"To lay out such a massive expanse of Yellow Spring River water and initially nourish intelligence into these corpses, it must be the work of a highly skilled Earth Master who personally set this up!"
Ye Yunfei gazed at the corpse in the river, its eyes glowing with green light, feeling a chill of alarm deep within.
The Yellow Spring River, also known as the Nether River, was considered a relatively sinister and treacherous terrain in the study of Geomancy. Many powerful figures favored setting up a Nether River to guard their tombs, and the river would be stocked with numerous corpses to serve as guardians for the burial site. Both the Yellow Spring River water and the corpses it fostered were incomparably malevolent and insidious.
"This river is the legendary Yellow Spring River!" an elder suddenly exclaimed in a low voice, evidently also aware of what it signified.
"It's said that many powerful figures' tombs contain a Yellow Spring River. One must cross it to reach the true tomb! The true tomb of Ancient Sage Gu Yao lies on the opposite side of this river. That is to say, the Ancient Sage's true treasures are also over there!" another elder added.
Both elders hailed from major forces of the Eastern Barrens and were well-informed.
The true treasures of Ancient Sage Gu Yao! Hearing this, everyone's eyes grew fervent with greed. Ancient Sage Gu Yao was a renowned powerhouse of ancient times in the Eastern Barrens, dominating his era. In their hearts, everyone guessed that within his tomb likely lay the life's legacy he left behind.
"Let's go! We'll fly straight across!" Unable to resist, one figure moved, soaring into the air and charging towards the opposite bank.
"We're going too!" Seeing someone take the lead, many martial artists, unwilling to be left behind, also activated their movement techniques, attempting to traverse the pitch-black river before them. After all, treasure hunting was all about getting there first!
"Don't act rashly. This river is extremely perilous. Let's observe first," Ye Yunfei whispered to the people of the Ziwei Sect.
"We'll listen to Su Fei," The Third Elder nodded. He knew that despite his young age, Ye Yunfei's knowledge far surpassed his own.
Right at that moment.
Splash! Splash!... The inky black water churned violently. A corpse suddenly surged from the river, carrying with it a spray of black water, blocking a martial artist's path.
"Scram!" The startled martial artist drew his longsword and slashed at the corpse.
Simultaneously, the corpse extended a pair of deathly claws, stabbing towards the warrior. The nails on each claw were half a meter long, gleaming with a sickly green light—a terrifying sight.
"Aah!" The two claws knocked the longsword flying, then plunged into the warrior's chest. With a forceful tear, they ripped the martial artist's body cleanly in two.
Splash! Splash!... Corpse after corpse continuously erupted from the pitch-black river water, swarming densely to pounce upon those attempting to cross.
These corpses were covered in moss, their bodies incredibly hard. Swords clanging against them produced clang-clang sounds, and even magic treasures striking them left only shallow marks. The inky water stirred up by the corpses splashed wildly into the air, as if a great black storm were falling.
"Aah... Aah!" Screams rose one after another as the martial artists attempting to cross were slain by these corpses.
"Back off!" An elder found himself besieged by five corpses simultaneously. Enraged, he summoned a shimmering bronze bell, which expanded with the wind and pressed down upon the five corpses. This elder hailed from a relatively prestigious major power in the Eastern Barrens and possessed Mid Destiny Realm cultivation and formidable combat strength.
Boom! The bronze bell struck one corpse squarely, caving in its chest.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The remaining four corpses seized the opportunity, swarming forward with lightning speed and simultaneously latching onto the elder's body.
"Get lost!" The elder was scared out of his wits. He threw a punch, sending one of the corpses rocketing backward like a cannonball.
"Aah!" However, in the next instant, the elder's body was torn into several pieces by the combined force of the three remaining corpses, killing him on the spot.
Swoosh! The elder's Soul Body appeared, riding atop a small yellow seal as it swiftly fled back towards the riverbank.
Witnessing such a miserable end for this elder from a major Eastern Barrens power, the crowd couldn't help but gasp in horror.
By now, of the first batch attempting to cross the river, nearly half had been slaughtered. The survivors had long since hurriedly retreated to the bank, no longer daring to continue the crossing.
Hundreds of sickly green corpses floated above the dark river water, rising and falling amidst the pervading gloom of black corpse aura—a truly terrifying sight.
"Everyone, although these corpses are dreadful, there are only a few hundred of them, while we number in the thousands. Let's all join forces and fight our way across!" a man as stocky and solid as an iron pagoda boomed in a rough voice.
His upper body was clad in a short fur vest woven from beast hide, revealing bulging, explosively powerful muscles. More terrifyingly, beside him stood a massive demon tiger over ten meters tall, its entire body seemingly forged from gleaming gold.
This brawny man came from the Eastern Barrens great teaching, the Beast Sect. That golden tiger was his Warbeast, a Golden Tiger.
"Agreed! Let's fight our way across together!" A middle-aged man in a yellow robe soared into the air, standing upon an ancient-looking longsword that pulsed with sword light that chilled the heart.
"That's an expert from the Heavenly Dragon Ancient Kingdom!" someone recognized the yellow-robed man's origin.
Swish! The yellow-robed man, hands clasped behind his back, advanced upon his sword towards the mass of corpses.
Clang!... The ancient longsword shot forward, severing the right claw of a corpse on the spot.
Roar! The Golden Tiger beside the burly Beast Sect man roared furiously as it pounced forward. Its powerful golden tiger claws smashed another corpse, sending it flying backward.
"Attack!" More experts then surged forward, beginning the forced crossing of this Yellow Spring River.
Soon after, all the martial artists took action, charging forward together to fight.
However, though fewer in number, these corpses possessed formidable combat strength, fought without fear of life or death, and were ferociously powerful. Thus, a fierce battle unfolded above the surface of the Yellow Spring River.
"Su Fei…" The Third Elder's gaze turned to Ye Yunfei.
"Where there is a Nether River, there will definitely be a Naihe Bridge. It's like a moat; there must always be a bridge leading into the city. Everyone, follow me!" Ye Yunfei, having been studying the Yellow Spring River using his knowledge of Geomancy, now had some insights. He waved his hand and retrieved a Compass, then rushed towards the river's downstream area.
A silver needle hovered above the Compass, spinning rapidly. Proficiency with the Compass was a fundamental skill in Geomancy. As his mastery of earth arts grew higher, Ye Yunfei's ability to use the Compass had also become increasingly potent.
"Follow Su Fei!" The Third Elder hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and led the Ziwei Sect members to follow behind Ye Yunfei.
"It should be here!" A short while later, Ye Yunfei arrived at a certain spot downstream. He pointed, and over a dozen Earth Dragons appeared simultaneously, transforming into rolling streams of yellow earth energy that surged into the Compass.
Rumble... After absorbing the dozen-plus Earth Dragons, the Compass trembled violently, spewing forth numerous yellow talisman scripts that rushed towards the pitch-black river surface.
The next moment, an extremely thin, white iron chain appeared on the river's surface, stretching all the way towards the opposite shore.
Splash! Splash!... As this white iron chain appeared, from the inky black waters below, one sickly green corpse after another continuously surfaced. Their eyes blinked open and shut, emitting strange beams of green light.
"The Naihe Bridge!" Ye Yunfei was overjoyed.
"Third Elder, have everyone follow me. We'll cross the river by stepping on this iron chain," Ye Yunfei instructed. He then stepped forward, leapt onto the white iron chain, and began dashing towards the opposite shore.
"Su Fei, the river is full of those corpses. What if they rush up to intercept us?" The Third Elder asked, looking at the green corpses in the river, his scalp prickling with fear. The other Ziwei Sect members also felt a chill in their hearts.
"Don't worry. As long as we cross using this Naihe Bridge, those corpses won't attack," Ye Yunfei assured.
As he spoke, Ye Yunfei had already rushed to the middle of the river. Sure enough, the corpses in the water below showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Everyone, follow! Remember, you must step on this white iron chain. Absolutely do not use your movement techniques to try flying over the river!" Seeing this, the Third Elder felt greatly reassured and called out loudly.