Uncle Shoushan saw Ye Qiu walking toward the bleeding pine tree, his face turning pale with fear.
He was terrified that Ye Qiu would end up like his nephew, dropping dead in front of the pine tree, and quickly warned, “Don’t go over there, that pine tree is very strange.”
However, Ye Qiu didn’t listen and continued walking toward the pine tree.
Uncle Shoushan, worried that if something happened to Ye Qiu, Tang Fei would blame him, said to Master Longbrow, “Master, please stop him, that pine tree is really strange.”
Master Longbrow scoffed, “It’s just a tree, what’s there to fear?”
“If something happens, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Though Uncle Shoushan said this, his eyes were fixed on Ye Qiu, watching him step closer to the bleeding pine tree, his heart in his throat.
Soon, a shocking scene unfolded.
Ye Qiu reached the pine tree and didn’t collapse or die. Not only that, he even touched the tree with his finger.
“What, he’s fine?”
Uncle Shoushan’s eyes widened in shock.
Ye Qiu dipped his finger in the bright red liquid and sniffed it.
“Any findings?” Master Longbrow asked.
Ye Qiu replied, “It’s human blood.”
“Really human blood?” Master Longbrow looked surprised.
He had thought the liquid flowing from the pine tree was some kind of sap resembling blood, as trees don’t normally bleed. But some trees, due to their age, produce red sap through a chemical reaction.
Master Longbrow never expected it to actually be human blood.
He then walked to the pine tree as well.
Ye Qiu held out his finger to Master Longbrow, who looked down and saw the blood tinged with a hint of brown.
“How could human blood flow from a pine tree? And it seems like the blood is quite old,” Master Longbrow said.
Ye Qiu nodded, “Based on my judgment, the blood is at least a hundred years old.”
“A hundred years?” Master Longbrow was startled, puzzled, “Except in specific conditions, blood would dry up and coagulate over time. For blood over a hundred years old to remain like this is unimaginable.”
Ye Qiu stared at the sturdy pine tree, quietly activating his Heavenly Eye to peer inside.
Hiss!
Ye Qiu gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Master Longbrow noticed Ye Qiu’s expression and asked.
Ye Qiu said, “Step back.”
Master Longbrow immediately retreated.
Ye Qiu also stepped back ten metres, then shot a beam of sword energy from his fingertip, striking the tree trunk.
Boom!
The sturdy pine tree split in half, and instantly, a torrent of blood as thick as a bucket gushed out from the tree’s core, like a fountain.
The stench of blood was overwhelming.
“How could this be?”
Tang Fei was utterly shocked.
Uncle Shoushan was stunned too, never expecting the pine tree to be filled with blood. At the same time, he was terrified by Ye Qiu’s power, touching his head with lingering fear, saying, “My goodness, thank heavens he didn’t kill me earlier, or I’d be dead.”
“Be careful, the blood contains corpse poison,” Ye Qiu warned Master Longbrow.
Master Longbrow looked at the gushing pine tree, a look of realisation on his face, “I understand now, I understand.”
“What do you understand?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longbrow said, “As I mentioned before, there’s a great tomb here.”
“Places with great tombs are usually geomantic treasures.”
“I observed earlier that the terrain here matches the characteristics of a geomantic treasure, but I didn’t see any water source.”
“As the saying goes, geomancy requires both wind and water.”
“I was puzzled why there was no water source here, but now it all makes sense.”
“The owner of this tomb is using human blood as a water source.”
“If I’m not mistaken, the other six pine trees are also filled with human blood.”
Ye Qiu’s heart jolted, and he immediately used his Heavenly Eye to check the other six pine trees.
Sure enough, the other six were also filled with human blood, and it wouldn’t be long before the blood started flowing out.
Seven century-old pine trees, all filled with blood—how many people had to die to produce so much blood?
“I have a question. If the seven pine trees are filled with blood, how are they still growing so lushly?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longbrow said, “You may not know, but a true geomantic treasure is inherently full of vitality. Especially in a place like this, it’s very mysterious. Even if you stick a dry branch into the ground here, over time, it could come back to life.”
“Corpses buried in such a place, if blessed with enough fortune, not only remain undecayed but can also bring prosperity to descendants, making them thrive.”
“This is why, since ancient times, countless people have searched for geomantic treasures.”
Ye Qiu scoffed, “Those who deliberately seek geomantic treasures for burial don’t necessarily ensure their descendants’ success.”
“Think about it: if every geomantic treasure could guarantee prosperity for descendants, every ancient emperor’s tomb would be a top-tier geomantic treasure. Yet their dynasties were still lost by their descendants.”
“The most famous example is the Ming Dynasty’s Thirteen Tombs. Every imperial tomb was a geomantic treasure, yet the Ming Dynasty fell, and Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Coal Hill.”
“I believe that doing good deeds and accumulating virtue in life makes any burial site a geomantic treasure.”
Master Longbrow rolled his eyes, “Don’t dismiss the effects of geomantic treasures. If they had no effect, why have people searched for them for centuries?”
“Are they all idle or crazy?”
“Everything in this world exists for a reason.”
“Little brat, let’s not digress. We have work to do.”
Master Longbrow continued, “The blood is filled with corpse poison. We must find a way to deal with it.”
“What do you suggest?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longbrow said, “There’s no doubt the blood in the pine trees comes from the tomb. To resolve this completely, we have to dig up the tomb.”
Ye Qiu nodded, agreeing with Master Longbrow. Only by eliminating the corpse poison could the area remain safe.
Otherwise, if the other six pine trees also started leaking blood tainted with corpse poison, the nearby animals and plants would suffer, turning this geomantic treasure into a place of great danger.
Curious, Ye Qiu’s gaze turned to the roots of the seven pine trees.
His vision penetrated twenty metres underground.
Instantly, Ye Qiu’s expression grew grave.
