Misty Rain of the Old Times

After the old emperor left, Chen Xuan gazed in the direction of the capital. Seven floating islands hung high in the air, and the magnificent city stretched as far as the eye could see. The mottled city walls exuded the weight and vicissitudes of history.

A city with nearly 20 million inhabitants is not only rare in the world, but also unique in the entire Jing Kingdom, with its territory of 100 million people.

What will that place look like in ten, twenty, or even a hundred years?

"Jiang Wang Zhou Hong is out of the running, and the position of Crown Prince is secure. His smooth succession to the throne is only a matter of time. Qing Wang is stationed at the southern border, with only 100,000 troops on the surface, and has always been well-behaved. Currently, he poses no threat to the Crown Prince's position. But what about Mr. Pei's statement about the 'imperial star flickering and a hidden star settling in the mid-sky'? Could Mr. Pei be mistaken? Or is a major upheaval about to occur in Jing Kingdom, leading to the rise of a hidden dragon and a change of dynasty?"

Such thoughts suddenly popped into Chen Xuan's mind, but he had no clue what to do with them. So he simply stopped thinking about it. It wasn't something he should be concerned about. Wouldn't it be better to live a carefree life like a hermit? Why bother with that?

The general trend of the world is beyond his control and has nothing to do with his personal strength. It can only be said that he can protect himself and remain a bystander in any chaotic situation.

Putting aside his strange and unusual thoughts, Chen Xuan sensed where the little princess and her companions were and went to find them.

When they found them, they were actually teasing a metal-eating beast in a yard. It was black and white, very clean, round, chubby, and furry, and extremely docile.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xuan's eyes lit up. Where did he get this little cutie?

It's obvious that girls have little resistance to such cute creatures. Su Roujia was combing its fur, the little princess was feeding it pieces of meat, and even the usually stern Du Juan's eyes were drawn to it, as if she wanted to pet it.

Wait, pandas eat meat? Don't they eat bamboo?
Chen Xuan quickly understood. His preconceived notion that pandas were vegetarians was wrong. In reality, these creatures could be called large predators, and the name "iron-eating beast" wasn't given lightly. It was normal for them to eat meat. The pandas in his hometown were vegetarians only because they were domesticated and artificially bred. Moreover, bamboo was plentiful. Otherwise, if they were starved for a few days, the onlookers would probably just look like food to them, and probably not many people would find them cute.

"Where did this giant panda come from?" Chen Xuan asked as he stepped forward, taking the opportunity to pet it a couple of times. It looked fluffy, but its fur was actually a bit prickly. Although this giant panda ate meat, it was very docile and obedient. After all, it had a secure job with the royal family. If it wasn't obedient, would it refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a penalty shot?

The little princess paused for a moment upon hearing this before reacting and saying, "Giant panda? Brother Xuan, you mean this iron-eating beast? I heard it was a gift from Rong Kingdom, and there are several of them. Do you like it too?"

"Even Rongguo can send it as a gift? No wonder I've never heard of it in Jingguo all these years," Chen Xuan said with relief. "I like it. Who wouldn't like such a cute, tiger-headed animal?"

Upon hearing Chen Xuan say he liked them, the little princess immediately said, "Since Brother Xuan likes them too, there are a few more in the manor. Why don't you take one with you and raise it? It'll be fun to play with it."

Private ownership is allowed? Back in my hometown, people would be laughing all the way to the bank, making a fortune just by charging admission. But it's illegal. Shaking his head, Chen Xuan said, "Forget it. I can't even be bothered to feed my own horses. Keeping a beast like that would be pure torture for me."

I may like it, but I'd rather not have him raise one. It's too much trouble, and once the novelty wears off, it'll just be another story.

The little princess didn't insist, nodding and saying, "Alright, it's right here anyway. Brother Xuan can come and take it away anytime he wants."

Stroking the panda's head, Chen Xuan looked at the sky and asked, "Will Qian Ning go back to the capital or stay here later?"

It's afternoon. If we go back to the capital, we won't have much time to stay here. Otherwise, we won't make it in time. After all, this place is dozens of miles away from the capital. After entering the capital, we will have to cross half of the capital. It's convenient that there are few people. The little princess is traveling with about a hundred people this time, so it's not convenient for Chen Xuan to pack them all up and take them with him.

After hesitating for a moment, the little princess said, "Brother Xuan, I want to stay here and keep Father company. Why don't you stay here for the night too? You're not an outsider anyway."

She knew that the old man's days were numbered, so she tried to spend as much time with him as possible, because every day she spent with him was one less day she could have.

Chen Xuan didn't mind; it was the same wherever he was. He nodded and said, "That's fine, but I'm worried that my father-in-law will dislike it."

The little princess was immediately delighted, knowing Chen Xuan was joking. She shook her head and laughed, "Father wouldn't be like that; he'd probably be very happy."

At this moment, Eunuch Wang, who had settled the old emperor, came over. Not daring to disturb him, he greeted Chen Xuan and the others while they were talking and said, "Young master, His Majesty has made arrangements. Would you like to come with me to fetch it now, or would you like to find some time another day?"

Having said he would give the complete capital city formation to Chen Xuan, Lao Deng has made the arrangements. Such an important item cannot be carried around, nor can it be kept in this imperial estate, so it must be taken to a specific place.

The intelligent and quick-witted princess immediately said, "Brother Xuan, go ahead and do what you need to do. Don't worry about us; there are still many places we haven't visited yet."

Nodding, Chen Xuan said to the little girl and Du Juan, "You two stay here with Qian Ning. I have something to take care of, I'll be right back."

Since they all needed to go to a specific location to obtain the array diagram, it was definitely inconvenient to bring outsiders. After the little girl and the others agreed, Chen Xuan looked at Eunuch Wang and said, "There's no time like the present, let's go now."

"Please follow me, son-in-law," said Eunuch Wang respectfully.

After bidding farewell to the little princess and the others, Chen Xuan and Eunuch Wang left the imperial estate and headed straight for the capital. Traveling light and quickly, they soon entered the capital and arrived at the foot of the mountain where the imperial palace was located.

Instead of going to the palace, they took a side road to the mountainside next to the palace. The road was deserted and almost no one had ever set foot on it. It was heavily guarded on the surface and patrolled by hidden guards in secret. The arrival of Chen Xuan and his companion even attracted the attention of the Dark Dragon Guards!
After all, it was a place where important national treasures were stored, so the security was extremely tight. Even when Chen Xuan and Eunuch Wang arrived, they were stopped. It was only after Eunuch Wang showed the imperial edict and the golden token with dragon patterns representing the old emperor that they were allowed to pass.

If it weren't for His Majesty's decree and Eunuch Wang's prior preparation to lead the way, Chen Xuan estimated that he would have been mercilessly besieged upon arriving here!
If he forced his way in, Chen Xuan felt that he would most likely have to retreat unscathed. He couldn't possibly challenge the foundation of a nation like this. He would definitely not be able to obtain the complete array diagram by doing so. Even if he tried to seize it by force, couldn't he just destroy it if he was no match for the enemy?

Following the heavily guarded road, Chen Xuan and his group soon arrived at their destination, a manor located halfway up a mountain. Looking up, the three characters "Qintianjian" (Imperial Observatory) on the gate were extremely eye-catching.

With his heightened senses, even though Chen Xuan didn't explore the secrets of this place, he quickly realized that the surface buildings were secondary; the interior of the mountain was the real core.

Thinking of the guards, both overt and covert, he felt that if Jiang Yuan and his group had chosen to storm this place instead of the palace that day, they probably wouldn't have even made it to the gate!
Of course, the fact that they were able to break into the palace was actually because Emperor Shangxuan deliberately let them pass. Otherwise, how could a mere three thousand people plus a Grandmaster break into the palace? That would be a gross underestimation of the defense capabilities of the highest power center of a country.

At the main gate of the Imperial Observatory, Chen Xuan and his group were stopped again. Even though Eunuch Wang was Emperor Shangxuan's personal eunuch and could often represent the emperor by simply showing his face, he remained extremely respectful here.

The Imperial Observatory was a department loyal only to the royal family and was very mysterious. Once you entered the department, you would hardly have any contact with the outside world. In many cases, the position was passed down from generation to generation, and outsiders had no way of knowing about it.

Speaking of which, the methods possessed by the Imperial Observatory were no less than those of emperors. It should be noted that they observed celestial phenomena, predicted the fate of the nation, and formulated calendars. How could such methods be mastered by ordinary people? It's fine for personal hobbies to dabble in small-scale activities, like Mr. Pei, but any power that dares to cultivate such a team is simply courting death. Even aristocratic families wouldn't dare to do that; it's taboo, unless the aristocratic family overthrows the royal family and takes the throne themselves.

Eunuch Wang stepped forward to negotiate, and only after showing the imperial edict and token was he allowed to pass. Although the people here were respectful to him, they were very indifferent. They didn't care whether he was someone close to the emperor or not. They recognized the imperial edict, not the person. If he hadn't brought the imperial edict, he wouldn't have been allowed to enter the gate.

Upon entering, no one greeted them. Eunuch Wang told Chen Xuan to wait while he went to find the Director of the Imperial Observatory.

This is a group of people who are independent of the imperial court and the martial arts world. The secular ways are useless to them. Kings, generals, masters and strongmen are all the same to them. They only see the great laws of heaven and earth, the rules of the universe and the profound truths.

While waiting, Chen Xuan glanced around and saw the observatory, a more professional celestial globe than the one in Mr. Pei's house, as well as measuring rods and other instruments for measuring and observing the heavens and stars.

To be honest, Chen Xuan felt that he had broadened his horizons. He only knew about those tools and had a superficial understanding of them. He didn't know how to use them in detail. But there was a group of people who, with these 'simple' tools, summarized the rules of heaven and earth and formulated astrological calendars. Many of their methods were things that even the high-tech equipment in his hometown couldn't do. That was true wisdom.

No one paid him any attention. It was more than half an hour later that Eunuch Wang reappeared, accompanied by three other people. Without any introduction, Eunuch Wang simply said to let them go, and even he himself stopped there.

Chen Xuan then followed the three men, passing through a group of buildings with a mysterious aura, without exchanging any words with them.

Arriving at the mountain behind the building, the three of them communicated silently, each using their own methods, and together they opened a passage in the tightly sealed mountain wall, without worrying at all about Chen Xuan discovering their methods or the secrets of this place.

Then the group entered the passage, the large door behind them closed, and a precious pearl inside the passage shone brightly, as if it were daytime.

After winding their way through several hundred feet, Chen Xuan and his group arrived at a massive bronze gate, adorned with reliefs of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants, and trees, exuding mystery and solemnity.

Upon arriving, the three nodded slightly, and then each took out an item: a compass, a triangular copper plate, and a fish-shaped key.

These three items were incorporated into the bronze gate using special techniques, and then a scene that caught Chen Xuan's attention appeared.

The sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants and trees reliefs on the bronze gate, which looked like mere decorations, seemed to come alive, operating in a mysterious way. Chen Xuan couldn't discern any pattern at all, and couldn't even tell whether it was a mechanism or an array.

To this, he could only say that although he had achieved great cultivation, there were still too many things in the world that he did not know. It is true that every profession is like a mountain to climb.

Soon the pattern on the gate changed to a completely new layout, and the seamless bronze gate silently cracked open, revealing a gap.

The bronze gate, a full ten feet tall, made a person standing in front of it seem incredibly small.

"Go in, the things His Majesty arranged are inside," one of them said to Chen Xuan, which was the only sentence exchanged during the entire process.

So what if Chen Xuan was a Grandmaster? So what if he was the emperor's son-in-law? The other party didn't even offer a word of invitation. "Thank you all for your trouble," Chen Xuan said, bowing in thanks. He then stepped into the gate, thinking that if they hadn't opened it for him, he probably wouldn't have been able to force it open with his cultivation level. Unless he destroyed the entire mountain where the palace was located, everything would surely be destroyed!
After Chen Xuan entered, the bronze gate slowly closed, and the three people did not leave, remaining outside the gate.

The interior is a space of over a thousand square meters, surrounded by bronze-colored metal walls covered with mysterious and beautiful patterns. The dome resembles a starry sky, with bright pearls shining, illuminating the interior as if it were daytime.

In addition, there are huge metal statues in eight directions in this space, four human-shaped and four beast-shaped, each eight or nine feet tall.

The four humanoid metal statues are clad in armor and each wields a sword, spear, or halberd, exuding a cold and menacing aura. The four beast-shaped statues are dragons, tigers, tortoises, and divine birds, all incredibly domineering, as if they were about to devour anyone.

Looking around at the eight statues, Chen Xuan had a strange feeling that they were alive and seemed ready to attack anyone who entered the hall at any moment.

He trusted his intuition. The statues couldn't possibly be alive, but that didn't mean they couldn't hurt people. It was just that he didn't know whether they were mechanical creations or driven by formations. Most likely, anyone below the Grandmaster level who dared to rush in would be torn to pieces in a single encounter.

Turning his gaze away, Chen Xuan looked towards the center of the hall.

There was a circular, bluish-green stone platform about three zhang in diameter. On top of the platform was a square stone table, on which was written a jade book, pure white in color.

The jade book is one foot thick, three feet wide, and ten feet high. Judging from its size, it is incredibly heavy and ordinary people simply cannot lift it.

Upon seeing the book, Chen Xuan roughly understood that it contained the specific details of the capital's grand formation, and the entire enormous hall contained only that jade book, apart from the surrounding statues.

Stepping onto the stone table, Chen Xuan gained a deeper appreciation for the sheer size of the jade book.

To his surprise, the jade book was only in shape; the cover had no text at all, and there wasn't even a place to turn the pages. It was clearly just a huge jade book.

He quickly came to terms with it; there were countless wondrous things in this world, and he even possessed a star-containing sword in his palm, a sword that existed in a state between existence and non-existence.

After a moment's hesitation, he tentatively placed his hand on the cover of the jade book. The next moment, the huge jade book emitted a hazy white light, and black characters appeared on the cover. However, these were not the familiar Jing Kingdom script, nor even the scripts of the surrounding countries.

However, he recognized the characters on it. They were written by a dynasty that ruled over the surrounding countries and even larger territories nearly a thousand years ago. After Chen Xuan entered the Xiantian realm, he gained the ability to remember everything he saw. He and Gao Jingming perfected the Pine and Crane Longevity Painting and studied many characters, so he recognized the characters on it.

Speaking of which, the writing systems of Jing Kingdom and even the three surrounding countries today are more or less derived from the civilization of that dynasty a thousand years ago.

Otherwise, the four countries wouldn't have so much in common, and their accents would be very similar.

'Sure enough, this jade book isn't just for show here; it only reveals its contents when touched,' Chen Xuan thought to himself as he looked at the words on the cover.

His gaze swept around again, and he guessed that the reason why the jade book could reveal its contents when touched was related to the environment. Otherwise, it would really just be a decoration, and even if he got it, he wouldn't be able to browse the specific information inside.

If you don't follow the proper procedures to enter, you will definitely be attacked by the surrounding statues. Even if you can deal with the threat, without the three people outside opening it in a special way, you will definitely miss out on the contents of the book. In other words, simply getting the jade book is useless. You also need to have a complex and mysterious way of presenting the contents. You might even destroy yourself if you forcibly take the jade book!
In the blink of an eye, Chen Xuan had already guessed most of it.

No wonder the old man wanted to keep a backup here; otherwise, the book would have become useless once it left, its contents would have been impossible to present, and it might even have been destroyed and disappeared from the world forever.

Of course, Chen Xuan also knew that if one understood the contents and could apply them, the book would be useless, and it could naturally be reproduced again once that was achieved.

In short, this jade book that records the contents of the 'Grand Array of the Capital' has its own special features.

At this moment, Chen Xuan seriously suspected that the formation of Jing Kingdom was a legacy of the dynasty that ruled this land a thousand years ago, since the characters on it were also ancient characters from that dynasty a thousand years ago.

Putting aside his thoughts, Chen Xuan focused his attention on the book. As the words on the cover appeared, the seamless jade book revealed its pages that could be turned.

"The Grand Array of the Capital" is just Chen Xuan's own name for it; it's not actually called that. The name of the array is on the cover, which is 'translated' as "Seven Star Sealing Array"!
Upon seeing the true name of the formation, and thinking of the seven floating islands above the capital, Chen Xuan nodded to himself, finding it quite fitting.

After a brief pause, he opened the cover and began to browse the contents. On the pages of the enormous jade book, which was ten feet in size, everything about the Seven Star Sealing Array was described in tiny black characters, interspersed with numerous array diagrams.

With Chen Xuan's current mindset, he could multitask and still remember everything he saw. However, he didn't just skim through the book. He read it carefully but not slowly, striving to remember every detail. The way of formations cannot tolerate the slightest mistake.

As for formations, Chen Xuan has only scratched the surface. He has no ambition to fully comprehend the Seven Star Sealing Formation yet; he simply memorizes the content and will gradually understand, digest, and eventually deploy it.

Gradually, he became completely absorbed in the contents of the book. The jade book was a foot thick, and each page was as thin as paper. Jade is inherently fragile, yet it could be made so large and so thin; it was simply a masterpiece of craftsmanship.

At first, Chen Xuan was 'careful' in turning the pages, afraid of damaging them, but later he found that it was unnecessary. With the support of the special formation in the environment, he could turn the pages just like turning the pages of a normal book.

The contents were vast and numerous; the jade book, a foot thick, contained over a thousand pages. Even though Chen Xuan could read it quickly, he couldn't finish reading the entire book and memorize its contents in a short time.

The art of formations is profound and complex, much like a precision instrument. To explain its specific details would require countless illustrations and text.

He turned the pages one by one, engraving the contents of the book into his mind. Time passed little by little, and he was so engrossed in the book that he forgot to eat and sleep. By the time Chen Xuan remembered the last word, he had no idea how much time had passed in this secluded place.

When the jade book is closed, the text on its cover disappears, and it becomes a seamless whole again, just like a piece of jade shaped like a book.

With Chen Xuan's current cultivation level, he wouldn't be starving even after a long period of not eating, and he didn't feel mentally exhausted even after memorizing so much information.

He didn't plan to understand all the contents yet, but after recalling and estimating for a while, he was astonished to find that the Seven Star Sealing Array, recorded in tiny characters, contained hundreds of millions of words, not to mention the thousands of illustrations interspersed throughout.

Looking at the jade book again, Chen Xuan exclaimed inwardly, "So much content wasn't written down word by word or picture by person; it was directly implanted into the book, just like when Old Liu implanted so much information into my mind, only the presentation method is different."

Therefore, the person who left behind this Seven Star Sealing Formation manual must have been at least a Tribulation Transcending Realm cultivator!

"The Seven Star Sealing Formation, as the name suggests, combines offense and defense. Once set up, it can seal off an area, just like the Heavenly Emperor's Palace. If it were to be attacked, its power would be unpredictable," Chen Xuan thought, recalling the contents of the book.

Although he didn't yet understand the specific details of the formation, he could still read the descriptions of the formations.

However, since this formation was left behind by a master at the Tribulation Transcending Realm, is its power only limited to covering the capital area of ​​Jing Kingdom to kill Grandmaster-level experts?

Of course, it's not just that. It depends on who sets up the formation. If it's set up by a Transcending Tribulation Realm expert, it can draw on the power of the seven stars in the sky to support and even suppress beings of the same level!

Thinking back to the defensive power displayed by Lao Deng's "Capital City Formation" that day, Chen Xuan knew without guessing that the Capital City Formation was not the complete Seven Star Sealing Formation at all, but a product of simplification after simplification.

This book was left over from at least the beginning of the founding of the Jing Kingdom. As part of its heritage, Lao Deng made a copy for Chen Xuan so that it could be used to protect future generations should any changes occur in the future.

The product of simplification upon simplification is the result of countless talented individuals racking their brains to set up the formation at the beginning of the nation's founding, which enabled the Jing Kingdom to establish itself to this day. The amount of manpower and resources consumed is unimaginable, so much so that no one has been able to set up a second identical formation. Otherwise, why would the Jing Kingdom not make use of such a powerful tool?

This power alone is enough to withstand the attack of a Grandmaster-level expert and even kill one. The complete formation is comparable to a Tribulation Transcending expert.

No wonder Lao Deng wanted to make a backup of this formation for future generations. With this formation, even if the Jing Kingdom were to perish one day, as long as the Zhou family still has descendants, they can use it as a foundation to make a comeback!

The old man has a long-term vision; he truly has good intentions.

After reading the entire content, Chen Xuan finally understood that compared to the complete formation, the mere floating function was just an accessory, an insignificant part. Yet, this one function was a hundred times more difficult for Chen Xuan to operate than the mist formation!
Take your time, there's plenty of time.

Chen Xuan wondered if he could set up the complete Seven Star Sealing Formation if he were to reach the Tribulation Transcending Realm in the future. Not the abridged version that countless people in Jing Kingdom had racked their brains to create, but the complete version that could draw upon the power of the stars to suppress those at the Tribulation Transcending Realm.

As he was lost in thought, perhaps the person outside sensed his closing of the jade book, and the tightly closed bronze door slowly opened again.

Looking in that direction, the three people who opened the door for Chen Xuan were still waiting there.

Having memorized the contents, Chen Xuan glanced at the jade book again, stepped out, and asked, "Excuse me, how long have I been here?"

However, no one answered. Unless absolutely necessary, the people of the Imperial Observatory clearly preferred not to utter a single word to outsiders… (End of Chapter)