After the immortal disappeared

He Lingchuan likes to change places for a while. This time the two of them did not meet at Mrs. Chen's fish soup shop, but at the Yangbang Tavern two miles away.

There is a river ditch behind the tavern, and the autumn wind blows open the reed flowers, and the gentle and shallow river water sways to create the feeling of mountains and plains.

Hence the name of the tavern, and its main dishes are reed fish and shrimp, and smoked duck with soy sauce.

The shop was small and could only hold five or six tables, but when Dong Rui walked in, he didn't even see He Lingchuan.

His heart skipped a beat, was it a scam?

Just as he was about to exit, the squirrel said: "Go in, go in, hey, what are you afraid of!"

Dong Rui was surprised to be despised by a squirrel. He took two steps forward and saw a side passage beside the wall. However, the light in the store was dim, so he didn't see it at first glance.

Once inside, there is a small cubicle.

In fact, it is an extra corner separated by a board on the edge of the kitchen. The advantage is that the place is small and can only accommodate one table.

He Lingchuan raised his hand to him from the table: "Come on, I've ordered the food."

Dong Rui sat down and frowned when he saw He Lingchuan's hair was wet: "Did you jump into the ditch?"

"What are you talking about?" He Lingchuan placed a barrier and poured wine for him enthusiastically, "I played in the lake for a while." There was too much fog in the mountains today, and after rowing for a while, the hair on the back of the boat was wet.

"..." Dong Rui thought to himself, "It would be great if I couldn't float."

Then, he realized that he had said it accidentally.

"How can you?" He Lingchuan patted him on the shoulder, bang! "We fell into the water together back then. You know how good I am at water."

The strength of his hand made Dong Rui's shoulders slant.

The little squirrel jumped onto He Lingchuan's shoulder and said disgustedly: "This man is so stupid! He can't even walk."

"You're leading the way badly. I've already passed the alley before you turned right!" With all the dishes on the table, Dong Rui turned his back to the aisle and took off his hat.

As soon as that face appeared, the little squirrel chirped in fear and got directly into the lapel of He Lingchuan's clothes.

Dong Rui's forehead veins twitched: "Where did you pick this little thing? Can you make it into a demon puppet for me?"

"You want to train my operator?" He Lingchuan raised his chopsticks, "Stop making trouble and eat your food."

The fish in the river ditch has a strong fishy smell, so it must be fried first and then braised to cover up the fishy smell with a strong flavor.

Yangbang Tavern goes one step further. A big fat crucian carp is grilled over charcoal fire and then braised in sweet and sour sauce. When it is served, it is red and oily, which makes people more appetizing.

He Lingchuan tasted the fish meat with chopsticks and nodded.

No wonder it is a place frequented by locals who have a bit of craftsmanship.

"How did you go out today?"

"What went wrong?" Dong Rui asked, "I went out directly and they didn't dare to say anything."

He Lingchuan chewed fried peanuts: "Then how long did it take you to get rid of the tail?"

"...a quarter of an hour."

"Are you sure no one is following you?"

"Nonsense." Dong Rui looked at him sideways, "I have more experience in dumping people than you do."

He is always on the run.

"Has Snail Toad's injury been cured?"

"It's almost here. I'll be able to jump around in a few days." Dong Rui felt depressed when he thought about how the snail toad was injured. "Fortunately, the 'mud palace' on its back is a rare treasure. It can explode." Most of its power is blocked by it." Without the treasure to protect its master, the Snail Toad would have been torn apart and died.

"Come out to me, what's the matter?"

"Let me tell you something, Zhu Erniang's remains are indeed in Xu Mountain."

"Isn't this nonsense?" Dong Rui glared at him, "Isn't that what I said last time?"

He also went to Xushan to look for it, and it was not that nothing happened.

"I found the official who supervised the construction of the Xushan Spirit Gathering Formation. He said that this formation was based on the Big Dipper Stars, and the formation's eyes were anchored by the remains of the ancient Spider Immortal."

Dong Rui's eyes narrowed: "Zhu Erniang's remains were used to block the formation's eyes?"

He Lingchuan picked up a piece of smoked duck and chewed it slowly: "The formation focuses on the interaction between heaven and man, so that spiritual energy can be gathered from all directions. Three thousand years ago, there was a catastrophe between heaven and earth, and the stars also changed. Only the star map on Zhu Erniang's body was in sync with the sky and was always changing. . Only by using it as the formation eye can we keep the spirit gathering formation running continuously."

"Then when we look for the formation, we find the remains?"

"Theoretically, that's the case." He Lingchuan said slowly, "But the formation eye is usually hidden."

"What?" Isn't this a bit disrespectful of martial ethics?

"The Spirit Gathering Formation benefits the entire Lingxu City and greatly increases the efficiency of all practitioners here in absorbing spiritual energy. It is one of the most important formations in the entire Lingxu City. Therefore, the formation eyes are not fixed, but follow the sky. Changes depending on Luo Xing’s position.”

"You mean, how does the Tianluo star in the sky change, and how does the formation eye of Xu Mountain change?" Dong Rui was dumbfounded, "Isn't that a fool? Tianluo star is a dark star, and it doesn't usually shine. He observed it!"

"The formation eye operates according to this principle." He Lingchuan took a sip of wine and said, "Don't panic. Tianluo star starts to shine in autumn and winter, and it doesn't disappear until February or March of next year. I estimate that it will soon... It’s clear.”

At this point, he was a little startled.

Doesn't this period when Tianluo Xing is always bright overlap with a period of climate that he is familiar with?

"So now during this period, the array eyes will appear, which is also convenient for maintenance."

"Inspection?"

"The house must be maintained regularly. Shouldn't such an important formation be inspected regularly?" He Lingchuan said, "Inspection is done every autumn and once in the spring, and then we have to wait until the next autumn."

Dong Rui's eyes lit up: "When will the latest maintenance start? Can we sneak in?"

"It stands to reason that the autumn inspection will take place within the first seven days after Tianluo Star lights up. We can't get an accurate timetable." He Lingchuan shook his head, "Even if we get it, it's not easy to sneak in. As long as it involves formations, Lingxu City is Be very careful, the maintenance personnel are appointed by the superiors, and once they are replaced, they must be reported at all levels."

"Also, there is indeed a big demon in Xu Mountain. It is a rock and fire monster born in the earth, and it is also the mountain of Xu Mountain."

"Really?" Dong Rui was obviously impressed by it, "I saw it at Tianshu Peak. An elemental monster raised by nature cannot be made into a demon puppet. Alas, what a pity."

"It was a monster formed at the end of ancient times. It was very intelligent. It was once the mountain-protecting spiritual beast of the Great Return Sect, but later it turned traitor and surrendered to the enemy."

Dong Rui nodded: "That spiritual intelligence is indeed very high."

How could a duller creature have such an advanced idea as "betrayal"?

He Lingchuan took some oily creek fish and said: "It has lived a very good life in the hundreds of years since it took refuge in the Northern Demon Kingdom. Lingxu City has indeed provided enough for it. But this guy has a big appetite. In the past hundred years, it has lived a very good life." The harvest of Xuanjing minerals coming to Lingxu City has been decreasing, and the cost of supporting this rock fire monster has been increasing. I think Lingxu City may not be able to bear it, and this formation also has a suppressive effect on it."

"The funny thing is that the rock fire monster also put a lot of effort into the construction of the spirit gathering array, and it moved mountains and mountains, but in the end, I was suppressed by it. I can no longer lose my temper like before. So. The support given to it by Lingxu City was visibly less." He Lingchuan smiled, "Of course, it only realized that it had lost money after the formation was built."

The rock fire monster has a history of betrayal, so Lingxu City will of course be wary of it.

The best way to prevent a ferocious beast from biting is not to keep feeding it with food, but to tie it up or trick it into a cage and close it properly.

"By the way, do you still remember the big earthquake that happened in Lingxu City more than ten years ago?"

"uh-huh."

"According to this official's account, the spirit-gathering formation was basically completed at that time, and only the last step was left, which was to move the formation's eyes to the Xu Mountain and activate it to take effect."

"Move?" Dong Rui was surprised, "The formation eye was the last one to be moved up. Wasn't it built directly on Xu Mountain?"

"They don't dare." He Lingchuan said with a smile, "It is impossible to keep silent during the construction process. Shanze will hear everyone's comments. If it discovers the truth, then this project will no longer be possible."

"However, the accident still happened?" Otherwise, how could there be a volcanic eruption and earthquake that day?

"On the day the formation was installed, the emperor ordered people to pacify the rock-fire monster and make it fall into a deep sleep." The landowner fell asleep, so the construction team quietly entered the scene to rush for progress. It was the Ke family who accepted this assignment, but He Lingchuan did not mention it by name, "Unexpectedly, halfway through their work, the monster woke up, saw the secret on the spot, and became furious."

"And the volcano erupted?"

"Uh-huh." He Lingchuan spat out a fish bone, "The God didn't want all the previous efforts of the formation to be wasted, so he had to suppress it himself. The former Demon Emperor was already old at that time, and it was the current emperor who personally assisted the God and suppressed the rock fire monster. Then the formation eyes were built, the formation took effect, and the fire monster was finally controlled."

To be honest, when he learned the secret of this twists and turns from his father-in-law's dream last night, he felt that the current Demon Emperor's rise to power was probably related to his handling of this crisis properly and being rewarded by the gods.

The eruption of Xushan and the succession of the new emperor were not far apart from each other.

Dong Rui chuckled: "It sounds like the legend of Lingxu City is correct. That big earthquake was indeed caused by monsters in Xu Mountain."

"Rumors come out of nowhere, but they may not be without reason." There are many rumors that come true.

"But whether this Shanze is willing or not, it is obviously the most powerful guardian of the formation." He Lingchuan whispered, "We have to bypass it to find the formation eye. Is there any way to delay its action?"

When Juju became furious, he could force the gods to descend to earth, so he never thought that he would have to fight with this rock-fire monster.

Dong Rui shook his head: "It represents the anger of Xushan. Do you think conventional methods will be useful once this kind of monster gets angry?"

"Then you should think of a way out."

"Isn't it intelligent? It's very smart." Dong Rui shrugged, "Why don't you, Mr. He, convince it with your sharp tongue?"

"What conditions should we give it?" He Lingchuan stroked his chin and thought of this, "Help it release the suppression of the formation?"

"Yes." Dong Rui said matter-of-factly.