Volume Three: The Fox Immortal's Tomb - Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Twin Dragon Yin-Severing Formation

Xu Tian and I were both left speechless by this sight. Li Kun turned to me and asked, "Old Liu, what on earth is this? Has the sky collapsed? Why does it look like this?"

I shook my head. Li Kun swallowed hard and continued, "Look there."

Following his gaze, Xu Tian and I looked down at the ground of the massive formation. Resting on the surface were two giant, blood-red dragons; their appearance was truly majestic.

I remarked, "Both these giant dragons and the top of the formation are blood-red. Could this be some sort of array?"

Dagou turned to us, looking puzzled. He knew we were seeing something he couldn't, so he simply stood to the side, observing our expressions. He was incredibly curious, but when he looked in the direction we were pointing, he saw nothing but rocks and grass. Shaking his head, he sat down on the ground and waited.

Suddenly, Xu Tian pointed at the giant formation below the mountain. "I understand now. I have heard of this formation. The entire array is black, and these black vapors are undoubtedly the same as what Li Kun sees—they are all death energy."

"The upper part of the formation is carved with Taoist spells, which is why it appears red. As for the two giant dragons below, they are not real dragons at all, but sigils carved with Taoist sorcery. From a distance, they just look like two massive red dragons."

Li Kun turned and asked, "Old Xu, you know about this formation?"

Xu Tian nodded. "I read about it in a book belonging to my grandfather. This formation is called the Twin Dragon Yin-Severing Array."

Hearing this, we were all taken aback. Li Kun repeated, "The Twin Dragon what array?"

"The Twin Dragon Yin-Severing Array," Xu Tian clarified.

I asked, "Old Xu, do you know what this formation is used for?"

Xu Tian nodded, then shook his head. "I only know a small part of it. The book didn't describe the rest very clearly; it seems the person who wrote it didn't fully understand this formation either."

"The book states that this formation is specifically designed to absorb Yin energy. If any malevolent spirits are within its range, it will draw all the Yin and baleful energy within a fifty-mile radius for its own use."

Li Kun interjected, "If that's the case, wouldn't the Yin energy of the ghosts in that graveyard be completely drained by this array?"

I shook my head. "Even if this array specifically absorbs the Yin energy from the graveyard, it wouldn't drain the spirits completely, because the spirits themselves absorb Yin energy as well."

"Especially at night, the efficiency of absorbing Yin energy increases significantly. Coupled with the special geographic location of that graveyard—with Yin winds blowing in from three sides—it is enough to keep the ghosts from being drained to the point of total dissipation. That is the reason they have been able to survive until now."

Li Kun nodded, and Xu Tian continued, "Now I know why the ghosts of the Goutou Village generations haven't gone on to reincarnation."

The three of us turned to Xu Tian as he explained, "Because another purpose of the Twin Dragon Yin-Severing Array is to imprison all spirits within a fifty-mile radius, and it can also isolate the Yin and baleful energy of those spirits."

"This is enough to keep the Yin messengers from detecting the baleful energy of the deceased villagers. That is why they haven't reincarnated to this day—the Yin messengers no longer realize these people even exist in this world."

After saying this, Xu Tian turned to me. "Old Liu, if we proceed to the Fox Immortal's tomb, there is a massive opportunity waiting for us."

We looked at him with confusion. I asked, "Oh? A massive opportunity?"

Xu Tian nodded. "That's right. It is to liberate these ghosts who have been imprisoned for over a thousand years."

Li Kun looked at him skeptically. "What kind of opportunity is that? If we release them, wouldn't we be unleashing nearly a thousand fierce ghosts like the skin-peeling demon? Some of them have been alive for nearly a millennium. I reckon even a modern-day Celestial Master wouldn't last a few rounds against them, let alone all of them together."

Xu Tian shook his head. "If we break this array, the Underworld will certainly grant us a significant amount of Yin merit. Don't underestimate Yin merit; it's not just useful in the afterlife—it can even be used while we are still alive."

Li Kun asked, "Oh? How does that work?"

Xu Tian nodded. "You must have heard the phrase 'plagued by bad luck'."

We nodded, and Xu Tian continued, "Being plagued by bad luck means the Underworld has slashed your fortune—it has cut away a portion of your Yin merit. If we break this Twin Dragon Yin-Severing Array and release these thousand ghosts, the Underworld will immediately detect their location and realize what we have done."

"If we succeed, our Yin merit will increase substantially. By then, it won't be 'plagued by bad luck,' but rather 'blessed with good fortune.' Although fortune is intangible, you can think of it as good luck—even buying a lottery ticket wouldn't result in a loss. That is the importance of good fortune."

Hearing this, we were filled with excitement. We hadn't expected to encounter such a stroke of luck on this trip. If we really broke the array, wouldn't our prosperous days be just around the corner?

I asked, "Old Xu, do you know how to break this Twin Dragon Yin-Severing Array?"

Xu Tian nodded. "This array has three 'eyes.' As long as we break these three, the array will collapse, and we will succeed. Coincidentally, I have memorized the methods to break them because it is actually quite simple. I will tell you once we enter the tomb."

Li Kun asked, "Old Xu, are these three eyes inside the tomb?"

Xu Tian nodded. "Exactly. So this trip not only offers the benefit of the Fox Corpse's blood scabs, but also immense good fortune."

Li Kun added, "And the two hundred thousand in cash."

The three of us shared a smile. The trip was definitely worth it, even if the danger level was much higher than our previous tomb raids.

Dagou turned to us and asked, "Three Masters, are we still heading down the mountain? The Fox Immortal Temple is not far; it's just ahead."

I replied to Dagou, "Since we're already here, we definitely have to go take a look."

Dagou nodded, scratched his head, and said, "Masters, what were you three talking about just now? I couldn't understand a word of it."

I looked at the simple-hearted boy and said, "We were just discussing some matters. You're still young; you'll understand when you grow up."

Dagou nodded and pointed to a slope on the left side of the mountain peak. "The Fox Immortal Temple is right there."

We looked in the direction he pointed and saw a relatively flat spot on the slope, where a small stone-built temple came into view.

The temple was only about two meters high, with a half-moon-shaped entrance in the middle. The opening was tiny—only about twenty centimeters wide—making it impossible for any human or normal animal to enter.

Upon reaching the temple, I carefully examined the structure.

Looking through the small door, I could clearly see a statue of a fox. The statue was snow-white, with a fox's face but a human-like body. Behind it, three snow-white tails were raised high. The statue's eyes were closed, and it sat cross-legged on a green lotus pedestal.

It wore clean, ancient-style clothing, its expression solemn and grave, yet its eyes held an strangely holy aura.

The moment we saw the statue, we were all stunned. It was carved with such vivid realism that we all had the same thought: had the sculptor actually seen the face of a Fox Immortal? Otherwise, how could it be carved with such spirit?

Most importantly, the statue was pristine. In a temple deep in the mountains that no one tended to, one would expect it to be covered in dust. Yet, the statue was impeccably clean, and even the snow-white fox tails behind it were spotless.

We were taken aback. Xu Tian walked to my side, glanced at the statue, and his lips moved without making a sound.

I understood his meaning: the Fox Immortal in this statue was likely one of the two we were looking for. If I wasn't mistaken, this was the "benevolent" one.

I nodded to myself. It had to be the benevolent one. If it were the malevolent one, the eyes wouldn't have such a holy expression. The fact that the malevolent one had imprisoned the ghosts in the graveyard for a thousand years was enough to prove that the one before us was the benevolent one, not the evil one.

Although we were communicating, we didn't speak aloud. We knew this statue was not ordinary, and we didn't dare voice our thoughts too loudly.