Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 635 - Chapter 635 Chapter 21 Illusion Realm

Chapter 635: Chapter 21 Illusion Realm? Chapter 635: Chapter 21 Illusion Realm? “`

The speaker was actually a young man wearing a patient’s garb, with disheveled hair and a somewhat vacant look in his eyes.

Wenle.

“Supporting Sun Heavenly Sword, All Things Return to Spring, both are overbearing Feng Shui formations that gather wealth without the slightest care for the lives of others. With both arrangements opposing each other, since the existence of these two buildings in West Kowloon, the businesses in other areas have been declining. Despite being just a street away, people preferred to walk the extra distance just to patronize the businesses in the Yongji and Quanhe buildings. The phenomenon was such that ghost buildings sprung up everywhere, except for the two buildings with the Feng Shui arrangements, which were bustling with crowds. Out of desperation, many landowners ended up transferring their property at a low price.”

“However, later on, someone bought the land cheaply in West Kowloon and turned it into night markets and wholesale markets. Furthermore, five low-cost apartments named Pearl Building were constructed next to the two Feng Shui arrangements, specifically for young and robust workers from out of town. Because the Pearl Building was situated right next to the two iconic buildings of West Kowloon but itself was built ugly and short, it was mockingly called by the locals as the Dwarf Building. But ever since the completion of the Pearl Building, the West Kowloon area has become even more prosperous, especially the open-air night market that’s packed every day with eateries, play stalls, merchandise booths, Qigong street performances, pharmacies, and nightclubs. A rough estimate showed that the revenue from the night markets on a few streets in one night exceeded ten million, earning even more than the enterprises of Shark-Gallbladder Tong and the foreign goods tycoon of that time.”

The hostess blinked, having never heard of such things before.

“This is called General Removing Armor, which describes the general returning to his tent, removing his helmet with his right hand. It’s an extremely complex Feng Shui layout. The Songjing Yao Xiang Master, who inherited the Jiu Ju Faction’s teachings, is intricately linked with Chinese Feng Shui. He designed the Quanhe Building to resemble two Japanese military swords supporting the sun, but I say it is just as plausible to describe it as a trident pointing directly at the sky. The Yongji Building, designed by Chen Lang to look like a hatching egg, also resembles a general’s helmet. The newly constructed five Pearl Buildings are of varying heights, just like a general’s five fingers tightly clenched, holding wealth and power.”

“Speaking of General Removing Armor, naturally, there must be soldiers to accompany the general. The five low-cost apartments were filled with vigorous young people. When the night market opens, it’s as bright as day with crowds like weaving fabric, resembling a victorious return, with numerous soldiers paying their respects to the general. If you look at West Kowloon at this time, in the shadows, there are standards, drums, horses, and swords hidden in the sand. It even has the appearance of an encampment, with layered buildings respectfully prostrating before the imperial court, overpowering and imposing.”

Though young, Wenle spoke with an air of authority, leaving the tourists half believing, half doubting.

“Is it true or false? I’ve never heard of any General Removing Armor before.”

“Well, it’s true that the night market in Kowloon is really booming.”

“All Things Return to Spring, Supporting Sun Heavenly Sword, General Removing Armor, any one of these alone is already an exceedingly clever Feng Shui arrangement. To speak of the intricacies within, it would take days to explain fully. The three famous formations, combined as one, have become so intertwined that they operate as a single entity. It formed a miraculous and perilous situation, the likes of which had not been seen in a hundred years. Over the next twenty years, many Feng Shui masters from the eighties came to witness the spectacle of the three great Feng Shui arrangements battling, quickly turning it into a legend within the Hong Kong Feng Shui realm.”

The audience listened with rapt attention,

Having finished, Wenle walked over to the hostess and pulled out a card: “Excuse me, I’m here to attend Mr. Chen Lang’s Feng Shui banquet. Could you tell me which floor Mr. Chen is on?”

The hostess glanced at the card and hurriedly pointed to the elevator: “Eighth floor, turn right. There are still ten minutes left before the banquet starts. Someone will take you to the scene.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sir.”

The hostess bowed slightly, her cheeks reddening, but she was more puzzled as to why this knowledgeable young man was wearing a patient’s outfit, as if he had escaped from a mental hospital.

“But just now that old gentleman said, the Feng Shui of this place has been broken.”

Someone among the tourists muttered.

Wenle, who had just pressed the elevator button, turned around upon hearing this and questioned the speaker: “How do you know that?”

The person was startled and pointed towards the skylight: “That old, uh, person from earlier, how come they’ve disappeared?”

“Yeah, he was just here.”

There was a continuous murmur of astonishment among the crowd, and with a ‘ding dong’, the elevator doors opened.

For a moment, Wenle’s eyes flickered before he stepped into the elevator.

——————————–

“What Feng Shui arrangement…”

“`

Cha Xiaodao stood on the edge of the Yongji Building’s rooftop, his pupils rippling with fierce black waves.

Beneath his feet was clearly a bustling commercial street, but in Cha Xiaodao’s eyes, there were dark clouds pressing down on the city. Flag after flag aimed skyward, countless black armors rushed forward like a tidal wave, fierce aura assaulting the senses. Underneath his feet was not reinforced concrete, but a black Dragon Head oozing blood. Across, two crossed Japanese swords were both snapped at the base, the remaining half of the blades towering over a dozen feet tall with web-like cracks. The sky was lightless, the ground covered in scorched earth, and a shroud of gloom and despair hung in the air.

Taking a drag from his cigarette, Cha Xiaodao mumbled vaguely, “This is clearly the Illusion Realm!”

“Yes, it is the Illusion Realm.”

Yang Zheng stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

“You and I both don’t understand Feng Shui, and while others have dragged me into the Illusion Realm a few times, I really don’t have such a thing in my possession. I’ve heard that you possess an Illusion Realm called ‘Eternal Chronicles’, so that’s why I came looking for you two. It’s the only way I had the confidence to gamble with Chen Lang.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the surging flags below his feet, “We can’t just start construction or spill blood to break someone’s Feng Shui formation. I may have talked big, but I can’t just tear down his building to break the formation and then force him to admit that my Feng Shui knowledge is superior to his, can I? If it was something that could be solved by fighting, I would’ve done it myself.”

“I’m out of ideas this time, too.”

Mo stood to the left of Cha Xiaodao, scratching his head anxiously, “Those two Japanese swords are fierce enough. I happened to come across an Illusion Realm called ‘Mirage’ before by chance, but it was almost rendered useless after being chopped back to its original form by those swords the day before yesterday. Brother, it’s up to you to take the lead this time.”

His greasy hand kept patting Cha Xiaodao’s shoulder.

Yang Zheng gave him a glance but didn’t force him further. Mo was very experienced, having entered Yan Fu five or six years earlier than him, almost an equal to Jiao Chong. Zhao Jianzhong also favored him greatly, and the fact that he was exceptionally chosen for the third seat this time was proof. But no matter how you looked at it, Mo wasn’t exactly ambitious. The strength he had demonstrated in the past was also just mediocre within the Yan Zhao Club.

“I’ll do my best.”

——————————–

“What Feng Shui Masters learn in their lifetime boils down to geomancy and destiny, but the vast majority of Feng Shui Masters only achieve something in geomancy. Those who are truly willing to delve into destiny are very few. For no matter how eloquently a Feng Shui Master speaks, one’s destiny can be known but not changed. A person’s life pattern is predetermined at birth, and even those who study destiny with extraordinary means cannot change fate. However, geomancy can modify one’s fate through methods such as burial to make a family wealthy for decades, even hundreds of years. The augmented destiny only becomes ineffective after the Feng Shui is altered. But this businessman named Yang is really strange. He didn’t set up any formations, nor cast any spells, just claimed he would break my Feng Shui. In a few days, the Feng Shui of Yongji Building was like it had aged decades, Yin energy accumulated in the Qian position, fire entered the grave, and the Dragon Head was severed. This is an uncanny issue I’ve never encountered in my life.”

Chen Lang was an old man with a bulbous nose and small eyes. He used to be witty and humorous, and despite his age, he was still quite charming to women, having been rumored to be involved with a popular actress not long ago.

Now, his eyes were heavily bagged and bloodshot, and it was apparent to anyone that he was in big trouble.

“Esteemed guests, my Yongji Club is truly facing a life-and-death situation, and I implore you all to lend a hand.”

Wenle sat quietly at the most secluded seat at a table in the corner, speaking infrequently and only occasionally picking grapes from the plate to eat. Before coming, Xue Wenhai had instructed him not to have a direct confrontation with the Sanqi Noble, but he had to probe his capabilities.

“Mr. Chen, what is so serious that it has come to this? Even if you made a bet with someone, it’s a lawful society now, can they really take your life? What exactly did you bet on?”

A Feng Shui Master from Jiangxi inquired.

Chen Lang bowed repeatedly, “Master Qi, it’s not that I, Chen, am hiding anything. It’s just that I have agreed with the other party not to disclose the contents of the bet, so please do not ask any further.”

He signaled to his female assistant, who understood and took out several bulky red envelopes from under a tray, handing them to the Feng Shui Masters present, especially while bending over showing a hint of cleavage, which definitely turned heads.

With their mouths sweetened and hands tied by the gifts, the crowd’s pressing questions subsided, and they earnestly discussed the Feng Shui formation.

However, after several hours of study, they had little progress. These people spoke excitedly about various strategies such as sand-shifting based on the twenty-eight lunar mansions, determining fortune and misfortune with the three lifespans, eight house Feng Shui, and golden locks and jade keys. Yet, most of the proposed ideas involved drastic renovations which were not only expensive but, from Chen Lang’s perspective, also likely ineffective.

Or wild and bizarre theories were thrown around, such as hosting a temple fair to drive away evil spirits with a three-meter-tall statue of Lord Guan, and others vehemently claimed the businessman named Yang used Southeast Asian sorcery and that black dog blood was needed to counteract it.

Not just Chen Lang, even Wenle couldn’t stand it anymore and couldn’t help but interject, “Ultimately, geomancy and destiny are the two legs of a Feng Shui Master, and with one missing, it doesn’t work. If the original principal of this building wasn’t Mr. Zhou Yutong, the Virtuous Noble, Chairman Chen wouldn’t have been able to point out the prosperous Dragon absorbing water, generating life in all things Feng Shui formation. ‘General Removing Armor’ is indeed a rare formation, and if supported by a person of noble destiny, its power can naturally reach a higher level. Now that you’ve encountered trouble, of course, you should seek the help of a noble person with enough grandeur in their fate.”