“You can’t break the formation?”
Fang Henian hesitated. “Master, are you certain?”
“I cannot break it,” the master replied, his face flushed with embarrassment. “I have studied formations for so many years, yet I have never seen anything like this. It doesn’t block people out; instead, it lets them in and then spits them back out, just like a ghost wall.”
He paused, looking at Fang Henian. “City Lord, that Chu Yuan… who exactly is he? The formation here is by no means a simple illusion.”
Fang Henian did not answer. He stood there, staring at the pitch-black cave entrance, and fell silent.
‘How could that waste from a Chu Clan branch have an Array Disk of this caliber?’
Fang Henian felt a bit stubborn and insisted, “Master, why don’t you… try again? This involves a bet between the Successor of the Immortal Dynasty and another person. We cannot afford to lose! What if… what if we gather all our strength to break the formation by force?”
The master waved his hands frantically. “City Lord, you absolutely must not!!! Based on my assessment, this formation is far more complex than simply leading people in circles. There is no telling what might happen if we attack it. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless we find the person who laid the formation to personally undo it, or find an Array Path Grandmaster in the Domain Transformation Realm to spend months or even years deducing it.”
Fang Henian’s lip twitched.
Years? By the time they finished deducing it, the opportunity would be long gone!
Besides, where would he even find an Array Path Grandmaster in the Domain Transformation Realm?
Furthermore, the deadline for the bet was before sunset today!
He grit his teeth, about to say something, when a cold voice suddenly rang in his ear:
[City Lord Fang!]
Fang Henian startled and quickly bowed. [Yes! Your Highness, I am here!!!]
Ji Xuanyuan asked, [Did you successfully break the formation?]
Fang Henian’s face turned red. [To answer Your Highness, not yet…]
Ji Xuanyuan was stunned. Even though she had guessed the result, she was still curious. [Why? What is so mysterious about the formation Young Master Chu laid?]
Fang Henian hurriedly relayed the master’s analysis to her, not forgetting to excuse himself in the process. […Your Highness, for Young Master Chu Yuan to possess such a formation, he is definitely not simple!!!]
Ji Xuanyuan agreed, [This… is indeed not simple…]
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but ponder. ‘Is Chu Yuan truly my junior brother?’
[Your Highness?] Fang Henian hesitated. [What should we do next?]
Ji Xuanyuan replied, [I admit defeat! Have your men seal the mountain and then return!]
Her cold tone carried a faint, inexplicable trace of joy, which surprised Fang Henian.
‘Why does Her Highness seem happy even though she lost the bet? Could it be that the cultivation technique she was testing was a success?’
The Sound Transmission cut off.
Fang Henian stood there, dazed for a long time. He looked up at the pitch-black cave entrance. The entrance remained silent, offering him no answers.
***
In the teahouse.
Upon learning the City Lord had lost the bet, Ji Xuanyuan became increasingly certain that Chu Yuan was her junior brother.
After ending her conversation with the City Lord, she hooked a slender finger, causing a teacup on a distant table to fly into her hand. She took a light sip. It was the same tea as before, warm and sweet, yet Ji Xuanyuan felt it tasted better than it had at noon.
Swaying her waist slightly, she felt the new cushion becoming more and more comfortable. Ji Xuanyuan wanted this Divine Treasure Cushion more than ever.
Meanwhile, Chu Yuan suppressed the “evil fire” within him and asked, “Your Highness, have you… finished the trial? Did the *Yin Yang Harmony Sutra* work?”
Ji Xuanyuan exhaled a fragrant breath. “Thanks to your cooperation, the effectiveness is truly incredible! I wonder…”
As she spoke, her eyes became even more alluring.
Chu Yuan shuddered and quickly interrupted, “In that case, could I ask Your Highness to…”
Seeing him so full of wariness and unease, Ji Xuanyuan’s heart trembled. She suddenly realized that the memories of push-ups and Osmanthus Cake from her past life were hers alone, not his. In her memories, her junior brother was always smiling, his eyes full of light.
But thinking about how they were currently like strangers, Ji Xuanyuan felt a strange fear.
‘I’m afraid that after confirming he’s my junior brother, I’ll find he has no feelings for the person I truly am. I’m afraid my belated regrets will be nothing but a joke to him.’
However, before she could think further, Fang Henian sent another Sound Transmission:
[This is bad! Your Highness, something has happened!]
***
Outside Xuanji City.
After receiving Ji Xuanyuan’s command, Fang Henian began organizing his men. “You all! Prepare to seal the mountain!”
The nearby elites responded in unison, “Yes, City Lord!”
Their voices were thunderous, startling the birds in the mountains into flight. Just as they were about to disperse and set up the restrictions, a voice came from the end of the mountain path.
“Wait!”
Fang Henian frowned and turned to look.
A group of people was grandly making its way up the mountain path. Leading them was an Imperial Carriage, slightly smaller than the one Chu Yunlan had used that morning, but equally exquisite and beautiful. Four Auspicious Horned Beasts pulled the carriage, their hooves light as the wind, reaching them in an instant.
Behind the carriage followed over twenty grey-robed cultivators, each possessing a thick aura. The weakest among them was in the Yunzhen Realm.
As the carriage stopped and the curtain was lifted, a figure stepped down. It was an old man with white hair and a beard, his face thin but his eyes bright and piercing. He wore a black brocade robe tied with a coiled dragon jade belt, exuding a majestic aura.
Fang Henian’s pupils constricted. He naturally recognized this person.
It was the Great Elder of the Chu Clan, Chu Zhenshan.
As the Great Elder, he held immense power within the Chu Clan’s branch family. It was said that he already had one foot in the Domain Transformation Realm. He usually lived in seclusion and rarely made public appearances. Why had he come personally today?
“Great Elder Chu.” Fang Henian cupped his hands, forcing a smile. “What wind has blown you here?”
Chu Zhenshan walked up to Fang Henian with a cold expression. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze passing over Fang Henian to land on the unexcavated mineral mountain. “This Qingmang Mountain is the property of my Chu Clan.”
“What?” Fang Henian’s smile froze on his face. “Great Elder Chu must be joking. This is Xuanji City. While it is the fief of the Chu Clan branch, according to the laws of the Immortal Dynasty, all mineral deposits within the territory belong to the Immortal Dynasty. Your words…”
“I have spoken!” Chu Zhenshan turned to look at him, his tone forceful. “This mineral mountain is the property of my Chu Clan.”
Faced with Chu Zhenshan’s aggressive attitude, Fang Henian’s expression immediately darkened. “Great Elder Chu, do you have any evidence for these words?”
“I do.”
Chu Zhenshan took a roll of silk from his sleeve and unfurled it. The silk was covered in dense writing, and at the end, it was stamped with the Chu Clan’s main lineage seal. It was an ancient character for “Chu,” its strokes vigorous and faintly glowing with spiritual light.
“This is the contract our ancestors signed with the Immortal Dynasty. Within the fief of Xuanji City, all mineral resources belong to the Chu Clan branch. This Qingmang Mountain is naturally my Chu Clan’s property.”
Fang Henian naturally knew the contract was real, but he argued his point. “The contract refers to ‘mineral resources.’ The mountain behind me is clearly just an ordinary mountain range. According to the rules, whichever party discovers it has the priority mining rights.”
“We have been here for half a day. If this were a newly discovered mine of your Chu Clan, why didn’t you send people to seal the mountain earlier? Yet, just as we are about to seal it, you arrive… Great Elder Chu, are you doing this to provoke my Immortal Dynasty?”