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 conveniently placed a barrier, and then poured him a drink 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 such a poor guide. 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 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 a step further. A big fat crucian carp is grilled over charcoal fire, 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 grunted, "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 the 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 from all directions can be gathered. 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 the spirit gathering formation be kept running. ”

"Then when we looked for the formation, we found 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 did the Tianluo star in the sky change, and how did the formation of Xushan Mountain change?" Dong Rui was dumbfounded, "Isn't that a fool? The 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, "You don't have to 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 formation eyes will appear, which is also convenient for maintenance."

"Overhaul?"

"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 inspection start? Can we sneak in?"

"In theory, the autumn inspection will be within the first seven days after Tianluo Star lights up. We can't get the exact schedule." He Lingchuan shook his head, "Even if we get it, it won't be easy to sneak in. Lingxu City is very cautious when it comes to formations. The inspectors are assigned positions and people by the superiors. Once they are replaced, they must report to the higher levels."

"Also, there is indeed a big monster in Xushan. It is a rock and fire monster that was born and raised by nature. It is also the mountain swamp of Xushan."

"Really?" Dong Rui was obviously impressed by it. "I have seen it in Tianshu Peak. It is an elemental monster that was born and raised by nature. It can't be made into a demon puppet. Alas, it's a pity."

"It is a monster formed in the late ancient times. It is very intelligent. It used to be the mountain guardian beast of Dahuan Sect, but later defected to the enemy."

Dong Rui nodded: "It is indeed very intelligent."

How can a stupid creature have such a high-level idea of ​​"betrayal"?

He Lingchuan picked up some dregs of small stream fish: "It lived a good life in the hundreds of years after it surrendered to the Northern Demon Kingdom. Lingxu City did provide it with sufficient supplies. But this guy has a big appetite. In the past hundred years, the black crystal mineral production in Lingxu City has been declining, and the cost of supporting this rock fire monster has been increasing. I think Lingxu City may not be able to bear it. This formation also has a suppressive effect on it."

"What's funny is that the rock fire monster also put a lot of effort in the construction of the spirit gathering formation, moving mountains and peaks, but it ended up being suppressed by it. It can no longer lose its temper like before. So the supply from Lingxu City to it has been visibly reduced." He Lingchuan laughed, "Of course, after the formation was built, it realized that it had lost money."

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

The best way to prevent wild beasts from biting people is not to keep trying to please it with food, but to tie it up or trick it into a cage and lock it up.

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

"Hmm."

"According to the official, the Gathering Spirit Array was basically completed at that time, and the only thing left was to move the center of the array to Xushan Mountain and activate it."

"Move?" Dong Rui was surprised, "The center of the array was moved up last, wasn't it built directly on Xushan Mountain?"

"They didn't dare." He Lingchuan smiled, "It's impossible to keep silent during the construction process. Shanze will hear everyone's discussion. If it finds out the truth, then this project can't go on."

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

"On the day the center of the array was placed, the emperor ordered people to appease the rock fire monster and put it into a deep sleep." The landlord fell asleep, so the construction team could quietly enter the site to catch up with the progress. The family that accepted this assignment was the Ke family, but He Lingchuan did not name them. "However, halfway through their work, the monster woke up, saw through the trick, and became furious."

"Then the volcano erupted?"

"Hmm." He Lingchuan spat out a fish bone. "The gods did not want the great formation to fail, so they had to suppress it themselves. At that time, the former demon emperor was already old, and it was the current emperor who personally assisted the gods to suppress the rock and fire monster. Then the array eye was built, the array was in operation, and the fire monster was finally controlled."

To be honest, when he learned about this tortuous secret from his father's dream last night, he felt that the current demon emperor's succession was probably related to the proper handling of this crisis and the reward from the gods.

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

Dong Rui chuckled, "It sounds like the legend of Lingxu City is not wrong. The earthquake was indeed caused by the monster in Xushan."

"There is no smoke without fire." Many rumors become true after being refuted.

"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 and find the center of the formation. Is there any way to delay its action?"

When the Juju was furious, it could force the gods to descend to the earth, so he never thought about fighting with this rock fire monster.

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

"Then you should think of a way."

"Isn't it intelligent? It's very smart." Dong Rui shrugged, "Why don't you use your eloquence to convince it?"

"What conditions should you offer it?" He Lingchuan stroked his chin and thought of this, "Help it to break the suppression of the formation?"

"Yes." Dong Rui took it for granted.