Chapter 296

Chapter 296: Corpse

Every three hours, it rotated once. Only after eight consecutive rotations was a full cycle completed, meaning twenty-four hours had passed—a full two days and nights. These latter eight rotations were all clockwise.

Chang Xiang was on the verge of bursting with impatience as he waited. Now, seeing Lou Yun gazing intently at the cave entrance before him with shining eyes, his lips still moving as if muttering to himself, Chang Xiang hurriedly asked, “Kid, did you discover something? Spit it out!”

“Eight!” Lou Yun uttered the single number, then nodded. “Now I’m definitely sure it’s eight!”

The statement completely baffled Chang Xiang. “Eight what? What eight?”

Lou Yun offered a slight smile and gave a simple explanation. “There are far too many kinds of formations. Among them is a series specifically arranged using numbers, such as the Single Origin Formation, the Twofold Extremes Formation, the Three Purities Formation, and so on. I noticed that within this Thousand Layer Cave, the number of cave entrances has always remained constant at eight. So, I speculated that if this truly is a formation, it should likely be arranged using the number eight. The fact that a full cycle is completed every eight rotations just now confirmed my thinking—this formation is definitely structured around the number eight.”

Chang Xiang understood now and asked with renewed interest, “And then?”

“Since it’s arranged with eight, the formation must fundamentally adopt the Eight Trigrams as its basic structure, which has then been elaborated upon through numerous transformations.”

“I know about the Eight Trigrams, but what’s a ‘formation’s posture’?” Chang Xiang was lost again.

“Hmm,” Lou Yun pondered. “Formations are essentially composed of three parts: the Formation’s Posture, the Foundation Elements, and the Core Node! The Posture is the fundamental framework of the formation—its overall layout and directional flow. The Foundation Elements are the actual components that constitute the formation. The Core Node is the absolute heart of the formation. Every formation must have a Core Node. Destroy it, and you destroy the entire formation.”

“Oh, I get it now. Keep going!”

“Having determined that this formation uses the Eight Trigrams as its posture, its overall shape should be circular. These continuously rotating walls, moving clockwise, are further proof—because if it weren’t circular, it would be impossible to rotate eight times and return to the starting point.”

“Next, I’ll need to wait another three hours. I predict that in the upcoming rotation, the walls will likely shift from clockwise to counterclockwise rotation! If my prediction holds true… I think I might be able to locate the Core Node!”

Chang Xiang had no idea how Lou Yun deduced this, yet he couldn’t help but feel impressed. This kid hadn’t even spent two full days here, yet he’d already delved deeply into understanding the formation to such a degree. An ordinary person might well have failed.

Subsequently, Chang Xiang refrained from asking further, not wanting to interrupt. Lou Yun, in turn, buried his head once more within the pages of the Formation Path Expansion Decision.

Three hours passed swiftly. Accompanied by the sound of clanking and grinding, the stone wall resumed its rotation. This time, just as Lou Yun had predicted, the wall began turning counterclockwise.

Seeing his conjecture proven correct, a faint smile touched Lou Yun’s lips. Once the wall completed its rotation cycle, he abruptly stood up. “Let’s go. I’ll give it a try at finding the Core Node!”

Chang Xiang naturally returned within Lou Yun’s body. However, his spiritual sense remained acutely focused, radiating profound curiosity as he observed Lou Yun prepare for his search.

Lou Yun proceeded to randomly select a cave entrance and slip inside. Each time he emerged from an entrance, he’d choose another one immediately to dive into next. He moved with incredible speed, scarcely pausing at all.

Chang Xiang couldn’t hold back any longer. “Kid, if you’re blundering around randomly like this, you better not be just counting on blind luck to get out!”

Lou Yun replied without slowing his pace for an instant. “I’m not blundering randomly. I won’t explain the specifics, but simply put, each cave entrance I’m passing through this time follows the directional flow inherent to an Eight Trigrams posture—specifically the sequence Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui. I’m not absolutely certain yet, though. I’ll know after I’ve traversed eight entrances.”

The explanation rendered Chang Xiang momentarily speechless. It was true—Lou Yun was the one versed in formations now, while Chang Xiang knew next to nothing. All he could do was obediently close his mouth and follow silently.

Immediately after passing through the eighth entrance, Chang Xiang couldn’t contain a cry of astonishment and delight. “Wow, kid! You really did it!”

Because the place they had now arrived at was entirely unlike their previous surroundings. Gone was the endlessly repetitive environment—a single exit always leading to eight cave entrances, stretching on forever.

This was a perfectly square stone chamber of considerable size. Each of its four walls boasted two doorways. Lou Yun had emerged through one of them, and positioned roughly one meter away was another identical doorway!

The chamber itself was utterly empty, emphasizing its vast spaciousness. However, the sharp-eyed Lou Yun still discerned patches of long-dried blood staining the floor, alongside scattered fragments of bone. Additional shattered stones could be seen here and there. The walls themselves bore various forms of damage, clear indications that conflicts had occurred here in the past.

“Could it have been Big Brother and the others fighting Gui You Quan?” Lou Yun murmured, fingers brushing a bloodstain. But it had clearly been there too long to determine when exactly it had been left.

Chang Xiang appeared beside him. After sweeping a casual glance around the chamber, he shook his head. “Unlikely. Don’t you see those bones on the floor? Kid, I always suspected the Thousand Layer Cave served a dual purpose. Now, I’m convinced it was deliberately constructed to contain something specific from the outset!”

“Contain something?”

Chang Xiang gestured expansively. “This chamber obviously functions as a containment space. I strongly suspect it originally housed a creature—likely a massive demon beast. And those bones… they belong to whoever strayed into this place by mistake, only to be consumed as food… leaving those remains behind.”

Hearing Chang Xiang’s reasoning, Lou Yun found it plausible. Otherwise, it seemed nonsensical to create such a vast chamber without placing anything within it. But if this place truly held a demon beast… where was it now?

If it had died, its enormous bones should surely remain. If not dead… where had it gone?

Chang Xiang had no immediate explanation for that puzzle. Instead, Lou Yun, after pondering for a moment himself, ventured a thought. “Could it be that this stone chamber also rotates as part of the formation’s operation? So perhaps the beast originally trapped here was rotated to another chamber along with the shifting walls? But… that doesn’t make sense either. Even if the chamber rotates, it’s still solid—the beast trapped within couldn’t possibly vanish into thin air!”

Chang Xiang plopped down unceremoniously onto the floor. “Since we can’t figure it out rationally, why don’t we just stay put and observe? A full cycle takes two days; we’ll likely have answers by then.”

Lou Yun considered the suggestion, then nodded in agreement. He retrieved the Dragon Suppression Plate and resumed his deep study of formations.

Their wait didn’t require two full days. Only a day later, a distinct series of clack-clack-clack noises echoed through the chamber. Both hurriedly scanned around, seeking the source. They saw no overt movement, yet an undeniable sensation seized them: the entire stone chamber was shifting location! After a few moments, the subtle movement ceased. The interior had undergone absolutely no visible changes!

Lou Yun’s brow was creased as he processed this. “So… it seems this chamber is completely sealed. It does rotate along with the formation’s operation, yet it possesses no access doors. That means the person who imprisoned the demon beast here intended complete confinement, with no possibility of escape. But then… how did the beast disappear?”

He looked up and found Chang Xiang regarding him with his habitual look of profound disdain. Lou Yun blinked. “What? Am I wrong?”

“Abundantly wrong!” Chang Xiang retorted without hesitation. “Didn’t it occur to you to consider—if this chamber is truly a perfect, unbroken seal—how did that massive demon beast get inside it in the first place?”

“Uh!” Lou Yun felt instant embarrassment flood through him. He’d been so engrossed in analyzing the formation mechanics that he’d neglected the most fundamental logic. Though there are eight doorways in this room, none is remotely large enough for a truly massive creature to enter. A human could easily slip through, yes, but any demon beast of the scale Chang Xiang had suggested would never fit. Therefore… the chamber must possess a huge, dedicated entrance, specifically designed to allow such a beast access in and out. Doubtless, it had been cleverly concealed and likely operated via a mechanism!

Too embarrassed to speak further, Lou Yun immediately approached each of the four walls, meticulously running his hands over their surfaces in search of a hidden switch or trigger.

His thorough search bore fruit. On one wall, behind a slight protrusion, he discovered a discrete indentation housing an embedded piece of jade. Lou Yun paused briefly in thought, then channeled a slender thread of spiritual energy directly into the cool, smooth stone.

Instantly, another series of clack-clack-clack sounds reverberated through the chamber. Lou Yun swiftly leaped back. The entire wall before him began a slow, grinding ascent, revealing another vast space hidden beyond.

This newly uncovered space revealed itself as yet another stone chamber, likely identical in size to the one they occupied. Its stark difference lay in its contents—long-empty, desolate void having been replaced by the presence of two enormous, distinct silhouettes.

Lou Yun and Chang Xiang exchanged a single, sharp glance. Unspoken agreement surged between them, and they instantly dashed forward together, coming to stand beside the massive forms, their eyes carefully scrutinizing the details.

“Brother Chang, your earlier deduction was quite accurate,” Lou Yun stated solemnly. “The person who created the Thousand Layer Cave undoubtedly intended it as a prison specifically for demon beasts. This chamber… it appears to be the direct containment cell.”

The two immense shadows lying on the ground were, in fact, the skeletal remnants of colossal demon beasts. Flesh and hide had rotted away completely over vast stretches of time, revealing gigantic, interlinked bones.

One beast had possessed six sturdy legs supporting a gargantuan frame, while the other sported prominent wings extending from its spinal structure along with a distinctly serpentine neck and head. Clearly, both demon beasts had perished countless years ago. Examination of their decayed remains yielded no further clues.

Lou Yun continued his thoughts aloud. “Normally, each beast would have been held solitary confinement within its own chamber. But somehow, a beast managed to breach its own cell walls. It escaped confinement… subsequently came here… fought and battled this trapped second beast… and ultimately, both perished!”

Chang Xiang nodded, opening his mouth to agree. But before any words could emerge, an unnaturally cold, deeply resonant voice abruptly slithered out of the shadows shrouding one corner of the second stone chamber: “No. You guess incorrectly.” The voice dripped with malice. “They did not perish at each other’s teeth and claws…”

A palpable, chilling silence stretched for a heartbeat before the voice resonated once more, chilling the very stones of the chamber: “… They were both slain… by me!”