Chapter 200: Drawing the Ground as a Prison

After Emperor Xia saw off the five great Immortal Sect Masters, he heard his Old Ancestor's call, summoning him to the Forbidden Area for an important matter.

"Old Ancestor, what is it?" Emperor Xia arrived at the Forbidden Area and respectfully bowed to the Old Ancestor.

After waiting for a long time, Emperor Xia received no response from the Old Ancestor, so he secretly raised his head.

When he looked up, he saw the Old Ancestor's forced, humorless smile, and instinctively took a few steps back.

"I heard you just incited Yunzhi to teach me a lesson?"

Emperor Xia was stunned. The imperial palace was enveloped by an immortal formation, and only he and Yunzhi were present. How did the Old Ancestor know?

"Nonsense, I set up the immortal formation myself. Of course, I can listen however I please!"

"You brat, it seems I didn't beat you enough when you were a child!" The Old Ancestor extended a large hand and pulled Emperor Xia into the Forbidden Area.

"O-Old Ancestor, please be gentle! You watched me grow up; if you hit me, it'll hurt your heart!"

"Don't worry, my heart is as hard as iron!"

Soon, horrific screams echoed from the Forbidden Area.

It was no wonder there were rumors in the imperial palace that an immortal ominous creature was suppressed in the Forbidden Area, constantly being worn down by the formation and emitting miserable wails.

Of course, some eunuchs and palace maids whispered that it might be Emperor Xia screaming, but such a disrespectful speculation did not spread widely.

Even if it had spread, people would likely have dismissed it as a rumor.

"Brother Lu, do you want to learn a new spell? Senior Brother Ji Hongwen is teaching." Lu Yang was practicing swordsmanship in a crisp white training suit when Mang Gu approached him, accompanied by Meng Jingzhou.

"Mang Gu called me too," Meng Jingzhou explained with a smile. Why wouldn't he want to learn another spell?

"Why would Senior Brother Ji Hongwen suddenly decide to teach us spells?" Lu Yang wondered.

Ji Hongwen was the eldest disciple of the Confucian Cultivator Fourth Elder, skilled in painting techniques, and his cultivation was comparable to Senior Brother Dai Bufan.

"Oh, it's like this," Mang Gu explained. "I think Confucian cultivators' combat should be more elegant. Fighting with a large iron hammer, like I do, isn't a proper technique for a typical Confucian cultivator, so I wanted to learn some refined spells."

Lu Yang looked at Mang Gu in astonishment, as if seeing a divine being.

Was Mang Gu about to break the curse the Immortal Fairy placed on the Barbarian race? This was truly cause for celebration!

"Besides, my hammer is with Li Haoran for an upgrade, so I can't practice my hammer techniques for a while. I might as well find something else to do.

"Then I went to Senior Brother Ji and asked if he could teach me one or two Confucian cultivator spells. He said yes. I asked if I could bring you two along to learn, and he said yes. So here I am, looking for you and Brother Meng."

Lu Yang nodded. "That was thoughtful of you."

Mang Gu quickly replied, "What are you saying, Brother Lu? I've learned so much wisdom by being with you and Brother Meng. This is just me taking advantage of the situation, asking Senior Brother Ji to teach you as well while he teaches me."

Meng Jingzhou patted Mang Gu's shoulder. "That's called 'going with the flow'."

"Brother Meng is truly knowledgeable." Meng Jingzhou simply looked on.

The three arrived at the bamboo grove, where Senior Brother Ji Hongwen was dozing in a pavilion. As soon as they stepped into the grove, he woke up.

Lu Yang shook his head; this sleep quality was far inferior to that of the Immortal Fairy.

Even now, the Immortal Fairy was still sleeping soundly.

"You're here?" Senior Brother Ji greeted with a smile.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Ji!" The three clasped their hands and said in unison.

Senior Brother Ji adopted a serious expression. "Junior Brother Mang Gu asked me to teach him a Confucian cultivator spell, and I have no objection. However, Confucian spells are generally difficult to learn, and there's no guarantee you'll master it. You three are all talented, and I hope you won't be discouraged even if you don't succeed."

Mang Gu was full of confidence in Lu Yang. "Brother Lu's spell talent far surpasses mine; he'll definitely learn it!"

Senior Brother Ji shook his head and chuckled, finding Mang Gu's words overly exaggerated.

Apart from the Senior Sister, who could guarantee they would definitely master a spell once they started learning it?

"The spell I'm teaching you is called 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison'."

You've probably heard of this spell. By simply drawing a circle on the ground, you can confine an opponent within it. Combined with fierce offensive techniques, the opponent has nowhere to escape and must endure your attacks!

The three's eyes lit up. They hadn't expected it to be this spell; 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison' was quite renowned.

To casually draw a circle and trap an opponent—how elegant! It was a top-tier immortal technique!

"Let me demonstrate."

Senior Brother Ji extended a finger, using his hand as a brush, and lightly drew a circle around Lu Yang and the other two. The three immediately found themselves blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to leave.

Mang Gu and Meng Jingzhou tried to break the barrier with brute force, but it was futile.

Lu Yang attempted to use "Shrinking the Ground" to escape underground, but he hit the solid ground and still failed.

"Haha, this is 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison'." Senior Brother Ji casually dispelled the circle.

"To learn 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison', you first need to be able to draw a perfect circle freehand, and second, memorize the incantation."

Senior Brother Ji instructed the three to draw circles. Their attempts were crooked, resembling circles formed by several caterpillars.

"Look at what you drew; it looks like an egg," Meng Jingzhou scoffed at Lu Yang.

Lu Yang glanced at Meng Jingzhou's drawing. "Yours is worse than mine; it looks like a tea egg."

"Tea eggs are more valuable than your plain egg." "And they're more troublesome to make."

Their debate gradually drifted away from drawing.

"Practice more. As cultivators, it's not difficult to control your body to draw," Senior Brother Ji advised the three. Only then did Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stop their pointless arguing.

Indeed, just as Senior Brother Ji said, by consciously controlling their bodies, they soon managed to draw perfect circles freehand.

"Next, I'll impart an incantation. Listen carefully; you must remember not only the words but also the tone of each word!"

"'Power cannot enter, counsel cannot oppose...'"

The three listened intently, striving to remember every word and its tone. After several stumbling attempts, they finally memorized it all.

"Finally, and this is the most difficult part, you must thoroughly understand the incantation, allowing it to naturally transform into a spiritual energy circulation route within your body, only then can you successfully cast the spell!"

Ji Hongwen warned the three not to be complacent when learning 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison'.

Mang Gu silently recited the incantation, attempting to cast 'Drawing a Circle as a Prison'. He circled himself repeatedly but never succeeded.

Meng Jingzhou was slightly better than Mang Gu, likely due to better comprehension. After many attempts, he occasionally managed to form invisible cages with a few circles, but the success rate was too low for practical combat use.

"Don't be impatient," Ji Hongwen said, fearing to discourage the three. "When I first learned this spell, I was at the Golden Core stage, and even then, it took me five days to master it." (In reality, he had learned it in two days.)

"Let's see how Lu Yang is doing with his learning."

At that moment, Lu Yang closed his eyes, the incantation repeating in his mind. He imagined himself as the creator of the spell, envisioning the mindset behind its original invention.

Lu Yang opened his eyes, which shone with clarity.

"I've got it!" Lu Yang declared with full conviction, exuding confidence and composure, like a martial arts master of fifty years who steps onto the arena and effortlessly defeats powerful foes.

Lu Yang's voice caught the attention of Meng Jingzhou and Mang Gu. They stopped practicing, eager to see Lu Yang's progress.

Could Lu Yang succeed on his first try?

Even Mang Gu, who believed Brother Lu's spell talent was astonishing, didn't think Lu Yang could succeed.

At least practice a few more times.

Imitating Senior Brother Ji, Lu Yang extended his index finger and drew a perfect circle around himself.

"'Drawing a Circle as a Prison!'"

Then Lu Yang noticed the scenery around him transform.

It was dim and silent, with pillars trapping him and thick earth overhead.

This was a dungeon.

Lu Yang: "...So what I learned was 'Drawing a Dungeon'?"