The following morning, when Lu Zhaozhao arrived at the shore of East Lake with the Tianyin Sect's group, she finally understood why Master Bai Yuan had so generously revealed Wen Yuan and Qing Hui's plans for their trip to East Lake the day before.
The lakeside was packed with people, stretching as far as the eye could see. People in various costumes representing different sects were interspersed, as if all the sects heading to East Lake had been invited.
Lu Zhaozhao's gaze passed through the crowd and landed on Bai Yuanshi, who was standing in the front row. He was chatting and exchanging pleasantries with the people around him. Compared to Yue Cong, he seemed more like the leader of Wenyuan Academy.
The leader seemed to be telling a funny story, which made everyone in the circle burst into laughter.
With a beaming smile, perhaps sensing Lu Zhaozhao's gaze, she turned her head to look at her.
Lu Zhaozhao smoothly shifted her gaze to Yun Xian, who was at the very front.
The lakeside was bustling with activity. It was a rare opportunity for all the major sects to gather together. Even the most introverted people had one or two close friends to talk to, except for Yunxian.
Lu Zhaozhao had never heard of him having any close friends. Whether inside or outside the sect, whether he was going down the mountain for training or handling affairs, he always seemed to be alone. Just like now, he stood alone at the front, as if there was a barrier between him and the people behind him. He was unwilling to talk to anyone, and others did not dare to look for him.
Amidst the bustling crowd, this figure appeared exceptionally lonely.
In his memory, the only time he had someone by his side was when Nian Zhi on Mushan Mountain was holding his sleeve and chatting with him.
At this moment, Lu Zhaozhao seemed to understand why Yun Xian had fallen in love with Nian Zhi.
Seeing that she kept staring at Yun Xian, Yao Tong thought she was afraid of being recognized, so she patted her arm and gently comforted her, "I met Sect Leader Yun when I went out to train before. He doesn't like to communicate with people. We'll keep our distance from him later, so we shouldn't be recognized."
Lu Zhaozhao turned around and met her light-colored pupils. The warmth in her eyes seemed to infect her, and she nodded with a smile.
The noisy greetings continued, but Yunxian suddenly raised a hand.
The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to him.
He pointed lightly at the lake, and the once calm and mirror-like East Lake instantly became turbulent, with waves crashing against each other, splashing water that shot into the sky before falling back down and drenching the people on the lakeshore.
The water droplets melted automatically when they landed around Yunxian. His clothes and hair were not wet. He stretched out his other hand and drew a few strokes in the air.
As the fingertips moved, golden light flashed, and golden threads floated in the air, transforming into strange characters.
Whispers began to circulate around them, seemingly all discussing the scene.
“I’ve never seen these characters before,” Yao Tong exclaimed beside her.
Lu Zhaozhao stared intently at the words floating in the air and Yun Xian's constantly moving fingers, feeling a sense of familiarity as her mind raced.
As he pondered, his gaze shifted and landed on Bai Yuanshi beside him, who also seemed to be thinking about something.
He drew something that looked like a circle behind his back with his hand, and then changed his gesture.
Lu Zhaozhao frowned, a thought about to emerge.
It turns out that what Yunxian wrote wasn't words, but divination symbols!
She looked towards Ziyun Temple, and sure enough, the abbot of Ziyun Temple seemed to be deep in thought as well.
For a moment, Lu Zhaozhao couldn't help but look at Bai Yuanshi with new eyes.
Wenyuan Academy reads all the books in the world, and uses the wisdom of predecessors to understand the laws of the world in order to cultivate oneself. However, Lu Zhaozhao did not expect that Master Bai Yuan also studied divination.
Wenyuan Academy is truly not to be underestimated.
Shifting our gaze back to the sky, the hexagram becomes much clearer.
The first word rose rapidly.
"The character '干' (gān) connects to the heavens."
The abbot of Ziyun Temple was the first to speak. As soon as he finished speaking, a vortex appeared in the clouds in the sky, merging with the waves, like a pillar supporting the heavens and the earth.
Before I could even recover from the magnificent sight, the second character began to move.
“The character '坤' signifies returning to the wilderness.”
Bai Yuanshi was the first to react.
Sure enough, the second character pierced straight into the lakeside ground, as if it had merged into the soil, but then it emitted a bright light in the next moment, and the Bagua plate unfolded on the ground.
At the same time, the third character also began to move.
This time, many people noticed and were watching its actions closely.
"What could the third one be? The Zhen hexagram?"
Yue Cong asked a question. He was not good at divination and only knew what the eight trigrams were, but he could not see the trajectory of Yun Xian's movements.
His question reflected the sentiments of most people, as few present understood this matter.
But Bai Yuanshi simply shook his head, his eyes following the movement of the words.
"The third hexagram should be..."
"The Kan trigram!"
Lu Zhaozhao and Bai Yuanshi spoke at the same time, and all eyes turned to the two of them. Bai Yuanshi looked at Lu Zhaozhao, and Lu Zhaozhao also looked at Bai Yuanshi.
They both saw approval in each other's eyes.
At the same time, the Kan trigram entered the water, and the lake surface was churned with raging waves that covered the sky, and the place was plunged into eternal night in an instant.
Yunxian waved her sleeve, and golden threads intertwined between heaven and earth, radiating a dazzling brilliance.
With a soft shout, he said, "Open!"
The colors of heaven and earth changed abruptly, towering waves crashed down, the divination disc was put away, the clouds cleared, and the rising sun shone on the land once more.
The lake water rolled on the surface of the lake into a huge ball, and then slowly flowed downstream, flowing back into East Lake, revealing the scene that was encased within it.
A large gate stands on the lake.
Beside the door, a giant dragon is carved. The dragon coils around the stone door, seemingly guarding what lies inside.
Yunxian slowly closed her five fingers, then suddenly lowered her arm, and the stone door slowly opened.
Everyone was impressed by his movements; they were fluid and graceful, yet breathtaking.
"Sect Leader Yun is truly... a celestial being."
Someone exclaimed in admiration, and Yao Tong also whispered her praise to Lu Zhaozhao. The Qinghui Sect disciples present felt even more honored.
The calmest person in the room was actually Lu Zhaozhao, Yunxian's personal disciple.
"This is... the entrance to the Dragon's Trail?"
People around them raised questions.
The result was obvious: everyone looked inside with curiosity.
Yunxian did not answer, but stepped onto the lake and walked step by step toward the stone gate.
Bai Yuanshi pulled Yue Cong back to reality from his surging emotions. Yue Cong immediately composed himself and said to the crowd, "The entrance is open. Aren't you all going to set off?"
The people by the lake came to their senses, and another surprise was right in front of them. Almost scrambling, they rushed toward the stone gate.
Lu Zhaozhao turned to look at Yaotong, who nodded to her and led the Tianyin Sect forward, keeping a distance from Wenyuan Academy and Qinghuizong at the front.
Bai Yuanshi's Wenyuan Academy had reached the entrance. He turned around, his gaze passing over the dense crowd and landing directly on Lu Zhaozhao at the end of the line, his eyes conveying an unreadable meaning.
Lu Zhaozhao met his gaze and realized that it was her words that had aroused his suspicion.
Yao Tong flashed forward, blocking her view and also blocking Bai Yuanshi's line of sight.
Bai Yuanshi chuckled lightly, withdrew his gaze, and turned to enter the stone gate.
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