Chapter 1159 - 1156: Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation
Lin Chuan could only listen to Qin Fang now. He grabbed the guy and followed Qin Fang to the west. After walking for half a day, they still hadn't walked out of the forest, circling around and back.
At this point, it was almost noon. If this continued, it was likely they'd be stuck in the forest until nightfall.
Qin Fang held the Compass, her brows furrowed like a twisted knot, muttering to herself constantly.
Lin Chuan didn't dare to interrupt her and sat down with the guy under a big tree.
He took out a cigarette and handed one to the guy. The guy quickly and politely received the cigarette, repeatedly saying thank you to Lin Chuan.
Lighting the cigarette, Lin Chuan took a deep inhale and then looked at the guy, saying, "What's your name?"
The guy had just swallowed a mouthful of smoke when he heard Lin Chuan's question. He hurriedly replied, "Brother, my name is Zhao Zhibing."
Lin Chuan continued, "You're not surnamed Qin, how did you join Maoshan Tao?"
Zhao Zhibing said hesitantly, "Brother, to be honest with you, I was forced. I was originally working in a small city and one night I was suddenly knocked out. When I woke up, they threatened me to join Maoshan Tao."
Lin Chuan nodded and said, "I see your cultivation is quite good. Almost all members of Maoshan Tao are disciples of the Qin family. How did they teach you the mental method?"
Zhao Zhibing sighed sadly and said, "It's not like they were passing on the cultivation techniques to me. I learned it secretly, which is why I achieved these results. But I was caught, and they saw my cultivation had great results. Then they made me pretend to be some reincarnated disciple of a great immortal to deceive people into joining their sect."
Lin Chuan frowned slightly and said, "Maoshan Tao wants these ordinary people to join their sect. What are their intentions?"
Zhao Zhibing smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, I'm just a regular disciple, not a core member, so I have no idea what their intentions are."
Lin Chuan knew Zhao Zhibing was telling the truth now. Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Zhibing continued, "But I did hear someone mention they're gathering these people to go somewhere."
Lin Chuan frowned again, wondering what Maoshan Tao was planning, but even if he wanted to say something, after today Maoshan Tao would no longer exist.
Lin Chuan was confident, yet many things often don't go as planned.
Just like now, Lin Chuan had still not walked out of the Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation set by Maoshan Tao members.
While the two were chatting, Qin Fang fell into contemplation, initially thinking she could easily decipher the Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation with her knowledge. However, the Five Elements Yin Yang Transformation was too mysterious, and no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't figure out how to break it.
Lin Chuan and Zhao Zhibing smoked a few cigarettes and chatted for a long time, then turned to Qin Fang and saw she was still frowning, unable to come up with a solution, which made him anxious.
The three were now trapped in the Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation, and it was challenging to get out, let alone find Maoshan Tao's main hall.
Lin Chuan stood up, walked to Qin Fang's side, and asked, "Well, have you thought of a solution to break it?"
Qin Fang shook her head slightly and looked at Lin Chuan with a full apologetic glance, saying, "I'm sorry, Lin Chuan, I really can't think of a way to break the formation."
Lin Chuan smiled slightly and said, "It's okay, don't strain your brain any further. Let's keep trying. Maybe we'll find a way out."
Qin Fang said, "We won't be able to leave without finding the formation's core eye."
"The formation's core eye, what is that?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.
Qin Fang explained, "Every mysterious array formed according to yin and yang and the Five Elements has an escape gap known as the formation's core eye. If we find the core eye, we'll be able to escape the Dragon Trap Formation."
Lin Chuan raised his right hand and scratched his head; these concepts were incomprehensible to him, like listening to a foreign language.
At that moment, a thought flashed in Lin Chuan's mind about when he parted ways with Qin Zhenghe. Didn't he give Lin Chuan a piece of Dragon Wood and a book?
Lin Chuan clearly remembered the book was called Five Elements Yin Yang Transformation Theory, unsure if it could help Qin Fang decipher the Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation. With this thought, Lin Chuan quickly took out the book.
Luckily, he had the book with him; otherwise, if it was left in the car with the Dragon Wood, it would be troublesome indeed.
"Qin Fang, see if this book can help you," Lin Chuan said, handing the book to Qin Fang.
Qin Fang took the book and first looked at the title, then opened it to read carefully. The more she read, the more she smiled. Less than half an hour later, she suddenly jumped up and hugged Lin Chuan, delightedly exclaiming, "Lin Chuan, I found a way to break the Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation."
Lin Chuan only sensed a faint fragrance entering his mind, and couldn't help but say, "Really, that's great."
Qin Fang then realized her inappropriate behavior, quickly freed herself from Lin Chuan's embrace, her face red as an apple, and she didn't dare look at Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan also felt somewhat awkward, saying, "Since you've found the solution, let's quickly break the Nine Palace Trap Formation."
Qin Fang hummed softly and started to pinpoint the accurate direction using the Compass.
The Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation is derived from the Five Elements Yin Yang Transformation Theory and the Plum Blossom Oracle. To unravel it, one must first find the eye of the Array.
According to Plum Blossom Oracle theory, Qiankun, Kan, Li, Zhen, Gen, Sun, and Dui of the Five Elements and Eight Diagrams respectively symbolize heaven, earth, water, fire, thunder, mountain, wind, and marsh in nature.
Qiankun represents heaven and earth, which is yin and yang, while mountains and rivers represent the Gen position. This forest is naturally formed, and following the principles of mutual generation and restriction of the Five Elements and yin and yang, the Array eye should be in the Zhen position.
The Zhen position in the Nine Palace layout belongs to the southwest direction, and as long as Qin Fang searches along the southwest direction, he will definitely find the Array eye.
The Compass is indeed a good tool, very accurate in positioning.
Qin Fang set the direction and said to Lin Chuan, "Let's head toward this direction."
Zhao Zhibing also regained his spirit at this time and followed the two walking straight toward the southwest direction.
After walking for about ten minutes, Qin Fang stopped, glanced around, then turned to Lin Chuan and said, "The eye of the Array is nearby; we need to find it."
Lin Chuan asked curiously, "How do we find it? Does the eye of the Array have any specific features?"
Qin Fang replied, "Based on the book you gave me, the eye of the Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation should be a peach wood stake. Once we find that, it's where the Array eye is."
The two began to search around for the so-called peach wood stake, with Zhao Zhibing also joining in at the end.
The three dared not separate, for if they got lost, it wouldn't be easy to reunite.
They carefully searched the surrounding area within a dozen meters yet still couldn't find the peach wood stake. Qin Fang knitted his brows again, muttering to himself, "It's impossible; logically, it should be in this position."
Lin Chuan comforted Qin Fang, saying, "Don't worry, maybe we missed some places, let's search more carefully."
The three of them began their search again, but an hour passed without finding it.
Feeling a bit tired, the three sat down under a big tree nearby. Lin Chuan took out a cigarette, tossed one to Zhao Zhibing, lit it, took a deep drag, and looked at Qin Fang saying, "Think carefully, see if there's anything you missed."
Qin Fang nodded, taking out and meticulously examining the book.
A gust of fresh wind blew by; a few leaves fell from the tree, and one leaf happened to land on Zhao Zhibing's face. He reached up to brush it off, then glanced upward.
This glance turned out to be crucial, as he noticed a piece of wood about seven or eight meters above ground tied with a red string, hanging in mid-air.
"Brother, look at that," Zhao Zhibing said to Lin Chuan.
Following Zhao Zhibing's direction, Lin Chuan looked up and then shouted to Qin Fang, "Qin Fang, quickly look, isn't that the peach wood stake we're looking for?"
Qin Fang, who was focused on the book, lifted his head at Lin Chuan's words, sprang to his feet, and exclaimed with delight, "Yes, that's where the Array eye is. I never expected the person who designed this Dragon Trap Formation to be so ingenious, hanging the peach wood stake at the center of the Array eye up in the tree."
Lin Chuan looked up at the piece of wood hanging mid-air and said, "Qin Fang, should we go up and take down that piece of wood now?"
Qin Fang rolled his eyes at Lin Chuan and said, "It's not that simple. This peach wood stake is the core of the Array eye. According to the principle of mutual generation and restriction of the Five Elements, we must use metal, which restrains wood, to take down this peach wood."
In the Five Elements, metal restrains wood.
"Then what should we do?" Lin Chuan, being a layman in this field, felt that Qin Fang was more than adequate as his teacher.
Qin Fang blinked his eyes, saying, "To take down that peach wood, it must be struck down with something made of metal, and the peach wood must not touch the ground. Once it touches the ground, it initiates the principle of mutual generation among the Five Elements, causing the Nine Palace Dragon Trap Formation to reactivate."
Lin Chuan hadn't expected such intricate details, glanced at the two, and said, "But we don't have anything made of metal with us."
Qin Fang smiled, taking out a string of keys from his clothing pocket, saying, "Here it is."
Lin Chuan was taken aback, then took the keys from Qin Fang's hand, saying, "You two stand ready to catch the peach wood below; I'll go knock it down."
The seven or eight meters distance was easy for Lin Chuan, who lightly tapped his feet, vaulting into the air, flying towards the peach wood.
Upon reaching where the peach wood was hung, Lin Chuan twisted his body, saw the peach wood tied by a thin red string, and then flicked the keys in his hand, cutting towards the red string.
The red string broke immediately, and the peach wood fell straight towards the ground.