I will be stronger after the remake

This time, the ghosts were not repelled, but as soon as they got within three feet of the light barrier, a faint white light suddenly overflowed from the water ripples. The ghosts screamed as if they had been doused with boiling oil, and their forms quickly dissolved. In a moment, they were purified and disappeared without a trace, leaving not even a trace of yin energy behind.

"Ha, it's been defended against. As expected, no obvious loopholes will be left."

Jiang Zhenhua, with an expression of as if he had expected it, put the soul urn back.

Tang Ping said, "Compared to the formation, I think what's really intriguing is that you can carry such a large bottle on your person without it being visible from the outside. It turns out that there really are such convenient treasures as storage bags in the world."

Jiang Zhenhua ignored him, his spiritual pressure emanating outwards, and a phantom dressed in a purple celestial robe slowly appeared behind him. He wore a nine-ridged turban and held a whisk, which was none other than "Lingbao Daoist".

After entering the state of spiritual resonance, the mediocre aura of a middle-aged man on Jiang Zhenhua receded like the tide, breaking the usual pretense of returning to simplicity. He was like a god who had stepped out of a painting, with an otherworldly demeanor and extraordinary temperament.

Her once slightly messy hair had become jet black and smooth, simply tied up with a wooden hairpin, with a few strands hanging down beside her cheeks, fluttering gently in the wind. The weariness and vicissitudes on her face had disappeared, her skin had become radiant and glowing, and her eyes were bright and spirited, as if they contained the stars and the sea. Her clothes had somehow transformed into a moon-white Taoist robe, with flowing sleeves and a misty aura around her as she moved, exuding an ethereal aura.

With the blessing of the spirit, Jiang Zhenhua's eyes seemed to have a mysterious power flowing through them, as if he could perceive the laws governing the operation of all things.

Tang Ping didn't care about these things. Professional matters should be left to professionals. She knew nothing about formations, so paying attention would only be a waste of time. She would rather figure out how to entice Yu Shujiang to ask Uncle Jiang for storage-type magic treasures.

It's fine if you ignore me, but let's see if you can be so heartless as to ignore your own daughter as well.

Jiang Zhenhua had no premonition of the wickedness of human nature. He focused on analyzing the formation. Under his gaze, he could clearly see countless tiny vector streams circulating in the light curtain. Every external force that touched the formation would be captured, marked, and pushed back by these vector streams.

After observing for about half an hour, he finally discovered that in a certain location in the southwest of the formation, the speed of the vector flow was 20% slower than elsewhere, and guessed that this should be the location of the formation's core.

Jiang Zhenhua had already made up his mind. There was no point in continuing to watch, so he exited the state of spiritual resonance and transformed back into an ordinary, refined middle-aged man.

Tang Ping asked with concern, "How is it? Do you have any ideas on how to solve it?"

"Yes, although this formation is ingenious, it is ultimately a dead formation without anyone in charge. It doesn't know how to adapt and has been running for a long time. Even if the formation itself is not wrong, the materials used to build the formation will inevitably age and be damaged, which gives us an opportunity to break it."

Jiang Zhenhua analyzed for a while, then changed the subject: "But even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. I am, after all, just a weapon refiner, not an immortal. Refining magic weapons is my specialty. I plan to go back and refine a magic weapon specifically to deal with formations, which will probably take about three months."

"Please focus on refining it. There's no rush. It's okay to delay for a while. Anyway, Zhou Canglan can't break the formation, and the formation won't disappear even next year."

The two stayed in the same spot for a while, and after confirming that no traces had been left, they turned around and went back.

……

Just after New Year's Day, Zhou Canglan hurriedly gathered everyone and headed to the Temple of Yu the Great.

As expected, the protective formation remains intact.

Seeing Zhou Canglan's barely concealed anxiety, Liu Lingling comforted him, saying, "Since it's a traditional Eastern formation, the date must be calculated according to the lunar calendar. Only the Spring Festival counts as the New Year."

"Yes, as expected. I only called everyone over to take a look just in case. It's okay that the formation is still there; consider it a team-building activity."

Zhou Canglan was mentally prepared for this and did not show any disappointment. He quickly adjusted his mood and led everyone to destroy the nearest monster's lair.

Tang Ping vaguely sensed the unease in this person's heart, but said nothing.

……

On the day of the Spring Festival, Zhou Canglan once again summoned everyone to the Temple of Yu the Great.

"Why is the lockdown still in effect? ​​Isn't this year the Year of the Rat?"

Seeing the unchanging transparent barrier in front of him, Zhou Canglan became furious. He raised his hand and a water dragon appeared out of thin air, baring its fangs and claws as it pounced towards him.

The moment the water dragon collided with the light barrier, unsurprisingly, it reversed direction and retaliated.

Zhou Canglan neither dodged nor avoided, but gathered his spiritual power and waved his hand to scatter the water dragon. Instantly, water splashed everywhere, and he was the first to be hit, his head and face drenched by the icy water. The others quickly dodged.

Zhou Canglan's face was gloomy. He wiped the water off his face and looked at the water ripples in front of him, which continued to flow calmly without any ripples caused by the external impact.

Feng Xiu hurriedly said, "Previously, it was only expected that the seal would be lifted in the Gengzi year, but the exact date could not be determined. There are still a whole year of events to come."

Zhou Canglan gritted his teeth and said, "What if this formation is still not unsealed after the Gengzi year?"

Feng Xiu quickly shut up and didn't answer.

After all, he couldn't guarantee that the seal would be lifted in the Year of Gengzi. Perhaps what he had observed before was a decoy deliberately set up by the master of the formation to mislead others.

If he makes a promise now but fails to keep it in the end, Zhou Canglan will definitely take his anger out on him. Therefore, keeping quiet is the wise choice.

As long as no guarantees are made, this matter has nothing to do with him. Isn't it normal for a mere second-stage psionicist to be unable to break the formation set up by Yu the Great?

After a while, Zhou Canglan realized that his behavior was inappropriate and hurriedly said to Feng Xiu, "I'm sorry, I couldn't control my emotions just now and took it out on you. It wasn't your fault, but it concerns my future, so I couldn't help but feel a little anxious. I hope you don't mind."

With the leader giving him face, Feng Xiu's resentment dissipated, and he quickly said, "I understand, I understand. If I were in that situation, I would definitely have done the same thing."

Of course, while I understand, I certainly can't guarantee anything.

Tang Ping, having observed everything, stepped forward and said, "President Zhou, according to the information I obtained from the Psionic Administration Bureau, a mythical relic has appeared in Huangling County, Yan'an, Shaanxi."

The others were somewhat confused, but Zhou Canglan had gathered a great deal of information about the artifact and had all sorts of knowledge memorized. He understood immediately: "You mean, it might be the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum?"

Tang Ping, on the contrary, denied it: "It's unlikely, since the location where it appeared is not in Qiaoshan Town."

The record in the Records of the Grand Historian states that "the Yellow Emperor died and was buried at Qiaoshan," and Qiaoshan Town belongs to Huangling County.

Zhou Canglan waved his hand and said confidently, "It's normal for there to be discrepancies between the ancient and modern town divisions. The present-day Qiaoshan Town may not be the same as the ancient Qiaoshan Town. Besides, Huangling County doesn't have any other famous myths or legends. It's very likely to be the mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor!"

Liu Lingling chimed in, "Whether it's the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum or not, we should go and confirm it. If it really is the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum, the chances of finding divine artifacts might be higher than here. There are quite a few treasures related to Yu the Great. Even if the formation is broken, no one can guarantee that there will definitely be the Nine Cauldrons in the temple."

Zhou Canglan nodded and said, "We should not delay. Let's head to Huangling County in Yan'an immediately."

Tang Ping looked troubled and said, "I'm afraid I can't. During the New Year period, we need to guard against the Nian Beast. As a formal employee of the Psionic Administration Bureau, I have the responsibility to patrol during the Spring Festival. It's fine if I'm not on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but I can't keep taking leave."

"It's alright, I can go alone. Let's confirm the truth first before considering anything else. I owe you a lot for finding out this news. Be careful to protect yourself at the Psionic Administration Bureau and don't arouse suspicion."

Zhou Canglan gave Tang Ping some encouragement before leaving, somewhat impatiently.

Tang Ping knew that the other party's calmness was only superficial, and that he was already panicking inside. Otherwise, he would have realized a common sense fact: the geography of the Illusionary Realm does not have a strict correspondence with the geography of the real world.

Since everyone agrees that "the Yellow Emperor died and was buried in Qiaoshan", then even if the Qiaoshan Town in the present world is not the ancient Qiaoshan Town, the emperor's mausoleum will still only appear in the Qiaoshan Town of the Illusionary Realm.

Zhou Canglan had forgotten even this basic common sense, which showed that he had lost his composure. His intense desire made him unwilling to accept bad news.

But this was perfect for Tang Ping, because Uncle Jiang's magic weapon for breaking the formation was about to be completed. He deliberately told Zhou Canglan this news in order to lure him away and make it easier to break the formation quietly.

Chapter 252 Obtaining the Treasure Cauldron

While Zhou Canglan was distracted by the mythical ruins that appeared to be the mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, Tang Ping and Jiang Zhenhua returned to the Temple of Yu the Great.

Looking at the ever-flowing array barrier in front of him, seemingly unchanging since time immemorial, Jiang Zhenhua calmly took out a black bead the size of a pigeon egg from his sleeve. The bead's surface was covered with spiral patterns, which was the Suppressing Law Mystic Bead that he had spent three months refining.

Immediately, he flicked his finger, and the Suppressing Law Pearl floated into the air, releasing a thick, ink-like mist. The mist approached the light screen but was not repelled; instead, it spread out like ink drops into water.

"If it were a formation with someone in charge, I could have made my efforts futile by simply changing the formation's position or using water-based spiritual techniques to dilute it. Unfortunately, an unattended formation is like a pre-programmed program; even if there is a very simple flaw, it cannot be fixed on its own."

The infected formation slumped and could not function properly. Before the black mist could infect the entire formation, Jiang Zhenhua took decisive action. After all, a mere Zhenfa Xuanzhu could not do such a thing. The formation set up by Dayu was not comparable to the Five Elements Trapping and Killing Formation developed by the Spirit Energy Department. After about a quarter of it was dyed black, he took action.

A paper crane flew swiftly out of Jiang Zhenhua's sleeve. Its speed slowed slightly after entering the formation, and it became even slower the deeper it went. However, it was not stopped in the end. It rushed all the way to the location where the vector flow was slowing down, which was discovered last time, and then suddenly unfolded. The paper crane itself was a talisman with a huge "seal" character written on it.

Instantly, the golden light of the character "封" surged, and the water ripples on the light screen became chaotic. In particular, the array barrier near the talisman was torn open with a gap about ten feet wide, and the vector flow surged into the gap, unable to form a complete return force.

Jiang Zhenhua said, "As per your request, this seal can only be broken, not removed. It will only last for ten minutes. After ten minutes, the formation will return to normal. If anyone is still inside, I can't guarantee they will be able to get out safely."

"I see."

Without hesitation, Tang Ping decisively unleashed his footwork, his figure darting into the formation like an arrow.

As soon as you step into the temple, a scent of sandalwood mixed with damp earth hits you. The temple is even more magnificent than it appeared from the outside. The main hall is supported by dozens of thick nanmu trees, and the beams and pillars are carved with reliefs of Yu the Great taming the flood. The chisel marks are still clearly visible after a thousand years of wind and rain. A thin layer of bluish-gray has accumulated in the patterns of the raging flood. The ground is paved with dark blue stone slabs, and a few stubborn mosses sprout from the cracks. You can feel a slight elasticity when you step on them.

In front of the shrine in the center of the main hall, a stone statue of Yu the Great sits upright, wearing a straw raincoat and holding a hoe. The statue gazes intently towards the hall's entrance, as if scrutinizing every intruder.

The base of the stone statue is covered with ancient inscriptions, some of which have been worn away by time. The remaining characters faintly glow in the breeze. On the stone platform in front of the statue, a bronze cauldron is gleaming with a dim light. Its body is engraved with mountain and river patterns, which is clearly the destination of this trip - the Nine Provinces Cauldron.

But Tang Ping didn't rush forward to take it, because a turtle the size of a small car was carrying the Nine Provinces Cauldron. This turtle had black armor on its back, three legs, and the scales on its neck rubbed against the cauldron, making a grinding sound. After hearing the noise, it stared at Tang Ping, its ping-pong ball-sized eyes flashing with ferocity.

"A three-legged turtle, but it doesn't seem like it can resolve disputes through language."

Since the goal was to obtain the Nine Provinces Cauldrons, Tang Ping had naturally done his homework. And since there had been a Pan Chi before, it was only natural that other guardian beasts would appear.

There have been several speculations about the guardian beast, such as the Yellow Dragon, Tianlu, and Kui Niu. The Three-Legged Turtle is also one of them, because there is a saying that "Gun transformed into the Yellow Dragon after his death, which is the Three-Legged Turtle," and Gun was Yu's father.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Ping raised his left hand, and the wrist-shaped Ruyi Iron stretched and deformed under the infusion of spiritual power, eventually condensing into a long sword with a chilling light, the blade reflecting his calm face.

"If you don't want to die, put down the cauldron and leave."

Tang Ping made a final attempt to communicate, twirling his longsword in his hand to create a flourish, the resulting airflow dispersing the dust accumulated in front of the hall.

Whether the three-legged turtle understood or not, it roared and pounced forward. Its massive body slammed into the stone platform, causing it to tremble slightly, and the water waves it created with its forelegs swept out like bolts of lightning.

Tang Ping touched the ground with his toes and slid his body about ten feet to the left, avoiding the waves. At the same time, he slashed down with his long sword, the blade's edge like a crescent moon, towards the turtle shell.

With a crisp clang, sparks flew, the longsword was deflected half a foot, but the three-legged turtle remained completely still, without even a white mark left on its carapace.

Tang Ping frowned slightly and swung his knife seven times in succession. Each strike landed on the seam of the armor, but the hard shell seemed to be a single piece. Each impact made his hand go numb.

The three-legged tortoise roared and attacked, its tail lashing out like a steel whip. Tang Ping dodged to the side, and the incense table behind him shattered with a crash. Amidst the flying wood shards, he realized that this mythical beast not only had a hard shell but was also incredibly fast.

After a rapid exchange of blows for more than ten rounds, Tang Ping's swordplay became increasingly fierce, yet he was still unable to harm his opponent in the slightest. The long sword in his hand transformed into a streak of light, sometimes slashing, sometimes thrusting, and he even attempted to attack the relatively soft abdomen of the three-legged turtle, but the scales there were equally hard, and the blade only left shallow marks as it grazed.

The three-legged turtle seemed to be enraged, opening its mouth to spew out a cloud of blue mist, within which countless tiny ice needles could be vaguely seen.

Tang Ping spun his blade in a circle, deflecting all the ice needles. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he moved closer and slashed diagonally, precisely piercing the soft spot where the three-legged turtle's neck met its carapace.

The three-legged turtle immediately let out a roar and violently swung its neck, trying to shake the person off.

But Tang Ping gripped the hilt tightly and used the force of the opponent's swing to rotate the blade, trying to create a larger wound. However, he soon discovered that the body under the opponent's carapace was just as hard as a rock, and the blade transformed from the Ruyi Iron could not even break through the skin.

He immediately drew his sword and transformed it into a palm strike, delivering a penetrating blow to the three-legged turtle's thick neck. However, he felt as if he had struck a steel ingot, unable to find any neck bone to hit.

At this moment, the three-legged turtle turned its head and opened its mouth to bite. Tang Ping could only retreat hastily to create distance. He glanced at the Nine Provinces Cauldron on the turtle's back and guessed that this treasure was likely the one that enhanced the three-legged turtle's defensive capabilities.

Normally, Tang Ping wouldn't mind slowly probing and testing to find out the reason before targeting the weakness, displaying exquisite skills comparable to a master butcher. However, there was still a time limit, and he didn't have a watch on him, so he didn't know how many minutes were left. Without hesitation, he pointed the knife downwards, clasped his hands together, and his spiritual power surged, causing golden Buddhist light to suddenly emanate from his body.

"The Zen mind illuminates through three thousand kalpas!"

After advancing to the third-tier "Spirit Child", although he did not gain powerful combat-type spiritual energy, his total spiritual power became ten times that of before, and he could now use the ultimate move of the Zen Sea Blade Technique normally.

As soon as Tang Ping's low shout fell, he slashed forward with his sword. The sword light transformed into countless tiny golden specks of light, surging towards the three-legged turtle like a tide. The specks of light did not attack its physical body, but instead pierced through its scales and armor, directly striking its soul.

The three-legged turtle initially thrashed about wildly and summoned a water curtain to block its way, but to no avail. The golden blade light easily pierced through it as if it were nothing.

A moment later, its movements suddenly froze, the fierce light in its eyes quickly dimmed, its originally hard body slowly went limp, and the blue light on its carapace faded, revealing a grayish-brown base color.

Tang Ping sheathed his sword and stood still, calming the surging spiritual energy within his body. The Ruyi Iron transformed back into a wristband and he put it on his wrist. He stepped forward to examine it and found that although the three-legged turtle's body was still intact, it was lifeless.

The move "Zen Mind Illuminates Three Thousand Kalpas" has the effect of both striking the body and attacking the spirit. This time, the focus is on the latter, achieving success in one fell swoop.

Not wanting to waste time, Tang Ping held the bottom of the cauldron with one hand. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, without any of the heaviness of bronze. The inscriptions on the cauldron suddenly lit up when he touched them, displaying "Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Liangzhou, Yongzhou".

"Oh, it uses the setting from the 'Yu Gong' section of the Book of Documents."

The names of the Nine Provinces vary in different works. For example, the Erya mentions Youzhou and Yingzhou but not Qingzhou and Liangzhou, while the Zhouli mentions Youzhou and Bingzhou but not Xuzhou and Liangzhou.

Tang Ping wasn't an expert in this field and didn't care about the significance of this difference. He took out a storage bag from his pocket, put the Nine Provinces Cauldron inside, and then turned around and ran out quickly.

After he ran out of the array's range, there seemed to be plenty of time left. Uncle Jiang methodically retrieved the Suppressing Law Pearl. Without the influence of this magic treasure, the array quickly resumed operation, ejecting the sealing talismans within the array. Then, the vector flow surged out, reforming into an unshakeable array wall.

"Have you received the goods?" Uncle Jiang asked.

Tang Ping patted the storage bag and said, "It's inside. I can't tell if it's the artifact that sustains the present world, but it is definitely the Nine Provinces Cauldron."

Uncle Jiang glanced at it, a hint of helplessness flashing across his face.

Although he had guessed this would be the outcome when his daughter asked him for a storage item, he still couldn't help but sigh after witnessing it firsthand: Girls are so outgoing!

"Let's go back first, and we can check it when we get back."

"Ah."

Tang Ping was meticulous and did not become complacent because the plan had succeeded. Before leaving, she cleaned up the traces at the scene again, while Jiang Zhenhua used his spiritual power to disrupt fate and prevent others from knowing about it.

The two returned to the Illusionary Realm where the Yu family villa was located. There, Uncle Jiang had built a wooden house. The reason they didn't return to the real world wasn't because they were afraid of being seen, but simply because the storage bag couldn't store or retrieve items in the real world.

"It is indeed the Nine Cauldrons of the Nine Provinces."

Upon seeing the inscriptions on the tripod, Uncle Jiang immediately made his judgment.

He then walked around the cauldron three times, occasionally tapping the body of the cauldron with his fingertips, and then bent down to examine the runes on the belly of the cauldron. After a while, he said, "This treasure has both 'suppression' and 'solidification' properties. The former can be used to suppress the array eye and seal, while the latter can give it the effect of 'indestructibility'."

Tang Ping said, "It sounds like it's a divine artifact that protects the existing array."

"The possibility is very high, but we can't guarantee it. We can only say that, judging from its effects, it is indeed very suitable as a divine artifact to maintain the operation of the formation. It is also sturdy enough that it cannot be destroyed by ordinary means."

As Uncle Jiang spoke, he casually unleashed a palm strike that hit the cauldron and exploded, but as expected, it remained completely undamaged.

Tang Ping tried to attack with the weapon derived from the Ruyi Iron, but failed to cause any damage. Even with the addition of spiritual power, he could only break the weapon derived from the Ruyi Iron.

He retrieved the Ruyi Iron and asked, "Can't we confirm that it's a divine artifact?"

"There's no way, at least not with my abilities. Treasures of this level have extremely high status, so divination methods are ineffective. In the words commonly used in fantasy novels, they are not subject to cause and effect."

"What about identification-type psionic abilities?"