Tang Fei approached Ye Qiu and asked, “How do we handle the human blood in the seven coffins?”
The blood contained corpse poison, and if not dealt with, the consequences would be endless.
“Old man, you can handle it, right?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longbrow said, “There’s too much blood. Completely removing the corpse poison is difficult.”
Ye Qiu’s heart sank.
Then Master Longbrow laughed, “It might be difficult for others, but for me, the head of Mount Longhu, dealing with this corpse poison is a piece of cake.”
Damn, can’t you stop showing off?
“The corpse poison is on you,” Ye Qiu shot Master Longbrow a glare, then walked toward the far north.
“Where are you going?” Master Longbrow asked.
Ye Qiu didn’t answer, took sixty steps forward, and stared at the ground for a while.
Two minutes later, Ye Qiu used a branch to draw a three-metre by three-metre square on the ground.
“Commander Qin!”
Ye Qiu waved to Qin Feng, the commander of the Fierce Tiger Company.
Qin Feng jogged over, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and asked, “What’s the order?”
Ye Qiu pointed to the square on the ground and said, “Assign a few men to dig three metres down following this pattern.”
“Got it.”
Qin Feng immediately called over a dozen soldiers to start digging.
Meanwhile, Master Longbrow approached one of the bronze blood coffins, pulled three talismans from his robe sleeve, and tossed them into the coffin.
Then, he sat cross-legged in front of the bronze coffin, closed his eyes, and softly chanted a mantra.
After a while, Master Longbrow suddenly opened his eyes, extended his right index and middle fingers in a sword gesture, and pointed at the coffin.
“Dispel!”
Master Longbrow gave a soft shout, but the coffin remained still.
The soldiers present looked puzzled.
“What’s this Taoist doing?”
“Completely incomprehensible.”
“Playing tricks…”
Before the murmurs stopped, the blood in the giant bronze coffin suddenly began to boil, emitting wisps of black smoke.
Master Longbrow stood up, moved to the second blood coffin, threw in three talismans, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and chanted again.
After a moment, he opened his eyes, made the sword gesture, and pointed at the coffin.
“Dispel!”
Soon, the blood in the second bronze coffin boiled, releasing wisps of black smoke.
In this way, Master Longbrow spent half an hour making the blood in all seven coffins boil.
“Tang Fei, tell everyone to stay away from the coffins for now,” Master Longbrow instructed.
Tang Fei nodded and asked, “Master, will this remove the corpse poison from the blood?”
“Yes,” Master Longbrow confirmed, then exclaimed, “Damn, I’m exhausted.”
Tang Fei glanced at Master Longbrow, noting his sweaty forehead and pale face, clearly worn out.
“Thank you, Master. Take a rest,” Tang Fei said with concern.
“Where’s the little brat?” Master Longbrow asked.
“Over there,” Tang Fei pointed to the far north.
Master Longbrow turned and saw Ye Qiu directing soldiers to dig, and asked, “What’s he doing?”
“No idea,” Tang Fei admitted.
“Let’s go check,” Master Longbrow said, striding over to Ye Qiu.
He glanced at the pit the soldiers were digging and asked Ye Qiu, “What are you up to?”
“Guess,” Ye Qiu teased.
“Guess my ass! Spill it,” Master Longbrow’s curiosity was piqued.
Ye Qiu mocked, “Don’t you always brag about being the world’s greatest diviner? Can’t even figure out what I’m doing?”
Master Longbrow glared at Ye Qiu, annoyed, then said, “For such a trivial matter, asking me to divine is a waste of talent. But… I get it, this is the tomb’s entrance.”
A glint of surprise flashed in Ye Qiu’s eyes, “How’d you know?”
Master Longbrow explained, “The seven century-old pine trees are arranged in the Big Dipper pattern, as are the seven bronze blood coffins, corresponding to the Big Dipper in the sky.”
“As we know, the Big Dipper revolves around the Purple Forbidden Star.”
“The Purple Forbidden Star, known as the master of the Dipper, is considered the ‘Emperor Star’ in astrology and geomancy, called the North Star today. Like a celestial emperor, it sits in the north, overseeing the world.”
“No matter the season, the Big Dipper always revolves around the Purple Forbidden Star. If the sky is a funnel, the Purple Forbidden Star is its tip.”
Pointing to the pit, Master Longbrow said, “This spot is due north, corresponding to the North Star. Based on the positions of the seven pine trees and blood coffins, this should be the tomb’s entrance.”
“Little brat, am I right?”
Ye Qiu glanced at Master Longbrow, thinking, the old man’s not the head of Mount Longhu for nothing—he’s got skills.
Indeed, they were digging the tomb’s entrance.
The tomb’s owner had used so much human blood here, an utterly heinous act. Ye Qiu wanted to enter the tomb to see who this person was.
Moreover, the seven pine trees and seven bronze blood coffins, all arranged in the Big Dipper pattern, made Ye Qiu suspect the tomb’s owner had ulterior motives, perhaps beyond just occupying this geomantic treasure.
Ye Qiu said, “By the way, old man, are you sure your method can completely remove the corpse poison from the blood coffins?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Master Longbrow bristled, “Doubting my abilities?”
Ye Qiu clarified, “That’s not what I meant. I’m saying, if your method works, you might as well clear the corpse poison from the seven pine trees too.”
Master Longbrow said, “I’m exhausted from earlier. I’ll handle it after a break.”
“Tang Fei, arrange some men to clear the trees around the seven pines and set up a firebreak. I’ll burn those seven pine trees later.”
“Got it,” Tang Fei immediately organised the task.
Qin Feng and a dozen soldiers dug for another hour, finally uncovering a bronze floor.
The bronze floor was ancient and imposing, thick with the weight of time, featuring two copper rings—clearly the tomb’s entrance.
Ye Qiu noticed a string of Mongolian script carved on the bronze floor, none of which he recognised.
He asked, “Old man, do you know these words?”
“I’m not an expert in Mongolian, but I know a bit. Let me see.”
Master Longbrow studied the script, then his body shook, and he said, “Bronze Immortal Gate, intruders will die!”
