The ancestors brought disaster, and their descendants' souls were severed?
Find a spiritual spring and wash the ancestral bones?
Find a place on a dragon's vein and bury them anew?
Hua Yunxiao drew a deep breath, his expression grave.
He had never heard anything so bizarre in his life!
If the man before him hadn't been Su Li, he might have attacked on the spot, killed him with a single palm strike, and scattered even his ashes!
"Master Su, I'm not questioning your judgment. It's just that in the nearly thousand years I've lived, I've never heard anything like this. I find it difficult to make a decision on the spot."
Hua Yunxiao spoke in a low voice.
"In all these years, apart from Zhuge Wuwei, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, who could infer some of the dangers you faced, what other Heavenly Secrets Master has been able to determine your fortunes and misfortunes? Zhuge Qingchen, who's close to you? He doesn't even have a tenth of Zhuge Wuwei's ability. He's even less capable!
"Senior Hua, just because even the greatest Heavenly Secrets Masters can't do something doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
Su Li had now absorbed all the knowledge in Introduction to Metaphysics and had become a qualified feng shui master.
In his previous life, feng shui masters prided themselves on their ability to talk, teach, joke, and sing. They went around fooling people to build their reputations, then made a fortune conning them, or charged hundreds or even thousands an hour for lessons.
But that had been in his previous life.
In this world, he had acquired genuine metaphysical knowledge. And after taking up the Five Emperors Ancient Coin, his ability seemed to have been amplified several times over.
So when he spoke, both his tone and his bearing carried more weight.
At least he no longer seemed like he had when facing Hua Ziyan, Yun Wanchu, and the others: outwardly composed, but panicking inside, afraid they might kill him to keep him quiet at any moment.
Hua Yunxiao pondered for a long while, then apologized. "Master Su, please don't be offended. I did speak carelessly."
Su Li nodded slightly without replying.
Hua Yunxiao let out a long breath. "Nine hundred years ago, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was still extremely abundant. The few Grand Elders of that time were all peak experts of the Infant Transformation Realm, their strength unfathomably deep.
"If even they could be outmaneuvered, then if we try to deal with this ourselves, the consequences could truly be unimaginably terrible should we get caught up in it.
"Under normal circumstances, though, that seems exceedingly unlikely. Still, we can't rule out...
"Could you look into it, Master Su?
"I'll remember this great kindness for all time!"
Su Li shook his head. "This matter won't be easy to handle for now, but perhaps things will take a turn before long."
Hua Yunxiao furrowed his sword-like brows. "Then what if it's a heavenly calamity? How would we resolve it? Find a spiritual spring and wash the ancestral bones? That..."
"Senior Hua, there's no need to worry about that. It simply means that the ancestors of your Hua Clan were buried incorrectly, and that their descendants are now suffering because of it.
"You understand Yin Yang and the Five Elements, and you know that combining their principles can create all kinds of formations. You should also know that cultivators themselves can give rise to Yin Yang and the Five Elements. Combined with mountains, rivers, the sun, the moon, the laws of heaven and earth, and the like, they can form all kinds of natural 'formations,' right?
"That involves systems of knowledge like the Heaven and Earth Bagua.
"I imagine you don't understand this stuff at all, Senior Hua, but that's all right.
"Let me put it this way: Senior Hua, most of your ancestors were buried with their heads facing northwest and their feet pointing southeast, weren't they?"
Su Li asked.
He had reached this conclusion through the knowledge in Introduction to Metaphysics, not through information from the Life Archive.
"Th-that's right. Is there really... a particular significance to the direction in which someone is buried?"
Hua Yunxiao's voice carried a hint of astonishment.
"Senior Hua, haven't you heard the saying: 'If you want your bloodline to die out, bury your ancestors askew'?"
Hua Yunxiao shuddered, and his pupils contracted.
"I... I've never heard such a saying, but I'm afraid it's true! With Master Su's ability, he wouldn't deceive me about something like this.
"The only surviving direct descendants of the Hua Clan are me and Ziyan!
"Every other one of them has perished!
"Yun Wanchu fell on hard times, and I happened to come across him. I took him in because I rather liked him. Yun Yifan was an abandoned infant. In that respect, the two were much the same; originally, I'd only intended to raise them as servants!"
Hua Yunxiao was stunned by those words. At his side, Yun Wanchu shivered, his heart in turmoil and his nerves on edge.
He really didn't want to know such a secret. The more one knew, the more horribly one tended to die!
But he didn't dare interrupt now, lest he displease these two "terrifying big shots."
So he quietly shrank back, lowered his head, and reined in every trace of his presence, doing his best to become invisible.
As Hua Yunxiao pondered, he bowed deeply to Su Li in a grand salute. "Master Su, how exactly can we undo this? Where should we begin?"
"It won't be hard to undo. Return to your ancestral lands, find your ancestors' burial grounds, then dig up the graves and take out the bones. Wash the ancestral bones to eliminate the evil, then find a dragon's vein and bury them there."
"Dig up the graves?"
Hua Yunxiao's breathing caught.
Although he'd already guessed what the answer might be, hearing Su Li say outright that he should dig up his ancestors' graves left him stunned.
To dig up one's ancestors' graves was an act of utter sacrilege!
This...
If he really did it, given how forbidden the Hua Clan's ancestral lands were, digging up the graves would cause an enormous uproar!
Then the experts of the other ancient clans, ancient grounds, and sacred sites would all point accusing fingers at him!
He could already imagine the outcome: condemned by a thousand, cursed by ten thousand!
And he couldn't explain the cause and effect, either—because this had been arranged by the few highly respected Grand Elders!
Was he supposed to accuse them of committing a monstrous crime and call them sinners who had brought ruin upon the entire Hua Clan?
And if he did, what would the world think of him?
"Master Su, this... this will be very difficult to carry out..."
Hua Yunxiao was weighed down by concerns.
Yun Wanchu listened in terror, his scalp prickling.
Su Li brought up Hua Yunxiao's Life Archive and checked his current state of mind. He found that Hua Yunxiao was completely shaken.
Of course. In a world where people revered and worshiped their ancestors, allowing not the slightest desecration, digging up someone's ancestral graves was truly a blood feud without end!
If anyone else had said something like that, they'd probably have been killed a hundred thousand times over!
"Senior Hua, you're worried about three things. First, the Hua Clan's ancestral lands are a true forbidden ground. Any disturbance there would cause a tremendous commotion and become known to the entire world.
"Second, even if you really do open the graves and retrieve the bones, how will you find a spiritual spring to wash them?
"Third, even if you do find a spiritual spring and wash the bones, how will you locate a dragon's vein in the forbidden ancestral lands and find a suitable burial site? What if there's no dragon's vein in the ancestral lands?
"Senior Hua, you needn't worry about any of those things.
"Of course, this can't be rushed. We'll need to plan carefully. After all, if the other possibility—that this was done by someone—is true, it'll be even more terrifying."
Su Li laid out his thoughts.
Hua Yunxiao considered this for a long time before saying, "Master Su is right. Then I'll leave this matter in your hands."
Su Li said, "Let's leave it there for now. Senior Hua, are you planning to undergo 'infant transformation' within the next seven days?"
Hua Yunxiao's heart tightened at the words. Master Su had figured that out, too!
Hua Yunxiao couldn't help but think even more highly of Su Li.
"That's right. I have been thinking of undergoing 'infant transformation.' This was meant to be a secret. Zhuge Qingchen, the Mystic Master, used a heavenly secret divination to help me find an excellent place to comprehend the Dao.
"On top of that, I've been stuck at the early ninth stage of the Nascent Soul Realm for decades without making much progress. So I planned to use a Nine Orifice Stone Embryo from the Era of Demise to study the Dao and undergo infant transformation.
"That way, even if I fail, at least I can ensure that the quality of my Nascent Soul improves.
"Mystic Master Zhuge Qingchen also divined that this would be a close call but ultimately safe. At the very least, there shouldn't be any problem raising my Nascent Soul from a one-star Saint Nascent Soul to a two-star one.
"If the infant transformation succeeds, I'll leap straight beyond the Nascent Soul Realm and enter the Infant Transformation Realm.
"I only settled on this recently, and only Zhuge Qingchen and I know...
"By the way, the Heavenly Secrets Master who came to help your friend with their 'cultivation problem' is none other than Mystic Master Zhuge Qingchen."
Since Su Li had brought it up, Hua Yunxiao thought for a moment, then decided not to conceal anything and told him everything.
Even if he hadn't said it, Su Li could have seen it through the Life Archive System.
Besides, throughout their conversation, Su Li hadn't "heard" any thoughts that differed from Hua Yunxiao's words. His Reasoning to Convince ability hadn't activated once, either. That meant Hua Yunxiao wasn't saying one thing while thinking another.
"Put this matter aside for now. At the very least, don't undergo infant transformation in the next seven days. It's sure to fail, and the result will be your soul scattered, your body and soul obliterated!"
Su Li's tone was certain.
Hua Yunxiao's face stiffened. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he drew a deep breath and nodded firmly. "If Master Su says seven days, then seven days it is!"
Su Li said, "I know you're confused—but you were supposed to die in the 'Heavenly Town Soul Stele' incident. Now that you've survived, do you think you can rest easy? Heaven wants to erase you. You escaped once, but what about the second time?"
Hua Yunxiao remained unmoved by Su Li's words, but Yun Wanchu nearly dropped to his knees.
He looked at Su Li in terror, as if he wanted nothing more than to drop to the ground and beg for guidance.
Su Li shot him an exasperated look. You're a Holy Lord, for heaven's sake. Are you really this afraid of dying?
"Indeed. Beneath the Mandate of Heaven, we are all but ants. Thank you, Master Su, for saving my life once again. I, Yunxiao, am deeply grateful."
Hua Yunxiao spoke sincerely, his voice solemn.
He wasn't afraid of death. But with his daughter's life calamity upon her, danger surrounding her at every moment, he couldn't die just yet!
"Once these seven days have passed, I'll help you divine the situation again."
Su Li felt Hua Yunxiao's sincerity. And through the Life Archive System, he understood Hua Yunxiao's deep concern for Hua Ziyan, along with his other thoughts. As a result, he thought even better of him.
Hua Yunxiao was just about to speak when he suddenly looked up toward the southwestern sky.
A huge Seven-Colored Great Peng, formed from a mass of seven-colored auspicious clouds, soared through the sky with its wings spread wide.
On its back sat a young man in white scholar's robes, his entire body radiating a mighty heavenly aura as he flew toward them.
The young man stood with his hands behind his back. His robes fluttered in the wind, and his long black hair streamed behind him. He looked utterly otherworldly.
His brows were as sharp as swords, his eyes like a river of stars, his nose high-bridged, and his lips thin and red.
His skin was as luminous as jade, and his whole being seemed filled with astonishing spiritual vitality.
Su Li took one look at him and felt insignificant, almost ashamed by comparison.
The man had only one-tenth of his good looks, but what a flashy entrance!
The Five Emperors Ancient Coin in Su Li's hand suddenly flowed with a gentle warmth that surged into his body in an instant.
At that moment, his feeling of inferiority vanished.
"Imperial Lord Hua. Holy Lord Yun."
The Seven-Colored Great Peng transformed into a streak of light and instantly merged into the young man's body, becoming a radiant seven-colored battle armor that made him look even more imposing.
He gave a slight cupped-fist salute and addressed Hua Yunxiao and Yun Wanchu.
"Mystic Master Zhuge."
"Mystic Master Zhuge."
Hua Yunxiao and Yun Wanchu immediately replied with solemn expressions.
In that instant, the aura surrounding them both became noble, mysterious, and powerful.
A huge thank-you to the book friend '9只穿云贱' for the 10,000 Qidian coin tip! Thank you so, so much! Kisses!
Before you continue