Purifying the Graveyard

Stepping out of the ancestral hall, the townspeople were already waiting at the entrance, led by the local elder, Old Master Liu.

Upon seeing Daoist Wenxi, they hurriedly bowed in respect.

Afterward, the Daoist repeated his previous words to Old Master Liu and, to put his mind at ease, sealed the ancestral hall gate with a yellow talisman.

He further instructed them to invite a feng shui master from the county to locate the dragon veins and select a new burial site.

"This poor Daoist is not well-versed in the ways of feng shui."

Having finished his instructions, Daoist Wenxi turned and left, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

When Old Master Liu learned that Ling Qing and the others intended to go to the old graveyard to cleanse the yin-turbid energy, he immediately ordered his men to prepare food.

He also sent people to tidy up a small courtyard nearby and promised to send wine, meat, and food to everyone every day.

Before they departed, he even gave each of them some silver coins.

"They are practically itching to get rid of us."

Once they were outside the town, Zhang Zhe said with some dissatisfaction.

The Liu family servant leading the way remained silent, simply guiding them forward in silence.

"That's enough. Being closer means we can finish the task the Daoist entrusted to us sooner. Besides, we don't have to worry about food and drink, and we're getting paid—there's nothing bad about that."

Tian Yong gave him a look, putting an end to his grumbling.

After arriving at the location and identifying the house, Tian Yong discussed the meal delivery times with the guide. Watching the man hurry away, he turned to the others.

"Let's get to work. Since we promised the Daoist, we should complete the task before the instance ends."

"Let's go, then."

As they spoke, they arrived at the graveyard once more. It was a scene of utter chaos; all the grave mounds had been dug up, leaving the ground pitted and uneven.

Scattered fragments of decayed matter were strewn about here and there.

"What should we do?" Tian Ying asked, looking at the scene before her, feeling at a loss for where to start.

"How about we go back and find some tools to clean this place up first, then level the ground? After all, once these filthy things are cleared away, the turbid energy in the soil should dissipate quite a bit."

Seeing that everyone was unsure how to proceed, Ling Qing couldn't help but suggest.

"Then, the six of us will stand in six positions and take turns chanting the incantations to see what effect it has."

"Let's do that." With no better ideas, everyone followed Ling Qing's suggestion and began to operate.

The courtyard was used by the Liu family to store farm tools, so there was no shortage of equipment.

Everyone worked enthusiastically all morning, clearing out all the scattered debris.

They piled the toppled tombstones in one place and the rest of the burial objects in another.

By this time, everyone could finally clearly perceive what the yin-turbid energy was.

The temperature where these two piles of items lay was several degrees lower than elsewhere, and an inexplicable, chilling yin aura shrouded them.

Looking from afar, it felt as if one were viewing things through glass; even the colors seemed less vibrant than the surroundings.

"Come on, let's chant."

Not daring to purify the two piles of objects first, they decided to use the graveyard as a test.

The six of them stood two meters apart, forming a circle, and began chanting the incantations in the order of the Incantation of Mouth Purification and the Incantation of Body Purification.

They eventually discovered that, aside from the Incantation of Incense Offering and the Mysterious Essence Incantation, the others all had an effect on the yin energy.

The Incantation of Mouth Purification, Incantation of Body Purification, and Incantation of Heart Purification could protect everyone from the influence of the yin-turbid energy, while the Incantation of Heaven and Earth Purification and the Incantation of Land God Pacification could clear the yin-turbid energy attached to the soil.

The Golden Light Mantra, meanwhile, could refine the yin energy and feed it back into the world, while the chanter could simultaneously temper their own inner light through this process.

Since everyone had different insights into the incantations, they divided the labor accordingly.

Li Jun, who had grasped the Incantation of Mouth Purification and Incantation of Heart Purification; Zhang Zhe, who had grasped the Incantation of Body Purification and Incantation of Incense Offering; and Tian Ying, who had grasped the Incantation of Heart Purification and Mysterious Essence Incantation, were responsible for providing buffs to everyone to keep them from being affected.

Li Dezhang, who had grasped the Incantation of Land God Pacification and Incantation of Incense Offering, worked with Ling Qing to purify the land.

Tian Yong, the only one who had grasped the Golden Light Mantra, was responsible for purifying the yin energy and imbuing the cleansed areas with righteous energy.

Of course, Tian Yong had also grasped the Incantation of Heart Purification and Incantation of Body Purification, making him the one with the most insights after Ling Qing.

In this way, everyone used the opportunity of purifying the yin-turbid energy to continuously deepen their understanding of the incantations, sharing their insights during breaks.

This helped improve everyone's grasp of the eight incantations, as each person always had unique insights into the ones they understood best.

For the others, this allowed them to understand certain principles; even if they had grasped the same incantation, they could gain verification from different perspectives.

This feeling of discussing the Dao together and progressing collectively benefited everyone greatly.

Three days later—the fifth day of the instance—they finally finished purifying the entire plot of land.

Now, only the two piles of burial objects remained.

The pile of scattered debris was purified in a single morning, turning into ash.

However, the stacked tombstones were quite troublesome; the yin energy contained within them had not been purified, but instead seemed to grow purer through the refining process.

When they tried to dismantle them, they discovered that the stacked tombstones seemed to be glued together, impossible to pry apart.

Not daring to slack off, the group spent an entire day and night of effort, leaving only a palm-sized stone fragment remaining in the stone dust that refused to be purified.

"Could this thing be dangerous?"

As everyone gathered in a circle, Zhang Zhe couldn't help but ask.

"It should be fine; I don't sense any dangerous aura," Tian Yong said, rubbing his chin.

"Forget it, let's just pack it away for now. I'll ask someone about it once we leave the dungeon."

With that, he cut some fresh branches and hastily fashioned a wooden box.

If there were any danger, it would first corrode the box made of fresh wood, which would serve as a warning to everyone if the box showed any changes.

Once everything was finished, they inquired and learned that Old Master Liu had already hired a feng shui master, who was currently running all over town searching for dragon veins and acupuncture points.

As for Daoist Wenxi, there was still no sign of him.

The group couldn't be bothered to return to town, so they had food delivered to them, hiding in the forest to either chant divine mantras or practice their martial arts.

Ling Qing opened his system panel to review his gains from this period.

First was the general experience.

Over these past few days, every time Ling Qing, Tian Yong, and the others purified the yin-turbid energy within a patch of land, they would receive a notification that they had completed a relevant professional act, granting them a certain amount of general experience.

Counting what he had before, he had now accumulated 2,450 experience points, which was more than enough for a level up.

Ling Qing decisively applied the experience points to his class level, and in an instant:

"Character consumes 1,000 general experience points, Druid class level increased to Level 2."

"Character receives a class baptism; your comprehensive base attributes have been improved to a certain degree, and your understanding of the Way of Nature has been improved to a certain degree."

"Character has acquired new class skills: Forest Walk, Wild Shape."

The moment he leveled up, the Heart of the Druid in his chest erupted with a powerful surge of energy, instantly flooding his entire body.

At the same time, the land that had just been purified also emitted a thick, heavy power capable of bearing all things, which surged into his body.

This was a gift bestowed upon him by the land.

The two types of energy mixed together, constantly scouring his body.

Simultaneously, the vast, heavy nature of the earth and the vibrant vitality of the plants combined, together transforming into the characteristics of the natural force within his body.