booktalesy Chapter 93 The Dragon-Locking Dilemma
Chapter 93 The Dragon-Locking Dilemma
Chapter 93 The Dragon-Locking Dilemma
The night was deep, and a small candle was lit inside the wooden house to dispel some of the darkness.
The faint glow could only illuminate a small area, and the river breeze blew through the cracks in the wood, causing the flames to flicker wildly.
Chen Qian sat upright, his eyes fixed on the paper head in the earthen basin.
"Master, why did those people go to such lengths to rescue a living person while patrolling Black Mountain at night, only to leave a mark on them and wait ten days instead of killing them on the spot? Was it really to accumulate good karma?"
Chen Qian asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time.
This is indeed a paradox; if the goal was to eat people, then they would have done it on the spot.
If it's for enslavement, just take them back.
"Accumulating good karma? Heh heh ————"
Li Chengyun's voice was filled with mockery: "You think too highly of those thieves. They're saving themselves rather than saving others."
"They stole the Li family's paper-crafting magic," but not completely, and they lacked the destiny to wield it. Spirit control is a method that damages one's karma and shortens one's lifespan. The legitimate Li family has the secret techniques of the Demon Suppression Division to protect them and suppress any backlash. But these servants do not."
"Every time they use magic, their bodies get a little closer to the paper figure, and their souls are eroded a little by the yin energy. And they can't stop, hehe."
"In order not to become complete paper dolls, they need human talent."
"Those ten days of marking are actually for nourishing the soul." After ten days, your soul and the mark will be completely fused, imbued with the magic of paper-crafting, making it the best tonic. They can only continuously occupy bodies to offset the backlash and prolong their inhuman, ghostly lifespan.
"This is—extending life with life."
Chen Qian felt a chill run down his spine.
It turns out that the so-called rescue operation in Heishan was nothing more than a way to cultivate talent.
The so-called paper sedan chair welcoming people seems to be nothing more than a welcoming ceremony.
"Since that's the case—"
A hint of doubt flashed in Chen Qian's eyes. Following this line of reasoning, he continued, "Since the Li family of Black Mountain possesses such evil arts and occupies the natural barrier of Black Mountain, why are they not well-known in Linjiang County or even the entire prefecture? If they wanted to, they could easily control the entire county and acquire more talent."
"Judging from all the signs, the Li family of Heishan seems to have no intention of stepping into the secular world, and instead has been hiding in the mountains."
"In no mood?"
Li Chengyun seemed to have heard the funniest joke, letting out a series of ear-piercing laughs that made the earthen clods in the basin tremble: "Is it that they don't want to? Those greedy servants dream of going down the mountain! Dream of enjoying worldly riches and glory! Dream of becoming the local tyrants of Linjiang!"
Chen Qian's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately grasped the key point: "So—it's not that they don't want to, but that they can't bring themselves to come down?"
"clever."
Li Chengyun's red paper eyes gleamed with a sinister light: "They thought that by usurping the Li family and killing the main branch, they could rest easy. But the Li family's laws have never been so easy to learn, and the Li family's position has never been so easy to hold."
"Black Mountain—is a cage. They stole the guards' keys, but locked themselves inside as well. If they leave Black Mountain territory for too long, their bodies will quickly decay into mud, like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun."
"This is the price of betrayal."
Chen Qian suddenly realized.
No wonder they could only travel at night using paper figures and paper sedan chairs; no wonder they needed to be deep in the Black Mountain.
It turned out they were a group of prisoners who had been cursed and imprisoned.
But upon closer reflection, it still feels like there are some things Li Chengyun hasn't said.
"Kid."
Li Chengyun abruptly changed the subject, his tone suddenly becoming somewhat strange, carrying a hint of testing: "You went to Niushou Village and saw something underground again."
"What did you discover from your trip to Niushou Village?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Qian took out the tattered map left by his father from his pocket and laid it flat on the table.
Under the dim yellow light, the incomplete lines seemed to come alive.
He stretched out his finger and slowly drew lines on the map, connecting the key nodes.
"Niushou Village — Linjiang County — Heijian — Heishan".
Chen Qian named four locations, his fingers tracing a huge outline in the air.
He hesitated for a moment, the startling conjecture flashing through his mind, but he swallowed the words back.
After all, that's too shocking; if I say something wrong, it would just make me seem ignorant.
He simply pointed to the map and said, "These four places are in special positions, not only geographically surrounded, but also more like a kind of feng shui formation."
Li Chengyun let out a satisfied nasal sound: "It's not bad, it has some intelligence. It's not a waste of that old ghost Taiyi Sect's compass."
"If you don't dare to say it, I'll say it for you."
Li Chengyun's voice suddenly became grand and solemn, as if he had returned to the era when he ruled the world: "This is indeed a formation, a great formation that reaches the heavens."
"Niushou Village is located in a low-lying area where yin energy gathers. That's the tail-severing nail! It nailed down the tail of this evil dragon, preventing it from swinging its tail and turning over."
"Linjiang County is a place where humanity gathers and yang energy soars to the heavens, but it sits precisely on the dragon's waist—that's the waist-suppressing stone! It uses the life force of all people to suppress the death energy beneath the earth."
"The mineral vein between the Black Mountains possesses the strongest metallic aura; it's the 'Foot-Severing Blade'! Sever its claws, cripple its movement."
"And Montenegro—"
Li Chengyun's gaze seemed to pierce through the wooden house, looking towards the majestic mountain in the distant west: "Hmm—"
"The mountain's rugged shape, like a ferocious tiger pouncing on its prey, is actually designed to trap the most dangerous head. That is the Dragon-Locking Well!"
It's the core of the entire formation!
"Three nails lock the body, a mountain suppresses the head."
"This is a battle—the Evil Dragon Locking Formation!"
Chen Qian was deeply moved. Although he had already guessed it, hearing it from Li Chengyun's mouth still shocked him.
"Is what's being suppressed down there really a dragon?"
"A dragon? Hmph, there are no real dragons in this world. It's just a 'corpse dragon' that has reached its power, attempting to transform into a dragon and feed on the millions of creatures of this land."
Li Chengyun spoke indifferently, as if he were talking about a trivial matter: "Back then, it stirred up trouble, wanting to flood Linjiang and use the water's force to enter the sea and transform into a dragon."
"So, someone has made a move."
"Who?" Chen Qian asked instinctively.
"Demon Suppression Division".
Li Chengyun said proudly, the red eyes of the paper effigy now exuding an aura of dominance over the world: "The powerful figures of the Demon Suppression Division have used all their strength to use the mountains and rivers of this place as a cage to dismember and suppress it under the four nodes."
"Beneath Niushou Village lies a tail, which is why there are many water ghosts and evil spirits there."
"And our Li family—"
The voice, booming like a great bell, made Chen Qian's eardrums ring: "It is indeed appointed by the Demon Suppression Division!"
"The garrison commander!"
"For generations, they have guarded Black Mountain, watching over that most ferocious—the dragon's head!"
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