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墨書 Inktalez
After sliding all the way down, a radiant light appeared before us, as if it had fallen from the sky. Beneath this radiance was a large ice block, about half the height of a person, with a flat top. We all scrambled to our feet and made our way towards the source of the radiance.
This was an Ice Cave measuring one hundred and twenty square feet. Unlike other places, aside from the radiant light and the conspicuous large stone, both the ground and ceiling of this Ice Cave were carved with strange and eerie patterns. However, that was not the focus; everyone’s gaze had been fixed on the large stone beneath the radiance since we arrived.
“What is this!?” gasps echoed around us.
Where the radiance illuminated, there was an Octagonal Pattern with numerous inscriptions. The outermost part, directly in front of me, displayed the character for "North," followed by "Northeast," "East," "Southeast," "South," "Southwest," "West," and "Northwest." Indeed, these were cardinal directions, but each direction was marked with three lines of varying lengths.
Next, there was a circle on the inside. Directly opposite me were the characters “Kunba,” indicating that "North" corresponded to "Kunba"; "Northeast" corresponded to "Zhen Si"; "East" corresponded to "Li San"; "Southeast" corresponded to "Dui Er"; "South" corresponded to "Qian Yi"; "Southwest" corresponded to "Xun Five"; "West" corresponded to "Kan Six"; and "Northwest" corresponded to "Gen Seven."
Finally, at the innermost circle was a circular Yin Yang Diagram.
This was a Precelestial Bagua Plate!
The Primal Bagua Plate was essentially a large ice block. This ice block not only resembled a large stone but also differed in color from other ice blocks in the cave. In fact, it could be said that this particular ice block was the only one that appeared normal because it was transparent!
Moreover, the font and line patterns on the Primal Bagua Plate were red. Although it was unclear how many years had passed, it was evident that the font remained clear!
“Is this the innate Bagua?” Yuguo leaned in to ask.
“Yes, it can also be referred to as Fuxi Bagua. It is said to have been created by Fuxi around seven thousand years ago based on observations,” Pei Zi replied.
“What is the relationship between this Bagua and the sixty-four hexagrams?” Black Bear scratched his head in confusion.
Pei Zi looked at us and seeing no one else speak, continued: “There is another theory in academia suggesting that Fuxi invented Bagua and that King Wen of Zhou derived the sixty-four hexagrams from it. This theory is unreliable; considering the purpose behind inventing and creating hexagram patterns, both Bagua and the sixty-four hexagrams were invented by Fuxi. Archaeological findings also support that during Fuxi's era, there was considerable mathematical capability and systematic astronomy.”
Not just Black Bear, many others were puzzled by this explanation until Pei Zi added: “The sequence of Fuxi's sixty-four hexagrams comes from the sequence of Fuxi Bagua's heavy hexagrams. The sixty-four hexagrams can be arranged into circular diagrams, square diagrams, and sequential diagrams. The order of Fuxi's innate Bagua is a naturally generated sequence originating from the 'Xici': 'The Book of Changes has Taiji, which produces Two Instruments; Two Instruments produce Four Symbols; Four Symbols produce Bagua; Bagua determines fortune and misfortune, leading to great achievements.' Thus Taiji divides into two, two divides into four, four divides into eight. The directional diagram of Fuxi's innate Bagua is derived from 'Shuo Gua': 'Heaven and Earth establish positions; mountains and marshes communicate air; thunder and wind interact; water and fire do not interfere; Bagua interrelate.' Do you understand now?”
"I don't understand!" the Black Bear shook his head decisively.
Pei Zi smiled, "The Book of Changes says, 'There is Taiji, which produces the Two Instruments; the Two Instruments produce the Four Symbols; the Four Symbols produce the Bagua.' This describes the process of the innate Bagua and its subsequent generation. In this evolutionary process, first comes Taiji, then the Two Instruments, followed by the Four Symbols, and finally the Bagua. They represent the formation of the universe."
"In short, Fuxi is quite impressive!" the Black Bear nodded vigorously.
"So this is a divination technique using the innate Bagua?" Wang Yi suddenly asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xianxian slapped him on the back of his head and scolded, "I often tell you to read more books. Didn't I mention that all divination relies on innate principles? It's just that different arrangements lead to discussions about innate and acquired concepts. The acquired Bagua actually refers to the Lo Shu Nine Palaces. If divination uses innate numbers, it follows specific methods for casting."
"Uh, like what?" Wang Yi rubbed the back of his head where he was hit and asked with a grin.
Xianxian rolled her eyes at him and patiently explained, "For example, Plum Blossom Divination uses pure innate Bagua; then there's Qimen Dunjia, which is based on arranging the shield and armor plate according to the Lo Shu Nine Palaces; and Ba Zi Divination also involves innate numbers."
I blinked, feeling confused as I listened. Seeing that they were trending towards an academic discussion here, I quickly said, "Let's keep it grounded; we really can't understand such lofty theories."
"Right, right. By the way, why is this Primal Bagua Plate here?" Big Dragon asked.
"Who knows~" Xianxian raised her eyebrows and smiled.
We were all speechless; after talking for so long, it seemed we hadn't said anything useful. However, I thought, "Let's see if there are any mechanisms!" With that in mind, I began to touch around the Primal Bagua Plate, hoping to accidentally trigger something.
After searching for a while without finding anything as I had imagined, I came up empty-handed.
"Eh." Xianxian suddenly expressed doubt. I instinctively looked at her and saw her sniffing at the red Font with a puzzled expression. She waved to Lime and said, "Lime, come over and take a look at this; it seems different from that thing's scent."
"You’re a dog; how can it be different?" As she spoke, I also leaned down to sniff and only felt a chill entering my body; otherwise, I didn't detect any particular smell.
Lime had already walked over and bent down, lightly sniffing for a moment before frowning. After a while, he calmly said, "It's blood."
"Blood?" Wang Yi asked in confusion. "Is it different from the blood here?" As he spoke, Wang Yi pointed to the red color in the surrounding ice. Pei Zi, Yuguo, and others took turns sniffing but seemed to detect no particular scent, so they all looked at Lime.
Despite being the center of attention, Lime's expression remained unchanged. He continued in a calm tone, saying, "I'm not too sure, but we can try using blood."
"Blood? Our blood?" Wang Yi quickly asked.
Lime nodded, indicating that it was exactly as Wang Yi said. Seeing this, a glint appeared in Wang Yi's eyes. In the next moment, he pulled out a dagger and confidently declared, "I'll give it a try!" He then cut his finger and let two drops of blood fall onto the surface.
We stared unblinkingly at the Primal Bagua Plate and the bright red blood for quite some time, but there was no reaction at all!
"I'll try too!" Big Dragon said as he also cut his finger and let his blood drop onto it. Again, after watching for a long time, there was still no response.
"Let me do it," Xianxian said as she pushed aside Wang Yi, pulled out her dagger, and while cutting her finger said, "Indeed, it has to be us big shots doing this, ha ha ha!"
As soon as her blood dripped onto the surface, there was no reaction. Xianxian smiled awkwardly and said, "Could it be that there's not enough blood?" She prepared to let more blood fall when Lime reached out and grabbed her hand, saying lightly, "Let someone else try." He then looked at me, indicating that it was my turn to draw blood.
Me? I looked at Lime in surprise and pointed to my chest, indicating that he wasn't mistaken—he really wanted to use my blood for the test.
However, seeing Lime's determined expression, I resigned myself to pulling out my dagger, preparing to harm myself—oh no, I meant to draw blood. Well, it didn't seem like there was much difference.
"Everyone should try together," Lime suddenly said just as I was about to draw blood.
"Ah, okay!" Pei Zi, Cold Snow, and even Yuguo nodded in agreement. Of course, Lime also took out his dagger to join us. As for Xianxian and Wang Yi who had already drawn blood earlier, they were equally unwilling to back down and prepared to do it again.
We placed our hands on the Primal Bagua Plate and all cut ourselves at once. Then one drop of blood fell, two drops of blood fell, three drops of blood fell... After five drops had fallen in total, I wiped my fingers. Throughout this process, not a single person's gaze left the Primal Bagua Plate; everyone seemed to be watching a newborn baby with rapt attention, afraid of missing something.
One minute...
Two minutes...
Just as I felt the atmosphere beginning to grow tense and everyone was starting to lose their patience, the blood stirred!
Suddenly, a soft red light emanated from the Primal Bagua Plate, glowing the same color as blood. The vivid blood we had just dripped began to slowly writhe, flowing like a stream along the surface. Moreover, astonishingly, the droplets of blood that had previously fallen onto the Primal Bagua Plate and onto the Font lines began to crawl into the Gully one after another, becoming part of the Font lines!
In just a moment, the blood disappeared, as it had all merged with the red Font. No one could explain how this strange phenomenon occurred, nor did anyone see any signs of mechanisms operating.
At least I saw nothing else moving besides the blood, and I heard no faint sounds. This meant that the blood was automatically integrating into the red Font!
No!
A sudden thought flashed in my mind: could it be that the Primal Bagua Plate was originally transparent, and someone dripped blood onto it to reveal the characters and patterns?
If that were true, whose blood was it that created these patterns? Was it from the person who drew them or from someone who entered later? Could it have been my father and his companions?
As the fresh blood completely merged into the Font, the previously dull lines now appeared vibrant and richly colored.
All that could be heard was breathing; almost everyone was captivated by this bizarre phenomenon. After an unknown amount of time, there was a sudden "crack..."
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