"The center of the formation——"
Ningning leaned against the tree trunk, twisted a strand of black hair around her fingers, and stared at the waterfall below her feet in a daze: "Where is the center of the formation?"
She couldn't think of an answer, and in some distress she spread out her long hair on her fingertips, and pointed at Pei Ji with her toes: "Pei Ji, do you have any ideas?"
Ningning didn't like calling him "Junior Brother", always feeling that the name was easier to pronounce. However, Pei Ji himself was very well-behaved and seemed to have never called her "Ningning" once.
This time is no exception.
"Senior sister."
He still has the same cold and indifferent face that never changes. If he were born in the 21st century, people might mistake it for stiff facial muscles caused by excessive Botox injections.
Pei Ji's tone was similar to his expression. He said, "We know very little about the secret realm. Everything I can think of is nonsense to you."
"How could that be!"
She couldn't afford to undermine her junior fellow apprentice's self-confidence, so she stepped forward and stood up straight from leaning against the tree: "Just tell me what you think, we should discuss it together!"
Pei Ji seemed to sigh quietly: "First, the location of the array's core must be very hidden, and it will not be easily found by others; second, according to the "General Principles of Arrays", the array's core is usually closely related to the attributes of the array, and the Water Mirror Array... The key lies in the water, or the mirror surface."
He said this expressionlessly, and as he spoke he watched Ningning's expression change from anticipation to "Oh, so that's why", and finally to "I know that too."
After finishing a paragraph, Pei Ji actually raised his eyebrows, which was uncharacteristically true. He still maintained eye contact with Ning Ning, with a hint of waiting to see the show.
Translated into plain language, it means "See, I told you so a long time ago, but you just didn't believe it."
Ning Ning failed in the fight, and he read her thoughts clearly. She knew she was in the wrong and coughed lightly: "This is not nonsense, this is called telepathy. We think the same way, how great."
Chengying listened to the key words and said with a silly smile: "She said you two are in sync!"
She couldn't hear Chengying's chattering, and continued to analyze patiently: "If it is related to water, there are so many rivers and lakes in the secret realm, we can't rule them out one by one - but if we talk about special features, except for this waterfall where the mirror ghost did not appear, it seems that all the water bodies are the same."
Qiao Yan had explained to her before that the reason why the waterfall was not disturbed by the mirror ghost was because the fox clan needed water for survival, so when setting up the formation, they deliberately doubled the spiritual power here.
When Qin Niang mentioned the center of the formation, the first place that flashed through Ningning's mind was here. So after saying goodbye to the former, he soon came here with Pei Ji.
However, despite her high expectations, she came back empty-handed. She searched the waterfall from top to bottom but couldn't find anything fishy.
Ning Ning stood on the top of the mountain in frustration, looking at the torrent rushing down not far away, and couldn't help frowning: "Speaking of mirrors, there doesn't seem to be any particularly eye-catching mirrors in the secret realm... We still have too few clues."
They had just arrived in the secret realm and had not even seen the true appearance of Demon Lord Qi Han. It was difficult to infer anything useful based on the little information currently available.
——Currently, the only one who can provide clues to the center of the formation is the missing Demon Lord. However, if the two of them ran into him, they would probably say goodbye to this beautiful world before they could break the formation.
"I can't think of one."
Ning Ning was a little frustrated: "How about we just go into the water and take a look at the other side of the formation?"
Pei Ji was about to nod in response, but suddenly he paused, drew his sword, and pointed the tip of the sword at the quiet jungle beside him.
The sky was clear and cloudless, and the dim yellow moon was dim and blurry, like a rough frosted glass, and it was not clear no matter how you looked at it.
The moonlight shines on the treetops, illuminating the dark and quiet night. The wind blew through the branches of the trees, causing the leaves to rustle. Their reflections on the ground looked like ferocious monsters, gaping with bloody mouths, waiting for their prey to arrive.
There was only the sound of the waterfall from all directions. Although it was already a summer night, Ningning felt a biting chill. The invisible pressure was like broken ice chips, quietly spreading and growing in the air. When it touched her body, it was like an ice cube pressing down hard.
She heard a deep laugh from the bushes.
Then a figure slowly moved forward, passing through the shadows of the trees that were surging like a dark tide, and walked leisurely to them.
He was a young man Ningning had never seen before. He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and was tall and strong. At first glance, he looked like an unshakable hill.
Even if he didn't say a word, the strong spiritual pressure emanating from his body was enough to set off alarm bells in her heart, and she reflexively took a defensive posture.
"It's a nice day tonight. The sky and the moon are beautiful, right?"
The man actually smiled in a good mood, looked up at the night sky with interest, and then took a quick look at the two sword cultivators in front of him, raising his eyebrows provocatively: "I heard... you are looking for the center of the formation? How is the progress?"
He smiled in a sinister way, and his whole body was full of hostility from the inside out, not to mention his triangular eyes that were slightly raised upwards, which made him look sharp and cruel.
I guess this must be the Demon Lord Qi Han.
Pei Ji still maintained the posture of drawing his sword to confront, and without any explanation, he gently pulled Ning Ning behind him with his left hand.
"At this time, you still want to protect this little girl?"
Qi Han was still laughing at this moment, but the next moment his expression suddenly changed, his face full of murderous aura like a dark cloud pressing down on one's head: "Unfortunately, none of you will survive today!"
He is very angry.
That idiot named He actually tricked him. Before the fight even started, he slipped away with another swordsman without stopping. The two men ran very fast. Although Qi Han wanted to chase them, he soon lost sight of them.
The surviving demon cultivators in the settlement sent news, claiming that "Qin Niang" had betrayed them and Qiao Yan had escaped, and the secret of the array's center was likely to have been leaked.
The reason why the Water Mirror Formation can still survive is that his spiritual power is almost the only source of power. If the center of the formation is broken, it will be a fatal blow to Qi Han.
Unfortunately, he couldn't remove the formation by himself, otherwise the evil energy on the other side of the water mirror would backfire and all his fellow tribesmen except him would die.
Although they are demon cultivators, they also have some emotions in their hearts.
Qi Han was not stupid. When he learned that the center of the formation had been leaked, he immediately expected that someone would come to the waterfall.
It is not attacked by mirror ghosts, it is too special and obviously different from other lakes.
However, the fact is, the truth is just as Qiao Yan knew, this is the water source that he specially protected with twice as much spiritual power.
As soon as he finished speaking, the demonic energy rushed over with anger, causing Lin Qian outside the mysterious mirror to exclaim: "Not good! The Demon Lord has a high level of cultivation, and the two of them will definitely not be able to defeat him!"
"If we run from under the waterfall, we will probably be caught up quickly."
An elder of Haoran Sect frowned and said, "Strange... Where is the core of the formation?"
Tian Xianzi rarely restrained his smile, lowered his eyes and said nothing.
The black gas enveloped the entire mountaintop in an instant, and condensed into a ferocious-looking dragon beside Qi Han, seemingly ready to strike.
If it were in the past, Ningning might have panicked and lost her composure.
But ever since she witnessed the blood trees rioting in the ancient forest and had a confrontation with Xuanye, who was also a demon lord, in Galan City, her character and courage have been tempered a lot. She is no longer as innocent and ignorant as when she first came to this world.
She also secretly gathered her sword energy and whispered to Pei Ji, "Be careful."
As soon as the words fell, black fog surged up with the force of a dragon soaring and a tiger roaring. Ordinary people could only see the black gas getting thicker and thicker, leaning forward at an incredible speed;
Ning Ning's cultivation had made some progress. When she looked carefully, she saw countless thin, sharp fragments floating in the air. Each piece was as sharp as a knife, flashing a chilling cold light under the moonlight.
With Qi Han's low shout, the monstrous demonic energy rushed forward, like thousands of arrows shot at the same time, attacking straight towards the vital points of Ning Ning and Pei Ji!
The evil energy came so fast that it was too late to escape or hide. Pei Ji stood in front of her, quickly bit his fingertips, drew a talisman on the sword, and then held the sword horizontally in front of him.
The black air submerged the night like a tide, rushing forward with a roar. When approaching Pei Ji, the long sword made a buzzing sound, and the talisman suddenly burst out with a dazzling red light——
However, the evil energy actually dispersed in the air very close to him, without touching the two of them at all.
There was a gleam in Qi Han's eyes.
The young man in black was actually a descendant of the demon clan. He used his own blood, which was filled with demonic energy, as a guide to try his best to block his attack.
However, the cultivation levels of the two were very different, and he was destined not to be able to hold on for long.
Qi Han was fully aware of the situation, and Ning Ning, who was protected by Pei Ji behind him, also knew it well.
Although there is only one level of cultivation between the Golden Core and the Nascent Soul, the strength is vastly different. Pei Ji had already used up all his strength to temporarily block the invading evil energy. When his spiritual power was worn out bit by bit, they still could not escape death.
The young man in front of her was tall and thin, casting a thin shadow under the moonlight, completely enveloping her.
Ningning couldn't see Pei Ji's expression, she could only see that his back was shaking uncontrollably.
Without any warning, Pei Ji's voice came to my ears.
He had always been strong and would never show his pain, so at this moment he tried his best to suppress the trembling in his words and told her in an extremely weak but firm tone: "Run."
Ningning's heart skipped a beat.
Pei Ji must be unable to hold on any longer, and when the evil energy surges in, everyone here will be seriously injured. He had no way to retreat and could only let her escape as quickly as possible.
But if she left, with his little remaining spiritual power, he would surely die in the devil's tide.
The demonic energy showed no signs of subsiding, but a long and thin crack had appeared on the sword in Pei Ji's hand, which was becoming more and more numerous and dense like a spider web.
At the moment when the sword was about to shatter, he smelled a familiar scent of gardenia in the chaotic black mist surrounding him.
Pei Ji originally thought Ningning had escaped.
But she still stayed behind him. At the critical moment, Pei Ji heard her voice: "How could I leave you behind... Don't underestimate your senior sister."
Then there was a flash of sword.
Ningning took a step forward, drew her sword, and stabbed the Star Mark Sword straight at the wave of demonic energy that was coming towards her. Although she did not possess demonic energy like Pei Ji, the sword intent in her body suddenly exploded at this moment, forming a brief confrontation with the demonic tide and blocking a fatal blow for Pei Ji.
The sword energy and the demonic energy were as incompatible as water and fire. The moment they collided with each other, they devoured each other and exploded in all directions with a bang.
Ning Ning and Pei Ji were both knocked back a few steps and coughed up blood. Qi Han's face also froze and he retracted his evil spirit.
"Very unwilling, right?"
Qi Han moved his wrists nonchalantly, his eyes full of leisurely smiles: "Don't be sad, the fox tribe will be down to accompany you soon. With their half-human and half-ghost appearance, they will probably all die in less than ten days."
He paused, the curve of his mouth deepened, "It's a pity that you will never know where I have placed the center of the formation until you die... This is also human nature. No one can guess where that place is."
A place no one could guess.
Ningning didn't have much strength left. All the bones in her body felt as if they were dislocated and would turn into powder and break apart at any time.
She seemed to have never been injured so badly before. She resisted the urge to shed tears and tried to stay calm and continue thinking.
Where exactly...is the place that is absolutely impossible to think of?
water? Mirror? Or should I say——
……ah.
A wild idea was like a flame, ignited silently in my heart. Ningning gripped the hilt of the sword tightly and took a deep breath.
The demons are not familiar with the secret realm, and Qi Han, as the Demon Lord, will not search the entire map for treasures and explore mysteries.
What's more, the situation was critical at that time. Any delay would mean death. There was no way he would have too much time to find a hidden place as the center of the formation.
In other words, that place is related to "water" or "mirror". Although it appears openly in front of them, it does not make people associate it with a formation.
...Not only does it not remind people of a formation.
Ningning smiled with relief. Normally, one wouldn't even dare to think about that kind of place.
What was her first thought when she came out of the jungle and saw the lake?
——It’s not “the water in the lake is so clear”, but “the sky is as clear as a mirror”.
What was Qi Han's first words after seeing her and Pei Ji?
——The weather is nice tonight. The sky and the moon are beautiful, right?
This was not a greeting, but a blatant provocation to their inability to find the center of the formation.
Their passage to the real secret realm is through bodies of water. In other words, the entire mirror is actually located underwater in the real world.
Since "water" covers the entire secret realm, and now hanging above their heads, covering everyone and everything -
Isn’t it just “heaven”?
A place that no one would ever think of, a place that holds the entire secret realm within.
Not the water beneath your feet.
But the sky above your head.
In other words, the "sky" they see before their eyes does not really exist, but is a clear pool in a real secret realm, silently reflecting the world and all things, and presenting them exactly as they are under the mirror.
The whole world is within the formation.
This is the meaning of "water" and "mirror".
If you want to destroy the center of the formation——
"I'm in a hurry, so I can only say goodbye to you two first."
Qi Han smiled faintly and looked behind the two of them. As they had been pushed back very far, Ning Ning and Pei Ji were already at the edge of the cliff. If they took a step back they would see a snow-white waterfall cascading down.
They had nowhere to escape, and he had already made up his mind to kill them: "I think the two young Taoist priests have a deep friendship, so it would be nice if they died together."
"Pei Ji."
Ningning struggled to mobilize her spiritual power and transmitted the message in secret. The situation was critical and there was no time to explain further. She could only briefly say: "I have thought of a way out. Staying on the top of the cliff is a dead end... You will catch me, right?"
This time the core of the formation was truly "far away in the horizon". Now both she and Pei Ji were under the threat of Qi Han. Not to mention destroying the formation, even making any extra movements was difficult.
The only way to do this was to jump off the cliff when he was not paying attention, and then -
Ningning took a deep breath and looked at Pei Ji. After he jumped down without hesitation, he smiled at Qi Han and took a step back.
A huge feeling of weightlessness instantly enveloped my entire body, and even breathing became a luxury. Ningning opened her eyes amid the howling wind and the splashing silver-white water.
The moment of falling off the cliff was a visual blind spot that Qi Han could not interfere with, and it was also her only opportunity.
"Are all spirit foxes good at using bows?"
When she first met Qiao Yan, she asked this question out of curiosity.
"Exactly."
At that time, Qiao Yan said to her: "I have many bows and arrows at home. If you don't mind, I can give you one."
Later, Qiao Yan really gave her a longbow.
All the fragmented memories are quietly connected, and countless seemingly unrelated people and things are intertwined with each other, converging into a destined chain.
The waterfall looks like an upside-down galaxy, with the moonlight casting a pale golden glow. The snow-white long skirt and scattered black hair fluttered in the night wind. Ningning recited the incantation silently, and a dark light flashed in the storage bag.
What appeared in her hand was an exquisite bow.
The bow that Qiao Yan gave her.
All the actions happened in a flash. Ningning gathered all the remaining spiritual power at her fingertips, tightly grasped the Star Mark Sword in her right hand, and placed it on the bowstring.
Since this secret place was originally a lie—
Even if she doesn't have the Burning Sun Bow, she can still use the illusory bow and arrow to break through this illusion.
The Star Mark Sword made a buzzing sound, and a ray of starlight suddenly flashed in the scattered waterfall.
Immediately, the sword energy surged, as powerful as clouds and snow, stirring up waves and floating flowers. The girl's dark pupils were illuminated by the white light, and through her swaying black hair, she looked straight at the lonely moon in the sky.
The longbow is raised and the sword's power is enhanced.
The cold light was like a swimming dragon, cutting through layers of water splashes and evening breeze with unstoppable force, and rolling up thousands of piles of snow in the surging air currents. Even the moonlight in the sky was not as dazzling as this. It dimmed the figure for a moment and made the dome look even more eerie and empty.
Because it is a false sky in an illusion, the dome is actually not far from the land. The moment Ningning fell into Pei Ji's arms, the Star Mark Sword flew straight into the sky and hit the lonely and silent moon.
Just like a mirror shattering, breaking through layer upon layer of cracks, the sky burst into light after a loud bang, covering the entire secret realm.
Ningning had no strength left and had no time to look at the scene in the sky. She only felt her whole body being caught tightly and what enveloped her was no longer the cold water but a familiar gentle warmth.
——Pei Ji held her horizontally in his arms and used his back to block the splashes of water beside the waterfall so that the water would not splash on her.
He took Ningning without hesitation, but now he unexpectedly looked a little helpless, and even his strength was much weaker.
Pei Ji had never made this kind of gesture to anyone before, and now he always felt that the two of them were too close.
What's more, their bodies were all wet with the water as they fell, and his palms could just touch the shoulders and knees of the little girl in his arms. The places they touched were cold and wet, yet soft and warm.
Standing in the pond should have been freezing cold, but for no reason he felt a slight dryness in his chest, which caused his ears to feel hot as well.
"I'm fine."
It was also the first time that Ningning was hugged like this. While she was quiet and silent, she could even hear Pei Ji's violent heartbeat, hitting her eardrums again and again.
She felt inexplicably shy and whispered, "Put me down."
So Pei Ji leaned over unskillfully and put her down carefully. He waited until Ningning's feet touched the bottom of the pool before he completely let go of his hands.
——Unexpectedly, as soon as he let go, he saw Ningning's body sway and fall directly onto his chest.
Ningning's cheeks flushed: ...
Help! ! ! She really wanted to stand up...but why did she not have any strength at all? ! !
Pei Ji knew that she had used up all her spiritual energy. Being hit so suddenly, he subconsciously held his breath. After a while, he asked her in a deep voice: "...are you out of strength?"
Ningning buried her head in his chest, her nose filled with the fresh woody scent that belonged to a young man. She didn't know how to answer, so she could only resist the urge to blush and avoid him, and let out a small "hmm".
"Do you want me to continue..."
Pei Ji focused his gaze on the water not far away, and his voice was stiff. He seemed a little embarrassed to say the word "hug". After a pause, he added in a muffled voice: "Help you?"
Ning Ning's face became even hotter, and she quickly replied: "No, no! I'll be there in a minute--"
Before I could finish my words, I felt a heat rushing onto my back.
Pei Ji picked her up again without saying a word, deliberately not looking down at Ning Ning's expression. His palms were burning hot, completely different from his usually ice-cold body.
When she raised her eyes blankly, she could only see the young man's delicate white neck and smooth jawline. A few drops of pond water slowly flowed down his neck. Pei Ji's throat rolled up and down, quietly dyed with a layer of pink. He didn't know if it was an illusion.
...His ears were also covered with a light blush.
Ningning didn't say anything either. She pursed her lips and her eyes wandered, passing through Pei Ji's chest, Adam's apple and chin in turn, and finally fell on the dark water surface.
There was only the sound of splashing water all around. The two were silent when they suddenly heard a loud splash behind them, as if something suddenly fell into the pool.
——It turned out that the talkative Demon Lord was pursuing the victory, adhering to the good tradition of making the final move, and jumped down from the waterfall with them.
What he never expected was that when he was halfway down, the center of the formation was broken. Before he could finish the evil and crazy laugh that was determined to win, his spiritual power backfired and hit his pulse point heavily, causing him to spit out blood in the air.
Thus, in the swaying blood flowers, the Demon Lord Qi Han spun and jumped like a flower in a dream, and struggled desperately like a wild duck flapping its wings up and down. Finally, when the mirror shattered, he fell into the water with a splash in a posture of ten thousand Buddhas paying homage to each other.
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