Chapter 100: Shamanic Technique

As for the deeds of these black-clad martial artists, Fang Xu could only watch silently; he was also curious about what exactly these people were digging.

The ground before them was quickly dug into a pit half a meter deep.

Clang!

One of the black-clad martial artists struck down with a shovel; his iron spade seemed to hit something hard, so he immediately threw down the spade and, with bare hands, cleared the dirt from the pit, revealing an ancient piece of blue stone.

The blue stone was round, etched with dense patterns, and twelve short sticks were evenly inserted around its edge, resembling a ship's rudder; beside the stone disk lay an exquisite wooden box containing an exquisite little wooden figurine.

Seeing these things, Xu Liang walked over slowly, picked up the little wooden figurine, examined it for a moment, then looked at Fang Xu and said, "Old man, my guess is correct—the birth characters on this are yours."

Fang Xu looked at the wooden figurine, his brows furrowed tightly.

The birth characters on it are indeed mine, but who buried this here?

When was it buried? What is the purpose?

He does not know any of these.

"Grand Diviner, what is the use of this object?" Li Xingchao said.

Xu Liang leaned in to examine the patterns on the azure stone disk, then slowly said, "Gathering Fortune..."

Hearing this, Ling Mu immediately waved his hand, preparing to have someone seize Fang Xu.

Seeing this, Huang Qingzhou stepped directly in front of Fang Xu, vowing to protect him.

"Hold on! Deputy Envoy Ling, hold on..." Xu Liang said, glancing at Fang Xu, "Old man, when I saw you that day, I felt your vital energy was quite strong."

It must be related to this formation.

"Do any of your parents practice Shamanic Technique?"

Fang Xu shook his head and said, "My parents are ordinary commoners; before death they were only at the Bone Refining realm, and they never cultivated Shamanic Technique."

Xu Liang heard this, pondered a moment, then said, "Think again: the wooden figurine nurtured in this formation bears your birth characters, and it is a Gathering Fortune formation; surely your close relatives wish to use this formation to gather vital energy for you."

Close relatives?

Fang Xu furrowed his brows; in this life his close relatives are only his grandfather and parents; as for his grandmother, she died before he was born, so she could not have done this.

Could it be his grandfather?

But in his memory, his grandfather was just a carpenter, who certainly did not know cultivation!

"Grand Diviner, why waste words with him? Dare to scheme against the fortune of our Yu State; my subordinates must take him back to Central State and hand him over to the Emperor for punishment!" Ling Mu said in a cold voice.

"You dare!" Huang Qingzhou narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of Fang Xu.

Although he was only a Martial Master Ninth Level, he felt no fear facing Ling Mu, whose cultivation had reached Martial Lord Fifth Level.

"Don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive."

Seeing the two about to draw swords, Xu Liang hurriedly smoothed things over, saying, "Although this technique is a Gathering Fortune technique, it does not plunder the fortune of our Yu State."

"Maple Forest Town is a place of auspicious geomancy; this technique can gather only the vital energy within a ten-li radius, far from being able to affect the state's fortune."

"Moreover, this technique has been in place for some years; if it could truly affect Yu State's fortune, it would not have remained undiscovered until now."

Hearing this, Ling Mu's brows twitched slightly: "Grand Diviner, is this not the culprit affecting the state's fortune?"

Xu Liang shook his head and smiled: "It is merely a minor Gathering Fortune technique; though quite exquisite, it is still insufficient to affect the state's fortune."

"Old man, I am merely curious that someone in the populace actually knows Shamanic Technique; perhaps they obtained it by chance."

Hearing him say that, Fang Xu's hanging heart eased a little.

Li Xingchao beside him, however, had a somewhat complex expression.

He actually hoped that this very thing before him was the culprit affecting the great Yu State's fortune, so that his son's matter would be considered settled.

Now that Fang Xu's suspicion has been cleared, the Supervision Bureau will certainly continue its investigation.

"Hmph!"

"Even if this technique cannot affect Yu State's fortune, it is still a heretical path, and Shamanic Technique is surely related to shamans; this person must be arrested!"

Saying this, he again wanted to make a move.

Xu Liang felt somewhat indignant: "Deputy Envoy Ling, could you let me finish speaking before you decide?"

Fang Xu had Huang Qingzhou, an inner disciple of the Ascendant Immortal Society, protecting him in front; Ling Mu's every third word was about seizing people, and once he fell out with the Ascendant Immortal Society, things would become troublesome.

Ling Mu retreated a step, embarrassed, and looked at Xu Liang, saying, "Grand Diviner, please speak."

Xu Liang organized his thoughts: "Shamanic Technique is a legacy from antiquity, considered a branch of Feng Shui secret technique; it is not practiced only by shamans. To be precise, I and several supervisors of the Imperial Observatory have also studied Shamanic Technique."

"The Shamanic Technique in Fang Xiaoyou's household is a branch of Feng Shui secret technique, not a heretical path!"

Ling Mu, hearing this, was at a loss for words for a moment.

"Fang Xiaoyou, old man, I am sorry; once this technique is unearthed, it becomes completely ineffective."

Perhaps sensing that Fang Xu's ancestors shared a common origin with him, Xu Liang was actually quite courteous toward him.

Fang Xu stared for a moment, then clasped his hands and said, "Senior, your courtesy is appreciated; I just want to ask, if this Shamanic Technique is destroyed, will it have any effect on me?"

The Feng Shui vital energy is too mysterious; he also could not understand it.

Over these years, he seems not to have felt that this Shamanic Technique brought him much luck; he has always lived in poverty.

Now that the technique has been broken, he does not feel regret; he only hopes it will not bring any bad influence upon him.

"There will naturally be an effect; Little Friend, after losing this technique, your vital energy will be affected in the future."

"But this effect is minor; Little Friend, you need not take it to heart."

"Although he said this with his mouth, Xu Liang actually felt guilty inside; having this Shamanic Technique help Fang Xu gather vital energy would make his future life's path much easier."

Now the technique has been broken...

"Since it is not my junior brother's problem, please all leave." Huang Qingzhou said lightly.

Having spent some time with Fang Xu, he greatly liked Fang Xu's character and had long regarded him as a friend in his heart.

Now the Yu State's Supervision Bureau has not only ruined Fang Xu's Gathering Fortune technique, but also repeatedly tried to seize him; Huang Qingzhou could no longer tolerate it.

"Deputy Envoy Ling, withdraw." Xu Liang said lightly.

Yu State cannot afford to become enemies with the Ascension Immortal Society, or else there will be even more trouble later.

Ling Mu glanced at Fang Xu with resentment, seeming somewhat unwilling, but in the end he still waved his hand and led his retinue out of the small courtyard.

Li Xingchao and his father looked at Fang Xu before them, then neither spoke, turned and walked out.

"Young Friend Fang, you might consider carefully whether your relatives have passed on any feng shui techniques to you; this old man is always ready to discuss it with you."

The secret art of feng shui has been passed down from antiquity to the present; many peculiar secret arts have already been lost. As for this fortune‑gathering technique of Fang Xu's family, Xu Liang has only seen it in ancient texts and does not know exactly how to perform it.

"Senior, rest assured; if I think of it, I will inform you right away."

Xu Liang helped him out of the predicament today, and he remembered this favor.

But as of now, he truly does not know which of his relatives has practiced this so‑called shamanic ritual technique.

After seeing Xu Liang and the others off, looking at the mess in the courtyard, Fang Xu silently picked up the iron hoe, buried everything, and reset the stone table.

Making the small courtyard look just as it did before.

"Fang Xu, the Ascension Immortal Society possesses shamanic ritual technique; if you are interested, once you join the Society you can go study it." Huang Qingzhou said.

Fang Xu nodded, said nothing more, and directly said, "Senior Brother Huang, let's go."

The scene just now made him realize again that without strength, his fate depends on others' expressions.

Whoever has the bigger fist can stand tall.

(End of Chapter)