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墨書 Inktalez
Before taking action, I carefully circled around Dune, following the teachings of Lu Jianguo's Secret Technique, and conducted a detailed observation. The Taklamakan Desert is a light-magnetic induction field on Earth, where sunlight is abundant, and the movements of the sun and moon resonate with the Earth's magnetic field. This is especially true near Lop Nur's River Cemetery, which is practically a magnetic core.
The five elements: dragon, cave, sand, water, and direction are referred to as the Geographical Five Secrets by Feng Shui Masters. The dragon, commonly known as Dragon Vein, signifies the rise and fall of Leylines. Therefore, locating the Dragon Vein is crucial for both residential and burial Feng Shui. Feng Shui techniques categorize dragons into nine forces and five forces based on the different orientations of mountain shapes. Leylines also have three dragons: the Northern Dragon, Central Dragon, and Southern Dragon, all originating from Kunlun Mountain.
This desert belongs to the Central Dragon, passing through Hami and directly entering Yumen Pass, extending to Gansu's Qilian Mountains. Its residual veins connect to Taihang Mountain and stretch along the Yangtze River into the sea. Logically speaking, there should be no Cursed Tomb along this Dragon Vein; however, reality indicates that there is indeed a Cursed Tomb here.
A place of Feng Shui can easily turn into a site of great misfortune!
In the eyes of top Feng Shui experts, arranging a Cursed Tomb on a Dragon Vein is quite simple. For instance, the famous "Dragonfly Touch" involves inverting a coffin that should be placed horizontally; after three years, it becomes an extremely cursed grave that can lead to the extinction of the descendants of the deceased. Some burial sites may take hundreds or even thousands of years to reveal their ominous nature. The so-called "Broken Surface Pattern" leads to Uncorrupted Bones; this Cursed Tomb beneath the Quicksand is likely a result of such a pattern.
The term "Broken Surface Pattern" refers to a concept in Feng Shui. Wenqu is one of the Big Dipper Seven Stars; if located in a hidden dragon site, it is auspicious. However, if cinnabar is introduced into such a grave and adjusted with precision according to precession over time, it can shift from Wenqu to Breaking Army Star Position, transforming from auspicious to ominous. This illustrates how the deceased may have been deceived during their lifetime into believing they were buried in a good location; as time passes, it becomes clear that it is now an ill-fated grave.
Having found theoretical support for my findings, I next needed to assess the form of the Tomb.
Based on the ominous implications of the Broken Surface Pattern, it must be an ancient Tomb. Such tombs typically feature only one Passageway aside from the Hall of Offerings. The mound behind this Quicksand resembles a grinding stone. The Quicksand pit in this oasis resulted from soil being excavated and backfilled.
A premonition struck me: this Tomb was oriented westward at burial time; its current orientation should be thirty-seven degrees northwest. I took out Yang's Compass and followed its direction to locate thirty-seven degrees northwest; indeed, that area aligns with Breaking Army Star Position. If I am not mistaken, I should have found the entrance to the tomb passage.
"I've found the entrance to the tomb passage!" I exclaimed excitedly to everyone. As I pointed in that direction, their faces turned pale.
"Buddy, that Quicksand looks deadly; we might not be able to move an inch!"
"Put ourselves in a desperate situation and fight for it!"
To be honest, if a person falls into Quicksand, it is like dropping into a specially made paste that becomes stickier the more you struggle. The harder you try to escape, the deeper you sink and the more firmly you become trapped. At this point, trying to pull yourself out would only result in your limbs being torn apart, making escape nearly impossible. Moreover, in this Dune, there are many Vengeful Spirits lurking.
The only way to cross the Quicksand is by using a tool similar to a Yoke Horse or a Snowboard. Sitting on the Yoke Horse, one can glide swiftly with their feet. The snowboard is much simpler; you just need to strap a wooden board to your feet and use two poles to move forward.
We unanimously decided to use snowboards, so we went into the oasis and chopped down a few trees to make them, bringing along shovels and other tools. Zhengyang was the first to step onto the yellow sand; he glided like a swallow, swiftly reaching the base of the mound. Next were Dong Tong, Big Mouth Lee, Bald Qiang, and finally, it was my turn.
As soon as I stepped onto the Quicksand, the temperature around me dropped to a terrifying level. Especially near me, it was so cold that my breath formed White Mist. A wave of White Mist rose up, obscuring the moonlight and the opposite Dune. My mind instantly went into a frenzy; I knew there were pairs of eyes hiding in the White Mist, watching me.
My calves trembled uncontrollably, and to make matters worse, I started cramping. My hands shook as I tried to navigate through the Quicksand. I didn’t understand how Big Mouth Lee could see me through the thick fog; he shouted, "Don't panic! Don't panic!" Before long, he yelled again, "It's just sliding through Quicksand; why are you so worked up? You're such a loser!" I cursed under my breath; I was scared, not excited...
As I slid across the Quicksand, suddenly a hand emerged from the sand. It had no flesh at all and emitted a white light from its bony fingers as it clawed at the ground. "What the hell! They all passed without issue; am I just a disaster magnet?" I initially planned to go around it, but that hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed my foot. Damn it! I swung my sand stick and chanted the Golden Light Spell, striking that hand with all my might. The hand burst into golden light and shattered! I thought to myself, "I do have some Daoist Practice; how could I be afraid of such a ghost?"
Just as I felt triumphant, the sight before me petrified me instantly—a scene that would haunt me for life. Countless skeletal hands emerged from the Quicksand, densely packed and overlapping so much that there was hardly any place left to step. Terrified, I screamed out loud. Zhengyang's voice came from afar: "Hey, are you okay?" I couldn't even respond; soon after, Big Mouth Lee's voice rang out: "Haha! Xia Family Child is scared stiff!" Hearing this made me curse loudly: "Damn it! Are these ghosts specifically targeting me?"
I drew my Azure Dark Sword and charged at those bony hands like a driver who accidentally pressed the gas pedal in a crowd. Their fingers were neatly severed as bones scattered across the ground like confetti. The sword light swept through again, cutting off countless arms.
"Are you crazy?" Zhengyang was the first to notice something was off with me; he flew in front of me like Dragonfly Touch skimming water and pulled me up. With just a gentle push on the Dune, he jumped us both over to safety. All I heard was a rush of wind in my ears; before I could comprehend what happened, we were at the base of the Dune!
"You’re too cursed; if I come here with you, don’t drag me down with you!" Big Mouth Lee said angrily. "We all crossed easily; what’s wrong with you?"
"What else could it be? He must have angered some Dirty Things!" Dong Tong chuckled. "So what's up? Xia classmate can't get across?" "Look over there! What is that?" Zhengyang seemed intent on breaking my awkwardness as we followed his pointing finger.
Our faces turned pale simultaneously as we saw a stone tablet emerging from the Quicksand with Chinese characters inscribed on it: "Mysterious Tablet appears; Nine Extremes form. Quicksand falls; Wind and Haze City!"
The characters were meticulously crafted, resembling the inscriptions on the Zhang Qian Stele from the Han Dynasty. The strokes were powerful and robust, imbued with the weathered essence of stone, something that modern techniques could not replicate. This stele was undoubtedly a relic from before the Western Jin period.
Zhengyang's brow twitched slightly. "Nine Extremes? Could it be related to the Nine Deadly Tombs? That complicates things!" I had thought that the Nine-Tiered Corpse Tower was merely a formation arranged using nine burial mounds, but it turned out this fellow had taken it to another level, actually using the Nine Deadly Tombs to create the formation!
The so-called Nine Deadly Tombs are located from the center to the eight extremes, with the Nine-Tiered Corpse Tower at its core, surrounded by eight Cursed Tombs. These eight Cursed Tombs are interconnected by underground water veins, allowing their Killing Intent to be transmitted through the Dragon Vein to the Nine-Tiered Corpse Tower, providing it with an endless source of energy.
As we listened to Zhengyang's explanation, our scalps tingled with unease. Should we excavate this tomb or not? Digging would surely uncover Uncorrupted Bones and perhaps even fearsome entities like the Drought Demon. But if we didn’t dig, my deadline loomed ever closer. Just as we hesitated, Dong Tong decisively spoke up, "Is that all you can muster? Dig!"
This type of Nine Deadly Tombs follows the directions of Bagua, linking to the Nine-Tiered Corpse Tower. For instance, this particular Cursed Tomb is situated in the Kan position; Kan is represented by two trigrams in Bagua. This tomb is highly likely a Quicksand Tomb. The sealed earth symbolizes the upper Kan, while Quicksand represents the lower Kan. I wouldn’t have understood this if I hadn’t recently become familiar with Mausoleum Secrets and my grandfather's work journal; otherwise, I would never have known that a tomb located in the Kan position is almost certainly a Quicksand Tomb.
To deal with a Quicksand Tomb, there are only two options. One is akin to a large-scale archaeological excavation, removing the Quicksand from above. Clearly, such a massive undertaking was beyond our time constraints. The second option involves building walls to block the sand while crawling and digging at the same time. Although this method is labor-intensive and time-consuming, it allows direct access to the tomb's bottom. However, this option was quickly dismissed as well; even if we had enough time, where would we find so much timber?
As I pondered about Quicksand, I recalled a folk saying: "The chamber is filled entirely with fine sand, which must be heated before being used for filling. A large amount of fine sand fills the coffin chamber before being compacted with earth on all sides. The heated fine sand is dry and highly fluid; once a thief breaks into the tomb chamber, fine sand will rush into their tunnel like flowing water, leaving little chance for survival."
Years ago, a group of grave robbers entered the Shangcai Guozhuang Chu Tomb in Henan Province. The leading grave robber broke through a wall into the burial passage. Upon discovering valuable artifacts, they eagerly reached for a bronze vessel to examine it closely. However, as he gently pushed against it, fine sand suddenly cascaded down from above, followed by heavy stones crashing down. As they attempted to flee at that moment, piles of stones blocked their escape route again. These jagged rocks were unprocessed and sharp enough to claim lives; all those grave robbers were buried alive. Over two millennia, this tomb had been plundered at least seventeen times without suffering any damage.
A flash of inspiration struck me as I recalled Mausoleum Secrets. According to its records, there was indeed another method for dealing with such Quicksand!
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