Go all out

Chapter 33: Sealing the Life Gate

One Second ★ Novel § Net.. Org】—Read exciting novels for free with no pop-ups! After all, this place used to be guarded by Fu Xi, the Dragon’s eighth son. To steal the Dragon Pearl right under Fu Xi’s nose—that’s no small feat. “The Fengshui Pearl has been taken, so this Dragon Spring site is effectively ruined.” Yin Fang sighed, then continued, “Back when Zhang Daoling prayed for rain, he must have found a temporary substitute for the Fengshui Pearl, which is why you’ve continued to have water here. As for where this new Fengshui Pearl is… I can’t figure it out.” I wasn’t surprised by Yin Fang’s words. Who was Zhang Daoling, after all? The Celestial Master Zhang—a man like him finding the Fengshui Pearl was something no ordinary person could ever replicate. Still, since the Feng Shui Pearl is so crucial to a place, isn’t it best if no one ever finds it? Though I didn’t say anything, I was actually quite curious about what this “Dragon Pearl” looked like. After Yin Fang fell silent for a moment, the three of us continued onward, but before long, another unexpected incident occurred. Tian Zhan stopped, his face darkening, and said his paper effigy had been destroyed again. Naturally, Yin Fang and I immediately grew wary. Tian Zhan furrowed his brow and shone his powerful flashlight into the darkness ahead. Just then, a shadow suddenly flickered—a fleeting glimpse before it vanished back into the darkness. “Is that my master?” I wondered in shock, but I still shouted, “Master!” Instinctively, I wanted to chase after it, but Tian Zhan grabbed me by the arm. “Don’t be impulsive. Your master isn’t your master anymore.” I froze for a moment, then sighed as I stared into the darkness where the figure had vanished. “It seems we’re on the right path. Once we find him, we’ll know the answer,” Tian Zhan said in a low voice. Yin Fang nodded. Tian Zhan looked at me and said gravely, “Remember this, Xiao Tian: your master has already tried to kill you once.” That’s right—my master had already cut my rope once, so there would be a second time. It’s just that, even now, I still can’t believe that the master who raised me would harbor murderous intent toward me. “Mm-hmm, I understand,” I said, nodding. The three of us rested briefly, then continued onward, moving a bit faster than before. As long as we were careful—since my master was alone—the three of us should be able to keep him at bay. However, having been on this path for so long, I kept glancing at Tian Zhan’s Life Palace and noticed that, strangely, it had regained its original brightness. Did that mean the danger was gone? Just as I was puzzling over this, a question suddenly occurred to me: My master must have calculated long ago that we’d follow him; he should have been prepared or taken precautions. But he’d only appeared for a split second just now—what did that mean? Was he luring us to keep moving forward? I can’t quite fathom my master’s intentions—he’s too formidable. I feel like we’re being led by the nose. If this keeps up, the three of us will never find my master. Given my master’s current divination skills, he’s likely already foreseen everything that’s about to happen. He’s only appearing occasionally to “go through the motions,” because he’s always one step ahead of us. But just as I was pondering this, there was a sudden “snap,” and my entire field of vision went black. Startled, I quickly asked, “Tian Zhan, what’s going on?” Yin Fang’s breathing also became slightly more rapid in an instant. “The power’s out. Wait a moment—I’ll draw a Kongming talisman.” I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard Tian Zhan’s voice in the darkness. After all, this used to be an underground river, and a cave this large was naturally so dark it was hard to describe—without a powerful flashlight, it really felt like being blind. I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight, but visibility was less than a meter. In a space this pitch-black, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t feeling a bit uneasy. I heard the swishing sound of Tian Zhan’s brush—he seemed to be drawing talismans. Although the sound was a bit eerie, it was better than complete silence. As I wondered when my master would reappear, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around instinctively and, in the dim light, saw Tian Zhan staring at me. Without saying a word, he beckoned me over, then turned and walked away. I assumed Tian Zhan wanted me to help him, so I followed without saying a word. As we walked, I couldn’t help but call out to him, “Tian Zhan, what do you need me to do?” Tian Zhan, walking ahead, didn’t turn around or answer me—it was as if he hadn’t heard a thing. I couldn’t help but run up and slap him on the shoulder. “Why are you wearing a sweater on a day this hot?” I was about to ask him, puzzled, but in an instant, a chill ran down my spine—because Tian Zhan was wearing a short-sleeved shirt just like me. When had he put on a sweater? I stepped back without hesitation, but Tian Zhan suddenly turned his head. In the dim light, I couldn’t make out his face clearly, but a pair of emerald-green eyes suddenly glowed in the darkness. Startled, I let out a scream: “Tian Zhan!!” “Heaven and Earth are boundless, shattering Yin and Yang; the Taoist Master’s talisman and sword serve me! Shatter!” Before his words had even finished, with a whoosh, a golden light shot out from behind me. I stared wide-eyed to see it was a yellow talisman blazing with fire. As it burned, it seemed to melt, transforming into a fiery sword several inches long, which flashed and shot straight toward those emerald-green eyes. “Roar!” A wail rang out, and in the next instant, the emerald eyes vanished in a flash. I felt a gust of wind as it sprinted away at breakneck speed. Snap! The bright beam of a flashlight reappeared. Tian Zhan and Yin Fang walked over, frowning. Having already broken out in a cold sweat from the scare, I hurried over to them. “Big Brother, could you give me a heads-up next time something like this happens?” I couldn’t help but complain. It turned out Tian Zhan had noticed something was off long ago, which is why he’d pretended the flashlight was dead. But if Tian Zhan hadn’t intervened in time just now, I would’ve been in big trouble. Tian Zhan shot me a withering glance—as if, in his eyes, I were nothing more than “bait.” “I haven’t even scolded you yet. Couldn’t you smell the demonic aura radiating from that guy just now?” I was speechless. I’m not a Taoist priest—how was I supposed to smell that? “Besides, I spray on a spritz of Dior every day—I’m oozing with masculine charm. If you can’t even tell that, don’t blame me for not warning you,” Tian Zhan continued. Come on, now he’s taking a dig at me, I muttered to myself. “But we still let it get away again.” Tian Zhan said with a sigh, “It was such a rare opportunity.” “That creature’s got some serious powers; it’s no surprise it managed to escape,” Yin Fang remarked. “All right, everyone, be careful. It’s pitch black out here—it’s easy for someone to sneak up on us,” Tian Zhan said, then shone his flashlight and continued walking forward. But I suddenly grabbed Tian Zhan’s arm, and he looked at me in confusion. “Don’t go any further for now—your Life Palace is showing extreme danger right now.” I stared intently at Tian Zhan’s Life Palace and said gravely. His Life Palace, which had been bright just a moment ago, had grown dark again. It was very eerie. Could there be other dangers in this area besides my master and the spirit creature he was raising? This filled me with alarm and suspicion. Upon hearing this, Tian Zhan and Yin Fang naturally stopped in their tracks. “So what do we do now?” Tian Zhan couldn’t help but ask. “Let me put it this way: every step we take right now may have already been calculated by my master. If we want to break out of this situation, we must seal our Life Gates,” I said after a moment’s thought. Sealing the “Life Gate” is considered an auxiliary technique in divination. It involves using one’s qi to seal the Life Gate. To put it simply, it’s like putting a cell phone into airplane mode—you’ll no longer have a “signal.” This is because every person possesses a certain kind of qi, which only we fortune-tellers can perceive; this is the “Qi Divination” among the Four Divinations. “All right, go ahead and seal it.” Tian Zhan and Yin Fang exchanged a glance and both nodded. Sealing the “Gate of Destiny” is both difficult and simple. Generally speaking, the human body contains a kind of “qi”—which, simply put, is a person’s vital energy. However, ordinary people cannot harness this energy, whereas we fortune-tellers can use it to divine the future through “qi divination,” which is considered the most difficult of the Four Divinations. However, my spiritual cultivation is insufficient; my ability to harness this energy is still in its infancy. While I can barely manage “Qi Divination,” this is my first time using it to seal someone’s Life Gate. I took a deep breath to mobilize the “qi” within my body. Of course, we fortune-tellers have specific methods for controlling this energy—just like Tian Zhan when he casts Taoist spells—and it requires incantations. After silently reciting the incantation in my mind and feeling a faint warmth in my fingertips, I first aimed a finger at Tian Zhan’s vital point.