Wang Anfeng had slept incredibly soundly that day.
The next day, after everyone had breakfast at the inn, the young man made a special trip to the kitchen to request egg yolks and soybeans from the burly head chef. He mixed these with some fine fodder for the Green-Maned Horse to have a satisfying meal. He even borrowed a horse comb to groom the horse's hair neatly.
After combing the wet hair for about half an hour, the young man put down the horse comb, stretched his limbs, and the Green-Maned Horse softly neighed as if quite pleased. It rubbed its head on the young man's palm. Wang Anfeng took the opportunity to pat its neck and caress the mane, saying,
"Oh, my horse, you really saved me this time."
Just then, from outside came the shouting voice of Baili Feng. The youth again patted the horse before standing up and returning to the inn to meet up with his friends.
The mighty Guan City of Fufeng stood to the north. Once outside the city, the open fields began. Originally, villages were sparsely scattered near the official road, but in recent years, to facilitate administration and prevent bandits, these villages were also relocated within Guan City.
To persuade the people to leave their native homes, the presiding official made a sweeping decision, offering government allotted fertile land with a tax exemption for the first year and a half tax for the second year, with some slight benefits extending to the fifth year.
Within a month, the people outside Guan City flocked in.
The scholar had carelessly skipped work, leaving the poor Prefectural Governor with eyes wide open, lying stiffly on his bed, sleepless for days and nights. Whenever he thought of that terrifying number, he would feel darkness before his eyes and his scalp would tingle. He almost wished he could grab that lazy scholar right there and give him a severe beating to vent his frustration.
But precisely because there was no need to worry about disturbing villagers, the official road outside Guan City was significantly expanded and ran straight ahead, with only courier stations on the road and occasionally, under the leadership of some old ruffians, the Great Qin iron troops would scour the open fields.
The place lacked strength but more importantly, it lacked complex terrain for hiding.
Bandits had no foundation to survive in this area.
Thus, from this highway onward to Fanyang County, the journey was unobstructed, taking only half the usual time with increasing gathering of traders choosing this route.
Wang Anfeng and his companions traveled quickly along the smooth road, leaving Fufeng County the next day and turning westward into a mountain range. As evening fell, they dismounted and led their mounts along the mountain paths, going deeper and deeper until the stars began to emerge and the moon was hanging high in the sky. Gong Yu paused in his steps.
After briefly discerning the direction, he walked towards a forested area.
Wang Anfeng and the others followed, feeling as if their bodies had passed through a layer of gentle airflow, instantly changing their view.
They were still in the woods, but no longer in their original location. The area ahead was quite open, dominated by a huge stone sword, as large as a broken peak, half-buried in the ground. On the sword hilt, eight large iron chains intertwined, pulling towards eight pathways buried into the ground.
The chains were dark and heavy, thick as a strong man's waist, immune to the wind. They delivered a solemn and imposing presence, utterly different from the scenery they had just encountered. It was Wang Anfeng's first time witnessing such a method, and he was incredibly astonished. He looked up and saw several large characters carved on the stone sword.
Each character was distinct, each with its own style. The characters with many strokes did not seem complex, and those with fewer strokes did not seem crude. The shrunk characters were heavy, and the elongated ones were precipitous. Some were exhilarating while others burst with unrestrained energy.
Each stroke was like a fine sword move, infused with divine charm, causing the young man to shiver involuntarily. Tiny bumps appeared on the skin of his neck as if he were about to draw his sword in resistance.
At that moment, Gong Yu stepped forward slightly.
A chill seemed to arise around them, the sharpness that struck directly at the eyes and face quickly dissipated.
Gong Yu turned and saw Xue Qinshuang and Wang Anfeng almost simultaneously break free from that abnormal state. He saw Baili Feng struggling then loudly roaring as he forcefully broke out from the influence of the sword intent.
And the usually straightforward and proud Tuoba Yue took several breaths to regain his composure. However, a lingering fear still seemed to hover in his gaze as he turned his head away, unable to look again.
Gong Yu slightly frowned and then closed his eyes in a nod before saying,
"This is the entrance to our sect."
"The longsword here was left by the ancestor, engraved with sword qi, divided into eight types of swordsmanship moves, each with its divine charm. The deeper a martial artist's cultivation, the deeper their understanding; ordinary people without martial arts feel nothing unusual."
As the voice faded, Wang Anfeng and the others had completely broken free from their prior state. The young man, upon hearing this, looked up and finally saw the true form of the lines of text, rather than the fierce sword moves. He breathed a sigh of relief and softly recited:
"Qian leads to prosperity and righteousness, Dui reflects the hero's troops, Gen seals the mountain's ghostly gate, and Li drives the chariot of flames."
"Kan's water stirs the waves, Kun's land unites boundlessly, Zhen's thunder cracks loudly, Xun's wood steadies the mountains."
The young man looked slightly stunned, recalling how he had changed scenes with each step. He realized in his heart and whispered,
"This is a formation."
In today's world, numerous people try to integrate formation principles into martial arts like countless carps crossing the river, but truly delving into the study of formation scriptures is limited to the three schools of Yin-Yang, Taoist Sect, and Military Family strategists.
The former primarily focuses on managing the flow of various energies, while the latter focuses on lethal military formations.
This must be the handiwork of the Taoist Sect.
Wang Anfeng made his judgment based on the books he had read, and at that moment, Gong Yu's voice faintly rose again:
"If you step wrongly in the eight spins of the formation, you will fall into a fog and only be freed after a day."
Hearing this, everyone did not dare to delay and closely followed behind Gong Yu. The three young women from Qingfeng Edge slowed down, walking at the back to prevent anyone from straying. They took eight steps, each time the scenery before them changed dramatically.
Everyone possessed Qinggong, but as they passed through, they felt no abnormalities; they did not understand the principle behind it, and at one point, they even returned to their original position.
At that moment, Wang Anfeng thought Gong Yu had taken a wrong turn, but the latter did not hesitate, confirmed the direction, and continued to lead everyone along a small path. Suddenly, the view became vast, the moon and stars sparse, and in the distance, a green mountain could be seen standing faintly.
The young man pursed his lips, suddenly understanding in his heart.
Ordinary people caught in a maze formation, when finding themselves back at the starting point, would naturally assume they have gone in the wrong direction and would return along the same path, hoping to find the correct way.
But what is usually the right choice is the most erroneous here.
Though it is a Bagua Formation, crossing it eight times, the most formidable barrier is not the formation, but the human heart.
The young man marveled in his heart and suddenly remembered what Su Wenchang had mentioned a few days ago when describing Qingfeng Edge.
Hidden Sect sword school, those with no worldly ties cannot enter.
It turns out that taking a step is fate itself.
Thinking of this, the young man couldn't help but turn back to look, but he saw only dense mountain forests, branches and leaves crisscrossing, making the path they came from even more secluded and immeasurable.
Gong Yu's expression seemed slightly softer as he looked towards the distant green mountain and softly said,
"Qingfeng Edge, we've arrived."
PS: Here's the second update.