Chapter 468: A Prison Drawn on the Ground

Now that they had found something Zhu Chicheng had carried, anything else should be nearby as well. It was not long before Yuan Fang shouted again.

"A sword!"

Everyone turned.

Yuan Fang had pried a half-buried sword from the tangled vines on the ground and was pulling away the roots and mud wrapped around it. The others went over to look. Yun Ji took the sword from him and circulated her spiritual power, shaking off all the grime and revealing its original appearance.

It was an exquisitely forged treasured sword. Fine feather patterns covered the blade, half-hidden and half-visible, gleaming brilliantly beneath the strange lights of the illusory realm.

"The Thousand-Feather Sword! The inherited treasured sword passed down through successive Sect Leaders of Myriad Beasts Sect. There can be no mistake. This belonged to Zhu Chicheng."

Yun Ji's emotions surged. She looked again at the ruined robe cradled in her hands. The others compared the place where the robe had been found with the location of the sword. The two were separated by more than ten zhang. Something unexpected must have happened to the owner of both items for his clothing and sword to become separated this way. From another angle, it made Zhu Chicheng's death here seem even more likely. Where was the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl?

No one wasted words.

They continued searching.

They combed through every nearby patch carefully, but found no other belongings left by Zhu Chicheng. No one knew what exactly had happened here all those years ago.

Yuan Gang walked to the spot where the robe had been found, pulled aside the vines and grass, and scooped up a little soil. He examined it, then held it beneath his nose and smelled it. Afterward, he slowly straightened and fixed his gaze on the lake before him.

Niu Youdao came over and asked from beside him, "Find anything?"

Yuan Gang showed him the soil in his palm. "Nothing useful. Too much time has passed, and this is exposed ground beside a damp lake. Things decay easily. Even if there were bones here, they'd have turned to dust long ago."

"Logically, the robe should have been on his body. If we assume he really fell here, then some of his belongings could have ended up in the water."

Niu Youdao had only just nodded when a figure flashed past beside them. Yun Ji plunged through the surface of the lake without so much as a splash and vanished underwater. Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang exchanged a glance. Yuan Fang and Guan Fangyi walked over. The four of them stood in a line along the lakeshore. The lake glittered beneath the reflected river of stars. Niu Youdao raised his head. His gaze moved from the lake toward the starry sky, and once again he seemed to sink into thought.

Splash!

Yun Ji burst from the water and landed without a single drop clinging to her body.

Everyone turned toward her.

Their gazes immediately fixed on the golden pearl in her hand, about the size of a chicken egg.

Niu Youdao asked, "Is that the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl?"

Yun Ji could no longer control her emotions. Her hand trembled faintly around the object in excitement. Without answering, she raised the golden pearl on one palm and began pouring spiritual power into it. In an instant, radiance seemed to emerge across the surface of the pearl.

It was blood-red light.

Everyone stared.

Within that crimson glow, wisps of blood-colored cloud gradually drifted out, winding sinuously through the light in an extraordinarily fantastical scene. Yuan Fang suddenly shook his head hard and clutched it with both hands, apparently feeling unwell. Niu Youdao whipped his head toward him. His hand immediately closed around his sword hilt, his gaze snapping back to Yun Ji in vigilance and caution. But Yun Ji herself seemed to be affected. With her eyes shut, she shook her head forcefully once, then rapidly withdrew her spiritual power from the pearl.

The spreading blood-red light and drifting crimson clouds instantly collapsed back inside. The pearl in her palm once more became plain and unremarkable. Under everyone's startled and uncertain gazes, Yun Ji suddenly threw back her head and laughed loudly.

She cupped the pearl in both hands and pressed it to her chest as though it were the dearest treasure in her heart.

"It's this. There's no mistake. This is it. After all these years and all this effort, I finally found it."

Guan Fangyi lightly nudged Niu Youdao with her elbow. One hand slipped into her sleeve and closed around a talisman while she gave him a meaningful look. Niu Youdao understood perfectly well. The treasure was right before them. She was asking whether they should seize it. But Niu Youdao still gave a slight shake of his head. Guan Fangyi rolled her eyes and let her hand fall from her sleeve. When Yun Ji's laughter finally stopped, she suddenly loosened the white veil covering the lower half of her face.

Then she stuffed the golden pearl into her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, storing it within herself. Afterward, she cast Guan Fangyi a sidelong glance, especially at Guan Fangyi's sleeve, a knowing look in her eyes. Then she turned her gaze to Niu Youdao.

"Many thanks for the help. I've found what I wanted. Don't worry. I keep my word. I will never say a word outside about you and Myriad Beasts Sect."

Niu Youdao smiled. "Senior, saying that makes it sound rather insincere. You've taken Myriad Beasts Sect's supreme treasure. Would you still dare talk carelessly?"

Yun Ji said, "Then there's nothing more to say. Let's leave this damned place as soon as possible."

Niu Youdao looked around. "Someone setting up a formation here is extremely strange. Shang Song's imperial retreat may very well be somewhere nearby. Senior doesn't want to look for it?"

Yun Ji said, "Time waits for no one. With the formation interfering, no one knows how long it would take to find anything. And even if we found the retreat, so what?"

"We haven't even seen the imperial retreat and we've already encountered a grand formation. Whether the inside is a safe place deserves careful thought. We know nothing at all about that supposed retreat. Barging in recklessly may not be a good thing."

"If the illusory realm closes before we finish, then none of us will be able to get out."

"Now that we know the location, we only need to remember it. There's no need to rush. Once we have enough strength, we can return whenever the time is right."

"Don't tell me you want to stay here for ten years."

She had obtained what she wanted and was already completely satisfied. There was no need to take another reckless risk.

Niu Youdao asked, "We're already trapped inside this grand formation. How do we get out?"

Yun Ji replied, "I can escape through the earth. We may not be able to leave across the surface, but I can go deep underground and escape the formation that way."

"My cultivation is limited, though. I can only take one person with me at a time when traveling deep underground."

"I'll make several trips and carry each of you out separately. Choose among yourselves. Who comes with me first?"

Niu Youdao turned and looked from side to side, then smiled. "Which of you wants to leave with Senior first?"

Yuan Gang said nothing.

Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang both shook their heads.

Niu Youdao looked back at Yun Ji and smiled. "Not safe enough. Once we're underground, if Senior decides to do something, we'll be in trouble."

Yun Ji said, "You can't expect me to stay here wasting time with all of you."

Niu Youdao kept one hand on his planted sword and made a casual gesture with the other. "I couldn't keep Senior here even if I wanted to. You're free to leave on your own."

"You chose this yourselves. Don't blame me."

Yun Ji turned away.

She gathered the treasured sword and ruined robe from the ground, found a suitable place, and struck the earth with one palm, blasting out a pit. She buried both items inside. It was a simple cenotaph, with no name left to identify whose grave it was. Yun Ji knelt before the empty grave.

Her eyes reddened faintly as she murmured, "Qing'er came too late..."

The others stood too far away to hear what else she said. They only saw her bow down and kowtow three times. Then she rose and walked away. After several steps, she abruptly spun. Her body sank directly into the ground as though vanishing into empty air. The soil bulged once, then settled flat again.

The sight was wondrous.

"That treasured sword should still be worth some money. Should we dig it back up?" Yuan Fang suddenly reminded everyone in a low voice.

Guan Fangyi exploded.

At last she understood why this bear demon deserved to be beaten.

"What are you thinking? If she still remembers old bonds, why didn't she take those things outside and build the cenotaph there?"

"Because they're inconvenient to carry out. Myriad Beasts Sect guards the entrance and exit. Walking out with the sect's inherited treasured sword would expose her easily."

"You want to get greedy over that? Are you tired of living?"

"Besides, we can't even get out right now, and you're still thinking about the sword?"

Yuan Fang shrank his neck and laughed awkwardly.

Guan Fangyi turned and blamed Niu Youdao instead. "She had a way to take us out. Why did you let her leave so easily? Aren't you supposed to be good at schemes? Why didn't you think of some way to keep her under control?"

Niu Youdao replied calmly, "Yun Huan and I are sworn brothers after all. She has not treated me without righteousness. How could I respond without righteousness in turn? Let her go."

"I never thought even you could be so pedantic." Guan Fangyi looked at him with contempt and continued grumbling. "What do we do now that we're trapped here? Once the illusory realm closes, this old woman is going to die because of you."

For a woman who cared so deeply about her appearance, merely imagining herself with tangled hair and a filthy face made her shudder. And that was only the least of their problems.

The nature of this place differed from the outside world. Its food and water were unsuitable for outsiders, just as the Butterfly Rakshasas could barely survive in the human world. None of them had reached the legendary stage where one could transcend the needs of flesh and blood. With mortal bodies that still required food and drink, who among them could endure ten years? Niu Youdao ignored her complaints and continued surveying the surrounding terrain.

Yuan Gang spoke. "Master Dao, you're an expert at reading mountains and walking the land. A little trick like drawing a circle on the ground and calling it a prison shouldn't be enough to stump you. You already have some idea how to get out, don't you?"

The implication was obvious: that was why Niu Youdao had been willing to let Yun Ji leave. Guan Fangyi's ears immediately perked up. Hope appeared on Yuan Fang's face as well.

Niu Youdao shook his head. "This place is different from anywhere else, so I can't guarantee anything. But I have a few clues. I still need to look more carefully."

Guan Fangyi immediately came alive again. "Then hurry up and look! Do you really plan to drag this out until the illusory realm closes?"

"The ground here is too low. I can't see the overall pattern."

Niu Youdao pointed toward a hill beside the lake.

"Let's go up and look."

There was nothing else to say. The others immediately followed him. After several leaps, all four landed atop the hill, where the rough pattern of the surrounding mountains and terrain could finally be seen. Niu Youdao stood with both hands on his planted sword and surveyed the surroundings for a while. Then he raised his head toward the starry sky. His brows drew together slightly, as though something puzzled him. Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang looked all around but could make neither head nor tail of what they saw.

In the end, they simply watched Niu Youdao. Every subtle change in his expression tugged at their nerves. The stars told him nothing. Niu Youdao lowered his gaze and stared at the lake for a while. Before long, his knitted brows gradually relaxed.

Then he murmured softly:

The mysteries of yin and yang, advancing and reversing, are hard to exhaust;
At the two solstices, all returns to the First and Ninth Palaces.
If one can fully grasp the principles of yin and yang,
Heaven and Earth themselves can be held within one's palm.

He turned toward Yuan Gang. "I made you memorize that. Do you still remember?"

Yuan Gang nodded. "I remember. The Song of the Old Angler in Misty Waters."

Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang looked at one another. They had no idea what the two were talking about. Niu Youdao lifted one hand from his sword and pointed toward the lake.

"Look carefully. Aren't there six points of light on the surface?"

The three immediately widened their eyes and looked. There were luminous plants beneath the water and light everywhere. There were far more than six glowing points. But after Niu Youdao's reminder, and after studying the lake carefully, all three eventually noticed the difference. There truly were six places where the light was unlike the glow beneath the water. What they reflected seemed to be starlight from above rather than the radiance of aquatic plants below.

Without being told what to look for, the two could easily be confused and the distinction was extremely difficult to notice.

Yuan Gang said, "Someone tampered with the lake. They must have planted something, or used some other method, at six positions to prevent luminous plants from growing there. That created six dark patches capable of reflecting the stars."

Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang suddenly understood and nodded in agreement.

Niu Youdao said, "Now look at the arrangement of those six reflected stars. What does it resemble?"

Yuan Gang had spent many years working in the same trade as Niu Youdao in their previous life. He did not truly understand these arts, but constant exposure had influenced him, and he knew some of the basics. After studying the arrangement for a moment, he gave a quiet sound of surprise.

"The positions look a little like the Seven Luminaries. Taiyin and the others are all there. Only the Sun is missing."

[End of Chapter 468]