It was as if an invisible hand was firmly holding up the cold lake water.
The water of the cold spring is more than ten thousand tons. When it is fully revealed in mid-air, it is a magnificent sight, especially since you can clearly see the fish swimming in it.
The spring water was lifted up, revealing the ground beneath which was covered with all sorts of beautiful pebbles.
With another flick of his sleeve, Yan Shan Gong revealed a hidden array from the bottom of the lake, its patterns lighting up.
The beams of light joined together, vaguely forming a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) pattern.
The Eight Trigrams are the foundation of formations, and most of the formations currently used by the human race are in the shape of the Eight Trigrams.
Yanshan Gong's gaze followed the patterns that subtly revealed the principles of heaven and earth, and suddenly, his gaze paused.
"Teacher?" Tantai Qin asked, realizing that Duke Yanshan might have made a discovery.
“The stones here show signs of having been moved, though not obviously, but they don’t match the details I remember.”
Duke Yanshan stared at that spot and said softly.
Everyone in the courtyard was startled.
"Teacher, is it really true that someone passed through this formation without damaging it or alerting your senses?"
Guo Zhouyuan looked utterly bewildered, clearly unable to comprehend how such a thing could have happened.
Yanshan Gong remained expressionless, but with a casual grab, a round stone, light blue in color, about the size of a millstone and shaped like a chess piece, flew up and landed straight on the shore.
"After careful examination, I found that this array stone has lost its spiritual essence due to the constant erosion of the spring water day and night, but I just didn't notice it before."
Duke Yanshan shook his head and said indifferently.
The group stepped forward to examine it closely, and sure enough, many of the array patterns carved on the array stone had become blurred.
"Teacher, are you saying that someone discovered a flaw in this array stone and then passed through the array from here?"
Nie Han asked.
Seeing that Duke Yanshan nodded, Nie Han still couldn't let it go. He couldn't help but walk to the edge of the cold spring and look down.
At this moment, at the bottom of that temporarily dried-up spring, where beams of light crisscross, there are more than a thousand similar array stones!
"Is this the only problem with the array stone?" Nie Han couldn't help but ask again.
"Nonsense, otherwise how could the teacher not have noticed beforehand?"
Guo Zhouyuan, fearing that Nie Han's continuous questioning would provoke the teacher, preemptively reprimanded him.
In fact, Nie Han understood this principle all too well.
It's like having a thousand hairs, with one white one mixed in. You'd hardly notice it, or even if you did, you wouldn't care.
Because it does not affect the whole.
“This person must be a master of formations,” Tantai Qin said softly.
"No."
Duke Yanshan shook his head, as if he had just broken free from some state, his tone complex and difficult to understand.
"He is a grandmaster of formations."
Upon hearing that Duke Yanshan had given such high praise to the other party, Guo Zhouyuan and the others were all shaken, but then fell silent.
Because what Yanshan Gong said was true.
Although none of the people present were experts in formations, they understood the basic principles.
The protective array beneath the spring changes constantly with the flow of the water, and the positions of the array stones also shift. The challenge is to find the one and only almost invisible tiny loophole in such a complex situation and then pass through the array in an instant.
The difficulty of this task is comparable to climbing to the heavens.
And it's clear that this thief only has one chance.
"Teacher, it's our fault. We shouldn't have been so negligent. If someone had been guarding the spring at all times, using their spiritual power to watch over the Dao Stone, this would never have happened."
Guo Zhouyuan said with shame.
Duke Yanshan shook his head.
Even mountains and seas cannot constantly project their spiritual energy; that would be exhausting.
"This matter ends here."
Duke Yanshan concluded.
"Teacher, are we just going to let that little thief get away with it?"
Wang Shuo, who had remained silent throughout, finally couldn't help but speak up. He pointed to the spring that had emerged from the bottom of the lake after the formation stones were removed, his eyes filled with intense resentment.
Anyone who has waited eagerly for more than ten days, hoping for a stroke of good fortune to come, only to have it all vanish at the last moment, would surely feel extremely unwilling.
Nie Han and the others were the same, but they hid it very well.
"Of course not."
A cold glint spread across Yan Shan Gong's eyes. "King Zhou Yi has not yet returned. In a few days, I will personally go and ask for his help."
As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Yanshan disappeared from the spot.
Boom!
The cold spring returned to its original position, splashing up countless waves.
"The Book of Changes?"
Wang Shuo stood there, somewhat bewildered.
Zhou Yi Wang was one of the original nine kings, and one of the two or three who still have traces of their activities outside. Wang Shuo vaguely knew that his teacher had a special relationship with Zhou Yi Wang.
But he didn't understand why seeking help from Zhou Yi Wang would be of any use in this matter.
“Junior brother, you may not know... the original nine kings were all extremely terrifying beings, possessing truly heaven-reaching abilities.”
Ren Zihan explained, "And King Zhou Yi possessed a supernatural power that was unparalleled in the world."
"What kind of supernatural power?"
"Reverse cause and effect, rewind time and space."
Ren Zihan uttered eight words.
These eight simple words deeply shocked Wang Shuo.
Neither causality nor spacetime are clearly levels that mortals can access.
"Travel back in time?" Wang Shuo exclaimed in shock. "Sixth Senior Brother, do you mean... that the King of Zhou Yi can recreate everything that happened here?"
“That’s right.” Ren Zihan nodded. “As long as King Zhouyi is willing to help, that mysterious thief will naturally have nowhere to hide. However, I’m afraid you will have to pay a certain price, Teacher.”
Wang Shuo felt much relieved upon hearing this, but his inner resentment remained undiminished.
After all, unless King Zhouyi takes action now, those Dao Stones are most likely not coming back.
This unprecedented opportunity ultimately proved futile.
Tantai Qin left without saying a word.
"Third Senior Brother, have you noticed that Eldest Senior Sister's expression seems a little strange?"
Nie Han, who had been secretly watching Tantai Qin, sidled up to Guo Zhouyuan and whispered something.
"Hmm." Guo Zhouyuan nodded slightly, indicating that he had noticed it as well. "Especially after the teacher said that we needed to ask Zhou Yi Wang to help us rewind time, Senior Sister's expression became rather unnatural. I've never seen her like that before..."
Unable to reach a conclusion, the two stopped exploring further.
As the crowd dispersed and the area around the cold spring fell silent, a tall figure returned to the spring, gazing at the clear water for a long time without moving.
The shimmering water faintly reflected her flawless face, but at this moment, her pretty face was filled with coldness and a barely perceptible hint of embarrassment.
"I, Tantai Qin... will surely sever your three lives."
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