Chapter Sixty: The Mysterious Square Pond

  Taking advantage of the faint light that seeped through the top of the water tank, the two people could only barely see objects within a foot in front of them, and beyond that was just a vast expanse of darkness.

  The space below seemed vast, and after a moment's time, he fell to the ground with a thud. As he lifted his head to look up, the mysterious light screen at the bottom of the lake was two zhang away from his head. However, this fall also made Feng thoroughly wake up from his previous daze.

  As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Liang Ze standing in front of him with a sighing expression. "Ah, you've learned my Phantom Step and still managed to fall so badly."

  He hummed a tune as he got up from the ground. "Where is this place? You don't still have tools, do you?"

  "I don't know either, it's just a tool, I really have one." As he spoke, Liang Ze took out a small bamboo tube from his pocket and opened it, revealing a lighter inside. He flicked it, and a small flame ignited.

  Su Feng was thoroughly convinced this time. Liang Ze didn't mind, and said casually: "Those of us in this line of work always carry some gadgets on our bodies. What's there to be surprised about?"

  But he had just finished speaking when he was shocked by everything in front of him. The light from the lighter in his hand was weak, but it could still illuminate the dark space below that was devoid of daylight.

  They were in a huge cave that they had never seen before. The entire cave was small at the top and large at the bottom, with the square pond as the entrance, and it was spacious and open underground, about ten or more meters on each side. Three giant stone pillars, five or six people hugging together, supported the entire stone chamber, and the top of the chamber was in a sloping style. The most amazing thing was that all the stone walls around the cave were carved with fine wavy patterns.

  What a magnificent project, in ancient times, this was absolutely impossible for human beings to accomplish.

  "Could it be that this is indeed the ancient Gonggong's dojo?" Even Feng couldn't help but praise, such engineering was in no way inferior to the natural craftsmanship of the gods.

  "This, could it be the legendary mountain-sealing technique that only exists in ancient myths?" Liang Tou'er's face was filled with intoxication. "Look, above us, separating the Fang Tang and the stone cave, should be the divine water system of the immortal family. Indeed, it is not something that ordinary people like us can comprehend. Even if it is not the Water God Gonggong, it must be some kind of divine being who possesses such a wonderful technique!"

  Liang Zei said so, and Su Feng suddenly understood that ascending to the Dragon Immortal Platform was not an empty rumor. It must be true that it had the divine power to gather dragon energy and change the ruler of the world.

  But in this stone room, apart from these wave-like patterns, there was nothing else. There wasn't even a single object, it was empty and desolate, as if the magical seal was only used to isolate this space, without any other purpose.

  Liang Ze's eyes were filled with emotion as he looked around the stone room again. "Alright, Xiao Feng, let's go."

  "Go out? Not take another look? We still don't have any clues now." Su Feng was startled, thinking to himself: Could it be that he discovered something I didn't?

  "This is just a stone room that gathers the wind and hides the air, it's normal to find nothing. The fire will burn out soon, let's go back outside and discuss it carefully." Liang Ze explained.

  After finishing speaking, Liang Tou'er glanced at the light screen above his head that was shining with a faint light and made a gesture to Sui Feng, indicating for him to go up first.

  He didn't hesitate, directly using Phantom Steps. Although he couldn't tread on air like Liang Stealer, he could still borrow force from the square corners of the stone walls, and after two or three flashes, he passed through the light curtain and returned to the icy cold square pond.

  Seeing him enter the light curtain with the wind, Liang Ze blew out the fire in his hand and followed.

  On the shore, wringing out his wet clothes, Liang Ze looked at him with a smile all over his face, somewhat puzzled. "We've lost our lead now, what should we do next?"

  Liáng Tuó ér jǐ yě bù jǐ shēn shàng de chí shuǐ, xiào dào: "yě nán guài, nǐ méi yǒu xué guò kān yú zhī shù, xiǎng bu liǎo jiě yě hěn zhèng cháng. Nǐ xiǎng a, dēng lóng tái néng gòu huì jù tiān xià lóng qì, kě yǐ gǎi biàn tiān xià qì yùn. Nà me líng wǒ yào jù duō shao lóng qì cái huì yǒu zhè yàng de xiào guǒ ne? Zǔ qián suǒ jiàn bú guò zhǐ shì yòng zuò jù qì de qí zhī yī ba, zhǐ yǒu xiān jiāng zhè xiē shí kū de fēn bù nòng qīng chǔ, cái néng yǐ cǐ tuī duàn chū dēng lóng tái jù tǐ suǒ zài."

  Liang Ze's words made Rong Feng suddenly enlightened.

  Then, they took Fenghuang Mountain as the center and used this cave as a reference. Very easily, more and more similar caves were found in other corresponding positions at the foot of the mountain, but they only found Fangtang and didn't dive down to explore one by one.

  As more and more caves were discovered, the distribution map of the surrounding caves gradually became clear. After about an hour, they had already found more than 40 caves, and at this moment, the sun was slowly setting in the west, and it was not far from dusk.

  Just as Su Feng was about to go find the next Fang Tang, Liang Ze stopped him with a grasp. "No need, we've already found 46 such stone caves, and explored six of them below. Although the size and shape of the caves are different, they all have the same style. At this point, I can almost confirm that there should be a total of 72 caves, arranged in a quincunx pattern at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain."

  "With a burst of joy, 'So, you can directly calculate where Longtaitai is?'"

  Liang Tou'er also had a smile all over his face and nodded, "It shouldn't be wrong."

  But they rushed to the place where Liang Zhe calculated, but it was a dense forest, nothing.

  "This, could it be that my calculations were wrong?" Liang Tou'er was very perplexed, he repeatedly confirmed, the ones they had found before were indeed strictly following the 72 Earthly Fiends' formation, how did this array change?

  He then calculated the positions of several other square ponds, but each one could be found. In the end, they couldn't figure out the reason and had to calculate and search for them one by one.

  It took them a whole hour, and they found sixty-five of the seventy-two caves.

  "Seventy-two, sixty-five, and seven more, what's the connection between them?" Liang Tou'er racked his brains, constantly recalling the seventy-two Di Sha star chart in his mind. Finally, he found out the positions of those missing Fang Tangs one by one, and took another look at the overall terrain and dragon vein trend of Feng Huang Mountain. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, "I know why!"

  Sui Feng was originally drawing a star chart on the ground with branches, and suddenly seemed to have realized something. But when Liang Zei shouted loudly, his thoughts were interrupted. "What did you think of?" Sui Feng asked softly, staring at the marks he had drawn on the ground.

  Liáng stealthily approached, broke off a branch from the tree, and with a few "pa" sounds, circled out seven positions among the seventy-two earthly fiends that did not have a stone cave. "Look at the arrangement of these seven positions, and take another look at this vast mountain foot, what do you think?"

  The star map drawn by the wind was simple, but after being stroked by Liang Ze, it seemed to reveal a mysterious and subtle aura. It was as if there was some kind of message in front of him, waiting to be grasped with just a stretch of his hand.

  Looking at the windy appearance, it seems to have a sudden realization. Liang Tou'er smiled slightly and didn't remind him with words, using the branches in his hand to brush several times on the other side of the mountain body's empty mountain foot, circling out seven positions again. "Look."

  These seven positions are arranged in a ladle shape, which is the shape of the North Dipper. The North Dipper has been recorded since ancient times. "Gan Shi Xing Jing" says: The North Dipper star is called the Seven Governments, the vassals of heaven, and also the imperial carriage. From the handle to the ladle direction, the seven stars are Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, and Yao Guang.

  It suddenly dawned on him that the seven missing stone caves were arranged in a separate Beidou Qixing formation. It must be one of the seven, "I didn't expect there to be so many doors and paths, now we just need to find these seven positions."

  Liang Tou'er smiled slightly, "I was also puzzled and couldn't figure it out, but then I suddenly remembered what you said before, that the Taoist Xu Fu used the Dragon Ascension Platform to harness the power of the stars to cultivate his body. I combined this with the changes in the dragon energy at Fenghuang Mountain, and only then did I deduce that there was actually a hidden North Dipper formation within the 72 Earthly Fiends. From the perspective of Taoism, Tianxu is controlled by the Star Lord of Fate, Tianxuan is controlled by the Star Lord of Fortune, followed by the Star Lords of Good Fortune, Longevity, Benefit, Disaster Relief, and Ascension. Since those who obtain dragon energy can become a great emperor, it's naturally related to one's fate. This Dragon Ascension Platform must be in the position of Tianxu." Liang Tou'er finished speaking, pointing with the branch in his hand at the location of Tianxu on the star chart.

  "Now that we know its location, let's go there." Xun Feng also had a smile all over his face.

  Liáng Tuō ér shook his head slowly, then looked up at the sky which was approaching dusk. "Let's not rush for now. Currently, the Blood Hidden Hall is in hiding, while we are exposed. Who knows how many Blood Hidden Hall disciples might be lurking around the Dragon Ascension Platform? How can we pass through safely? It's better to wait until nightfall and take advantage of the darkness to move more easily."

  Following the wind, he could only suppress his emotions, but a question also arose. If Xueyintang had found the location of Denglongtai, why didn't they plant some informants under Fenghuashan? Or did he just not notice?

  As Suifeng's internal strength grew, although he couldn't quite reach the level of injuring enemies with fallen flowers and leaves, his senses became increasingly acute. Even in a hotel room during the day, he could still hear the sound of a needle falling to the ground. "If someone is hiding nearby, there must be some unnatural sounds being made, am I just being overly cautious?" Suifeng thought to himself, analyzing the situation.

  Liang Ze sat quietly in the dense forest, his eyes slightly closed, not saying a word. Along with the wind, he silently practiced the Iron Cloth Shirt and Golden Bell Cover techniques he had learned from the Sarira.

  The sun gradually set in the west until the first lights came on, and the whole forest was still quiet, so quiet that even their breathing sounds could hardly be heard.

  "Alright, let's set off. Remember to be vigilant at all times." Liang Tou'er gazed up at the moonlight above, feeling a sense of unease in his heart. It seemed as though there was something unspoken that didn't feel right.

  Suī fēng diǎn le diǎn tóu, yě bù shuō huà, qiāo shēng hé Liáng tōu ér xiàng zhe tiān shū xīng suǒ zài fāng wèi xíng qù. Xíng zài shān lù zhī zhōng, Suī fēng bù xiàng Liáng tōu ér bù jǐn jīng yàn fēng fù ér qiě yì shēn jí gāo de qīng gōng, suī rán yùn qǐ le huàn bù, dàn shì réng rán hěn shí huì cǎi dào shù zhī luò yè zǒng bù miǎn yǒu xiē shēng xiǎng.

  Liang Zei knew he was a beginner, so he could only laugh. With another "crack" sound, his foot stepped on a withered branch again. Along with the cries of several crows, the nearby birds were startled and flew up in a flurry.

  With a sudden gust of wind, "Hiss...", Liang Tou'er suddenly grabbed him.

  Liange stole a glance around and lowered his voice: "Could it be that Li Linfu really didn't find this place? And yet, no one is on guard?"

  Just now, the sound of the wind was absolutely not small. Anyone with a little experience in the rivers and lakes knew that someone had come secretly from the mountains. Not only did they not hear any unusual sounds, but even the breathing sounds were only those of the two people echoing here.

  Liang Ze's son listened intently for a long time, but still didn't notice anything unusual. Despite feeling uneasy and suspicious in his heart, he said: "I still feel that something is not quite right here. Look, up ahead is where Tian Xuan is located, and down below is the Deng Long Tai we've been searching for all along."

  Taking a closer look with the wind, it is indeed slightly different from other places on the ground not far ahead. The faint outline of a square pond can still be seen.