Volume Three - The Fox Spirit's Tomb Chapter Thirty-Six - The Land of Great Calamity

Li Kun gave a bitter laugh: "Old Liu, stop teasing me. I could handle one or two, but there are at least a thousand of them here. If each one of them just tapped me once, I’d be a goner."

I smiled and said, "Alright, get up now. I can see that these things can't move, so they can't do anything to you."

Hearing this, Li Kun nodded and stood up, looking quite reluctant. Da Gou, after listening to our conversation, was also gripped by fear. He hurriedly followed behind me and asked, "Master, we won't run into any trouble, will we?"

I waved my hand dismissively. "The people from your village have been here before without incident; how could anything happen this time? Don't worry."

Reassured, Da Gou set the cloth bag filled with offerings onto a nearby large rock, then followed behind me, pressing his palms together in prayer as he bowed toward the surroundings. Seeing him like this, I asked, "Da Gou, why are you leaving the offerings here?"

Da Gou replied, "If we want to go to the back mountain, we have to go up from here. We can't pass through the ancestral graveyard; the mountain over there is almost vertical, and there's no way to climb it."

I nodded. "I see. Stay close to me." With that, I signaled to Xu Tian and Li Kun, and the four of us began to walk into the graveyard.

Once inside, Xu Tian and I kept looking up at the ghosts above. Their eyes were fixed straight ahead, though some would glance toward us upon hearing our footsteps. However, it was merely a fleeting look before their gazes returned to that vacant, forward-staring position.

Observing this, Xu Tian said to me, "Old Liu, have you noticed something?"

I turned to look at him. "What did you find?"

Xu Tian nodded, glancing upward. "Look at these ghosts—aren't they all staring at the same spot?"

I followed his gaze and realized he was right. They were all looking in one direction, but not at any specific point within the graveyard—they were fixated on the back mountain.

Struck by this realization, I whispered to the others, "I have a theory. Let me run it by you."

As they gathered around, I continued, "There are so many ghosts in this graveyard. Do you think it’s possible that the Headless Ghost and the Skinning Ghost escaped from here?"

Both men frowned, deep in thought. After a long silence, Xu Tian said, "It’s not impossible. Given that they are all staring at the back mountain, I suspect there is something there that constantly draws their attention—perhaps a way for them to escape."

I nodded in agreement and turned to Li Kun. "Old Li, check if there’s anything else unusual in the front of the graveyard. If not, we won't waste time searching further and will head straight for the back mountain."

Li Kun nodded, then closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes were blood-red, fixed intensely on the path ahead. I hadn't asked him to do this because Xu Tian and I couldn't see as well as he could, but rather because once Li Kun activated his Blood Eyes, his vision extended significantly further—at least twice as far as ours—and with much greater clarity.

After observing for a while, Li Kun turned to me and said, "Apart from the graves, there’s nothing else. It’s quite ordinary here."

"In that case," I said, "let's move out. No need to go deeper. We head for the back mountain."

The group agreed, and we made our way back. A few minutes later, we returned to where Da Gou had left the offerings.

After picking up the cloth bag, Da Gou said, "Three Masters, please follow me. We must go to the Fox Immortal Temple first. I need to arrange the offerings for the Fox Immortal, or else the village will suffer."

I shook my head internally. If the Fox Immortal truly protected their village, it wouldn't have been ravaged by two minor spirits. Moreover, there wasn't just one Fox Immortal in Goutou Mountain, but two; if either one of them emerged, those two petty ghosts would surely be obliterated in an instant.

As we followed Da Gou, I leaned toward Xu Tian and whispered, "Old Xu, do you think the Headless Ghost and the Skinning Ghost might be connected to the evil immortal in the tomb? Could she be the one who released them?"

Xu Tian’s eyebrows arched. "That’s it! I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it, it makes sense."

I looked at him, waiting for his reasoning. Xu Tian continued, "The ghosts in the cemetery are all watching the back mountain, which is precisely where the Fox Immortal’s tomb is located. Combined with what the Skinning Ghost told us—that she was trapped here—I’m certain this has everything to do with the evil immortal in the tomb."

"I suspect these ghosts are trapped here, unable to reincarnate. If those two foxes in the tomb have cultivated human forms, they must possess immense power. If they are the ones keeping these spirits imprisoned, letting two of them out to wreak havoc would be trivial."

Hearing Xu Tian’s analysis, everything clicked into place. His theory was almost certainly correct.

Up ahead, Li Kun was walking with Da Gou. Seeing us whispering, he called back, "Old Liu, what are you two muttering about?"

Xu Tian waved him off. "Nothing you’d be interested in."

Li Kun rolled his eyes and resumed chatting with Da Gou—mostly about food and drink.

As I pieced it all together, the motive became clear: the ghosts were released by the evil immortal. Since both the Headless and Skinning ghosts were vengeful spirits who died unjustly, they were far more powerful than ordinary ghosts, making them perfect tools to slaughter the village. But if the Fox Immortals had already imprisoned so many ghosts, why resort to using these two to kill? Was there some deeper, hidden agenda?

The mystery deepened, but as we pressed on, I knew we would find the answer—or at least encounter the Headless Ghost, as the creature’s next target was Da Gou, who was right there with us.

Our group of four reached the waist of the central mountain. From here, we could clearly see the summit, but the terrain had become treacherous, covered in loose shale and gravel.

Although a small path existed, it had long been overgrown with withered grass and cluttered with debris. It was incredibly difficult to navigate; one wrong step could send you sliding down the mountainside. We had to be extremely cautious.

After about forty minutes of climbing, we reached the peak.

As we stood there, Xu Tian, Li Kun, and I were struck by a monumental and shocking sight. Since our "Heavenly Eyes" were still active, we could perceive things that were invisible to Da Gou. Li Kun had also activated his Blood Eyes, wanting to see if there was anything different to behold.

The moment we looked, we were paralyzed by what lay before us. The mountain to our right and the one we stood upon were connected at their midsections. Between them flowed a stream that cascaded down, winding like a snake across the flat land below before merging into a massive river.

However, the mountainsides were jagged and chaotic. At the base of the two peaks, smaller ridges extended outward, curving away from each other.

It was a formation of "Reverse-Facing" Green Dragon and White Tiger peaks. In Feng Shui, if the Dragon and Tiger mountains curve inward, the water between them is considered auspicious. But here, they curved outward, creating an omen of great misfortune. The ridges of our mountain and the one adjacent both faced away from the stream.

I thought to myself: *The ridges turn their backs on the water, chaotic and outward-facing, allowing the vital energy (Qi) to dissipate. The site cannot gather wind or accumulate energy. Though the water looks beautiful, the mountains are heartless. This is a sign of great evil.*

What kind of place was this? Could the Fox Immortal’s tomb really be located in such a cursed spot?

Yet, as ominous as the Feng Shui was, it paled in comparison to the scene on the flat ground below. Between the mid-points of the Dragon and Tiger peaks stood a colossal, pitch-black formation, enclosing the entire clearing.

At the top of this massive structure, blood-red seals and incantations shimmered, and the formation itself towered even higher than the mountains on either side.

We were rendered speechless, unable to do anything but swallow hard. Li Kun gasped, "Damn it... what in the hell is that?"