Chapter 408: The Old Man Who Tames Women

“There’s a bit of a damp smell…”

Shui Miao pretended to be clueless, although he had already sensed the extremely pure five-element spiritual energy hidden within the soil, particularly abundant in earth-element spiritual energy.

“You brat, even a fool can tell it’s damp,” the old man sighed, shaking his head. “This is the scent of earth qi. Three years ago, the soil at this depth was entirely gray, lifeless, like dried-up mud under the sun. But after three years of transformation under the influence of the earth vein’s qi, the energy here has completely changed. Dig a bit more, and when you hit soil of a different color, call me.”

With that, the old man got up to relieve himself.

Shui Miao continued digging, and after about another ten centimeters, he suddenly noticed that the soil beneath had turned a deep purplish-red. The earth felt unusually soft, and waves of pure spiritual energy surged upward. A single breath of it sent a jolt of energy coursing through Shui Miao.

“Never thought digging a hole could uncover such pure spiritual energy!”

For Shui Miao, Ling Qi was a rare treasure.

He quickly dropped his shovel, leaned into the pit, and began inhaling deeply, simultaneously channeling the energy into his body to strengthen his own spiritual energy. As he absorbed more, he suddenly sensed a new kind of energy rising from below—something he had never encountered before. This new energy instantly amplified his internal spiritual energy several times over!

“Awesome!”

Overcome with joy, Shui Miao decided he’d never meditate again. From now on, he’d dig into dragon veins in famous mountains and rivers, absorbing their energy directly. One breath could equal months or even years of cultivation.

Within three or five minutes, he absorbed two more unique energies.

Afterward, a small spirit pill, about the size of a thumb, formed in his dantian.

As his spiritual energy increased, some of his abilities began to return.

He expanded his spiritual awareness and found he could now sense everything within a fifty-meter radius.

Deep underground, however, the pure spiritual energy was already running low.

“Brat! I told you to dig soil, not lie around in the hole like that!”

The old man had just finished packing his belongings in the cabin and came out to find Shui Miao sprawled in the pit like a toad.

Shui Miao quickly stood up, his nose smeared with dirt, and smiled sheepishly. “Senior, I was just sniffing the air.”

“Hmm?”

At that moment, the old man noticed the soil beneath Shui Miao’s feet had turned pitch-black, with muddy water seeping up. He was shocked. “How could this happen? How did this Triple-Dragon Guardian site turn into a cursed ground?”

“What?”

Shui Miao looked down and noticed the change in the soil. He didn’t need the old man to explain—he understood exactly what had occurred. He had absorbed all the spiritual energy of the earth vein, transforming this area into a cursed land.

“Hurry up and get out! Cursed ground is harmful to people!” The old man looked confused, but then he sighed in relief. “Kid, thank goodness you asked me about feng shui. Otherwise, if those people came tomorrow and found a cursed ground like this, they’d have killed me on the spot!”

“Then… what do we do now?” Shui Miao pretended to be clueless.

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’? We leave, of course!”

Shaking his head, the old man picked up his bag and headed toward Shui Miao’s car.

Shui Miao grabbed his shovel and returned to the car too.

The old man placed his luggage in the back of the pickup truck, then moved a stone from in front of the car. From beneath it, he retrieved a small urn wrapped in red cloth and placed it in the front passenger seat.

“Senior, whose ashes are those?” Shui Miao asked curiously.

The old man sighed. “They’re my master’s ashes. I was raised by him since I was a child. A teacher for a day is a father for life.”

Was the old man planning to switch the ashes? Shui Miao scratched his head. “Then why did you bring your master’s ashes here?”

“You ask too many questions!” The old man had no choice but to explain, if only to get a ride. “Well, the Triple-Dragon Guardian site needs bones to be buried. Otherwise, the dragon vein is empty—who would protect the master then? I didn’t want them to kill anyone else, so I took my master’s ashes and told them they were the remains of a rich businessman’s relative. That way, they wouldn’t kill another person.”

“Senior, who exactly are ‘they’?”

Shui Miao was becoming more and more curious about this mysterious group.

The old man frowned. “They’re a group of vicious Mongolian outlaws. They paid me five million to set up this site. I was greedy and agreed, but now I deeply regret it. At least this site is ruined now, so I don’t have to feel guilty anymore.”

…

Now Shui Miao finally understood.

He tried to start the car, worried it might be broken, but to his surprise, it started right up.

He drove the car away.

“Senior, the fuel is almost gone. Do you know where the nearest gas station is?” Shui Miao didn’t want to get stranded halfway and have to walk back with the old man—getting lost was one thing, but they might also run into wolves.

“Head to the small town to the north. Anyway, you want to go to the Shrine Maiden Sect, and we still have time. We can leave tomorrow night,” the old man said. Though he was old, his eyes were sharp and bright, revealing his lecherous nature.

Shui Miao wanted to learn more about the Miko Sect to prepare himself. “Senior, didn’t you have a conflict with them before? Why are you still willing to go there? Aren’t you afraid they’ll use dark magic against you again?”

“Hmph! I never let anyone get away with hurting me. If they dare to trick me, I’ll make sure they pay dearly.” The old man picked up his shotgun, checked the bullets, disassembled and reassembled it with practiced ease—his domineering aura was unmistakable.

Shui Miao swallowed hard. This old man was no ordinary man. Judging by his demeanor, he must have been a killer in his youth.

“You’re a good kid. I’d like to take you as my apprentice and pass on all my skills to you,” the old man said with a smile, fully loading his shotgun and turning to Shui Miao.

In truth, Shui Miao had already learned most of the old man’s techniques.

Becoming his apprentice now would be like gaining a “father” to support for life.

Shui Miao didn’t really want to accept the old man as a master, but he couldn’t refuse directly at this point. After a pause, he nodded reluctantly. “Okay… sure!”

“Hehe, seeing how reluctant you are, forget it. We can’t be master and apprentice, but we can be brothers!” The old man reached out and gently patted Shui Miao’s shoulder. “Little brother, you wouldn’t look down on an old fool like me, would you?”

The old man was determined to form a bond with Shui Miao no matter what.

Shui Miao felt awkward. “Senior, how could I ever look down on you? It’s just that I’m too young, it’s not really appropriate…”

“Heh, we’re not getting married. What’s appropriate or not? It’s settled then—I’ll be your big brother from now on. Wait till we get to Hui Chun Restaurant—I’ll show you my real skills!” The old man licked his lips and grinned proudly.

“Real skills?” Shui Miao was puzzled. What other amazing skills did this old man have?

The old man raised an eyebrow, leaned close to Shui Miao’s ear, and whispered, “Brother’s dual cultivation technique is second to none under heaven. Most of my spiritual energy cultivation comes from those seductive women. Tell me, isn’t my skill amazing?”

“Amazing! Absolutely amazing!”

Shui Miao gave a thumbs-up, though his mind was racing in disbelief. This old man was truly something else—still a top-tier master of dual cultivation at his age! What kind of person had he been in his youth? Could he have been a womanizer hiding behind the guise of a feng shui master, wielding a shotgun?