The road is vague

Chapter 131: Counting with Fingers

Two days later.

A sound transmission note fell from the sky.

Because there was no flag formation blocking it, it floated straight towards Li Mo.

"After your breakfast at 9:00 PM, head to the Cuixia Peak Cave. My friend, a master of rune formations, is named Wang Xiyue, also known as the Earthly Branch Fairy. She has promised to teach you until after the Dragon Boat Festival, so go ahead and rest assured."

Li Mo showed a look of delight and quickly took out the sound transmission note in response.

Then he had some breakfast and left the temporary cave next to Wei Cang and headed towards Cuixia Peak.

Today is February 13th, the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth month, and it is nearly three months of teaching time.

"Didn't you say that you would have time after Xiyue? How come it's earlier? Earthly Branch Fairy Wang Xiyue."

The so-called Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches represent years, months, days, and times.

The Heavenly Stems are: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren and Gui, ten in total.

The Earthly Branches are: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai, a total of twelve.

There are sixty pairs of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches in correct order, which are called a Jiazi.

In the world of mountains and seas, all things will inevitably undergo a special cycle every sixty years, and even the great formations are no exception. Often after every sixty years, there will be a strange weakening, so theoretically there is no unbreakable great formation in the world.

Some people say that this is a disorder of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches in the world of mountains and seas.

Some people also say that this is the only glimmer of hope left after the fifty great ways and the forty-nine heavenly evolutions.

In the art of formation.

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches can also represent numerical sequence, direction, yin and yang, and the five elements.

In addition, the order of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches is also used in advanced alchemy, medical pharmacology, causal deduction, and divination to calculate the vastness of mountains and seas, the cause and effect of all things, and the universe...

While Li Mo was daydreaming, he came to Cuixia Peak.

Here, fairy clouds are lingering and green bamboos are growing.

He took out a sound transmission talisman and cast it out. Just a moment later, a vortex passage appeared in the clouds. After Li Mo stepped into it, his body twisted and he instantly appeared in a cave.

"Forbidden Formation."

He had had a similar experience before, and suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

After a brief look around, Li Mo looked down at the female practitioner coming towards him on the stone platform.

"Disciple Li Mo, under the orders of my master Lu Qi, has come here to learn the art of formation from the honorific master."

"Hehe, offer it to Master-aunt."

The woman was wearing a white silk dress and a white silk scarf. She stood up from the stone platform, walked over barefoot, and said something that made Li Mo's eyelids jump.

"In fact, I would rather be your master's wife. Unfortunately, your master only cares about his sect and the great way. He made me waste a hundred years on Cuixia Peak. Even for a Jindan cultivator, how many hundred years can a person have in his life?"

The words of the Earthly Branch Fairy were full of resentment.

Li Mo really didn't expect it to be like this, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

But he had some knowledge about the fact that most of the rune array masters had unstable Taoism these days.

In the doctor's opinion, geniuses are prone to wild thoughts and easily develop mental illness.

Wang Xiyue walked around Li Mo barefoot, then slowly walked away.

"I see you don't seem simple-minded, and you're not the type of disciple I'd choose. Since you want to learn the art of rune formations, you must be boasting about your extraordinary intelligence."

Wang Xiyue returned to the platform.

"So, are you planning to learn how to refine flag formations and become a formation plate merchant, or to explore the order of heaven and earth and become a rune master, or do you want to learn about the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements and become a formation master?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mo bowed respectfully.

"Disciple must learn the finger-counting algorithm, be able to independently create, deploy, and break formations, and become a true rune formation master!"

There was a brief silence in the cave.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The Earthly Branch Fairy on the high platform actually laughed so hard that she fell backwards.

After a while.

The Earthly Branch Fairy stopped smiling.

She turned her head suddenly and looked at Li Mo with contempt.

"To become a rune formation master through formation cultivation requires at least ten years of hard work. However, your master and I had an affair, and he only bought you three months. How about you go to your master's cave again and ask him to marry me, so that I can become your master's wife and buy you ten more years?"

After hearing this, Li Mo opened and closed his mouth, and opened and closed it again, over and over again, but he couldn't utter a word.

After a while.

Li Mo restrained his emotions and looked serious.

"I don't intend to enter the Dao through formations. I simply wish to comprehend the Dao of rune formations while simultaneously cultivating the Dao. Naturally, I am willing to help others achieve their goals. However, since Master has only granted me three months, I will use these three months to become a rune formation master."

"You arrogant brat! Who do you think we are rune formation masters?"

Wang Xiyue was furious and immediately scolded and reprimanded him.

"Your master asked for three months just to let you learn the art of a flag formation. You are arrogant and ignorant, and you are not suitable for the great art of rune formations. I think you don't need to waste your time here. This is the Six Disasters and Six Tribulations Dust-Exterminating Flag Formation I personally refined. Take it and leave my cave!"

Li Mo heard this and stared at him unyieldingly.

"Senior, you underestimate me. As the saying goes, I was born with talent and it will be useful. I will learn endlessly, and the sky will be the shore. I will reach the top of the mountain and I will be the peak!"

After Li Mo finished speaking, he infused his hands with spiritual power and wrote silver tadpole characters out of thin air.

During this process, his silver left eye shone like the starry sky.

These silver tadpole characters are condensed in the air and do not disperse. They are lively and vivid, as if they are alive.

The silver tadpoles swayed and twisted, creating ripples in the air. After Li Mo wrote only a few of them, the contemptuous expression on Wang Xiyue's face suddenly froze.

There was horror and shock in her eyes.

"Such a magical charm! You actually mastered the Silver Pole Mother Script. Only by mastering the Mother Script can one write with such magical charm. However, I have never heard of anyone in the Great Qian Kingdom mastering so many Silver Pole Mother Scripts... Who are you?"

A strange fear suddenly appeared in Wang Xiyue's eyes.

Li Mo noticed something strange about the other person and was very puzzled as to why she was so scared.

Is it because of that?

"master."

However, at this moment, a voice that Li Mo was quite familiar with came from outside the door. An inconspicuous male cultivator walked into the cave and was stunned when he saw Li Mo.

"Li Mo?"

Li Mo looked at this person and couldn't help but be stunned.

This person was none other than Wang Zhu, the gatekeeper boy who worked with him in Jubao Hall, the son of a bamboo craftsman who talked about booger avenues.

"Wang Zhu?"

The two of them looked at each other excitedly.

After Wang Zhu’s excitement, he looked at Wang Xiyue.

"Master, this is the genius disciple I told you about. He is a true peerless genius. He completed the foundation building in just three years!"

Wang Xiyue came back to her senses and gradually hid the uneasiness in her heart.

After she calmed down, she looked at Wang Zhu with anger.

"Why aren't these silver tadpoles the first thing you see after entering the cave?"

"what?"

Wang Zhu was stunned, realizing the impending disaster. Distressed, he turned to look at the silver tadpoles in the sky, which were gradually dissipating. "This, I, I..."

"Go and copy the diagram of the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams Sealing Formation for me ten times!"

"Yes."

Wang Zhu left with a bitter face.

Li Mo suddenly realized that the opportunity Wang Zhu mentioned that year might be referring to this place. In other words, the person with a simple heart mentioned by the Earthly Branch Fairy just now was Wang Zhu?

After Wang Zhu left.

When Wang Xiyue looked at Li Mo again, she had calmed down.

"Learning is like the sky's shore, and climbing to the top of the mountain is like the peak. What a great spirit."

Her face calmed.

"Today, I, Wang Xiyue, have been shortsighted. Your rune attainments are indeed extraordinary, but to become a rune formation master, you must also have an extraordinary memory and be proficient in calculations. Next, I will teach you the finger-splitting algorithm of a rune formation master. If you can comprehend it within three days, I will acknowledge that you have the talent to become a rune formation master and teach you the way of rune formations!"

An hour later.

After Wang Xiyue briefly explained the secret of the finger-pinching algorithm, she signaled Li Mo that he could leave.

"Remember, three days is the limit."

Li Mo, who was thinking with his head down, slowly raised his head when he heard this.

He opened his spiritual eyes and looked at his left hand, his brows almost twisted into a ball, then he looked up at Wang Xiyue with an inexplicable look in his eyes.

He seemed to be having some self-doubt.

"Yimao, Gengyou, Kanzi, Shengmen, Tianchong, Shaoyin phase."

"you?"

Wang Xiyue, the Earthly Branch Fairy, stared at Li Mo in amazement, as if she couldn't believe that he had mastered the finger-counting algorithm on the spot, so she asked another question immediately.

Li Mo used his spiritual eyes to help him, and with the help of the Taoist left eye mother text, he continued to count with his fingers and answered questions fluently.

"Jiawu, Gengshen, Dui, Shengmen, Tianxin, the aspect of the sun."

The cave was quiet and silent.

After a long time.

Wang Xiyue stared at Li Mo in a daze.

"Good, very good! There are always people who are better than you. I, Wang Xiyue, have had the honor of teaching you, a genius of this world, the way of rune formations. But there is one thing you must remember!"

"Master, please enlighten me."

Wang Xiyue looked serious.

"The more gifted a rune formation master is, the more likely they are to encounter disaster and die young. You must promise me that from today on, you will never act rashly in the way of formations, and you must not preemptively explore the secrets of the heavens beyond your own realm. Otherwise... you will surely die in vain and encounter an unexpected disaster."

Li Mo couldn't help but look shocked when he heard this.

Fortunately, Wang Xiyue then gave a brief explanation.

Rune array masters have a certain sensitivity to that fuzzy boundary. Ordinary people cannot touch it even if they want to. Only those who are favored by heaven and possess extraordinary talents will often face that fuzzy and dangerous boundary.

These people must constantly improve their cultivation level in order to continue to improve their rune formations. While peeking into the secrets of heaven, they must ensure that the secrets cannot be leaked, otherwise they will also encounter disasters and misfortunes.

The reason they encounter misfortunes is that in the process of describing, depicting and unraveling the secret itself, the indescribable quality is also spreading.

"Yes!"

After Li Mo responded solemnly, he performed a grand ceremony of worship.

"Get up."

Wang Xiyue had regained her composure and looked at Li Mo seriously, as if she was looking at an extremely dangerous object.

Li Mo was naturally aware of this.

This feeling is the same as before Lu Tong left, both seemed to be wary of me.

"Excuse me, Master, why did I feel fear when I was writing the Silver Pole Script just now?"

"Humph."

Wang Xiyue gestured to Li Mo to follow her to the stone platform.

On it was an extremely huge chessboard, where the black and white twins were playing against each other. Below the chessboard was a reflection of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches spiritual power array, which was constantly rotating, which was extremely mysterious.

"Build a formation."

Li Mo realized that the formation skills of this worshipped nun may have already touched the edge of the formation master.

"Since you're a rune master, you should know that the number of Silver Peach Runes that have disappeared from the universe far exceeds the number of Silver Peach Runes that still exist. It's very likely that there's a living being behind all this, constantly mastering the Silver Peach Runes and reclaiming the right to use them."

Li Mo heard this and nodded.

This was the conspiracy theory that Lu Tong told him, which shocked him at the time.

Wang Xiyue stood barefoot on the chessboard, staring into Li Mo's eyes.

"Then I'm going to tell you now. In the world of formations, there's a basic common sense. No matter what formation you set up, if you compare it to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, you'll find that every year after the evening moon, the area of ​​the formation will grow. These formations are like living things; they're growing."

"Uh?"

Li Mo looked puzzled and confused.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Humph."

Wang Xiyue sneered and looked up blankly.

"But my senior brother, Taoist Tiangan, broke through the taboo during his lifetime and deduced another possibility. That is... it's not the formation that's growing, but the world that's shrinking. This happens every year during the sunset moon, and this year's sunset moon is still three days away."

When Li Mo heard this, his pupils suddenly shrank.

Next, Wang Xiyue gave Li Mo some knowledge about formations.

The so-called formation master is someone who uses the power of heaven and earth to create strange realms.

This type of people are the most sensitive to changes in the world, and are most likely to be exposed to the secrets of heaven, and thus encounter some terrible feedback.

three days later.

In an open space on Cuixia Peak, Li Mo used the characteristics of the True Spirit Eye to set up the Six Disasters and Six Tribulations Dust-Destroying Flag Formation.

This flag formation worth thousands of spirit stones finally belongs to Li Mo.

After the formation was set up, he came to the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams Sealing Flag Formation set up by Wang Zhu and chatted with him.

"Wang Zhu, how long have you been my disciple?"

"Not long after the incident at Jubao Hall, I officially became his disciple. It was Hall Master Qin Yue who set me up. You don't even know how great the Justice Society is. I invited you to join many times, but it's a pity you just didn't want to."

Li Mo was thoughtful when he heard this.

"Then when did you detect the changes in the Xiyue Formation?"

"It's actually quite simple to measure before graduation. Imagine the trajectory of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches as the strips used to weave a bamboo basket, and focus your whole being on understanding them. Although the changes are slow and minute, given enough time, maybe two years if not a year, you'll eventually be able to sense them."

Wang Zhu smiled.

"The longer you study the ways of rune formations and the more experience you accumulate, the more you'll be able to vaguely sense the disharmony and distortion within the Mountain and Sea Realm. I heard from my master that as long as you live for more than a hundred years, focus on studying formations, and accumulate a hundred years of historical changes, even a fool will be able to sense the distortions of this world. Don't be nervous."

Li Mo nodded.

"Well, to be honest, I'm a little nervous."

After the two chatted for a while, Li Mo said goodbye to Wang Zhu and returned to the Six Disasters and Six Tribulations Dust-Destroying Formation he had set up.

(End of this chapter)