Chapter 37: Earth-Shattering Ox-Dissecting Technique

Many villagers, hearing the commotion, hurried over and craned their necks to peer into the pit. Inside, they saw something covered in fur, with what appeared to be the handle of a knife protruding from it.

Because it was caked in thick mud, it was impossible to tell exactly what it was, leaving the villagers to guess in curiosity.

"What could possibly be buried in there?"

"Let's dig it out and see."

Li Chengfeng instructed two bold villagers to keep digging, and before long, they unearthed the object.

When they saw what had been buried, everyone recoiled in horror, stepping back several paces to observe the grim discovery. It was a bull’s head, its eyes bulging and mouth agape, tongue lolling out. A butcher’s knife was driven directly between its eyes. The head wore a twisted, hideous expression, suggesting the animal had suffered excruciating agony before death.

A pang of heartache struck Li Chengfeng; the two Onmyoji from the Nine Chrysanthemums Sect were truly monstrous. They had tortured the bull to death simply to cultivate its resentment.

Li Chengfeng directed the villagers to continue digging at the spots he had marked. Before long, they unearthed more remains: the liver, lungs, legs, hooves, stomach, and tail of the bull. The entire animal had been dismembered into pieces, with a knife plunged into each one. In total, there were exactly seventy-two pieces, buried precisely at the seventy-two Earthly Fiend positions.

Every organ and limb of the bull corresponded to the stone ox statue. By doing this, they had invoked the energy of the seventy-two Earthly Fiends to strike at the corresponding parts of the stone ox, thereby breaking the "Double Ox Summoning Prosperity" feng shui formation.

Beside the smaller stone ox, they also dug up the skeleton of a calf, treated with the same cruel methods.

As all the remains were unearthed, the villagers murmured in amazement, their faces filled with respect and awe. A few gathered together, whispering loudly without reservation.

"Mr. Li is truly remarkable. To think he could pinpoint exactly where each piece of the bull was buried."

"It couldn't have been a guess. Mr. Li must have calculated it."

Hearing the villagers praising him behind his back, Li Chengfeng felt a bit embarrassed. He pretended not to hear, though he felt quite pleased inside.

In truth, there were many ways to break the "Double Ox Summoning Prosperity" formation, but the method used by the Nine Chrysanthemums Sect was the most sinister. It not only destroyed the feng shui but was designed to leave those protected by it without descendants—a testament to their malice.

Seeing the knives stuck into every piece of the bull's body, Wang Bin asked in confusion. Li Chengfeng took a deep breath and said with a compassionate tone:

"These knives were driven in while the bull was still alive. The purpose was to make its death as painful as possible, maximizing its resentment."

"The greater the resentment, the more potent the baleful energy. This allows for the rapid accumulation of Earthly Fiend energy to strike at the feng shui formation and destroy it."

The villagers and Wang Bin were seething with indignation. "Those islanders are worse than animals; their methods are truly inhumane."

"If I ever run into them, I’ll make sure they pay dearly."

Li Chengfeng provided only a brief explanation; he did not wish to dwell on the "Earthly Fiend Ox-Dismembering Technique," for the methods used by the Nine Chrysanthemums Onmyoji were even more grotesque than one could imagine.

Since the remains were saturated with baleful energy, Li Chengfeng ordered them to be burned. As the flames licked the remains, plumes of black smoke rose and drifted toward the direction of Qingzhou City. Li Chengfeng watched the smoke vanish, counting seventy-two strands of black vapor. He knew full well that with the technique broken, the Onmyoji who had laid the trap would suffer a backlash. Whether they would go blind, lame, deaf, or mute, he could not say.

As the remains were consumed by fire, the crows that had been cawing from the treetops seemed frightened and suddenly took flight.

With the Earthly Fiend Ox-Dismembering Technique successfully shattered, the two Nine Chrysanthemums Onmyoji sensed something was wrong immediately, as the practitioner, Sato Kenji, suffered the backlash.

While Sato Kenji was eating, he did not notice the seventy-two strands of black vapor burrowing into his body. He only felt a sudden, intense chill, followed by a violent spray of blood. He collapsed to the floor, writhing and howling in agony.

Takahashi Masao, who was eating with him, was stunned and terrified.

"Kenji-kun, what is wrong? Don't scare me like this."

"Ox... stone... broken..." Sato Kenji gasped, his voice trembling as he choked out the words.

Simultaneously, wounds began to appear inexplicably all over his body, as if he were being stabbed by invisible knives. Blood instantly stained his white kimono. A harrowing, heart-rending scream echoed through the room, betraying his unbearable pain.

The final wound appeared between Sato Kenji's eyes. A gash slowly opened, blood spurting out. With a final, agonizing shriek, he collapsed to the floor. His legs kicked a few times before he stopped moving, his breath fading away.

Takahashi Masao, pale with terror, watched the sudden tragedy unfold. "Kenji-kun, what is happening? Speak to me!" he cried in panic. "You cannot die! I’ll take you to the hospital right now!"