Chapter 343 - Exquisite

Even so, there were still flaws in heaven and earth and people of that level still could not achieve perfection.

As long as Shen Lian has the will, there would be a way to break the formation and obtain the Sanguang Holy Water.

With a calm voice, he said, "Senior Liuqing, if you intend to test my cultivation experience, I am willing to fulfill your wishes."

"This boy sure is confident." Under the bamboo forest, an elegant looking nun took a white chess piece and placed in on the board. She looked about twenty years old, had a sharp face and her eyes were as clear as the fountain spring. Under the oversized monk robe, she looked slim and weak.

Behind her was a lady who was as elegant as her name, Qixiu.

The lady who looked weaker than Qixiu was Daoist Liuqing. She was a rare connoisseur who specialized in both Dao and Buddhism, and a good friend of Xuantian Sect's Lu Jiuyuan.

Sitting opposite of her was a monk with a single limb. He took on the black chess piece and said with a smile, "Anyone who achieved immortality at his age can afford such confidence. On behalf of his master, you wanted to trap him for half a month to prevent him from confronting Chen Beidou and falling into the misfortune trials. But looking at it, this Four Symbols Formation may not hold him for long."

The monk with a single limb was Huike who had disappeared for quite some time. No one would expect that he was actually in fact at the Zizai Temple.

This was because the Ming Wang Temple has never dealt with the Zizai Temple.

Daoist Liuqing responded, "If he could break free from the formation in such short time, he should be able to take on Chen Beidou's sword. There's no harm in giving him some Sanguang Holy Water."

Huike shook his head and said, "Daoist friend, you have yet to witness Chen Beidou's sword. His swordcraft was perfected using the Chart of Celestial Extermination. Not many people in the universe could be his rival."

Daoist Liuqing said, "Back then when Sword Saint Ziwei came to my hermitage, he came up with the Dazizai Shapeless Sword Aura after reading the Zizai Scripture. That completed the art of sword and he became the most reputed master celestial of swords. Do you mean that Chen Beidou's swordcraft is as good as Sword Saint Ziwei?"

Huike responded, "Chen Beidou obtained my temple's Chart of Celestial Extermination to complete his swordcraft. But I guess he has yet to reach the level of Sword Saint Ziwei. If not, he would have gone to look for Saint Sword Ziwei and not test his skills in the human world. But even if there is a gap, it's not a big one." There was some despair in his gaze as if he recalled the day he witnessed Chen Beidou's frightening swordcraft.

The both of them chatted leisurely as they played a game of chess. If any ordinary being witnessed their game, they would most probably have the sentiments of, "If a man heads the right way in the morning, he may die in the evening without regrets."

Qixiu's gaze was not set on the game of chess. Instead, she looked towards the direction of Shen Lian and was worried for him.

She hoped that Shen Lian could break free from the formation but yet she did not want him to come out too soon and faced the trial of misfortune.

Her thoughts were complicated and have lost her sense of freedom.

Daoist Liuqing was not bothered by her disciple's state of mind and she too, could not care less about her Four Symbols Formation. She was fully focused on the game of chess against Huike who possessed impressive chess skills.

Gradually, the sun sank down to the east and the Four Symbol Formation remained silent.

Out of sudden, a dash of Qi of Xuan started raging.

Daoist Liuqing made a bad move but she could not care much about it at the moment. Her concentration has moved towards the Four Symbols Formation.

The Four Symbols expanded as if it was injected with endless Qi of essence.

It then condensed into countless yellow sand grains covered the area, making it hard to see the situation inside.

A hurricane then came by and the yellow sand grains twirled around the Four Symbols Formation and collided against the bamboo. As the momentum of the collision was huge, it stirred the spiritual opportunity and caused the earth to shake.

Qixiu was stunned by the scene.

She turned to her master but all Daoist Liuqing did was let out a snort and took out a handkerchief. The handkerchief expanded as it touched the wind and released countless crystals.

Qixiu recognized this handkerchief. It was a treasured possession of the Hermitage and was also known as Ruyi Waterpipe. It was of heavenly muslin and could change as it like.

The crystal fog produced by the Ruyi Pipe headed towards the yellow sand grains.

The yellow sand sank as it came in contact with places that the crystal fog has passed by. It stopped the odd phenomenon and prevented other areas from being affected by it.

Suddenly, the sound of the thunder cracked open the clouds above the sky but disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Daoist Liuqing sighed, "What a boy!"

Huike was tongue tied but managed to say, "Exquisite".

In his opinion, the method Shen Lian used to break the Four Symbols Formation was unbelievable.

Qixiu asked, "Master, what happened?"

Daoist Liuqing frowned at her and responded, "In between heaven and earth, is one Qi altogether. Alone it stirs, then divides into Yin and Yang. There is the elder and younger, divided into four symbols. The elder, during times of extreme movement, becomes greater Yang and greater Yin. The younger, when the movement starts, it started the motionless boundary, becomes lesser Yin and lesser Yang. The four symbols with five elements are all from within. Water is greater yin; fire is greater Yang; wood is lesser Yang; metal is lesser Yin; earth is Yin and Yang, also the elder and the younger. Wood, fire, metal, and water are clashing Qi, yet they connected."

These were annotations and commentary by a Daoist connoisseur of the correspondence between the four symbols and the five elements. In other words, the five elements were another form of the four symbols.

The five elements were formed by Yin and Yang; the existence of Yin and Yang brought about the five elements.

Whether its north, east, west, south or the azure dragon, vermilion bird, white tiger or black turtle, each of them represented gold, wood, water, and fire. In other words, the gold, wood, water, and fire of the five elements were actually the four symbols.

The 'earth' that was not part of the four symbols was actually the four symbols - the combination of wood, fire, gold, and water. This was because earth contains all four elements and that was why the earth produces myriads of things.

There was no earth in the four symbols but as it expanded, the four symbols interchanged and formed earth. That was how the yellow sand came about in the Four Symbols Formation.

Shen Lian was extremely talented and was able to make sense of the Five Elements of Dao and utilized the Qi of essence of the five elements.

He inserted the gold, wood, water, and fire four elements' of Qi of essence into the four roots bamboo to heightened the powers of the Four Symbols Formation and expanded the space. As the four symbols interchanged, it formed the earth Qi of essence.

Shen Lian then injected his earth Qi of essence into it to stir up the yellow sand and covered the entire Four Symbols Formation.

The yellow sand was originally a product of the Four Symbols Formation and they came from the same source. By managing and spreading the yellow sand, Shen Lian was able to control the formation.

As the four elements interchanged, every two intersections were known as the four corners and the earth lied within the four corners. Under the diffusion of the earth Qi of essence, the Sanguang Holy Water would sit in the water position of the four corners.

Shen Lian then was able to obtain the Sanguang Holy Water. By the time Daoist Liuqing used the Ruyi Waterpipe to suppress the uproar of the Four Symbols Formation, Shen Lian would be able to escape with the Sanguang Holy Water.

For the sake Daoist Liuqing, he chose to not say anything about it.