Chapter 234
Chapter 234
Pure and turbid qi were mysteries within mysteries.
Master said that even she did not fully understand them. She had merely inherited a few rudimentary techniques for absorbing and using them.
It was like a driver who knew how to operate a car, but did not necessarily understand the principles behind the machine or how it was manufactured.
Our use of pure and turbid qi was like a driver’s use of a car.
We knew how, but not why.
We had to remain filled with reverence.
Roundy’s spiritual senses were extremely keen–at least keener than mine. If it thought the aura in the underground tomb passage resembled pure and turbid qi, then there was probably some similar kind of power within.
It might be a supreme treasure!
Or it might be some powerful living being.
Of course, the former was more likely.
“Wu boy, are you coming down to explore with me?”
“Explore, my ass! After hearing you say that, I think we need to be even more careful. I’ve decided to return to the coffin shop, tell Old Cao, and bring him here. There’s strength in numbers, and it’ll be safer.”
I made my decision.
After spending the past two years together, Old Cao and I had become extremely close.
As long as it was not an especially grave matter directly involving life and death, I no longer cared whether we divided the karmic debt or became entangled in each other’s burdens. The fortunes of people who were close were already bound and connected in some invisible way.
It was difficult to avoid.
Good or bad, they had to share it.
Otherwise, the ancient legend that “when one person attains the Way, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven” would never have existed.
The principle was similar. One could say those chickens and dogs had formed a benevolent connection with the ascendant from the very beginning.
Whoosh!
Roundy beat its wings, flew up from the hole, and landed on my shoulder with two coos.
“Wu boy, are you stupid? Why do you need to make the trip yourself? Wait here! I’ll fly back and tell Old Cao to come.”
Uh…
That was true.
I had just sent Roundy to the police station to inspect Wang Xinren’s body and retrieve the autopsy report, yet I had forgotten that option now.
“Fine. Hurry back and tell Old Cao to come. I’ll wait here.”
The big fat bird swiftly flew toward the eastern side of Lianghe Town.
I remained alone in the grave pit, staring at the dark opening as I waited.
It was the dead of night, and this was a lonely grave in the wilderness.
The moon shone brightly amid sparse stars while birds gave strange cries.
Mist gradually began spreading between the grass and trees…
It was extremely eerie and terrifying!
An ordinary person standing here would probably have been scared witless or even fainted already.
But to me, this was nothing much.
So I calmly leaned against the wall of the grave pit, casually humming a tune.
Suddenly!
I sensed a strange movement in the ground beneath my feet.
It seemed to be trembling slightly.
“What’s going on?”
I looked down.
Before I could react, my entire body suddenly felt weightless. Only then did a rumbling sound reach my ears as I plummeted underground.
“Oh no! The floor of the grave pit collapsed.”
The thought flashed through my mind.
But it was already too late…
The space beneath the pit was only a little over four meters high, so the fall lasted barely half a second.
By the time I reacted, I had already slammed hard onto the cold ground. Fortunately, after cultivating martial arts to the level of overt force, my muscles had become extraordinarily responsive and instinctively adjusted my landing posture. I was not injured.
I was merely covered in dirt and grit, my face and hair gray with dust, leaving me rather bedraggled.
I climbed out of the dirt and broken stones, then looked up.
I could see a huge opening and the bright moon hanging high in the sky…
The hole, originally only the size of a washbasin, had expanded to at least two meters in diameter.
“Damn! What rotten luck. I never expected the entire bottom of the grave to collapse and take me down with it.”
I was rather speechless.
Had I known, I would have waited outside the grave pit instead of standing in it!
But what was done was done, and regret came too late.
“Forget it. Roundy and Old Cao will arrive soon anyway. I can wait in this underground chamber. It’s no big problem.”
As I thought this, I swept my flashlight around and began examining my surroundings.
Just as the big fat bird had said, the underground chamber was sizable, roughly as large as our classroom. But it was circular overall, and the surrounding walls were smooth, clearly reinforced and polished by human hands.
All kinds of strange marks had been carved into the walls. They did not look much like Daoist talismans, but rather some ancient or obscure script!
I could not be certain, yet that was my intuition.
When I moved closer to look, the feeling grew stronger.
I turned my flashlight toward the eastern side of the underground cavern.
Just as Roundy had said, a dark passage stood there!
It should have been tall enough for an adult man to walk upright.
But the tunnel was clearly deep, and my flashlight could not illuminate whatever lay ahead.
I secretly activated my sense of qi, sent it into my eyes, and used my “night vision.”
Yet I could still only see the tunnel extending forward, with no end in sight!
Strangely, however, I did not sense the aura of danger and pressure Roundy had described…
“Could it be because I’m human and my spiritual senses are far less sensitive than those of a demon like Roundy? But that isn’t right. If whatever lies ahead truly relates to pure and turbid qi, then because I possess both, my reaction should be even stronger than Roundy’s. Why don’t I feel anything?”
No matter how much I pondered it, I could not understand, and curiosity filled my heart.
So I moved a little closer. Of course, out of caution and concern for safety, I still observed from roughly one zhang away.
Before Roundy and Old Cao returned, I would never rashly enter this eerie tunnel alone!
I might be brave, but I was neither stupid nor reckless.
But at that moment, suddenly…
I noticed something wrong. My ears seemed to catch some kind of sound.
I immediately stopped moving.
At the same time, I held my breath, concentrated, and listened carefully.
Huff, huff…
Within this dark underground chamber, there seemed to be an extremely faint sound of breathing!
It was very quiet.
The sounds of my footsteps and my own breathing would both drown it out.
“Is there something else here?”
My heart jolted in alarm.
I instantly became vigilant.