Chapter 43 Duan De's Warning

A primitive ruin, a dilapidated place.

Two figures, one big and one small, were moving forward rapidly under the cover of a divine rainbow.

Soon, they came to a place where the whole mountain was covered with old vines.

Li Zhi looked around curiously and asked, "Master Duan, there are no architectural remains here. How did you determine that this is the resting place of the ancient monk?"

Duan De laughed and said, "Little Li Zhi, you don't understand this. How can the ancient cultivators choose a place to rest? How can ordinary people find it? Only people like me who are proficient in Feng Shui can see the mystery hidden in this place. If it is a relic that you can see at a glance, how could it be preserved until now without being discovered by other cultivators? Don't look at this mountain forest full of vitality and beauty. Look around, there are no tall trees growing. Instead, these vines that should grow on big trees are everywhere. In Feng Shui tomb science, this kind of terrain is a place of yang outside and yin inside, because the layer of yang energy on the surface is too thin to support tall trees to take root here, but because of the existence of yin energy, these shade-loving vines grow luxuriantly."

After listening to it, Li Zhi felt that he was not satisfied and continued to ask: "Uncle Taoist priest, can you tell me more?"

It seemed that Li Zhi's words were more pleasant to listen to. Duan De was quite pleased by the word "Uncle Taoist Priest". He continued with a smile, "Since you like to listen, I will tell you about Feng Shui and burial. Yin and Yang coexist in the universe. Yin and Yang cannot exist alone, and Yang cannot grow alone. Yin and Yang are one, evolving all things.

In other words, yin and yang are indispensable to everything in the world.

This forest seems full of life, but actually, the yin is strong and the yang is weak. This is why it is impossible to grow towering trees here like other places.

In the study of tombs, places where yang energy gathers are often where spiritual veins flourish, while places where yin energy gathers will form yin veins underground.

Yang energy is of great benefit to living beings in the world, while Yin energy is of great benefit to dead beings.

After a person dies, the soul dissipates and only the body remains. At this time, the yin and yang of the body are reversed, and the yin energy begins to dominate. If the corpse is stored in a place where yin energy gathers and nourishes, a yin spirit will soon be born in the corpse.

The birth of the Yin Spirit is the prerequisite for the monk to regain his life. If the Yin Spirit is not polluted and continues to grow in the corpse, it will become a new Yuanshen.

This is the principle of burial science that 'the end of life is death, and the end of death is life.'"

In just two short sentences, the life and death of the cultivators were fully described. Li Zhi nodded heavily and asked, "Uncle Taoist, do you mean to say that under this primitive ruins, there are actually countless former subordinates of the Demon Emperor buried?"

"I don't know whether there are countless monsters buried here. But I know that the scale of the war back then would definitely not destroy the magnificent monster capital overnight. Those ordinary holy places and sects can last for thousands of years, not to mention the capital city built by a monster emperor. Haven't you ever wondered in your heart why the monsters of the East Wasteland have declined rapidly since they lost their monster emperor, and directly declined to the point that most of the former capital area has been occupied by human cultivators?"

Li Zhi thought to himself that Duan De was indeed amazing, having actually unearthed such a secret history, so he asked curiously, "Uncle Taoist, do you know the reason?"

Duan De said: "Although I am not completely sure, after many days of investigation, I found that the Demon Emperor did not seem to have passed away normally. Instead, he disappeared with all his subordinates. This is the real reason why the former Demon Capital was reduced to ruins so early."

Li Zhi nodded and wanted to continue asking, but Duan De waved his whisk and said, "Okay, now I'll show you my skills."

Afterwards, Duan De directly sacrificed nine jade knives.

Those flying knives were spinning at high speed, like a super tunnel boring machine, and they quickly opened a big hole in the ground, but the soil had not been dug out yet.

Soon, a bottomless hole appeared in front of Li Zhi.

Then, a thick yin energy gushed out from the cave, lowering the surrounding ambient temperature a lot, and a cool breath filled the air.

Upon seeing this, Duan De immediately took out an ancient lamp and hung it above his head. The wick emitted a ball of silver-white light, enveloping him and Li Zhi.

Li Zhi felt surrounded by a warm breath.

When they reached the entrance of the cave, Duan De turned to Li Zhi and said, "Yin Qi can harm your body. After entering the alley, do not leave the area covered by lights. Otherwise, if Yin Qi enters your body, it will easily hurt your body."

At this time, Li Zhi behaved like a child of six or seven years old. He directly grabbed Duan De's Taoist robe and seemed to be very afraid of the gloomy cave in front of him.

Afterwards, Duan De took him into the cave. After walking for more than a thousand meters, they arrived at a huge underground space.

There are dark rocks all around, and water drops can be faintly seen seeping out from the rock walls.

Duan De explained to Li Zhi: "This is a natural acupuncture point on the underground Yin meridian, which was transformed into a tomb by ancient monks."

Inside the cave, there are three black palaces arranged in a triangular shape.

Those palaces seemed to be built entirely of dark wood, giving people a strange feeling of both yin and vitality coexisting.

There are no windows in the three palaces, only two closed doors, indicating the location of the entrance.

In the square outside the palace, there are some stone tablets of different sizes.

Duan De saw this and showed a hint of joy in his eyes. He boasted to Li Zhi: "See? The history of the ancient cultivators is about to be revealed before our eyes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ancient lamp hanging above his head instantly rose into the air, and the silver light bloomed completely, turning into a silver sun, illuminating the entire underground space like daylight.

Then, the two of them walked to the stone tablets and read the contents on them.

The words on the stone tablet were written in the language of the demon race, which Li Zhi did not recognize, so he asked Duan De, "Uncle Taoist, what does it say?"

Duan De was indeed knowledgeable, and he said, "It introduces the life stories of the people lying in those three palaces."

"Were they very strong when they were alive?" Li Zhi asked.

"They are not very strong. They are all great kings." Duan De told Li Zhi the contents of the stele while reading it.

These three underground palaces were specially built as a sleeping place by the last three great kings in the Demon City eight thousand years ago when their lives were about to end.

I hope that one day, after the great emperor returns, they can be resurrected.

The original ruins at that time were not yet ruins. After the disappearance of the Demon Emperor and his generals, although the Demon Capital declined, there was still a great king in charge, and no one invaded.

But later, after those kings passed away one after another, the Demon City fell in the subsequent war and turned into ruins.

"The Demon Emperor is indeed mysterious. Even his subordinates don't know whether he is alive or dead." Duan De sighed after reading the contents on the stone tablet.

However, based on the content on the stone tablet, Li Zhi thought of Yan Ruyu, the descendant of the Demon Emperor who lived a miserable life.

As the descendant of the Demon Emperor, he seems to be unloved by his grandmother and uncle on weekdays, and there are not even a few serious protectors around him.

It turned out that the Green Emperor did not leave any strong protectors for his descendants.

Moreover, Li Zhi suspected that the so-called descendants of the Green Emperor were most likely not the descendants produced by the normal intercourse of yin and yang.

It is very likely that they are the descendants created by the Green Emperor using his imperial essence and blood.

The emperor's blood essence turned into a green lotus. After the green lotus transformed, it became the so-called first-generation descendant of the Demon Emperor.

Then the descendants of the Demon Emperor continued to reproduce, until now, only Yan Ruyu is left.

According to the statement on the stone tablet, Li Zhi guessed that in order to evolve the fairyland in the desolate tower, the Green Emperor used almost all of his precious treasures in the evolution of the fairyland.

Even the gods and demon soldiers under his command followed him into the Desolate Tower and lived in the fairyland he evolved. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable for the power left by the Green Emperor in Beidou to completely disappear in just 10,000 years.

After all, every emperor is surrounded by countless followers.

Even the Wushi Great Emperor, who turned his back on all living beings, has many followers around him, and some of his followers have even been sealed within the Divine Source by the Wushi Great Emperor.

As the first emperor to attain enlightenment since the ancient times, Qingdi has made great contributions to the creation of the world, so it is impossible for him to lack followers.

Otherwise, how could Yan Ruyu, as a descendant of the Green Emperor, live such a miserable life?

Haven’t you seen how carefree and happy the descendants of those ancient families or holy dynasties left behind by those long-dead emperors are living?

After marveling at the mystery of the Demon Emperor, Duan De took out a bell, walked to the three palaces and started ringing it.

As the sound of bells rang out in the underground space, the three palaces seemed to tremble slightly.

Li Zhi even heard a "dong dong" sound coming from the hall, as if the coffin in the hall was jumping along with the ringing of bells.

When Duan De stopped ringing the bell, Li Zhi asked curiously, "Uncle Taoist, what are you doing?"

Duan De said: "Inspect the corpse of the great demon placed in the hall to see if it has gained any spiritual intelligence."

Li Zhi asked: "What was the result?"

Duan De smiled and said, "Perhaps they were buried too recently, and their bodies have not yet developed any intelligence. We can open the temple door and go in to do some archaeological research without any worries."

Li Zhi then asked, "Is there no restriction in the hall? Can we be sure it's safe just by the bell?"

Duan De looked at Li Zhi with a half-smile and said, "Of course there is a restriction. My bell is not a simple bell, but a soul-soothing bell that can suppress corpses. Restrictions have no effect on it. But there is indeed a solid restriction on the door of the hall. However, whether the door can be opened depends on whether you, little guy, can make a contribution."

"I made a contribution? No, Uncle Taoist. I'm just a seven-year-old kid and I don't have the ability to open those doors." Li Zhi shook his head quickly.

Duan De said, "Take out the magic weapon from your sea of ​​suffering. I can sense its sharp aura. It looks sharper than my jade knife."

Li Zhi took the Luoyang shovel in his hand and asked, "Master, are you talking about it?"

The moment he saw the Luoyang shovel, Duan De's eyes lit up. He took the Luoyang shovel directly from Li Zhi's hand and injected a huge amount of divine power into the shovel.

Then the Luoyang shovel quickly grew larger, and the pole became three meters long.

Even the rust on the shovel disappeared, revealing its original dark gold color.

"What a treasure, what a treasure. It is actually a holy weapon handed down from generation to generation, and even the holy laws inside are intact. It's a pity that the weapon's spirit died and can't revive on its own to exert its true holy power. Otherwise, it would be the treasure of an ordinary holy land."

Duan De then looked at Li Zhi with curiosity and asked, "Little Li Zhi, where do you come from? You actually carry a holy weapon with you. With your strength, aren't you afraid of being robbed?"

Li Zhi said, "As long as Uncle Taoist doesn't take it for himself, my shovel will always be my shovel."

Duan De smiled awkwardly, holding the Luoyang shovel and said, "With this holy weapon, the gates of the three palaces can be easily opened. But you have to tell me its purpose first. The blade is arc-shaped, and it doesn't seem to be forged for fighting."

Li Zhi said: "My shovel is used to dig holes in the ground and then grow vegetables."

Duan De was slightly stunned, then burst into laughter. He held Li Zhi's bald head and rubbed it, then said, "I see. No wonder I felt that we were destined to be together the first time I saw you."

Li Zhi immediately said, "Uncle Taoist priest, since we are so predestined, why don't you pass on your secret technique to me first?"

After Duan De returned the Luoyang shovel to Li Zhi, he asked, "Then you should tell me, who did you sacrifice to on the rocky beach before?"

Li Zhi said truthfully: "I was offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, but I didn't expect the sacrifices to be a bit special, so I caused such a big commotion."

Duan De asked again: "Why do you want to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth?"

Li Zhi raised his head and said, "Of course it's for good luck. I worship the heaven and earth as my ancestors, and ask them to protect me. Look, just after I finished the worship, good luck came, and I met you, Uncle Taoist."

Duan De burst into laughter upon hearing this and said, "You are really funny, little fellow. Then read the scripture of offering sacrifice to heaven for me to hear."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi read out the scripture.

After his previous reckless act of opening up the Sea of ​​Bitterness, Li Zhi was looking for someone to help him see if the "Stealing Heaven's Secrets" scripture contained any hidden dangers that he was not aware of.

When Duan De finished listening to the scripture that Li Zhi recited, his face suddenly became serious and he said, "Where did you get this sacrificial scripture?"

Seeing Duan De's expression change, Li Zhi panicked instantly and said, "Uncle Taoist priest, please don't scare me. This scripture was left to me by my father."

Duan De thought for a moment and said, "In fact, the problem with the scripture itself is not that big. But the problem behind the scripture is big. It seems that you are using sacrifices to exchange for the good fortune of the universe with the heaven and earth, but in fact, every time you exchange a piece of good fortune, you will owe the heaven and earth a cause and effect.

For cultivators like me, the karma we owe to heaven and earth is the most difficult to repay. It is even impossible to repay this karma if we do not reach a certain level of cultivation.

With this kind of cause and effect, the connection between you and heaven and earth will be deepened invisibly.

In the end, when you practice, it is very likely that you will directly become a part of the heaven and earth, which is the inexplicable transformation into the Tao.

This goes against the ultimate goal of our practice.

We cultivators practice the five secret realms of the human body in order to prevent external interference with internal ways, so that we can achieve longevity without relying on external objects, and ultimately transcend this world.

If you continue to practice this technique, I am afraid that your path to cultivation will become heavily dependent on the ups and downs of the environment of heaven and earth, and your way forward will soon be cut off.

Moreover, I think that you may have misunderstood the true meaning of stealing the secrets of heaven.

Borrowing luck from the universe is only the most basic method of stealing the secrets of heaven.

The true secret lies between life and death, and in every moment you break your limits.

"It may seem that good fortune can make your cultivation smooth, but in fact, it is not the true secret of heaven at all."

After that, Duan De took out a copy of Feng Shui Burial Manual from his pocket and handed it to Li Zhi, saying, "Take it and study it carefully. In the future, maybe we can join hands to dig out the truth that is buried in the real ancient history."

Li Zhi accepted the scripture with a worried look on his face, and didn't even have much interest in reading it.

"You are only a little old. The Qiankun Hongyun you borrowed is for the initial stage of cultivation. It is not a big problem. Just be careful in the future. Come with me. I will take you to the temple to see the burial objects of these great monsters."

Finally, Duan De touched Li Zhi’s little bald head again and said.

(End of this chapter)