Chapter 95 Part 1

At first glance, there seemed to be no difference between the area around the Zide Hall of Lingshou Hall and elsewhere. Even outside the alchemy room where Qinghe Zhenren was in seclusion, there were four formations set up as barriers, just as when he had been in seclusion before, to prevent disciples from accidentally intruding and disturbing the person inside.

Yun Zong had previously guarded this place for his master, and knew that the few formations outside were only of ordinary difficulty. Since Qinghe Zhenren was the sect leader of Shangxuan Sect, and there were layers of restrictive mechanisms inside Shangxuan Sect, there was no need to worry about external enemies invading and interfering, and no one dared to come here to cause trouble.

But it was obvious that the defensive formations now were not the same as before. On the way to the door of the alchemy room, four formations were constructed using talismans and engraved patterns, each possessing one of the four attributes of metal, wood, water, and fire. Judging from the cultivation and technique of the person who set up the formations, it must have been done by a high-level cultivator.

"How is it?" Yun Zong asked through a secret sound transmission.

The two of them were standing in mid-air, with a barrier and invisibility technique, so no one discovered them.

In front of the alchemy room, there were also four Shangxuan Sect disciples guarding the four directions. Their cultivation was not high. But from this, one could see the intentions of the person who set up the formations. Those disciples were standing behind the formations. To break the formations, one must alert them. By the time the formations were broken, they would have ample time to sound the alarm and report.

Zhou Yin was an expert in setting up formations and drawing talismans, so Yun Zong naturally had to ask him first.

Zhou Yin did not speak, as he was observing.

Breaking formations was all about technique. No matter how perfect a formation was, there would always be flaws.

As long as it was a formation, there would always be a formation eye. Regardless of the formation, the formation eye would always exist. The only difference was in the cultivation of the formation breaker, whether they could see through the formation eye, or whether they would be confused by the formation and find a false formation eye.

These four formations each had one attribute, and from the arrangement, it was already perfect enough.

For example, for the outermost metal attribute formation, the formation setter directly engraved the runes of golden cocoons and silk threads on the ground, and then added a layer of confounding symbols.

As soon as one stepped into the formation, they would involuntarily shift their footsteps, and the formation would be disrupted again. Once inside the formation, it would be impossible to think of a new method to break the formation.

So the formation eye should not be inside the formation.

Zhou Yin shifted his gaze and looked around.

The surroundings of the alchemy room were tranquil, with pear trees planted all around. Although it was not the season for pear blossoms, due to the abundant spiritual energy in Shangxuan Sect, the last thing they lacked was magic. So the trees were still blooming with snow-white flowers, which was very beautiful.

Amidst the pear blossoms, there was a stone path of steps leading directly from the alchemy room to the Zide Hall below.

Although it was not obvious, if one observed carefully, one could still discover that these pear blossoms were not tightly connected, but divided into seven clusters, which corresponded to the meaning of "seven stars surrounding the moon". This was not only a spiritual arrangement, but also a consideration of feng shui, which could allow the alchemy room to absorb more spiritual energy, which was very beneficial to the person cultivating inside the alchemy room.

Zhou Yin said, "How long have these pear trees been planted?"

Yun Zong said, "It has been like this since I joined the sect."

Then it had nothing to do with the formations. Zhou Yin turned his gaze away and looked elsewhere.

The alchemy room itself, the plants and trees beside the formations, that narrow flight of steps...

His gaze finally fell on the four disciples.

They were not guarding the four corners, but standing in pairs on the left and right of the door. It seemed that this boring task made them feel extremely bored, so they started chatting there.

However, despite chatting, their footsteps did not move half a step, and they still stood there motionless.

One of them had a bitter face, seeming a little tired, and said a few words to the other three. The others all mocked him. Then, the four of them stepped out in different directions, allowing the one who complained about being tired to take the opportunity to twist his waist and stretch his muscles and bones.

Just at this moment, the formations flickered and weakened in power. When the four of them stood still, it returned to its original state.

Zhou Yin stared at them for a moment and said lightly, "I know."

He had been silent all this time, and Yun Zong did not disturb him. Now hearing him speak, Yun Zong immediately looked over.

"The places where these four people are standing are the formation eyes."

"How so?"

"They use a special footwork to maintain the balance of the formations. When one person moves, all four move together. So they cannot be killed or moved, unless one can completely master that set of footwork."

Hearing him say this, Yun Zong concentrated and looked towards the four people, and indeed discovered some clues.

Zhou Yin said on the side, "I just observed that during their movement, there was a moment when the formations were at their weakest, and the power was almost non-existent."

Yun Zong was an extremely intelligent person. Otherwise, he would not have been able to cultivate to his current achievements. As soon as Zhou Yin said this, he immediately thought of a plan.

He went around to the pear trees behind the alchemy room and flicked his finger. A wisp of green smoke dissipated into the night sky.

A faint but extremely sweet fragrance spread out, as if it was coming from the alchemy room. The four guarding disciples looked at each other in surprise.

One person said, "What is this fragrance?"

The others looked at each other, but did not know either.

Everyone couldn't help but swallow. That fragrance was like an extremely delicious dish, like a newly refined spiritual elixir, and even more like the faint body fragrance emitted by a peerless beauty, fully stimulating everyone's endless imagination, making them want to see what it was.

The fragrance became a little stronger. The four people had low cultivation and only knew that they were called to guard the alchemy room, but did not know the mysteries inside. They couldn't help but start guessing with each other.

"Could it be that the sect leader is refining some new elixir inside?"

"Impossible. I have never smelled this fragrance on anything. It's more like..." That person revealed an ambiguous smile and said softly, "Do you know about Fairy Bibo, the number one beauty in the world?"

Another person said, "Of course I know. I saw her once. She really has skin like ice and bones like jade, with unparalleled beauty. It's a pity she didn't become Senior Brother Yun's Dao companion."

That person whispered, "I once served her closely. Fairy Bibo's body seems to have this lotus fragrance, but this fragrance is even stronger."

The other three people were dumbfounded upon hearing this. "No way, you mean..."

That person quickly said, "I didn't mean anything!"

At first, the four of them had some reservations, but after guarding for so many days, not only was it boring and unbearable, there was also never any movement inside. As they spoke, they inevitably let loose a lot, and there was no one around anyway.

Another person said, "This fragrance seems to be coming from the back. Why don't I go take a look!"

"That's not good. Didn't the higher-ups instruct us not to move without authorization?"

"If the fragrance is coming from inside, we naturally can't commit the grave offense of opening the door and peeking. Now we're just going to take a look behind the alchemy room, it's no big deal!"

The other three were clearly persuaded, saying: "Then you go and come back quickly!"

"Don't worry!" That person responded and stepped towards the back.

The gold, green, blue and red talismans engraved on the ground instantly dimmed in color.

The originally interlocking formation developed a gap.

Now's the chance!

The Heaven Washing Brush in Zhou Yin's hand shot out, precisely flying through the gap in the formation and tapping the backs of the four people in succession.

The brush's momentum, carrying spiritual power, rushed into their acupoints. The four instantly became unable to move and lost consciousness, standing there stiffly like wooden poles.

"My Zhou Yin is really amazing, even breaking the formation so dashingly!" Zhou Chen, who had been silent the whole time, finally found an opportunity to flatter.

Ever since Zhou Yin stopped letting him interfere in Shangxuan Sect's affairs, his daily life consisted of eating then sleeping, sleeping then eating.

When Yun Zong wasn't around, he would play kissy face with his wife, teasing and acting spoiled until he got his way. When Yun Zong was present, he played dead, basically not opening his mouth unless necessary, and resolutely adhered to the "two absolutes" principle: whatever Zhou Yin says is right, and whatever Zhou Yin does is brilliant.