This is a bizarre rule, isn't it? It's supposed to grant me many children and good fortune

"A six-pointed star?" Lin Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had heard of the pattern, but he didn't understand its intricacies.

August nodded: "A six-pointed star is formed by the superposition of two equilateral triangles—"

"A fire triangle with its vertex pointing upwards, and a water triangle with its vertex pointing downwards."

"In the mystical system, it represents the fusion and balance of opposing poles."

"The magic circle places the twelve fireplaces on the twelve nodes of the hexagram, namely the six outer vertices and the six inner intersections. Each pair of opposite points carries a pair of opposing energies."

Lin Feng looked up at him: "Do you have a solution?"

August shook his head.

At this moment, Yuanbao spoke up:

"Now that we know it's a six-pointed star pattern, things are much easier."

"It can be handled by alignment. Each point of the hexagram has a point that is completely opposite to the center, and the twelve points are divided into six pairs for alignment."

"There is one principle that must be followed when cleaning: after cleaning the fireplace at point A, you must also clean the one that is geometrically opposite it."

"Twelve fireplaces, six sets of alignment, proceeding clockwise, starting from the outer vertex, processing the outer vertex first, then the inner intersections, completing each set in turn. No skipping, no omissions."

Lin Feng looked at Yuanbao: "What... is the principle behind this?"

"The underlying logic of the entire six-pointed star array system is the closed-loop operation of two opposing forces."

The upward-facing fire triangle and the downward-facing water triangle represent the incompatibility between fire and water, yet they must coexist.

Each pair of opposing fireplaces carries a pair of opposing energies. If only one node is purified while the other remains impure, the two poles become unbalanced, and the magic circle will automatically compensate for the energy imbalance.

Lin Feng nodded as if he understood, then asked:

"Then why do we have to do it one by one? Can't we send someone to clean all the fireplaces at the same time?"

"Because the core mechanism of the magic circle is 'sequential closed loop,' the energy flow of the six-pointed star has a strict sequence."

Simultaneously processing multiple points is equivalent to simultaneously disturbing multiple equilibrium points. The magic array will then recognize this as an external attack and trigger a more powerful defensive response.

At that point, it won't be as simple as just refilling with dust.

After listening, Lin Feng stood up, placed his hands on his knees, and translated Yuanbao's words to everyone. Then he said:

"There's no time to lose, let's try it and see."

He immediately made arrangements: he would lead the original six people to be in charge of the fireplace at the apex of the six-pointed star;

Mark's group was responsible for the lower apex fireplace, which was positioned opposite it.

After the allocation was completed, the two teams picked up their tools and headed to their respective target fireplaces.

Yuanbao meowed somewhat discontentedly.

"I, this great man, finally made it all this way, and I didn't even get to fight. What a waste—"

Lin Feng squatted down and rubbed Yuanbao's head:

"You've uncovered the secret of the fireplace magic circle; that's far more impressive than a fight!"

Suddenly remembering something, Lin Feng's eyes lit up:

"By the way, could you help me find a cat?"

"The pure black Bombay cat, named 'Muer,' is Leng Meng's pet. It got lost in the castle."

Yuanbao's round, amber eyes widened, and his mustache instantly bristled:

"I'm an SS-rank! A dignified SS-rank, you expect me to find you a cat?"

Lin Feng said unhurriedly:

"Help me find Mur. Once we clear the Castle dungeon and return to the Tranquil Quadrant, I will hire a professional pet nanny to take care of you six cubs."

"You and Huahua can go out and enjoy your honeymoon for a few days in peace, without being bothered and disturbed by a litter of little ones. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Upon hearing this, Yuanbao's amber pupils, which had been half-closed, suddenly lit up, and his beard stood up abruptly.

These days, I'm stuck with a litter of restless kittens, and the little guys are constantly chewing my tail and pulling out my fur. I'm so frustrated.

More than food and toys, being able to spend a few days alone with Huahua in peace is the reward it wants most.

It suppressed its almost overflowing excitement and gave a casual hum:

"I'll take on this task."

"But it's agreed that the nanny we hire to take care of the child must be professional, not clumsy or incompetent."

"If you hurt my child, I'll never forgive you."

As soon as the words were spoken, its orange form transformed into a blur and darted out of the room with a "whoosh".

Lin Feng smiled and quickly caught up with the group, heading towards the fireplace at the very top of the six-pointed star.

Having learned from the previous round of cleaning, everyone was familiar with the process this time.

There were other Chosen Ones standing around each of the two teams, who would occasionally lend a hand by passing tools and cleaning up the ashes. With enough manpower, the cleanup progressed very quickly.

About ten minutes later, the original stone patterns were revealed on the inner walls of the two fireplaces almost simultaneously, the black ash gone and the walls clean and new.

Evelyn was the last to finish. She used a dry cloth to wipe away the last bit of dust from the vault, and after confirming that nothing was left out, she breathed a slight sigh of relief and prepared to leave.

Just as she was about to leave—

Deep within the furnace, an energy rift silently opened.

The fissure was extremely narrow, like a vertical pupil, with dark light flowing through it.

Immediately afterwards, a giant hand formed entirely of black energy suddenly emerged from the crack, its five fingers like hooks, gripping Evelyn's clothes tightly from the back and pulling her inward forcefully.

"Be careful!"

Lin Feng reacted extremely quickly. Almost before he finished speaking, he had already stepped forward, stretched out his long arm, grabbed Evelyn's waist, and used the momentum to violently pull her outward and flip her over.

The two of them crashed heavily onto the cold, hard stone floor, rolling around for a short distance before coming to a stop.

The hand, surging with black smoke, remained at the furnace opening for less than a breath before dissipating like smoke, the cracks closing as if nothing had ever happened.

The crisis was averted in an instant.

Evelyn was half-supported, with Lin Feng's arm still around her waist. The two were very close, their breaths mingling.

Realizing that their current posture was far too intimate, Evelyn's cheeks flushed instantly.

She quickly pushed herself up from the ground, then reached out and pulled Lin Feng up from the stone slab, whispering "thank you."

Almost at the same moment, the fireplace at the lower apex was also cleaned.

The last one to emerge was a middle-aged chosen one from the Kangaroo Kingdom named Harris—with light brown curly hair and a robust physique.

He crawled out of the furnace, his back bent, and as soon as he straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead, an energy rift opened up deep inside the fireplace behind him.

A hand surging with black energy emerged from the crack, its five fingers gripping Jack's lower back tightly, and it yanked him inward with a sudden pull.

"Harris—"

Mark rushed over and grabbed Harris's forearm.

The pulling force within the crack was terrifyingly strong, almost dragging him in as well.

Mark had no choice but to grit his teeth and let go.

Harris's screams were quickly swallowed by the fireplace, the crack closed, and the fireplace returned to normal.

The air was deathly still for a few seconds.

Mark slumped down beside the furnace, his hands bracing against the ground, panting heavily.

The chosen ones surrounding them all turned pale. Some took two steps back, while others instinctively covered their mouths, their eyes wide open.

Fortunately, the fireplace was no longer drafty, no dust flowed back in, and no black ash surged back.

The cleaning itself worked!