Ren Yuanhao’s heart trembled, and he suddenly understood the meaning of the mountain demon—if he couldn’t save the mother mountain demon, it would rather have them all accompany it in death!
He revealed this thought entirely, and the two women fell silent.
After a good while, Shen Lan'ni coughed a couple of times and said, “Since it’s already like this, the top priority is for us to find the coffin of the engraver.”
“That’s right. This person is truly terrifying. He might have long anticipated that by raising mountain demons with蛊毒 (gu poison) to protect this place, over time, various possibilities would arise. The biggest possibility is theft from within. These mountain demons are not unintelligent. Perhaps in their minds, this is an endless nightmare, so they believed that as long as the demon tree was destroyed, the source of all curses would disappear. However, the mountain demons didn’t expect this demon tree, having survived for thousands of years, to be so easily dealt with. Thus, they fell into a trap upon approaching it and could never leave this place.”
Ren Yuanhao paused and continued, “Therefore, the destined person mentioned by the engraver had already foreseen that the mountain demons would treat us as living sacrifices to be buried with the mother mountain demon. That’s why he wrote the words ‘destined person,’ truly foreseeing everything.”
“So, the old immortal also predicted that we would be able to find his coffin?”
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to say.”
Ren Yuanhao was actually talking complete nonsense, all to stabilize morale.
At this moment, Shen Lan'ni said, “Since the stone tablet doesn’t mention any side effects of the demon tree, I think you should take care of yourself first and get rid of your hidden ailment.”
“Yes, this is our ultimate goal for coming here. Leave the matter of finding the coffin to Lan’ni jie and me.” Yang Lingxue’s face finally showed a slight smile.
“Can you remove the ‘jie’ part?” Shen Lan’ni shook her head and, holding the flashlight, began to meticulously inspect the edges of the vast cave.
Ren Yuanhao collected his thoughts and stepped onto the cracked, dry ground again. He followed closely towards the demon tree, using its leaves one by one to remove the stubborn injuries left by the fist marks on his body.
After an unknown amount of time, Ren Yuanhao excitedly discovered that the two fist marks on his body had been completely removed. Just as he was excited, he suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon—the branches on the northeast side of the demon tree were denser and longer, while the other side was shorter, like the poplar in the desert that only extends towards water!
Ren Yuanhao grew up in a rural area with particularly severe feudalistic thinking, so he had some knowledge of funeral customs and the art of feng shui.
At this moment, he murmured in a deep voice, “The so-called feng shui values water the most, followed by sheltering wind. This water, we already have outside the cave. However, I heard from the Great Shaman that if there is living water within the tomb, that is the so-called dragon’s eye, a truly auspicious location. Mountains often have underground streams, and if I were that old immortal, I would definitely choose a place where an underground stream passes to place the coffin!”
Combining this with the direction of the demon tree’s branches, Ren Yuanhao immediately shone his flashlight towards the northeast corner.
“You two young ladies don’t need to look anymore. I think I already have the answer.”
The two women followed the direction of Ren Yuanhao’s flashlight and immediately realized what he was implying. Yang Lingxue sighed and said, “I just searched there, and I didn’t find anything unusual. By the way, your injuries~”
“I’m fine now. This tree is truly incredibly magical. It’s a pity that once these leaves leave the branches, they turn to ash. What a shame.”
Ren Yuanhao’s injuries had recovered by seventy to eighty percent, but he was unsure of his current physical attributes and, feeling worried about Ye Lan, quickly rushed to the mountain body indicated by the tree branches.
The two women watched as he patted the mountain wall from time to time and shone his flashlight towards the top of the mountain, unsure what he was trying to do. Just as they were wondering, they heard Ren Yuanhao muttering.
“Purple qi comes from the east, carrying dragon’s energy and riding the wind. The landscape sits like a screen, dividing two dragons returning north and south. Misty clouds condense and do not disperse, going back and forth ceaselessly…”
Yang Lingxue listened, utterly confused, and frowned, “Hey, hey, hey, Ren Yuanhao, are you speaking in riddles or chanting a spell?”
“I’m afraid he’s deciphering the feng shui. I didn’t expect this guy to know so much,” Shen Lan’ni’s gaze showed a hint of admiration.
Ren Yuanhao was only reciting the feng shui secret incantations that the Great Shaman often chanted. Areas that he previously found obscure and difficult to understand now became clear after his on-site investigation, integrating and grasping them all!
He tidied his thoughts slightly and said, “Look, the crown of this demon tree extends to the northeast corner, which is here. This location is not only the sunny side of the mountain but also where the underground water veins flow. Purple qi comes from the east, and the yin and yang energies circulate ceaselessly, giving birth to endless vitality. It is simply an excellent feng shui location!”
“And then?” Yang Lingxue was confused by his explanation, her mind feeling like it was stuffed with paste.
“But this mountain wall is integrated with its surroundings. The coffin simply couldn’t be inside the mountain, could it?” Shen Lan’ni also expressed doubt.
Ren Yuanhao suddenly wore a very mysterious smile and looked up. The others also followed his gaze upwards. At this moment, they heard Ren Yuanhao say in a low voice, “You two young ladies were born in big cities. Things in the wild are not as familiar to you as they are to me.”
“Stop being so mysterious! Are you deliberately making us curious?” Yang Lingxue still couldn’t see anything unusual, her brows furrowed.
“Have you ever heard of ‘Two Dragons Pulling the Coffin’?”
“Two Dragons Pulling the Coffin?”
Ren Yuanhao had only heard the Great Shaman mention it. He said that there are thirty-six heavenly grottoes and seventy-two blessed lands in the world, and among the yin residences, there is also the top-tier dragon’s lair, “Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin,” but it is extremely rare. Even having “Two Dragons” would already be an excellent feng shui location.
“That’s right. The owner of this stone carving is a genius. When he mentioned the word ‘coffin’ in the text, he was actually misleading us. No, not misleading, but testing our judgment.”
The two women became increasingly confused. At this moment, Ren Yuanhao suddenly knelt down on both knees and, after kowtowing three times to this smooth, dry mountain wall, a series of sounds of chains being dragged came from the left. Fine dust and stone chips flew everywhere, and the sound was like thunder!
The three shifted their gaze and saw a downward passage, about a meter wide, opening up in the ground. A faint, earthy smell wafted up!
“Wh-what on earth is going on?” Shen Lan’ni was so astonished her mouth wouldn’t close, while Yang Lingxue was overwhelmed by the joy of being able to escape.
“Who cares what’s going on, we can get out!”
At this moment, Ren Yuanhao seemed somewhat melancholic, especially when he looked at the demon tree.
“What’s wrong? We can leave, and you still look unhappy?” Yang Lingxue patted Ren Yuanhao on the shoulder and said with a smile.
“I can’t be happy. Think about it, if we leave here, this demon tree will probably never have a chance to appear in the world again.”