Chapter 87

"Three Flowers Gather at the Crown!"

After Jing Shizhen said this name, he sighed, "What good is knowing about this realm? For hundreds of years, no one has heard of anyone reaching the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown."

Why they couldn't break through, Su Xiaofan didn't even ask this time. After the Enlightenment, none of these cultivators could advance to the next realm.

"Master, do we have cultivation techniques for the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown?" Su Xiaofan felt he could still make an effort.

"Of course we do."

Jing Shizhen said, "The Three Flowers correspond to the Three Essences. The Three Essences refer to the refinement of the body's essence, energy, and spirit. Gathering at the Crown means merging the essence, energy, and spirit into one and concentrating them at the Gate of Mystery.

Breaking through this Gate of Mystery, one can achieve the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, generating consciousness, which means the Yin Spirit can be expected!"

Jing Shizhen explained these things to Su Xiaofan without fearing that Tong Dongjie would hear. He was talking about common knowledge, but the cultivation techniques were kept secret.

"Master, have you been unable to break through this Gate of Mystery after so many years of cultivation?"

After using the Qi Observation Technique, Su Xiaofan realized how profound his master's true qi was.

Since entering the misty area, Su Xiaofan noticed that his master didn't use any magical tools for protection but instead used his true qi to isolate the mist.

With Su Xiaofan's current cultivation, he could also do this, but he could only seal his pores. Using true qi to protect the body like Uncle Jing was still beyond his reach.

As for Tong Dongjie, if he didn't use magical tools, he could probably only endure for three days and would fall seriously ill afterward.

"It's not that I can't break through."

Jing Shizhen smiled bitterly, "I've cultivated for most of my life and haven't even found the Gate of Mystery, let alone break through it."

According to the cultivation techniques, when one's cultivation reaches a certain level, the Gate of Mystery will naturally appear. Breaking through it leads to the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown realm.

But Jing Shizhen's cultivation had already reached the Great Circulation realm and was perfected, yet the Gate of Mystery hadn't appeared, and he had been stuck for decades.

"Master, don't worry, maybe it just needs a catalyst."

Seeing Uncle Jing's disappointed look, Su Xiaofan quickly comforted him.

"I wonder if the Gate of Mystery will appear after cultivating the Great Circulation technique."

Su Xiaofan speculated in his heart. The Small Circulation technique and Palm Heart Thunder had both reached their limits after cultivation, and the Great Circulation technique should be no exception.

Unfortunately, Su Xiaofan's current repair value was insufficient. After cultivating Palm Heart Thunder, he only had 16 points left, far from the 100 points needed.

"If this catalyst doesn't come soon, I'll be in my grave."

Jing Shizhen was frustrated and couldn't help but complain. He was once a cultivation genius, but now he was an old genius.

"Uncle Jing, it's the same for us in ancient martial arts. After forging the skin and bones, we can't continue."

Tong Dongjie said, "It's likely that the heavens are flawed, preventing cultivators from advancing. This is the will of heaven, not something humans can change."

Tong Dongjie's statement was a widely accepted view in the cultivation world. It's not that people aren't trying, but that heaven has decided to exclude them, and no one can change that.

Seeing both Tong Dongjie and Jing Shizhen sighing, Su Xiaofan quickly shifted their attention, pointing to a house and saying, "This house faces north and south. It seems to be the only one in the village?"

"That's right, the whole village has only one house facing north and south."

Sure enough, Su Xiaofan's words drew Tong Dongjie's attention. "This house is the most sinister in the village. Xiaofan, did you see the armchair inside?"

"Yes, what about it?"

Su Xiaofan used the Qi Observation Technique to look at it. It was just an ordinary armchair, probably from the Ming Dynasty, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Moreover, the armchair was made of ordinary wood, and the legs were already somewhat rotten, looking dilapidated.

"Why hasn't this armchair, though made of ordinary materials, been taken away?"

Su Xiaofan was puzzled. He could sense some qi from the armchair, indicating it had been there for a long time.

"Many people have explored Fengmen Village, but none have dared to take anything from here."

Tong Dongjie pointed to the armchair. "This is the most sinister object in Fengmen Village. Not only has no one dared to move it, but most people don't even dare to sit on it. It's said that this armchair is for ghosts, not humans."

Tong Dongjie had visited Fengmen Village many times and knew all its legends and stories.

Fengmen Village has many mysterious events, such as the ghost face mystery, the ghost possession mystery, the ghostly photo mystery, and the armchair mystery.

When people in Fengmen Village die and are buried, they wear a ghost face, which is extremely rare in Central China's burial customs, similar to the pharaoh's tomb.

Another rule in Fengmen Village is that the dead are not taken out of the village but buried in front of or behind their homes. Some say this is to suppress the spirits, which is why they wear masks.

As for the armchair, it has been there for decades. Those who dared to sit on it are now all in graves, and none have survived.

No one dares to sit on it, let alone move it. If someone moved this armchair to their home, they probably wouldn't dare to sleep at night.

"Brother Dong, do you really believe this?"

Seeing the wary look on Tong Dongjie's face, Su Xiaofan couldn't help but laugh.

"I didn't believe it before, but then people really died."

Tong Dongjie smiled bitterly and shook his head. He had sent six designers to Fengmen Village, and they all died in one night.

The other staff members who came with the designers said that the six designers had all sat on the armchair during the day.

Of course, it might also be because the other staff members didn't stay overnight in the village, but the armchair's sinister reputation was widely known.

"I really want to see what a ghost looks like."

Su Xiaofan chuckled, took off his backpack, and walked straight into the house. Ignoring the dust on the armchair, he sat down.

"It's not that great, hard and uncomfortable."

Su Xiaofan patted the back of the chair and stood up. "Hmm? What's that strange smell? Master, could it be some kind of virus?"

Since breaking through the Great Circulation meridians, Su Xiaofan's senses had greatly improved, and his vision, hearing, and smell were very sharp.

After standing up, he smelled a pungent odor, which seemed to come from the chair.

Su Xiaofan wasn't afraid of ghosts but was worried about bacteria on the chair.

Like the pharaoh's tomb curse, which was later proven to be a previously unknown bacterium that caused all who entered to die.

"Rash, I'm cautious when I come here, but you're fearless."

Jing Shizhen walked into the house and frowned. "This seems to be the smell left by some animal. Come out, don't stay in the house."

"I thought it was just a ghost, not a virus." Su Xiaofan walked out with a bitter face.

"Uncle Jing, what do you think?"

Tong Dongjie had a purpose for coming here, not just to travel with the two. "Can we find the spatial rift?"

"It's impossible to find during the day; the sunlight is too strong and disrupts the qi of the mist."

Jing Shizhen shook his head. "At night, the intensity of the mist will increase more than double, and we should be able to lock onto the location of the spatial rift."

Looking around, Jing Shizhen said, "I suspect the spatial rift is near this house. I feel uneasy here."

With heightened senses, one can sometimes be very sensitive to danger. Jing Shizhen felt a sense of crisis, as if something nearby could threaten him.

"Are we staying here tonight?"

Tong Dongjie looked at the terrain and said, "This courtyard is the largest in the village. Let's set up our tents here."

The houses in Fengmen Village were built on the mountainside, with only a small area in front of the door, and the courtyards were not large.

But this house was the largest in the village, and the courtyard in front of the door was about 40 to 50 square meters, with a well in the middle.

"Okay, let's set up the tents first. We can rest in the afternoon." Su Xiaofan agreed and opened his backpack.

"Xiaofan, stay away from that well." Seeing Su Xiaofan take out the tent, Tong Dongjie quickly reminded him.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with the well?" Su Xiaofan was taken aback.

"I don't know if there's a problem, but there are legends about this well."

Tong Dongjie said, "Someone once stayed at this house and couldn't sleep at night. They wandered in the courtyard and saw a woman jump into the well.

The person was startled and woke the owner to check, but the well water didn't even ripple.

The owner thought the person was hallucinating and went back to sleep. But the next morning, the person was missing.

They searched the entire village and even the surrounding mountains, but found no trace of the person. Later, it was rumored that the person was swallowed by the well.

I don't know if it's true, but the well has a bad reputation. I don't want to be too close to it. If not for finding the spatial rift, I wouldn't even want to stay near this house."

"Will a贞子 (Sadako) crawl out of the well?"

Su Xiaofan joked while setting up the tent. Tong Dongjie also helped, and they quickly set up three tents.

The backpacks contained more supplies than Su Xiaofan could have imagined.

After setting up the tents, Tong Dongjie magically produced a folding table, an alcohol stove, a kettle, and three small recliners.

Filling the kettle with mineral water and placing it on the alcohol stove, Tong Dongjie threw a solid alcohol block into the stove. A few minutes later, the water was boiling.

"Uncle Jing, Xiaofan, what do you want to drink?"

Tong Dongjie took out a box. "Coffee or tea? I brought both."

"Tea."

"Coffee!"

Two different voices echoed, reflecting the difference between the young and the old.

"Brother Dong, you really know how to enjoy life."

Sitting in the recliner, drinking coffee, and looking at the quiet village, Su Xiaofan felt very comfortable.