Mei Qing smiled and said, “What’s there to hesitate about? Just give me the question!”
In truth, Mei Qing had no confidence in gaining an advantage in this confrontation with the source of the aged voice. However, the more the other party insisted on engaging him in this way, the more certain he became that they must have ulterior motives. If so, then he would surely have an opportunity to find a way out, either by escaping himself or waiting for his master to come rescue him.
Therefore, he was quite willing to let the other party test him with riddles, as a way to buy time and perhaps even uncover the identity of his mysterious opponent.
“Very well, listen carefully. Within this chamber, there is an inscription upon the stone platform—a talisman. Please decipher it and tell me of its transformations.” The aged voice paused briefly before presenting the first question.
Mei Qing listened and stepped forward lightly. Sure enough, upon the platform within the room, he saw a rather peculiar talisman.
This talisman was neither entirely a talisman nor fully a formation. It was structured upon a nine-palace grid, divided into nine sections, each containing a smaller talisman. Each was independent, yet interconnected, forming a composite talisman formation.
On the surface, it appeared to be a simple combination of the nine-palace formation with a talisman in each section. But upon closer examination, its complexity went far beyond that.
Each of the nine talismans was composed of two elements from the five phases, but these compositions were unstable, constantly shifting.
Yet at any given moment, only one of the nine talismans was in flux, while the other eight remained stable. In this way, although there were nine talismans, they formed precisely two sets of five phases—one flowing forward, the other in reverse. The changing talisman moved along the path of the primordial sequence, circulating through the nine palaces and driving the two sets of five-phase energies into countless transformations.
The nine palaces and the five phases were among the most fundamental elements of talismans and formations, but the cleverness of their arrangement far exceeded Mei Qing’s expectations.
Mei Qing sat cross-legged and stared blankly ahead, his mind completely immersed in this seemingly simple yet intricate talisman formation.
Meanwhile, Liu Liu was trembling nervously. Ever since the stone door had shut behind them, he had been frantically searching the walls for any trace of an exit, running his hands over every inch of the surface, but finding nothing.
Now, seeing Mei Qing seemingly entranced, sitting motionless like a statue, Liu Liu became even more anxious. He swallowed hard, mustered his courage, and stammered, “Immortal Sir? Since I’ve already delivered the person here, may I ask how much longer I must remain? Could you please let me go back?”
“Why the rush? You’ll be sent back when the time comes,” the aged voice replied indifferently. “For now, just stay quietly to the side and don’t make any noise to disturb others.”
Though the voice was calm, an unmistakable aura of authority lingered beneath its tone. Liu Liu shivered involuntarily, quickly crouching down against the wall, his eyes still darting about in search of the stone door, though now he dared not make a sound.
At this point, Mei Qing had long forgotten everything around him. He paid no heed to Liu Liu’s conversation with the aged voice. To him, there was only the nine-palace dual-five-phase formation before him.
Now, Mei Qing was working his way into the formation by tracing the primordial curve, carefully calculating the transformations of this talisman formation.
The primordial sequence followed the order of Heaven One, Earth Two, Heaven Three, Earth Four, Heaven Eight, Earth Seven, Heaven Six, Earth Five. It was precisely the movement of one changing palace among the nine that allowed the formation to generate two sets of five phases—one forward, one reversed—while still following the primordial pattern to move in all directions.
Thus, this talisman formation was far more complex than Mei Qing had anticipated. He worked from the outside in, then from the inside out, tracing the mysterious path with a mind moving at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people, constantly calculating the myriad transformations along the way to find the simplest and most correct path.
Though the primordial changes followed a discernible pattern, it only provided a general direction for calculation. Each individual step and transformation was incredibly intricate. Despite Mei Qing’s considerable cultivation and exceptional spiritual perception, and despite his deep understanding of talismans and formations, even he began to feel the strain of such intense mental exertion.
The shifting changes were like a butterfly flitting unpredictably—appearing slow, yet moving swiftly, always changing just as they seemed within reach.
Furrowing his brows, Mei Qing’s sweat poured down his forehead. Such calculations were extremely draining on both his spiritual energy and his mental strength.
After Earth Four came Heaven Eight, the crucial turning point of the primordial diagram, marking the boundary between primordial and acquired. It was precisely at the central palace of the nine palaces. Mei Qing carefully calculated his way here step by step, knowing he could not afford to be careless. He gradually slowed his spiritual perception, hoping to slightly control the speed of the formation’s transformations by aligning his rhythm with the calculations.
However, to his great surprise, as soon as he reached this point, the five phases suddenly surged into motion, instantly flipping from forward to reverse. At this moment, the shifting changes surged forth like a galloping horse or a raging torrent, vanishing in an instant. A single misstep caused the entire formation to collapse. The talisman diagram he had painstakingly constructed in his mind disintegrated into countless golden sparks, instantly scattering like a sandcastle crumbling into nothingness.
Helplessly, Mei Qing wiped the sweat from his brow and exhaled deeply. Yet he did not rise. Instead, he closed his eyes and sat in meditation, beginning to restore his spiritual energy.
Since the previous night, he had been engaged in continuous battles, constantly in peril without a moment’s true rest. Though this calculation had not physically exhausted him as combat would, it had drained his spiritual energy and mental focus even more severely. Before this, he had remained cautious, unwilling to let his guard down, so he had not truly meditated to recover.
Now, after some time, Mei Qing naturally understood that, for whatever reason, the owner of the aged voice had not shown any hostility toward him—at least for now. Therefore, he was happy to take this opportunity to restore his strength.
Since yesterday, he had fought fiercely with the two Xi Girls, then endured trials within an illusionary formation, faced a surprise attack from the Laughing Maitreya, and finally sealed his golden elixir and escaped. Each of these experiences had been a rare test for a cultivator. Mei Qing, who had previously lacked practical experience despite his vast theoretical knowledge and the teachings of his two masters, had now had his first true taste of real combat.
Now, as he calmed his mind to cultivate, Mei Qing realized that this ordeal had indeed been highly beneficial.
Even more rare was the fact that the stone chamber they were in was filled with an unusually rich concentration of spiritual energy. Though Mei Qing’s Shenshao Thunder Technique was based on drawing in the essence of sun, moon, and stars, his internal sun and moon had already matured, freeing him from dependence on celestial light. Now, he could cultivate naturally by simply drawing in the ambient spiritual energy, transforming it through his internal sun and moon into refined spiritual essence.
As soon as he opened himself up, streams of pure spiritual energy rushed into his body as if they were free for the taking. Under the radiance of his internal sun and moon, these energies interwove and refined into droplets of true essence, flowing like a gentle stream into the Purple Mansion Cauldron within. Within the cauldron, a swirling current formed, nourishing the embryonic infant seated there, surrounded by swirling purple mists that gradually filled the entire Purple Mansion.
The elixir had undergone nine transformations, and the infant had grown significantly. Its previously indistinct features had become clear and vivid. Wisps of purple mist rose from its body, casting a soft glow over its entire form.
Meanwhile, the pure spiritual energy within the Purple Mansion had gradually filled the space, like thick mist, spreading into the meridians throughout his body.
Mei Qing gradually sank his spiritual perception into the cauldron for refinement before slowly opening his eyes, a sense of joy rising in his heart.
Although previously, with the cauldron’s assistance, he had broken through to the Qi Cultivation stage and formed the embryonic infant, that advancement had been somewhat forced, akin to a premature sprout, and his foundation had not been entirely stable. This time, however, he had genuinely grasped the vital secrets of Qi Cultivation. The progress he made this time was solid and substantial. Now, Mei Qing had truly entered the Qi Cultivation stage and could indeed be considered a genuine immortal cultivator.
“Not bad, not bad. To achieve such progress at a time like this,” the aged voice carried a hint of approval. “Though you didn’t solve the talisman formation, your performance is sufficient for passing this test.”
Mei Qing, however, shook his head. He rose again and walked to the stone platform, carefully examining the talisman formation once more.
Although his cultivation allowed him to memorize anything he saw, a talisman formation was not merely a static image. Simply memorizing its form did not equate to understanding its essence. Therefore, taking advantage of his newfound strength, Mei Qing studied the formation carefully once again before sitting cross-legged, closing his eyes, and resuming his calculations.
With the foundation laid from the previous attempt and after resting and calming his mind, this second round of calculations was somewhat easier. However, this formation was not like a rigid abacus with fixed results. As time passed, positions shifted. Though it seemed like a repetition, in truth, everything was new again, the transformations entirely different from before.
Before long, he reached the critical point between Earth Four and Heaven Eight—the boundary between primordial and acquired. Though Mei Qing had prepared carefully, after considering several variations, his mental stamina faltered once more, and he failed again.
Mei Qing had already steeled himself for this possibility. He knew that such a talisman formation would not be easily conquered. Thus, after a long sigh, he simply calmed his mind for a moment before beginning his calculations anew.
Time had long since faded from Mei Qing’s awareness, and he had lost count of how many times he had failed. Each time, he rested briefly before starting again from the beginning. After struggling through the Earth Four and Heaven Eight boundary over a dozen times, he finally succeeded in passing through it. Yet, when he reached the final test at Earth Five, he failed repeatedly, and progress slowed to a frustrating crawl.
The closer he got, the faster the transformations became, almost impossible to track. The range and magnitude of the changes exceeded all expectations. More than once, Mei Qing felt he was on the verge of breakthrough—only to fall short by the slimmest margin, and everything would reset to zero.
Liu Liu had fallen asleep beside him, murmuring something incoherently in his dreams. The aged voice had not spoken again, as if it had completely forgotten about Mei Qing.
Only Mei Qing himself remained awake and immersed in the world of the talisman formation, tirelessly repeating the arduous and monotonous calculations, again and again.
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