Fifty-six: Obtaining treasure does not make the mountain round

  In the mountains of Bu Zhou, the seeker of truth, Zhen, had indeed verified the saying that "pain and joy are intertwined". The treasures of Bu Zhou Mountain were truly too numerous to count, although most of them were now considered worthless by the cultivators of the post-Primordial Era, they were still treasures that many cultivators yearned for but could not obtain after the Great Calamity.

  Adhering to the principle of "kill the wrong and never let go": Collect, collect, collect!

  But how vast is the Kunlun Mountains, when can we stop searching? The treasures on the ground are joyful, but the numbness of pain is unbearable. What's even more frustrating is that Xunzi had to start from the foot of the Kunlun Mountains and spiral upwards in circles, afraid of missing anything.

  Year after year, Xun Daozi has been circling Buzhou Mountain for nearly a hundred years, yet he still hasn't climbed to even one-third of its height. Even the three-eyed little lion, who was once extremely enthusiastic about collecting heavenly materials and earthly treasures, has become somewhat disheartened and no longer excited. However, Xun Daozi must persist, all for the sake of preserving the species of Buzhou Mountain.

  During this period, he also met several monks who were practicing in the mountains of Buzhou. The demon clan and the seekers of the way also made a brief stop and exchanged ideas before leaving. Of course, it was also because they did not meet anyone with high attainments. The seeker knew that Nüwa and Fuxi, two great demons, were both practicing in the mountains of Buzhou. He thought to himself that when he had searched through the mountains of Buzhou thoroughly, he would go to pay his respects to these two great demons.

  Decades passed, Xun Daozi also climbed to more than half the height of Bu Zhou Mountain. Unexpectedly, as the altitude increased, this Bu Zhou Mountain had a kind of inexplicable pressure. The higher it was, the greater the pressure, and at this height of more than half, ordinary cultivators, demon tribes, and demon beasts were probably unable to climb up here.

  This time, Xun Daozi really collected a lot of good things, including elixirs and equipment. The spiritual fruits and medicines also filled the Purple Golden Gourd to a considerable extent. This reignited Xun Daozi's and San Yan Xiao Shi Zi's passion for searching for heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

  The passionate Xun Daozi and San Yan Xiao Shi were so absorbed in the great treasure hunt that they didn't realize they had already climbed to two-thirds of the height of Mount Buzhou.

  Three-eyed little lion in the front, Xun Daozi in the back, carefully searching all the way, just passing by a mountain pass, and then seeing another mountain pass, turning around is still a mountain pass.

  Xun Daozi's heart suddenly moved: No, why are these consecutive mountain valleys all the same?

  The heart-born doubtful seeker immediately called back the three-eyed little lion, searched around and turned several times, but it was still the same. This made even the three-eyed little lion feel that something was wrong, its eyes rolling around, looking left and right, wanting to find out what was strange.

  Xun Daozi was overjoyed instead of being surprised, such a strange place should have hidden the real treasure. He had been wandering in Buzhou Mountain for nearly two hundred years and finally encountered the real treasure.

  I said so, Zhoushan is the first mountain in Hongyuan, the backbone of Pangu, the pillar that holds up the sky, how can there be no treasure? Two hundred years of hard work are about to pay off!

  Xun Daozi was really excited. What he needed to study now was how to break through this illusion and find the treasure. Xun Daozi also determined that this was an illusion array, just like the one in Kunlun Mountain where the pre-heavenly calabaza vine was hidden, only he hadn't figured out what kind of illusion array it was yet, and couldn't easily dispel it like Tongtian did with the illusion array hiding the pre-heavenly calabaza vine.

  With momentum, Xuanzong looked around and wanted to find a way to break through the illusion array. He studied it here and there.

  After pondering for half a day, I still couldn't figure out the reason, and could only sigh: "Skills are rarely used when needed!" Why didn't I study the formation earlier? Master Tongtian's 'formation' was given to me long ago, but I didn't do much research on it. Alas, if only I had known earlier, I wouldn't have been so careless!

  Alright, let's sharpen our swords just before the battle!

  Xun Daozi took out the 'Formation' given by Tongtian, sat down cross-legged on the ground, and immersed himself in the sea of consciousness to study the 'Formation'. The three-eyed little lion also lost interest in finding the strange reason, sat down beside Xun Daozi, vigilant and practicing breathing exercises.

  After decades of immersion in the study of "Formation Methods", Xun Daozi finally made a breakthrough, thinking that he had gained a good understanding of Formation Methods and should be able to handle the current illusion formation.

  The enthusiastic seeker stood up, stretched casually, and began to explore the illusory formation in front of him according to the method introduced in the "Tongtian Array". He wanted to find the array eye and break through the formation.

  Next to the three-eyed little lion who was practicing qigong, he also stopped his qigong practice and got up, curiously looking at Xun Daozi searching around, with a mysterious gesture in his hand, calculating and pinching, looking very fierce, making the three-eyed little lion stunned.

  Xun Daozi has been searching around for several days, calculating and thinking hard, but he had to admit that he still didn't understand the principle of this illusion array and couldn't find a way to break it. He also didn't want to use brute force to break through the array. In his heart, he felt that the more powerful the hidden treasure was, the more terrifying the array would be. If he were to forcefully break the array, he might attract the attention of some powerful being, and getting the hidden treasure would only lead to more trouble. Moreover, this illusion array had also stirred up Xun Daozi's competitive spirit, making him want to truly crack it through research and analysis.

  Xun Daozi was once again immersed in the Tongtian Array under the disdainful gaze of San Yan Xiao Shi Zi.

  The three-eyed little lion also took on the task of being vigilant again, and did not forget to practice breathing exercises.

  A hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye, Xun Daozi once again exits from being immersed in the Tongtian Array. He opens his eyes, a bright light flashes by, and a pair of eyes shine brightly and deeply, without the excitement of the previous awakening. His face presents a kind of serenity, as Xun Daozi is reflecting on his own cultivation:

  These hundred years of studying the "Tian Tian Array Method" have yielded rich results for Xun Daozi. Not only has he gained a new understanding in the array method, but also in his comprehension of the "Dao", which has led to a new understanding of Lao Zi's "Refining Dan" and Yuan Shi's "Refining Qi".

  Alchemical refinement, tool refinement, and formation refinement are all studies and applications of Dao marks and traces. They are also the overall planning and coordination of existing Dao marks and traces, only differing in their forms of expression. No wonder Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian each had their own emphasis on cultivation, but they all touched upon alchemical refinement, tool refinement, and formation methods, and all had extremely deep attainments, it's just that they didn't express them in everyday life.

  Not mentioning alchemy, nor bringing up equipment refinement, Xun Daozi, who has spent over a hundred years studying the "Tianyun Array" in secret, already has the qualifications to say that he has entered the gates of array mastery. Of course, this is relative to the likes of Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tianyun - if compared to ordinary cultivators, Xun Daozi would also be considered an array expert.

  Facing the illusion in front of him again, Xun Daozi didn't search around or calculate anything; he just sat calmly on the ground, concentrated his mind and spirit, dispersed his consciousness, and slowly felt and comprehended the differences here, as if experiencing the trajectory of the Dao marks in this place.

  It's a pity that the "Wisdom Eye" divine power has not been cultivated yet. If the "Wisdom Eye" divine power is cultivated, all illusions will cease to exist, and it would be much simpler to break this illusion array.

  Xun Daozi just sighed slightly in his heart, then concentrated his mind and body to comprehend this mysterious illusion. As his divine consciousness spread out, his mind also followed suit, covering the area where his divine consciousness had reached. Slowly, he entered a state of being half-awake and half-asleep, embracing the origin and guarding the unity.

  The three-eyed little lion beside Xun Daozi ignored his actions and practiced on its own.

  Time slipped away quietly, and Zuo's heart and soul merged with a mysterious state and illusion.

  One day, two days; one month, two months;

  Half a year later, that illusory array seemed to clear up in Daozi's heart and mind. The mysterious and profound dao marks hidden in the void, the mystical trajectory twisted and intertwined, together hiding a mysterious space.

  Gradually, Xun Daozi had already grasped the secret of this innate illusion array. This illusion array could no longer pose an obstacle to him, and he didn't need to break through it; he could naturally pass through this illusion array used for concealment.

  Xun Daozi got up, and the three-eyed little lion also sensed Xun Daozi getting up, quickly withdrawing its aura and following closely behind him, keeping pace with Xun Daozi as he walked inside.

  The void was like water, and a ripple appeared. Xun Daozi and San Yan Xiao Shi Zi were nowhere to be seen.

  In front of Xun Daozi was a dimly lit stone chamber, or rather, a cave would be more accurate. In the center of the stone chamber, two objects were suspended in mid-air.

  A small black triangular flag with an inexplicable halo surrounding it, like ripples on water, a mysterious aura that seems to appear and disappear.

  One was a long spear, with a dark and profound gun body; the spearhead was dim, as if even the searching gaze of the seeker had been swallowed up, and an inexplicable faint light entwined itself around the entire length of the spear, exuding an aura that was both mysterious and extremely perilous.

  Xun Daozi and San Yan Xiao Shi were both shocked on the spot, their eyes wide with wonder, unable to move slightly.

  It took a while, but Xun Daozi finally regained his composure and swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva before muttering to himself: "It can't be the 'Xuanyuan Water Control Flag' and the 'Regicide Spear', can it?!"

  The three-eyed little lion also pouted and made a "Woo, woo!" sound.

  Gradually, Xun Daozi's eyes became brighter and brighter, as if he had seen a mountain of gold.

  It took him a long time, but Zuo finally came to his senses: if these two treasures were real, then they would be truly extraordinary. In the legends of past lives, he had only heard their names, never seen such powerful innate spiritual treasures born into this world. If they were ranked among the Hongyuan treasures, they must be top-ranked, extremely powerful treasures. The other day, he had unfortunately taken on the responsibility of protecting the Hongyuan, was this not a welfare for him? The emperor doesn't shortchange his soldiers, this should be his salary!

  Xing's eyes were full of stars as he began to daydream again, getting lost in his own thoughts. He didn't even bother to wonder why this treasure had appeared here.

  It's been a long time, and I just thought of how to collect these two treasures: If they are really the 'Xuanyuan Kontrol Water Flag' and the 'Regicide Gun', it won't be easy to collect them. The Xuanyuan Kontrol Water Flag is not to mention, although it is a powerful pre-heavenly top-grade spiritual treasure, its defensive function is greater than its attacking function, so collecting it shouldn't be difficult; but the Regicide Gun is a purely attacking top-grade pre-heavenly spiritual treasure that can directly attack the soul, and it's hard to collect. Now that this treasure has appeared in the world, I'm afraid it will soon attract the attention of the powerful beings of the Hongyuan, and if we don't collect it quickly, once those powerful beings arrive, we'll end up with nothing but a pile of rubble, having worked for nothing.

  Xun Daozi's mind quickly turned, recalling the method of collecting objects in 'Yu Qing Lian Qi Jue'. He decided to take a risk and try it out. First, he collected what he thought was easier, 'Xuan Yuan Kong Shui Qi', and then proceeded to collect 'Shi Shen Qiang'.

  The magic numbers turned, Xun Daozi had made good preparations. The 'Qian Kun Ding' was spinning above his head, with a stream of green light hanging down to protect Xun Daozi's entire body.

  Xun Daozi pinched his fingers, muttered to himself, and slowly moved his hands. A blue light flowed from his hands as he took a step forward, stopping beside the mysterious black triangular flag. He stretched out his hand, and a powerful suction force enveloped the flag.

  The dark black triangular flag moved slightly, and a dark black light burst out, strongly resisting the suction force emitted by Xun Daozi. A tug-of-war contest unfolded.

  As time passed, Xun Daozi's heart also became somewhat anxious. The Tán Zhōng Fǎ Dān suddenly rotated violently, and a green light flowed through his meridians to his palm. The green light on his hand changed, and the green light flashed violently. With a sudden intake of breath, the small black triangular flag trembled, and as Xun Daozi's hand absorbed the energy, it was caught in his hand. After a few violent tremors, it stopped moving and returned to its original shape, quietly lying in Xun Daozi's hand.