Chapter 426: Innate Eight Trigrams and Acquired Eight Trigrams

"Are the positions of these ghosts arranged according to the Primordial Bagua, with the 'Kun' trigram position as the core?"

"The Primordial Bagua encompasses all phenomena in the world. If ghosts represent these phenomena, look: this position has a drowned ghost, who died in water, representing water; this position has a wronged ghost, buried in the earth, representing earth; this position has a seductive ghost, the embodiment of desire's fire, representing fire; this position has a skin-painted ghost... hmm, that one's probably just there to make up the numbers."

"No, I see signs of the Acquired Bagua in this grand formation. It should be arranged based on the principles of the Acquired Bagua, with the formation's core at the 'Zhen' trigram position."

"How did you all study formations? Are the nodes only ghosts? Can't buildings serve as formation nodes?"

"Look, on one side of Hanshui City is the Corpse-Driving Sect's Yin Corpse Mountain Range, a symbol of extreme Yin. On the other side are prosperous areas like brothels, bustling with people, a symbol of extreme Yang. With the Prefect's mansion at the center, Yin and Yang are balanced, promoting Hanshui City's prosperity. This was the original intention when Hanshui City was founded."

"Now someone has placed fierce ghosts in Hanshui City, disrupting the Yin-Yang balance. Can't you see this simple truth?"

"Nonsense! How many tens of thousands of years has the rumor of Hanshui City's Yin-Yang balance been around, and people still believe it!"

"It's not that I believe it; this is called rational analysis!"

"What rational analysis? We are all cultivators; the strong are revered. Those with ability prove themselves through action!"

The formation masters argued loudly, growing more agitated with each word, on the verge of coming to blows.

Lu Yang wanted to step forward and stop them, but he was a person of little consequence and couldn't stop this group of old scholars. In fact, there was a way to stop the old scholars from arguing: if he just said he was Daoist Wuyu's disciple, Lu Yang believed their attention would quickly shift from the formation to himself. However, this method carried too high a risk; even a fairy would find it difficult to protect herself. Although, even if the risk wasn't high, the fairy couldn't protect herself anyway.

"Esteemed masters, how is the formation research progressing?" Prefect Lu emerged from the stone secret chamber and headed straight towards them, concerned about their progress.

Qiu Jin'an and Meng Jingzhou wore expressions of relief, feeling as though the world had opened up.

"Don't worry, I promised to teach you a secret technique from my sect. I'll teach it to you once this is all over!" When Qiu Jin'an was controlling Meng Jingzhou to punch Old Man Ba, he had promised to teach Meng Jingzhou a secret technique. He always kept his word.

"Is everything alright?" Lu Yang asked, feigning ignorance, careful not to reveal that he had been secretly watching.

"Has Brother Meng's curse been lifted?" Mang Gu was genuinely concerned about Meng Jingzhou, and Zhao Po, following behind, was also very worried about Meng Jingzhou's condition.

"It's fine, it's fine! After all this time, it's finally resolved. This young master is free again!"

"If they had followed this immortal's method and committed suicide once, the curse would have been lifted ages ago," Immortal Fairy mumbled, finding the curse-lifting efficiency too low.

"How was Brother Meng's curse lifted, again?" Mang Gu suddenly asked, looking a bit confused, feeling as if he remembered it just a moment ago but had now forgotten. Zhao Po was in the same situation. This was the effect of immortal characteristics.

Meng Jingzhou chuckled awkwardly and didn't answer. Otherwise, it was highly likely that he would answer once, then a quarter of an hour later Mang Gu would ask again, he would answer again, and Mang Gu would ask yet again, endlessly.

"It's a pity Senior Sister is not here, otherwise we wouldn't have needed to make a trip to Barren State," Meng Jingzhou said, greatly missing the days when Senior Sister was around.

Qiu Jin'an was surprised, not understanding why Meng Jingzhou asked this. "Are you talking about Yun Zhi? She's at the Dao-Seeking Sect. I even saw her when I went to inquire about where you two had gone."

"When did Senior Sister return to the sect?"

"The day after you set off for Barren State."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."Lu Yang: "..."

"Why were you so eager to come to Barren State?!" Lu Yang took the initiative to blame him.

"What do you mean I was eager to come to Barren State? How was I supposed to know Senior Sister would return so quickly? On the contrary, you're with Senior Sister every day, how do you not even know where she goes?" Meng Jingzhou skillfully pushed the blame onto Lu Yang.

"Who dares to inquire about Senior Sister's whereabouts? Do you dare?"

"I don't dare!" Meng Jingzhou retorted righteously.

"If you two are asking what Yun Zhi went to do, I do know about that," Qiu Jin'an said. "She went to handle the release procedures for that old scoundrel, Wuyu."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."Lu Yang: "..."

"The Sect Master committed another offense and went in again?" Mang Gu was extremely surprised.

Prefect Lu was listening to the opinions of the formation masters.

"Listen to me, the principle of this formation must be the Primordial Bagua!"

"What Primordial Bagua? This is clearly the Acquired Bagua!"

Qiu Jin'an sighed upon hearing this, feeling a headache. "It's the dispute between Primordial Bagua and Acquired Bagua again. What a bother."

"The dispute between Primordial Bagua and Acquired Bagua?" Lu Yang and the others had never heard of this argument.

"This involves advanced theories of formations, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it."

"The Primordial Bagua and Acquired Bagua originated in antiquity. It is said that an ancient immortal derived them by observing the heavens above and the earth below, so they must conform to the laws of heaven and earth."

"This ancient immortal proposed the Bagua theory, but ancient civilization suffered such severe losses that only the Primordial Bagua and Acquired Bagua remain today. This has led to frequent arguments between the two sides over which is the orthodox one."

"If the Bagua theory could be fully restored, this dispute between Primordial and Acquired would cease."

"The Bagua theory? I know about that," Immortal Fairy said, once again demonstrating her vast experience. She had personally witnessed or even orchestrated many major legendary events from antiquity.

"You know?"

"What a thing to say! What doesn't this immortal know? The birth of this set of Bagua theories is closely related to me."

"Is this a theory proposed by you, Fairy?" Lu Yang was astonished, immediately feeling that Immortal Fairy was much more intelligent.

Immortal Fairy waved her hand, not taking credit or showing arrogance. "Not quite. This theory was deduced by the Immortal of Time. I was merely on the sidelines, waving flags and cheering him on as he deduced it."

Lu Yang thought to himself: "Was there a punishment phase too? If the Immortal of Time couldn't deduce it within the set time, would he have to be your elder's meal?"

Unaware of Lu Yang's thoughts, Immortal Fairy continued to recall her experience at the time: "He looked up, counted the stars, squatted down to examine the mud, and then, with a flick of his fingers, he came up with a set of theories."

"According to him, his set of Bagua theories encompasses all phenomena in the world and can serve as the foundation for formations. Formations laid out using the Bagua theory are profound and unfathomable. Even cultivators of the same level find it extremely difficult to deduce a method to break them. It is a top-tier formation theory!"

"The complete Bagua theory is divided into four parts: Primordial Bagua, Present Bagua, Future Bagua, and Acquired Bagua. I don't know how it was transmitted, but by now, only the Primordial Bagua and Acquired Bagua remain."