Chapter 31: The Actor

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When I finished speaking, the people from the Chen residence standing nearby were clearly caught off guard.

Almost in unison, they turned their eyes toward Chen Yanlong in the distance, seemingly waiting for him to make the decision.

“Who is Chen Qiyue? Why have I never heard of him?”

“I don’t know either. I’ve never heard that name before. As far as I know, no one by that name exists in the geomancy circles of the provincial capital.”

“I thought he was your friend. He looks like a country bumpkin.”

As soon as they heard me say those words from within the water, everyone began whispering among themselves.

I had never intended to intervene, but then I recalled what Liu Qing had told me.

I also remembered the enormous azure serpent I had encountered beneath the water moments earlier, a serpent on the verge of transforming into a dragon.

To save Liu Qing’s life and make the great serpent my spirit beast, I ultimately decided to act.

“Chen Qiyue, I’m warning you. The water demon in this artificial lake has cultivated for nearly a thousand years. If you persist in your folly, the next person to die will be you!”

Chen Yanlong stepped out from the crowd, his face filled with menace.

He had originally intended to use the great azure serpent to force Liu Sihai to agree to marry his daughter to his beloved grandson as soon as possible, thereby changing his grandson’s doomed fate.

“A geomancer who travels the world has no reason to fear demons and evil spirits. You may be afraid, but I’m not. I’ll eliminate the monster in the water and restore justice to the Liu family!”

Having been humiliated by me, and in front of so many people at that, Chen Yanlong’s expression immediately darkened.

He stopped pretending to be courteous and said coldly, “Chen Qiyue, have you come here today just to ruin things for me? Today is the auspicious day of my grandson Chen Yanlong’s engagement to the eldest daughter of the Liu family. I don’t want to lose my temper, so I advise you to get out of the water and leave at once. Don’t bring suffering upon yourself.”

Chen Yanlong deliberately invoked his own name and that of Liu Sihai, apparently hoping to make me retreat in the face of difficulty.

In the geomancy circles of the provincial capital, Chen Yanlong could be said to wield absolute power.

Anyone who offended him would probably never be able to survive in the field again.

But I did not take him seriously. The angrier he became, the more pleased I was.

My grandfather had exhausted half a lifetime of accumulated virtue to prepare this fortune for me, and Chen Yanlong had actually thought he could simply snatch it away.

Did he truly believe that no one remained skilled in Azure Hemp Physiognomy?

At that moment, Chen Feng, who had been standing behind Chen Yanlong, stepped forward and glared viciously at me.

“Chen Qiyue, get lost. If you don’t leave now, don’t blame me for what happens next!”

With that, he prepared to attack me.

I looked at him with contempt. He was merely trying to show off in front of Liu Qingqing.

“Chen Feng, your Heavenly Court is sunken and your Earth Palace is sharp. You lack water in your destiny, and you have the face of a man destined to die young.”

“Not only will you die young, but your life is also filled with calamities. A man of such poor character as you is unworthy of the woman my grandfather left to me.”

“Even if the bond between us has been severed, you still have no right to interfere!”

“You…”

Chen Feng pointed at me in fury, wanting to refute my words but unable to think of a suitable argument.

Everything I had said was true.

Chen Yanlong’s face turned grim, but he remained silent. He knew very well that my words were true.

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His mystic yang energy was formidable, and his mastery of physiognomy surpassed even mine.

Naturally, he knew every flaw in his grandson at a glance.

It was precisely because he had seen that his beloved grandson was fated for misfortune that he had sought an alliance through marriage with the Liu family.

To force the Liu family to break off its childhood betrothal with my family, he had even gone so far as to place the spirit beast he had raised for years into the artificial lake beside the Liu family villa.

He truly would stop at nothing.

“Young man, are you planning to make an enemy of the Chen residence?” Chen Yanlong strode toward me and demanded.

At that moment, Liu Qing finally broke free from Liu Sihai’s grasp and ran over to me.

I saw a trace of delight and a faint blush of shyness in her eyes.

It seemed she had heard everything I had said while provoking Chen Yanlong.

This was going to be troublesome.

“Master Chen, we are deeply honored that you came to our Liu family to eliminate the demon. However, you failed to destroy the monster in the water, so we intend to let Chen Qiyue try. We hope you will not interfere!”

Upon hearing Liu Qingqing’s words, the corners of Chen Yanlong’s mouth lifted into a sinister smile.

“Since your Liu family wants him to eliminate the evil spirit, then go ahead. But Liu Sihai, let me make one thing clear: if this brat fails to destroy the monster in the water, don’t come crawling back to me for help!”

“Everyone, move ten meters back. If Chen Qiyue wants to throw his life away, let’s make sure he doesn’t drag us down with him.”

After saying this, Chen Yanlong deliberately retreated. He was clearly convinced that I was doomed.

“Brother Qiyue, be careful. Whether you succeed or not, I will never marry Chen Feng.”

“The person I love is you, not him!”

After saying this, Liu Qingqing was pulled away by Liu Sihai and brought to a safe area.

Once everyone had withdrawn, I began to act. After all, remaining immersed in the water was hardly pleasant.

I formed a sword seal with my fingers, drew a deep breath, and plunged beneath the surface once more.

For what I intended to do next, I needed the cooperation of the great azure serpent.

However, as the Chen family’s spirit beast, it had nine soul-binding nails driven into its body by Chen Yanlong.

Those nine nails had been driven into nine vital points of the serpent, preventing it from ever escaping the old Chen family’s control.

If I wanted to truly set the great serpent free, I had to remove all nine soul-binding nails.

I moved beside the serpent and placed my palm against its head.

I conveyed my intention to remove the nails. After receiving its affirmative response, I began circulating the mystic yang energy within me and pulled out the first soul-binding nail.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth…

But when I reached the fifth, the azure serpent began thrashing violently.

I could clearly feel the agony coursing through its body. There was no need to guess who was responsible. This was certainly the Chen family’s doing.

Without hesitation, I increased the speed of my movements.

Even so, two soul-binding nails remained embedded in the serpent’s body.

By then, the azure serpent had been tormented by the Chen family until it was barely alive, and many of its scales had fallen away.

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Through my communication with the serpent, I learned that Chen Yanlong wanted it to kill me and devour my soul as well.

That way, I would remain trapped inside its belly for the rest of my life, unable to reincarnate.

Chen Yanlong was truly vicious.

Fortunately, the azure serpent had already made up its mind to let me free it from its restraints.

Thus, no matter how desperately Chen Yanlong tormented it, it never attacked me.

I stepped forward and patted the great azure serpent on the head, sending a thread of mystic yang energy into its body.

That way, Chen Yanlong’s efforts to torture it would cause it somewhat less suffering.

Though I expended most of my strength, I finally removed every soul-binding nail from the serpent’s body.

Chen Yanlong began to panic.

The creature he had intended to use to intimidate Liu Sihai had now become mine.

That was clearly something he found impossible to accept.

I could have surfaced with the great azure serpent and allowed Liu Sihai and everyone present to witness the spectacle.

But for the sake of a more dramatic entrance, I decided to prepare my appearance more carefully.

I stood at the bottom of the artificial lake, holding my sword in both hands, and silently recited an incantation:

“Origin of Heaven and Earth, root of the formless energy. Establish the primordial order and proclaim it to all spirits…”

As I recited the spell, the great azure serpent raised me onto the crown of its head and slowly carried me toward the surface.

The moment I emerged from the water, I circulated my mystic yang energy and hurled my peachwood sword into the air.

Then I leaped upward and caught the sword in midair.

At that instant, following my command, the azure serpent began thrashing through the artificial lake.

Its cultivation was already profound, and now it showed signs of transforming into a dragon.

When it opened its mouth, it released a roar resembling a dragon’s cry, a sound powerful enough to shake everyone to the core.

Upon hearing it, Liu Sihai and several geomancers present actually fell to their knees.

It was the first time they had ever heard a dragon’s roar.

“This is bad! The demonic dragon in the artificial lake has been enraged! It’s going to kill us!”

Someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone began scrambling desperately toward the exits.

But at that very moment, the dragon’s roar abruptly ceased.

I calmly leaped onto the shore and slowly addressed the crowd.

“The water demon in the artificial lake has been vanquished. Peace has been restored!”

After hearing my words, the way everyone looked at me changed completely. Their eyes were filled with awe.

Liu Sihai even fell to his knees beside me, thanking me for saving the lives of his entire family.

Only Chen Yanlong and his grandson continued glaring at me with murderous hatred, as though they wanted to tear me apart.

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