Chapter 65: Path of Ingress (1/2)

A tomb for the living!

Lu Yun’s sect’s texts did have some records about this exceedingly mysterious type of tomb: it was generally protected by three types of layouts based on the one potential, two principles, and three essentials respectively. There was no layout that was purely based on any singular one of them.

The ten Taiji forces, from the single potential to the ten orientations, could be transformed individually into thousands of feng shui variations, or fused together into innumerable more. They represented the power inherent in heaven and earth, life and creation.

The layout that protected a tomb for the living was layered together from feng shui based on the one potential, two principles, and three essentials. Lu Yun had already seen the first two. As for the three essentials, they were heaven, earth, and man.

The two principles held infinite variations, and of the three essentials, heaven and earth were already visible right in front of them. I suppose ‘man’ has to do with the shadow I just saw.

His sect’s records had expressly forbidden entry into any tomb for the living. They were even more taboo than bloodcorpses. Although tomb raiders dared to raid tombs of any size, the text he’d read had specifically banned tombs of the living at the end of its account.

Granted, there were more characteristic features to these tombs than their accompanying feng shui layouts. However, every piece of evidence so far was pointing to his identification being correct. Right, Lu Yun was all but certain—the island at the center of the Dusk River held an empty tomb.

Can there really be another Formation Orb inside? Is there really more than one?

He’d already tried asking his second envoy, who’d taken a look at the orb in her hand and shaken her head in bewilderment.

“A tomb for the living? Who does it belong to, an ancient immortal?” Qi Shenghui demanded darkly. Murder flared in his eyes. Like most of his peers, the eunuch was particularly petty and vindictive. He was hellbent on killing Lu Yun for calling him a simpleton.

He was surprised at the young man’s declaration, but the revelation was reasonable enough. There were plenty of tombs in the world today. Rediscovering an ancient site could happen just about anywhere. And no one knew exactly who had erected these tombs for the dead immortals.

“If it really is an ancient tomb, that makes things a lot easier,” Qi Shenghui mused.

Lu Yun’s eyes were fixated upon the island. Opening his Spectral Eye, he saw the white figure once more.

It was a lithe, long-haired woman, dressed in alabaster robes. He was too far away to see what she looked like, but there was no doubt she lived and breathed. She was holding something he couldn’t make out and stood very still, almost like she was looking back at the six of them on the shore.

“It’s the tomb of an immortal indeed!” the old man in red intoned. “It spans the entire island.” He was knowledgeable enough to make the correct judgment, but the woman in white remained invisible to him.

“No wonder the Formation Orb is here,” Qi Shenghui took a deep breath. “You, go that way onto the island!” he turned toward Mo Yi. The Duskwater city lord was beautiful enough to charm any man, but Qi Shenghui was an eunuch and his first instinct upon seeing such a pretty fairy was to destroy her!

“No need,” frowned Lu Yun. He flicked a soybean forwarded with his finger and conjured a golden soldier of about eighteen meters tall where it landed.

“Get over there and take a look!” the young man commanded.

“Yes, sir!” The black fire flickering in Lu Yun’s eyes cowed the soldier into immediate submission. He walked into the Dusk River at the end of the white path.

“What exceptional skill in puppetry,” the old man in red noted with surprise. The bean soldier Lu Yun had summoned was no different from a real living creature, yet it wasn’t alive.

Splash splash splash!

Upon making contact with the river waters, the white path became a floating bridge. The moment the soldier’s feet touched the bridge, the waters roiled with activity from the corpses below, who eagerly grabbed at their perceived prey.

The soldier had no time to react to the assault. He was pulled into the waters by his ankle, then torn to pieces in the next instant.

“Wah! Wah! Wah!” A sound like a babe’s cries echoed across the surface, terrifying the people who heard it.

“The resentment of a thousand years of sacrifices has fused with the river water, bolstering the layout’s power.” Lu Yun’s complexion clouded over. The young sacrifices couldn’t become vengeful ghosts in their own right, but the special conditions here had still absorbed their accumulated emotions.

“What do we do?” The flummoxed Qi Shenghui instinctively looked at the old man in red for help.

This elderly expert was a true master of formations. He and the good-for-nothing Formation Thirteen were as different as night and day; the latter cared first and foremost about fishing for fame.