"Xinjie wonders what Young Lord has thought of?" Wu Xinjie smiled, not a bit surprised that Su Xing had guessed it.
Su Xing then exhorted the girls to go to each of the palaces, to illuminate each of the Longevity Lanterns in accordance with the Nine Halls Diagram. What Su Xing was doing presently actually was not any different. In fact, things pertaining to solving the riddle of the Bright Moon Longevity Palace were always very numerous, after all, any cultivator would be interested in the widely circulated legends of the Longevity Cultivation Method. As long as the Bright Moon Longevity Palace had the slightest hint of activity, this would attract the attention of everyone.
The Bright Moon Longevity Palace"s most distinguishing characteristic was the nine Longevity Palace Lanterns. The Nine Halls Diagram"s pattern acting as the principle for the method was not at all untested. There was even one generation of Star Duels that had nine Star Masters dispatch their Star Generals to illuminate the lanterns at the same time, but there was nothing to be done. Over time, the Bright Moon Longevity Palace"s puzzle fizzled out, and not a single person had any more interest in it.
This was the reality of it all. The prestige it had acc.u.mulated over several thousand years had already made the Star Cultivators shrink back.
Hearing that Su Xing had solved this thousand year puzzle, they were still quite in disbelief.
The Longevity Lanterns were ignited. In accordance with Su Xing"s words, each of the palaces glowed with several identical starlights at the same time. Upon careful inspection, they were arranged according in the manner of the nine halls.
However, it was the same as before, without any changes at all.
"Xinjie, tell me about the previous solutions for the Bright Moon Longevity Palace regarding the nine palace lanterns." Su Xing said.
Wu Xinjie compliantly told him.
Hua Wanyue"s eyebrows rose, and she oddly said: "Does he actually believe he can surpa.s.s the Knowledge Star"s Seeing Clearly?"
"So what, Su Xing hasn"t cracked a puzzle just once or twice. Sister Xinjie adores him very much for this. I heard he uses some psychology thing. I don"t understand it, but in short, it"s super amazing." Shi Yuan patted her chest, proudly guaranteeing.
Hu Niangzi and Zhang Yuqi both had only been added later on. How could they have known that Su Xing had even this type of fighting success. Hearing this sort of matter, they were quite interested.
A while later.
Su Xing nodded. He was secretly impressed that Liangshan Continent was formidable, as expected. The methods to solve the nine palaces were increasingly numerous. What could be thought of, what had could not be thought of had all been thought of, however, they were unlike what he thought. This Bright Moon Longevity Palace"s puzzle indeed exploited a very obvious psychology to fool everyone.
"Tangtang, come out and let Papa hug you." Su Xing tenderly said all of a sudden.
All of the girls were perplexed, not understanding why Su Xing would suddenly want to hug Tangtang.
Because Rat Star Bai Yutang did not have any martial force at all, she always stayed in the Star Nest. White light flashed. The little loli closed her big eyes as she drilled her face into Su Xing"s chest.
Su Xing hugged Tangtang, and his right hand struck a "Nine Palace Array Hand Seal."
Just at this moment, something inconceivable happened. The starlights floating above the nine halls suddenly shot out a beam of light, intertwining with each other to form a net. The valley rumbled, the earth quaked, the mountains shook, and the moonlight magnified. The nine palaces seemed to merge into one, like an illusion, unbelievable.
"Impossible…"
Hua Wanyue looked blankly at Su Xing, her heart shaken. Did this man truly come from Star World? The nondescript nine palaces actually exhibited an abnormality by his hand.
Wu Xinjie and the other girls were in amazement.
"How did Young Lord do it?"
"Using the process of elimination simplified everything. Eliminate all possibilities, and the last remaining ones mostly are the results you want." Su Xing shrugged.
Only then did the girls understand why Su Xing had Wu Xinjie inform him of every other solution to the nine palaces. As it turned out, this was merely to dismiss all other possibilities, "But just how did Milord do it, to make the Bright Moon Longevity Palace show this change." Xi Yue could not understand.
Other than hugging Tangtang, there was nothing else. It could not possible be because of such a ridiculous reason, could it?
"It honestly is because I hugged Tangtang." Su Xing laughed.
Everyone perspired.
The Knowledge Star"s mind was ingenious. She looked at Tangtang, then she looked at everyone and very quickly understood the significance of Su Xing"s hug. After she thought things through, she could not help but laugh, "Young Lord truly makes Xinjie broaden her horizons. Xinjie honestly did not think of this."
"Sister Xinjie, just what happened?" An Suwen could not help asking.
"Count how many people are present, Suwen, and then you will know."
Everyone counted. Su Xing, his ten Star Generals, Wu Siyou, Zhang Feiyu, Xi Yue, and Hua Wanyue. Fifteen people altogether, but they could not see anything special.
"Could it be fifteen?" Wu Siyou also was stunned.
"Fifteen?"
The most distinguishing characteristic of the Nine Halls Diagram was that each of the rows added up to fifteen. In other words, the nine palaces mechanism was not the arrangement of numbers, rather, the result of the numbers was important, so that was why Su Xing had Tangtang come out. This just happened to sum to fifteen people.
Ever since ancient times, all of Liangshan Continent"s cultivators had thought of the first level yet did not think of the second level.
"Fifteen people can open the mechanism? It was this simple?" Hua Wanyue was speechless.
"Simple? This is but a considerably brilliant psychological trap." Su Xing smiled.
"Psychological trap?" Hua Wanyue did not know what to say.
"Yes, just the fifteen people nevertheless made the Bright Moon Longevity Palace forever unable to be opened." Wu Xinjie gasped with admiration.
"I don"t understand." Zhang Feiyu felt that she was a big idiot right now. Fortunately, her little sister that had a very damaging mouth also was confused.
"If there was only fifteen people, then the mechanism can be opened. This Bright Moon Longevity Palace cannot just be a perfect fifteen." Lin Yingmei had followed Su Xing for so long, and she more or less understood a bit of psychology.
The Bright Moon Longevity Palace was such a sacred place. The Star Cultivators who wanted to solve it were found everywhere, and if they caught a hint of anything, an innumerable number of cultivators would rush over. Regardless of whether or not they could solve it, they would come. This meant that fifteen cultivators was easier said than done. Perhaps some people could have imagined the relation to fifteen, but to have sixteen, seventeen or more cultivators leave the Bright Moon Longevity Palace was not too possible to achieve. Who could be so tolerant as to submissively yield treasures to somebody else. Sect ancestors were possible, but others would rather have no one obtained the treasure if they themselves could not have it.
It was precisely because of this sort of subtle psychology that the Bright Moon Longevity Palace had always lasted until now.
Su Xing could say that this time was due to fate. The Ten Great Sects wanted to encircle and kill Su Xing, so basically no cultivators wanted to rush into the Bright Moon Longevity Palace. This gave Su Xing the perfect opportunity. Otherwise, with more people, Su Xing could not have removed them. Secondly, Su Xing"s Star Generals were not necessarily a very important reason.
Nine Star Generals to open the nine palaces, this was unprecedented and would never be surpa.s.sed hereafter.
"Oh, I wonder what treasures the Bright Moon Longevity Palace has." Shi Yuan"s natural instincts as the Best Thief Under Heaven were aroused. She was eager to go, rubbing her palms together. The White Treasure Monkey she had re-refined was let out, prepared at any time.
The nine palaces let out nine rays of light that shot straight into the Nine Firmaments.
In the light, they saw a stele of unusual size appear. This stele had countless spell script, was seemingly jade and glittered with moonlight and stars. It let out an endless aura.
"This is the Longevity Stele???"
Wu Xinjie was astonished.
The Longevity Stele, the Bright Moon Longevity Palace"s greatest treasure. Legend said the Longevity Palace had descended from Star World, an Immortal"s Abode Stele that became nine pieces. These nine steles then became the nine palaces. If the nine steles were combined, then control of the Bright Moon Longevity Palace could be a.s.sumed. Of course, what made people even more wild was that this stele purportedly recorded the Longevity Cultivation Method. Thus, it received the name Longevity Stele.
Wu Xinjie had always believed this was no more than the scratchwork of scholars. Now, it seemed surprisingly real.
Nine Longevity Steles.
This completely was outside of Su Xing"s expectations.
Just at this moment, there was an air-shattering noise, like a rolling boom of thunder. s.p.a.ce shattered, simultaneously entering the Longevity Palace. More than a dozen escape lights arrived in succession, shocking everyone awake.
The newcomers were the Ten Great Sects.
Seeing the nine Longevity Steles, these cultivators that originally could band together against a common enemy were immediately wild. Each of the steles reportedly had one part of the Longevity Cultivation Method. If they could obtain this cultivation method, it would be far more important than killing the Purple Thunder Monster. Even Nangong Xing could not help but not dismiss the idea.
She had never imagined that the Purple Thunder Monster surprisingly would actually be able to solve the Nine Palace Mechanism of the Bright Moon Longevity Palace.
"Fight for the Longevity Steles. No matter what happens, we cannot let him obtain them."
They had no need for Nangong Xing"s unnecessary words. All of the cultivators flew towards the nine palaces.
At the same time, Su Xing"s side also began to take action even more swiftly. No matter what, how could they let these outsiders steal away the Longevity Steles. The battle that originally was supposed to be an encirclement of the Purple Thunder Monster had astonishingly turned into the scene of fighting over the Longevity Steles.
"Hey, I"m right here, didn"t you come to kill me? Don"t run."
Su Xing coldly laughed.
The twelve Heavenly Depths flew out. The giant swords were like gates that erected an impregnable line of defense. Those sword bodies exuded a pressure that made the ancestors feel stifled.
"Surprisingly, they are forged from Gen Wu Divine Iron?"
Nangong Xing"s expression sunk, not daring to be careless towards Su Xing.
"Purple Thunder Monster. If you leave right now and yield the Longevity Palace to us, the Ten Great Sects will no longer investigate the crimes you committed." Nangong Xing shouted.
Su Xing sneered. He said to Lin Yingmei: "Yingmei, Siyou, Little Yi, Little Huang, Niangzi, you go fight for the Longevity Steles for now. We can"t make things easy for these old b.a.s.t.a.r.ds."
"Master"s safety is important." Yan Yizhen said.
The others also felt this way. How could the Longevity Steles compare to Su Xing"s safety.
Su Xing"s heart warmed. He smiled: "Go fight for the steles for now. I can hold out for sixty seconds."
All of the girls knew that they could not think too much right now. The Ten Great Sects" cultivators already split up towards each of the palaces. If they let An Suwen and Tang Lianxin go fight, this clearly was dangerous to the extreme.
"All of you go, Xi Yue shall protect Milord." Xi Yue said.
"Xi Yue, you go, too. The Nine Palaces can’t be done without you." Su Xing shook his head. He knew that as the target of the Ten Great Sects" hatred, he could involve several Great Cultivators. This gave them ample opportunity to vie for the steles.
Everyone was unwilling in their hearts, but they knew they could not be indecisive, let alone that the sixty seconds Su Xing was giving them was considered a promise.
"Young Master, please last thirty seconds, Your Servant will then return." Lin YIngmei coldly shouted, leaving Crying Frost behind. The others also left battle capable Star Beasts when the saw this. Subsequently, they flew towards the nine palaces without any hesitation.
"Ridiculous, do not think a single one of you can escape."
Nangong Xing sneered. Her hand beckoned. The sword-light of the Extreme Clarity Flying Swords then twisted over to attack. A profound sword array suddenly unfolded in all directions. Her thinking was the same as Su Xing"s; to stall everyone and give Ximen Jinlian the opportunity to s.n.a.t.c.h away the Longevity Stele.
Heavenly Depths surrounded them like thick and heavy shields. Su Xing"s hand then pointed, and Heaven Tearing and Langya attacked in succession.
Golden and green rainbows intersected. Su Xing"s fingers then snapped.
Purple Mansion Immortal Thunder that was like a large net obstructed Nangong Xing"s flying swords.
"Just you alone dares to show off as a hero before me. How perfect for me." Nangong Xing smiled. She activated "Extreme Clarity Profound Light,"1 and this light covered towards Su Xing like a canopy, unexpectedly wrapping up Heavenly Depths.
What a powerful ability.
Su Xing shuddered. He felt that Heavenly Depths surprisingly seemed to have been caught in a quagmire, unable to extricate themselves.
Just at this moment, a light arrow pierced through and shattered the clear light.
Turning his head back to look, Hua Wanyue was gracefully drawing back her bow, her eyes resolute, as if saying – There is also Me accompanying you.
- 太清玄光 ↩