The earth ahead was blood-red, littered with sand. The occasional stone they encountered was also crimson as blood, standing still as tombstones.
A peculiar aura perpetually saturated the air.
"This land has many hazardous areas," Ye Yunfei observed. Releasing his Soul Power, he quickly detected numerous treacherous terrains and deadly grounds scattered across this stretch of earth.
Ye Yunfei had attained a certain proficiency in Geomancy, allowing him to barely recognize the locations of these perilous zones and ultimate hazards. As they moved forward, he employed a method from his Geomancy, drawing up the earth energies from the land. Soon, streams of yellow earth energy gushed forth, enveloping the space around his body. Protected by this earth energy, he was able to discern and evade the hazardous and deadly grounds on this earth with much greater accuracy.
As they delved deeper, Ye Yunfei suddenly came across many stone pillars. They were thick and immense, exuding an aura of countless ages weathered, impossible to tell how many years had passed, yet they still towered over this land. From time to time, they would see vast foundations built from massive stone blocks, clearly remnants of once-towering structures. Some of these stones and pillars were carved with all kinds of pictorial reliefs depicting scenes of war! The participants in these wars depicted were humans, demons, monsters, beasts, ghosts, and various other races.
Moreover, each of these combatants possessed immense, world-shaking power—shattering stars and tearing apart the starry sky with casual strikes. Even many worlds were seen being shattered and destroyed, with billions of innocent beings losing their lives as a result.
"Did such a terrifying war occur in ancient times? That war obliterated so many worlds; logically, there should be some record of it. Could it be the World-Destroying War? So, this world is also connected to the World-Destroying War?"
Scrutinizing the battle scenes recorded on those pillars and stones, Ye Yunfei could not help but think of the World-Destroying War. Judging by these depictions, this must have been a war of immense scale and devastating destruction.
According to Ye Yunfei's knowledge, within the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, only one war in antiquity could reach such a scale.
That was the World-Destroying War!
Right at this moment…
Suddenly, fierce gusts of wind swept across this land, kicking up clouds of dust and sand.
"Black wind!"
Ye Yunfei's eyes narrowed, sensing something amiss.
Massive black whirlwinds appeared from all directions, spinning rapidly, relentlessly closing in on Ye Yunfei and the little girl.
"Uncle, there seems to be something inside that wind and sand," the girl said, pointing towards the whirlwinds.
Woo… woo…
In an instant, patches of the black cyclones had surrounded Ye Yunfei and the girl. These black whirlwinds whipped up large amounts of blood-red sand grains, scattering them chaotically.
"Be careful!"
Ye Yunfei's expression suddenly shifted. He saw, from a nearby black cyclone, a massive pitch-black ghostly claw stretch out, snatching towards them! The black claw oozed blood-red droplets, a sight so grisly it was capable of bristling the hairs on one's neck.
Boom! Boom!
Then, more black ghost claws emerged, radiating a chilling aura as they all lunged at Ye Yunfei and the girl.
"These are malevolent spirits left behind here since ancient times!"
Ye Yunfei extended his Soul Power towards those black claws and immediately discerned they were likely manifestations of such wraiths. Simply put, they had taken form from lingering Soul Power imprints left behind by powerful beings!
"I'll handle them!"
Before Ye Yunfei could act, Huang Shang shot out. With a pointing gesture, one black ghost wall after another materialized, blocking those ghostly claws.
Despite their formidable power, potent enough even Molding Dao Realm experts would struggle against them, Huang Shang was a Ghost Cultivator. He possessed special methods to counter these black claws. Furthermore, these claws were tremendously nourishing for him.
Boom! Boom!
Very quickly, Huang Shang had engaged the ghostly claws in battle. Initially, he was no match, constantly being sent flying back by explosive blows. But Huang Shang deployed various Ghost Cultivation Arts, attempting to absorb the energy of those black claws. Gradually, he managed to hold his own. In the end, he even succeeded in refining and absorbing several of the claws, his strength continuously rising!
"Huang Lao, this place seems rather suitable for you to stay," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but remark with a laugh.
"Heh heh… Yes, this is practically a cultivation holy land for me. If I could stay here continuously, my strength would undoubtedly skyrocket."
Huang Shang nodded in agreement. As his strength grew, his speech was imbued with a formidable, ghostly presence—sinister and chilling.
"Since that's the case, Huang Lao, why don't you stay here to cultivate then? It's hard to find such a suitable place for your cultivation outside," Ye Yunfei pondered for a moment before saying.
As Huang Shang's proficiency in Ghost Cultivation Arts increased, finding suitable cultivation resources for him was becoming increasingly difficult because the higher his strength grew, the higher grade his required resources would be.
"Good, then I'll stay here and cultivate," Huang Shang nodded.
At this very moment…
Boom! Boom!
On the distant horizon, a massive golden figure appeared, striding forth step by step. It was a warrior clad entirely in golden armor, standing hundreds of meters tall, a golden long blade slung over its shoulder. An aura of killing intent swept across heaven and earth.
"It seems I've barged into a war site. The Heaven Burial Tomb indeed lives up to its name as the First Forbidden Ground of the Canghuang Realm—treacherous at every turn. Well, there's no guarantee I can defeat this big fellow right now. Better retreat."
Ye Yunfei gazed at the colossal, approaching soldier striding across the earth in the distance and shook his head with a sigh.
Thus, Ye Yunfei took the little girl and turned to leave. Meanwhile, Huang Shang performed a ghost technique and directly merged into a large rock to hide. He would stay there to cultivate.
"Once the Canghuang Realm is completely stabilized, I'll return to properly explore this Heaven Burial Tomb," Ye Yunfei said as he strode away with the girl.
"Young man, have you entered once more?"
Right at this moment, a faint, ethereal voice reached Ye Yunfei from a distance.
"Senior, it's you!"
Recognizing the voice, Ye Yunfei felt a surge of pleasant surprise.
The owner of this voice was precisely the Geomancer Ye Yunfei had encountered on his previous venture into the Heaven Burial Tomb—the same Geomancer who had passed on an ancient tome of Geomancy principles to him.
That Geomancer was sequestered within a Phoenix Blood-Soaking Terrain.
"Senior, how is your injury?" Ye Yunfei inquired.
This Geomancer had once told Ye Yunfei that the reason he had been residing within that Phoenix Blood-Soaking Terrain was primarily for recovery.
"An old ailment. Won't kill me, won't heal quickly either. Can only recuperate slowly. Young man, since you've come, help me. I intend to leave this Phoenix Blood-Soaking Terrain," the Geomancer said.
"Senior, you wish to emerge?" Ye Yunfei was taken aback.
"Indeed. However, I'll need you to make some arrangements outside, drawing forth more earth energy so that I may properly exit," the Geomancer explained.
"Understood, Senior. Wait for me. I'll be right there," Ye Yunfei nodded.