Chapter 469: Yin and Yang Reversed

Niu Youdao shook his head and prompted him, "This starry sky never had the Seven Luminaries to begin with. Where would the Sun come from? There is no sun in the sky here, but there is one on the ground. Someone placed the Sun on the earth."

Yuan Fang could not resist cutting in. "Where is there a sun on the ground? How could anyone hide the sun underground?" He looked around in amazement.

Guan Fangyi gave him a contemptuous look. "Are you stupid? It's a figure of speech."

Niu Youdao said, "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. Someone reversed yin and yang and arranged the Seven Luminaries upon the earth."

Yuan Gang asked, "We've seen only six luminaries. Where is the Sun?"

"There's certainly a sun outside the illusory realm..." Niu Youdao paused. After thinking for a moment, he slowly continued, "With yin and yang reversed, the scope of this formation may be far greater than we imagined. Whenever a solar eclipse occurs outside the illusory realm, the illusory realm's gate opens. The opening of that gate may very well be connected to this formation."

"The Seven Luminaries are on the earth, which is the same as placing the starry sky upon the earth. This formation may be borrowing the legendary power of the stars. If that's really the case, then under the obstruction of stellar force, Yun Ji may not necessarily be able to escape by burrowing underground."

Everyone atop the mountain turned toward the place where Yun Ji had disappeared into the earth.

Yuan Gang asked, "Can there really be a formation this miraculous in the world?"

Niu Youdao countered, "Wasn't the way the illusory realm's gate opened miraculous enough? Did that look like something ordinary spiritual power could accomplish?"

Yuan Gang fell silent.

Since coming to this world, his old understanding of reality had been overturned again and again. Thinking more deeply about it, perhaps the problem was simply that he knew too little.

Guan Fangyi could not help interrupting. "Enough of the empty talk. Give us something useful. How do we get out of here? That's what matters. We don't have much time left, so stop wasting it."

Niu Youdao stared at the lake. "The Sun outside is real. The Sun here is false."

Yuan Gang asked, "Then where is the missing Sun?"

Niu Youdao surveyed their surroundings. "Hidden."

"Hidden?" Yuan Gang frowned.

"Judging from the surrounding mountain forms, someone moved mountains and waters to lay out a Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation." Niu Youdao pointed toward the sky, then toward the lake. "It is arranged according to the Three Powers. Heaven is the Heaven Plate. The lake's reflected light serves as the gate linking yin and yang, so the lake is the Gate Plate. The earth is the Earth Plate."

"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. Someone reversed yin and yang and overturned Heaven and Earth. Heaven became the Earth Plate, Earth became the Heaven Plate, while the lake in the middle remained unchanged as the Gate Plate."

"That is why the Seven Luminaries lie upon the earth. Viewed through the Gate Plate, one of the Seven Luminaries is hidden—the Sun. Someone laid Qimen Dunjia into the Heaven Plate upon the earth."

Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang understood almost none of what he was saying. The problem was mainly the terminology. They had never even heard most of those terms before.

Yuan Gang understood somewhat more and asked in surprise, "Qimen Dunjia?"

Niu Youdao's eyes gleamed as he looked out over the terrain and nodded. "In Dunjia, Jia is the sovereign of the Ten Heavenly Stems and is concealed rather than revealed. The Sun among the Seven Luminaries should likewise be hidden within it. Find the Sun, and we find the formation eye. Then we can open the Life Gate and leave this formation."

"The principle should be similar to what happens with the sun outside. Something finds the Sun and causes a solar eclipse, and the illusory realm opens its Life Gate. I don't know whether the person who sealed the illusory realm back then overlooked the existence of solar eclipses or left that opening deliberately."

At last Guan Fangyi understood the general idea. She said excitedly, "I don't understand any of that, but you make it sound so convincing that there really ought to be something behind it. Hurry up and find it! Find the Sun!"

Niu Youdao smiled faintly and pointed toward the lake. "The lake is the Gate Plate. The entrance lies within the lake."

Guan Fangyi stared. "We have to dive to the bottom?"

Niu Youdao shook his head and said to Yuan Gang, "Let the Seven Luminaries guide the way."

Yuan Gang nodded slightly, apparently understanding. Just then, there was a sudden boom near the lakeshore. Someone burst out of the earth and staggered forward, covered in mud, hair disheveled, clothes torn to rags, blood staining the corner of her mouth. The person who emerged was none other than Yun Ji. The veil covering her face was gone, revealing a dirt-smeared face beneath.

Panting heavily, Yun Ji looked around. When she saw the cenotaph she had built, she seemed to release a breath in relief, almost as though celebrating her survival. Then she abruptly remembered something. Where were Niu Youdao and the others?

Yun Ji swept her gaze around quickly and finally spotted several figures standing atop the mountain beneath the starlight. She immediately launched herself upward. After several rises and falls, she floated down onto the summit.

The first words out of her mouth were, "There's no way out underground!"

The others could not help looking her up and down. They discovered that even the shoes on her feet were gone. She stood barefoot, one mud-smeared white thigh exposed through the torn clothes. Large portions of her chest and back were visible as well, especially the half-exposed fullness at her breast, which was difficult not to notice. Noticing where their gazes had gone, Yun Ji looked down. Her arms immediately crossed over her chest.

She snapped, "Where are you looking?"

The three men instantly became awkward and turned their heads away together. Guan Fangyi was a woman herself and had no need to avoid the sight. Instead, her expression turned peculiar. Niu Youdao had actually guessed correctly. Yun Ji truly had failed to escape.

"I didn't bring spare clothes. Which of you can lend me a robe?" Yun Ji asked awkwardly.

Niu Youdao coughed dryly. "Monkey, borrow the clothes off Chao Shenghuai."

Yuan Gang went down the mountain, found Chao Shenghuai under the Blood Rakshasa's guard, stripped off his outer robe and shoes, and brought them back. He tossed everything to Yun Ji. Yun Ji turned her back on the others and put them on.

Unfortunately, Chao Shenghuai's clothes were torn too, though they were still much better than hers. They were enough to cover the places that needed covering, and under the circumstances she could only make do.

"All right," Yun Ji said.

Only then did the three men turn back.

Their expressions remained strange.

Compared with her earlier elegant and dignified appearance, the woman before them seemed like another person entirely. The difference between a noblewoman and a beggar could hardly be small. At least everyone had finally seen her true face, though it was somewhat dirty.

Niu Youdao asked, "Senior, how did you end up like this?"

Yun Ji replied, "There is a strange force beneath the ground that twists and kills. It's bizarre beyond description. I tried every method I could think of and still couldn't break through. I nearly lost my life underground."

"Fortunately, earth escape is my specialty. Otherwise, I would never have survived. I only escaped by sheer luck."

Niu Youdao nodded faintly.

What had happened to her was equivalent to confirming his judgment. This formation truly was borrowing the power of the stars. That actually gave him greater confidence. The others secretly rejoiced as well. Fortunately, none of them had gone with Yun Ji. If even someone skilled in earth escape had ended up like this, anyone accompanying her would probably have died.

"It's good that you're safe," Niu Youdao said in consolation.

Yun Ji was unwilling to give up. "If we can't get out underground, then it looks like we'll have to try the air. Why didn't we think of having the Butterfly Rakshasas fly us out before?"

Niu Youdao shook his head. "If my guess is right, you won't be able to fly out through the air either. Haven't you noticed that the Butterfly Rakshasas around here are all relatively high-ranked? They were probably trapped here for a long time and gradually became that way."

"But for the Butterfly Rakshasas, this place has food suited to them, so they can survive here. That means any Butterfly Rakshasa that strays into this area ends up becoming a guardian of the formation instead."

Yun Ji said, "How do you know if you don't try?"

She had obtained the treasure and was anxious to leave. Niu Youdao had no interest in repeating the entire formation theory he had explained to Yuan Gang.

"It would take too long to explain everything clearly. Put simply, I understand formations a little. After examining this one, I found that it reverses Heaven and Earth and is reinforced by the power of the starry sky."

"The earth here is effectively the starry sky. The heavens are vast. Even if a Butterfly Rakshasa beat its wings until they broke, it still wouldn't fly far enough. And with the stellar force twisting space, flying around probably won't get you anywhere anyway. You'd most likely just keep circling back to where you started."

Yun Ji could not make much sense of his strange explanation, but she understood one thing clearly.

"You've seen through the mysteries of this formation? Have you found a way out?"

"We can try." Niu Youdao nodded, then turned to Yuan Gang. "Yin and yang reversed. Let the Seven Luminaries guide the way. Follow their order backward."

Yuan Gang nodded.

He first ran down the mountain and brought back the unconscious Chao Shenghuai, temporarily abandoning the Butterfly Rakshasas' assistance. He tossed Chao Shenghuai to Yuan Fang to carry, then approached Guan Fangyi.

"Lend me some strength."

Guan Fangyi immediately caught his arm. The two flew down the mountain together. Yuan Gang pointed out the route from the front, and the others followed. Niu Youdao remained behind them, watching. He was not making Yuan Gang lead in order to push him into danger. It was an old habit. He deliberately taught Yuan Gang this way, making him handle things personally so he would become familiar with them.

Following Niu Youdao's instructions, Yuan Gang had Guan Fangyi carry him to the Taiyin position among the six points of light on the lake.

Under normal sequence, the order would begin and end with the Sun at the head. But according to Niu Youdao's instruction, yin and yang had to be reversed, so they would travel backward and use Taiyin as the starting point. Guan Fangyi carried Yuan Gang across the air and landed directly on the Taiyin position reflected upon the lake.

Behind them, Niu Youdao warned Yuan Fang, "Land exactly where he lands. Don't step randomly."

He was warning the others as well. Carrying Chao Shenghuai, Yuan Fang nodded repeatedly and followed Yuan Gang's landing points precisely. The group zigzagged across the lake, turning east and west. Following the final positional instruction, they landed one after another upon the shore. Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang remained composed. Everyone else froze in astonishment and immediately looked around. They had somehow arrived between steep cliffs. Where had these cliffs come from beside the lake? None of them had seen them before.

Then everyone looked back and received an even greater shock. The enormous lake had vanished. Behind them lay only a stretch of mountain forest. Niu Youdao stepped forward and studied the sheer rock wall blocking the way. There was no visible passage.

He muttered, "A pity we don't have a luopan."

Without a luopan compass, he could only begin calculating on his fingers again, combining the surrounding terrain with trigram numbers to infer the direction they needed to travel. After waiting for a while, Niu Youdao looked back.

"Follow my footsteps."

Everyone nodded together.

The cliffs that had appeared out of nowhere were proof enough. By now, everyone trusted him and obediently did as instructed. Niu Youdao fixed his eyes on a position ahead and to the left, then began walking forward according to a precise count of steps. Those immediately behind him noticed nothing strange.

But the people at the rear who had not yet begun moving saw Niu Youdao take only a few steps before vanishing into thin air.

Their hearts jolted.

Fortunately, the people ahead of them were still visible.

They hurried after them.

The group moved in a linked file, each person watching the footsteps of the one ahead. They walked forward several steps, then suddenly several steps to the right, repeating the pattern again and again. Eventually, everyone came back into one another's sight. The line stopped before another cliff wall. Niu Youdao calculated on his fingers for a while, then fixed his gaze on a tiny crack in the rock.

He stepped forward.

One foot entered the crack, and he vanished from everyone's sight. Yuan Gang followed with a single step and disappeared as well. With their earlier experience, no one hesitated long. They followed one after another, seemingly walking straight into the wall. But no one struck stone. Instead, the scene before them opened suddenly and they found themselves stepping into a broad canyon.

"Everyone can relax. From here on, you can walk normally," Niu Youdao called as he continued forward.

Carrying Chao Shenghuai, Yuan Fang hurried to Niu Youdao's side. He felt safer staying close to Master Dao.

He grinned ingratiatingly. "Master Dao, why is this formation so miraculous? We stepped through a tiny crack and somehow entered an entire canyon."

Niu Youdao chuckled. "It is miraculous if you understand it one way, and not so miraculous if you understand it another. It depends on how you look at it."

"This formation borrows the power of the stars. The principle is the same reason Butterfly Rakshasas can't simply fly out. A distance that looks only a few steps long may actually correspond to a vast distance across the starry sky. If you can't find the shortcut, you can walk forever and never reach the other side."

"Conversely, distance also affects what the eye can see. You could fly back and forth overhead all you wanted and still never see that this canyon exists below."

[End of Chapter 469]