Chapter 92: Carving the Boat to Seek Something

Lanting used to meditate at night instead of sleeping, but after joining the barbecue restaurant, she developed the good habit of sleeping at night.

The four woke up feeling completely refreshed and invigorated, a benefit of the formation Lanting had set up.

"Let's go, let's go out and play, I haven't had enough fun yet!" Meng Jingzhou, feeling the most energetic, roused Lu Yang from his bed.

Lu Yang kicked Meng Jingzhou, then reluctantly got out of bed.

Man Gu had already gone to the market early to buy supplies; he was the first to wake up.

Man Gu had made a bowl of dough drop soup, adding four eggs and a few drops of sesame oil, filling the entire hall with its aroma.

Lu Yang, who liked vinegar, added a small spoon to his bowl of soup. After finishing their meal, the four felt invigorated and went out to enjoy themselves.

Although the four left relatively early, a large number of tourists were already out on the streets. Lu Yang had heard that the hostels were fully booked, and many people had chosen to stay in guesthouses.

People's faces were beaming with joyful smiles. Children, wearing "tofu" masks similar to Lu Yang's and holding large pinwheels, bounced around excitedly, their parents holding their hands tightly, fearful of them getting lost.

"It's as lively as a temple fair here," someone remarked.

"Have you heard?" an excited person said to their companion. "Someone brought a behemoth from the southern continent, it's by the river! Let's go see it!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Jingzhou couldn't suppress his curiosity and led the other three to the riverside to see the colossal creature.

The four arrived at the familiar large stone bridge, though this time they were standing on it. Small flags lined both sides of the bridge.

Upon seeing the "behemoth," Meng Jingzhou was somewhat disappointed. "I thought it was something amazing," he said, "but it's just an elephant."

The Yinlong River bank was already a popular gathering spot for tourists every year. Now, with someone bringing an elephant from the southern continent for display, even more curious onlookers gathered.

Lu Yang, of course, had seen elephants. Meng Jingzhou and Lanting, hailing from aristocratic families, had seen more exotic things in their lives than Lu Yang had even heard of. As for Man Gu, he lived in the wilderness and had even hunted elephants before.

Ordinary people, however, lacked the experiences of Lu Yang and his companions, and were thus very interested in such a massive creature as an elephant.

A tourist exclaimed in awe, "Is this a demon beast? It's so enormous, and has such a long trunk and tusks?"

The elephant's owner, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, explained, "It is indeed a demon beast. Its demon beast cultivation realm is hard to assess, but it's roughly at Qi Refining Level Six. However, its size isn't related to its demon beast status; these creatures are called elephants, and they all grow this large when they reach adulthood."

The tourist continued to ask, "How much does such a massive creature weigh?"

The elephant's owner laughed, dumbfounded. "Who knows?" he replied. "There's no scale big enough to weigh it."

Another tourist suggested, "Since we're right by the river, we could put the elephant on a large boat. Make a mark where the water touches the hull, then load the boat with stones until it sinks to that same mark. Weigh the stones, and you'll know how much the elephant weighs."

The elephant's owner, also curious about his spirit beast's weight, gladly agreed.

At the owner's command, the elephant was guided onto the boat. However, the elephant was too heavy for the boat in the shallow water, so the owner rowed to the center of the river. There, he pulled out a small knife and made a mark on the hull where it met the water.

Just as the owner was about to swim back, the elephant inadvertently looked up, saw Man Gu, and was instantly terrified.

Demon beasts are highly sensitive to auras. Ancient barbarians frequently hunted elephants in the wilderness, and that fierce killing intent flowed in Man Gu's bloodline. Though the elephant didn't understand its meaning, a chill ran down its spine upon seeing Man Gu, a suppression stemming from its very bloodline.

In a panic, the elephant splashed into the water and immediately sank to the bottom.

People on the bank exclaimed, urging the owner to quickly save the elephant. Unexpectedly, the owner calmly made a mark where the elephant had fallen into the water, stating, "This is where the elephant fell in."

The people on the bank were puzzled, and the elephant owner offered no explanation. It wasn't until he was almost back to shore that he pointed to the mark and clarified, "My elephant fell in right here, and it's still right here!"

Everyone burst into laughter, thinking he was joking. To their surprise, the river surface churned, a whirlpool formed, and the elephant actually flew out from beneath the mark, flapping its large ears.

It was a Big Flying Elephant, a specialty of the southern continent.

Man Gu witnessed this scene, frowned, then suddenly understood, slapping his palm. "I remember now!" he exclaimed. "We learned this idiom in class! It's called 'marking the boat to find the elephant'!"

He now had a profound understanding of this idiom.

Lu Yang was speechless.

"What on earth did you even learn in class?"

Meng Jingzhou laughed. "I still remember when we found the first Lifespan Reversal Talisman under that bridge," he said. "I was really startled when I found out such a thing existed. Luckily, we already reported that person."

Lu Yang was about to joke along with Meng Jingzhou when he suddenly noticed a small flag in front of him. His smile faded as if something had dawned on him. He pulled out the flag, frowned, and meticulously examined it against the sunlight.

When Lu Yang saw what the flag looked like in the sunlight, a chill ran down his spine.

"What's wrong?" Meng Jingzhou asked, noticing Lu Yang's expression. He hadn't received Lu Yang's usual witty retort and only then realized something was amiss.

Lu Yang's expression was grave. He pointed to the faint pattern on the small flag and asked, "Look at this pattern, what does it resemble?"

"A Lifespan Reversal Talisman?!" Lanting was the first to react; she was most familiar with that pattern.

Meng Jingzhou's eyes widened. The pattern on the small flag was very faint, almost invisible without direct sunlight. Even if someone noticed it, tourists would simply assume it was a Spring Festival decoration. How many people would recognize the pattern of a Lifespan Reversal Talisman?

"Don't lose your composure," Meng Jingzhou said, trying to calm himself. "Perhaps the Lifespan Reversal Formation hasn't been completed yet!"

Lu Yang calmly analyzed, "That's impossible. Don't forget, these aren't just one or two flags; the entire Yanjiang County is filled with them!"

Flags bearing the Lifespan Reversal Talisman pattern were hidden among ordinary flags. Who would ever suspect it?!

Lu Yang continued, "In other words, the Lifespan Reversal Formation is already complete, blatantly displayed before everyone, but no one has noticed!"

"Then why hasn't the Lifespan Reversal Formation activated?" Meng Jingzhou asked, recalling the conditions for its activation: not only must the talismans be arranged into the formation, but a blood sacrifice is also required.

For someone bold enough to set up a Lifespan Reversal Formation, killing a few people would be effortless. What are they waiting for?

"He's waiting for people," Lu Yang said coldly. "There aren't enough people attending the Spring Festival yet; a continuous stream of people is still making their way to Yanjiang County!"

The Lifespan Reversal Formation plunders the lifespans of mortals, converting them into cultivation for the formation's orchestrator. The more mortals plundered, the greater the cultivation increase!

Meng Jingzhou also remembered. "According to custom," he said, "on the second night of the Spring Festival, people will gather in the streets to sing joyfully, feast by the riverside, and hold song festivals!"

Today was the second day of the Spring Festival.