"Where?"
Ye Qingyan looked at the pile of corpses in the center of the square and couldn't help but be surprised. "Such a coincidence?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "Perhaps it's not a coincidence?"
"Not a coincidence?" A flicker of doubt crossed Ye Qingyan's eyes as she didn't quite understand Ye Ling's meaning.
Ye Ling said, "Treasures like the Creation Legacy aren't being sought by me alone. Among the transcendent forces I know of, there are the Shadow Hall and the Void Organization, both vying for it. They are also searching the world for the Creation Legacy, so perhaps this place has also caught their attention."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Qingyan's brows furrowed. "So, I might have been used by someone?"
"Perhaps. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why you would specifically come here to complete a mission."
"But thinking about it, it's not entirely unexpected. After all, this southwestern region is too remote, and the Dragon Department headquarters doesn't have strict jurisdiction over it. Even the Dragon Department headquarters is occupied by the four great families, so it's normal for the Dragon Department's southwestern branch to be infiltrated by other forces."
"So that's how it is..."
Ye Qingyan lowered her eyelids and mumbled a few words, but she didn't seem to care much about it. She said indifferently, "I'm just a mercenary taking money for a job now. Whether they use me or not doesn't matter as long as I get paid. However, since this legacy is what you want, I'll naturally help you. We can just abandon this mission."
Ye Ling smiled, "It seems you're quite open-minded. Since you don't care about being used, I won't bother pursuing it. Let's open the secret realm first."
Ye Qingyan, however, worried, "Since this place has already been targeted by other forces, if we just go in like this, aren't you afraid that the Shadow Hall and the Void Organization will cause trouble?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "You underestimate me too much. If they dare to come, I'll just kill them all."
With that said, Ye Ling walked directly towards the pile of corpses in the center of the square.
Ye Qingyan looked at Ye Ling's retreating back, shook her head with a smile, and whispered, "This is indeed in line with his personality. He's outrageously arrogant. It seems I was worrying for nothing."
Saying this, Ye Qingyan no longer lingered and quickly followed Ye Ling.
When the two arrived beside the pile of corpses, a sickening stench assailed their nostrils. The stench even penetrated the spiritual energy Ye Qingyan used to cover her mouth and nose!
Catching the disgusting odor, Ye Qingyan immediately felt toxic gas invading her heart and veins. Her expression changed drastically, and she quickly sat down to circulate her energy to resist the toxic gas.
Seeing that Ye Qingyan couldn't withstand the toxic gas emanating from the pile of corpses, Ye Ling immediately used his spiritual energy to protect her. At the same time, he sent his spiritual energy into Ye Qingyan's body, forcing out all the toxic gas she had inhaled.
"Be careful, the toxic gas here can corrode meridians. Don't touch those corpses."
"Mm..." Ye Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief, stood up from the ground, and retreated a few steps, putting distance between herself and the pile of corpses. She cautioned Ye Ling, "You be careful too. I have a feeling something is wrong here."
"Don't worry."
Ye Ling made a gesture of reassurance to Ye Qingyan, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the pile of corpses before him. Finally, he waved his hand gently, obliterating the entire pile of corpses.
A large number of corpses turned into dust, and the open space beneath the pile of corpses was revealed.
Beneath the pile of corpses was a hexagram formation constructed from blood.
In the center of the formation, there was also a little finger, belonging to someone unknown.
Ye Qingyan was surprised to see the formation beneath the pile of corpses. "There's a formation beneath this pile of corpses? Who built it?"
Ye Ling quickly glanced at the formation, analyzed its nature and function, and said softly, "This is a spatial formation, and judging by the time it was set up, it hasn't been long. It seems someone found this place before us."
Ye Qingyan exclaimed, "Then wasn't the legacy already taken by them?"
"That's unlikely," Ye Ling shook his head. "The secret realm where the Creation God's legacy is located isn't that easy to open. Moreover, this formation was only half-completed before it was forcibly interrupted. They were likely interrupted by a sudden appearance of a Corpse King while setting up the formation, which is why they asked you to clear out the Corpse King."
"I estimate that the master behind the formation setter wasn't sure if the Creation Legacy was here, otherwise, they wouldn't need you to deal with the Corpse King."
Whether it was the Void Organization or the Shadow Hall, they had countless Saints under their command. Dealing with a Corpse King with only an eighth-grade cultivation would be as easy as lifting a finger.
After all, without Xuan Yu's help, the Void Organization and the Shadow Hall could only cast a wide net to find the Creation Legacy. Formations like the one in this village were likely countless throughout the Three Realms, and they didn't attach much importance to the secret realm that existed in this place.
Thinking of this, Ye Ling sighed and shook his head, "It seems no major figures will arrive here... I was hoping to take down a couple of Saints, what a shame, they're all minor characters."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Qingyan could only offer a wry smile, unsure how to describe her feelings.
This was the mortal world, and Zhao Fugui, the head of the Dragon Department's southwestern branch, was already a powerful figure in the southwestern circle of extraordinary individuals. If such a person couldn't even catch Ye Ling's eye, then there was no one in the entire southwestern region that Ye Ling would care about.
After his complaint, Ye Ling didn't forget the main task. He squatted in front of the hexagram formation, removed the index finger from the center of the formation, and pressed it down with his hand, preparing to complete this unfinished formation himself.
Demonic energy surged from his palm and flowed into the hexagram formation.
Soon, the formation began to glow with a blood-red light, and the entire village began to shake violently.
"Eh? I didn't expect there to be a surprise underground!"
Sensing the power surging from beneath the village, Ye Ling's eyes flashed with surprise. He immediately placed the Corpse King's head in the center of the hexagram formation.
Soon, the hard ground seemed to turn into liquid, and the Corpse King's head sank into it, completely absorbed by the formation.
Rumble...
The ground cracked, and a stone door slowly rose from underground, standing in the square!
Ye Qingyan stared blankly at the stone door that rose from the ground, her heart filled with immense shock.
Two men sitting on thrones were carved onto the stone door, appearing like monarchs from the primordial era, their aura awe-inspiring.
Just looking at the two statues, Ye Qingyan felt an urge to kneel and pay homage.
"What a magnificent structure..."
Ye Qingyan never imagined that such a stone door would be hidden within such a dilapidated village!
Just then, Zhao Fugui's voice came through the infinite headset Ye Qingyan was wearing, "Miss Ye, we've detected a massive energy reaction within the village. Is everything alright on your end?"
Ye Qingyan took off her headset and whispered to Ye Ling, "Zhao Fugui is calling. How should I reply?"
Ye Ling, whose attention was entirely focused on the stone door, said dismissively, "Conceal my existence. Say whatever else you want. The commotion here is so great, they must already know."
"I understand."
Ye Qingyan put on her headset again and said to Zhao Fugui, "I've dealt with the Corpse King, but I discovered a strange formation in this village."
"You discovered a formation?" Zhao Fugui's tone clearly became excited, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "Miss Ye, please do not act rashly. There are many strange occurrences in that village. We will dispatch reinforcements immediately! Wait for us at your current location!"
After speaking, Zhao Fugui hurriedly cut off the connection.
Ye Qingyan took off her headset, crushed it, and smiled at Ye Ling, "It seems you were right. This Zhao Fugui has ulterior motives. He's using public funds from the Dragon Department to hire me, but it's all for his own personal matters."
Ye Ling chuckled, "He's just a pawn. Don't take him too seriously. Come here, I have something to show you."
"What good thing?"
Ye Qingyan walked over to Ye Ling's side. Ye Ling wiped away the dust on the stone door with his hand and discovered several small grooves beneath the dust.
"Is this a mechanism?"
Ye Qingyan asked curiously upon seeing the grooves.
Ye Ling nodded, "Yes, it's a rather peculiar spatial mechanism. It can't be opened by brute force; it requires a specific 'key'."
"A key?" Ye Qingyan asked doubtfully, "Where do we find it?"
Ye Ling smiled, "No need to search. I encountered a similar stone door at the Dragon Department headquarters base before. These two stone doors should be able to resonate with each other."
As he spoke, Ye Ling took out the fragments of the stone door that had been destroyed by the four great families from his spatial ring. He then used the law of time to reverse the time of the stone door, restoring it to its original state.
Soon, another stone door, carved with two statues, appeared before them!
The two stone doors stood in the central square of the village, producing a peculiar resonance!
Ye Qingyan looked at the statues on the other stone door and suddenly saw the index finger of the statue on the stone door move!
Her pupils suddenly constricted, and she exclaimed, "Ye Ling! It moved! It moved!!!"