Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Chapter 123: Gambling on Formations

It's actually a monster's lair?

Ning Che was somewhat surprised and looked up at the two of them.

The other two did not dwell on this claim, but instead focused on the case file itself.

Shi Bingzhu ran his fingertip over the words "ancient demon's lair" on the dossier, his brow furrowed: "This dossier is flawless."

"That's utterly irrefutable nonsense," Shi Zhongyu said calmly, his tone devoid of emotion.

That's right, it's just nonsense.

Mu Qingming naturally wouldn't reveal the truth to them.

Ning Che felt somewhat relieved.

He temporarily abandoned his question about the connection between the monster's lair and the tomb, suggesting instead, "It's probably just something to fool us; we can't figure it out. Why don't we wander around first?"

Shi Bingzhu closed the file: "That's right, then let's split up. You go into the mountains, Xing goes north, and Shi Zhongyu goes south."

Just as the two were about to make their move, Ning Che suddenly stopped them, saying, "Wait a minute, I think we can change the division of labor."

He looked towards the western mountains: "Is the west the direction into the mountains? I happen to know some formations, I can go and check out the situation over there."

Xing glanced at him: "You even know about formations?"

Ning Che nodded.

Xing didn't ask any more questions, only instructing, "Then you go to the west, and I'll go to the north. Be very careful, don't act impulsively, and if anything unexpected happens, run outside."

"rest assured."

Ning Che picked up his knife and smiled, "If anything happens, I'll run to your side."

The three dispersed as planned.

Deep in the Western Hills, the vegetation withers prematurely.

The pungent smell of freshly turned soil mixed with the stench of blood drifted in on the mountain breeze.

Ning Che walked alone into the area that had been razed to the ground.

The further you go in, the more somber the atmosphere becomes.

Dozens of guards were scattered around the area, maintaining a tight watch, their eyes constantly scanning any approaching creatures.

These people were not ordinary patrol teams, but rather Mu Qingming's trusted confidants.

In the center of the camp was a huge, newly dug pit, as big as three or four barracks.

The edge of the pit was piled with black soil like a small mountain, with gravel and rotten wood mixed in with the soil.

Several team members were gathered around the edge of the pit, pointing and gesturing downwards, their expressions grave.

Ning Che's arrival did not attract much attention.

In their eyes, he was merely an eye sent by Yu Congrong, an insignificant eighth-rank squad leader.

Just let it air dry.

Ning Che didn't rush down into the pit; he simply stood at the edge, calmly surveying the entire excavation site.

At the bottom of the pit, a dozen or so cultivators were trying to break the formation.

The method is very primitive.

Use magic to bombard it.

Various magical lights exploded at the bottom of the pit, striking an unseen barrier and creating ripples before quickly dissipating.

Whenever a ripple appeared, a squad leader would shout to record it.

This efficiency is simply touching.

Ning Che stopped looking at the reckless cultivators, closed his eyes, and silently activated his Six Ears Listening to the Moon.

This time, it wasn't about eavesdropping.

It is perception.

The primordial energy of heaven and earth floating in the air gradually revealed its trajectory in his perception.

Countless tiny energy threads converged from all directions, weaving together into an invisible net above the deep pit.

This network has a complex structure, yet it follows a certain rigorous, even rigid, rule.

Ning Che quickly flipped through the contents of the thirty-six volumes of "A Brief Introduction to the Dao of Array Formations" in his mind.

"The Kun position draws in the energy, the Gen position forms the foundation, the Li position gathers energy, and the Kan position counteracts the flow..."

Each formula corroborates the energy flow before our eyes.

Less than ten breaths later, Ning Che's eyelids twitched.

It's that simple.

This is not a defensive formation for protecting the lair of monsters at all.

The energy flow of the defensive array should be from the outside in, weakening layer by layer to form a barrier.

The formation before us is the complete opposite.

It draws primordial energy from the depths of the earth's veins, transforms it through an array, and then evenly presses it onto the center of the pit.

Its purpose is not defense.

It was suppression.

It's a seal.

This is like mistaking a lock for a safe, smashing it with a sledgehammer, and thinking you're really capable.

Once they break open this "lock," what comes out won't be gold or silver treasures.

Ning Che opened his eyes and looked towards the center of the pit.

There, a dark expanse of stone bricks was exposed, inside which was an entrance protected by an array, about five or six meters wide, with its height still unknown.

The demon's true form is quite large.

Just as Ning Che's thoughts were racing, a cold voice rang out from behind him.

"Hey kid, have you seen enough?"

Ning Che turned around.

A skinny, hook-nosed foreman was staring coldly at him.

Ning Che remembered this person.

One of Mu Qingming's mad dogs, with a seventh-grade cultivation level, is named Hu Dayong.

"Did Deputy Commander Yu send you here just to stand here in the sun?"

Hu Dayong took a step closer, his tone full of provocation: "Or are you saying that you, a cripple with half your body crippled, can't do anything but look?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "waste".

Several team members nearby turned to look at the commotion, their faces showing expressions of anticipation.

Ning Che's expression remained unchanged.

He glanced at Hu Dayong once, then looked at the cultivators at the bottom of the pit who were still bombarding the pit with all their might.

Then, he raised his hand and slowly picked at his ear.

"I'm watching how you treat a sealing array like a treasure map to dig it up."

Ning Che's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for those around him to hear clearly.

The foreman, who was taking notes by the pit, stopped writing.

The cultivators at the bottom of the pit also stopped what they were doing and looked up.

Hu Dayong's face changed instantly, turning pale and then flushed, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

He pointed at Ning Che's nose and yelled, "What the hell are you spouting?!"

This shout drew the attention of all the mountain guards nearby.

"A mere eighth-rank brat dares to speak ill of formations here?"

Hu Dayong shouted angrily, "What do you know about formations?!"

"Nonsense?"

Ning Che's tone was calm as he retorted, "A team that treats the suppression array as a defensive barrier, resorting to brute force in an attempt to break through it, has the nerve to accuse others of talking nonsense?"

The bottom of the pit became completely quiet.

The cultivators looked at each other, and the magical light in their hands dissipated.

Nobody's stupid.

Judging the formation is directly related to whether one can survive.

Even when the team was shouting, they just stood there and didn't continue to attack.

It's just a job; it's not worth risking your life for.

Hu Dayong's face turned a deep purplish-red, and he took a sudden step forward.

"You think I'm afraid of you!"

He stared intently at Ning Che: "You, a mere eighth-rank brat, dare to be so insolent in front of me? What will you do if you lose?"

Ning Che looked at him: "How do you want to bet?"

"Simply admitting your mistake is not enough."

Hu Dayong's face hardened, his gaze landing on Ning Che's left hand: "I think you might as well give up this left hand too. Want to gamble with it?"