Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1373 - 663

The summer mountain forest, where heat waves steamed through the dense foliage.

The hillside was covered with overgrown weeds, almost reaching their knees.

A few flower-footed mosquitoes, tracing the scent of the living, buzzed noisily around their ears.

"Snap!"

Two palms suddenly clapped together in mid-air, squashing a blood-engorged mosquito into a puddle of dark red mush.

Cheng Jiashu flicked away the blood from his palm, his brows knit with disdain:

"This damn place, even the mosquitoes are so brazen."

"You, a dignified S-Class powerhouse, are actually afraid of mosquitoes?"

A companion’s voice came from beside, tauntingly.

Cheng Jiashu turned his head to look behind him.

He saw Fang Cheng carrying a blue canvas satchel, casually strolling across the grass, like someone out for a leisurely picnic.

"Mosquitoes aren’t human, their brains are the size of a pinhead. How could they sense if I am a powerhouse?"

Cheng Jiashu rubbed the red bumps on his arm, retorting irritably:

"Should I be using spiritual power to blast this swarm of bugs?"

As he spoke, he looked enviously at the man in front of him.

Although Fang Cheng was standing right there, an invisible aura seemed to encircle him.

Those mosquitoes and bugs, extremely sensitive to living beings, seemed to encounter some existential predator and dared not approach him.

As a result, they all changed direction and swarmed towards Cheng Jiashu.

Fang Cheng shook his head without responding to the complaints, and straightforwardly looked ahead.

The two were currently standing on a hilltop with a broad view.

Looking down the steep slope, a rundown village lay quietly nestled deep within the mountain folds.

Most of the village’s buildings retained last century’s tiled brick structures, full of patches and decay.

Many courtyard walls had collapsed, grass grew between the tiles, roofs had large holes, clearly long abandoned.

Looking towards the hill behind the village, numerous burial mounds scattered all over, without a single proper tombstone.

This eerie desolate scene instantly reminded Fang Cheng of a movie scene from "The Village of Ghosts."

"Is this Ancient Locust Village the burial ground of Jiang Chen you mentioned?"

Fang Cheng withdrew his gaze and asked.

Cheng Jiashu nodded, raising his right hand to point at the mountain’s contours below:

"See the ridge over there, with the main peak like a screen blocking the north, side slopes like embracing arms, and a stream winding around the village entrance like a jade belt."

"From a Feng Shui perspective, this is a classic ’hidden wind gathering energy, with all four symbols complete’ layout."

He spoke eloquently, with the demeanor of a seasoned Feng Shui master.

After explaining the terrain, he turned slightly to look at Fang Cheng standing beside him:

"Logically, this should be a Feng Shui treasure land, so in such a picturesque place, have you noticed anything unusual?"

Fang Cheng’s gaze flickered, his eyes scanning the village environment below.

After a while, he squinted slightly and uttered a few words:

"It looks somewhat lifeless."

"Exactly."

Cheng Jiashu snapped his fingers in praise:

"You described it very accurately, it’s lifeless."

He dropped his arm and continued explaining:

"The formation of this feeling isn’t due to sparsely populated or dilapidated buildings. It’s because the environment Qi field of this land itself has undergone a fundamental reversal."

"So, even if the terrain is perfect, the climate ideal, even if you were to bring bricks to rebuild villas instantly, it couldn’t reverse its trend toward decay."

Fang Cheng nodded slightly.

The time was early summer, with abundant sunshine, normally the peak period for vegetation growth.

But he noticed that the trees planted within the village had large areas of dry, cracked branches.

Not just one or two, but most were presenting a pathological dull gray.

Looking around the outskirts, compared to the lush mountain forest in the distance, the vegetation on the village’s edges was noticeably sparse and stunted, leaves tinged with unhealthy yellow.

If one were in the village, sight might be blocked, making it difficult to notice.

But at the moment they stood atop the hill, overlooking, everything unfolded clearly.

Vaguely, there seemed to be an invisible "line of prosperity and decline," drawing a circle around the village, forming a bizarre barrier.

Inside and outside seemed strikingly different.

Although Fang Cheng didn’t understand Feng Shui metaphysics, he could rely on a powerful intuition to keenly capture that discordant feeling of decay.

Seeing Fang Cheng’s flickering eyes and thoughtful expression, Cheng Jiashu knew the other had already glimpsed the mystery.

Thus, he cleared his throat and said:

"If I told you, this former Feng Shui treasure land was once the site of our Cheng Family’s Secret Realm, would you believe it?"

Fang Cheng upon hearing, involuntarily shook:

"Cheng Family’s Secret Realm?"

"Indeed."

Cheng Jiashu sighed, his gaze directed at the remnants of ruins, his tone revealing some complexity.

"Who would’ve thought, the Cheng Family, whose influence once spanned two capitals and twenty-eight provinces, with disciples everywhere, would plant the roots of its Secret Realm in such a dilapidated, desolate mountain gorge? Not to mention outsiders, even if I told you, you’d likely wouldn’t believe it."

Fang Cheng shrugged: "Not true."

He wasn’t surprised at how downtrodden the Cheng Family seemed now, but astonished that Cheng Jiashu would lightheartedly reveal such vital family secrets.

It’s known that Lin Chuqiao had once briefed him on the unspoken rules of noble family circles.

For example, never casually probe into others’ superpower traits; the location of a family’s Secret Realm is the highest level of secret, never allowing outsiders to step foot.