Chapter 49 Breaking the Formation

Du Xueling and Zhan Chenming looked at each other.

They can understand each other even without saying anything.

Everyone in Qingyun Sect knew that Lingzhi had encountered difficulties in refining weapons.

Du Xueling had discussed this issue with other true disciples a long time ago - although every generation of successors of the Seven Divines Exquisite Heart are good at refining weapons, it is not surprising that an exception would appear occasionally.

She had already made preparations to transfer the spirit branch to the Sword Sect, and had mentioned the matter to the Sword Sect's Grand Elder, who had given her approval.

But now, Nanwang said that the fifth junior sister could refine a fairy-grade magic weapon.

If Nanwang had not overestimated the power of the spirit branch because of his love for the Fifth Junior Sister, then the rumors circulating in the sect about the Fifth Junior Sister might have been instigated by someone with evil intentions...

For a moment, Du Xueling thought of many things, but soon she calmed down.

Compared to those illusory things, the most important thing right now is to find the missing consciousness of the fifth sister.

"The soul light will become brighter when it is close to the divine consciousness, but the strange thing is that I was originally on the sixth floor, and when I came down, the soul light here was brighter than when I was on the sixth floor."

Du Xueling looked around with a look of confusion in her eyes:

"Could it be that Fifth Junior Sister's consciousness is trapped on the first level of the Immortal Fox Terrace?"

"It shouldn't be. There is no danger on the first floor. With Fifth Junior Sister's level of cultivation, she shouldn't have been teleported to the first floor. I think Fifth Junior Sister's accident happened after the Fairy Fox Feast started, and her consciousness should have been left on the seventh floor... Wait!"

Nanwang suddenly had an epiphany:

"Yes, yes, I know, it's underground! There is another underground level of Xianhu Terrace!"

The poem, which seems to be a eulogy but is actually a satire on the labor, money and life lost in the construction of Xianhu Terrace, contains a deeper metaphor.

The dry bones are buried in the ground, and the flesh and blood are burned with peppers and orchids.

The bright and beautiful appearance of Xianhu Terrace is built on a mass grave filled with dry bones.

Du Xueling nodded slightly: "So that's how it is. Then how do we get to the underground?"

"I think..."

Nan Wang frowned and thought for a long time, and finally cast his gaze towards Du Xueling: "I think it's better to leave it to Senior Sister to decide."

The original novel does not describe the story underground at Xianhu Terrace, because the underground is not the protagonist's destination.

For the male protagonist, the Fairy Fox Secret Realm is a treasure trove of pure benefits. He comes here to search for treasures, improve his strength, and by the way save thousands of people in Shang Kingdom, winning thousands of reputations.

But what about Du Xueling?

Why did Du Xueling in the original novel appear in the Fairy Fox Secret Realm?

The Qingyun Sect suffered a great defeat and the elders were unable to cope with the situation. Du Xueling went to the Fairy Fox Secret Realm alone to recover the bones of Zhan Chenming.

She stood proudly, her sword pointed in the direction she wanted, but there was no one behind her, and her sword was covered with dark acne.

This is a story that is not mentioned in the original novel, and it is a story that is different from the hero's glorious journey to becoming a god.

Nan Wang had no idea whether Du Xueling in the original novel had found Zhan Chenming's remains, but he believed that Du Xueling would not fail.

She must have brought Zhan Chenming with her to split open the Fairy Fox Platform.

"Listen to me? I understand. Take five steps back."

Du Xueling nodded, looking as if she understood everything.

Nan Wang obediently took five steps back, then he looked back and found that Zhan Chenming had silently taken ten steps back.

"……?"

Nan Wang realized that something was wrong, but it was too late.

Lightning fell.

After a loud bang, the earth-shaking sword light blew the waterfall into a splattering mess, overflowing the shore three feet high.

Nan Wang was unable to dodge in time and was forced to take a bath. He was soaked from head to toe and could spit out water just by opening his mouth.

Nanwang: “…”

A sad look was cast towards Zhan Chenming.

Couldn’t you have said it earlier?

Zhan Chenming laughed twice and looked around.

Du Xueling was standing alone on the waterfall.

In his hand was a precious sword that shone brightly, its power still remaining even after it was sheathed.

Du Xueling dug a big hole in the land under the waterfall, and spring water poured down from the hole.

Regardless of the original function of this waterfall, or whether it can connect to the underground, now it is a passage connecting the first floor and the underground.

Nanwang was already soaked, so he simply walked into the pool and grabbed the rubble to take a look at the cave entrance.

It was pitch black down there, and I couldn't see anything.

"Master Sister, I can't see clearly what's going on inside. How do we get down?"

"I don't know if there's any danger underground. You guys wait up there while I go down to check it out."

Du Xueling landed slowly and said to Nanwang.

Nan Wang also knew that his own strength would only hold him back, so he nodded unwillingly when he heard that.

Zhan Chenming also walked into the water and patted him on the shoulder: "Just stay here without worry, Senior Sister will help, there will be no problem."

However, he condensed his spiritual energy at his feet and stood on the water without getting wet at all.

Compared with Nanwang who was in a swimming state, it was really... very decent.

The contrast was too strong, and Nan Wang immediately lost the desire to talk to his third senior brother.

Du Xueling fell silent after entering the underground.

Nan Wang waited outside for almost an incense stick of time, but Du Xueling did not show up. Instead, a carrier bird flew out of the cave entrance.

Zhan Chenming raised his hand to catch the messenger bird, threw the red sling behind him, and said:

"Master Sister is calling me. Looks like I have to go too. Stay here. If you need anything, just yell. I can hear you."

Nan Wang suddenly became nervous: "Be careful, Third Brother, you, you are..."

You've died once!

Zhan Chen understood clearly and said, "Don't worry, your senior sister is here this time."

…

underground.

Countless corpses piled up into a foul-smelling and clashing formation, with scattered souls everywhere. They floated powerlessly in the air, their soul power being absorbed by the formation and supplied to the huge spirit core floating above the formation.

The spiritual energy of the entire Xianhu Terrace comes from here.

Zhan Chenming looked at the formation and exclaimed in amazement:

"This formation is truly ingenious, with a beginning and an end that are linked together, trapping one side while supporting the other, and a single move can affect the entire body. The Northern Territory formation is indeed worthy of its reputation. If Master were here, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to move his legs."

Du Xueling said: "The secret realm formations have always been much more mysterious than those in the immortal world. However, the effect of this bone formation is to nourish the soul core with soul power. The method is too vicious. Not to mention the righteous sects, even the demon sects would probably disdain to use it."

Zhan Chenming disagreed and said, "The formation itself is neither good nor bad. It all depends on how it is used. In the hands of evil people, it will bring disaster to the world. In the hands of good people, it will be a magic formula to save the world."

Du Xueling had no intention of continuing to argue, and said, "Business matters are more important. Fifth Junior Sister's Thousand Flower Bell is trapped in the formation. I am not sure if I can break it alone, so I asked you to come down and help break the formation."

"There are multiple formations, but there is only one core. I just didn't have enough time to disassemble them. I can only break them by force. What a pity! It would be great if I could study this unique formation carefully for a few days and understand its principle."

Although Zhan Chenming said this, there was no hesitation in his action of swinging the gun.

The veiny palm tightly grasped the red rifle, and every swing of the gun created a gust of wind, and the gun tip made a clanging sound, as if the gun could not wait to embrace a big battle.

"I am capable of breaking the formation by myself, and Senior Sister can just protect me!"

…

The waiting time is always hard.

Nan Wang waited for three whole days.

The wet clothes had dried up by themselves long ago. Nan Wang meditated on the shore for three days. On the fourth day, he couldn't meditate any more, so he paced back and forth while holding An Nuo.

An Nuo: “Chichichi.”

Please don't go. You're making me dizzy.

Nan Wang cried and said, "I don't want to do that either, but I'm scared. They've been down there for so long, is there anything wrong with them?"

An Nuo: “Chichichi.”

If you're really worried, just go down and take a look. I'm here and nothing will happen to you.

Nan Wang said dejectedly, "It's useless for me to go down. I only have this much cultivation. Even the eldest senior sister and the third senior brother can't handle it together. If I'm added, wouldn't that make the situation worse?"

An Nuo: “…”

He is quite self-aware.

An Nuo: “Chichichi.”

Then do what you can.

Nanwang: “For example?”

An Nuo: “Chichichi.”

For example, prepare some delicious food so that they can have a hot bite when they come up.

Nan Wang was silent for a moment, then said, "What you said makes sense, but the problem is, we can't light a fire here."

An Nuo: “Ji?”

Why?

Nan Wang approached the stone walls, raised his hand and fumbled for a while, then suddenly tore off a talisman with force.

"Look, this is a water-attracting charm. As long as the surrounding temperature is high, it will automatically spray water. There are such charms everywhere in the Xianhu Terrace. Once the flames are lit, they will be extinguished. In addition to the water-attracting charm, there are also fire-avoiding charms here, which directly affect the burning of flames. The entire Xianhu Terrace prohibits fire in this way."

An Nuo stared at the water-attracting charm for a while and said a taboo word: "Ji."

Where is the end?

Nanwang: “…”

The man and the rabbit stared at each other for a while, and finally Nanwang was the first to be defeated.

"The End may actually be able to fix a bug, but as you can see, I can't control the End well."

Nanwang said helplessly:

"You don't want to burn all your hair just for a meal, do you?"

An Nuo: “Jiji.”

Why is it so exaggerated? How afraid of fire is this secret place?

Nanwang said: "The Fairy Fox Secret Realm is afraid of fire. It is afraid of fire from the beginning to the end. When the third stage of the secret realm is opened, we will have to burn the Fairy Fox Platform."

An Nuo tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Chijiji?"

But didn’t you say that we can’t light a fire here?

Nanwang explained patiently: "It's not that you can't light it, it's that it's hard to light it. If it really starts burning, the secret realm can't stop it at all."

An Nuo: “Chichichi.”

So you're saving the end for that time?

“…That’s not the case.”

Nanwang paused and patiently explained:

"Even if there is no end, I still have a way to ignite it. There are many ways to help flames burn. In some extreme cases, even a very weak spark can cause a very strong burning effect. I asked the elders and villagers in Qingshi Village to add lime and flint to the bricks as combustion aids. I also wrote to my senior sister to ask her to soak the wood with sulfur and rosin, and the bricks and tiles according to the method of Qingshi Village. In this way, the materials of the entire Xianhu Terrace have become flammable.

"Although the Shang Kingdom prohibits fire among the common people, the nobles still need to use fire. The delicacies on the Xianhu Banquet cannot be cooked without oil pans. In other words, even if fire is prohibited everywhere in Xianhutai, the kitchen where the dishes are prepared for the Xianhu Banquet can definitely catch fire. As long as a dusty environment is created in the kitchen, the dust can be used to explode and the fire can burn the entire Xianhutai."

Annuo's long ears drooped weakly on both sides, as if he was not listening at all.

"...Okay, just take it as a joke. Someone else will blow up the kitchen anyway, so we don't have to worry about it."

After talking for a long time, although An Nuo didn't understand much, Nan Wang felt much better.

He placed Annuo at the crook of his legs and began to take things out of the storage bag.

"Although I can't make hot dishes, I can make cold dishes. I can pair vegetables and fruits with the pickled intestines I made earlier. After cold dishes, I can pour spicy oil and sweet and sour sauce on them, and then make some spiritual fruit juice to drink. This is just the right way to eat in an open-air environment."

Nanwang spread a square cloth on the ground and began to prepare in full swing.

Whatever the result, the most important thing is that it can relieve his anxiety.

It's always better to have something to do than to wait anxiously.

Cold salad is easy to make. Nan Wang quickly prepared a large bowl of cold salad and filled three cups with spiritual juice.

Just when Nan Wang finished his task and was about to get up, a very familiar voice suddenly came from above his head.

"Huh? Why are there only three cups? Is there no share for me, Brother?"

Nan Wang raised his head in disbelief, only to see Lingzhi standing against the light, his eyes sparkling and full of smiles.