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墨書 Inktalez
"Let's discuss this later," I said, then closed my eyes to rest. After about an hour, I emerged from the tent and saw that Sayo and Xiao Xiao were still awake, while Master Xiao was snoring loudly. It was already past two in the afternoon. I instructed Sayo and Xiao Xiao to go into town to buy dinner. After washing my face at the well, I felt refreshed despite the hot weather; the water was still cold and invigorating.
As I walked to the fork in the road leading to the ancient temple, I carefully planned where to set up the Seven Star Soul Locking Formation. The path for construction was littered with stones and weeds, and I needed to ensure that the area for this formation was perfectly level without any flaws.
The positions of the seven stars in the formation are: Heavenly Pivot, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Jade Balance, Kaiyang, and Yao Guang. The principle of the Seven Star Soul Locking Formation is that the head (Heavenly Pivot) and tail of the formation are pressed down by two people, deploying various attack formations designed to repel and exorcise spirits. The remaining five star positions are all set up with a Soul-Trapping Formation, which has strict requirements for its level.
Each Soul-Trapping Formation requires five three-foot-long Peach Wood Stakes driven into the ground. The angle between each Peach Wood Stake must be sixty degrees, forming a circle with a diameter of three feet, leaving an opening directly facing the next star position that must be perfectly straight. Each Peach Wood Stake should be driven half a foot into the ground. Then, specially crafted fine hemp rope is wrapped around each of the five Peach Wood Stakes three times—once at the top, middle, and bottom. Each Peach Wood Stake must have one Soul Binding Talisman and one Soul Guiding Talisman affixed to it. Additionally, a small hole is dug three inches outward from each Peach Wood Stake's center, where a handful of Grave Soil, three drops of Rooster Blood, and a burning Formation Symbol are placed before sealing it with Loess and inserting three incense sticks on top. This extra precaution ensures that the five fine Peach Wood Stakes form the main formation while the five small holes serve as an Auxiliary Formation. The Auxiliary Formation not only enhances the Trapped Soul effect of the main formation but also provides protection against attacks from other Spirit Gods through its Binding Formation as long as the incense has not completely burned out.
Typically, a stick of incense burns for about fifteen minutes; however, we use thicker and longer incense infused with special ingredients that burn slowly—this type lasts for an hour. This means that within one hour, if we do not trap all five souls, other Spirit Gods may forcibly break through the Binding Formation. If even one star position is destroyed, the entire soul-locking formation will fail, leading to disastrous consequences.
This is a complex formation covering an area of over twenty meters. Each star position must not deviate by more than seven inches; thus, determining their placement requires careful consideration. If any one of the seven star positions is off even slightly, the entire soul-locking formation will fail—much like a bicycle chain where each link must connect tightly with others; if one link is misaligned or broken, the entire chain becomes useless.
After estimating distances and clearing away some heavy stones in this area, I was left panting from exhaustion. While taking a break to drink water back at the ancient temple, Master Xiao also emerged from his tent. Stretching comfortably with a strange noise, it was clear he had enjoyed his nap.
"What are you doing? Why are you sweating so much? Your clothes are soaked through; did you jump into the well for a bath?" Master Xiao asked in confusion upon seeing me drenched in sweat.
I shot him a sly glance and replied mischievously, "Do you want to sleep some more? You might have more pressure tonight; who knows if this will be your last chance to sleep."
"Since you put it that way, I should cherish this joyful time," he said before diving back into his tent. I shook my head in disbelief and guessed he would be out again within a minute. To my surprise, he did not emerge; instead, familiar snores echoed from inside. "What an idiot," I muttered under my breath as I continued sorting out items for setting up the soul-locking formation later that evening.
By the time everything was organized, Sayo and Xiao Xiao had returned. It was still before four o'clock, but since we needed to start setting up soon, we moved dinner time earlier. Master Xiao crawled out of his tent like a hungry hound when he caught a whiff of food.
I ate quietly while contemplating every detail of tonight's grand formation. They noticed my deep thoughts and refrained from chatting among themselves; the atmosphere felt somewhat heavy.
"Xiao Xiao, what time can you determine Yin Chai's position?" I broke the silence with my question.
Xiao Xiao swallowed the food in her mouth, wiped her lips, and said, "We can start after the Dog Hour." I nodded, and Master Xiao said, "Brother Liu, you can arrange it. You just told me that I have a lot of pressure tonight. I've already rested well, so please share the detailed plan with everyone so we can prepare."
I put down my chopsticks, wiped my mouth, and said, "The issue that Sayo mentioned earlier does exist. We only have four people. Everyone knows Sayo's abilities; she will undoubtedly take on the role of the Soul Observer. There’s another position that also requires Sayo's involvement."
"The Heavenly Pivot Position. That position is the safest and requires very little action. Standing there allows one to see the entire situation while remaining secure," Master Xiao explained.
I nodded and asked, "Sayo, do you have any objections?"
"No objections at all. I'm following your lead. If you all think it's fine, then it's fine by me. I trust you won't assign me a task I can't handle," Sayo replied as she finished her last bite of food and gently placed her bowl on the table.
I gave her an approving glance but didn't have time to speak before Master Xiao continued, "Then I'll take the Shaking Light Position. I don't trust anyone else in that role."
Master Xiao made a valid point; it aligned with my thoughts as well. The Shaking Light Position required more than just maintaining formation. It needed to block at least three Spirit Gods' attacks to buy time for the person guiding the soul. If the person in that position lacked the ability, the pressure on the Soul Guiding individual would be immense. Just imagine if three Spirit Gods simultaneously charged at the Soul Guiding person; no matter how capable they were, they wouldn't be able to lead the soul into the Binding Formation star position. Therefore, the person in the Shaking Light Position must temporarily prevent three souls from entering the formation. This task required someone strong and skilled in Daoist Techniques; without a doubt, Master Xiao was the most suitable among us.
I nodded in agreement without saying much. Everyone understood what was at stake—everyone except Sayo.
"Liu Shixiong, then I'll take on Soul Guiding. The Seven Star Soul Locking Formation is your setup; you're best suited to seal it off since others can't manage it," Xiao Xiao said eagerly, clearly aware that Soul Guiding was a dangerous task. In contrast, sealing off was relatively easier but slightly more challenging.
I shook my head and replied, "You’ll need to find Yin Chai later; it will be quite exhausting for you. So I’ll teach you how to seal off the formation while I handle Soul Guiding."
"But—" both Master Xiao and Xiao Xiao began simultaneously. I waved my hand dismissively and said, "There’s no 'but' about it; it's settled this way. Sayo, clean up the bowls and chopsticks. Master Xiao and Xiao Xiao, let's confirm the positions of the Seven Stars and then start setting up. Let’s go."
Upon reaching the intersection, after confirming Heavenly Pivot and Celestial Pivot positions, Master Xiao stepped out five star positions: Tianji, Tianquan, Jade Balance, Kaiyang, and Yao Guang. After confirming their accuracy with Xiao Xiao, we sprinkled rice over each position. Next, we began preparing Peach Wood Stakes. The twenty-five slender Peach Wood Stakes were sourced from a wood processing factory in town by both Xiao Xiao and Master Xiao during lunch; they were all of equal length with one end already sharpened into a point. Driving them into the loess ground was effortless.
I was responsible for measuring the designated points, including the landing spots of the Peach Wood Stakes and the Auxiliary Formation points. At each point, I scattered a small handful of rice, which not only served as markers but also helped to conceal the formation's angles. Xiao Xiao was in charge of hammering in the Peach Wood Stakes and surrounding the area with protective charms. Since the fire talismans required special incantations and techniques, Master Xiao took on the task of setting up the Auxiliary Formation. Sayo assisted wherever needed, and the four of us were busy and engaged in our work. During this time, I also taught Xiao Xiao how to quickly seal formations and communicated with Sayo about our signal for alerts.
By seven o'clock, we had set up five Soul-Trapping Formations at Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Jade Balance, and Kaiyang Position.
At eight o'clock, the Ghost-Repelling Defense Formation at Heavenly Pivot Position was completed. The Exorcism Formation at Shaking Light Position was fully arranged, and we added a small ghost-repelling array inside it for emergencies.
Once all the formations were set up, we were all panting from exhaustion. We had to make several adjustments; some positions were slightly off, and in some places, there were stones underground that prevented us from driving in the stakes. We had to dig out those stones and fill in the holes with soil before hammering them down tightly. It was physically demanding work, not much easier than moving bricks.
A little after eight o'clock, we returned to the ancient temple for a brief rest and had some food to replenish our energy before starting on some necessary preparations.
Master Xiao and I drew numerous talismans on our altars—those for exorcising spirits, guiding souls, repelling ghosts, and so on. We prepared everything that could possibly be useful. Sayo and Xiao Xiao carried defensive talismans, while Master Xiao and I had both defensive and offensive ones. I had more Soul Guiding Talismans on me; to put it bluntly, I was essentially a living target. This preparation took over forty minutes, and we could see that we were about to reach the hour of Xu.
These past two days have been quite busy. Here’s an early update for today; I'm still writing and hope to finish this story today. Thank you all for your votes.
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