The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 874: Spirit of the Earth

"This place is truly worthy of being called the Burning Man Valley, where everyone died a violent death. It’s quite surprising that it has not evolved into the Land of Yin and Sha," Xuan Chen Zhenren stood atop a blood-red summit, with the Compass in his hand spinning wildly as if it was about to go crazy.

"Maybe the people who met their violent ends here all had a certain standard, not wanting to transform into something that makes one’s hair stand on end," Li Qing joked with a light laugh, "Although it’s a joke, from what I’ve communicated with them, they indeed seem quite respectable."

"The fundamental reason for quality is rules," Xuan Chen Zhenren shook his head, "This place resembles the open palm of a hand; there must have been some presence here from the beginning. Moreover, the power of the terrain has neutralized those resentful spirits."

"Think about it, the violently deceased who were burned here, along with the untimely deaths of children, harbor the most intense resentment. Furthermore, most of them would likely have become wandering spirits with no master. Can you imagine how fierce the resentment that has accumulated over the years here could be?"

"That would be a truly terrifying presence!" Hong Fang Zhenren said thoughtfully, his voice grave.

"Those things were never benevolent to begin with, and having accumulated year after year, if they were to turn into the Land of Yin and Sha, it would certainly become the most horrifying kind, a place where the living should not enter," Xuan Chen Zhenren nodded, "Let me see what tricks are at play in this place!"

While speaking, he pointed with both hands towards the Compass in his left palm, swiftly drew a couple of strokes in the air, then shot out a dazzling golden beam. That beam soared up instantly, enveloping the sky above Burning Man Valley, and then took the shape of a Compass. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The Compass spun rapidly, with strands of golden light falling gently like a curtain of rain.

Xuan Chen Zhenren’s eyelids slightly lowered as he quickly manipulated his right hand. After a moment, he suddenly stopped and chuckled, "I see, a prime feng shui treasure was almost forcibly turned into the Land of Yin and Sha. This is the work of human effort. Now that it has become the Forbidden Grounds, it is indeed a good thing."

"Master, what did you discover?" Li Qing asked curiously.

Xuan Chen Zhenren waved his sleeves to dissipate the golden Compass spinning in the air, saying, "This place is a feng shui treasure and has already produced a certain degree of spirituality. But because of the burning and discarding of corpses that followed, its growth was harshly disrupted. Seizing the opportunity provided by the Spiritual Qi Resurgence, the spirit of this land has reversed the Yin and Sha, transforming this place into Forbidden Grounds. The self-awareness of this place has truly performed a great service; otherwise, my boy, you’d better be prepared to move."

"Master, wait... do you mean this place has consciousness?" Li Qing asked, utterly astonished.

Lately, he kept hearing talk of the ’spirit of the terrain’ and all that, which confused him.

Now, Xuan Chen Zhenren was explaining in more detail, using a term like ’self-awareness,’ but it sounded even more frightening.

Would it not be terrifying if a certain place developed self-awareness?

"Qingzi, the spirit of the terrain and its self-awareness does not mean that the place has come alive, thinking like a human being," Hong Fang Zhenren cheerfully explained, "The meaning of the spirit of the terrain is that this place has acquired spirituality. You should have heard of ’spirit in objects,’ right? The object spirit rules over the object, and the spirit of this place, having acquired spirituality, is similar to an object spirit; it’s essentially still inanimate."

"Specifically, its spirituality means it now has rules, or discernment of good and evil, or perhaps phenomena unique to this place. For example, if you cut down a tree here, and the spirit of this land doesn’t like this action, then the ground’s poisonous insects, fierce beasts, or even plants may all become means to attack you, punishing you for your act," explained Hong Fang Zhenren.

Li Qing finally understood and said with a light chuckle, "You almost scared me. I thought this place might suddenly turn into a person in some unknown future, or transform into some kind of rock or clay figure and stand up."

"Indeed, such situations do occur," Xuan Chen Zhenren said. "But without hundreds or thousands of years of evolution, it’s absolutely impossible for a transformation to happen. Compared to animals, the spirit monsters of plants take many times longer to transform, not to mention the earth itself. Your thinking isn’t wrong, but it can’t happen that quickly."

"Moreover, in order for a certain place to transform, it all depends on the concentration of Spiritual Energy. Even if the terrain is special, it might not have such an opportunity even after tens of thousands of years. Encounters like this are extremely rare."

With a contemplative nod, Li Qing said, "Master, Zhenren, is there a possibility then to make use of this place? I’m definitely not going to let people in, just set up a camping site on the perimeter so people can have a look from a distance."

"The Forbidden Grounds here have not yet fully developed, but as the Spiritual Qi Resurgence continues, this area will inevitably expand," said Xuan Chen Zhenren. "You should dispel these messy thoughts. I can set up an Array Pattern here to stop the Forbidden Grounds from spreading, but forget about the tourism and camping site."

"Senior, it seems the cost of relocation is somewhat smaller than setting up arrays," said Hong Fang Zhenren.

Xuan Chen Zhenren was stunned for a moment, "It seems you’re right. The area required for an array here is not small."

"Master, Zhenren, I think we don’t have to worry about this matter," Li Qing said. "I communicated with it last night, there’s a girl named Xiao Yingying, she’s one of the consciousnesses here, and she told me there’s a very terrifying consciousness asleep here, and they’ve requested that the spread of the Forbidden Grounds avoids the villages."

"There’s such a thing?" Hong Fang Zhenren asked, somewhat surprised.

"Jing Yan said the same thing last night, then I took the opportunity to ask about it," said Li Qing. "I think what they said can be trusted. Even if the Forbidden Grounds spread, they will probably avoid the villages."

"Deceptions by the consciousness within the Forbidden Grounds are very rare," Xuan Chen Zhenren said. "Since that’s the case, you can go ahead with your camping site idea. Later, let Hong Fang set up an array for you."

"But kid, are you really short of money now? Do you need to bother with these things? After all, you’re already worth over a hundred million. How many lifetimes would it take to spend all that money? Right now, what you should consider is Cultivation, striving to have more time to spend the money you’ve earned."

Li Qing shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "Master, this isn’t for me, I really don’t lack money now..."

"You damn rascal, I get it, this is for a woman again, isn’t it?" Xuan Chen Zhenren said, his eyebrows fiercely knitting together in anger. "For them, giving each a ten million to spend freely should suffice, right? Why must you get personally involved in this?"

"I wasn’t really involved in the first place, but then this thing came up. If I don’t get involved, nobody else can handle it!" said Li Qing. "Once this matter is settled, I’ll go into seclusion."

"Hong Fang, get on with it, I’m getting annoyed just looking at this kid," Xuan Chen Zhenren complained.

Hong Fang Zhenren smiled, "Senior, actually what Qingzi is preparing isn’t wrong, doing something meaningful."