After Heavenly Thunder Chan Master finished speaking, he hurried off with the jade slip to make preparations. Given the Great Thunderclap Monastery's formidable strength and deep foundation, procuring the medicinal herbs and rare heavenly and earthly treasures Ye Yunfei had listed should not be difficult.
Ye Yunfei sat cross-legged in the courtyard and began refining the yellow long whip and the ancient Compass. At the center of the courtyard, the old monk in the pool remained motionless, without a sound.
Ye Yunfei channeled his Soul Power into the two artifacts to sense them. Rumbling... Ye Yunfei felt as if he had entered two vast, separate worlds. These two artifacts contained countless restrictions and were imbued with terrifying earth energy and earth-elemental laws, as expansive as two Small Worlds. An average Geomancer might not have been able to refine such high-level artifacts.
However, Ye Yunfei had seen his share of advanced treasures, having refined numerous emperor-grade artifacts! As time slowly passed, Ye Yunfei gradually began to understand the internal structure of the two treasures. "Soon, I will be able to successfully refine them," Ye Yunfei thought to himself.
Next, Ye Yunfei began to imprint his Soul Power mark within the two artifacts. This was the most crucial step in refining a treasure.
"Hehe... An old monk buried in the earth for ten thousand years actually wants to revive. How amusing. Dust to dust, earth to earth. Today, I shall turn you to true dust."
At that very moment, a sinister, cold chuckle echoed in the small courtyard, as if from the depths of the Nine Nether Hell, sending shivers down one's spine. A figure shrouded in black mist appeared. One could vaguely make out an elderly man leaning on a black cane, withered in frame, but his face was obscured by nameless laws, making his true features unclear.
"Protect the High Master!" The dozen or so monks seated at the four corners of the courtyard paled and rushed forward, attacking the old man enveloped in black mist simultaneously.
The old man extended a large hand, pitch-black as ink, intertwining strands of mysterious laws that repelled all the monks. In one step, he was by the poolside, reaching out to grab the old monk within.
"Stop!" The monks simultaneously drew out golden crescent moon shovels and formed a battle formation to strike at the old man.
Boom... At the same time, bolts of lightning continuously manifested, bright and dazzling, striking towards the old man. Loud, sonorous Buddhist chants also rang out, transforming into Buddhist symbols that flew towards him. The numerous Buddhist Formations arrayed around this small courtyard were activated!
The old man snorted coldly and waved a hand. Rolling black mist erupted endlessly, instantly flooding the entire small courtyard. Whoosh... Within the obscuring mist, five or six more elderly figures appeared, pouncing toward the old monk meditating in the pool.
Boom... Every old man unleashed a terrifying pressure of energy, their murderous intent vast as a sea, surging silently and making the entire courtyard as bone-chillingly cold as an ice cellar. These old men had actually arrived earlier, hidden within the void, waiting for an opportune moment for a thunderous strike.
"Not good!" The dozen monks were shocked.
Right at that moment.
"Scram!" A roar suddenly thundered, like a bolt from the blue, shaking the heavens and earth. Several monks descended from the sky, their bodies radiating rolling Buddhist light that dispersed most of the black mist, making the scene within the courtyard clear again.
Among them was a monk with a furious face—Heavenly Thunder Chan Master! And three other old monks, each draped in simple gray robes, their faces wrinkled, their eyelids lowered. Their robes were embroidered with a heavenly dragon!
"So, the bald donkeys from the Heavenly Dragon Temple have arrived," an old man leaning on a black cane said coldly. The Heavenly Dragon Temple was one of the most ancient temples in the Eastern Wasteland, and it was said the Great Thunderclap Monastery was an external branch outpost of the ancient Heavenly Dragon Temple.
"All of you, please leave. Do not disturb the peace of our temple's High Master," one of the old monks from the Heavenly Dragon Temple said slowly.
"This old fellow has already entered the earth. What good is it to crawl back out? We are here to collect this old fellow on behalf of heaven itself. Once we kill him, we will naturally leave."
"If you do not leave, you shall die!" Heavenly Thunder Chan Master could restrain himself no longer and roared.
Boom! Heavenly Thunder Chan Master sent a palm strike towards that old man. His palm turned golden and continuously enlarged, like a golden wall inscribed with many glittering scriptures. This was the Buddhist palm technique, the Mighty Vajra Palm!
Boom... The vast, mighty palm swept forward with a roar, forcing the several old men back a step each, their faces slightly changed. However, these old men were also powerful individuals. They all summoned their artifacts, whipping up towering black mist and blocking Heavenly Thunder Chan Master's attack.
"Take action! Destroy that old bald donkey's vitality so he cannot revive!" shouted the old man leaning on the black cane.
In total, seven mysterious old men shrouded in black mist erupted simultaneously. Boom... Rolling black mist gushed out endlessly from their bodies.
Then, within the black mist, corpses emitting dense death aura continuously appeared. These corpses looked as hard as metal, moved as swift as the wind, and pounced towards the old monk in the pool. Wailing... A large number of malevolent ghosts and fierce souls also appeared constantly, clawing wildly and emitting piercing cries of sorrow.
For a time, the courtyard was overrun with corpses and wailing ghosts, like a domain of spirits.
"It really is people from the Corpse World!" Heavenly Thunder Chan Master roared in anger. "If our teaching's High Master suffers any harm, our Great Thunderclap Monastery will surely march on the Corpse World and eradicate all you demonic fiends!" Heavenly Thunder Chan Master was utterly enraged.
"Hehe... Does your Great Thunderclap Monastery have that capability?" A sinister laugh rang out.
Hum... Suddenly, the three old monks from the Heavenly Dragon Temple began chanting scriptures. Their chants possessed a strange power that caused the entire heaven and earth to tremble along with the rhythm of the verses.
Roar! Three phantom-like golden dragons shot out from the crowns of their heads, guarding the sky above the pool and forcing back all the corpses, malevolent ghosts, and fierce souls pouncing forward.
"Thunder, come!" Heavenly Thunder Chan Master's figure flashed as he sat cross-legged in the air above the courtyard. Forming hand seals, he let out an earth-shaking roar.
Rumble... Rolling thunderbolts continuously fell from on high, crashing down upon the corpses and the malevolent ghosts and fierce souls.
"Kid, go die!" At that moment, three of the old men abruptly turned and charged towards Ye Yunfei.
During the earlier battle, Ye Yunfei had remained seated cross-legged in a corner of the courtyard, not participating, as he had long received a soul message from Heavenly Thunder Chan Master telling him to peacefully refine his artifacts and not concern himself with these Corpse World masters.
Unexpectedly, these Corpse World masters now suddenly moved against Ye Yunfei.
"Kid, someone paid a great price to commission us to kill you. I guess I'll just take care of you along the way," one old man sneered.
Right at that moment.
"I've finally succeeded in refining them! These two artifacts truly are the supreme treasures of our Geomancer world!" Ye Yunfei abruptly opened his eyes, revealing joy.
Now, Ye Yunfei finally learned the names of these two artifacts. The yellow long whip was called the Dragon-Driving Whip. It could be used to drive Earth Dragons and the land's energies, even to move mountains and fill seas. A single whip stroke could directly alter the course of mountains and rivers, reshaping terrain and landforms.
That ancient compass was called the Measuring Earth Plate. With this plate in hand, one could instantly sense and communicate with all conditions of the nearby earth. A truly profound master of earth surveying, holding this Measuring Earth Plate, could even instantly perceive the earth conditions of an entire continent!
"Old things, wanting to kill me isn't that easy!" Ye Yunfei gripped the Dragon-Driving Whip and lashed out.
Boom... The entire land shook violently. Dragon after Earth Dragon emerged from beneath the earth—thousands upon thousands of them—blocking Ye Yunfei's front, frantically pouncing towards the three old men.
Rumble... An endless stream of earth energy, like a volcanic eruption, spewed from beneath Ye Yunfei's feet, lifting him up so that his feet didn't touch a speck of dust. He resembled a sovereign of the earth.