Night.
Sun Yan carried a shovel and dragged a body bag out of the graveyard's warehouse.
The efficiency of the police station where Henry worked was truly unbearable; the call was made in the morning, and the body was only barely delivered by late afternoon.
Since it coincided with Sun Yan's dinner time, he had to leave the body bag in the warehouse first and deal with the burial after his meal.
After all, this was the first time in his life that he handled a corpse for burial, and he couldn't deny that he was a bit nervous.
Unzipping the body bag, even though the police station's morgue had refrigeration, once in the ambient temperature, an unpleasant smell was inevitable.
An indescribable sour odor immediately wafted over, but fortunately, Sun Yan was prepared and had a mask on.
This was a male corpse with a neck covered in needle marks, the skin on the neck was a mix of purple and green, and the veins were prominent. Quite shocking.
Even though Sun Yan wasn't trained in medicine, he could tell that this person likely died of "skylight" syndrome.
"A poisoned dog deserves no pity; in the next life, remember to stay away from drugs and be a good person."
Sun Yan murmured, grabbed the shovel, and began digging in the empty patch in the graveyard under the night sky.
The soil in Gospel Town was very moist; as he dug deeper, small puddles began to form. Even the shovel in Sun Yan's hand was glistening with drops of water.
As Sun Yan unearthed a lot of earthworms and some curled-up bugs, the earthy smell mixed with the odor of the corpse was somewhat overwhelming.
Two hours later, a square pit large enough to accommodate a person appeared at Sun Yan's feet.
Digging was a physically demanding task. Even for an adult, it drained a lot of energy. Sun Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead, dragged the man out of the body bag, and pushed him to the bottom of the pit.
For those homeless people who ended up dying on the street, there was no one kind enough to take care of their bodies. Being brought to Sun Yan's graveyard for burial was relatively lucky.
Turning over the shovel, he refilled the pit with the piled-up earth beside it until the soil completely covered the corpse.
"I didn't expect burying someone to feel like this, much more interesting than cooking."
Leaning on his shovel, Sun Yan looked satisfied at his handiwork, feeling limited by circumstances, as he couldn't set up a tombstone for this man. He took out his notebook to check the task progress.
'Task Complete'
'Graveyard Guardian: The offering platform has received a divine mud statue, please return to the main house to collect it.'
Sun Yan didn't quite understand what "Graveyard Guardian" meant. He stood in place for a long time, realizing that this task reward required him to go to the main house to claim it, unlike previous rewards that appeared out of thin air.
"Offering platform, does the main house have such a place?"
Sun Yan was puzzled and immediately ran back to the main house, searching for where the offering platform might be.
The main house of the graveyard had two and a half stories, with many rooms. Just yesterday, Sun Yan had gone to his grandfather's house to sort through belongings and hadn't checked every room at once. After all, he only came to Gospel Town because his parents pressured him.
Now, to find out where the offering platform was hidden, he took the keys and began checking all the rooms in the main house.
After some searching, he finally found what he was looking for in a room at the end of the second-floor hallway.
It was a three-meter long and one-meter wide rosewood table, a typical Eastern antique, with elegant cloud patterns and carvings of cranes and lotuses on its four legs.
Thick layers of dust covered the table, and on top was a mudman about 30 centimeters tall, wrapped in a thick soil shell, making it impossible to see its shape or appearance.
"Could it be this?"
Sun Yan carefully brushed away the dirt on the mudman, slowly revealing beneath the soil the figure of a handsome youth adorned with a fan cloud crown, dressed in a hydration suit, with a silk tassel tied at the waist, hemp shoes on his feet, and a long spear in his hand.
This divine statue was so lifelike, with its features remarkably detailed, surpassing even the finest modern craftsmanship.
'You have drawn the Graveyard Guardian—True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao.'
Sun Yan's eyes widened instantly, quickly retrieving his notebook to check the details.
Did I see it right? True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao!
With this guardian in the graveyard, he had nothing to fear from the Evil Spirit of the Extreme Tyrant Spear, as they would dissipate into nothingness.
...
Evangelical Town Cemetery
Demon Exorcism Tomb: 1
Cemetery Building: Main House (Unlocked: Exploration Level 22%)
Cemetery Entry: Directly Facing Terror
Tomb Magical Artifact: General Sun Mask
Tomb Guardian: True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao (Ordinary)
Cemetery Members: None
Daily Task [None]
Timed Task [None]
Bounty Task [Cursed Magic Mirror (II)]
Instance Task [None]
...
Tomb Guardian: True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao (Ordinary)
Assistance Divine Power: Celestial Eye (When open, observes all corners as if viewing the palm of a hand)
'The Guardian God has a restraining effect on evil spirits.'
'Enhance the divine statue quality by collecting exclusive holy objects of True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao, unlocking more divine abilities.'
...
Looking at the handsome youth divine statue on the table, Sun Yan said, "I knew it couldn't be that simple; turns out this is just a low-tier version of True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao."
Yang Jian, known as the True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao, commonly referred to as God Guankou or Guankou Erlang.
With combat power through the roof, even General Sun's strength pales in comparison before the True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao.
The good news is, having this Great God makes dealing with evil spirits even simpler for Sun Yan—there's no need for the True Monarch to take action personally, as the Heaven-Barking Dog alone is enough to wipe out all evil spirits in North America.
The bad news is that currently, all these wonders exist only as a mirage on paper; Sun Yan doesn't yet enjoy such treatment.
However, with this 'True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao' statue in the graveyard, he no longer needs to worry about evil spirits causing trouble there.
Suddenly inspired, Sun Yan quickly dashed back to his room, brought the Magic Mirror over, and placed it beside the statue of True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao.
The originally normal round mirror soon began to tremble slightly, with its surface turning murky, and an indistinct human face pressed against the mirror, roaring angrily.
Just as it attempted to break free from the mirror, the True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao's brow flashed slightly.
A long crack appeared on the mirror's surface, frightening the evil spirit back into retreat; the mirror returned to its normal state.
"It works! I finally have a way to dispel this evil spirit."
Overjoyed, Sun Yan placed the True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao's statue directly on the round mirror, leveraging the Great God to suppress the spirit.
When the spirit is thoroughly vanquished, his bounty task would also be successfully completed.
Meanwhile, Joles, who was sleeping in the guest room, remained unaware that the black handprints that once covered his skin began to fade and vanish completely. His skin tone started returning to normal from its previous bloodless pallor, indicating that the curse on him had been entirely lifted.
As long as one was within the graveyard, True Monarch of Pure Origin and Mysterious Dao would offer equal protection to everyone.