allonlinenovel Chapter 267 I am a little fish (22)
Chapter 267 I am a little fish (22)
Chapter 267 I am a little fish (22)
Calling it "a piece of cake" is really too modest of Lu Mingguang.
Perhaps because Jingli's previous request for clothes was so embarrassing, Lu Mingguang assumed that Jingli was not doing well, so for this welcoming banquet, he brought out almost every delicious food he could think of from the cultivation world.
With a crime observer system in place, there's no fear of not being able to finish the crime.
There were only four people at the table. To Jingli, Lu Mingguang and 6058 were his parents, and Meng Li was his master (or, from the perspective of a spirit pet, his master). They were all familiar people, so he had no burdens and happily ate his meal.
However, from Meng Li's perspective, the little black fish is a companion who transformed into human form with Jing Li, so it's normal for the two fish to have a good relationship.
However, Lu Mingguang was someone who suddenly appeared and took away the little black fish. Jingli shouldn't have been so unguarded towards him, and Lu Mingguang had no need to make such a grand spectacle.
Showing courtesy for nothing is either cheating or stealing.
Meng Li narrowed her eyes: "Second Master, you really treat these two little fish specially."
Lu Mingguang had dealt with Meng Li several times, so he could naturally tell that there was something implied in her words.
Lu Mingguang also dodged the question: "I also feel that I have a special connection with these two little fish, just like when I first met you, Fairy."
Meng Li tapped her fingers lightly on the table, no longer dwelling on the matter.
Now that they seem to be on the same page, there's no need to bring up some issues too explicitly. They can each keep their own thoughts to themselves and help each other out.
With someone helping to set the table, the atmosphere at the table gradually eased, and the topic shifted to the Spirit Puppet Burial Mound.
During Jingli's absence, Lu Mingguang and 6058 collected some usable information.
Besides the background deduced by the system during the previous investigation (see Chapter 259), there is some other useful information.
First, let's talk about when the blessed land will open.
The blessed lands in this world can be broadly divided into two types. One type is the regular blessed lands marked by major sects, which open periodically and are places for sect elders or powerful figures with connections to improve themselves.
The Spirit Puppet Burial Mound is another type, appearing at unpredictable times and frequencies. It can only be detected by fluctuations in the surrounding spiritual energy. Some blessed lands don't even have any records at all, requiring people to visit the surrounding areas to find clues.
Now, with improved exploration experience, the opening time of these blessed lands can be accurately predicted, just like Mother Earth nurturing her child, each inhalation and exhalation of spiritual energy is a sign.
Baiyunque is not lacking in such talents, and the blessed land will open in three days.
Next is the environment within the blessed land, which requires combining the actual site with legends.
A blessed land is a small world formed by using the real world as a support. It will not actually occupy too much space in reality, but it will inevitably have borders. Cultivators need to take into account the situation on both sides.
Such situations have occurred before, where the blessed land fluctuates in the heart of the snow mountain, but the blessed land itself is filled with fiery magma.
Fortunately, there is no need to worry about this situation for the time being at the Spirit Puppet Burial Mound.
The related spiritual energy fluctuations are concentrated around a mountain range near Tianji City. This mountain is known as the "Poison Mountain" and is similar to the legendary Lingkui Immortal Abode. Therefore, they need to prepare some medicine to defend against insects and snakes, as well as some tools for detoxification and dispelling illusions.
Aside from these relatively obvious and definite clues, the rest are more fragmented and their authenticity is not entirely certain. They are snippets gleaned from the histories, notes, and other records of various sects and families.
For example, the head of a certain family was one of the cultivators who had gone to the Spirit Puppet Immortal Abode. Before losing contact, he used a certain magic artifact to transmit some fragments. The Rebirth Bell was hanging high in the air, and the huge puppet heads were like hellish demons, densely covering the entire sky.
For example, a senior disciple of a certain sect was also a cultivator exploring the Spirit Puppet Immortal Abode. Although she did not carry any magical artifacts, she had a younger sister. The younger sister said that she dreamed of her older sister, whose wrists were bound by huge shackles, and the skin and flesh on her wrists looked like white bones.
In fact, she looked like that all over – shriveled, wrinkled, and seemingly without any flesh left in her body.
At the other end of her wrist, a puppet's eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
There are many such fragmented details, but since those who went there never returned, everything is impossible to verify. Now that the Spirit Puppet Burial Mound has reappeared, it is naturally different from when it was the Spirit Puppet Immortal Abode.
"I don't know how big the final blessed land will be. According to the historical customs of the Lingku Immortal Abode that we can find, their entire country was centered around the palace, forming a natural formation with mountains and rivers. Outside the main formation, there were other palaces, forming a series of interconnected formations, so as to achieve a state where the feng shui of the country was self-contained and there was no way to enter the maze outside."
Lu Mingguang took out a replica map and pointed to a place marked in vermilion.
"The path to survival that the Imperial Preceptor opened earlier was an outer palace called the 'Gate Hall.' It is currently speculated that the 'gate' that this blessed land opened this time should be this place."
Jingli was also watching. In his previous world, he had only a basic understanding of formations. In the past two days, he had been studying further in the jade slip given to him by Meng Li and had gained some insights. Now, looking at the map in front of him, lines spontaneously formed in his mind, forming the prototype of this linked formation.
The formation was exquisite; there were many parts he couldn't fully understand, but he could still sense its profound mystery.
"Does this 'door' lead to a different space?"
Jingli asked a question, and seeing that everyone was looking at him, he explained his discovery with the mindset of being called on by the teacher.
"Just as Mr. Lu said, the layout of the Spirit Puppet Kingdom is based on array formations, one after another. The gate is just right, located on the tangent of the main array and on the extension of other arrays. If a simple spatial array is made inside the gate, people who enter can connect to the smaller arrays outside the main array."
Jingli's thoughts became increasingly fluid.
"From the Grand Preceptor's perspective, he naturally wouldn't want the cultivators entering to easily reach the main hall. Could we hypothesize that every formation is actually connected, yet all revolve around the main formation? If the entrance to this blessed land is indeed this gate hall, then perhaps... we should try to destroy first and then rebuild?"
Jingli's voice rose at the end, carrying a hint of tentativeness, which was rather endearing. A small patch on the back of his hand twitched and trembled, and Jingli patted it reassuringly.
Everyone present had some knowledge of formations, but since this formation was likely a secret technique of the Spirit Puppet Kingdom, some of its details would probably take even a contemporary master of formations several days to study.
Therefore, the three of them tried to decipher the parts of the formation that could be understood and tried to deduce the route. In doing so, they inevitably got stuck in the local area and failed to discover the ingenious arrangement outside the complex formation.
On the contrary, Jing Li, whose ability in array formations was not particularly outstanding, simplified things by directly imagining the large array as circles and lines, just as Lu Mingguang had suggested, and found a breakthrough using simple geometric thinking.
Upon Jing Li's suggestion, Meng Li and Lu Mingguang both moved simultaneously, drawing several lines with their fingers imbued with spiritual power.
Based on what Jingli said, several key but inconspicuous lines were selected from the formation.
The expressions on their faces weren't too good: "It's...that's really true."
·
(YuYu's array formation skill level is above average among ordinary people; the others' skill level is average in the cultivation world.)
(It's like appreciating a vase. The three experts first explained the shape, color, and lines to Yu Yu, giving her some basic information. Then they went to look at the details, while Yu Yu skipped the details she didn't understand and explored the parts she could. So it's not that the experts became less intelligent; it's just that everyone had different focuses!)
(Family member passed away, currently attending the funeral; short skit to follow later.)