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墨書 Inktalez
To be honest, this wasn't my first time climbing Helmet Mountain. In the past, I came here for leisure, but today I was observing the area from the perspective of a Feng Shui Master, which made me pay extra attention to the details.
I had been to the Corpse Raising Ground before. The scenery there was quite nice, with gloomy trees covering about thirty acres. However, it was strange that I couldn't find a single water source. Not even a small puddle could be found.
But this was the Corpse Raising Ground, and indeed, there wasn't a single grave in sight; it was a place of Yin Jian. The separation between Yin and Yang could be discerned through sunlight. Each day, at noon, the Yang Qi was at its peak; from early morning to noon, the Yang Qi gradually increased, while in the afternoon until midnight, the Eerie Energy rose. A simple way to distinguish these areas was based on when sunlight could reach them. If sunlight could shine before noon, it was a Yang area; if it could only shine after noon, it was a Yin Jian area. All cemeteries were built in Yang areas.
Burying someone in a Yin Jian area would turn them into Zongzi even without any resentment, let alone if there were great grievances involved. If someone with ill intentions wanted to cultivate evil spirits, how could they miss such an excellent location? However, for the Folk Sanhe School, this place was practically a blessed land—this is another story.
"Uncle Lu, we've found the Corpse Raising Ground, but that Ghost Infant's grave won't be easy to locate!"
"Don't worry; I have a way to find it!"
At this time, it was just past five o'clock and still dimly lit. I saw Lu Jianguo approach a large rock and spread out his bundle on the ground. He set up seven iron lamps and took out an iron scissors to cut a piece of yellow paper into the shape of a person. With a loud shout, Lu Jianguo pointed at the Paper Man's forehead. The Paper Man floated up and drifted towards the Corpse Raising Ground.
"Let's go! We'll head over now!"
The Paper Man led us around in the Corpse Raising Ground, weaving through clusters of trees and not missing any dense foliage or raised mounds of earth. After about three hours, the paper figure circled around a large tree three times to the left and three times to the right before suddenly dropping to the ground. No matter how Lu Jianguo gestured, it wouldn't rise again.
"Right under this tree is where my Paper Man has its significance; it's called 'Guide Spirit'!"
The Guide Spirit is a type of Mayi Divination from Maoshan. This kind of Paper Man can discern Eerie Energy and can trace the strongest Eerie Energy within a one-kilometer radius.
After finishing his task, Lu Jianguo walked around the tree once more, picked up a handful of soil and sniffed it. His brow furrowed in concern; it seemed something was amiss.
Lu Jianguo was a composed person, and through our interactions so far, I had come to understand him well. Even he—a person with an extremely Yang constitution—looked troubled; one could only imagine how serious the situation must be.
"This should be it!"
Lu Jianguo pointed at the tree as if testing me and smiled: "What’s different about this tree?"
I circled the tree three times to the left and three times to the right, finding nothing unusual. Suddenly, it felt like a realization struck me. I exclaimed, "Could this be a Sophora Tree that grew from the crying stick of a grave?"
"Not quite! Guess again!"
I looked closely at the tree and noticed it indeed had some peculiarities. Normally, trees thrive in sunlight, but this one was the opposite. While typical Sophora Trees have branches that reach upward, this tree's branches drooped down. Moreover, every leaf had two rings of red around its back, resembling countless eyes.
This was unsettling!
It felt as if countless eyes were watching me!
"Uncle Lu, could it be those red leaves?"
Lu Jianguo nodded. "These are called 'Ghost Eyes.' Any tree used for corpse refining will have red on the back of its leaves!"
Ordinary trees planted on graves are usually lush varieties like boxwood; you would never find willows or Sophora Trees, which are considered ominous. According to the records in Mausoleum Secrets, if a tree on a grave exhibits Ghost Eyes, it indicates that the corpse beneath has undergone some transformation. The tree absorbs excessive Eerie Energy and Killing Intent, which accumulates and settles behind the leaves, turning them blood-red. It's like inserting flowers into colored water; over time, the flowers absorb the color, changing their petals. Willows attract spirits and can absorb large amounts of Killing Intent and Eerie Energy from the air, channeling it underground and significantly enhancing ghostly energy.
Whenever encountering such trees, it's best to keep your distance. However, right now, we not only couldn't retreat but had to dig!
"Chop it down?"
"Give it a try!"
Lu Jianguo smiled and pulled out a dagger from his pack, sharp as could be. I took the dagger and struck the tree; with a loud clang, sparks flew as the dagger scraped against the trunk. The tree didn't even suffer a scratch! I looked at Lu Jianguo in confusion.
The Ghost Eye Tree was lush with foliage and had an extensive root system. Due to absorbing too much Yin Sha energy, it was filled with Eerie Energy, making it impervious to blades or axes! The only way to deal with it was to burn it with Yang Fire. This so-called Yang Fire is wood fire, obtained by friction from wood. Stone fire—like that from lighters or matches—relies on minerals for ignition and is ineffective against this type of tree!
"Don't rush! Use this tree as your center point and walk eighty steps in each of the eight directions."
Using this tree as my center point, I walked eighty steps in each direction. Sure enough, I discovered eight more Sophora Trees planted in those directions, each with "Ghost Eyes" on the backs of their leaves.
"That's good, let's act at dusk." Dusk was after the afternoon. Lu Jianguo took out a red rope from his bundle, dyed with Black Dog Blood. He tied it to a Sophora Tree and handed me several pieces to tie around the other eight Sophora Trees.
"These red ropes can temporarily suppress the Ghost Infant, but they will be ineffective after seven hours!"
"Alright! Let's head back and prepare before coming again!"
"In the evening, it will just be the two of us. You go get gasoline and a Shovel! We'll meet around four-thirty at dusk!"
We split up. After buying two Entrenching Shovels, I carried a canister to buy gasoline, but the gas station attendant refused to sell it to me! With no other choice, I handed ten yuan to a Motorcycle Taxi Driver and asked him to fill half a tank. I then siphoned it out with a straw. By the time I finished all this, it was around two o'clock. I hurriedly flagged down a car and arrived at the location, getting off near the Sophora Tree just as it was four-thirty. Lu Jianguo had been waiting under the tree.
"Start the fire!"
"Wait!" Lu Jianguo waved his hand and took out a packet of pink ash, along with two Black Chicken Eggs. He cracked them open into the ash, and we each ate one while chanting, "My body is now concealed!" I followed suit, and indeed felt an eerie energy rising around me.
This technique was called "Soul Concealment Technique," recorded in the Secret Technique. On the first day of the lunar new year, after drying Crimson Toads, they were ground into ash. The toad could conceal Yang Qi, while Black Chicken Eggs could generate Eerie Energy. With Yang Qi concealed, Eerie Energy naturally emanated forth, making us invisible before ghosts and monsters.
"Light it up!"
Lu Jianguo commanded as he pulled out a bow from his bundle. The thin string of the bow wrapped around a wooden stick resting on a dry branch. He pulled back and forth on the bowstring until flames began to flicker. I poured gasoline on the nine large trees and ignited them with Yang Fire; the flames roared to life. Surprisingly, these flames reached only three or four inches high without producing any black smoke. After burning for about half an hour, there was a loud crash as all nine Sophora Trees collapsed simultaneously!
"Uncle Lu! How do we dig?"
"A fence needs three stakes; let's remove the stakes first!"
"Xia, did you bring your Master Copper Seal?"
"Don't worry, Uncle Lu; I carry it with me at all times. I also brought a Celestial Five Thunder Talisman!" Ever since encountering that strange incident at Big Mouth Lee's house, I dared not leave home without my copper seal. "Great! We'll dig separately; when we find the corpse, you use the Master Copper Seal to stab it—guaranteed to burn it to death!"
Uncle Lu and I went our separate ways. I took my Entrenching Shovel and started digging at the base of one tree. After about twenty minutes of digging, I heard a clank. I unearthed a piece of iron with incomprehensible symbols etched on it. After digging for another ten minutes or so, I uncovered an iron urn. Opening it revealed a baby corpse inside, completely blackened and as stiff as iron. Following Uncle Lu's instructions, I jabbed at the Iron Corpse with my Master Copper Seal; it ignited like charcoal, glowing red until it turned to ash in no time at all.
It took about three hours, which meant it was around seven-thirty in the evening. I had excavated four Infant Formations: Iron Skin, Azure Mulberry, Lapis Lazuli, and Glass. Uncle Lu dug out Clay Skin, Obsidian, and an Egg from the four Infant Formations made of human bones. There was a saying about this: "Iron, Mulberry, Glass; Clay, Sun, Bone, Egg," referring to the eight great evil artifacts.
"It's almost time; let's start digging at nine!"
"Why nine?"
"When the sun gradually reaches nine, the yin dissipates. At nine for Yin Jian, the yang rises. Each nine marks a boundary line. During this time frame, the spirits' power weakens."
Before long, it was nine o'clock. We began to dig together, and after about twenty minutes, with a loud clang, the iron pickaxe struck something solid, sending vibrations through my hands. It turned out we had unearthed an iron Bagua. The eight trigrams were aligned perfectly with the eight Infant Formations. As for why the Yin-Yang Fish symbol was right in the center, it was common knowledge, so we didn't think much of it.
At that moment, we uncovered a large urn and broke it open. Inside sat a woman who looked to be around twenty years old, her abdomen having been mostly consumed. I stared at the scene in shock; although her face was grotesque, I recognized her instantly. Wasn't that Tang Lili?
"Tang Lili is the Blood Curse!"
My heart nearly leaped out of my chest as I let out a hoarse scream and stumbled backward several steps, half-collapsing onto the ground!
According to the Mausoleum Secrets: The Blood Curse is a vessel for nurturing a demon child, requiring a girl with an overly yin birth chart before she turns twenty. She must be fed with fresh blood daily until the child opens its eyes. This would turn her into a Blood Curse and place a Ghost Infant within her; in just three years, a demon child could be forged.
Realizing this made me furrow my brow deeply; suddenly, I slapped my thigh and felt an epiphany wash over me.
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