Chapter 41: The Seven Stars Traverse the Hole Formation

  "Cut down all the willows in this circle," the master said, walking and directing the workers. The workers didn't have any objections, after all, the more they worked, the more money they would get, which made the master very satisfied. As he walked, he explained to me: "Do you see? The entire neighborhood is shaped like a funnel, with yin energy pouring in from above and flowing directly into this pool, but it's blocked by these willows and can't overflow. This creates a dead end. Over time, the yin energy accumulated in the pool becomes stronger and stronger. So we need to cut down the willows now and release the yin energy. However, while they're cutting trees, we can't just sit idle. We also need to set up a large Tianluo Diwang array to prevent the Three Corpses from taking advantage of us."

  Taking advantage of the workers cutting down trees, Master led me to the edge of the pond, looked around and asked me to throw in a peach wood stake. Then he took out the ink line and let Zhang Jianchen and others become a net. Although it didn't look very good, Master said it was okay. He then used red twine to cover the net over the pond and tied it to the peach wood stake. After that, the mud figures were arranged according to the five elements, and all the preparations were done.

  The master took out the talisman paper, muttered some words in his mouth, finally bit his middle finger and dotted it on the talisman paper, stuck the talisman paper on the net, also pasted the please god symbol on the mud man's body, finally pressed the bagua mirror on the net, lit the incense stick and inserted it by the pond, only then was everything thoroughly done.

  Until all this was done, the master finally let out a long sigh of relief and arranged for Zhang Jianchen and others to rest. He took me around, observing the situation while speaking in a low voice: "Young one, don't think that Feng Shui is simple. I'm telling you, Feng Shui can change destiny. Don't underestimate it. Remember everything I say. Look, if we ignore these buildings for now and observe from this grassland, after removing this circle of willow trees, the pond becomes a place where yin energy gathers. Water can bring wealth, but someone built a pavilion here, creating a 'double dragon embracing the moon' formation, which can bring prosperity to the builder. This is a Feng Shui layout. However, someone deliberately planted a circle of willow trees, causing the air to become stagnant and the water to become dead water. The wind cannot pass through, making it a Feng Shui dead end. Not only does it fail to bring wealth, but it also creates an aura that can lead to death."

  Seeing my puzzled face, the master grunted in dissatisfaction: "Remember, Feng Shui is called Feng Shui because it uses wind and water to observe the terrain. Wind comes from high places and falls into low places, turning into wind. Wind is flowing, only flowing ones are alive, while water is in charge of yin. No one can be stagnant water, otherwise, it's a bad omen. Only when wind generates water can Feng Shui be done well. Whether it's a yin or yang house, you must choose a place with good ventilation and flowing water. Only if it's active will there be endless energy pouring in. Energy refers to the earth's energy, which moves along with the earth's veins. If you want to do Feng Shui, you must pay attention to these things."

  Nodded, the master said these I also vaguely understand, but understood one thing, that is all Feng Shui Bureau are along with the flow of the earth's pulse, this is a living Bureau, can prosper and flourish, on the contrary, if you want to make it a dead Bureau, you have to think of ways to block the flow of the earth's pulse, no matter what trees or flashes lose, can be used for borrowing.

  Seeing me as if I had an idea, the master smiled and looked around, but took a deep breath: "We want to deal with San Shi Gangguan, it's not that there's no way. Since someone can use Jiyin Shu to warm up San Shi Gangguan, then we can use Fengshui Shu to counter San Shi Gangguan. There is an underground river below, and where there is a river, there is a spirit. As long as we can stimulate the land dragon to impact San Shi Gangguan, relying on the power of the earth's pulse, San Shi Gangguan will not be able to withstand it. Once he is impacted, it will be much easier for us to deal with him. However, to capture the land dragon, we must go back to the formation I set up before. Look at this, the design of these buildings and the design of the pond are absolutely not done by one person..."

  "The master pointed to the pavilion, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: 'These buildings were constructed according to the eight trigrams and directions, with the outside higher than the inside, forming a sealed spirit array. All yin energy and spiritual energy cannot escape, but can flow in. This is how an absolute location is formed, which is suitable for nurturing corpses. However, these pavilions and willow trees are clearly the work of the same person, or someone who sensed something was amiss, thus setting up a feng shui layout to suppress the yin energy of this pond. But in doing so, they inadvertently blocked the flow of qi, making this place even more stagnant. After dismantling the feng shui layout, the yin energy can overflow.'"

  However, the master turned around in a circle, and his originally somewhat solemn face suddenly relaxed, standing on top of the drain ditch, he suddenly burst out laughing: "No matter how hard I tried, I was afraid that the person who set up this trap at first did not expect it either. There is still a loophole here, I have been searching for half a day and finally found this loophole."

  As soon as the words fell, Master patted me on the shoulder: "Young man, let's go and set up a Seven Star Walking Array to drain out the yin energy here."

  However, the master said he was going to set up an array, but instead looked up at the sky and remained motionless for a long time. I waited for a while before finally losing my patience: "Master, aren't you going to set up the array?"

  The master smiled and pointed to the stars in the sky: "If you want to set up a Big Dipper Seven Stars Array, you need to correspond to the North Dipper Seven Stars in the sky. The North Dipper Seven Stars revolve around the North Star, making one circle in a year, with tiny changes in position every day, but the amplitude is very small. In nine days, the change of the Big Dipper stars is the smallest limit that can be seen by the naked eye, so in Mao Shan Taoism, nine days are an astronomical observation cycle, and this cycle becomes "Chong Jiu Zhi Shu" in Taoist numerology. As long as you find a reference object on the ground to observe from a fixed angle and mark out the degree, it's not difficult to determine the direction."

  As we spoke, the master seemed to have already determined the location and led me to start using peach wood stakes and red silk cloth arrays. He explained as he worked: "Feng shui is also called Kan Yu technique, which emphasizes seven gates. The so-called seven gates refer to Yunyue Gate, Shangyang Gate, Zichen Gate, Shangyang Gate, Tianyang Gate, Yusu Gate, and Taixu Gate, respectively corresponding to the seven stars of the Big Dipper: Greedy Wolf, Giant Door, Lucky Star, Literary Curve, Honest Integrity, Military Curve, and Broken Army. The seven gates represent the direction of the vital energy flow in any city, village or populated area. As long as you grasp the direction of this vital energy flow, you can use the terrain to change its direction, which is what it means to set up a feng shui formation."

  The concept of "qi" generally represents the flow of yin and yang energy, but it encompasses a broader scope than the traditional notion of yin and yang. In traditional terms, yin and yang refer to the breath or vital energy within the human body, which is related to the balance of yin and yang within a person.

  However, "qi" refers to the flow of life energy in all living beings, including humans. From a scientific perspective, it can be explained as the direction of the magnetic field generated by bioelectricity. In cities, due to the interference from mixed architecture and wireless electromagnetic waves, small animals like mice and sparrows have lost their sensitivity to "qi".

  However, if you observe carefully in rural areas, you will find that all nearby mouse holes, rabbit burrows, and even ant holes are dug in a specific direction. Even if the entrance of the hole is not in the same direction, after digging deeper, it's not hard to discover that the internal direction of the hole is actually the same.

  During the Cultural Revolution, when villagers were digging up rodent burrows as part of the "eradicate the four pests" campaign, some strange discoveries were made. Some rodents had dug their burrows on top of ridges, but after a certain depth, they would make an "n"-shaped turn and start digging in the opposite direction, or make a 90-degree turn from within the burrow.

  From a scientific perspective, this can be explained as the rodents trying to evade predators. However, in reality, the ultimate direction of the rodent's burrowing is actually the direction of the "qi" flow at that location.

  This seven-star walking array is using the formation method to guide the vital energy, or it can be said that the yin and yang energies change direction. Some say it uses the power of the stars. We all know that the stars can affect climate changes, affect tidal changes, so they can also affect the direction of vital energy. Taoism believes that everything in the world is influenced by the seven stars, every moment, every day will change, which is why there is astrology.

  The displacement of the Big Dipper is caused by the Earth's rotation, and the change in the Earth's position creates an illusion of a shift in the Big Dipper's position. As the Earth rotates to different positions, the local biological magnetic field, or the flow of vital energy, also changes. The human body is affected by this influence, and when observing the Big Dipper at different times, the brightness of each star appears different. However, stargazing must follow the principle of "striking nine," which not only represents the cycle of stargazing but also the cycle of changes in the seven gates' positions in a particular location. Within nine days, the positions of the seven gates do not change, and the flow of vital energy remains unchanged. Therefore, the last day of striking nine is the best time for practicing Taoist techniques. Coincidentally, today happens to be the ninth and final day; I wonder if Master has been planning this all along.

  The brightness of the Beidou stars changes, and according to the "Tian Yun Ju Tong Ze" algorithm in Taoist astrology, the direction of the seven kills can be calculated. For example, Greedy Wolf and Giant Gate start bright and then dark; Lucky Store and Wen Qu start dark and then bright; Wu Qu and Broken Army start bright and end, then Cloudy Mountain Pass is placed in Qian position, Shang Rong Pass is placed in Xun position, Purple Morning Pass is placed in Li position, Heavenly Yang Pass is placed in Zhen position, Jade Mansion Pass is placed in Gen position, and Great Roaming Pass is placed in Kan position. This arrangement is like a formula, and there are 181 such combinations listed in "Tian Yun Ju Tong Ze", which basically covers all possible arrangements of the seven stars' brightness changes.

  After determining the position of the seven gates, Master roughly drew a rough diagram of the direction of the Qi in his mind and started moving forward. He walked a few steps and then asked me to insert a peach wood stake, which he tied with a red rope. Then he continued walking, but I couldn't feel any rules or patterns in this process. After messing around for half a day, we finally set up the Seven Stars Walking Array, but I didn't feel any changes. When I asked Master about it, he chuckled and said: "Foolish disciple, the Seven Stars Walking Array also needs a spell to activate it. Do you think that just moving things around will change the earth's energy? Wait a while and observe the changes in the yin energy before taking action. If not, if we act rashly and are discovered by the Three Corpses, I'm afraid we won't be able to get rid of them, and all our efforts will be wasted."

  It was already past 10 o'clock at night, and the master looked around to see that everything he had pointed out had been completely destroyed. More than a dozen large willow trees had been cut down, the pavilion had been dismantled, the artificial hill had been pushed over, and even the greenery had been dug up with holes and ditches everywhere. In short, the entire square of the residential area was thoroughly ruined. However, the master was very satisfied, and only after signing off on the workers' pay slips did he dismiss them.