Feng Shui - Chapter 8
"What is this?" Xinxue asked again in surprise.
"I don't know either," Han Zheng said, her brows furrowed.
Everything that happened today while entering the Xuanming Soul-Dissolving Qi was truly unexpected. Han Zheng's original plan was simply to enter the Xuanming Soul-Dissolving Qi, find the two survivors trapped within the formation, and then redeploy her plans. However, things have changed drastically. Han Zheng realized that the emergence of the forbidden artifact trapped in this formation has alarmed the realms of gods, demons, and monsters. The current situation is no longer under the control of a cultivator from the mortal realm; she can only proceed one step at a time.
The appearance of the demonic butterfly and the subsequent azure light that drove it away suggest that a powerful expert was secretly waiting nearby, also observing the emergence of the forbidden artifact. It seems today will be a gathering of top cultivators from all three realms, all with the same goal: the forbidden artifact.
2004-12-7 22:42:00
Chapter Thirteen: Feng Shui Again
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Before she knew it, Jiang Yao had fallen asleep, but Li Zhanghao was nowhere to be seen. The entire dormitory was filled with the strange fragrance of pollen. Jiang Yao looked much better, and now she had an added touch of charm, with an indescribable allure.
Jiang Yao didn't wake up. If she saw the scene in the room, she would be speechless with surprise.
The entire room was enveloped in flowers, lush and verdant, exuding tranquility. The bed where Jiang Yao lay was surrounded by a deep purple, exotic flower, making Jiang Yao appear as if she were buried within it, more like a flower fairy.
Feng Shui had appeared there unnoticed. He quietly watched Jiang Yao, who was still fast asleep, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips, but he didn't disturb her. Feng Shui's face had also undergone a slight change; his eyelashes had grown much longer, and beneath them, a pale blue light shimmered in his black eyes, giving him a mysterious, dreamlike appearance and making his facial features even more defined. He sat quietly on the bed opposite Jiang Yao. If anyone saw him now, they would surely mistake him for a girl disguised as a boy, perhaps because of his transformed eyelashes.
Feng Shui slowly stood up; his graceful figure reminded one of a tamed leopard without its claws. He walked over to Jiang Yao and sat down beside her, gently reaching out and stroking her delicate cheek with a smile in his eyes.
Although the movement was slight, it startled Jiang Yao awake.
"Who are you?" Jiang Yao sat up nervously and quickly moved her body back a few steps.
"My name is Feng Shui." The pale blue light in Feng Shui's eyes disappeared, and his pupils returned to their original black color.
"I don't know you," Jiang Yao said nervously, still on high alert.
Feng Shui didn't say anything, but simply raised his hand, reached out to Jiang Yao's chest, and grabbed the blue brocade pouch she was wearing around her neck, still with a smile on his face.
"What do you want to do?" Jiang Yao asked loudly and nervously.
"There's an emerald inside, with the character 'wind' on it. Has it faded?" the feng shui master said with a smile.
"How did you know?" Jiang Yao asked, somewhat surprised.
"I asked a friend to give that to you," Feng Shui said with a smile.
"How is this possible? This was clearly meant for Li Qiu, how could it be for me?" Jiang Yao exclaimed in surprise.
“That’s right, you are Li Qiu,” Feng Shui smiled.
"I'm not Li Qiu, my name is Jiang Yao. It was because I forgot to give this to Li Qiu that they died so tragically," Jiang Yao groaned, almost hysterically.
“You are Li Qiu, and only if you wear this emerald will it help you escape this calamity. It will be of no use to anyone else.” Feng Shui’s eyes looked somewhat strange at this moment.
"How is this possible?" Jiang Yao asked in shock.
"What you did in your past life will become what you are in this life. There's no way around it; your destiny was intertwined with mine in a past life." The smile in the feng shui eyes deepened.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand a word of it," Jiang Yao asked, puzzled.
“What I say is no longer important. Now you are Jiang Yao, and this emerald helped you through a tribulation. That’s enough,” Feng Shui smiled.
Jiang Yao listened to the feng shui talk and felt somewhat confused. Just as she was about to ask him something else, she was surprised to find that the room had completely changed.
"How did this place become like this?" Jiang Yao asked in surprise, looking at the changes in the room.
"Don't you know anything at all?" Feng Shui looked into Jiang Yao's eyes and asked with more curiosity.
"What do I know? I just fell asleep. By the way, why isn't Li Zhanghao here? And how did you get in?" Jiang Yao seemed to have adjusted to the series of changes that had occurred, and asked rationally.
"Are you talking about the person who uses the Three-Sword Style?" Feng Shui asked.
"What three-sword style? I'm asking about a man with acne on his face who carries three samurai swords. Where is he now?" Jiang Yao asked.
"Hehe, then we're talking about the same person. He's out there helping those cultivators who forced their way in," Feng Shui said with a smile.
"What exactly happened here?" Jiang Yao stared at the feng shui in shock, asking herself aloud in her heart.
Today, everything that happened was completely beyond Jiang Yao's comprehension; a series of events unfolded so suddenly. First, everyone in the school died before her eyes. Then, the mysterious jade pendant around her neck pulled her back from the brink of death. Next, Li Zhanghao saved her, and even more outrageously, he claimed to be Japanese and a cultivator. He also mentioned a "forbidden artifact" in the school. All of this gradually turned Jiang Yao's initial confusion and surprise into numbness. Although more incomprehensible things were happening before her, Jiang Yao was much calmer. However, she couldn't help but feel a slight attraction to the mysterious man called Feng Shui before her. This feeling was strange, as if she had seen him somewhere before, but only in fragmented memories.
"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?" Jiang Yao stared at Feng Shui's face and said, trying to recall.
“Yes, we met recently. However, things have developed in a way that has surprised me. I didn’t expect you to return to this world so quickly and have grown so much. It seems that man proposes, God disposes. All of this has been ordained by fate. Even if I could calculate all the secrets of heaven, I would not be able to completely break the arrangements of fate. It is so mysterious.” Feng Shui stared at Jiang Yao and said with emotion.
Although Jiang Yao didn't understand what feng shui meant, she felt an increasing attraction to this man. Jiang Yao's face suddenly flushed, and she lowered her head, hastily running her fingers through her hair. She felt she no longer possessed the demeanor of a lady and was embarrassed to let the man in front of her see her like this.
"Why do I feel so awkward in front of this man called Feng Shui? Is it because I care a lot about my image in his eyes? Is it because I've fallen in love with this man? How could that be? This is the first time I've met him, why would I think like this?" Jiang Yao kept thinking to herself.
Jiang Yao secretly raised her head to steal a glance at the feng shui in front of her, only to find that the feng shui was still smiling at her, and its eyes looked so deep, like a boundless universe. Jiang Yao was somewhat mesmerized, and when she realized she had lost her composure, she found her face getting even hotter, but the feng shui's smile remained unchanged.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jiang Yao's voice became gentle and shy.
"It's nothing. I didn't expect you to change so much; it completely exceeded my expectations. But that's even better." Feng Shui's words were somewhat rambling, leaving Jiang Yao even more confused.
Just then, an incredibly bright light suddenly appeared outside the window, followed by an even stronger tremor in the air, as if an earthquake had struck. The eerie green mist that had been shrouding the campus vanished completely. The outside world turned pitch black, except for a single, chilling light shooting straight into the sky from the location of the morgue, standing out starkly and eerily in the darkness. A powerful pressure, strong enough to tear a person apart, seemed to suck the air out, making it almost suffocating. Even the flowers that had enveloped the dormitory room withered under this pressure.
Feng Shui's brows furrowed, and he casually took out two crystal-clear pieces from his pocket, tossing them into the north and south corners of the room, respectively.
“I’ve set up a ‘Two-Pole Formless Array’ here. As long as you stay here, you’ll be fine. No matter what happens outside, don’t leave this room. I’ll come back to you after I’ve dealt with things outside,” Feng Shui said with a solemn expression.
Jiang Yao nodded seriously, suddenly feeling a strong sense of reliance on Feng Shui.
※ ※ ※
A pitch-black world, a space devoid of light, where everything seemed dead. Unable to see clearly...
2004-12-7 22:44:00
Unable to see anything clearly, it felt as if we were wandering alone in a realm of death, with no future. Only the distant morgue still shone with a ghastly light, as if guiding us toward death.
The world became quiet, so quiet that there wasn't a sound. My footsteps wandered aimlessly in one direction, as if I was being led, yet it also seemed as if I was walking there on my own initiative—to the morgue.
There was no sound, no wind, no soul, no desire, and my heart was empty.
A somber melody suddenly erupted from the silent space, piercing the soul, splitting the air, and tearing open people's hearts. Immediately following, an even more mournful female voice sang in a somber tone:
My time is asleep.
I live in countless shadows.
The little white flowers will no longer be able to wake you.
You are carried in the black, sorrowful hearse.
The angels will not take care of you.
Are they angry because I want to join you?
Despair and shadows together, I will end it.
My heart and I both believe this is the end.
Soon the flowers and prayers here will turn into sorrow.
I know that this prayer keeps them from weeping.
Let them know I'm happy to leave.
Death is not a dream.
Because I caressed you in death,
With the last breath of my soul, I bless you.
In my dream, I wasn't just in a dream.
I woke up and searched for you.
My heart has fallen into a deep sleep.
My beloved, I hope my dreams won't cause you distress.
My heart tells you how much I miss you...
Time always flows on, life will eventually grow old, and loved ones will eventually leave. Whether it's oneself or someone else, every separation is the beginning of pain. Emotions, however, are always uncontrollable and erupt at any moment. This piece of music, with its melancholic delicacy, soft and low vocals, and poignant yet repressed melody, not only evokes endless sorrow in the listener but also a powerful urge to abandon life entirely and surrender to the endless darkness and death.
As the music gradually faded from their senses, the four, including Han Zhengzun, suddenly felt an urge to cry, muttering incoherently. Tears welled in their eyes. Now, all they knew was to let their thoughts rise and fall with the music. Why did sorrow creep into their hearts? Perhaps it was because of the music! They could only vaguely sense the withered, gloomy backdrop in the darkness, as if they were on the verge of life and death. Looking back, they found themselves still isolated, their indifferent gazes conveying a sense of helplessness.
Gui Eting and Xin Xue's slender bodies were also trembling, their hair now disheveled, adding to their helpless and haggard appearance. Meng Cun was hysterically tearing at his hair, his head now a mess, his once dashing and handsome features gone, his face contorted in a grotesque expression. Han Zheng, however, was still stubbornly holding on, his face deathly pale, his clothes completely soaked with cold sweat.
The music evoked an extremely rich sense of death in the female vocal chant, especially the musician's calm and elegant voice. It made Han Zheng feel not only how long and tedious her cultivation had been over the years, but also that the music seemed to be a harbinger of death, the end of everything!
Each heavy bass note in the music was like a hammer pounding on everyone's hearts, as if trying to shatter them.
Endless darkness, and a glimmer of light, a harbinger of death, appearing above the distant morgue—this is like music beckoning death, capable of utterly destroying a person's will.
"I can't take it anymore~~~~~~~~~~!" Meng Cun cried out miserably.
Meng Cun frantically drew his longsword from behind, his eyes bloodshot and crazed. His disheveled hair and the evil, perverse aura emanating from him made him swing the sword at Han Zheng. Han Zheng swiftly formed hand seals, ten illusory seals gleaming with pure silver light striking Meng Cun. Meng Cun's movements were like those of a mindless brute; his sword swing was direct and primal, the ten illusory seals completely imprinted on his chest. A mouthful of blood gushed out, spraying into the air like a rain of blood. The longsword fell limply to the ground, and Meng Cun collapsed, unconscious.
"He's going to be possessed by a demon! Quickly use your ethereal magic to restrain him!" Han Zheng shouted loudly to Gui Eting and Xin Xue, who were already engrossed in the music, as she resisted the impact of the deathly melody.
However, the two seemed not to hear, their once bright and intelligent eyes becoming increasingly cloudy and empty, their once cold and beautiful faces turning a deathly gray. Han Zheng, witnessing this, felt as if struck by a thousand-pound hammer. Suddenly, she felt a stab to her soul, a sweet taste in her throat, and a spurt of hot blood gushed from her mouth, splattering onto Gui Eting and Xin Xue's faces. Gui Eting and Xin Xue gasped simultaneously, their eyes clearing instantly, staring in shock at the now lifeless Han Zheng, bewildered by what had happened.
"Your Excellency!" Gui Eting and Xinxue called out at the same time.
At this moment, Han Zheng was already somewhat exhausted, slumped halfway on the ground, the bright light in her eyes dimmed considerably, making her look like an old man who had entered his twilight years, and the transcendent and otherworldly aura she once possessed had vanished.
"I never imagined this forbidden artifact would be so powerful. Even before it was fully revealed, it already exuded such demonic energy. I used nearly ninety percent of my power to barely resist the demonic sound invading my body. But I never expected that Meng Cun still couldn't escape this calamity. Half of his life's power has been wasted," Han Zheng said dejectedly.
Han Zheng and Gui Eting both looked at Meng Cun, who had collapsed to the ground, their eyes filled with regret and helplessness. Xin Xue, on the other hand, had already rushed to Meng Cun's side, her beautiful eyes filled with painful helplessness, and a few crystal tears silently fell down her cheeks.
But the demonic sound that could invade the body and harm the soul did not stop; instead, it became even stronger, and Han Zheng's current skill was insufficient to deal with it.
"Quickly set up the 'Heavenly Annihilation Formation' to block the demonic sound!" Han Zheng said weakly.
Gui Eting was startled upon hearing this. The Heavenly Annihilation Formation was the final move in the Illusion Sect's defensive array, a move that could only be used in a life-or-death situation. If this formation was activated, it meant that nothing could break it; nothing could intrude from the outside, and nothing could escape from the inside. It was a truly deadly formation, cutting off not only everything outside but also everything for those inside.
However, seeing what was happening before her, Gui Eting knew that using the Heavenly Annihilation Formation was now the only way to save her life.
"Heaven and Earth, the Five Elements are all consumed, the Earth is destroyed and the Heaven is annihilated, form ranks!" Gui Eting drew her long sword from behind her, performed an extremely strange footwork, used all her strength, and with an incomparably ethereal expression on her face, slowly chanted from her cherry lips.
As Gui Eting moved with graceful steps, streaks of pale silver light traced patterns in the air along the longsword in her hand, creating a spiderweb-like effect. Gui Eting's figure danced faster and faster, gradually becoming indistinguishable from the others; only a rapidly moving mass of pale silver light could be seen weaving spiderweb-like formations within a ten-meter radius.
In no time, the Heavenly Annihilation Formation was set up, and Han Zheng, Xin Xue, and the unconscious Meng Cun were all surrounded within it. A huge, silver, inverted Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation shone with an unusual brilliance in this dark space.
Han Zheng looked at the Heavenly Annihilation Formation with approval in her eyes, feeling gratified to have a disciple like Gui Eting. However, Han Zheng noticed that something seemed to be missing from the formation; the one who set it up, Gui Eting, was not present.
2004-12-7 22:52:00
Chapter Fourteen: Elegantly Messy
Han Zheng couldn't believe his eyes, because his most beloved disciple, Gui Eting, was nowhere to be found in the Heavenly Annihilation Formation. This could only mean one thing: the one who set up the formation had abandoned its protection.