Gou Zai Xi You Dao Chang Sheng

Beneath the Blue Stone Mansion, a tributary of the earth vein, about the thickness of a thumb, meanders by.

The spiritual energy is thin, mixed, and impure, barely enough for ordinary families to dig wells for water and ensure a bountiful harvest.

Three miles outside the city, the energy of the pulse slightly converges, forming a faint eye of spiritual energy.

Five miles north of the city, beneath a low hill, the earth's veins fork into two.

One branch heads east, entering the plains and farmland.

One fork leads westward, into the depths of Cangwu Mountain.

The western branch is located in the direction of Black Wind Ridge.

Following this branch, Li Yan traveled westward with his divine sense.

Thirty li, fifty li, one hundred li...

The pulse gradually strengthens, and the spiritual energy becomes richer.

Two hundred miles away, a branch meets a main trunk.

The main trunk is as thick as a child's arm, radiating a brilliant spiritual light; it is one of the main veins of the Cangwu Mountains.

The main vein meanders westward for six hundred miles, eventually converging at the foot of a majestic black ridge.

Black Wind Ridge.

Li Yan touched that vital meridian with his divine sense, then withdrew it without going deeper.

But that's enough.

[Earth vein exploration complete]

Beneath Black Wind Ridge, the earth's veins converge, gathering energy that transforms into malevolent forces.

[The cave dwelling in the mountains is shrouded in subtle fluctuations of restrictive energy, possibly indicating the use of earthly malevolent energy to form an array.]

There are two routes from Qing Shi Fu to Hei Feng Ling, a distance of 800 li:

Firstly, the demon army emerged from the ridge, traveled east along the mountain path, passed through Wolf Valley, Mass Grave, and Deadwood Forest, and arrived at Sanlipo outside the city.

This road is treacherous and narrow, making it ideal for ambushes.

Secondly, if the Black Wind Demon were to personally use his escape technique, he could travel directly from his cave in the mountains to the sky above the Green Stone Mansion.

A sealing formation must be set up in advance to prevent teleportation.

Li Yan opened his eyes, and the illusory images of mountains and rivers in his eyes gradually dissipated.

Sun Wukong, who had been waiting anxiously, leaned closer and asked:

"Senior brother, have you figured out that old demon's background?"

Li Yan nodded slightly, took out a blank jade slip, and began to use his divine sense.

In a short while.

A topographical map of the Cangwu Mountains, along with the two routes from Heifeng Ridge to Qingshi Mansion, is clearly marked.

He handed the jade slip to Sun Wukong:

"Junior brother, please take a look."

Sun Wukong took the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and his golden eyes lit up:

"Wonderful! Senior Brother's earth vein technique has contained the entire landscape of an area of ​​eight hundred miles within this tiny jade piece!"

He pointed to the topographic map and marked three places: Wolf Valley, Mass Grave, and Deadwood Forest.

"These three places are all dangerous passes."

If I were that old demon, leading my demon army eastward, I would certainly send scouts to these three locations first.

Li Yan nodded:

"Junior brother is absolutely right."

Wolf Valley is nestled between two mountains, with a narrow valley passage that makes it easy to ambush.

Mass graves are filled with yin energy, making them ideal hiding places for demons.

The Deadwood Forest, sparsely wooded but with ancient trees, is an ideal place for concealment and escape techniques.

His eyes shimmered with the Daoist aura of starlight, and he continued:

"However, none of these three locations are the best places to set up an ambush."

Sun Wukong scratched his ear: "Then where will you choose, Senior Brother?"

Li Yan raised his hand and pointed to the topographic map, three miles outside Qing Shi Mansion.

The location of that old locust tree.

"Right here."

"Three miles outside the city?"

Sun Wukong was somewhat surprised. "This is too close! Once that old demon reaches the city gates, won't he see us at a glance?"

Li Yan shook his head:

"That's why the old demon won't take extra precautions here."

He pointed to the terrain around Sanlipo and said slowly:

"Junior brother, look."

Sanlipo is situated on slightly higher ground, offering a panoramic view of the entire city, but its gentle slope provides no natural defenses.

If the old demon were to arrive here, he would surely think it was just an ordinary place for observation.

He never imagined that someone would dare to set up a killing formation so close to the Qing Shi Mansion.

Furthermore...

Li Yan's tone deepened:

Eight years ago, Senior Brother Zhao fought the Black Wind Demon alone at the city gate outside the mansion.

In that battle, although the old demon won, he was severely injured by Senior Brother Zhao's final sword strike that burned away his Dao seed.

He must still harbor lingering fear towards this mansion, and towards every blade of grass and tree outside the city.

"If he were to once again besiege the city and stand on the spot where he was wounded years ago, he would surely have a glimmer of hope in his heart."

"This slight opening is our chance to strike."

Sun Wukong's golden eyes lit up upon hearing this:

"Senior brother, your scheme has truly taken human nature into account!"

Li Yan shook his head slightly:

"It is not the human mind, but the mind of the Way."

The Black Wind Demon was surrounded by calamity energy, and his Dao heart had been eroded.

Those who are prone to robbing others are often insane, obsessive, and filled with anger.

The more he wanted to slaughter the city, the more he couldn't let go of the defeat he suffered eight years ago.

This lingering obsession was his gateway to calamity.

"We lie in ambush here not because of the terrain, but because we are in ambush at his gate of attack."

Sun Wukong seemed to be deep in thought, scratching his ear and saying:

"I vaguely understand what you're saying, senior brother."

Just like when I was chopping wood on the back of Fangcun Mountain, I saw the wild peach grove ripen three times.

The first time I had a craving, I picked a green one, and it was so sour it made my teeth ache.

The second time, wait until it's fully ripe.

But the sparrow pecked at it first.

The third time, I waited under the tree all night, and finally I got to eat some.

"These three times the peach tree told me that I was there when it bloomed."

When the result came, I was there.

When the fruit is ripe and about to fall, I will still be here.

"I guard it, and it guards me."

"My senior brother just said that we are lying in ambush at the gate of calamity."

"I think this isn't about squatting by the roadside waiting to be ambushed."

"It's like how I guard that peach tree. You're here, you've always been here."

"The old demon's raid was not in Wolf Valley, nor in the mass grave, nor even the moment he saw this city."

"In his heart, the day he was defeated eight years ago has never passed."

"He thought that once he was healed, his cultivation had improved, and he had achieved the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, he could turn the page on that matter."

"It's insurmountable."

"He remembered this day every year, thought of this sword every month, and hated Senior Brother Zhao who ruined his path."

"Every time he harbors hatred, he is digging a hole for himself."

"Every time he harbors hatred, he is digging a hole for himself."

"After eight years of digging, it should have been a city gate by now."

As Sun Wukong spoke, he suddenly grinned:

"Senior brother, you just said that we were lying in ambush at the gate of the calamity, which is to take advantage of his weakness."

I don't think so.

"We are not lying in his weakness."

"We are clinging to that single moment of anger he felt during those eight years."

Li Yan listened attentively.

After a long silence, he nodded slightly.

"Junior brother's words have already attained the Samadhi of the Principle of Calamity."

"Calamity does not come from the outside; it arises from the mind."

"If the mind does not give rise to any thoughts, the gates of calamity will close by themselves."

"That Black Wind Demon spent eight years in seclusion, thinking he was recuperating from his injuries."

"In reality, it's nurturing a calamity."

"If you raise it to this day, the calamity will overflow."

"Even if he doesn't come to massacre the city, the flames of war will burn him to ashes from within."

"He came to massacre the city, carrying with him the calamity accumulated over the past eight years, intending to perish together with all the people of this city."

Li Yan looked towards the statue of the Sword God in the mansion.

The blue stone swordsman remained calm, his sword flashing three-tenths of an inch.

Eight years ago, when he burned his Dao Seed and unleashed a sword strike with all his cultivation, did he really only severely injure the Black Wind Demon?

Or perhaps that sword strike was named Golden Light Rifting the Sky.

In reality, it was the old demon's Dao heart that was cracked.

What was severed was the old demon's destiny.

What was planted was a seed of calamity that is still taking root and sprouting today.

Li Yan withdrew his gaze and stopped thinking about it.

He raised his hand.

Three command flags flew out from his sleeve.

The command flag is neither silk nor cloth, but is woven from the roots of the finest earth seed mixed with the star power of the plant itself.

The flag is 1.3 feet long, dark yellow in color, with subtle star patterns.

The flagpole is made of century-old pine wood, soaked in the earth's spiritual essence, making it solid and warm.

"Junior brother."

Li Yan handed the first command flag to Sun Wukong:

"Please go three miles due north, to the point where the earth's veins meet at the Kan position, and nail this flag 38 inches deep into the ground."

"When nailing, you must concentrate and infuse the flagpole with the metal energy of your lungs."

"Metal generates water, and Kan represents water, which perfectly aligns with the mechanism of the earth's veins being activated."

Sun Wukong took the command flag, and with a glance from his golden eyes, he knew that this flag was extraordinary:

"Senior brother's flag is far superior to those from Shattered Star Gorge back then!"

Without asking any further questions, he took the command flag, and in a flash, he was already three miles to the north.

Concentrate, hold the flag in your right hand, and infuse it with the metal energy of your lungs.

The command flag, nourished by the golden energy, gradually developed a white sheen on its dark yellow surface.

"Go!"

The flagpole is 38 feet deep in the ground, perfectly aligned with the eye where the earth's veins converge.

In an instant, the earth's veins within a three-mile radius trembled.

The vibration was extremely subtle, like a musician tuning a string or testing the sound.

However, in Li Yan's mind mirror, the earth vein in the Kan position had been activated, like a sleeping dragon slightly opening its eyes.

[Formation: Flag Formation at Kan Position]

[Activating the earth's spiritual energy, aligning with the innate Bagua orientation, array formation mastery +5]

[Aura of Destiny +10 (In harmony with the Heavenly Dao, the formation possesses spiritual power)]

Li Yan nodded slightly.

He turned and handed the second command flag to the gray sable:

"Go three miles due south, to the point where the earth's veins intersect, and drive the nail in three zhang and seven cun deep."

"You cultivate the power of the Moon and Stars; the Moon represents the Yin, and the Fire represents the Sun."

"The Sun and the Moon, though seemingly incompatible, are actually mutually supportive."

"When you nail the flag, wrap the flag body with moonlight and infuse the flag tip with star power."

"The interplay of Yin and Yang is called the Dao."

The sable perched on his shoulder, its amber eyes listening intently.

He jumped down.

Its silver-gray fur shimmered with a faint moonlight, and its body was covered in twinkling star patterns.

It picked up the command flag, lightly touched the ground with its four paws, and its body was like a silver streak of light, instantly reaching three miles due south.

The moonlight envelops the flag, and the starlight condenses at its tip.

One nail.

The flagpole is 37 feet deep into the ground.

The displaced earth veins move accordingly.

The tremor was three times more intense than that of the Kan position, like flames licking dry wood, gathering momentum.