi toss out a coin. He stopped and then acted as if he were right next to Liu Zhi, seeing everything clearly. He muttered to himself, "Interesting! It looks like I won't have to make a move this time!"

  "What's going on, where's the ghost? Young Liu, it seemed like you threw something just now?" Cheng Zhenqian was patted by Liu Zhizhi and came back to his senses, recalling the scene from earlier. Although he had been frightened silly for a moment, his senses seemed particularly clear, and although he had frozen up, he had seen the whole situation relatively clearly.

  Liu Zhi Zhi slapped a palm on Cao Yu Ying's back, waking her up. This slap had a trick to it, with a gentle force that lightly shook the Jizhong acupoint, stimulating the spinal nerve conduction and clearing her mind.

  Cao Yu Ying was still in shock, looking at Liu Zhi Zhi. Liu Zhi Zhi smiled and said lightly: "I threw a coin, probably this ghost wanted tolls, after paying the toll, nothing happened, let's go!"

  "What the f**k, this works too!" Zhang Zhenfan suddenly cursed out loud. But after he made a scene like that, Cao Yuying wasn't as scared anymore. The three of them left the farm and headed towards the hotel.

  Not long after the three people left, the young man under the tree slowly walked towards the villa. He seemed to be walking very slowly, but if you paid attention to the time, you would be surprised to find that even an ordinary person running at a speed of 100 meters could not walk as fast as him.

  Arrived at Zhuangtai, came to the house that had caught fire, looked for a while, suddenly stamped his foot, and a wooden stake on the east side jumped up. He stretched out his hand, and the stake flew into his palm. It was a two-foot-four-inch peach wood stake with talismans drawn all over it, and there was also a coin, half of which had been embedded in the stake. As the young man was examining the peach wood stake in his hand, he suddenly looked up towards the north.

  A person came flying from the north, his movements were strange and stiff, giving people a sense of rigidity. He landed with one foot thumping on the ground, then sprang up straight and floated forward, falling to the ground again after several feet, and then continued to float forward in a straight line.

  "I said this peach wood stake is very familiar, it turns out that you are a person from the Chen state speech family, this peach wood stake should be the Five Phases Town Soul Peach Wood Stake?" The young man asked as he saw the middle-aged man from northwest approaching.

  "Who are you? How can you recognize the soul-calming peach wood stake of my family?"

  "I am Zhang Qiwei from Longhu Mountain, and which one of the Yan family are you?"

  "What does the Chen family want to do by coming here?"

  Xian Lie Chen's eyes were filled with vigilant light, Zhang Qiwei had heard that among the Tian Shi sect of Longhu Mountain, although not the orthodox heir, he was naturally talented and intelligent, and at a young age, it was said that his foundation was already established, making him one of the excellent ones among the younger generation.

  "It's not you asking me, but I'm the one who should be asking you. I've traveled to this place and seen that there is a heavy resentment here, and someone has even set up an array of methods to appease the vengeful spirits of those who died unjustly. Aren't you afraid of retribution?" Zhang Qiwei's momentum surged forward.

  Yan Liechen suddenly coughed violently, then abruptly closed his mouth, forcibly suppressing a mouthful of blood that had risen up, but the chaotic breathing on his body could not be concealed.

  "Are you injured? It's true, the Soul-Calming Array was broken, and the vengeful spirits escaped. You must have suffered a backlash. Those who do evil will ultimately perish. Why bother, fellow Taoist?" Zhang Qiwei sighed.

  "Hmph! This person didn't die at my hands, I just saw that this ghost was full of resentment and thought it would be good material for a soul-calling ritual, so I used the Soul-Calming Stake. Now that this fierce ghost has escaped, I reckon it will go find its enemy to take revenge. Once it's avenged, the resentment will disperse, and it will naturally return to the underworld. What a pity!" Yan Liechen said with a stiff face.

  "What a strong resentment! How did he die?" Zhang Qiwei asked.

  "I heard that there's a real estate development project here, but this person refused to relocate. Then a fire broke out, which must be related to the relocation! Please return my peach wood stakes." Yan Liechen walked to other directions and pulled out four peach wood stakes while saying so.

  Zhang Qiwei casually pulled out the coins on the peach wood stake and then threw the wooden stake to Yan Liechen.

  "Are you afraid I'll find that little brat to take revenge? Don't worry, I've suffered a backlash and can't fight anyone for now. That kid, I'll deal with him later. His appearance was etched in my mind the moment he entered this place!" Yan Liechen gave Zhang Qiwei a strange look.

  "Not bad, I was afraid you would use this coin to secretly communicate with that person. Your family should have such a soul-capturing technique." Zhang Qiwei directly acknowledged his intention.

  "What a pity I don't know that magic! The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow forever, farewell!" Yan Liechen's purpose in coming was to retrieve the peach wood stake. He didn't expect to encounter Zhang Qiwei and get injured, definitely not his opponent. This refining method is doomed to fail, even without Liu Zhi, Zhang Qiwei would have struck out to destroy it. Now that he has retrieved the peach wood stake, of course, he doesn't want to stay any longer.

  Zhang Qiwei didn't stop him, and he fell into deep thought. Liu Zhi's move was beautiful, and when Liu Zhi started using the Golden Light Protection Technique, Zhang Qiwei knew that his opponent also knew techniques, but he couldn't tell which school of thought Liu Zhi belonged to. The Golden Light Protection Technique was too common, so he waited for Liu Zhi to use other techniques to determine his identity. Unexpectedly, Liu Zhi suddenly made a move in a state of being both divine and not divine, and the coin wasn't even a magic tool or a technique, but it just happened to land on the key point, breaking one of the peach wood stakes and causing the formation to collapse. This method was completely beyond Zhang Qiwei's expectations, and he couldn't tell whether Liu Zhi had done it intentionally or by chance.

  Liu Zhi knew that the three of them returned to the inn, although they had been frightened, but Cheng Zhen and others still felt a thrill, unexpectedly finally saw the legendary ghost, Liu Zhi knew that he washed up and went to bed, Cheng Zhen also helplessly saw Liu Zhi sleep, only to sleep too, but his stomach was full of questions.

  The next day, while having breakfast at a small eatery beside the inn, he overheard people discussing how a local developer had died the night before. It was said that an evil spirit had claimed his life, and that he had strangled himself to death. Several others had also gone mad, supposedly those who had been involved in the demolition work that day. Everyone was saying it was retribution. Liu Zhi knew vaguely what had happened.

  Three people on the road, Cheng Zhenqian asked several times what happened last night, Liu Zhizhi insisted that it was to buy a way, Cheng Zhenqian half believed and half doubted, but had no choice.

  After more than three days, they arrived in Shencheng. Liu Zhi knew called Sun Lao and told him that he had arrived in Shencheng, asking Cheng Zhenqian to send himself and Cao Yuying to the entrance of the villa area. The two said their goodbyes, and after parting ways, Liu Zhi only then realized that he had forgotten something - his Miao knife and a few stalks of Lingzhi mushrooms were still in the trunk of the car. He forgot to take them out, so he called Cheng Zhenqian, who was already home and preparing to send them over. Liu Zhi said it wasn't urgent, and that it would be fine if he just brought them along when attending the annual meeting. Cheng Zhenqian thought for a moment before agreeing.

  Next was arranging Cao Yu Ying's accommodation. Since his own villa was very large and had many rooms, he arranged for Cao Yu Ying to stay at his home.

  When they arrived at the villa entrance, Aunt He came out to greet them. Cao Yu Ying was stunned, she had not expected that Liu Zhi knew would be so rich. This set of villas must have cost hundreds of millions. Looking at Liu Zhi knew, her gaze immediately changed. Liu Zhi knew asked Aunt He to arrange a room for Cao Yu Ying, and there were still two days before the annual meeting.

  Liu Zhizhi made a phone call to Ali, and they chatted for a while on the phone. These days, although they had been in touch by phone, it was only a greeting, and they hadn't had a long conversation. Today, when he arrived home, Liu Zhizhi had a good chat with him.

  Also went online to some forums related to cultivation, but there were very few practical exercises. However, I downloaded a lot of books on qigong and meditation techniques. After flipping through them, in my current understanding, many contents are indeed real, but at the critical places, they are either incomplete or unclear, and do not enter the realm of human heaven interaction. These techniques will not have much effect, even if used for divination, it's probably still dependent on luck.

  At night, in bed, I couldn't help but think of the experiences I've had recently, and felt a bit sentimental. Today, he didn't meditate, and slowly fell asleep, entering a dream state where he found himself back in Miaojiang, chatting with Ah Li. Suddenly, Li Yi appeared out of nowhere, startling him awake. Outside the window, a crescent moon hung high in the sky.

  Settled and focused, I couldn't help but think of the methods for summoning evil spirits that I saw on the forum today. My heart skipped a beat - why not give it a try?