Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 76 - 74 The Source of Everything and the Chief Culprit

Chapter 76: Chapter 74 The Source of Everything and the Chief Culprit

Afterward,

Wang Yuan kept his gaze fixed on the palanquin as he followed the wedding procession back to the Construction Director’s accompanying tomb.

He saw with his own eyes how the "Ghost Matchmaker," Lady Gao, used the flexible, tentacle-like Soul-Beating Whip in her hand to reach through the crack of the door, moving aside the stone sphere and pushing open the first Covered Gate of the Underground Palace.

She also left a mark on the ground, the same one Wang Yuan had noticed when he first entered the tomb.

Clearly, there was an understanding between the two parties; the Construction Director from fifteen years ago did not appear to stop them.

There were no earth-shattering changes, nor were there the bizarrely shaped "Zhen Water Worm," "Winged Fire Snake," or "Ghost Golden Sheep"...

This "Vermilion Bird Bureau," which heritage was unknown from which historical concubine, remained in its original state.

The procession carried the palanquin past Zhenxiu, Yisu, Zhangsu, Xingxiu, and Liusu, only to stop at the second-to-last station, "Ghost Star," without continuing to the first station, "Jingsu."

Realizing that this scene took place before his birth, and that helpless rage was utterly meaningless, Wang Yuan gradually calmed down.

He kept an eye on them, merely wanting to figure out what else had occurred afterward.

Moreover, from the changes in the Underground Palace prior, the true nature of this Vermilion Bird Formation could be discerned.

Mainly because "The Four Spirits of Heaven" were too famous; even the "Daling" in "Daling Village" originated from the star constellations, belonging to the "Gastros" among the seven stations of the Western White Tiger.

And because of his study of the Transformation into Tiger Technique, Wang Yuan had also researched the other three Spirits besides the Western White Tiger.

Among the seven stations in the south, although "Jingsu" is the head of the Vermilion Bird Formation, "Ghost Star" is the head and crown of the Vermilion Bird.

It is also where the "main deity" of the entire formation resides, determining the function of the entire formation.

"Ghost Star" contains seven Star Officials: Yu Ghost, Jishi, Flame, Heavenly Dog, Outer Kitchen, Earth God, Tianji, which correspond to seven tombs of considerable size.

Walking along, Wang Yuan discovered that the original tomb of the ancient concubine was located at "Yu Ghost," signifying the ghost on the carriage.

According to this formation, the tomb owner’s coffin should be placed right in the center of Ghost Star.

The initial effort to set up this vast Underground Palace formation was probably not to bring blessing to later generations or to prolong the dynasty’s Qi Fortune.

It was a vain attempt to accumulate Yin Fiend energy through the power of "Ghost Star" to nourish the soul, hoping to resurrect as a Spirit Ghost after death.

Added with the Vermilion Bird’s seven stations and the abundant Dragon Veins beneath the earth, stepping onto the Ghost Path for cultivation was also a great possibility.

Although it was far less ambitious than what was done with the Owl God Tomb, it was still enough to shock the world.

It’s just unknown whether she succeeded or not.

However, the wedding procession this time did not enter the "Yu Ghost" tomb chamber but the "Outer Kitchen," representing the kitchen in charge of cooking sacrifices.

The purpose of this bride had long been self-evident.

Thud!

The people from the Prince Mansion did not prepare an additional coffin; instead, they directly placed the bridal palanquin on the ground.

Then the elderly woman acting as the "Ghost Matchmaker" stepped forward, unfolded a dragon-phoenix invitation with the birth details of both parties, and laid it on the altar table.

Wang Yuan took a closer look, and there were still only two sets of birth details on it, without names, identities, ancestral homes, life stories, ages... nothing of that sort.

But with deeper research into the Life Chart,

he instantly recognized that these two sets of birth details corresponded to "Owl God Snatching Food" and the peculiar structure of the six beasts... "Vermilion Bird Riding the Wind"!

"Indeed, it’s Vermilion Bird Riding the Wind.

As the most fitting and noble birth, should ’Vermilion Bird Riding the Wind’ be consumed by ’Owl God Snatching Food,’ the Yili King might instantly transform from a Night Owl to a magnificent Roc!"

Just then, a scream suddenly broke the silence in the Underground Palace.

"Not good, the Prince is about to kill to silence us, run!"

"General Wei, please spare me!"

It was Wei Anning, who had already reached the Dao General realm fifteen years ago, suddenly drawing his sword and sweeping through the tomb chamber like a whirlwind, slaying everyone except for Lady Gao.

Not even the fastest one managed to set foot outside the tomb chamber.

And with the deaths of these people, the illusion before Wang Yuan came to an abrupt end.

Wang Yuan returned to the Underground Palace strewn with rotten flesh and shattered bones.

He suddenly understood that the dismembered "Ghost Golden Sheep" was actually comprised of Prince Mansion guards, all skilled with Integrated Force.

What I had just seen were actually the memories from when those corpses were alive.

Whoosh—!

My body reacted faster than my thoughts, exploding into action and dashing toward the "Outer Kitchen" I had just glimpsed in the illusion.

This tomb chamber had drastically changed from what it was in the vision.

The doorway had shrunk from one that could accommodate a large sedan chair carried by eight, to a size that only allowed one person to pass through sideways.

It was only when Wang Yuan was being chased by the "Ghost Golden Sheep" that he failed to notice the hidden intricacies within.

In the tomb chamber, although fifteen years had passed, the sedan chair, which was originally blood-red, was still as vivid and eye-catching as if it were brand new.

Seeing this sedan chair, Wang Yuan let out a slight sigh of relief; at least there had been no tragedy of corpses being assimilated by the tomb, which would have been irreversible.

He lifted the curtain in a swift motion, and as expected, inside the chair—which resembled a coffin more than a sedan—there was indeed a coffin.

Pulling out the Tiger Head Saber from his waist, he chopped away the obstructive parts of the sedan in a few strokes, revealing the intact coffin within.

The material of the coffin seemed to be made of parasol wood, but its quality was far more delicate than that of the ordinary kind, with patterns like tiny flames of red throughout.

There was also a relief of a phoenix poised for flight on the surface of the coffin.

Wang Yuan, whose knowledge was very specialized, sensed that this wood was extraordinary but didn’t realize that it was a treasured material, called "Phoenix Perch Parasol".

Specially paired with the "Elixir" and the Vermilion Bird Formation underneath it.

Records of the Grand Historian: The seven stars of the South Palace are shaped like a red phoenix.

On the Grand Theory of the Five Elements: The phoenix is a type of phoenix bird, belonging to the species of the Vermilion Bird, corresponding to the Southern Seven Stars in heaven, the Vermilion Bird in the sky, the phoenix on earth, and the fire among the five elements in terms of Qi.

Without using the knife further, Wang Yuan, with his non-human physique, pulled out the coffin nails barehanded and lifted the heavy lid of the coffin.

As the moment approached, he hesitated, like someone homesick upon nearing their destination, and looked at the figure lying in the coffin.

Underneath the translucent red bridal veil, despite being overly pale, was a face he knew all too well, and one of delicate beauty.

"Huang Wu..."

Even without the gruesome sight of bloody scratch marks covering the inside of the coffin lid.

But seeing the fear in the young girl’s features, a fear not even death could erase, Wang Yuan couldn’t help but shiver.

Finally, the last layer of paper was pierced, and everything fell into place.

Wang Yuan quickly pieced together the timeline in his mind.

Fifteen years ago, the Luoyang Royal Mansion sent Wei Anning and a contingent of guards, who abducted Huang Wu, who had the "Vermilion Bird Riding the Wind" life chart, from somewhere and brought her to Beimang Mountain.

Afterward, as the local Earth God, my well-informed Grandma rescued her ghost-transformed granddaughter and brought her to Wangren Town.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t complete her mission, leaving the body in this "Vermilion Bird Formation", serving as a medium for the Owl God Tomb to continue coveting the top-grade "Elixir".

She could only trickily seal Huang Wu’s ghost soul into the mirror, preventing her from going out, not even a step outside Wangren Town.

It was all to prevent the Owl God Tomb from continuing its pursuit.

However, that was the "Vermilion Bird Riding the Wind" which had been scheming since before death and had waited for nearly two hundred years.

After the "Elixir" that was so close to its grasp slipped away, it almost went mad from rage.

Soon, my elders realized that the situation was grim, and on the day of the great sacrifice for King Yili in his 185th year, they fought against it using the Tomb Robbing Technique.

But the action was too rushed at that time, and there wasn’t a workforce as large as now to deploy, resulting in a huge gap in power.

Even at the cost of several lives, they only partially succeeded.

Ultimately, they stopped the Owl God Tomb from brewing the "Immortality Wine" to achieve the "Killing Dao Fruit" and further advances in resurrection.

They also managed to steal the incomplete "Small Book of Life and Death" from the tomb, which ended up with me.

Then, my parents passed away, Grandma fell completely silent in her anger over the backlash from the infuriated Luoyang Royal Mansion, and even Grandpa, who was in the best shape, could only come home when it rained.

My older cousin’s disappearance was the beginning of all these tragedies.

And the real instigator, lurking behind the scenes, making others think he was useless, was the contemporary Luoyang King—Zhou Wenye!