I had only briefly looked through Zuo Daoran's notes. Many of the details were still vague to me, and after searching for a while without success, I began to feel anxious.
If I couldn't find the spots, Yellow Nine might end up acknowledging someone as a "grandfather," which wouldn't be the end of the world, but I was more worried about Lai Youwei messing things up and causing more problems.
Yellow Nine stood on my back, watching as I circled around the area, and started to feel uneasy. In a low voice, it asked, "Are you sure about this? I kind of think Lai Youwei might have a point."
It was also insinuating that I was acting like a barking dog, which made me so mad I almost wanted to bury it in the ground. But I knew that if I failed to find the right spots, it would still have to acknowledge someone as "grandfather," so I tried to suppress my anger.
Just then, I suddenly stopped and withdrew my hand, trying a different spot. There was a temperature difference, but it was so subtle that it could easily go unnoticed. I wasn't completely sure, so I marked the spot and continued searching.
Though unsure, I followed my calculations based on this spot and soon found a second one. With this, I felt about seventy to eighty percent certain that this was indeed the "Seven Stars of the Earth" formation.
But it still raised some doubts in my mind—Su Dazhuang didn't believe in these things, so who had set up this formation? It seemed like the friend his father had made back then was no ordinary person. Too bad Su Dazhuang's father had passed away, and Su Dazhuang himself hadn't been born back then. There was no way to track down that person.
When Lai Youwei saw that I had marked two spots, he finally shut up. Wary, he came over to check with his compass, but after confirming nothing unusual, he sneered, "These spots are completely ordinary. Kid, go ahead and dig, even if you end up finding a pile of crap, I'll eat it."
Zhan Ling shot Lai Youwei a disgusted look and warned him, "Don't touch the spots Li Yang marked."
Lai Youwei snorted and walked away, sulking.
By the time I found five spots, I was beginning to see the pattern of the Seven Stars layout. When I discovered the sixth one, I stood up, brushed the dirt off my hands, and calculated the final position. "Mr. Jiang, could you move the coffin to this spot? The center of the coffin should align with the spot I marked."
I had checked the coffin earlier—it showed no signs of decay and was made of high-quality material. It probably weighed around five to six hundred pounds. But with a hand gesture, Mr. Jiang effortlessly moved it into position.
His strength was impressive, and he placed the coffin precisely. The coffin was one of the seven holes in the formation. If it wasn't in position, the "Earth Seven Stars" wouldn't activate, but the seven spots were still connected, so moving the coffin was critical.
When the coffin was placed correctly, a burst of red sinister energy immediately surged from the seven spots.
Lai Youwei's expression turned pale, and he stubbornly muttered, "How is this possible?"
I ignored him and, somewhat embarrassed, signaled to Zhan Ling to step aside.
Zhan Ling was confused but complied, turning her back.
I unbuttoned my pants and began to urinate on the first spot.
Normally, if I had high-quality cinnabar, I would have used that, but I had left my tools behind and only had Yellow Nine with me. So, I had to make do with using urine from a child.
As soon as the urine hit the first spot, the sinister energy began to be blocked. The other five spots and the energy from the coffin intensified. The principle was simple—these seven connected holes would redirect the energy if one of them was blocked.
If I blocked six spots, the sinister energy would surge out from the coffin and blow the lid open. Once the coffin was open, I could move it away, and the situation would settle.
As for the corpse inside, it wasn't part of the formation.
Mr. Jiang was puzzled and asked me how this worked.
I shrugged and said, "I don't really know. My grandfather taught me this when I was young."
Mr. Jiang nodded and didn't press further.
Lai Youwei's face turned ashen, but he still stubbornly retorted, "Let's see if you can even open the coffin."
After several rounds of holding it in, I was becoming uncomfortable and tried to hurry.
Yellow Nine, perched on my shoulder, peeked at me while I was urinating and clicked its tongue. "You're young, but you've got some serious stuff going on."
I puffed out my chest, showing off a bit.
However, after blocking five of the spots, I couldn't afford to be careless. I reminded Mr. Jiang, "When the coffin lid is blown open by the sinister energy, please move it away quickly. We can't let the energy rebound into the corpse."
Mr. Jiang nodded and moved closer to the coffin.
Finally, I finished relieving myself.
Once six of the spots were blocked, the sinister energy from the coffin gushed out from the bottom, and the lid was blasted off, flying six or seven meters into the air.
Just as Mr. Jiang was about to act, Lai Youwei, standing nearby, suddenly shouted, "Impossible! It can't be this easy to break the formation."
As he said that, he actually grabbed Mr. Jiang.
This delay allowed the sinister energy to enter the coffin. Immediately, a long, drawn-out wheezing sound came from inside the coffin.
That sound sent chills down everyone's spine. Mr. Jiang's expression turned cold, and with a swift strike, he sent Lai Youwei flying several meters before sealing the coffin. He quickly pulled the coffin open.
The moment the coffin left the formation, the sinister energy dissipated.
But just as Mr. Jiang was about to withdraw his hand, a figure in a bright red burial robe suddenly sat up from the coffin, reaching out to grab his hand.
I only heard the wheezing sound, but in the blink of an eye, the figure was already seven or eight meters away.
Mr. Jiang's hand was grabbed, and his face changed. Seeing the corpse inside about to rise fully, he struck its forehead with a palm, sending it back into the coffin.
However, the corpse had already changed—it bounced back up like a spring.
But those who made it onto the Demon Hunter's List weren't just powerful; their courage was no less impressive.
Seeing that he couldn't keep the corpse down, Mr. Jiang leaped into the coffin, straddling it.
Seeing his bravery, I rushed to help, knowing that once a zombie's feet touch the ground, it would absorb the earth's energy and become significantly stronger. It would be much harder to subdue.
By the time I got there, Mr. Jiang was holding the zombie's neck to keep its head down and pinning its arms with one hand.
I was at a loss, unsure of how to help, and quickly asked, "Mr. Jiang, is there anything I can do?"
Mr. Jiang responded, "The sinister energy isn't too strong; just help me draw it out. Hold its head down."
Zhan Ling approached as well, but the coffin was too small for both of us to assist properly.
I tried a few times, realizing that to press the zombie's neck, I would have to get into the coffin.
Looking at the pale, eerie face, I felt a wave of disgust.
Not only was it terrifying, but if I couldn't hold the zombie down, it would be the first to bite me.
Frantically running in circles, Yellow Nine reminded me, "Use the blood dagger to pierce through the coffin and pin it by its neck!"
I saw the solution and quickly drew the blood dagger, taking a deep breath and stepping back half a step, preparing to strike.