Feng Shui - Chapter 47
Feng Shui had been in the village for several days, and all he did each day was sit on a small stool in front of Zhou Feiliu's house, staring blankly at the sky. No one knew what he was looking at. Widow Zhang also noticed that Zhou Feiliu and her husband were always around Feng Shui, seemingly trying to talk to him, but Feng Shui ignored them completely, just staring blankly at the sky.
When Zhang the Widow's son had nothing to do, he always liked to squat in front of the feng shui master, looking at him curiously. But the feng shui master ignored him. Since he sat down there, he had never stood up again. Whether it was day or night, he always maintained the same posture. Zhou Feiliu and Yu Duotian, the couple, could not persuade him to come inside. In the end, Zhou Feiliu and Yu Duotian seemed to be completely helpless with him and gave up. They stopped paying attention to him and let him sit there blankly.
A few days later, another strange man suddenly appeared in the village. This man was the most difficult to spot in Zhang Widow's life. Why? Because it had just snowed heavily that day, and everyone in the village was out shoveling snow. This man appeared then, walking past everyone in front of them, yet no one noticed him. Even when someone stopped to rest while shoveling snow and looked at his location, their eyes were blank, as if there was nothing in front of them. However, the simple-minded man in front of Zhou Feiliu's house noticed the stranger's presence, which is why Zhang Widow discovered this suddenly appearing stranger.
However, Widow Zhang couldn't clearly see the stranger's face, because he seemed like someone who didn't exist. She didn't understand why. Suddenly, the stranger appeared before Feng Shui, whose eyes seemed to light up, and then he burst into tears. It was the first time Widow Zhang had ever seen a man cry like that. Watching Feng Shui cry, she felt a pang of heartache. She herself wondered why she felt sad and even shed tears because of another man.
Later, the stranger patted Feng Shui on the shoulder, as if to comfort him, but didn't say anything. Then, the stranger planted a tree next to Feng Shui. This tree was very strange; it started to grow as soon as it was planted, and within minutes it had grown into a towering tree with a trunk as thick as three adult men could hug. Even more exaggeratedly, the tree's branches and leaves were so lush that they could cover an area of about twenty meters around Feng Shui.
The feng shui was completely enveloped under the tree. Even more strangely, the snow on the land under the tree melted, and in the blink of an eye, flowers and grass grew on the ground, and a very peculiar green fruit grew on the tree.
Zhang Xiao'er once climbed the tree to pick one, but the fruit melted as soon as he held it in his hand. The area covered by this tree was very strange. Widow Zhang once measured the temperature with a thermometer, and it was 25 degrees Celsius, and it has remained at that temperature ever since.
After planting the tree, the stranger gave Feng Shui two small white animals: a tiny white rabbit the size of a cigarette box and a white cat the size of a matchbox. However, Widow Zhang noticed that the rabbit was very lazy, spending all its time sleeping beside Feng Shui, only eating flowers and grass under the tree when hungry. The tiny white cat, on the other hand, seemed very weak. Zhou Feiliu fed it pure, fresh milk from his own cow every day, but the cat just wouldn't grow. The stranger left after giving these things and never appeared again. If it weren't for the tree, Widow Zhang probably wouldn't even remember that the stranger had ever been in the village.
A long time passed, and it seemed that something "unsettling" was happening in the hills behind the village. Every night after nine o'clock, loud noises would echo from the hills, accompanied by flashes of light of various colors. Later, the villagers went to investigate and said that the land there was gone, leaving only scorched earth with exposed sand and gravel. This continued for a long time, and the villagers were filled with fear.
However, after a while, many strangers came to the village. These people all had one thing in common: they bought many houses in the village at high prices. They acted like a large conglomerate, offering nearly 300,000 yuan for even a very ordinary rural house. Many villagers sold their houses and moved away. Now, fewer and fewer locals remain in the village; only Widow Zhang's family is still considered local, because no one is buying their house anymore.
Later, Widow Zhang realized that it was probably because part of the yard of her house was covered by that strange big tree.
The newcomers to the village all seemed strange; they never interacted with each other and rarely left their homes. However, Widow Zhang sensed a strange atmosphere in the village, and for some reason, she felt a sense of unease.
One day, Zhou Feiliu's husband, Yu Duotian, suddenly came to Widow Zhang's house, saying he wanted to buy her house for an outrageously high price—one million yuan for Widow Zhang's two mud-brick houses. Widow Zhang thought Yu Duotian had gone mad, but when Yu Duotian opened the large travel bag he had brought with him, Widow Zhang realized she was about to lose her mind, because it was filled with 100-yuan bills.
Widow Zhang moved out happily, taking nothing but her second son and a travel bag full of money with her. Later, it was said that not long after, an unidentified middle-aged woman appeared in a coastal city, leading a boy of about ten years old. This woman bought a three-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, as well as two shopfronts. After that, there was no further news of her…
2004-12-09 11:31:00
It was still snowing outside, and it seemed to be snowing even harder than last year, but under the tree where Feng Shui was, it was still as warm as summer. The little white rabbit seemed to have perked up a bit lately, teasing the tiny white cat, who could only run around Feng Shui pitifully, trying to avoid the mischievous rabbit's harassment. Feng Shui completely ignored all of this, staring blankly at the sky, still sitting on that little stool, in the same position he hadn't changed since the stranger left.
Zhou Feiliu and Yu Duotian have rarely left their house lately. However, there's a large section of the tree trunk in their yard, and Zhou Feiliu often picks fruit from it. Strangely enough, the fruit Zhang Xiaoer picks melts, but Zhou Feiliu's doesn't. Zhou Feiliu always uses a purple sword to pick the fruit. Although Zhou Feiliu is frequently seen, Yu Duotian is nowhere to be seen. However, every night, several colorful beams of light appear above Zhou Feiliu's house, as dazzling and beautiful as a rainbow.
Zhangjia Village is a very small village with only one road, and all the villagers' houses are built on both sides of the road. Zhou Feiliu's house is in the left row of houses, which has only eleven houses. The opposite row of houses has fifteen houses, but the distance between the two rows of houses is quite wide, more than thirty meters.
The four tiled houses where Zhou Feiliu lived were the head house, located at the very front of the village. About four rooms away, opposite Zhou Feiliu's house, in a red-walled house, Tangshui was preparing lunch in the kitchen, while Li Zhanghao had already set up a table on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) in the main room and brewed a pot of liquor. The room was warm and cozy. Sitting on the kang, drinking the warm liquor, eating Tangshui's dishes, and looking at the snow-covered landscape outside, Li Zhanghao finally understood what life truly meant.
After the sweet soup was cooked, she returned to the main house and sat down opposite Li Zhanghao. Li Zhanghao warmly poured her a glass of liquor.
"I never imagined there was such a way of life in this world," Sugar Water said with a sigh, taking a sip of wine.
"Hehe...this is a typical lifestyle in rural Northeast China, not bad, right?" Li Zhanghao said smugly as he drank and ate.
"If it weren't for Lord Fox Spirit ordering me to stay here and observe the situation, I wouldn't be able to stay here in peace," Sugar Water sighed.
"But why didn't the fox demon make a move first?" Li Zhanghao asked, somewhat puzzled, as he picked up a piece of food from the sweet soup.
“No one else has moved, so the Demon Realm won’t move either,” Sugar Water said with a smile.
"Actually, we really have to thank the feng shui. It's truly a miracle in the cultivation world that people from the Three Realms and the Three Paths can gather in this small village like this." Li Zhanghao said with emotion as he looked at the direction of the large tree in the distance, where the feng shui was located, through the glass that was covered in frost but transparent in the middle.
"Hehe...who says otherwise! The people living in that house behind Feng Shui practice a rather unique cultivation method. It doesn't seem like cultivating immortality, nor like cultivating demonic arts, nor like cultivating monsters, yet it exhibits all the characteristics of cultivation methods from these three categories." Tang Shui took another sip of wine and said with a puzzled expression.
“The house across from us is inhabited by people from the underworld. Their house is always dark, with no lights or fires, as if no one lives there. However, it can’t hide the strong ghostly aura emanating from the house,” Li Zhanghao said warily, turning to look at the house across the street.
“I sensed the celestial energy fluctuations from the Thousand Immortal Realm in the house opposite the Feng Shui house. I think the person living there must be a True Immortal,” Tang Shui continued.
"The last few houses in that row across from us must be inhabited by cultivators from this realm, but I don't know exactly who they are. I feel their cultivation level has probably reached the late stage of 'Ascension to Immortality.' I never imagined that besides the sect leader of the Illusion Sect, there would be someone else in this realm who could reach such a level. This realm is truly full of hidden talents," Li Zhanghao said with emotion.
"Hehe... You're still talking about others. With your current level, I think you should be close to becoming an immortal by now," Sugar Water said with a smile.
"Hehe, how can you gain a foothold in this village without reaching the level of an immortal?" Li Zhanghao said, scratching his head sheepishly.
"When...when did you cultivate to the point of transcending this realm?" Tang Shui asked in surprise upon hearing Li Zhanghao's words.
“It’s been a while now. Because the cultivation method I practice isn’t the Daoist way of the mortal world, but a different kind of cultivation foundation built on the Dao of weapons, my cursed sword has now been completely forged into a new sword soul built from the soul I cultivated within my own body. Now this cursed sword can no longer be called a cursed sword.” Li Zhanghao picked up the cursed sword from the three swords beside him and said with emotion.
2004-12-09 11:32:00
Suddenly, Li Zhanghao drew his "cursed sword." Tang Shui felt an incredibly pure and powerful spiritual energy emanating from the blade. In an instant, the entire room was enveloped in a dazzling display of sword light. Tang Shui's body trembled uncontrollably, and the wine glass in her hand fell to the table due to her shaking. Li Zhanghao quickly sheathed his sword, stepped forward, and embraced the still trembling Tang Shui, deeply blaming himself for his recklessness.
After a long while, Tang Shui finally came to her senses and looked at Li Zhanghao with shock and relief, not knowing what to say for a moment.
"How could there be such a strong sword spirit aura? It has actually reached the realm of immortal sword spirit aura." Tang Shui took a deep breath and said with emotion.
"I never expected my cultivation level to break through to this point so quickly. Ever since I encountered Feng Shui, my cultivation level has been rapidly improving. Originally, I couldn't fully control the sword spirit of the cursed sword, but gradually I discovered that the sword spirit in the cursed sword had disappeared and transformed into a state of oneness with my mind," Li Zhanghao said with deep emotion.
"Could it be the state of perfect harmony between man and sword that the immortals of the Thousand Immortal Realms spoke of?" Sugar Water asked in surprise.
"Not only that, now I basically don't need to draw my sword anymore. My thoughts and spiritual awareness can automatically transform into sword energy. Moreover, wherever my thoughts reach, my sword spirit has already arrived at the place my thoughts are meant to touch, and my sword spirit has already pulverized everything in that place." Li Zhanghao said excitedly.
"That's amazing! It seems your skill level is still improving. I never imagined that feng shui would be of such great help to you..." Tangshui said excitedly.
“Absolutely right. Feng Shui has been incredibly helpful to me. Ever since I ate that Immortal Dew Green Embryo he gave me, my cultivation level has completely broken through the barriers that were unattainable in this realm, reaching my current level. Hasn’t your cultivation level improved either?” Li Zhanghao looked at the sugar water curiously and asked, puzzled.
"The Immortal Dew and Azure Embryo have no effect on us demon cultivators in the Demon Realm because our cultivation methods are different. Cultivators in this realm don't need to form human bodies at all, while demon cultivators must first form human form to truly enter the gate of demon cultivation, and reaching the level of forming human form takes a lot of time," Sugar Water said somewhat sadly.
"Hehe... Never mind, with me by your side, no one can bully you." Li Zhanghao said with a very manly expression.
"You... you're getting sweeter and sweeter with your words." Sugar Water looked at Li Zhanghao happily and said sweetly.
The house was filled with an atmosphere of happiness and warmth, but in another house three houses away from Li Zhanghao's house, there was no such feeling of warmth.
"Senior brother! That aura of immortality just now seemed to be coming from the house where the people in the demon realm are." Wang Gongbo, wearing a military overcoat, looked at Ma Shuai, who was starting a fire in the stove, and said in surprise.
"Damn it, of course I know it came from that house! There are too many different kinds of people living in this village now, so don't worry about them for now. There are quite a few demons from our Demon Luo Domain living here too, so don't be afraid of them. Nobody here dares to make a move right now. Go and gather some firewood, I'm freezing to death. In this kind of dilapidated place in the countryside, we have to light our own fires to keep warm." Ma Shuai said, somewhat exasperated.
"Senior brother, gathering firewood and starting a fire is too troublesome. Why not use demonic energy to keep warm?" Wang Gongbo asked, puzzled.
"You idiot! These are critical times. We can't waste our demonic energy easily. Otherwise, if something happens, we'll be in a very passive position because we've used up too much of our demonic energy to keep warm!" Ma Shuai scolded angrily.
"Senior brother, why do we still feel so cold with our current cultivation levels? This doesn't make sense," Wang Gongbo asked curiously.
"Looks like you're incredibly stupid. The coldness in this village is far beyond what this realm can achieve. We've all been outmaneuvered by those immortals from the Thousand Immortal Realm! This village is now completely protected by a barrier set up by the immortals of the Thousand Immortal Realm, controlled within a boundary array exceeding absolute zero of 273.16 degrees Celsius. Of course it's cold!" Ma Shuai said angrily.
“Then I’ll go to that tree where the feng shui is located and cut some firewood to start a fire,” said Wang Gongbo eagerly.
"You idiot, come back here! Do you want to die?! Do you think you can just touch that tree like that?!" Ma Shuai quickly grabbed Wang Gongbo, sweating profusely as he spoke.
"Is there anything wrong with that?" Wang Gongbo asked, puzzled.
"Not only can't it! You idiot, didn't you notice that the tree is completely unaffected by the temperature here, which exceeds absolute zero?" Ma Shuai said with some fear.
"Why is that?" Wang Gongbo asked, even more puzzled.
"Why? You pig-headed idiot! Even people from the Thousand Immortal Realm don't dare touch that tree. Tell me why, use your pig brain to think about it!" Ma Shuai said, even more furious.
"Could it be... that the tree is related to the divine tree of the Celestial Realm?!" Wang Gongbo was so frightened that he fell onto the cold kang bed and said tremblingly.
Ma Shuai shook his head helplessly at his clumsy junior brother Wang Gongbo, ignored him, and went outside to find firewood. Wang Gongbo stared blankly at the large tree in the distance outside the window, a symbol of good feng shui, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
2004-12-09 11:34:00
Chapter Four: A Scheme Within a Scheme
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Winter passed and spring arrived. The snow on the ground gradually melted, and the first rain of early spring fell from the still chilly sky. The rain was so light, as light as a baby learning to walk, like a breeze brushing the strings of a harp, pattering softly over the village surrounded by mountains, but the rain could not fall into the village itself.
The gentle rain showed no sign of stopping, draping the tranquil earth in a misty veil. The trees on the mountain gradually sprouted tender green buds; spring had arrived…
"Good rain knows its season, it falls when spring arrives. It follows the wind into the night, silently nourishing all things." These natural and beautiful verses by Du Fu were slowly recited by Feng Shui.
Feng Shui suddenly stood up, and the look in his eyes became clear, like that of a newborn, so pure and innocent.
Thick snow still blanketed the eaves of every house in the village, completely unaffected by the light, misty drizzle outside. The village and the outside world were two entirely different worlds. It seemed the barrier erected by the immortals of the Thousand Immortal Realm had not yet been removed, and even the natural changes of heaven and earth could not hinder the immortals' techniques.
The little white rabbit and the little white cat, who had been sleeping on the ground, slowly opened their still sleepy eyes and looked at Feng Shui with surprise. Because, after a whole winter, this was the first time they had seen Feng Shui no longer maintain that not-so-cool posture and miraculously stand up.
Suddenly, Feng Shui soared into the air, like an eagle spreading its wings, flying through the great tree that had accompanied him throughout the winter, through the barrier set up by the immortals of the Thousand Immortal Realm, and all the way to the top of the mountains. From mid-air, he gazed at the gracefully falling rain, letting the misty, flowing, damp, and romantic rain soak his body, which hadn't been bathed in a long time. Feng Shui's clothes completely dissolved, revealing his strong, perfectly sculpted muscles; his naked, streamlined body radiated a pure whiteness in the rain, like that of a newborn baby.
Close your eyes, open your arms, and bask in the gentle, lingering, and seemingly endless spring rain. An indescribable joy fills your heart; spring has truly arrived. Beneath you, the vibrant green grass joyfully blankets the cold earth, its dance of life, its vitality, its light of spring, and its hope ripple in the endless sky, in the sparse shadows of the branches, accompanied by the songs of spring insects. Nature and humanity blend harmoniously into one. The gentle drizzle has finally endured the long, merciless winter; now, the cold dream is waking…
Gently opening his eyes, Feng Shui slowly revealed a long-lost smile on his face. The smile contained bitterness, helplessness, and longing, which then slowly transformed into a sense of relief and liberation.
"Hahahahahaha..." A desolate and profound laugh, like ocean waves, spread far and wide among the mountains.
All the cultivators living in the village emerged from their houses, stood on the rooftops of their respective houses, and looked up at the naked feng shui in the sky.
"Senior brother, what's wrong with him?" Wang Gongbo, still wrapped in his slightly yellowed military overcoat, asked Ma Shuai beside him curiously.
"He's probably gone mad..." Ma Shuai said blankly.
“Feng shui…” Li Zhanghao, standing on his own rooftop, murmured with a puzzled look in his eyes.
"What's wrong with him? He seems to have really gone mad..." Sugar Water murmured.
This change in feng shui was indeed quite sudden. Having been sitting motionless under a tree through winter, it suddenly soared into the air, bathing naked in the spring rain, and laughing maniacally. Logically, it's either gone mad or suffered another mental breakdown.
By this time, all the residents of the village had seen each other's faces clearly.
At the first house on the left, Zhou Feiliu and Yu Duotian were still wearing their two white mink coats, but their cultivation levels were completely undetectable from their aura. Tangshui was right; Zhou Feiliu's cultivation method was indeed somewhat strange, blending three cultivation attributes. Her husband, Yu Duotian, was now the same. The couple seemed much more composed than before, and their cultivation levels were completely imperceptible. However, Tangshui could tell from Zhou Feiliu and Yu Duotian's eyes that their cultivation levels were now on par with everyone else present, and perhaps even higher.
This feeling was so strong that even Li Zhanghao could sense it. Li Zhanghao glanced at the sugar water beside him, and the two exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously. It seemed they had reached a consensus on the changes in Zhou Feiliu and Yu Duotian.
The figure standing on the rooftop opposite Zhou Feiliu's house was clearly an immortal. Although there was only one, the aura emanating from him suggested that this immortal had already reached the level of Monet, the supreme immortal. Despite his best efforts to conceal it, he couldn't suppress the celestial energy fluctuations indicative of his impending ascension to the divine realm.
Regarding this immortal, Tangshui didn't know his name. The intelligence network of the Demon Realm contained records of the names and information of all the immortals in the Thousand Immortal Realms. However, from this immortal's appearance and energy reaction, it was impossible to discern which immortal he was. There weren't many Monet-level immortals in the Thousand Immortal Realms, and Tangshui knew information about all of them, except for this one; Tangshui didn't know his name.
This immortal was very young and handsome, yet he gave off a very immature, childlike feeling, appearing to be only about eighteen or nineteen years old. However, one cannot judge an immortal's age solely by their appearance; this immortal might actually be an ancient monster with a lifespan of hundreds of thousands of years. The immortal had already noticed Tang Shui and Li Zhanghao watching him, turned around, and smiled brightly at them. His smile was even more radiant than the sunshine, and healthier than a pure, natural scallion grown without any organic fertilizer.
Both Tang Shui and Li Zhanghao felt a surge of emotion, completely captivated by the immortal's smile. A profound reverence for a saint welled up within them, and they unconsciously knelt on the rooftop, worshipping the immortal. The spirit of the cursed sword at Li Zhanghao's waist suddenly trembled, a flicker of immortal energy stirring within him. He quickly readjusted his mind, regaining his composure. Meanwhile, Tang Shui, beside him, had already begun to kneel in a daze before the immortal. Li Zhanghao swiftly channeled his own immortal energy into Tang Shui's consciousness, bringing her back to her senses. She looked at Li Zhanghao with a blank expression.
"What's wrong with me?" Sugar Water asked, still confused.
"Wow, he's amazing! I think he's the most powerful cultivator here. It seems he set up the boundary array. We've all fallen for the immortal's trick!" Li Zhanghao said, his voice trembling as he looked at the immortal in front of him with lingering fear.
At this moment, Li Zhanghao suddenly noticed an unusual fluctuation behind him. When he turned around, he saw that the two demonic beings from the Demon Luo Domain, Ma Shuai and Wang Gongbo, were kneeling on the ground, their eyes filled with tears of excitement and joy. They were kowtowing vigorously towards the direction of the immortal, their attitude exceptionally devout.
"Serves them right..." Li Zhanghao said with satisfaction, not wanting to care about these two demons at all.
"Look there!" Sugar Water said, pointing in the direction of the house across the street, her voice trembling slightly.
Li Zhanghao looked in the direction the sugar water was pointing and his heart skipped a beat.
Standing on the opposite building was a person clad in full, dark purple armor, whose face was completely obscured. This was because he wore a hideous mask resembling amethyst, and emanated an extremely strong aura of ghostly energy from the underworld.
This energy fluctuation is different from the cultivation aura of other realms. The ghostly energy of the Netherworld is an energy that instills a deep-seated fear and despair of death in people. No matter if you are a god, immortal, demon, monster, or human, there will be an end, and the place you go when you die is the Netherworld. Therefore, the unique ghostly energy of the ghosts and gods in the Netherworld affects all cultivators, but the reactions vary depending on the level of cultivation.
2004-12-09 11:35:00
“Ghosts and spirits of the underworld…” Li Zhanghao exclaimed in shock.
“That’s right… According to the records in the Demon Realm, the Netherworld Gods and Demons mysteriously disappeared in ancient times, but I didn’t expect them to reappear now.” Sugar Water said in a trembling voice, still feeling lingering fear.
"Looks like our neighbors are all super weirdos! Heh...heh, heh...heh," Li Zhanghao forced a couple of dry laughs.
Looking further back, Tangshui noticed three stylishly dressed middle-aged men standing on the last row of rooftops. These three men wore identical high-end Italian designer suits, and their hair was neatly combed and gleaming. From them, Tangshui sensed that these three men possessed energy fluctuations indicating they were close to passing through the Heavenly Tribulation and entering the realm of immortals.