Chapter 22: Faint Dust and Clear Haze

  After returning, the mother and daughter were still waiting, so the old man told them everything. After seeing the two sighing and leaving in disappointment, the old man quickly gathered his boat and ran back home, his heart still racing and unable to calm down for a long time. The next day, the old man spread the story around. As it was passed from person to person, it became more and more exaggerated and distorted, eventually becoming a tale of a 7 or 8 year old boy who could fly through the air and enter the Diamond Mountain. Later, some people even said that the little boy was actually a god living in the Diamond Mountain. And so on, with all sorts of rumors spreading, no one knew what was true or false. People tend to believe in the existence rather than the non-existence, so naturally the story spread far and wide, and eventually another deity was added to the Diamond Mountain. But that's a story for later, let's not talk about it now.

  But Wu Xin was stuck in the clouds, thinking for a long time without understanding what kind of formation this was, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. Usually, he loved light work formations the most, and he was best at these two things, so why didn't it look like any formation he had learned? Was there an even more powerful formation than the ones he had learned? This was a bit strange! If he continued to move forward like this, he would probably end up back where he started.

  At this moment, a sudden flash of insight struck him. He thought to himself, "How could I be so foolish? Isn't the effect of this formation similar to the one I set up in the mountain cave?" Since the effects are similar, the principles might be different but achieve the same result. So he immediately recalled the formation he had learned before. That formation was called the Maze of the Immortals, which used illusions to confuse people's minds and trap them within the formation. But this formation didn't have any illusions at all?

  At this time, Wu Xin suddenly remembered a sentence that his master said after teaching him the formation: If you only use illusions to confuse people, you can't grasp its essence! You must use illusions to turn them into reality. Then, all things in the world, from mountains and rivers to dust and tiny particles, can be used to transform the formation. This is another level of realm, and the name of the formation is "Misty Clear Dust"!

  Wu Xin thought to himself, secretly delighted. This formation should indeed be the Wú Xiǎo Qīng Chén! (The author is ashamed and at a loss for words, using his own pen name as the formation's name; readers may laugh at this, but please don't blame me!) The principle behind it should also be connected to the Mí Xiān Formation. But how can one transform the virtual into reality, turning the Mí Xiān Formation into Wú Xiǎo Qīng Chén?

  Rightly thinking, he suddenly felt the formation change slightly, and faintly heard the sound of the wind, Wu Xin was shocked! Could it be that someone had broken through the formation? If it were true, then the person's strength would be far superior to his own! At this moment, Wu Xin did not make a sound, waited for a long time, and when he could no longer hear any noise, he continued to think.

  Wu Xin stood in the misty fog for a long time, unable to think of a solution. Suddenly, he had an epiphany and decided to observe the changes by moving around. As he took small steps, he felt his body move and the fog seemed to follow him, giving him a faint sense of enlightenment. He continued to take slow steps, carefully observing the changes in the five elements during this process and their relationship with the array. The path to breaking the array began to become clear. Slowly, Wu Xin discovered that the five elements around him were undergoing multiple changes. At first, he sensed that his left side was biased towards water, his right side towards metal, the front was wood, the back was still water, and his head was fire, with the ground beneath his feet being earth. Wu Xin thought to himself, "Could it be that my left side is where the rippling water is, corresponding to water? My right side corresponds to the mountain, which has many rocks, so it's metal; the front and back are both forests, corresponding to wood; and my head corresponds to the sun's fire." However, after taking only a few dozen steps, he discovered that things had changed again. This time, his left side was metal, his right side was water, the front and back still corresponded to wood, and his head and feet remained unchanged. This made Wu Xin excited - could it be that he had unknowingly turned around just now?

  But just as he was getting excited, he suddenly discovered that every step he took, the Five Elements changed once. This is a big deal! What kind of strange method is this? It's impossible for a person to change direction with every step! That means that in reality, one foot forward actually stepped back to his own backside, how is this possible?! Wu Xin was both amused and angry, this is truly a mischievous formation!

  In the midst of a wonderfully mysterious and faintly clear dust array, Wu Xin thought for a long time, then suddenly had an epiphany. Since he couldn't move forward, why not try moving sideways? Or retreat? As the saying goes, "retreat one step, and the sea and sky will be wide open", who knows if it might work? Thinking this way, he immediately took a step back, felt around for a while, and saw that there was water in front of him, gold behind him, and wood to his left and right. His body seemed to have turned 90 degrees. He became excited at once. As long as he stayed away from the water and got closer to the gold, he should be moving away from the rippling water and towards the Golden Cliff Mountain. He then took a sideways step to try again. In this daze, he walked for half a day, when suddenly he felt that the front was shadowy and unclear, as if he had reached the edge of the mountain. He quickly used his strength to jump up, and only felt refreshed and clear-headed. Indeed, he had escaped from the fog, and in his heart, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

  At this time, the sky was already bright, and he had been standing in the fog for a whole night. Looking at the distant clouds and mist still hazy, the sky was also hazy, so he knew that although there was light, it must be invisible from the outside, and he admired the person who set up this formation even more. He looked around and saw a peak in front of him, with a stone tablet on the summit, which read: "The fairy road is vast, the cloud road is remote!"

  Next to the monument are two roads, one leading up the mountain and the other deep into the forest from the side.

  Which way to go? Wu Xin thought for a moment, thinking that if someone lived there, they must have gone deep into the forest, with trees as obstacles, and wild vegetables, birds and beasts as food. Without hesitation, he walked towards the path of the forest.

  In the forest, clouds and mist lingered, with many trees growing densely together. Although it was late autumn, the flowers and grass were still fresh and beautiful, like a paradise. The cloud and mist brushed against his face but didn't feel cold, instead, there was a faint warmth emanating from them. Could it be that there was a hot spring in the forest? Wu Xing didn't know, he just kept moving forward, gradually going deeper. The cloud cover was too thick, so the road was often invisible, and he stumbled around, getting more and more gloomy. The trees grew denser and denser, with a faint scent of sulfur floating in the air, indicating that there must be hot springs here. Wu Xing's heart was filled with joy, and he hurried forward, after another hour or two, when suddenly, he discovered a small clearing with an unusually bright patch of grass.