Chapter 42: The Nine-Corpse Heavenly Thunder Formation

With a light movement, I unlocked the small hut and pushed open the door, immediately greeted by a faint yet pungent stench. The odor was peculiar, reminiscent of moldy bread. At a glance, aside from a staircase leading to the roof, there was nothing else in sight.

I picked up my compass, formed a hand seal, and drew the currents of air within the hut into the compass. Instantly, the needle began to spin rapidly.

"Corpse energy!" I exclaimed, startled.

The hut was small, perhaps barely over a dozen square meters. A single sweep of the eyes could take in everything inside. There were no corpses here—so where was the corpse energy coming from? Moreover, it was so thick and overpowering.

What was going on? Could there be a body on the roof? But even if there were, the corpse energy would have dispersed into the atmosphere, not gathered so densely in this little hut.

I searched the hut thoroughly once more, yet still found no source for the corpse energy. So, holding the compass, I ascended the staircase to the roof.

Atop the hut was an iron panel, secured by a padlock whose head was rusted, clearly having hung there for some time. Since I could easily open a concealed lock, a padlock was no challenge. After opening it and pushing aside the iron panel, I poked my head out.

There—on the rooftop, I saw more than a dozen earthen jars, each half a meter tall, arranged in some deliberate pattern. The sight of them made my skin crawl. There was no need to guess—this was the eye of a malignant feng shui formation.

I climbed out and stood on the rooftop, surveying the jars around me as I pondered. This malignant formation was powerful enough to trap a millennium-old female ghost like Green Pearl. Clearly, it was no ordinary array. I could not rashly destroy these jars. If it were a standard feng shui formation, I could easily break it, but with a malignant one like this, I had to be careful. One rash move could spell disaster.

I crouched down to inspect one of the jars closely, then took out a jade box and withdrew a Spirit Harmony Talisman. Over this period, I had used up many of the talismans my master had left for me; there were not many left now. Once this matter was settled, I would need to pause, find myself a feng shui blessed site, and redouble my efforts in learning talisman arts. If I used up all my master's talismans, I would have nothing left.

Holding the Spirit Harmony Talisman between my fingers, I recited the incantation and tossed the talisman onto the jar.

As soon as it landed, a puff of blue smoke rose up, and the talisman was instantly reduced to ash.

"Corpse energy!" I was aghast. Damn it, how could the corpse energy be so concentrated that even my Spirit Harmony Talisman was instantly destroyed?

Could it be...

A chill ran down my spine.

A chill that made my whole body shudder described my state perfectly at that moment. With corpse energy this intense, there could be no doubt that these jars were filled with bones—human bones, and certainly not ordinary ones. Normal remains could never emit such powerful corpse energy. Over a dozen jars—this was not a single person's bones.

The situation was dire—extremely dire. Someone had actually used human remains to set up a feng shui formation here.

For a moment, I felt at a complete loss.

What to do?

I frowned deeply. If Master were here, he would have handled this effortlessly. He would track down the geomancer who set up this formation and mete out the harshest punishment, then hand over the beneficiary to the authorities for due justice.

But I was incapable of any of that. At this moment, I could not even identify what kind of formation it was, let alone the person who set it up.

To make matters worse, this involved Kong Shaotian, a man of immense wealth and power. As an eighteen-year-old feng shui practitioner, I was no match for him.

Yet now that fate had brought this matter before me, to simply walk away would violate my principles. So, I needed to intervene, but not rashly butt heads with forces beyond my means.

I began to consider who could help me.

The Shang brothers were out of the question. Master Miao and Master Xie were unsuitable as well—they weren't feng shui experts, and Master Miao wasn't even in the province, having gone north.

Uncle Li and Uncle Wang were even less suitable.

After much deliberation, I realized there was only one person who could help: Master Xu from the neighboring province.

He and my master were fellow disciples, both renowned in their respective provinces. My master had taken me to meet him several times in the past, but he had never warmed to me—each encounter he looked at me with undisguised dislike.

To be honest, I never understood what I had done to offend him. But after my master's passing, I began to understand. Perhaps he saw from the start that my fate was different. It was quite possible that, unbeknownst to me, my master had made great sacrifices on my behalf.

If not for resolving the Six Spirits Heavenly Doom afflicting me, my master would not have died so soon.

So, even though I had Master Xu's contact information, I had never dared to call him. Strictly speaking, I should call him "Uncle-Master." Although everyone knew I was my master's only disciple, and my master never denied it, because of my unusual fate, I had never formally taken the kneeling ceremony. Thus, I was not entitled to address Master Xu as Uncle-Master.

But now, faced with this crisis, he was my only hope.

After careful consideration, I took out my phone and found his number. Yet, as I was about to dial, I hesitated—more from trepidation and fear than uncertainty. Master Xu had always disliked me, and now my master was gone because of me.

I drew a long breath, gritted my teeth, and made the call. There was no turning back now. At worst, I would be scolded and sent packing.

I was sure, though, that once he knew what was going on here, he would not stand idly by.

The phone rang.

Again and again—no answer. My heart grew anxious.

I had always used this number, and Master Xu had it too. When he couldn't reach my master, he would call me to pass on messages.

But now, he wasn’t answering—clearly, his dislike for me had only grown.

Just as I was about to hang up, the call connected, and a cold, indifferent voice came through: "What is it? Speak up if you have something to say."

Hearing his voice, I grew flustered. I hurriedly said, "Um... I... I..."

"What is it? If you have something to say, spit it out. I'm drinking! Don't ruin my mood!" His tone was loaded with impatience.

"Uh... Sorry!" I apologized quickly, then got straight to the point: "I've come across a malignant feng shui formation I can't handle."

"Malignant feng shui formation?" He seemed interested.

"Yes, a very powerful one," I replied.

"What kind of formation? Be specific," he asked.

"Well... I... I don't have the skill to tell what it is. But I can say for certain that it's filled with corpse energy."

"Where is it?"

"In Qianbei City."

"And where are you now?"

"I'm in Qianbei."

"No, I mean, are you right next to the formation, or did you already leave?"

"Oh, uh... I'm right at the eye of the formation."

"Take pictures of what you see at the core and send them to me right away. Then leave immediately!" His voice took on a grave tone. Clearly, this was no simple matter if even he grew serious.

I noted the email address he gave me, hung up, then hurriedly photographed all the jars on the hut's roof. Once done, I sent all the pictures to the email address he provided.

Then, I quickly returned to the staircase, closed the iron panel, and locked it. Since Master Xu told me to leave, I had to comply. I did not want to cause any more trouble.

I shut the hut door, ran off the rooftop, and closed the door behind me.

Just as I reached the entrance of that so-called biotech company on the top floor, my phone rang.

I answered at once, "Hello?"

Master Xu's urgent voice came through at once: "Leave! Get out of there, now! This is the Nine Corpses Heavenly Thunder Array! It's far beyond your abilities—run!"

At his words, my heart sank.

The Nine Corpses Heavenly Thunder Array?

Thank heaven I hadn't acted rashly, or I'd be dead by now.

"Go! No—run! Get out of there right away! Find a safe place and set up a Concealed Soul Array to hide yourself. I'm sending someone to help you now! Until my people arrive, do not leave the Concealed Soul Array—understand? Move!"

Master Xu nearly shouted through the phone.