Chapter 74 – I Accidentally Fooled You
The person who designed this mechanism formation must be a primary school student, right!? Haah!
I dare you to have a game of picture matching next, hey!
“Little brother, do you have a clue?”
Zhu Yao nodded while she felt like crying. She did not want to play a low IQ game like this in the least, you know?
Heaving a long sigh, she resigned to her fate and stuck the plates on the wall.
Actually, calling it Gomoku was not right either, because, it was an even more low IQ single-person game than Gomoku, it was a picture-sticking game. The rules were simple. Nine boxes, four types of pictures. The puzzle would be completed as long as there’s no repetition of picture plates horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
As for the intellect requirement… primary school level!
Zhu Yao spent a mere ten seconds to complete it, and with a tired heart, she looked at the wall which once again shone with a red light.
This time, it was not a teleportation formation. The entire wall separated into small little cube blocks, and then, parted to the two sides, directly revealing the passage behind.
“Let’s hurry up and head over!” Zhu Yao took the lead and entered. After walking for two steps, she realized there was no movements behind her. When she turned her head to take a look, a gigantic meatball, was currently stuck between the walls, and was currently trying his best to squeeze his fats, like toothpaste, towards the side where she was.
Zhu Yao: “……”
“Hehe, little brother, I’m stuck again.” Zi Dan looked at her apologetically, and struggled to squeeze into the passage.
Such a hard-working fatty. Zhu Yao approached forward and wanted to pull him out, only to realize that he basically could not move at all.
“Why don’t you use the Instant Movement Art to enter?” Zhu Yao suggested.
Zi Dan nodded, and cast an Art single-handedly, a moment later, he shook his head. “Can’t do. This wall can absorb spiritual energy. Since I’m currently stuck in-between, before the Art takes shape, the spiritual power has already dissipated.”
The hell, a passage like this actually has a characteristic that discriminates races as well. A fatty is human too, alright!?
“Little brother, head in first. I think that the end of this passage should be right in front.” Zi Dan said. “You head in by yourself, and see if the Sovereign is there. If she isn’t, it’s still not too late for you to come back and help me then.”
Zhu Yao hesitated for a moment, and accepted his suggestion. Although he was trapped here without any power to resist, this passage could absorb spiritual power, which would prevent Mystic Arts with high offensive power to be activated. Zi Dan was an Nascent Soul Paragon practitioner, so regular attacks would not be able to harm him either.
By herself, Zhu Yao continued to walk towards the end. What Zi Dan said was correct, as the end of the passage was just right in front. Her divine sense had already inspected that there was no other passages in front of her.
In less than the time needed to completely burn an incense stick, she had already arrived at the end of the passage.
This was another spacious room. It was so clean, forget about the furnishings, there was not even a single speck of dust anywhere. Zhu Yao was a little disappointed. After getting tossed around for half a day, there was not even a single thing here. She suddenly had a feeling as though she had been fooled.
Heaving a long sigh, just when she was about to turn back and save the fatty who was stuck in-between the walls, the ground began to make crackling sounds, tearing open a hole that was a few meters long.
Zhu Yao reflexively hurriedly flew up using her sword, before she could even heave a sigh of relief, suddenly, a huge suction force caught her, and in the end, she was still sucked into the hole.
The hell, it should not have been like this.
Zhu Yao fell. A moment later, with a ‘pachi’ sound, she sprawled on her back. My waist, ow!
“You don’t have to bother, this Sovereign will definitely not accept you.” A clear and cool lotus-like voice sounded in her ears.
“Feng Yi!” Oh my mother, I finally found this mountain-top flower.
The woman who was currently meditating, opened her eyes, a hint of astonishment flashed past her cool face. “You?”
“It took me forever to find you.” Zhu Yao rubbed her painful waist. “I’m Soi Sauz, the Sect Master told me to inform you to head home for dinner! Ah, pui. He told me to save you.” She was used to saying it.
“You’re the new Elder of Beast-Taming Mountain?” Feng Yi asked.
Zhu Yao nodded. Hurry and give your thanks.
“You’re here to only waste your efforts.” Feng Yi clearly was not on track, forget about giving her thinks, she did not even cast her gaze at Zhu Yao. She really hated this master and disciple duo, what to do?
“Since I was able to find you, how could my efforts be wasted?” Speak clearly, hey. If I had known you did not want people to save you, I definitely wouldn’t have come.
“I say, umm, you… Sovereign, let us pack our stuffs, and leave as fast as possible!” The fatty was still stuck over there, you know.
Feng Yi frowned, as though she was a little unhappy with Zhu Yao’s casual tone. “Do you think that it’s that easy to leave and enter this place casually?” She cast a cold glare at Zhu Yao. “This place is filled with mechanism formations. If you’re not good at them, it’s hard to maneuver in this place.”
Mechanism formations? Is she talking about those picture-matching and picture puzzle games? You should not underestimate my IQ, after all, I did graduate from university.
“Not to mention those inscriptions all around which could absorb spiritual power. You’re basically unable to attack. Also…” Feng Yi pridefully swept her eyes at Zhu Yao, and then looked at the position behind her. “Even that ancient formation on that door is intricate and complicated, it’s impossible to bypass it.”
Zhu Yao turned and looked at that so-called ancient formation, the corner of her lips began to twitch.
Feng Yi once again closed her eyes, as though she was ridiculing Zhu Yao’s overconfidence. “Every single time Chen Yi comes over, that formation will always change. I have used the Five Ways Disable Art, yet, up til now, I still have yet to see through the essence of this formation. Unless you know of the Secret Arts of the Ancients, there’s basically no way of getting out.”
Zhu Yao heaved a sigh. “I do know of it, though!”
“What?” Feng Yi opened her eyes forcefully.
Zhu Yao gave a face as she stared at that door, she suddenly had the impulse to scratch the door.
Who couldn’t solve magic squares? A formation centered around additions and subtractions of the numbers inside the grid? I will spit soda water on your face, I tell you!
“Are you serious? You’re able to solve this ancient formation?” The mountain-top flower was finally willing to look straight in her eye, however, her expression still carried a little suspicion.
Zhu Yao did not ever bother about her. She walked to the elementary-grade magic square, and began to derive the answer.
The magic square could be considered as a comparatively easy Mathematics game. Inside the 3 by 3 grid, one could put up the numbers 1 to 9. As long as, horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, the three numbers add up to 15, it’s considered completed. Usually, the puzzle would have about three numbers in the grids beforehand to serve as hints. As a game designer, she would often design such mini-games inside the games she program, so as to serve as barriers.
So, a mere magic square in front of her, was completely no pressure at all. Seemingly, with just a glance, she was able to know the answer.
Zhu Yao circulated her spiritual energy, and wrote the missing numbers on the grid.
Feng Yi walked over as well. Seeing his serious look, there was really a part of her which believed that Zhu Yao indeed know how to open this door.
Zhu Yao wrote the final number, yet, the door did not have any reaction at
Hence, she could only try pushing the door, yet, the door did not have the slightest hint of budging.
Ah, she embarrassed herself.
“That’s strange, the answer isn’t wrong, though?” Zhu Yao was unsure as well now.
Feng Yi sighed, and shook her head. Her expression began to become even more indifferent, clearly, she was feeling regretful for actually believing in him. Turning her body, she decided to meditate again.
Zhu Yao stared attentively at the words again, and finally discovered what was wrong.
“Why are these numbers written so strangely?” Zhu Yao touched the number, and murmured. The numbers she wrote were in a completely different style compared to the three numbers that were initially there. Could it be that the magic square could even recognize a person’s handwriting? It was that high-tech?
“That’s runes.” Feng Yu coldly said. “In every construction of talismans and formations, all of them require the usage of mystic power-imbued runes.” He did not even know about runes, and actually dared to say he knew how to break this ancient formation?
Zhu Yao’s eyes flashed. In other words, it did not recognize handwriting, rather, it’s the font. Say that earlier! Then I will change the font…
Wait a minute, she seemed to have never learnt how to construct talismans.
“Uh… Sovereign, I wonder if I can request you to change all the numbers I wrote into runes?”
Feng Yi frowned. She really wished to ignore this pretentious junior. If not for the fact that he came here to save her, and that there was no way out of here, she would have already thrown this irrational person out of here.
Feng Yi waved out her hand, a cool wind swept past. The Chinese numbers that Zhu Yao wrote earlier slowly twisted and changed in shape. Although they were still the initial numbers, they had an additional bit of elegance.
Almost at the same time the final number changed in shape, the entire door creaked. The four sides of the door emitted out a white light, and then, the door rumbled as it parted to the two sides.
Zhu Yao was speechless in her heart. As expected, it was a magic square that she could do even with her eyes closed!
“……” Feng Yi strangely looked at that youth who was in a daze.
Zhu Yao was already used to this sort of shock. Actually, it was not that these mechanisms were hard, nor was it that they did not know how to solve these mechanisms, rather, they were simply used to thinking of the aspect of how the formations and techniques work, and over-complicated the simplest of things.
“Let’s go!” Zhu Yao waved to the back. “It’s best that we hurry and leave, otherwise, we will be in trouble if we’re discovered.”
Feng Yi gently rose, and she looked at him with a complicated expression, yet, she still followed after Zhu Yao. Probably, he was just lucky for a moment. There were too many ancient formations in this underground city, how could a single person solve all of them?
However, in the next few moments, this youth in front of her whom Feng Yi had underestimated, had actually overturned her understanding. As each mechanism opened up one after another, the road which was initially filled with heavily complicated and hard mechanisms, were actually unable to stop them from moving past. Her thoughts had also begun to change from her initial contempt, to shock, and even more shock.
“You… how did you know of these removal methods?” Could it be that he was the descendant of that Ancient Sect which disappeared?
“You want to learn as well?” Zhu Yao turned to look at her, and casually replied. “Don’t worry, I can teach you!”
“……” She was a dignified Demigod-stage practitioner, why would she covet…
“Don’t worry. This is actually really simple.” A childish game like magic squares, she could solve them even with her eyes closed. “But that will have to wait till we get out of here. We have to first return to save that fatty.” Zhu Yao added.
“……” So he really wanted to teach her! Feng Yi’s expression instantly changed again, and that mountain-top flower earlier could no longer be found.
Zhu Yao solved four to five magic squares along the way. Even she had begun to suspect, if there were other otherworlders who had crossed over. Otherwise, why would such familiar barriers be designed?
They finally returned to that spacious room earlier. Probably because of solving the mechanism earlier, the ground which was initially teared open, returned to its former look. Not even a trace of the former huge hole could be seen.
So as to prevent the tragedy earlier from happening again, Zhu Yao leaned against the surrounding walls this time, like a crab, she side-stepped towards the passage at the other side. Feng Yi who was following behind her, was unclear of the situation, she thought that this was another sort of mechanism, and silently began to follow her exact side-stepping movements.
Zhu Yao who accidentally fooled this goddess: “……”