What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

I could clearly see that the protective aura on Zhang Xuanqing's body, which was usually invisible to the naked eye, was now forced to manifest a faint golden light.

The black, sinister energy that was close to him was like leeches that had smelled blood.

They immediately climbed up Zhang Xuanqing's trouser leg, frantically penetrating the layer of golden light.

Accompanied by a faint hissing sound, the outermost ring of golden light of Zhang Xuanqing's protective aura was stained with a few dark spots.

Zhang Xuanqing's eyes sharpened, and his right hand, gripping the longsword, suddenly trembled, causing the hidden lightning on the blade to burst forth instantly.

The lightning transformed into several thin blue arcs, which traveled around his body.

This completely dispersed the black Yin energy attached to the protective energy.

"Stop! Don't touch this black mist!"

Zhang Xuanqing turned his head and reminded us in a serious voice.

"This yin energy is exceptionally domineering and extremely invasive."

Just now, without realizing it, even my protective aura was slightly tainted by it.

If it were to enter the body directly, it would likely freeze the meridians instantly, damaging the soul.

At this point, he turned to look at the compass and spirit pivot at the rear of the group and decisively issued the order:

"Compass, Spirit Pivot, you two should not go any further in for now."

The concentration of yin energy in this sacrificial plaza is still rising, and it is very dangerous for you to get too close.

You all stay near the gap in the bronze gate, set up protective formations and prepare antidotes, and we'll follow up after we've assessed the situation.

"clear."

The compass did not try to be brave; upon hearing this, it immediately stopped.

After that, he quickly took out several yellow array flags from his backpack and planted them in the pile of rubble around himself and Ling Shu according to the Bagua directions.

At the same time, he muttered incantations and soon erected a small yin-avoiding formation.

Upon hearing this, I became extremely cautious.

Zhang Xuanqing, as a high-ranking master of Longhu Mountain, possesses unfathomable profound knowledge.

Even though I have now broken through to the Sha Dan realm, and my mental strength and perception have made a qualitative leap, I still cannot accurately see through what kind of realm he is in.

This almost confirms to me that his strength is definitely above the Dan realm.

However, one must not be careless in the slightest when facing Yin Qi, which can cause trouble even for a Taoist master above the Dan realm.

However, I did not raise my weapon and stare intently at the sarcophagus as if facing a formidable enemy, like a hunting dog or gunpowder.

Instead, he maintained a steady breathing rhythm while quietly circulating the malevolent energy within his body to its maximum.

The jade-colored malevolent energy, which had merged with the remnants of the dragon soul's essence, flowed steadily through my limbs and bones.

Faced with the black yin energy spreading from the outside, the jade-colored evil energy within my body showed no fear whatsoever.

The black energy that approached my feet was blocked by some invisible barrier when I channeled my full power of evil energy. It could not advance any further and could not touch me at all.

After confirming that I was safe, I stopped staring intently at the half-open stone coffin in the center of the altar.

In such an unknown and dangerous situation, blindly focusing attention on one point can be extremely dangerous.

I closed my eyes slightly and fully extended my Qi perception network, scanning the huge underground sacrificial plaza inch by inch like a radar.

The square was very empty. Apart from the obsidian altar in the center and a few thick load-bearing stone pillars, there seemed to be nowhere to hide.

However, when my sensory network swept across a dark corner at the far left edge of the square, a subtle, unusual fluctuation caught my attention.

I opened my eyes, my gaze piercing through the dim light, locking onto that corner.

"Master Zhang, Captain Shanyan, look over there."

I raised my hand and pointed to the corner on the left, my voice echoing in the empty square.

"Something seems off there."

Shan Yan immediately picked up his knife and moved in the direction I was pointing.

The flashlight's powerful beam instantly ripped through the darkness of that corner.

Under the beam of the flashlight, we could clearly see that a hole the size of a human figure had been broken open on the bluestone ground near the rock wall.

The edges of the opening were very irregular, and there were many broken stones and fresh soil scattered around it, indicating that it had been forcibly dug open recently by violent means.

I took a step and slowly walked to the edge of the hole.

As soon as you get close, a damp, fishy-smelling gust of air rushes towards you from below the cave entrance.

Moreover, just by standing at the edge of the cave entrance, one can barely hear the low, rapid rushing sound of water coming from below.

Looking at the scene before me, I frowned.

The tomb chamber is actually connected to an underground river.

I crouched down, ran my finger along a piece of gravel at the edge of the cave entrance, and then looked at it closely.

The surface of the stone was not only wet, but also covered with a thin layer of black slime.

I stood up, dusted off my hands, turned to look at Zhang Xuanqing, whose brows were furrowed, and analyzed:

"It seems the situation isn't as dire as we initially thought."

The people left inside to lock the door weren't all suicide bombers.

I pointed to the cave beneath my feet, which led to an unknown depth, and continued:

"This opening was newly dug, and it should connect to a section of the underground river system that we encountered outside."

Look at the traces left around the cave entrance; there are signs of significant human activity and the dragging of heavy objects.

I paused for a moment, connecting all the clues in my mind, and came to a very clear conclusion:

"They locked the bronze door from the inside, which likely indicates that a large-scale corpse refining took place here."

The stone coffin was pushed open with a crack to draw out the extremely pure and domineering Yin energy inside.

Using this yin energy, they transformed in large numbers their comrades who had died in battle half a month earlier, and possibly even some living people captured from outside, into those monstrous corpses with immense strength.

I looked at the ever-vigilant mountain rocks and continued:

"Perhaps they made a breakthrough in the method of refining corpses, or perhaps they sensed our arrival and left these strange corpses here."

They themselves escaped through the newly dug opening into the underground river, or used the river to move to a more secluded location.

After listening to my clear and logical analysis, Shan Yan loosened his grip on the military knife and let out a long breath.

"Damn it, so they slipped away and ran off."

Shan Yan cursed.

"I thought they were tough enough to stay and fight us to the death."

The hunting dog approached the entrance to the hole, peered down, and added:

"Consultant Chen's analysis is very accurate."

Moreover, this also explains why there are so many mutated water monsters in the underground river outside.