Just as Yun Jianyue continued to walk ahead, a young cultivator arrived. He had found a small, exquisitely crafted white jade hoe by the river. It was likely used to plant spirit herbs.
When he found that herb hoe, the young cultivator did not think much of it. Although the herb hoe in his hand was exquisite, it was not a magic artifact and seemed to have no use. However, little did he know that as he walked over here with this herb hoe, he would see these rows of graves.
Seeing these graves and looking at the herb hoe in his hand, the young cultivator could not help but laugh with excitement. In his eyes, the herb hoe was a divine sign from heaven.
"If heaven bestows upon me, and I don't take it, it would be a sin!"
The young cultivator chuckled and began doing something that Yun Jianyue would find shameful.
Grave robbing.
Grave robbing was often considered a disgraceful act. But sometimes, it still occurred. This was because the word 'benefit' often transcended human morality and led people to become intoxicated, unable to extricate themselves.
The young cultivator started to dig graves extremely quickly. He swung the herb hoe in his hand with great speed, digging into those graves that had been untouched for many years.
The soil on the graves was densely packed, making it very taxing to dig through. However, he was a cultivator after all. Even without his cultivation, he remained a cultivator, he was naturally stronger and possessed more endurance than an ordinary person. Furthermore, it was not easy to have encountered a place like this. It naturally only heightened his excitement and his hoe swung extremely fast.
Before long, he saw a black coffin buried in the soil.
The coffin was no ordinary object either, despite countless years, it showed no signs of decay and was still very intact.
The young cultivator was very excited. This ancient ruin had existed for who knows how long, perhaps a thousand years. This coffin did not rot for a thousand years, it was naturally good stuff. In other words, since this coffin was a treasure, then what items could that cultivator buried in this coffin have brought into the coffin with him?
The young cultivator's eyes sparkled with excitement, but he had yet to open the coffin.
A second cultivator came.
This was also a young cultivator who stumbled upon this place by chance. His complexion was somewhat pale, having spent a considerable time within this ancient ruin. He was struggling to hold on and his body was swaying precariously at this moment.
But after seeing these graves, his eyes lit up too.
The first young cultivator, who had been here initially, raised his head to look at the newcomer behind him with a somewhat indifferent emotion in his eyes when he heard the commotion.
The newcomer looked at him and said straightforwardly, "You won't be able to finish digging by yourself."
The first young cultivator thought about it and said, "You go over there."
The newcomer nodded and asked, "Do you have any items?"
The first young cultivator shook his head.
Without anything, the newcomer took out a magic artifact and went to another area to start digging graves.
Grave robbing was not a dignified endeavor, and neither of them had done it before. However, being cultivators, their learning ability was naturally greater compared to ordinary people. It did not take them long to become proficient. Once they became familiarized, their pace naturally quickened.
After an indeterminate amount of time, another cultivator arrived here.
Then, even more cultivators came.
Over a dozen cultivators came here.
As if by unspoken agreement, they all chose a grave and began their excavation.
They were not like Yun Jianyue and did not have his temperament. They could not resist the temptation presented by these ancient cultivators' graves.
……
……
The cultivator who came here first had already dug up a grave and opened the coffin, seeing the scene inside.
There was a set of white bones covered with tattered white cloth, appearing to be the legendary corpse burial shroud. However, after so many years, the corpse burial shroud had become damaged. The power of time was indeed mighty, and many people and objects could not withstand it.
The young cultivator peered inside and saw several small, delicate magic artifacts beside the corpse burial shrouds. Among them was even a small bell that still faintly emitted a green light despite the passage of countless years.
The power of time was naturally mighty. Some magic artifacts that were not of a high grade could not withstand the long years. But clearly, some magic artifacts could.
The bell emitted a faint glow, looking special in its archaic simplicity. It exuded a distant aura, enough to prove this bell's extraordinariness.
The young cultivator reached out and picked up the bell, his eyes filled with excitement and joy that he could not conceal. The terrible emotions that grave robbing gave him had evaporated into thin air at this moment. He was immersed in delight. Plus, he had already lost his cultivation, how could he expect that another young cultivator quietly approached from behind at this moment.
This person had a pale complexion and unsteady steps. At a glance, one could tell he could not hold on for much longer. If he still did not leave this ruin, he would probably never leave.
However, after entering inside for so long, he did not find anything and did not gain anything either. If he left now, he would not be happy at all. To be precise, he would be unwilling.
Hence, he made a bold decision.
He pulled a short sword out of his bosom. This short sword gleamed with a cold light, it was a short sword that many cultivators would carry with them. It was normally used to cut spirit medicines and it was actually very useful.
Of course, all swords and blade weapons were best used for killing people.
In just a moment, he came up behind the young cultivator and swiftly thrust the sword.
The short sword touched the young cultivator's lower back without any resistance. This was because the short sword was really very sharp, and also because that cultivator had lost his cultivation and could not detect anyone behind him, let alone have any qi to protect himself. Of course, the young cultivator had not noticed anyone behind him because his attention was completely occupied by the bell in front of him.
Hence, he could not react and had no idea what was behind him.
The short sword stabbed into his body, and the sword tip emerged from his chest.
The young cultivator grimaced in pain and was about to cry out when he found his mouth and nose being tightly covered by someone.
That seemingly frail cultivator suddenly summoned tremendous strength out of nowhere, firmly pressing his hand over the young cultivator's mouth to stifle any sound.
There was naturally more than one cultivator in this area, but the others were all diligently excavating graves at this moment. Why would anyone notice what was happening here?
The pale-faced cultivator repeatedly pulled out and then thrust the short sword in, over and over again.
Blood scattered like real flowers here, but there was nothing beautiful about it.
This was a shameless sneak attack. If this had happened outside, this cultivator would undoubtedly be condemned. However, at this moment, no one noticed him, and no one discovered what he was doing. There was naturally no one who would accuse him.
Even if someone had noticed, they probably would not have had the energy to care about him. Everyone had their own things to focus on. Grave robbing might be a dishonorable act, but who could resist it under these circumstances?
It was unknown how long had passed.
That young cultivator died just like that.
A lot of his blood was spilled and most of it was spilled into that coffin.
His eyes remained open. At such a time, describing him as 'not closing his eyes in death' was incredibly fitting.
His hand loosened and the bell in his hand fell down. Some air currents passed through the bell, producing faint sounds.
When prominent figures died, the tolling of bells would often be used to announce the event.
This was actually just a smaller bell.
The other cultivator acted swiftly. He caught the descending bell and held it firmly. Then, in one smooth motion, he pushed the young cultivator's body into the coffin.
After completing these actions, the cultivator did not stay, turning around to leave.
His reaction was quick, as he did not want anyone to know what he had done.
As long as he left swiftly enough, no one would know what he had done.
He quickly concealed the bell within his bosom, failing to notice that the bell was already stained with blood.
Fear flickered in his eyes but was soon overridden by excitement.
There was some blood in the depths of his eyes.
It was unclear whether it was from the killing or his own.
The blood on his clothes was clearly from that cultivator.
The corpse was still bleeding non-stop, quickly filling the bottom of the coffin. Inside the black coffin, the blood looked black.
That tattered burial shroud was already completely soaked in blood.
It looked even stranger.
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