Chapter 61: The Supreme Feng Shui Formation – The Emperor Seated in Court

Guided by the stunning receptionist, Ye Mengyao, Li Chengfeng, and Wang Bin proceeded step by step toward the Emperor Pavilion.

Since the summit of Mount Yunlong was not entirely flat, the northern side was higher and the southern side was lower, forming a thirty-degree slope.

The Sea-Vew Pavilion Hotel was built directly upon this mountain slope. Nine pavilions were arranged sequentially from bottom to top: the lowest was the Top Scholar Pavilion, and the highest was the Sea-Vew Pavilion. Just beneath the Sea-Vew Pavilion stood the Emperor Pavilion.

As Li Chengfeng walked upward, he observed the names of the pavilions below.

Each pavilion was named after ancient imperial family members, ordered from lowest to highest as follows: the Top Scholar Pavilion, the Imperial Son-in-Law Pavilion, the Princess Pavilion, the Imperial Consort Pavilion, the Imperial Prince Pavilion, the Crown Prince Pavilion, the Empress Pavilion, the Emperor Pavilion, and the Sea-Vew Pavilion.

Seeing these names, Li Chengfeng felt a sense of oddity. Why were these pavilions named after members of the royal family? He pondered as he continued forward.

Before long, they arrived in front of the Emperor Pavilion. Gazing at the structure before him, Li Chengfeng could not help a silent sigh of admiration. True to its name, the Emperor Pavilion exuded the absolute dominance of a monarch and possessed the imposing aura of ruling all beneath heaven.

The Emperor Pavilion was also the most magnificent of the nine structures—a three-story retro building whose overall architecture resembled an ancient imperial crown.

The longer Li Chengfeng stared at it, the stranger it felt, and the deeper his frown became. In the study of geomancy, the architectural style of the Emperor Pavilion was known as the Imperial Coronation.

Suddenly, he realized that the layout of the pavilions here was far from simple.

He turned and looked back down at the lower pavilions. From the lowest Top Scholar Pavilion up to the Empress Pavilion, the doors and windows of all seven pavilions faced south with their backs to the north. In contrast, the doors and windows of the Emperor Pavilion faced north with its back to the south, directly opposing the seven structures below.

Even without a Luopan compass, Li Chengfeng could deduce that the orientation of these nine pavilions was built to correspond with the stars above and align with the earth below.

The core principle of supreme feng shui doctrine emphasized the harmony of "Heaven, Earth, and Humanity," as well as the resonance of "feng shui vital energy."

Thinking of the ancient axiom that the Son of Heaven sits facing south while ministers face north, Li Chengfeng blurted out involuntarily:

"Ministers come to pay homage, the emperor receives his crown, the Son of Heaven holds court, unifying the rivers and mountains—an imperial formation!"

One had to admit, the geomancer who designed this layout was truly formidable. By establishing a "Son of Heaven Holding Court" feng shui formation here, the creator either intended for their descendants to conquer the realm and usurp the throne, or sought to disrupt the national fortune and throw the realm into chaos.

Unfortunately, although this was a supreme feng shui formation of the Son of Heaven Holding Court, it had already been broken, because above the Emperor Pavilion stood yet another structure: the Sea-Vew Pavilion.

Looking up at the highest Sea-Vew Pavilion, a faint smile touched the corner of Li Chengfeng's mouth. Though this pavilion was currently named the Sea-Vew Pavilion, its former name must certainly have been the Grand Empress Dowager Pavilion.

The person who laid out the feng shui formation was formidable, but the person who broke it was even more so. A single Grand Empress Dowager Pavilion had completely altered the geomantic field here.

No matter how powerful an emperor might be, in the presence of the Grand Empress Dowager, he would always remain a mere son.

Of course, in the eyes of ordinary people, the Sea-Vew Pavilion was merely a hotel blessed with fine mountains, clear waters, and pleasant scenery. Only a geomancer well-versed in the mystical arts could perceive the true feng shui layout hidden here.

Naturally, ordinary geomancers and charlatans would certainly fail to detect the layout of this place.

Supreme feng shui formations were already exceedingly rare. To encounter such a grand formation here was immensely rewarding for Li Chengfeng, and he felt deeply honored.

Only now did Li Chengfeng understand why the Emperor Pavilion was not open to the public; it was because profound geomantic mysteries were concealed within.

He mused that the Sea-Vew Pavilion Hotel must harbor a hidden history of a fierce duel between rival geomancers, a tale unknown to outsiders.

He grew quite curious: who could those two dueling masters of geomancy possibly be?

Noticing Li Chengfeng standing dazed at the entrance of the Emperor Pavilion, Ye Mengyao turned around.

"Mr. Li, please come in!"

Wang Bin also asked with curiosity.

"Chengfeng, what are you looking at so intently?"

"Nothing at all!"

Li Chengfeng smiled faintly, turned around, and stepped into the Emperor Pavilion. Yet, upon beholding the interior furnishings and decor, a look of shock still crossed his face.

The center of the first floor was a banquet hall. The tables, chairs, and various furnishings were all crafted from precious huanghuali and red sandalwood, adorned with exquisitely carved patterns that carried a strong sense of vintage elegance.

The banquet hall was permeated by the distinct, natural fragrance of sandalwood.

Every single piece of furniture was worth hundreds of thousands or even millions. Combined, the entire collection was worth at least several hundred million, demonstrating just how lavish the owner of the Emperor Pavilion truly was.

As Li Chengfeng surveyed the banquet hall, his brow furrowed slightly.

Inside the moderately sized hall, over twenty people had already gathered, chatting and laughing merrily.

Scanning the crowd within the banquet hall, Li Chengfeng spotted several familiar faces. Aside from Ye Gucheng, there was Deng Sihai, the chairman of the Seahorse Group.

Hu Tianzong, president of the Qingzhou Occult Association, and vice-president Hu Yansong were also among them.

There were several other elderly men, dressed either in azure scholar robes or Taoist vestments, sporting either white hair and long eyebrows or wispy dark beards. Each of them radiated the aura and demeanor of true masters.

There was also an elderly monk clad in a kasaya, with a young novice monk standing beside him. The old monk sat cross-legged with his eyes closed in meditation, giving the immediate impression of an accomplished, high-virtue ascetic.

As for the remaining people, though Li Chengfeng did not recognize them, their deportment and aura made it clear that none of them were ordinary individuals.

When Ye Mengyao and Li Chengfeng appeared at the entrance, they instantly drew the attention of many present. At first, the onlookers were captivated by Ye Mengyao's breathtaking beauty, silently marveling at how exquisitely fair and delicate this young woman was.

However, when these people caught sight of Li Chengfeng and Wang Bin, expressions of disgust and disdain immediately appeared on their faces—the kind of look one wears upon suddenly stepping in animal excrement while walking down the street.

Both of them were wearing oversized shorts and a pair of slippers. Their entire outfits, underwear included, were likely worth no more than a hundred yuan. It was only natural for these upper-class elites to look down upon them.

Some wore expressions of confusion. This was the Emperor Pavilion, a place not just anyone could enter. How on earth had these two managed to get in?

A middle-aged man with a fierce, fleshy face fixed a menacing gaze upon Li Chengfeng and Wang Bin, demanding in a low voice:

"Who are you two, and what are you doing here? Is this a place the likes of you can come?"

Li Chengfeng furrowed his brow slightly and cast a displeased glance at Ye Gucheng. That old scoundrel had promised a fine meal, yet they were met with cold glares the moment they stepped through the door. This meal certainly did not seem promising.

Ye Gucheng had never expected that Li Chengfeng would show up wearing oversized shorts, shuffling in a pair of slippers, and sporting a casual white T-shirt. Most ridiculously, the T-shirt bore four prominent characters: "I am a poor peasant."

Dressed in such an absurd fashion, how dared he come to the Emperor Pavilion? It was utterly speechless.

Wang Bin was even more outrageous, wearing flip-flops, unshaven with a face full of stubble, and looking as though he hadn't washed his face in ages. There was even a crusty patch of sleep in the corner of his left eye, and his clothes had changed color from lack of laundering.

This was the Emperor Pavilion! Couldn't these two have dressed a bit more decently?

Had he known Li Chengfeng would dress like this, nothing could have persuaded him to bring him along.

It was humiliating—a massive, utter humiliation.

Even the old men playing Chinese chess in the public park dressed more presentably than they did.

Looking utterly embarrassed, Ye Gucheng hurried over to the fierce-looking middle-aged man and offered an apologetic explanation.

"Manager Huang, this gentleman is a feng shui master I specifically invited—Li Chengfeng, Master Li. And this is his assistant..."

Not knowing Wang Bin's name, Ye Gucheng stammered for a moment before trailing off entirely.

The moment Ye Gucheng finished speaking, the entire banquet hall fell dead silent. Everyone stared at Li Chengfeng with astonished gazes, for no matter how one looked at him, he bore no resemblance to a feng shui master. Then, a roar of uproarious laughter erupted.

"Ha-ha..."

"Manager Ye, him? Ha-ha, he is a feng shui master? Are you trying to laugh me to death so you can swallow up our Huang family's assets?"

Huang Yufei, the fierce-looking middle-aged man, slapped his thigh and laughed so hard he bent double.