Chapter 116: The Eight Trigrams and the Nine Palaces

Qingyuan had dealt with celestial fire before and was familiar with the Eight-Dragon Bagua Immortal Furnace. The arrangement of the furnace followed the numbers of the Prenatal Bagua and had been personally set by the Great Immortal Zixiao.

He had originally intended to imitate the furnace's layout, but after much deliberation, he realized it was a celestial treasure, not something of the mortal realm. The Taoist arts and bridges constructed by the masters present could not reach such a level. Therefore, he adopted a different Bagua numerical system.

This method also involved the Bagua, but it contained nine steps—the Eight Trigrams generating the Nine Palaces, a technique belonging to the Luo Shu. This method was devised by one of the two ancestors of the Taoist school, the Supreme Taoist Ancestor, and was recorded within Zixiao Palace.

"This area is of the fire element, so it should be bridged with earth. The earth element corresponds to the Kun position, which should be placed first..." Qingyuan thought to himself, "Then, following the Supreme Taoist Ancestor's Bagua numbers: Kun one, Xun two, Li three, Dui four, Center five, Gen six, Kan seven, Zhen eight, Qian nine... It is correct."

He exhaled slowly. When he first deduced the Five Elements formation from the map, many ideas had occurred to him. Because he was adept with fire, he had focused most of his thoughts on the fire-aligned sector of the formation. The Luo Shu method for the Prenatal Bagua he was using now was one of the many solutions he had prepared, but he could not be certain of its success. Thus, when he had instructed Sun Yu earlier, he had already gripped the Red River White Night Ghost Vehicle, prepared to turn hostile—even though he had been entirely uncertain of the outcome. Fortunately, everything had succeeded.

The bridge, twisting and turning, consisted of nine sections spanning the land that appeared calm but was actually teeming with subterranean fire.

"What an incredibly admirable young man," Han Yu said, clapping his hands with a smile. "No wonder Brother Gan Huan intended to protect you. Could it be that you foresaw this scene? Foresaw the utility of this person?"

"You overpraise me," Gan Huan replied. "I simply found him pleasing to the eye."

Hearing this, Qingyuan displayed the appropriate expression for a young man and offered a faint smile. Sun Wenpeng's face darkened, and a flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. Daoist He of the Seven Spirits Sect sighed to himself: "If this matter concludes successfully, I might be able to intervene. If this lad survives, taking him into my sect wouldn't be a bad idea. But... I wonder if he has a master?"

Each person had their own agenda, save for Sun Yu, who was solely focused on relieving his ancestor's concerns and reaching the depths to retrieve the treasure. Sun Yu frowned, cast a glance at Qingyuan, and then turned to the other three masters. "Gentlemen, the stone bridge is complete. If we are to move, let us do so quickly. Since I was the one to condense the stone bridge, I assume you have your reservations. In that case, please, proceed..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Gan Huan stroked his beard and laughed. "Old Friend Sun is indeed reasonable."

Gan Huan stepped forward, placing a hand on the stone bridge. As he channeled his power, it seeped into the structure, extending across all nine sections and leaving a trace of his own essence. Subsequently, Daoist He and Han Yu each poured their power into the bridge, leaving their own marks.

"Time to go." At Sun Yu's command, the group began to move.

Leading the way was a disciple of the Seven Spirits Sect, followed by two members of the Sun family. Qingyuan was the fourth. Behind him were more disciples from the Sun family and the Seven Spirits Sect. Because of the ability he had displayed earlier, the masters did not underestimate him, even though they believed his true energy had been "sealed" by medicine. To prevent any mishaps, Sun Yu had cautiously placed Qingyuan in the middle as they crossed. The four masters—Sun Yu, Gan Huan, Han Yu, and Daoist He—valued their own lives and stayed at the rear. Only when those ahead were halfway across and remained safe did they deem it secure enough to step onto the bridge.

Qingyuan stole a quick glance at the masters on the other end of the bridge before looking away, thinking, "A bunch of old foxes." But no matter how cunning the fox, it was time to reveal its true form.

The stone bridge was scorching, and waves of heat assaulted them from both sides. Had they not been experienced cultivators, they would have found it unbearable. The bridge beneath their feet was like an iron pot over a fire, so hot that the soles of their shoes were nearly melting; they could only endure it through their own cultivation.

Qingyuan walked slowly, looking down. The ground below glowed with a brilliant, red light, like a heated branding iron. The layer of earth was not thick—about two feet—but the subterranean fire had melted the rock beneath into magma, constantly eroding the earth above and splitting it with fissures, making the ground feel as thin as paper.

As the group walked on, the person at the front reached the end of the bridge, ready to step onto the other side of the fire chamber. Seeing the bridge remained intact, the masters at the rear breathed a sigh of relief. This fire chamber had been a dead end; they had never expected to find a way through.

Qingyuan caught the look in the masters' eyes and sneered inwardly: "It was always a dead end."

In a split second, his left hand flickered with fire; simultaneously, he threw a black iron sphere with his right hand.

His left hand pressed against the face of the Sun family member behind him, the flames erupting to incinerate the man, whose screams filled the air. The black iron sphere flew between the two people in front, and at Qingyuan's will, it burst open, releasing iron spikes each over a yard long. In the blink of an eye, the Iron God Orb expanded to two yards in diameter, piercing the two men in front into sieves.

"Go..." Qingyuan withdrew his left hand, extinguishing the flames, and flicked several azure talismans at the man in the lead. That man was also a third-tier cultivator, but he was not practiced enough to cast spells instantly without incantations or hand seals. Caught off guard, he turned, but the talismans were already upon him. Before he could defend himself, they struck his chest and abdomen, exploding in succession. Drenched in blood, he collapsed backward.

"Damn you!" a roar came from behind.

The change had been too sudden! In the eyes of the group, this young man, supposedly sealed by medicine and powerless, had in an instant slaughtered the three people in front and incinerated the one behind him with a single spell. Four third-tier cultivators had been killed in a surprise attack.

Qingyuan had been biding his time, executing his plan in one seamless motion. To the onlookers, it happened too quickly. Sun Yu was filled with sudden fury. "How dare you, brat!"

Gan Huan was more direct. He pressed his hand forward, and a massive hand of azure light, spanning a yard wide, manifested.

"Oh no..." Daoist He shouted in panic, "Change course, quickly!"

But the azure hand moved too fast, causing a shift in the air currents. A corner of the earth beneath them cracked, and magma erupted upward.