Chapter 1

The first thing Ye Yang saw after landing at the bottom of the well was a corpse sitting cross-legged by the ditch.

Ye Yang touched the corpse with his sword, and the body on the ground suddenly turned its head, grinning at Ye Yang, blood streaming from its mouth and nose.

Feng Ruoxing was about to attack, but lowered her hand—she saw the iron chains and steel nails on the corpse's limbs.

The corpse had been fixed to the ground with steel nails and iron chains. Although it could still turn its head, its body could only maintain a seated posture.

Ye Yang used the tip of his sword to lift the corpse's chin, stared into its coldly sneering face for a few seconds, and then walked past the body towards the depths of the secret chamber.

The further they went, the more corpses they encountered. Regardless of gender or age, they were all fixed near the "Hui" shaped ditch with steel nails and iron chains.

The ink-black water flowed from an unknown source into the ditch, and then flowed away along the ground past the corpses.

Feng Ruoxing and Ye Yang avoided the corpses and advanced in the direction their faces were pointing.

In a short time, the corpses activated by the Yang energy on Ye Yang and Feng Ruoxing reached over a hundred. A hundred faces with silent sneers looked at them from all directions. Although they made no other movements, it sent a chill down their spines.

Feng Ruoxing looked at the ditch beside the corpses and said, "Why are these corpses sitting around the ditch?"

"And this 'Hui' shaped ditch, does it have any special meaning? I feel like the water in the ditch is circulating."

Ye Yang said in a deep voice, "This is called 'Water Transformation of Evil,' a common method used by tomb robbers. The ancestors of Qingyan Village were probably not Ganshan Ren (mountain movers), but tomb robbers!"

From the perspective of術道 (Shu Dao, the arts of Daoism): The "sweeping clean" in the antique business is actually the same as the "transformation of evil" in the tomb robbing business.

The antiques circulating in the market are not necessarily all heirlooms passed down from the ancestors of collectors. Many antiques are underworld objects obtained from tomb robbers.

It is common in術道 (Shu Dao, the arts of Daoism) for tomb robbers to be haunted by the dead whose belongings they stole.

A true antique shopkeeper must not only be able to discern the authenticity of antiques, but also whether they are tainted with evil Qi.

When encountering items with evil Qi, antique shopkeepers will definitely try to lower the price, with the reason being, "I have to spend a lot of money to find an expert to sweep it clean. If someone dies, I'll lose a lot."

The items that tomb robbers risk their lives to dig out of ancient tombs may only be worth a tenth of their original value in the antique market because they carry evil Qi.

Tomb robbers have gradually developed their own methods, which are called "transformation of evil" in the tomb robbing business.

The biggest difference between "transformation of evil" and "sweeping clean" is the strength of the evil Qi, but the biggest similarity is that the integrity of the antique must be guaranteed.

Therefore, even if a gentler method isn't used, it cannot be a violent transformation of evil. Otherwise, if the antique is damaged, wouldn't the tomb robber's efforts be in vain?

"Water Transformation of Evil" is one of the most common methods used by tomb robbers. Simply put, it is using water to carry away the evil Qi from the antique, and it is generally used on jade and porcelain that are not afraid of water.

If it is gold or copper, this method cannot be used.

However, "Water Transformation of Evil" has one characteristic: the water flow can only carry away the evil Qi from the antique and cannot truly dissolve it. The person performing the technique must find another way to dispose of the water contaminated with evil Qi, otherwise, there will still be endless troubles.

To put it simply, water contaminated with evil Qi is like modern industrial wastewater. Direct discharge will definitely have an impact on the environment.

At the very least, "Water Transformation of Evil" must lead the water flow to a place where it can be exposed to the sun, using sunlight to completely evaporate the evil Qi in the water. Otherwise, this pool of water alone can drive the nearby wandering souls mad.

Feng Ruoxing roughly understood Ye Yang's explanation: "I think the water here seems to be circulating! Doesn't that mean the evil Qi is trapped inside the secret chamber?"

Ye Yang glanced at the corpses: "Aren't they here to help?"

"Using living people to transform evil?" Feng Ruoxing looked at the corpses again in shock.

The corpses on the ground did indeed show signs of being invaded by evil Qi. These people were used to absorb evil Qi when they were alive. After death, because the resentment in their bodies did not dissipate and fused with the evil Qi, they were turned into living corpses.

If it weren't for the confinement of these steel nails and iron chains, not only would Qingyan Village become a place overrun with corpses and ghouls, but even this forest would become a forbidden zone for the living.

Feng Ruoxing followed Ye Yang against the current of the water towards the depths of the secret chamber: "Ye Yang, who do you think was the one who secured people here back then? That Old Guest?"

Ye Yang also shook his head slightly: "That's hard to say! I don't think it should be someone from Qingyan Village, at least."

The village chief of Qingyan Village risked his life to go up the mountain back then to protect the village.

Even if the underworld objects in the mountain went out of control, he shouldn't have nailed the entire village in the secret chamber to transform evil.

It's also a bit far-fetched to say it was that Old Guest. The village chief of Qingyan Village knew that the other party harbored ulterior motives and would not have failed to take precautions. Even if he couldn't protect the entire village, he wouldn't have allowed the entire village to become sacrifices for transforming evil.

Was there a third person in Qingyan Village back then?