Chapter 261: Solving the Problem
The great sects of the world have been around for thousands of years, and their mountain-guarding formations have been just as stubborn. Once you set one up, it keeps running for centuries, even millennia. Some formations weren’t even built by the sects that now use them; they were taken, stolen, or claimed from their original owners, and patched into service. So when one of these old formations is activated again, it’s never simple. You need special artifacts to unlock the old mechanisms, or to reconnect with the spiritual or magical imprints left behind.
Similarly, in the dwellings of ancient cultivators, people sometimes uncover leftover formation disks. But to use those, you usually need the same kind of special artifact.
This kind of artifact is what formation masters like to call a Formation Disk Key.
And the job Liu Daoran just received... was to refine one of these keys.
After reading the notes and requirements on the paper, Liu Xiaolou looked a bit surprised. “Not bad, Brother Daoran! You actually managed to land a job like this? This must be an order from one of the big sects, right? I mean, a spatial formation disk like this... only the major sects would ever need something of that scale.”
Liu Daoran rubbed his neck a little awkwardly. “I’m not really sure. You know how it is. Some things, it’s best not to dig too deep. Our job is just to refine the item and deliver it, nothing more.”
Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Got it. I’ve never worked on this kind of formation before. Let’s take a closer look together.”
As formation masters, they were naturally fascinated by any formation they hadn’t seen before. And Liu Daoran was no different. The two of them immediately leaned in, heads close, studying the design with keen interest. It felt just like the old days, back when they worked side by side on formation disks at Fangle Peak of Jinting Mountain.
“The Seven Transformations Dance of Heaven Sutra mentions something about void formations. It talks about the ‘Four Shifts of the Extremes,’ passed down in sequence: the Stone of Meng Mountain, the River of Endless Night, the Trial of the Wind Blades, and the Turning of the Four Seasons. I think that’s where we should start.”
“Brother Daoran, what exactly is the Stone of Meng Mountain? And the River of Endless Night? There’s no clear explanation. The Xuandu Supreme Volume gives a completely different interpretation from the Seven Transformations Dance of Heaven Sutra. So how are we supposed to begin?”
“It’s in the Xuandu Supreme Volume?”
“Yeah, look it up. I’m pretty sure I’ve read it before.”
“Alright, alright.”
“Brother Daoran, I found it. Look, it’s different from what I remembered. Huh? Wait, your copy of the Xuandu Supreme Volume isn’t the same as the one I’ve seen before.”
“Oh? Which version did you see?”
“The one from Mount Siming. Elder Diao Daoyi gave it to me back then. The wording’s different, but the general meaning’s about the same. And still completely unlike what’s written in the Seven Transformations Dance of Heaven Sutra.”
“Then let’s check the Five Talisman Scripture instead.”
“I don’t have the Secret Formation: The Five Talisman Scripture with me…”
“I’ll read this part to you, Brother Daoran. I think this passage might be worth looking at: ‘At the mouth of the winding path stands a palace of gold and jade. Every surface -- north, south, east, and west -- is paved with blue stone, each slab perfectly even, stretching five or six zhang across. A thousand li to the west, time itself folds and fades. This, it says, is the description of a rift in the void.’”
The two of them studied together, poring over various formation texts, discussing how to refine the Formation Disk Key. Little by little, their plan began to take shape.
The refining process wasn’t actually that complicated, nor did it require rare materials. Mostly just jade pendants. The real challenge was ensuring the key matched the formation disk perfectly. Once the plan was finalized, they would still need to examine the actual disk in person before beginning the refining.
But Liu Daoran couldn’t get his hands on the original formation disk.
That wasn’t surprising. If anything, it just proved that the disk had a past better left in the shadows.
The only solution was to keep experimenting. Of course, the spiritual jade needed for each test would be supplied by the buyer.
Seven days later, the first Formation Disk Key was finally completed. Liu Daoran handed it over to the buyer for testing.
The next day, word came back. The key didn’t match the formation disk at all. Along with that came a list of details about how exactly it had gone wrong.
“The mouth of the jade cracked. Means the core is too brittle to handle the formation’s power. We’ll need to reinforce the central talismans.”
“There are random holes and openings messing things up. It looks like the talismans we engraved earlier are causing interference. Could there be something wrong with the spiritual jade?”
“‘Fierce and unending’...what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Maybe we should add some five-colored warm-fragrance leaves to temper its sharp qi…”
Following these clues, they reworked their design and refined a second Formation Disk Key. After handing it over to the buyer for testing, they soon received another round of feedback.
This time, they added Hidden Storage Talisman and the Flying Tortoise Diagram, refining the design to achieve better balance among the Five Elements.
After handing it over for testing, they received a third round of feedback...
Refining the Formation Disk Key was turning out to be quite an enjoyable process. Almost like solving a puzzle. With each new result and adjustment, they gradually formed a clearer picture of the formation they were trying to unlock, sketching out its rough layout in their minds.
Liu Daoran took up a brush and began to draw his guess on paper. “Xiaolou, look,” he said, “I think the formation looks something like this. Five sub-disks forming the center, top, bottom, left, and right. The center is Earth, the top is North Water, the bottom is South Fire, the left is West Metal, and the right is East Wood.”
Liu Xiaolou agreed with the idea, but he still couldn’t figure something out. If the Five Elements were set, why hadn’t the keys they’d refined before been able to link them together?
Liu Daoran suggested, “Why don’t we try refining the jade piece into a sphere, so it can roll continuously through the Five Elements?”
It was a great idea, so the two of them made a sixth formation key, shaping the jade pendant into a perfect sphere.
When they submitted the finished piece for testing, the results showed it was 90% successful. But they still couldn’t figure out the last step: guiding the flow of the Five Constants.
Liu Xiaolou frowned. “Brother Daoran... if we need both the full balance of the Five Elements and the flow of the Five Constants, could it be that the five sub-formations are actually made from the same material?”
Liu Daoran thought for a moment, puzzled. “If they’re all made from the same stuff, then they should move continuously. Each one able to take the place of another among the Five Elements. But… what kind of pattern would that even be?”
That question stumped the two of them for days. No matter how much they discussed it, they couldn’t find an answer.
Then one day, it began to rain. Seeing Liu Daoran looking troubled, his wife called him back to the inner courtyard. Together, they entered the formation in the rain to observe its illusions. Since Liu Xiaolou had moved into the Liu family estate, he'd privately given Daoran a strand of Bewildering Fragrance Tendon. Daoran had woven it into the formation, making the illusions feel almost… real enough to touch.
Just as the couple was lost in the illusion, a shout rang out from outside the house. “Daoran! I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” Liu Xiaolou yelled.
Madam rolled her eyes and let her husband go. “Brother Xiaolou, what are you doing out there in the rain? Come, come inside... uh, let’s go to the side hall to get out of the weather. Now, what is it you’ve figured out?”
Liu Xiaolou grabbed his arm excitedly. “Brother Daoran! I just saw one of the maids walking out with an umbrella, and suddenly it hit me. Look at this!”
He opened and closed the oiled-paper umbrella a few times, then spun it around. Droplets scattered in every direction, forming a shimmering, swirling curtain of rain.
Liu Daoran’s eyes snapped open. “Of course! The five formation disks fit together like the ribs of an umbrella!”
Liu Xiaolou laughed. “Yes! That’s why the key to the formation isn’t square or round; it’s shaped like an umbrella shaft!”
Without wasting another moment, the two of them set to work. Three days later, they finally refined a brand-new formation disk key.
Turning the jade piece between his fingers, Liu Daoran sighed in wonder. “I never would’ve guessed… it actually looks like a jade hairpin.”
Though they hadn’t given it to the buyer to try yet, both of them had a gut feeling this one was going to work!
Liu Xiaolou was happily looking at the jade-hairpin-like key, smiling.. until, all of a sudden, his smile froze.
For some reason, he suddenly heard a “crack” in his ear, and a picture flashed in his mind. A jade hairpin being crushed under Zuo Gaofeng’s foot.
It looked exactly the same as this one... but now Liu Xiaolou finally understood. That earlier one had been an unfinished Formation Disk Key. There hadn’t been a single inscription carved into it.