Chapter 31 Entering the Formation

Southern Qi was rainy, and in the days following his departure from the palace, the rain poured down like a waterfall, as if the heavens themselves were crying their eyes out.

Perhaps angered by meeting Mi Fan, Lin Chengye suddenly fell ill after his honest confession that night, and has been bedridden for many days with a persistent high fever.

Bian Yiben was still somewhat dazed that night, and now he couldn't care less about the knots in his heart that he was holding onto; his heart was in his throat. The room was filled with the bitter and astringent smell of various medicinal decoctions all day long, so there was no need for incense.

Normally, the Liaochen Sword would be used as decoration every ten days or half a month, but these past few days it has been drawn unusually frequently. When Lin Chengye was asleep, Bian Yi often sat by the window in a daze, the silver threads in his hand condensing into a blade as thin as a cicada's wing and then spreading out again. The heavy rain outside the window washed the Liaochen Sword again and again.

"nervous?"

Lin Chengye took a nap at noon and woke up to this scene. After regaining her senses, she asked...

"Hmm...you noticed?"

Bian Yi smiled sheepishly and pinched her earlobe.

"I can't even remember the last time I worried about not being able to beat someone, it's still fresh in my memory. It was probably when I was sparring with my senior sister in Qingluan Medicine Valley. I was only five or six years old then, and it was difficult for me to even force her to move an inch. My master was always strict, and he would always watch me until I exhausted my last bit of strength and lay on the ground unable to get up."

"This Heavenly Ninefold Array is that powerful?"

Lin Chengye was too lazy to get dressed and tidy up, so he simply pulled over a chair and sat down next to Bian Yi, barefoot. He skillfully picked up the perfectly sized medicine from the table and gulped it down, then pulled a piece of candy from Bian Yi's sleeve.

"I don't know. That nine-fold array has never been activated since its creation. The Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect has always claimed that it can rival a half-immortal."

Mentioning this matter only made Bian Yi's head ache more, and she shifted her crossed legs in frustration.

"I don't think it's that bad, but it certainly has its own unique features."

“You did not lose out to Chu Wuding in your fight.”

Lin Chengye asked casually.

"He used at most one-tenth of his strength, so it doesn't count. Also, as I've gotten older, I rarely fight with people, let alone break through formations, and I'm completely clueless about it now."

Bian Yi grew increasingly distressed, and even the dust-covered sword scattered into silver threads, weakly blown away by the wind outside the window.

"The old man of the Four Silks once mentioned the destruction of Yulin City. When people in the martial arts world talked about Qin Ruoliu's five days and five nights of fighting, the description was enough to make the heavens and earth change color and the heavens and earth tremble.

I wonder who could possibly fight Qin Ruoliu to this extent; they must be some kind of demigod. Lin Chengye tapped his knee with his finger.

"Ah, maybe. I... I've never seen it either."

Bian Yi's eyes flickered.

"Relax, whether you break through this formation or not, the Bone-Body Two-Headed Serpent will be difficult to capture."

Lin Chengye stood up and leaned against the window, his face still somewhat pale, with faint bluish tinges under his eyes. He let the damp wind blow his long hair across his face and said thoughtfully.

"Sect Master... I'm afraid you're tempted by the fact that you can fulfill her regret of not being able to decipher the secrets of the Ninefold Array, but you feel that it's not as good as the two divine creatures in the world, the Living Bone Two-Headed Serpent."

Suddenly, Lin Chengye changed the subject and chuckled softly.

"So there's no need to be too nervous. I've never pinned my hopes on this."

“But…you’re only seventeen. You can’t stay bedridden like this for the rest of your life. I’ll have to steal it from you.”

Bian Yi felt that the child was comforting her, but when she thought about how Lin Chengye had hardly been awake these past few days, she pouted and became even more heartbroken.

"That's not what I meant. I just didn't place my hopes on you being able to break through the Divine Mechanism Ninefold Formation, but I didn't say that I wouldn't be interested in the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect."

A sly glint suddenly appeared in Lin Chengye's eyes.

"Although luck plays a 80% role in this, it's not impossible."

"Moreover... it might even persuade the sect leader to willingly hand over the Bone-Body Two-Headed Serpent."

Bian Yi held the sword hilt, rainwater flowing in and wetting her sleeves. She blinked blankly, and after a long while, she uttered a short syllable.

"ah?"

...

Seven days later, a fine day had finally arrived. Bian Yi happily opened the window to let the musty smell in the house out, only to be met with a large, fat pigeon stepping on his face with its claw.

Lin Chengye quickly grabbed a handful of millet and tossed it out, then took off the paper tied to the pigeon's legs. This time, there was a note on each of its legs.

A piece of paper was tied to his left leg and placed in a leather tube with sword and knife patterns. Lin Chengye pulled it open to take a look.

"Fifty miles east of Jiuchen City, the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect cordially invites Young Hero Lin and Physician Bian to come for a chat."

To the left, the pine breeze swirls around the jade gate; three times, the crane's shadow enters the cloud screen. To the right, I follow the stone crevice to listen to the spring's whisper; my sleeves are shrouded in mist and haze, locking away my inner spirit.

Guan Xiaoxian, the sect leader of Shenshu Tianji Sect

Then I opened another one.

"The matter has been settled. Best of luck."

Guan Vietnamese Dialect Boat

"How come the sect leader still has time to write poetry?"

Bian Yi glanced at it and couldn't help but speak again.

"What do you mean? It's written with that... scholarly feel to it."

"...It's time."

Lin Chengye didn't reply, only chuckled, casually tossed the two pieces of paper into the stove, then stretched lazily in front of the rising sun and rubbed his neck. She was like a bamboo shoot breaking through the soil, her bones rubbing together with a few cracking sounds.

All efforts have been made; now we can only deal with whatever comes our way and leave the rest to fate.

Lin Chengye tilted her head and saw Bian Yi looking as if facing a formidable enemy. Her lips were slightly pursed, her black hair was tied up high with a white silk ribbon, and she was actually holding the Chen Sword directly in her hand. She couldn't help but laugh and patted Bian Yi's shoulder.

"Let's go, they've already invited us."

...

"One finger can turn metal and stone into gold and stone; the secrets of heaven are refined through nine cycles."

Two rocks, each about three meters tall, stand on either side of the mountain gate. They are painted with red ink, and the characters written on them are bold and unpretentious, showing no trace of humility.

Above, a golden plaque bears the five large characters "Shen Shu Tian Ji Men" (Divine Pivot Heavenly Mechanism Gate). Stone lions in front of the steps hold stone balls in their mouths, and in the distance, the green walls meander like dragons among the layered mountains, following the contours of the mountain.

Lin Chengye had long heard that the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect was incredibly wealthy and its position as the number one sect in the martial arts world had remained unchallenged for many years. However, when he saw its face with his own eyes, he was still so shocked that he couldn't recover for a long time, and a thousand words were not enough to express his feelings.

"Why isn't there even a guard at the mountain gate?"

Bian Yi looked left and right, somewhat puzzled. This place, though like a paradise on earth, had its gates wide open. Wasn't it said that the number one sect in the world was difficult to enter? What was so difficult about it? It was just a step away…

Bian Yi reached out to stop Lin Chengye, and then leaped into the mountain gate with a light touch of his toes.

"Wait!" Lin Chengye's pupils shrank, and he shouted.

As Bian Yi flew past, several translucent threads instantly rose from all directions, cutting through the air like sharp blades.

A powerful surge of internal force met the silk threads head-on, rippling outwards like ocean waves, instantly pushing away those merciless threads. Taking advantage of this opening, Bian Yi flipped over and landed back beside Lin Chengye, nervously pinching her earlobe.

"Ah. It's a 'Ten Thousand Threads Entangling Mechanism' formation."

"...Don't do that again."

Lin Chengye felt a chill run down her spine and frowned. She then surveyed the area around the mountain gate, her fingers brushing over the two imposing stone lions.

Suddenly, her fingertip stopped on one of the stone balls, her eyes sharpened, and she walked over to examine the mouth of another lion.

They look exactly the same, but upon closer inspection, one of the stone balls is smoother, and only the middle ring appears to have been polished by being touched for a long time.

Bian Yi waited quietly three steps away from Lin Chengye, not wanting to disturb him. Lin Chengye waved to her and said...

"look."

Bian Yi looked in the direction Lin Chengye was pointing and then suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Could it be... something that can turn? Is it... a lock? Is it a mechanism to open the door?"

"Locked from the spirit..."

Lin Chengye rested his chin on his hand and murmured, then suddenly held up two fingers and said again.

"Three on the left, two on the right."

With a clattering sound, as if something had just sealed shut perfectly, the ground beneath their feet suddenly began to tremble. The thin line, sharp as a blade and capable of severing a person, suddenly softened and vanished without a trace.

Bian Yi's eyes, which couldn't hide anything, grew brighter and brighter, clearly saying "Wow, amazing." Lin Chengye felt a little guilty under her gaze and coughed lightly.

She tapped Bian Yi's forehead with her finger, reminding him.

"The answer lies in the riddle itself, in the poem on the letter."

Bian Yi nodded and walked directly into the door. Seeing that there was nothing else unusual, he waved his sleeve to let Lin Chengye in as well.

Upon entering, the view suddenly opens up. The winding corridor is made of golden nanmu wood, and the eaves that peek out from the dense forest on the mountainside are like the wings of a roc. The wood carvings on the corridor depict mulberry girls picking leaves and washerwomen washing clothes, and the exquisite craftsmanship seems to break through the wall.

In the distance, the rocks in the lake are stacked like a fairy island, and a stream of fresh water flows from the rock crevices into the lotus pond, where red carp drink the flowers and white geese preen their feathers.

Lin Chengye found it difficult to move another step, and she turned around in disbelief.

The mountain gate had vanished, replaced by a lush, dense forest that seemed to block out the sun. Everything before my eyes felt unreal, as if it were beneath the surface of water, drifting with the current.

"...Is it mirage sand? But...when was it ingested?"

Bian Yi clearly realized something was wrong and frowned. She grabbed Lin Chengye's wrist and pulled it behind her. The Liaochen Sword, held at her side, seemed to sense its master's tension, its cold light growing even sharper.

"Mirage sand? Poison?"

Lin Chengye narrowed his eyes and asked.

"It is a powder made from a reddish stone, ranked third on the Five Poisons Yama's Decree, and is quite troublesome."

Bian Yi wanted to curse Guan Xiaoxian for being so immoral. She had agreed to go into the formation alone, but she had dragged Cheng Ye into it. This only made her more nervous and helpless.

Moreover, the poison of this mirage sand is quite unique. It is not as potent as other poisons applied by the Five Poisons Yama, which cause instant death or damage to meridians upon contact. Furthermore, its effects do not last as long, and it will become ineffective after a maximum of twelve hours.

But its effects are truly unique, and it is precisely the kind that Bian Yi fears the most. She... Bian Yi took a deep breath and said.

"Dust is carried by the wind into the seven orifices. Those poisoned see celestial palaces and jade pavilions, and are reunited with their loved ones... They frantically chase after the illusory images until they die from exhaustion."

Lin Chengye's expression changed, as if she suddenly realized something. She moved her lips with a forced smile, clenched her fists under her wide sleeves, stared at the cloudless sky above, and squeezed out a sentence.

"Sect Master, you have some impressive skills. I'm afraid... we're already trapped in the Nine Heavenly Secrets Formation."

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