The Thief Who Stole Spirit Herbs

At this moment, Wang Qingyun hurried over with more than a dozen sturdy young men, each carrying a wooden bucket filled with Black Dog Blood.

"Ninth Uncle, are you all right?" Wang Qingyun asked with concern.

Wang Changsheng shook his head. "I'm fine. The Ghost has already been destroyed. Who used to live in this residence?"

"It belonged to Merchant Yang. He kept a mistress here, but she died of illness over a decade ago. Merchant Yang never came back after that, and the residence has remained empty ever since."

One of the young men raised his brows and sniffed the air a few times. Disgust appeared on his face as he said, "It stinks! What is that awful smell?"

Hearing this, Wang Changsheng also caught the stench. It was coming from the well.

After they lifted the stone covering the well, the torchlight revealed a woman's corpse floating in the water.

"Xiaofeng was likely murdered and thrown into the well. Qingyun, after daybreak tomorrow, send someone to retrieve the corpse and burn it. Also, tear down every house in this courtyard. If the original owner returns, compensate him at the original price," Wang Changsheng instructed.

"Ninth Uncle, should we seal this well too?"

"Seal it. Burn it out with Lychee Wood first. Also, inspect every household. No one is allowed to plant Locust Trees, Poplar Trees, Willow Trees, Mulberry Trees, or Chinaberry Trees at home. If there are any, chop them down immediately. Right, after the houses are demolished, plant a few Peach Trees in the courtyard. Send people to water them regularly. By the time the Peach Trees bear fruit, the yin energy should have mostly dispersed."

Wang Qingyun nodded. "Yes, Ninth Uncle. Your nephew will handle it tomorrow. It's already late. You should go back and rest, Ninth Uncle. Leave this place to your nephew."

Wang Changsheng did not object. After giving a few more instructions, he left.

The next morning, after breakfast, Wang Changsheng went door to door under Wang Qiuxian's guidance. Only after confirming there were no places with heavy yin energy did he finally set his mind at ease.

At noon, Wang Qingyun led a group of Clan Elders and personally saw Wang Changsheng and Wang Qiusheng out of Wang Family Town.

"Qiusheng, go back to Lotus Island first. I still have something to take care of and will return later," Wang Changsheng instructed.

"Yes, Ninth Uncle-Grandfather!" Wang Qiusheng obediently agreed.

After Wang Qiusheng had gone far away, Wang Changsheng's lips moved slightly. A White Cloud appeared beneath his feet out of thin air, lifting him into the air and carrying him into the distance.

Less than half an hour later, Wang Changsheng appeared above a desolate mountain range.

With a change of Hand Seal, the White Cloud slowly descended into a narrow Valley.

Not far into the Valley stood a Cave over a man's height and two men wide. It looked unremarkable.

After walking more than a hundred zhang, the path suddenly opened up, and a cave chamber over a hundred zhang wide appeared before Wang Changsheng.

There was nothing remarkable about the cave chamber. Not a blade of grass grew there.

Wang Changsheng walked up to a relatively smooth Stone Wall, placed both hands against it, and began chanting under his breath. After a while, a Yellow Light lit up on his hands.

An astonishing sight unfolded as a large amount of sand and soil fell away from the Stone Wall.

Before long, an opening barely wide enough for one person appeared before him.

Wang Changsheng passed through the narrow opening and entered a Stone Cave over ten zhang wide.

When he had first arrived in Peaceful County, Wang Changsheng had been unable to endure the thin spiritual energy on Lotus Island. Wanting to find a place with relatively abundant spiritual energy, he had searched every mountain within Peaceful County and had luckily discovered this Cave. There was a small section of Spirit Vein inside, but it was only about two zhang in size, and the spiritual energy was rather thin, making cultivation there somewhat forced.

That said, the Wang Family had long since explored all three counties under its control, yet found nothing.

Wang Changsheng's discovery of this section of Spirit Vein had been purely accidental. The Stone Cave containing it was separated from the outer cave chamber by a wall. Back then, while practicing spells in the cave, he had accidentally blasted through the wall and discovered the Spirit Vein.

Ever since discovering a section of Spirit Vein in a Cave, Wang Changsheng had controlled his Dharma Artifact to hack at every Cave he encountered, but he had never found anything else.

The Spirit Vein was only two zhang in size. The area was too small, dark, and without light, making it unsuitable for planting Spirit Grain.

Wang Changsheng had planted over twenty stalks of Black Moon Grass. Black Moon Grass usually grew in damp, dark caves. Five-year Black Moon Grass was a material for making Blank Talisman Paper, and the Wang Family cultivated quite a lot of it.

The Stone Cave's environment could not be considered damp, but Wang Changsheng had deliberately dug out a pool three or four zhang wide to create a moist environment.

Every month, Wang Changsheng came here to water the Black Moon Grass.

This time, the moment Wang Changsheng entered the Stone Cave, the smile on his face froze.

The more than twenty stalks of Black Moon Grass had vanished, and the water in the pool was gone as well.

For three years, the water in the pool had never dried up. It was impossible for the pool to run dry after only one month.

Wang Changsheng quickly walked to the pool and carefully noticed a hole the size of a watermelon at its bottom.

Clearly, the water in the pool had drained away through that hole.

At the sight of the hole, Wang Changsheng knitted his brows tightly.

When he had built the pool, he had used Fossilization Art to turn the soil into stone. Logically, there should not have been a hole. There was only one possibility: an animal had dug through the pool, draining away its water, then eaten the Black Moon Grass.

Thinking of this, Wang Changsheng felt as though his heart were bleeding. Three years of hard work had gone down the drain just like that.

After turning it over in his mind, he decided to catch the animal that had stolen the Black Moon Grass and kill it to vent the hatred in his heart.

Wang Changsheng took out a cloth bundle from his robes, opened it, and placed two flatbreads on the ground.

He began chanting under his breath. Before long, a dazzling Blue Light rose from his body, and with a blur of his figure, he vanished.

More than half an hour later, a slightly plump Yellow Rat crawled out of the hole in the pool.

Unlike an ordinary rat, this one had a rather long nose and a fat body.

It sniffed the air a few times, quickly climbed out of the pool, and pounced on the flatbreads.

Just as it was gnawing on the flatbreads, Wang Changsheng appeared.

With a flick of his hand, a Golden Light shot forth.

Because Wang Changsheng had his back to the Yellow Rat, it did not notice him.

The Golden Light swiftly circled the Yellow Rat several times, binding it tightly.

The Yellow Rat let out strange "Squeak, squeak!" cries and struggled without end.

"I didn't expect it to be a First Grade Lower Rank Demon Rat. No wonder it could dig through stone." Wang Changsheng revealed a delighted expression.

A faint fluctuation of spiritual energy emanated from the Yellow Rat. If Wang Changsheng had not been a Cultivator, he would not have noticed it.

But the spiritual energy here was so thin. How could a Demon Rat have appeared here?

Could an ordinary rat have eaten the Black Moon Grass and advanced into a Demon Rat? Though more than twenty stalks of Black Moon Grass were not a small amount, they were only three years old and contained little spiritual energy. Could an ordinary rat really advance into a Demon Rat after consuming more than twenty stalks of Black Moon Grass?

Could there be a larger Spirit Vein here? Perhaps this Demon Rat's nest happened to lie where the Spirit Vein was, and over time, it had slowly advanced into a Demon Rat!

Wang Changsheng considered it carefully, then rejected the possibility. If ordinary rats could advance into Demon Rats so easily, the Lineage would have long since raised a large batch of Spirit Rats to sell.

Although Spirit Rats were the lowest-ranked Spirit Beasts, they were still Spirit Beasts. Each could sell for at least several dozen Spirit Stones.

It seemed this Spirit Beast must have encountered some unknown fortunate opportunity, allowing it to luckily advance into a Demon Rat.

"Squeak, squeak!"

The Yellow Rat let out a series of strange cries, as if protesting Wang Changsheng's decision to bind it.

"You ate the Spirit Herbs I planted, and you still expect me to let you go? From now on, you'll be my Spirit Beast." Wang Changsheng said with a light laugh.

Though it was only a First Grade Lower Rank Demon Rat, it could fetch at least several dozen Spirit Stones if sold at the Market. Still, compared to the value of more than twenty stalks of Black Moon Grass, Wang Changsheng had suffered a loss.