"What are you doing?!"

Third Uncle, who had originally been distracted by the dog god, suddenly noticed Xie Jia's movement. He shouted in terror and lunged toward her.

Just a second before he reached her—The book finally caught fire.

A twisted, sharp, utterly inhuman shriek exploded in the air as the edges of the book turned black and curled.

Immediately after, in an instant, the flames surged wildly, engulfing the entire book.

Xie Jia's hand, still gripping the book, was scorched by the flames, raising several blisters. In panic, she flung the burning book away.

Where the fire burned, it melted into a sticky, pitch-black liquid that oozed across the ground, releasing a bizarre, foul stench.

At the very instant the book was devoured by flames, the entire sacrificial altar began to quake violently.

Then, the whole village seemed to sway as well, and jagged rocks broke loose from the three surrounding mountains, crashing down.

"An earthquake?!" The villagers shouted in panic and scattered, desperately trying to find shelter.

Dust and sand swirled everywhere, shrouding the scene in a dense haze, making it impossible to see clearly.

Seizing the moment, Doctor Jiang finally broke free from the Dog God's grasp.

Amid the chaos, he grabbed one of the dog fleeing from the altar, and quickly orienting himself through the smoke and dust, he dragged the dog and ran toward the village exit.

Wan Qian couldn't see anything clearly in the thick, murky dust. She wildly swung her arms, trying to push away the tumbling rocks.

One large stone deflected when struck by her, changing its trajectory—and it slammed toward the direction Doctor Jiang was fleeing.

"Bang—" A heavy crash sounded.

Doctor Jiang clutched his right arm, which had dislocated once again, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood.

This village was truly awful. Just a few human investigators had turned it completely upside down!

Sure enough, these uneducated, superstitious villagers weren't worth wasting any of his thoughts on!

As Doctor Jiang cursed the ignorant fools of the entire village in his heart, he endured the pain and fled toward the outside.

Rather than staying in this village, he thought, he might as well have accepted the offer from "Yucai Middle School" and worked there as the school doctor.

At least the children who had received an education wouldn't be as ignorant and foolish as these villagers. And there wouldn't be some dumb, brainless evil god like this stupid dog.

Fuming, Doctor Jiang gripped the dog in his hand and plunged into the dense forest at the village entrance.

Inside the village, the tremors lasted about fifteen minutes before gradually subsiding.

When the dust settled, the villagers crawled out from behind their shelters, disheveled and bewildered.

"The sacred canon... the sacred canon was burned..."

Third Uncle didn't care whether the aftershocks had stopped. He crawled up the altar, scrambling on all fours to search.

But he only found a charred corner of the book among the ruins; the rest had melted into unrecognizable black goo.

The sacred canon recorded generations of sacrificial offerings. With the sacred canon destroyed, how could this ritual be completed?

Unable to withstand the shock, Third Uncle's eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

Wan Qian, covered in dust and dirt, also crawled out from the debris.

She looked around and realized that Hao Shijun and the others were gone.

Not just Hao Shijun — even Doctor Jiang was nowhere to be seen.

Could they have been crushed under the falling rocks? Wan Qian's heart tightened. She immediately bent down and began searching through the rubble.

Casually, she lifted a massive boulder as tall as a person...

At the same time. In the present world. Fang Minglan opened her eyes inside an elevator.

The elevator doors had just closed, waiting for her to press the button.

Realizing she had successfully escaped the haunted realm, Fang Minglan almost wept tears of joy.

Only heaven knew what kind of chaos had broken out at that final ritual! Thank goodness she had made it out.

She was about to press the button and go home for a good rest when her body suddenly froze.

A little dazed, she lifted her head and looked at the reflective metal wall of the elevator.

Pitch-black dog fur, dense and bristling, had spread from the back of her right hand all the way to her upper arm. It looked like a thick fur pelt.

But this pelt wasn't draped over her — it was growing directly out of her flesh and blood.

Fang Minglan stared at her reflection in the metal wall, finally unable to hold back a terrified scream.

Meanwhile. In an old residential building, Hao Shijun, Xie Jia, and Wang Hui also opened their eyes.

The living room was a mess, showing clear signs of a struggle. On the coffee table sat a half-empty bottle of liquor, and several plates with leftover food.

The man of the house lay stiff on the floor, his body rigid, his face dark and blue, black saliva and foul secretions dripping from his lips.

He had clearly been dead for quite some time.

In the same room were Hao Shijun's colleagues.

"Wang Hui, please come with us to the station for questioning." A police officer stood in front of Wang Hui, who had just escaped the haunted realm, speaking in an official tone.

Before entering the haunted realm, Hao Shijun had received Wang Hui's call reporting that she had poisoned her husband.

So they had rushed over, sealed off the scene, and begun investigating.

But unexpectedly, halfway through the investigation, Hao Shijun, Wang Hui, and Xie Jia had entered the haunted realm.

"Wait—" Hao Shijun froze for a few seconds before snapping back to his senses, quickly raising his hand.

He wanted to explain to his colleagues that Wang Hui and Xie Jia had just returned from the haunted realm and needed some time to recover.

However, before he could finish, Xie Jia stepped forward. Facing the police officers, Xie Jia's expression was shockingly calm and detached.

"I want to confess. I'm the ringleader. My mother was covering for me." That was her first sentence.

"I request special protection. I have a talent for dealing with ghosts." That was her second sentence.

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