Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

Whenever Liu Xing had free time, he studied "Ten Secrets to Breaking the Forbidden Array." Although it was a fragmented copy, with some information missing, Liu Xing, combined with his knowledge of forbidden techniques, was able to comprehend many tricks for breaking them. By injecting his spiritual consciousness and spiritual energy into the forbidden array, he could sense its fluctuations according to certain patterns and methods, and thus deduce its laws. Without disturbing the forbidden array, he could determine its general effect, and most importantly, determine whether it was a killing array. The next step was to identify the weak links in the forbidden array and conduct targeted breakthroughs, thus saving time and effort.

Strength can defeat skill, and most restrictions require sheer force to break. However, if you can find the pattern and attack with skillful force, breaking the restriction will be twice as effective with half the effort. Conversely, if you can't find the pattern and simply use brute force, you'll naturally get half the result with twice the effort.

Finding flaws in the restrictions requires scientific thinking and logical reasoning. Several of these deductive formulas are found in "Ten Secrets to Breaking the Forbidden Rules." They're incredibly difficult to understand, like calculus in a previous life, and difficult to grasp without a certain level of mathematical talent. Mathematics is precisely Liu Xing's forte; with a single hint, he can apply his knowledge to a wide range of problems. This talent is truly enviable. Liu Xing was thrilled to see the opportunity; he loved this kind of mental exercise. Later on, he'd need to pay more attention to information about restrictions and master more principles and formulas to better deploy and break them.

The book also mentioned a magical tool called a "Breaking Cone." Inserting it into key junctions of a barrier would block the connection and aid in breaking the barrier. Made primarily from copper essence, the cone was inexpensive, and the book even included a production diagram. So Liu Xing found a refinery and made dozens of them, storing them in his storage bag for future use.

The book also explained the principles behind several common restrictions, all involving mind-bending calculations and data modeling. This kind of stuff would truly leave the average cultivator's head spinning. However, Liu Xing felt like he had found a treasure, having reaped immense rewards from his months of research. While he couldn't actually deploy powerful restrictions, finding flaws in them would open up many more avenues and make breaking them much easier.

This time, when he arrived at Qingyuan Market, he still followed his plan and completed all tasks step by step. Today, he also attended a casual cultivator exchange meeting, but gained nothing. This was normal, and he was not disappointed.

He quietly came to a small private room in the teahouse next door, knocked on the door and entered. He saw a young woman in her twenties sitting inside. She was at the tenth level of Qi Refining, the same level as he showed. She had a pretty face and a charm in her every frown and smile.

"My name is Miao Lihua, nice to meet you, Fellow Daoist Mei. Please come in and have a seat." When the young woman saw Liu Xing come in, she immediately stood up and greeted him warmly.

"Hello, Fairy Miao." Liu Xing greeted her and sat down, looking at the young woman with clear eyes and a pure mind.

"My fellow Taoist is a man of his word. I would like to offer you a glass of tea instead of wine." The young woman raised her glass to offer tea.

Liu Xing also reached out and picked up the teacup, saluted from a distance, and put down the teacup as a return gesture. He did not drink from it. He was habitually cautious.

The young woman smiled and didn't care, so the two of them started chatting and asking each other about their backgrounds.

"I invited Fellow Daoist Mei here this time because I want to give you an opportunity." The young woman slowly got to the point.

"I wonder what this opportunity is?" Liu Xing perked up when he saw that the conversation was getting to the point.

"Fellow Daoist, have you ever heard of Taoist Chongxu?" the young woman asked mysteriously.

"Chongxu Daoist, are you referring to the late Foundation Establishment master from Qingshui Temple a hundred years ago?" Liu Xing recalled. He had seen this man's name in books in the market. He was a master of Taoism and magic, and was unrivaled among his peers. He possessed a top-grade magical weapon, the "Assault Boat," which was extremely fast. However, he disappeared a hundred years ago and had not been heard from since.

"Brother Mei is really knowledgeable. It's him." The young woman was quite surprised that Liu Xing actually knew this person's name.

"Since you have heard of Taoist Chongxu, there is no need for me to introduce him in detail. We have discovered one of his temporary caves and would like to invite you to visit it together. When we find any treasures, we will share them equally among us." The young woman did not keep anyone in suspense and immediately stated her purpose.

"Why do you want to share such a good thing with me?" Liu Xing was puzzled, but he remained rational. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

"To be honest, fellow Daoist, that place is very secretive. My husband and I took great pains to find it. However, there is a forbidden formation outside the cave, and we have been studying it for a year without any luck. At the last exchange meeting, I saw that fellow Daoist was very knowledgeable about the art of prohibition, so I invited you to come with us and help us break the prohibition." The young woman saw that Liu Xing was so cautious, and it seemed that the other party would not agree to go unless she told him the truth.

Liu Xing had been observing the young woman's words and actions, and since she didn't seem to be lying, he believed her 80%. They had spent over a year trying to break the restriction, but they couldn't wait any longer. Otherwise, if other fellow Daoists or even senior Foundation Establishment masters discovered their location, they would be doomed. However, the three of them were still not strong enough to break the cave's protective formation. So he asked:

"Who else did Fairy Miao invite to help?"

"As expected, nothing can be hidden from you. We have also invited fellow Taoists Shi Wei and Fan Jian. With the combined strength of the five of us, we should be able to break the formation and deal with the dangers inside the cave." Seeing that Liu Xing was completely flawless, the young woman reluctantly explained the situation of the group.

"How are the cultivation levels of the other three people?" Liu Xing remained unmoved and continued to ask.

"Shi Wei and Fan Jian are both at the eleventh level of Qi training, using the basic techniques of gold and earth attributes respectively. My husband is at the twelfth level of wood attribute, and I am at the tenth level of fire attribute," the young woman continued.

Liu Xing silently assessed his own strength and concluded that if he exerted all his strength, escaping unscathed from these people wouldn't be difficult. Furthermore, these five individuals possessed all five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. This seemed to be a deliberate arrangement by Miao Lihua and his wife. Restrictions also needed to operate according to the laws of the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth to harness the power of nature for everlasting vitality. It seemed the couple were well-versed in the art of restrictions, not completely clueless. Liu Xing pondered silently, running through the entire process, and feeling that nothing was missing, he nodded in agreement.

"Friend Mei, please wait a moment. I will send a message to my husband right away." The young woman was overjoyed to see Liu Xing agreed.

After a while, the young woman said happily:

"Fellow Daoists Shi Wei and I have also agreed to come with us. Let's gather outside the market and set off together."

"Are you so anxious?" Liu Xing asked in surprise. Fortunately, he was ready to leave at any time and had all his things with him, so there was nothing he needed to arrange.

"In order to avoid any unexpected events during the night, it is better for us to go and come back early. Now that we are all here, we must develop the cave as soon as possible. It will be bad if it is discovered by other fellow practitioners." The young woman explained, and Liu Xing fell silent, obviously agreeing with what the young woman said, so he followed her out of the market.