Everyone was on their guard as they trudged through the green forest.
âPig, are were out of the danger zone yet?â Xuanyuan asked.
âNot yet. Thereâs only a little left. Who set up this technique? It sent us into a disposition just before weâre almost out,â the pig said. Xuanyuan narrowed his eyes. The east was full of Yang Qi, while the west was cold. It was well-hidden, but he could still sense the foulness. He suddenly turned around and saw that the scenery behind him was the same as that ahead.
âWeâre already in a disposition,â Xuanyuan announced.
âWhat?â The pig squealed. It had noticed nothing.
âI thought it was strange before. We never seem to find the end of it. The fact is, weâre already lost. This is an emperor class disposition â The Circling Maze. People in it canât get out and will keep activating the techniques set up inside the disposition. It almost fooled me. I only detected it once my senses heightened after I stepped into the grandmaster realm. Otherwise, we would have never gotten out!â Xuanyuan glared at the pig.
âF**k. I was wondering why,â the pig cursed. âThere were still a lot of techniques before us even though we kept walking to the end.â
âYou stupid pig! Why didnât you say something when you sensed something was wrong! You kept telling us itâs almost there, almost there!â Xuanyuan raised his voice. He ordered everyone to sit down.
âWell, I was testing you! I was the only one who detected the tricks. Thatâs too boring!â Looking at the paltry attempt of the pig to defend itself, Xuanyuan rolled his eyes with contempt.
Qian Doudou giggled with delight. âPiggy isnât honest. What should we do?â
âLet me think. We can only break the disposition with another one. Pig, set up a few routes away from all the techniques,â Xuanyuan ordered, pointing angrily at the pig, while he took out block after block of source energy. The pig turned its head sideways guiltily and followed the order.
Xuanyuan lowered his head and recalled the teachings of the Book of Acquisition. This Maze Disposition was not particularly strong, but it was, indeed, a strange one. Although it was difficult to break, Xuanyuan wouldnât give up â there would always be a way to break a disposition. Suddenly, a light flashed through his mind.
âThatâs it!â Xuanyuan picked up a block of source energy and began drawing markings with his Qi. The team sat in silence; only Qian Doudou retained her high energy as she curiously observed Xuanyuan carving.
Two hours had passed before Xuanyuan let out a long breath. âFinally. Stupid pig, are you done?â
âAlready done. Donât worry.â The pig pointed out three âsafeâ routes.
âDamn it, pig. You just pointed those out casually, right? Who knows if theyâre safe?â Xuanyuan yelled.
âWell, we can only try.â The pigâs statement made everyone tremble. Even Qian Doudou, who was usually excited and energetic, whispered fearfully, âYou should test it, Piggy. Our bodies are not as strong as yours.â
âScrew it. I knew we canât rely on you. Iâve already set up a Compass Disposition.â A small block of source energy in Xuanyuanâs hand lit up, and a mysterious energy rose, circling around the three routes the pig drew before finally settling on a fourth one.
âWhatâs going on?â Xuanyuan looked pointedly at the pig. âSee if the fourth route has any techniques!â
The pig followed the compass and scouted the route, repeatedly checking back and forth. Time passed, and it remained unharmed. The pig shouted, âGreat killing techniques are set up on those other three routes! It almost fooled me!â
Fury rose in Xuanyuan again. Fortunately, he had never planned to believe in the pigâs words. âStupid pig! I wonât trust you again.â
âPiggy⌠I canât help you this time.â Qian Doudou covered her mouth, hiding her grin.
âThis disposition has the power to conceal its secrets. Thatâs why I was fooled. My power has not fully resumed and I only have one-ninth of my memories. Once I regain my power, none of these dispositions can trick me.â The pig looked sideways at Xuanyuan. In fact, Xuanyuan knew that the pig was incredibly strong, and the reason it kept making mistakes was because of its loss of memories.
âBe careful then. You have to keep everyone safe.â Xuanyuan told the pig before taking out an additional four hundred jins of source energy and carving yet another disposition. Since he broke through to the grandmaster realm, a much larger amount of Qi surged inside him, making it easier to carve an emperor class disposition. With the Body of All Creations, he was able to absorb the Qi around him and put it to use. It was enough to carve this disposition.
âXuanxuan, Iâm impressed. You know a lot at such a young age.â Qian Doudou sighed.
âYou sound like youâre old,â the pig said.
âIf I remember correctly, Grandpa said I was sealed in a spiritual ice ever since I was born for four thousand and nine hundred years. So Iâm over four thousand and nine hundred years old.â Qian Doudou said, shocking everyone.
âWhat? Sealed in spiritual ice? Are you of the Ancient Race?â The pig was stunned.
âWell, I donât know. Grandpa said no one knows exactly who I am. Only the man, who saved me when I was a baby, knows about my story. But thatâs four thousand nine hundred years ago, and maybe heâs dead.â Qian Doudou sighed again.
Girl, tell me where did you get your xian method of Gathering Gold. Perhaps I know who you are. The man youâre looking for is probably dead. Unless he reached the realm of Xian Emperor, otherwise he wouldnât live for more than ten thousand years! Well, he can reincarnate, but the soul canât reincarnate for more than three times. Thatâs where the legend of the Thrice-Born Stone came from. Also, whenever you reincarnate, the personâs memories get washed away. The only way to keep the memories and power is to use the Great Technique. Humans donât live as long as we do. Heâs probably dead. Tell me where you got your technique!â The pig kept luring Qian Doudou; it was evidently very curious about her story.
âAlright. It doesnât matter if I tell you, actually,â Qian Doudou said.
âGreat! Tell me! Tell me!â The pig squealed with excitement.
âIâve known how to use it ever since I was born. Itâs in my memory. But like you said, itâs not complete. I donât know where it came from. Grandpa only told me to practice whatâs inside my brain,â she said. On hearing her, the pig became speechless â her explanation did not really explain anything. The only thing that was certain was that the person who merged the technique into the spiritual ice was extraordinarily powerful.
Xuanyuan finally stood up. He separated the source energy and gave Qian Doudou, Youxue, and the pig a block each.
âIâve carved the Breaking Disposition, and in a while, Iâll activate it. Donât think, just run forward. Thatâs how we get out.â