230: Extremes often yield treasures; the more alluring, the more dangerous.

Ye Bai frowned and said, "What eerie yin-sha qi. Don't get close yet."

Meng Ziyi looked at his expression and said hesitantly, "Could this place be haunted? I see grave mounds nearby."

Ye Bai said, "Haunted places are lands of malevolence. But this land of yin-sha is definitely not simple. Let's retreat a bit first."

"Oh..." They retreated a few meters.

Ye Bai stared at that grave mound and began to observe it carefully.

Records from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon surfaced in his mind: "The Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, wind, thunder, rain, and lightning, dragons, snakes, birds, and beasts, mountains, rivers, and streams, flowers, grass, and trees are all composed of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."

"This is the junction of Yin and Yang, so there is yin-sha. However, in this kind of terrain, it's highly likely that treasures are being nurtured."

Ye Bai closed his eyes and carefully searched his memory.

He opened his eyes, looked up at those eerie and terrifying grave mounds, a hint of fanaticism showing in his eyes as he said, "It's them!"

After saying that, he ran over quickly and pushed aside the soil covering the grave mound.

As he dug open the grave mound, a palm-sized, pitch-black stone tablet slowly rose up.

Ye Bai held the stone tablet in his hand and examined it for a while, finding it covered in densely packed runes.

"What is this?" Meng Ziyi leaned over and asked.

"This is called an Evil-Suppressing Stone." Ye Bai handed the stone tablet to them to see and explained, "This is part of ancient witchcraft. People of the Wu Tribe would use a special material to make Evil-Suppressing Stones. This kind of stone can suppress all evils and disperse foul yin energy; it's a holy item for warding off evil and removing calamities."

Meng Ziyi looked at him in surprise and said, "How do you know so much?"

"I studied some Occult Arts before and even trained under a master for a few years back then."

"Wow, impressive," Meng Ziyi said with envy. "You're so lucky!"

"Don't be envious; we should hurry and find a way to take the stone tablet."

Yang Mi looked at Ye Bai with a grin and said, "Are you worried this stone tablet is an evil object, so you don't dare move it?"

Ye Bai glared at her and said crossly, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who told you this stone tablet is an evil object?" He looked down at the stone tablet and said, "I estimate this thing is used to suppress yin-sha, not to seal evil spirits."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's try it quickly." Meng Ziyi urged impatiently, "What if there really is a good treasure hidden inside? Wouldn't we strike it rich?"

Ye Bai, however, was reluctant to act for a long time.

"Why aren't you moving?" Yang Mi urged upon seeing this.

Ye Bai remained silent for a long while before finally making a decision, saying, "Since this is a good opportunity, let's take a gamble!"

Meng Ziyi patted her chest and guaranteed, "Don't worry, we definitely won't let you down this time."

So, they began to break through the outer rock layer of the stone tablet. The stone tablet itself was hard in texture and required some effort to break open.

"Ouch—" Meng Ziyi suddenly cried out. A drop of cold sweat seeped from her forehead, and her face was pale, clearly caused by overexertion.

Yang Mi asked about her injury with concern: "What's wrong?"

Meng Ziyi gritted her teeth and said, "It's nothing, I'll continue."

Thus, the three of them took turns moving the huge stone tablet. It took a full two hours before the stone tablet was completely moved aside. They were all panting and covered in sweat, but everyone was excited. They knew there must be a treasure inside.

"Let's see what good stuff is inside." Meng Ziyi rubbed her hands excitedly and was the first to crawl in. As soon as she stepped into the cave, she was immediately startled.

In the cave, there was actually a skeleton sitting cross-legged on the ground, its flesh a bloody mess. Meng Ziyi couldn't help but take two steps back, almost bumping into Yang Mi, but luckily she was caught.

"Holy crap, what kind of ghostly thing is this?" Meng Ziyi rubbed her eyes. After seeing clearly, she breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out the skeleton had been dead for a long time, so there was no need to fear it.

Ye Bai followed her in, examined it for a moment, and said, "This should be the skeleton of some Great Shaman, but they've been dead for a very long time."

"Let's hurry and find the treasure." Meng Ziyi rushed in impatiently.

She felt around the skeleton and pulled out a piece of cloth clothing. This cloth clothing was white and looked very luxurious.

"Eh, it even has a metallic luster." Meng Ziyi touched the cloth and found that the fabric was actually woven from Golden Silk.

She held the Golden Silk cloth clothing, looking it over from left to right, unable to put it down.

"If you like it, it's yours," Ye Bai said indifferently.

"Thank you." Meng Ziyi chuckled. "But this fabric is too precious; I'm afraid I can't afford to wear it."

"Then I'll help you keep it safe as a souvenir." Ye Bai smiled slightly.

"Mm."

Yang Mi glanced at him, a faint, almost imperceptible smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Ye Bai continued walking deep into the cave, with Meng Ziyi and Yang Mi following closely behind. Reaching the end, they saw a heavy Stone Door blocking the way. This Stone Door was about ten feet high, and its thickness was even more astonishing.

"This is the Tomb Chamber." Ye Bai pointed at the Stone Door and said, "This Stone Door is very sturdy; we must smash it open."

Meng Ziyi said, "Let me." She rolled up her sleeves, walked to the door, and slammed her shoulder hard against the Stone Door.

She used all her strength: with a "bang," she hit the Stone Door, and her entire arm swelled up, the pain unbearable.

But the Stone Door remained motionless. She switched to the other shoulder and suffered a similar heavy blow; her entire face turned bright red, and pea-sized beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, looking very strained.

Ye Bai frowned and said, "This Stone Door is even sturdier than you imagined."

"Damn it, I can't even open it! I don't believe in this bad luck!" Meng Ziyi cursed and continued to swing her fist at the Stone Door. But the Stone Door didn't even budge.

Ye Bai stood beside her, watching with an expression of enjoying the show.

"Bang, bang..." Meng Ziyi hammered at the door like a madman. But the Stone Door remained as good as new, without even a mark appearing.

"Forget it, don't waste your strength." Ye Bai shook his head and advised against it.

"No!" Meng Ziyi roared with bloodshot eyes, "I must smash it open today." She raised her fist again and smashed it toward the Stone Door.

At that very moment, a sudden change occurred.

That Stone Door actually cracked open on its own, revealing a pitch-black Passage inside.

"Haha... It really is a good thing!" Meng Ziyi was overjoyed. "Let's get in quickly; there must be treasures inside!"

Yang Mi and Ye Bai looked at each other, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes, but they immediately concealed their expressions and followed Meng Ziyi into the Passage.

"Clack—clack—" Their footsteps on the stone-paved road made a series of crisp sounds.

Meng Ziyi complained as she walked, "Why are there still forks in the road? I clearly heard an echo just now."

Ye Bai explained, "This is ancient times, after all; some setups are normal."