Chapter 77: Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation
Chapter 77: Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation
Three hours later, Tang Jinbiao and the others were sitting on the ground resting.
Sweat stains still lingered on everyone’s faces and clothes, especially around Tang Hu’s collar, which was crusted with a dense layer of fine salt. Yet, even as the old sweat dried, fresh beads trickled down anew.
“Hey, Ah Hu, is this practice really useful?”
Tang Jinbiao wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting slightly as he turned to Tang Hu sitting beside him.
“Yes, definitely. It’s just that we’ve only just started training, so the effect isn’t obvious yet. The main reason we lost to Tang Shan’s group last time was our lack of real combat experience. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been so humiliated!”
Tang Hu tugged lightly at his collar, causing the salt crust to crumble and fall as he spoke with certainty.
“Hmm, I think so too. With our strength, we shouldn’t have lost so badly. Next time, we’ll find a chance to teach them a lesson and make sure no one looks down on us!”
Tang Jinbiao nodded in agreement with Tang Hu’s view.
Tang Hu had brought everyone out today primarily to train in practical sparring. During their last match, lack of experience had cost them dearly. Tang Jinbiao, being quicker on his feet, had fared slightly better, but Tang Bi and the others had suffered terribly—almost to the point of losing control of their bodily functions, unable to care for themselves. Of course, even though Tang Jinbiao had shone that day, the credit belonged to Huang Biaozi. In the end, Tang Jinbiao himself had been beaten so severely by Tang Yilin that he couldn’t leave his bed for a long time.
“Mhm. Brother Biao, if we continue training like this, we should see small improvements within half a month. Once we’re familiar with each other’s fighting styles, no one will be able to best us even in a tough spot!”
Tang Hu glanced at Tang Bi and Tang Xing lying sprawled on the ground like dead dogs nearby and nodded in satisfaction.
“Good! Starting tomorrow, we’ll train here every day! Oh, right. Ah Hu, do you have any Spirit Stones on you?”
Tang Jinbiao thought this training method wasn’t bad—definitely better than training alone. Back then, with Huang Biaozi pushing him, he’d been diligent. But since Huang Biaozi left… well, he’d grown somewhat lax.
As he spoke, Tang Jinbiao pulled out a small, delicate Eight Trigrams amulet from his Storage Pouch.
“Brother Biao, what do you need Spirit Stones for?”
Tang Hu’s gaze shifted slightly toward the Eight Trigrams in Tang Jinbiao’s hand as he asked, puzzled.
“I heard this thing can set up the Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation. We’re tired now, so why not use it to temper our bodies? They say the Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation gathers Spiritual Energy for body tempering!”
Tang Jinbiao flipped the amulet over and scanned the simple formation pattern on its back. His eyes darted around, searching for something like a stick to etch the formation on the ground.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up upon spotting a thumb-thick branch nearby. He scrambled to his feet, walked over to it, then knelt back down. Holding the Eight Trigrams in his left hand for reference, he began scratching the formation pattern onto the earth with the branch in his right. Before long, about half of the design was roughly sketched out.
“Hmm? Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation? Can’t say I’ve heard of it!”
Tang Hu frowned slightly, seemingly unfamiliar with the formation’s origin, but he moved closer to watch anyway.
“So? Ah Hu, do you have any? Five or six will do!”
Kneeling on the ground, left hand holding the amulet, right hand scratching the pattern, Tang Jinbiao glanced up briefly.
“Well… Brother Biao, we’re not direct lineage members of the Tang Family, so we receive very few Spirit Stones each year. I only have these two.”
Tang Hu leaned in and produced two thumb-sized, unevenly colored, rectangular crystal chunks—undeniably Low-grade Spirit Stones. Due to their status as disciples of minor branches, these were the lowest quality stones possible. Still, they represented years of Tang Hu diligently pinching and saving. Hearing the urgent need, he’d produced them without hesitation.
“Huh? Just two?”
Tang Jinbiao gave the two Low-grade Spirit Stones a brief look, his face registering surprise.
Truth be told, he hadn’t seen actual Spirit Stones in some time. In his mind, they should at least be egg-sized and radiate thick Spiritual Energy to deserve the name. Yet these two were pitifully small and utterly devoid of any detectable energy flow. Naturally, he found it odd.
“Heh, Brother Biao, we minor branch disciples only get one low-grade Stone per year. We don’t have the privileged resources you direct lineages enjoy. Could it be… you don’t have any Stones either?”
A faint trace of embarrassment surfaced on Tang Hu’s face. He scratched his head awkwardly and said.
“Oh!”
Tang Jinbiao seemed to grasp something, acknowledged with a sound, disregarded Tang Hu, lowered his head, and continued drawing the Formation.
“Brother Biao, you keep drawing it. I’ll go ask Ah Bi and the others!”
While Tang Jinbiao was bent low, engrossed in carving, Tang Hu called out, then headed toward Tang Bi and the others, who were lying down resting.
After walking over, Tang Hu gently roused the few of them. They wore expressions of impatience, but Tang Hu seemed reluctant to disturb Tang Jinbiao, gesturing for them to keep quiet. He then bowed his head and spoke to them in a low voice. They glanced at Tang Jinbiao, looked back at Tang Hu, their expressions becoming complicated, and then pulled Spirit Stones from their robes. Seeing them produce the Spirit Stones, a look of elation appeared on Tang Hu’s face.
…A quarter of an hour later!
“Ah Hu, Ah Bi, Ah Xing, Ah Bu, come see! It’s finished at last!”
Tang Jinbiao stood up, his face beaming with joy. He turned and shouted happily towards Tang Hu and the others.
“Brother Biao!”
“Alright!”
Seeing Tang Jinbiao had completed it, excitement also lit up the faces of the group. Without any hesitation, they all rushed over.
“See! This is my masterpiece!”
Once the few came close, Tang Jinbiao stepped aside, gestured proudly towards the Formation as if inviting them to look, his face filled with pride.
“Really?”
“Let me see!”
“What is it?”
Excitement and eagerness filled their expressions as they leaned forward, eager to see what kind of Array it was. However, when they clearly saw it, one by one, strange expressions surfaced on their faces.
It was a one-zhang square Array. Though not particularly vast, it was certainly large enough for Tang Jinbiao!
The Array was, truly, remarkably simple. And the technique was extremely crude!
Simple to what extent? It was essentially two large equilateral triangles, one upright and one inverted, interlocked to form a six-cornered hexagon. But no matter which angle you viewed this hexagon from, it looked identical.
Inside each corner of this larger hexagon was an identical, smaller hexagon, scaled down by one size. In the central open space of that smaller hexagon was a slightly recessed small hole – seemingly the spot for placing a Spirit Stone.
And in the center of the larger hexagon itself lay another, smaller hexagon. Within this central smaller hexagon, on the open ground, Tang Jinbiao had scraped out a palm-sized depression – precisely the right size for setting down that patch of Eight Trigrams.
As for how crude it was?
The lines weren’t smooth at all. In many places, the earth hadn’t been properly cleared away. Some lines were deep, others shallow. Some sections even showed patches of earth deliberately smeared over them to cover up and correct mistakes where the original drawing had been crooked.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing the looks on Tang Hu and the others’ faces directed at his proud creation, Tang Jinbiao felt a pang of disappointment and even a bit puzzled.
“Uh, Brother Biao… Are you sure this… this… you drew is a Formation?”
Though not a Cultivator himself, Formations and Restrictions were commonplace sights in the Tang Family. Seeing the thing Tang Jinbiao had carved out, a peculiar expression formed on Tang Hu’s face.
“Huh? Of course it is! Why wouldn’t it be? Isn’t this depicted exactly as it should be?”
Tang Jinbiao paused, baffled by Tang Hu’s words. He handed the Qingyang Eight Trigrams disc to Tang Hu, as if presenting proof he was indeed correct.
Tang Hu took the Qingyang Eight Trigrams with a doubtful expression, carefully comparing it. As for Tang Bi and the others, they also gathered around with curious faces.
After inspecting it, their expressions turned into a mix of amusement and helplessness, leaving them momentarily speechless.
“Well? Didn’t I, Brother Biao, speak the truth? I tell you, this is the famous Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation! It’s said to refine physical strength—with this, Brother Biao guarantees your leveling up will be lightning fast. Hehe, isn’t Brother Biao wise and formidable? Doesn’t he radiate an awe-inspiring presence?”
Tang Jinbiao retrieved the Qingyang Eight Trigrams, his face beaming with pride as he spoke.
“Uh, alright!”
Tang Hu and the others could only nod resignedly.
True, the formation Tang Jinbiao had etched perfectly matched the Qingyang Eight Trigrams in design, though it was less polished. As for what the Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation actually was, they’d naturally never heard of it, so they could only endure his wild claims. Anyway, they were already used to Brother Biao’s grandiose declarations.
Clack! Clack!
Tang Jinbiao bent down, embedded the Qingyang Eight Trigrams firmly at the core of the formation, turned, and addressed Tang Hu: “Ah Hu, hand me the Spirit Stones!”
“Got it!”
Tang Hu nodded, pulled out a small handful—about seven or eight Spirit Stones—from his robe, and passed them to Tang Jinbiao.
Tang Jinbiao glanced briefly at them without comment, accepted them without ceremony, and placed one into a small pit at the center of one corner of the hexagonal formation.
…
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Before long, Tang Jinbiao had secured five Spirit Stones, leaving only the final slot.
“Ah Hu, step back. I haven’t tested this before—no idea if it’s safe. Hide to the side, all of you!”
Tang Jinbiao gripped a small Spirit Stone, poised to slot it into the last hole, but halted abruptly, turning to order Tang Hu and the group.
“Brother Biao, I’m the fastest here. Let me place it. You and Ah Bi take cover with them!”
Noticing Tang Jinbiao’s grave expression, Tang Hu stepped forward insistently.
“No! I’m Brother Biao—the danger’s on me. You all hide properly. Relax, my speed’s my proudest skill!”
Tang Jinbiao refused decisively.
“Alright!”
“Brother Biao, stay cautious!”
“Brother Biao, be careful!”
Unable to defy him, Tang Hu and the others dashed over ten zhang away, ducked behind a thick tree, and hid as one.
“Brother Biao, we’re hidden!”
“Brother Biao, stay sharp!”
Crouched behind the tree, they yelled out to him.
“Got it!”
Once they replied, Tang Jinbiao nodded, bracing himself fully and ready to bolt at any second. Slowly, he lowered the Spirit Stone toward the formation’s last pit…
Click!
A faint sound echoed as the stone settled into place…