Chapter 166: Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, Mutual Generation and Restraint

As soon as Qin Xiao stepped onto the next square, the eight squares around him lit up, with his own square at the center.

Seeing Qin Xiao safely enter the next grid, Yun Man and the others followed to his position.

“Huh? The Pressure didn’t increase. How strange.”

Everyone felt it. They had moved one grid, yet the Pressure on them had not increased at all. It seemed they had truly chosen correctly.

“I’m now at the center, and the surrounding eight grids are all lit. That means these eight grids represent eight directions-perhaps even the Eight Trigrams. But how should I crack this?”

Qin Xiao was not concerned with changes in Pressure. He was puzzling over the formation again; he knew little about the Eight Trigrams.

He had entered from the Gen Position, the Gate of Life. Now that he had moved a step, was he in a different position, or still at Gen? Should he keep moving according to the positions, or follow some other rule? Was it only the Eight Trigrams, or did it include the Five Elements? If so, which element should he choose?

Qin Xiao racked his brains for everything he remembered from his previous life. Perhaps there was a way to solve this among those scraps of knowledge.

Seeing Qin Xiao space out again, Ling Ruoxue opened her mouth to speak, but Yun Man stopped her.

“Master is thinking. Sister, do not disturb him.”

Qin Xiao was frowning, and Yun Man could see that he was thinking something over.

Ling Ruoxue had no choice but to shut her mouth. Perhaps Qin Xiao really had a way; after all, they had just moved one grid without any increase in Pressure, proving they were on the correct path.

Advancing one grid forward brought him to the center. He had entered from the Gen Position, and nothing abnormal had occurred here, indicating that this spot was a neutral center-a safe zone. Taking one step back would return him to the Gen Position, while taking one step forward led to the Dui Position, which corresponded to the Gate of Shock.

According to the Five Elements, the Gen Position belonged to earth, while the Dui Position belonged to metal. Earth generated metal, so advancing one position might be a sound choice.

Although the Gate of Shock was dangerous, it was better than the Gate of Death or the Gate of Injury. This formation surely involved more than just the Eight Trigrams. Perhaps it included the Five Elements. He would test that first.

With that, Qin Xiao took another step toward the grid directly in front of him.

Upon entering the grid, Qin Xiao tested the Pressure and found it had not significantly increased. His guess had been correct.

“Come over and see if the Pressure has changed.”

Qin Xiao could not gauge it clearly on his own, so he motioned for Yun Man and the others to join him. If there truly was no change, his hypothesis was likely valid.

Yun Man and the others quickly stepped forward.

Once they entered, they found that the Pressure had changed slightly, though not by much. This step seemed to be right too.

“Master, the Pressure changed a little, but it’s very faint. It seems this grid is safe too.”

Yun Man reported after sensing the change.

The slight increase was likely due to the Dui Position corresponding to the Gate of Shock, but it was harmless. They could continue.

“Wait here while I try again.”

Qin Xiao took another step forward. If he was correct, this should be the safe center position once more.

Sure enough, after stepping into the grid directly ahead, no adverse changes occurred. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.

“Come over, this place is safe too.”

Sensing stability, Qin Xiao grew increasingly confident in his deductions and beckoned the others forward.

The group hurried over to his grid, confirming that the Pressure had not risen.

“Uh, Qin Xiao, I don’t know if I should say this…”

Ling Ruoxue was left somewhat speechless. After all that profound thinking, hadn’t he just walked in a straight line?

“Speak. Is there a problem?”

Qin Xiao was absorbed in his thoughts and might have missed something, so he told Ling Ruoxue to speak.

“Look, ever since we entered, we’ve walked three grids in a row, and all in a straight line. Is it possible that you just have to walk straight to reach the end?”

Ling Ruoxue voiced her doubt. Was he perhaps overcomplicating things?

“What you’re saying sounds reasonable, but I doubt it’s that simple. If walking straight were enough, why would countless thousands of Demon Beasts and cultivators who entered through this gate over the years fail? Would the Saint Origin Spirit Fruit still be waiting here for you?”

Qin Xiao was exasperated. Beasts had entered here before. They had advanced quickly at first, but all had eventually retreated, some badly injured.

“You’re right. I was just guessing. Go on.”

Ling Ruoxue caught herself. Indeed, if it were that easy, the treasure would have been claimed ages ago by beasts or earlier cultivators, leaving nothing for their group.

Ignoring her, Qin Xiao resumed his calculations. Advancing led to the center, and behind him was the Dui Position. The Dui Position belonged to metal, and metal generated water. The water position was the Kan Position; given that the Dui Position was behind him, the grid to his front-left should be the Kan Position.

Having made his determination, Qin Xiao strode toward the front-left grid.

After taking the step, he tested the Pressure and found zero change. He had guessed correctly once more. The Kan Position belonged to the Gate of Rest, making it one of the more favorable gates.

Once he reached that square, Qin Xiao took another step forward without hesitation. Following the pattern, one step forward brought him to a center square, with a change every two steps.

Sure enough, there was still no change.

“Follow my method to catch up.”

Qin Xiao called out to the others behind him.

By this point, the method of breaking the formation had been essentially verified.

Now that he had worked it out, he could move faster.

The Kan Position belonged to water, and water generated wood. There were two positions belonging to wood: the Xun Position and the Zhen Position. This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.

The Zhen Position corresponded to the Gate of Injury, while the Xun Position corresponded to the Gate of Obstruction. Logically, the Xun Position should be chosen, but it lay behind them to the right, requiring a backward step. He wasn’t certain if moving backward was permitted.

“Forget it. I’ll take the Zhen Position. We’ve come in; what’s the point of going backward? We have to take some risks.”

After a moment’s thought, Qin Xiao chose to keep moving forward.

With the Kan Position behind him, the Zhen Position remained to his front-left. Qin Xiao strode toward the front-left grid without hesitation.

This time, the shift in Pressure was somewhat noticeable, though it still did not increase drastically.

Once he entered the Zhen Position, Qin Xiao was puzzled again. Wood generated fire, and fire was at Li, in the square behind him to the left. After all that, did he still have to go backward?

“No, there must be another way. Among the Five Elements, there is Mutual Generation and Restraint… Right, there is also restraint!”

Qin Xiao had been overly fixated on generation and forgotten about restraint. Restraint should serve as a valid method to crack the formation as well.

Wood restrained earth. There were two earth positions, Gen and Kun. Kun was behind him to the right, so he ruled it out. That left Gen to his right.

Without delay, Qin Xiao stepped into the grid directly to his right.

The Pressure shifted slightly, but again, the change was minimal.

“Though not flawless, based on this rate of increase, the accumulated Pressure won’t be much by the time I reach the end. This is viable.”

After testing the Pressure, Qin Xiao felt even more confident.

Every subsequent grid was navigated using the interplay of generation and restraint. Naturally, the supplementary effects of the Eight Gates still applied-particularly when stepping onto the Gate of Injury, the Gate of Death, and the Gate of Shock, where the surge in Pressure was exceptionally pronounced.

Those inside did not know how far the other groups had gone, but the people outside could see them.

Quite a few disciples had already dropped out. They watched those still inside the Formation with curiosity.

Qin Xiao’s group, despite entering last, had somehow bypassed the others who went in first and reached the very front.

They seemed to have strength to spare, though their stopping and starting puzzled the disciples who had withdrawn.

“Could Qin Xiao have actually figured it out? He’s walked this far without a single issue.”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s just relying on his Body Refinement strength to shrug off the Pressure.”

“That can’t be right. The people trailing behind him don’t look overly strained either. It’s possible Qin Xiao really found the method.”

The disciples began discussing it.

As for Fang Xiuxian, who had entered long before Qin Xiao, only he remained, struggling bitterly to hold his ground. The other Golden Core stage cultivators had barely made any headway before the crushing weight forced them to retreat.

“No, I can’t give up. I must get the Saint Origin Spirit Fruit! It will greatly improve Master’s cultivation, and it’s excellent for me too. With it, I could break through to Soul Formation soon.”

Fang Xiuxian felt the Pressure on him growing, but still refused to give up. He had come so far through luck, and he did not want to waste that chance.