Chapter 995: Yin-Yang Theater of the Three Eunuchs

“Digging up graves?”

The Lunhuizhe exchanged glances; this was not unfamiliar to them, as many of the Lunhuizhu ’s tasks involved entering certain tombs to confirm the Shengsi of individuals, or to bring buried secrets and artifacts back into the light.

Of course, the greater likelihood was that it was itself a trap—such as the famed Gui Xu Grand Tomb of the Earth Immortal Realm.

That time, at least six waves of Lunhuizhe received missions to dig graves, including a small team from the Tai Sui Alliance, even one of their Twelve Heavenly Demons—yet the outcome was silent, unremarkable deaths.

Only one in ten of those who went returned alive.

In the Gui Xu mission, the Tai Sui Alliance’s Primordial Spirit Devil, and the Lunhui Heaven’s main objective, along with the Five Directions Demon Sect’s, was to seize the Chenglu Pan.

And the Chenglu Pan had been hidden by Qian Chen in his own tomb at the moment of his corpse liberation, when he once refined the Immortal Herb of Undeath, when the Immortals were beaten by Xu Fu, when Kunlun Xu emerged—only in the eastern corner of the Gui Xu Grand Tomb.

The entire Gui Xu Grand Tomb contained four other landmark structures like the Eastern Pole Kunlun Xu’s Immortal Tree.

The Western Pole Ten Thousand Swords Tomb, the Eastern Pole Immortal Tree of Undeath, the Southern Pole Red Lotus Volcano, the Northern Pole Taiyin Immortal Mountain, and finally—the Central Xuan Huang Jade Platform.

Among them, the three eastern, southern, and western grand tombs each rested upon an immortal isle: Kunlun, Ju Kui, and the Zhou Tian Starship.

In addition, the Gui Xu Grand Tomb contained beneath it the Six Paths Reincarnation Array formed by the Nine Springs, the Wang Chuan, and the Blood Sea, and above it the incomplete Zhou Tian Star Array composed of sun, moon, and stars.

The Eastern Pole Kunlun Xu’s Immortal Tree of Undeath had killed over a dozen Primordial Spirit True Immortals, buried a resurrected Qin Immortal Fleet, and even caused Dao Jun Xu Fu to fall there; the other grand tombs were no less perilous.

For instance, the Taiyin Immortal Mountain where the Tai Sui Alliance’s Lunhuizhe went was where Qian Chen’s former body had refined the Chenglu Pan.

At that time, Qian Chen’s former body was what kind of thing—even he himself did not know—so that entire team of Lunhuizhe was annihilated.

Other Lunhui teams—

Those who followed the Corpse-Driving Sect into the Red-Haired Roar Tomb encountered the Qin Immortal Daofang Xu Fu—bad luck!

Those who went to the Red Lotus Volcano of Ju Kui Isle survived in greater numbers; aside from encountering a few ancient divine and demonic tombs from the Old Heaven Era, all who were cautious, restrained their greed, returned.

Those who went to the Western Qin Ancient Battlefield seeking to steal the many Qin Immortal relics from the sunken Zhou Tian Starship were nearly wiped out by the Starship’s Dharma Spirit.

Those who went to Kunlun Xu to excavate the Western Kunlun Women’s Kingdom accidentally triggered the Ancient Plague Locusts and were slaughtered to the last.

Those who went to the Nine Heavens Yin River to explore ancient secrets violated taboos; even if they escaped back to the Lunhui Land, they were tainted with misfortune, and now likely still wandered the myriad worlds, risking their lives to lift the curse!

After this battle, Lunhuizhe trembled at the mere mention of tombs; now, hearing they must descend into one, each felt a faint sense of ill omen.

“What are you afraid of?”

The old farmer also felt a faint unease and shadow, but under the Heavenly Devil Lord’s command, they had no choice, so he reassured them: “It’s merely the grave of a mortal eunuch—do you really think it’s another Gui Xu Grand Tomb?”

“What does Gui Xu bury?”

“What does it bury?”

The Han man Yang Qin knew they had no choice; he sighed: “Indeed! How many such perilous places as Gui Xu exist across the myriad worlds, past and future? Don’t scare yourselves…”

“But Old Geng, this eunuch’s grave—what secret is so tied to the Great Plan of Chi Fen Ruo that we must all deploy? You must explain!”

“If we act in ignorance and inadvertently ruin the Lord’s plans, wouldn’t a hundred deaths not atone?”

“It’s not yet your place to ruin anything!”

A faint voice emerged from the shadows: an old Daoist with streaks of white hair, leaning on an iron-mouthed divination banner, slowly stepped out of the house.

Yang Qin’s heart jolted; Lunhuizhe had countless methods and were exceedingly cautious; though this was their chosen meeting place, they had scanned it countless times with spiritual sense and spells—yet this old Daoist had hidden here so long, they had sensed nothing.

Yu Meiren fixed her gaze on the newcomer, gravely saying: “Tong Shen the Daoist? Didn’t you betray us? How dare you come here! Don’t you fear Chi Fen Ruo’s wrath, burning your soul in demonic fire to forge you into a demonic artifact?”

Tong Shen the Daoist bowed and smiled: “Gentlemen, by order of Chi Fen Ruo, I am here to oversee this operation, with your assistance.”

The old farmer Ku Geng gave a wry smile: “Indeed, that is the Lord’s will.”

The others exchanged glances, sensing something strange—like a vast, unstoppable tide surging unseen, and they were helplessly swept within it.

Fan Cun clenched his right fist, a flicker of unusual light in his eyes.

…………

When the group of Lunhuizhe arrived at the desolate hill outside Zhigucheng, known as the Old Gravehead, a band of grave robbers had long been waiting.

This desolate hill, called the Old Gravehead, was said to possess auspicious fengshui, personally marked by the Ancestor Chen Tuan as a spiritual site—thus, generation after generation, high officials and nobles were buried here. But several centuries ago, the Mahayi Daoist passed through and declared it an extremely peculiar “cursed land.”

Because its fortune and misfortune were indistinguishable, the nobles of Zhigucheng gradually abandoned it.

Only those noble figures who died in strange ways were buried here.

The Three Ghost Tombs—the Eunuch Tomb, the Imperial Consort’s Mausoleum, and the Old Royal Tomb—all were such.

The Three Ghost Tombs earned their fearsome reputations through sheer, brutal tenacity.

Zhigucheng was a convergence of the five lakes and four seas, the three teachings and nine streams; countless strange individuals passed through, and occasional petty thefts for travel funds were overlooked—but committing major crimes was an insult to the local brethren.

So living people’s money was less profitable than the dead’s; with many idle folk in the city, many engaged in grave-robbing, a deed that damaged one’s moral virtue.

The Old Gravehead had been dug over countless times; what remained were all strange tombs.

Among them, the Three Ghost Tombs were notoriously deadly, having buried countless grave robbers and Mountain Moving Daoists from north and south.

Hence, Master Zhang San had summoned the Northern School’s grave-robbing elite—the Nine Heavens General and his band of outlaws.

Though called the Nine Heavens General, he and his band did not resemble disciplined forest heroes; rather, they looked like a traveling opera troupe, setting up a makeshift stage on the wild hill. The Nine Heavens General sat with imperial posture, painting his face with greasepaint.

He leaned against four black-gold small flags, wore a great black robe depicting the Monkey King’s rebellion against Yama, wore thick-soled boots patterned with five ghosts, his face painted in thick greasepaint—black and white in a grotesque pattern, his three black beards fluttering in the wind, imposing without even scowling.

“So it’s this general!” Ku Geng’s expression turned strange.

Tong Shen the Daoist understood: when traveling, even if one performed illicit deeds, one still needed a respectable identity.

This gang of grave robbers, known as the Nine Heavens General, disguised themselves as opera troupes, traveling village to village without drawing attention.

Each troupe went about its own business daily; when a big job arose, they gathered, relying on sheer numbers to forcibly open tombs.

Wasn’t Tong Shen himself, a demonic elder and Lunhuizhe , disguised as a fortune-telling Daoist wandering the streets?

The Nine Heavens General finished his makeup; his face was black-and-white, resembling a demon, unlike any opera mask—this was the Ghost King face, used only in ghost operas performed for spirits. The white paint was made of ash, the black paint of corpse oil refined into yin oil.

Ghost opera is sung for ghosts and gods.

The Ghost King face is for intimidation, suppression, and subjugation of ghosts—it represents the authority of spirits. The Ghost King face the Nine Heavens General painted was the Ghost King of Youdu, the mask from the ghost opera “The Chu-Han Struggle.”

“The Farewell of the Concubine” was originally the final act of “The Chu-Han Struggle,” but in ghost opera, there was another act, “The Rebellion Against Yama,” telling how the Western Chu Overlord, after death, became a Ghost King and attacked Youdu to reclaim his concubine Yu Ji.

After finishing his mask, the Nine Heavens General rose, crossed his hands, raised his thumb—using the Sichuan brotherhood greeting.

“Brotherhood men, mutual respect!”

“Though we do deeds that damage virtue, we earth robbers revere Buddha and Dao. Since Master Zhang San arranged this aid, you must surely have skill. But the path into the tomb is a dead end—without three liang of talent, one dares not climb Liangshan. Let us see your worth!”

Saying this, he swept back his robe and pointed to a hollow on the hill: “After you.”

Tong Shen the Daoist looked up and grinned: “Excellent! A Dragon’s Head Turning Back fengshui pattern! Zhigucheng lies at the lower reaches of the Nine Rivers, relying heavily on water dragons—but the mountain dragon here is no less potent. The Great Ancestor and Lesser Ancestor dragon veins connect to the capital’s fengshui pattern—marvelous! Though this hill is but a minor branch, it Chengjie the Yan Mountains’ residual veins, its branch and main angle hidden in form—truly worthy of Ancestor Chen Tuan’s blessing!”

“Yet Ancestor Chen Tuan’s blessing was correct, and Mahayi Daoist’s curse was correct too—no doubt when the tyrant Yuan established his camp here to defend the capital, he sent high-ranking Tantric masters to sever our dragon veins, causing the mountain dragon to lose its head and bleed back in regret.”

“Thus three cursed sites remain: First, the Severed Head Plain—where the Azure Dragon’s horn was broken, the dragon vein wounded—this place must be fiercely malevolent.”

“Second, the Ghost Carriage Weeping Blood: after the dragon vein was severed, the earth qi transformed into a Ghost Carriage. The original supreme dragon head was severed, and the side branches surged, becoming a nine-headed demon bird—one eye wept blood, yet someone pinpointed this spot, creating a dire omen!”

“Third, the Black Dog Steals the Head: the Azure Dragon’s severed head became the Ghost Carriage, yet a black dog seized its head and carried it away—this pattern is bizarre, fortune and misfortune indeterminable!”

The Nine Heavens General clapped and laughed loudly: “Master Daoist, your skill is extraordinary! These Three Ghost Tombs lie precisely where you pointed!”

“The so-called Old Royal Tomb is where the former residents of Wuguo City were buried—marked by Jin shaman geomancers. This place was immensely wealthy and noble, yet also immensely cursed—intended to sever the Central Plains’ dragon vein.”

“The Imperial Consort’s Mausoleum was where the Mongol Empire’s national master, after severing this land’s dragon vein and breaking the remnants of the Zhao Song dynasty, buried the Western Xia princess—the imperial consort who severed the ancestral dragon root of the Zhao—sealed here in a dire pattern to prevent her rebirth forever.”

“The Eunuch Tomb is beside the crooked-neck tree of the previous dynasty, where Chen En was buried, gazing toward Si Ling!”

After learning of the Primordial History, Tong Shen the Daoist—who had studied this world’s history—could no longer maintain his composure; his calm expression cracked.

“This… this… who exactly is buried here?”

“Why are they all connected to eunuchs?”

“One is a physical eunuch, one is a maker of eunuchs, and the last is a spiritual eunuch!”