Investigation

Yin Yunze naturally wouldn't consider the appearance of static electricity a natural phenomenon.

With renewed vigilance, Yin Yunze cautiously made his way forward, when he suddenly spotted a large tree, as thick as a person could encircle it.

However, at this moment, the big tree had already been broken in two and had been dead for a long time. From the broken cross-section, Yin Yunze saw that it was covered with lightning strike marks left by lightning.

The lightning strike pattern, combined with the unusual static electricity in the air, naturally reminded Yin Yunze of something he had heard about before.

It was about six months ago, no, to be precise, it was about eight or nine months ago now.

Eight or nine months ago, a bolt of lightning struck from a clear sky and resounded for an entire day.

And it was precisely after this day of thunder that all the evil spirits and monsters in the surrounding area, including the original owner of the Fox Immortal Temple, Fox Seventh Aunt, disappeared without a trace.

From that day on, not a single drop of rain fell from the sky.

It must be said that sometimes, the baseless fabrications of some people can actually reveal part of the truth.

Taking a few steps closer, Yin Yunze reached out and touched the lightning strike marks on the withered tree.

Unexpectedly, with a snap, Yin Yunze felt a tingling, stinging sensation.

As the incense smoke surged in his mind, Yin Yunze had a sudden realization: this was the residual effect of the thunder's power to ward off evil.

If an ordinary evil spirit were to come into contact with it, even this seemingly insignificant contact would leave them severely injured, if not dead.

However, Yin Yunze, whether as a human being or as the popular Land God, cannot be categorized as an evil spirit.

So although he was touched, the residual exorcising effect of the lightning-struck wood did not actually work on Yin Yunze.

Even so, Yin Yunze was still secretly alarmed.

This happened eight or nine months ago!

But it is clear that even after so much time, the traces left here still have a remarkable effect.

Whether this situation is divine retribution or human intervention, it proves one thing: the one struck by lightning must be quite formidable.

Her mood grew increasingly gloomy, but having come this far, she was still unwilling to give up until she figured out what had happened to Yin Yunze.

He drew out more characters, knowing that they would likely have no practical effect if something really happened. But for now, these characters were the only ones that could give Yin Yunze a sense of security.

As Yin Yunze delved deeper and closer to the source of malice, the residual power of the lightning grew stronger. In the end, with each step, Yin Yunze could hear a few soft crackling sounds, followed by a slight stinging pain.

Furthermore, Yin Yunze's hair had started to stand up in an exaggerated manner.

Along the way, Yin Yunze also discovered many animal skeletons that had already turned into white bones.

These animal skeletons were somewhat different from the animals Yin Yunze remembered; they all showed signs of mutation.

For example, some have an extra horn on their forehead, some have an extra tail, and some have two heads... In comparison, their generally much larger size than other animals of the same species is not the main point.

The corpses of these unusual animals are very likely the evil spirits and deities the villagers were talking about.

Regarding this situation, Yin Yunze has two possible interpretations.

One possibility is that these evil spirits, like Yin Yunze, came to this place to investigate the situation a day after the thunderstorm.

However, unlike Yin Yunze, these evil spirits, being malevolent entities, were countered by the exorcising effect of lightning. Furthermore, the lightning had just struck, and its power far exceeded that of eight or nine months later. Therefore, after triggering the residual exorcising effect of the lightning, these evil spirits all perished here.

The second type is the complete opposite. They were summoned here by some being, such as the source of malice, before the day of thunder. Unexpectedly, they encountered the day of thunder and were all wiped out.

Regardless of the cause, the result was the same: the evil spirits of this place—the weak ones—were killed by the lightning in a single day. The stronger ones also died here in a confused and bewildering way. Even those who remained were so terrified that they fled their homes and never dared to return.

To be honest, when Yin Yunze figured this out, he wanted to just turn around and leave.

The corpses on this ground undoubtedly demonstrate that Yin Yunze was not qualified to get involved in this matter at all.

But having come this far, and sensing the source of malice so close at hand, Yin Yunze still chose not to turn back.

Now that things had come to this, Yin Yunze stopped dawdling and strode quickly to the Zhengyuan of the malice.

Then, Yin Yunze saw a hole.

It was about the size of a washbasin, resembling a hole dug by tomb raiders!

It was from this very hole that a kind of malice, seemingly Curse the entire world, continuously poured forth.

"Drought Demon!"

No longer a vague, distant sensation, but such close contact, with the Power of Incense Offerings swirling around, allowed Yin Yunze to suddenly realize the true form of the source!

Looking at the tomb-raiding tunnel in front of him, and combining it with the information he had, Yin Yunze quickly figured out what had happened there.

Perhaps some fearless tomb raiders, coveting the treasures of Tomb of Prince Jing, dug this tunnel.

But unfortunately, the Prince Jing who was buried here was also restless. In the hundreds of years since, instead of decaying, his corpse has transformed into a demon or monster like a Drought Demon.

Therefore, Prince Jing, disturbed by tomb robbers, awoke, causing a drought in the area.

The Ba is Drought Ghost. The country it appears in suffers a severe drought, with the land parched and barren for thousands of miles.

Of course, while he is called Drought Demon, this Prince Jing may not have truly become a fully-fledged Drought Demon. However, it is undeniable that, judging from the drought situation in this area, he clearly already possesses some of the characteristics of Drought Demon.

Therefore, from the very beginning, everyone's causal logic was flawed.

The drought was not caused by the thunder that day, but by the appearance of an evil spirit that caused the drought, which attracted the thunder that day.

This presented Yin Yunze with yet another problem.

That is, the thunder here clearly indicates that Prince Jing has already come out.

After all, minor evil spirits are one thing.

Anyone with a modicum of normal logic wouldn't believe that lightning could kill Prince Jing, who was practically Drought Demon, through a layer of soil tens of meters thick.

As for going to such great lengths just to demonstrate, that's even more impossible.

Such a powerful thunderbolt was clearly not something that could be casually set off like fireworks.

To uncover the truth, it seems necessary to risk descending into Tomb of Prince Jing to find out.

However, looking at the deep, dark entrance to the tomb, which seemed to be emitting black smoke, Yin Yunze resolutely decided not to risk going in to take a look.

For others who don't want to take the risk, stopping here is the only option.

Fortunately, Yin Yunze was a Land God, albeit incomplete, but he had served as one for over a month.

Although he could no longer use the divine power of the Land God after leaving Clear Creek Village, Yin Yunze had not lost the experience he had gained over the past month.

Squatting on the ground, Yin Yunze placed his hand on the earth, attempting to connect with the earth's Earth Vein Power.

Now that he knew he would be leaving Clear Creek Village, how could Yin Yunze possibly do nothing?

During this month of free time, Yin Yunze had already experimented with bypassing the Land God's divine status and using the Earth Vein Power.

However, experiments have shown that it is simply impossible to bypass the Land God Divinity and use the Earth Vein Power.

However, Yin Yunze did not come away empty-handed. If it was merely about accessing the Earth Vein Power, then having the Land God Divinity was not necessarily required.

If you are familiar enough with the Earth Vein Power, you can directly connect with them.

However, without the Land God Divinity, even cultivators cannot access the Earth Vein Power, let alone become familiar with it.

As the incense smoke rose, Yin Yunze was able to sense the Earth Vein Power, just as he had hoped.

He didn't attempt to manipulate it, as this was an unrealistic endeavor that had failed countless times. Yin Yunze simply used the Earth Vein Power as a means of extension, allowing his spiritual energy to flow downwards along the Earth Vein Power.

As he passed through layers of mud, suddenly, Yin Yunze felt a sense of openness and found himself in a fairly spacious area.

Immediately, the scene before him left Yin Yunze stunned.

Ignoring the specific situation within Tomb of Prince Jing, Yin Yunze's eyes were immediately drawn to the two figures within that space.

A figure dressed in white robes, holding a long sword, with only a slender back visible, yet exuding an air of otherworldly elegance.

A figure dressed in royal robes and wearing a crown, with empty and lifeless eyes, yet still exuding an air of elegance and nobility.

If the circumstances were different, it might have become a beautiful story of a prince hosting a banquet for immortals.

But now.

The immortal's white robes were stained with blood as a sharp claw ripped out his heart.

The prince's ceremonial robes were covered in dust, and a precious sword pierced his chest.

Upon closer inspection, however, it appears to be a scene of mutual destruction.