After leaving the ancestral hall, the townspeople were already waiting at the entrance, led by the local elders and Old Master Liu.
They hurriedly bowed when they saw Daoist Wenxi.
Daoist Wenxi then repeated what he had said earlier to Old Master Liu. To put his mind at ease, he sealed the ancestral hall's entrance and pasted a Yellow Talisman on it.
He also told them to go to the county seat and hire a feng shui master to locate the ley lines and choose a new burial site.
"I'm afraid I'm not well versed in the Way of Feng Shui."
After giving all 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 were going to the old graveyard to dispel its yin and foul energy, he immediately ordered someone to prepare food for them.
He also sent people to tidy up a small courtyard nearby and promised to have food and wine delivered to them every day.
Before they left, he even gave each of them some silver.
"They can't wait to get rid of us."
Outside the town, Zhang Zhe grumbled in displeasure.
The Liu Family servant leading the way said nothing, simply continuing on in silence.
"Enough. It's better to stay nearby so we can finish the task Daoist Wenxi gave us sooner.
"Besides, we won't have to worry about food or drink, and we're getting paid. What's so bad about that?"
Tian Yong shot him a look, stopping his complaints.
After they arrived and found the courtyard, Tian Yong arranged a meal delivery schedule with their guide. He watched the man hurry off, then turned to the others.
"Let's get moving. Since we promised the Daoist, we'll finish the task before the instance ends."
"Let's go, then."
With that, they returned to the graveyard. It was a complete mess now, with every grave dug open and the ground pitted with holes.
Scattered among them were bits and pieces of decayed remains.
"What should we do?" Tian Ying asked, looking at the scene before her, at a loss.
"Why don't we go back and get some tools first, clean this place up, then level the ground?
"After all, if we clear away these filthy things, the turbid energy in the soil should at least dissipate somewhat."
Seeing that everyone was unsure where to begin, Ling Qing couldn't help suggesting this.
"Then the six of us can take up six positions and recite the incantations in turn, starting with the Incantation of Mouth Purification. We'll see how it goes."
"Let's do that." No one had any better ideas, so they followed Ling Qing's suggestion.
The courtyard belonged to the Liu Family and was used to store farm tools, so it had plenty of equipment.
They worked hard all morning and cleared away all the scattered debris.
They piled the toppled tombstones together and the other grave goods in another heap.
By then, they could finally sense what yin and foul energy felt like.
The temperature around both piles was several degrees lower than elsewhere, and an inexplicable chill hung over them.
From a distance, it was as though they were looking at the piles through glass; even their colors seemed duller than those around them.
"Come on. Let's recite the incantations."
They didn't dare purify the two piles first, so they decided to test things on the graveyard.
The six of them stood in a circle, two meters apart, and continuously recited the incantations in order, beginning with the Incantation of Mouth Purification and the Incantation of Body Purification.
In the end, they found that every incantation except the Incantation of Incense Offering and the Mysterious Essence Incantation could affect the yin energy.
The Incantations of Mouth Purification, Body Purification, and Mind Purification could shield them from the effects of the yin and foul energy. The Incantations of Heaven and Earth Purification and Land God Pacification could remove the yin and foul energy clinging to the soil.
The Golden Light Mantra, meanwhile, could refine the yin energy and return it to the world around them. The caster could also use the process to temper their own innate radiance.
Everyone had different insights into the incantations, so they divided up the work.
Li Jun, who had grasped the Incantations of Mouth Purification and Mind Purification; Zhang Zhe, who had grasped the Incantations of Body Purification and Incense Offering; and Tian Ying, who had grasped the Incantations of Mind Purification and Mysterious Essence, were responsible for shielding everyone from the effects.
Li Dezhang and Ling Qing, who had grasped the Incantations of Land God Pacification and Incense Offering, worked together to purify the land around them.
Tian Yong, the only one who had grasped the Golden Light Mantra, was responsible for purifying the yin energy and infusing the cleansed ground with righteous energy.
Of course, Tian Yong had also grasped the Incantations of Mind Purification and Body Purification, making him the most accomplished after Ling Qing.
As they purified the yin and foul energy, everyone kept deepening their understanding of the incantations. Even while resting, they continued sharing their insights.
This helped everyone improve their understanding of the eight incantations. After all, each person had unique insights into the incantations they understood best.
The others could also learn something from them. Even if they had grasped the same incantation, they could still find confirmation from a different perspective.
The feeling of discussing the Dao together and making progress as one benefited them greatly.
Three days passed. On the fifth day of the instance, they finally finished purifying the entire stretch of land.
Only the two piles of grave goods they had cleared away remained.
The heap of miscellaneous debris was purified in a single morning, reduced to ashes.
But the pile of stacked tombstones proved troublesome. The yin energy within them not only resisted purification, it seemed to grow purer the more they refined it.
They tried to take them apart, but the tombstones seemed to have been glued together and wouldn't budge.
They didn't dare slack off. After working for a full day and night, they were left with a palm-sized stone lying in the stone powder that they couldn't purify.
"Could this thing be dangerous?" Zhang Zhe asked as they gathered around it.
"Probably not. I don't sense anything dangerous," Tian Yong said, rubbing his chin.
"Forget it. Let's put it away for now. I'll ask someone about it once we're out of the instance."
With that, he chopped down some fresh branches and hastily made a wooden box.
If the object was dangerous, it would first corrode the box made from fresh wood. Any change in the box would give them a warning.
When everything was done, they heard that Old Master Liu had hired a feng shui master, who was now traveling all over town to locate the ley lines and find a suitable burial site.
Daoist Wenxi was still nowhere to be found.
The group couldn't be bothered to return to town. They continued having food brought to them and stayed in the woods, either reciting incantations or practicing martial arts.
Ling Qing opened his status panel to check what he had gained during this time.
First was his general experience.
Over the past few days, whenever Ling Qing and Tian Yong's group purified the yin and foul energy in a stretch of land, they received a notification that they had completed a relevant professional activity and gained a certain amount of general experience.
Including what he had already accumulated, he now had 2,450 experience points—more than enough to level up.
Ling Qing promptly spent the experience on his profession level. Instantly:
"The character has spent 1,000 general experience points. Druid profession level increased to level 2."
"The character has undergone a professional baptism. Your overall base attributes have increased to a certain degree, and your understanding of the Way of Nature has improved to a certain degree."
"The character has gained new professional skills: Forest Walk, Wild Shape."
The moment he leveled up, the Heart of the Druid in his chest released a surge of powerful energy that instantly filled his entire body.
At the same time, a profound, weighty force capable of bearing all things surged into him from the land they had just purified.
This was the land's gift to him.
The two energies mingled, continuously coursing through his body.
At the same time, the land's immense solidity and the plants' vigorous vitality combined, becoming the traits of the Natural Force within him.
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