Chapter 196 The Dragon-Trapping Trap, the Dragon-Locking Stake, and the Seven Fiends Sealing the Poo
Liu San didn't even blink.
With his free hand, he pulled a black mourning stick from his waist, and with a flick of his wrist, struck one of the tongues inside.
A crisp "snap" sound.
Its tongue snapped back as if burned, leaving a trail of mucus that splattered onto the jar wall.
A low whimper came from the jar.
"Hungry..." the voice came again, softer than before, tinged with timidity, "I want to eat..."
Liu Sanzhi tucked the mourning stick back into his waistband and expressionlessly picked up the second sheep.
"I've raised you for so long, feeding you three meals a day, and you still complain of being hungry."
He muttered something as if talking to a disobedient dog, "Even a starving ghost reincarnated couldn't eat as much as you."
The sheep were thrown into the vat.
The chewing sound started again, faster than before, as if they were starving.
After they finished eating, the voice came out again: "More...more..."
Liu Sanzhi squatted down and approached the mouth of the vat. The dim light of the oil lamp shone on his face, leaving only half of his face exposed in the light.
"How much will you eat before you stop?"
There was a moment of silence in the tank.
Then the voice said, "If you're full... then you won't eat anymore."
"Full?" Liu Sanzhi scoffed, shook his head, and bent down to pick up the third sheep. "When have you ever been full?"
Footsteps sounded behind me.
Liu Sanzhi didn't turn around, but paused for a moment before continuing to lift the sheep.
"Why are you still keeping this damn thing?"
Song Li leaned against the wall, wearing a drab gray long gown with his hat pulled low, revealing only a section of his chin.
He didn't go into the secret room; he stood at the entrance of the passageway and didn't go any further, as if he disliked the smell inside.
Liu Sanzhi threw the third sheep into the vat, and only turned around after the chewing sound stopped.
"I just wanted to do an experiment." He dusted off his hands, walked to a broken table by the wall, sat down, picked up the teapot on the table, and took a sip.
"The creature created by the evil magic of the Moon Worship Cult should, in theory, be a mindless walking corpse, but guess what happened?"
He pointed in the direction of the vat, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Isn't it strange that this thing cries out for food after eating?"
Song Li stood motionless at the entrance of the passageway, his eyes beneath his hat fixed on the several vats.
"So? You're planning to keep it as a pet, and wait for it to talk and tell you a story?"
Liu Sanzhi chuckled twice, but didn't respond to the question.
He put down the teapot, took out a dirty cloth from his sleeve, and slowly wiped the mourning stick, even smoothing out the gaps between the paper tassels one by one.
"I just want to know."
He lowered his head and wiped the stick, his voice unhurried, "Can those lunatics from the Moon Worship Cult actually cultivate a spirit? If they can..."
Before he finished speaking, Song Li understood.
"And then?" Song Li's tone turned colder. "What if you keep this thing in Linhe County and it gets discovered..."
"I can't find it." Liu Sanzhi interrupted him, his tone certain. "I've already taken care of the middleman. The trail is broken."
Song Li remained silent for a while.
"I hope you won't interfere with our important matters."
His voice bounced off the wall of the secret room before slowly fading away.
Liu Sanzhi paused for a few seconds while wiping the stick, then looked up. The light from the oil lamp shone on his face, and a barely perceptible coldness flashed in his greasy eyes.
"It can't be delayed."
He tossed the dirty rag onto the table, crossed his arms over his stomach, and looked up towards the tunnel entrance. "I'm keeping things under control here, but how's things going at Qinglong Bay?"
Song Li took two steps forward from the entrance of the passageway and finally entered the secret room, but he didn't go very deep and stood on the threshold.
His face was hidden in shadow under the hat, with only the bluish stubble on his chin and his slightly pursed thin lips visible.
"Still the same as always."
Song Li raised his hand and gently pressed it against his nose. "The evil aura is locked tight, not a bit leaking out. The trap that Master set up back then is still unbreakable even after almost twenty years."
Liu Sanzhi chuckled twice.
"His master's skills, needless to say, are superb."
He stretched out a hand and counted on his fingers, "Dragon-trapping formation, dragon-locking stake, seven-evil-sealing-pool formation, three restrictions stacked together, let alone a dead dragon, even a living one would have to obediently lie down underneath."
"Those dark-skinned good-for-nothings from the Suppression Division couldn't even break through the first Dragon-Locking Stake a few months ago. Isn't that impressive?"
Song Li didn't respond to that question. Instead, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.
The smoke slowly dissipated in the dim light, mingling with the stench in the enclosed room, making the air even more unpleasant.
"The Inspection Bureau has been making a lot of moves lately," Song Li said, exhaling a puff of smoke in a low voice. "It seems like someone else has their eye on Qinglongtan."
Liu Sanzhi scoffed, "The Inspection Bureau? A bunch of useless trash, what can they possibly find out?"
"It's better if they can't find anything." Song Li flicked his cigarette ash. "If they could, we'd be in trouble."
Liu Sanzhi nodded, then asked with some lingering concern, "Those three restrictions can't be broken from the outside, can they?"
"It can't be broken."
Song Li said with certainty, "The three restrictions are interlocked. Moving any one of them from the outside will trigger a backlash from the other two. Even experts from the Qi and Blood Cave Heaven will not fare well."
"So the only way is to break through from the inside using that ghostly dragon?"
"right."
A glint flashed in Song Li's eyes, "Only when that ghostly dragon transforms into a dragon can the power of that instant fully open the three restrictions from the inside."
"The Dragon-Trapping Formation cannot imprison a soul that is reuniting, the Dragon-Locking Stake cannot seal a ghost dragon that is transforming into a dragon, and the Seven Fiends Sealing Pool Formation cannot stop the burst of evil energy in that instant."
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice unconsciously rose a few decibels.
"Master calculated that day." Song Li threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it out with his toe. "It's next Mid-Autumn Festival, the day of the red tide."
The transformation of a dragon from a jiao (蛟) to a long (龙) is not something that can be accomplished overnight.
It requires the right timing, the right location, and the right atmosphere; all three are indispensable.
The location is already advantageous; Qinglong Bay is naturally a place where evil spirits gather, surrounded by mountains on all sides and with water flowing around it, so that once the yin energy enters, it cannot leave.
The malevolent energy was sufficient; after twenty years of accumulation, the concentration of that entire pool of water had reached its peak, enough to support the transformation of the dragon.
What's lacking is the right timing.
The right time is during a red tide.
He had read in his master's notes that the transformation of a dragon into a jiao (蛟) required the activation of extreme yin energy.
It won't work under normal circumstances; only during the Red Tide, which occurs once every three years, when the Yin energy is at its peak, can the Ghost Dragon complete its final transformation.
Red tides do not occur every year.
Their master had predicted that the next red tide would occur in a year.
So we have to wait.
On that night, the Yin energy in Qinglong Bay will reach its peak, and the Trapped Dragon Formation will loosen under the impact of the strongest Yin energy.
If you miss it, you'll have to wait another three years.