Chapter 240
Chapter 240
“That’s right!”
I nodded.
“There truly is an inauspicious feng shui formation hidden here–and an extremely rare Yellow Springs Baleforce Formation…”
Every Chinese person was familiar with the Yellow Springs.
In myths and legends, it was a great river flowing through the Netherworld.
At times, the name was also used to refer directly to the Netherworld itself.
Master had said that although the Netherworld truly existed, no one actually knew what it was like. The Yellow Springs flowing through it were even more mysterious. No one had ever seen them…
In feng shui, however, the term “Yellow Springs” was borrowed to refer to certain rare, inauspicious formations.
The Yellow Springs in feng shui sometimes also referred to underground water.
Because it was hidden belowground, it was difficult to account for when assessing an area’s overall feng shui. Fortunately, groundwater did not exist everywhere, and ordinary graves were not dug deep enough to reach it, so it generally posed no problem…
But today, inside this underground cavern, we had discovered the problem by calculating the formation from the terrain!
Holding the phantom of the golden compass before me, I paced beside the underground river in the northeast corner and muttered calculations as I explained matters to Old Cao and Roundy.
“There are four kinds of Yellow Springs Baleforce Formation: the White Tiger Yellow Springs Formation, Earthly Branch Yellow Springs Formation, Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation, and Eight-Four Yellow Springs Formation. Each forms only under extremely strict and rare conditions, and each can cause different harmful effects.”
“Both The Classic of Dwellings and The Book of Burial say: ‘Kan dragon, Kun rabbit, Zhen mountain monkey; Xun rooster, Qian horse, Dui snake head; Gen tiger and Li pig become baleful stars; should house or grave encounter them, all ends at once.'”
“This actually explains the Qian, You, Wu, Mao, Xun, Zi, Gen, and Kun orientations among the Twenty-Four Mountains. For example, Kan corresponds to Zi and belongs to water in the Five Elements, while dragon means Chen, which belongs to earth. Earth restrains water. Thus, using a north-facing site with its back to the south as the reference, water arriving from the Chen direction violates the Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation and is inauspicious.”
“The underground river before us flows in from the Chen direction and strikes the Yellow Springs baleforce! This turns the water dragon into a malevolent dragon, transforming an auspicious feng shui site into an inauspicious one!”
“It is precisely because the water dragon vein became a Yellow Springs Baleforce Formation that it produces so much earth baleforce, which then nourishes the Corpseglow Moss growing on the cavern walls.”
“I failed to notice it immediately partly because this underground cavern is dark and visibility is limited, nothing like the broad, bright surface. But I also lack experience. I instinctively interpreted this underground river according to the course of a river aboveground…”
Only now, with Old Cao and Roundy guarding me while I concentrated completely on the calculation, did realization dawn on me!
The fat bird Roundy fluttered its wings, wearing a confused expression that suggested it had understood only half of what I said.
“Wu, that’s far too complicated and technical! Just listening is exhausting. Put it simply: what’s so sinister about this place? What harm can this underground river cause? And what are we supposed to do now?”
Old Cao also patted my shoulder, indicating that he would follow my judgment.
I answered with a helpless, bitter smile.
“Feng shui doesn’t act as directly as various spells and techniques. Whether the effect is good or bad, it takes time to emerge gradually, and the way it manifests isn’t particularly obvious.”
“So the most straightforward purpose of this Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation… is probably that someone deliberately wanted to destroy the auspicious Three Stars Attending the Moon feng shui formation of Lianghe District Middle School!”
That was the most direct function I could imagine.
Three Stars Attending the Moon might be powerful, but this Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation was corroding it from within!
Originally, I had thought this was an excellent water dragon vein. If so, it might even have strengthened Three Stars Attending the Moon. Two auspicious feng shui formations layered together could have brought Lianghe District Middle School and nearby farming households better fortune.
But the underground river instead formed an Eight Baleforces Yellow Springs Formation!
Not only could it provide no benefit, it would slowly corrode and destroy the original Three Stars Attending the Moon formation. After all, the “three stars” were the three connected peaks behind the school, and this Yellow Springs Baleforce Formation lay inside the most important central rear mountain. Given enough time, it would certainly cause serious problems.
“But Wu… this is strange. What grudge could that evil cultivator have against Lianghe District Middle School? Why go to such lengths just to ruin a middle school’s feng shui?”
Roundy found it hard to believe and stared with its avian eyes wide open.
I also thought it unlikely.
Could someone truly have created so many bizarre things merely to worsen the school’s feng shui, leaving future students unable to enter top high schools or prestigious universities?
But…
What would the evil cultivator gain?!
Old Cao offered his own guess.
“Perhaps… the damage this Yellow Springs Baleforce Formation does to the school’s feng shui is only a side effect? Maybe the evil cultivator who found and exploited this cavern has some other scheme that we simply haven’t discovered yet.”
I nodded.
“Yes, your guess is probably right, Old Cao. Master has also said that what appears to be the most direct and obvious purpose is often not the true reason.”
The stupid bird Roundy disliked thinking too deeply. It found it troublesome.
After listening to Old Cao and me speculate for a while, it impatiently waved a wing.
“Enough. We’ve rested long enough. We know the truth behind Wang Xinren’s death, and there doesn’t seem to be anything else we can learn here for now. Let’s retrace our path. If those last two flying-head creatures dare block us, we’ll kill them along the way. But they’re neither demons nor ghosts. They don’t leave anything Lord Bird can absorb after they die. What a loss.”
It muttered under its breath, clearly dissatisfied.
After all, demons, ghosts, and corpse-fiends left demon cores, remnant souls, corpse cores, and similar things for it to devour. The damned fat bird was not picky and ate practically anything.
But when these flying-head creatures were destroyed, they left nothing. Their already shriveled brain tissue and red tumors simply turned to ash, leaving no residual power at all.
Roundy felt badly cheated…
Laughing, I rubbed its fluffy head.
“Stop muttering. Let’s go. We’ll head back–”
At that exact moment!
Before I could finish speaking, an extremely strange noise arose around us. It resembled muffled thunder in the far distance or ten thousand galloping horses, rumbling ominously.
Old Cao clearly heard it too.
He swept a vigilant gaze around us.
“What’s happening? What is that sound?”
Roundy stopped muttering and grew alert as demonic energy circulated around its body.
The next instant, a massive torrent of turbid yellow water suddenly surged from the source of the underground river ahead!
It instantly turned the underground river, previously as clear and transparent as glass, into a muddy yellow current. The water swelled violently and immediately spilled over its original riverbed…
In the blink of an eye, the place where we stood had become a vast expanse of water!
The yellow underground river water smelled of sulfur and had already risen to our calves. Its temperature also seemed to have increased, making it slightly hot.
“The Yellow Springs! This is the true Yellow Springs of feng shui–yellow underground river water.”
I blurted out in astonishment.
Indeed… the so-called Yellow Springs of feng shui was not as sinister as the one from mythology. In essence, it was merely a yellow hot spring deep underground containing large amounts of sulfur!
If it emerged aboveground, people could even make use of it by building a hot-spring resort.
But when it surged underground, it became a symbol of ill omen. In feng shui, it was a substance that could damage the surrounding formation…
“Run! The volume of water has suddenly increased too much. Something unknown may have changed deep underground. This entire cavern could be flooded.”
Old Cao’s expression changed slightly.
He beckoned for the paper horse to hurry over. Unfortunately, it was not a paper horse with spiritual resonance, so it was neither sturdy nor waterproof. Its hooves had already softened in the Yellow Springs water, leaving it unable to move.
“Xiao Wu, we need to get over there ourselves! Roundy, please go ahead and deal with the remaining two flying-head creatures.”
“All right!”
In this emergency, Roundy wasted no words and flew straight ahead. It intended to kill the two flying-head creatures before Old Cao and I reached the tunnel entrance.
Otherwise, if they were still blocking the way when we arrived and we had to fight them then, we might be too late!
Yet despite our awareness of how little time remained, we were still not fast enough…
A stone door suddenly dropped over the tunnel exit, sealing it completely.
I had only run halfway when I saw it, and my eyes widened in shock.
“Damn, you’ve got to be kidding me!”
The underground cavern was now sealed shut.
As the sulfur-laden yellow hot spring water surged wildly from underground, this place would soon become a flooded cavern! No matter how high our cultivation or how powerful our techniques, we could not survive here like fish.
Roundy had only just reached the tunnel entrance and had not yet attacked the two flying-head creatures when the falling stone door blocked its path. The sudden development startled it too, leaving it hovering there in confusion.
What were we supposed to do?!
I immediately panicked. I was still young, after all, and it was difficult not to grow nervous in such an emergency.
Old Cao, however, had likely experienced far more and passed through countless brushes with death.
He had instead calmed down.
He said gravely,
“Xiao Wu, don’t you know the Water-Repelling Talisman?”
“I do! But it can only let us hold our breath for a few more minutes. It can’t possibly keep us alive for long once this sealed cavern fills completely with water!”
My mouth felt dry.
By now, the water had already reached our waists!
The Yellow Springs was pouring out in tremendous volume and at tremendous speed, catching us completely off guard.
Old Cao spoke quickly too.
“A few minutes is enough! We don’t plan to stay here forever. This cavern isn’t completely sealed. Otherwise, where would the underground river flow?”
Realization dawned on me, and I understood what Old Cao meant.
He wanted us to enter the underground river channel and follow the current downstream!