Zhao Zhu himself wasn't quite clear why, but it seemed that ever since he entered the "Horror Web Novel" reader group and started entering the horror web novel task world, even in real life, his chances of encountering evil spirits and ghosts had been increasing, to the point where it was almost unbelievable, happening as frequently as every three or two days.

  It started with a mysterious jade hairpin appearing in his own hospital, leading to a series of paranormal events that even the more powerful Li Fan couldn't handle. Then, he encountered a family of corpse-raisers under Xiong Zhiqi's building and almost got into trouble himself. Today, after tasting some effective low-grade consumables and feeling somewhat "penniless", he thought about getting some items with "spirit energy" or actual effects from so-called Jianghu masters for future tasks, but instead, he ran into this situation again.

  Zhao Zhuo himself was also uncertain whether the old monk was really dead, even though he had just pointed the gun at the old monk's brow and pulled the trigger.

  At this point, Zhao Zhuo is clearly at a loss for what to do, but that doesn't mean he has to sit here and wait for death. The only guess that Zhao Zhuo can accept is that the old monk should be dead, but not completely dead. He must have used something he set up before to make his soul still linger here, or even deliberately continue to control some things.

  From the initial emotional turmoil to the current state of complete calmness, Zhao Zhu only spent a very short period of time. From the painting in front of him, it can also be seen that the originally bewildered and lost young man has become somewhat calm and composed. It seems that this change in the young man's emotions has also diluted the eerie atmosphere in the painting. Apparently, the painting scroll can indeed reflect a person's state of mind.

  After all, Zhao Zhu had seen too many of these so-called supernatural things over this period of time. Although he was still startled each time he encountered them, he was not to the point of being scared out of his wits. Moreover, the extreme side of Zhao Zhu's personality began to be exposed more and more, most notably in regards to killing people - he had less and less qualms about it, neither legal nor moral constraints could hold him back anymore.

  On the one hand, his life and death are uncertain, and he may die in the next task world at any time. On the other hand, it is his own strength and the strength of those around him that allows him to operate outside the lower-level legal framework without a problem.

  Zhao Zhu retreated back into the house, his gaze re-examining the room once again. Then, his eyes fell on the water jug once more. He picked it up and scooped out a handful of tea dregs with his hand, putting them in his mouth to chew.

  No flavor at all, completely and utterly tasteless.

  Zhao Zhu took a deep breath, and he understood why there was no flavor. It was because he was inside the painting. When he walked into this room, it was equivalent to walking into the painting itself. The things in the painting could only provide him with "color" but not "fragrance and taste".

  At this time, Zhao Zhu also felt a little lucky, glad that he hadn't followed the old monk into the house earlier, but had shot and killed him before entering the house himself. If the old monk were still alive now, and he was still trapped in the painting, what would have happened?

  Even if I had a gun in my hand and entered this painting, it would be meaningless and useless.

  That's the advantage of being a ruthless executioner, simple and decisive without giving the opponent any chance to fight back. Some villains in TV dramas and movies always like to not take action when they can kill off threats, only to be turned over at the end.

  However, the problem now is that knowing he has already entered the painting, how can he get out? Zhao Zhu didn't think that this so-called Jianghu master would actually have such a treasure in his hands. I reckon if Zhu Jianping and Xiong Zhiqi knew about it, they would be shocked.

  " Ignition?"

  Zhao Zhu pulled out a lighter from his pocket, but soon shook his head and put it back.

  What if you burn this painting and also burn yourself to death?

  "Was there some sort of trick? Some secret method?"

  Zhao Zhu shook his head again, the old monk was first killed by himself, and then he walked into this room, which is to say he walked into the painting. The old monk is already dead, how can he still recite incantations?

  This treasure should be triggerless and can run automatically...

  "What is it?"

  Zhao Zhu walked back in front of the elm wooden box again, looking at the still rotating compass inside, a hint of enlightenment appeared on his face.

  "Could it be that the compass in this house is working?"

  Zhao Zhu picked up the heavy compass again, carefully examining it from top to bottom. He was at a loss, not understanding the compass or having any knowledge about it. Fortunately, he had previously proven that even in a painting, he could make a phone call. Zhao Zhu dialed Xiong Zhiqi's number again, and it quickly connected:

  "Hey Zhao Ge, I'm on the road, almost there."

  "Do you understand things like compasses?"

  "Huh? You mean to say that Taoist priests and Buddhist monks take things from people for fortune-telling?"

  "Ah, about right."

  "I don't understand."

  "Does Zhu Jianping understand?"

  "He probably won't either, he gave you the formation diagram paper, which was coincidentally from a small booklet that he had snatched from someone else in the task world before."

  "Then can you find out who else knows about this?"

  "Zhang, are you in a hurry?"

  "It's very urgent."

  "Hmm, I originally had a somewhat close relationship with someone who was a Taoist priest and must have been well-versed in this sort of thing, but..."

  "But what?"

  "But he's called Yan Xing..."

  “……”

  "There's also something else girls should understand."

  "Isn't that the one you just had dismembered and mailed back?"

  "That's it, that one."

  "I'm trapped now and can't get out, I feel this has something to do with the compass in front of me."

  "Labyrinth or Formation?" Xiong Zhiqi asked, "It seems that the wandering Taoist indeed has something good there, I'm even drooling."

  "In the painting..."

  "Oh no!!!!...... I've hit a treasure, hey driver bro, can you speed up? I'm in a hurry!"

  "What I mean is for you to find someone..."

  "Who are you looking for? I am the one."

  "You didn't say you couldn't..."

  "No, I really don't understand this formation stuff at all, but I'm good at breaking it, and I have a lot of experience with breaking formations. Otherwise, how would I have survived so many dangerous group tasks with high mortality rates? That's a treasure, Zhao Ge, damn it, why are you so lucky, and I don't have that kind of luck."

  "I just wanted to get some talismans and paper money."

  "Alright, Zhao Ge I'm almost there. Ah, I see your car, wait for me, I'll be right there, hang up first."

  The phone was hung up by Xiong Zhiqi, Zhao Zhu licked his lips and put away the phone. He simply took out a Buddhist scripture from the elm wooden box to take a look. Since Xiong Zhiqi said it with such confidence, it seemed that breaking open this painting and getting himself out was just a matter of time.

  The Buddhist scriptures in the elm wood box are a bit strange, as there is very little scripture inside, and it doesn't look like any scripture text either. Instead, it's more like a painting with some words, and the words look like incantations. The picture also shows methods of hand seals and steps that need to be matched together.

  "Is this a tantric mudra?" Zhao Zhu muttered to himself, "Why doesn't that monk practice it himself?"

  If this is true, why doesn't the monk himself go to practice. If he has practiced, and wants to subdue him or shoot him down with a single shot, it's probably not that simple.

  Then Zhao Zhuo smiled, because he thought to himself that the old monk was crippled in one leg and couldn't even walk properly, without proper footwork, how could this hand seal be practiced?

  "Never mind, let's show them later, if it works, we can practice together."

  Zhao Zhu turned over the things in the elm wooden box again, and under several volumes of scriptures, Zhao Zhu saw a string of pearls. The pearls were not very round, but they gave people a sense of depth and grandeur. When Zhao Zhu held them in his hand, he suddenly felt calm and even his breathing became more rhythmic and smooth than before.

  "Could this thing be a sarira?"