Chapter 440: Divergence

Chapter 440: Divergence

Chapter 440: Divergence

Xi Miaoxian's beautiful eyes looked around the hall before ultimately fixing her gaze on Chu Liang's back.

Stepping toward him, she asked, "Is this another puzzle? Have you figured it out, Young Hero Chu?"

Chu Liang smiled and replied, "I'm still thinking about it."

Situ Guanhai had come on this trip to the hidden realm because of Xi Miaoxian, so he had stayed by her side the entire time. Now, with Chu Liang stealing the spotlight and Xi Miaoxian taking the initiative to approach him, Situ Guanhai felt a sense of crisis.

Fortunately, he specialized in the Dao of Talisman-Making.

Situ Guanhai stepped forward and said, "According to the Qimen Dunjia, the Door of Life (生) should be at the Gen (艮) position."[1]

He walked over to the Door of Gen and then turned around. Situ Guanhai found that everyone was watching him, but no one made a move to follow him.

"Why...?" Situ Guanhai asked sheepishly. "Am I wrong?"

"You're right." Chu Liang nodded. "Brother Situ, go on and give it a try."

Situ Guanhai's heart thumped hard like a drum. This wasn't something he could just try. One wrong step, and he'd be expelled from the hidden realm.

Monk Pushan shook his head. "That line of thinking is too simplistic. Considering all the trials that we had to overcome just to get to this point... If I were the Celestial Talisman Master, there's no way I'd make this stage so easy."

"It is the Door of Gen," Ye Yongxing suddenly said.

Chu Liang smiled in agreement. "That's right."

"Huh?" Situ Guanhai straightened his posture. "Is it really?"

However, he was still nervous, wondering if they were trying to trick him into checking out the path... or maybe they were just using this as an opportunity to eliminate a competitor.

"The problem is that it's not as simple as just corresponding to the positions of the Eight Trigrams," Chu Liang explained, glancing at Ye Yongxing. "It's connected to the sundial."

"Yes." Ye Yongxing nodded. "The qian (乾) character represents the heavens. Using it as the guide, the sundial can be divided into eight parts."

"And the sunlight is currently..." Chu Liang said, tracing a faint line over the sundial with his hand, "shining toward the Door of Gen."

"Oh, I see now!" Monk Pushan exclaimed, nodding vigorously. He quickly added, "Just as I thought!"

Situ Guanhai's face grew hot. It turned out that his earlier conclusion had been the result of a very superficial analysis and that it was pure luck that he'd gotten it right, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat.

Feeling quite ashamed, Situ Guanhai just wanted to get out of there.

So, he said, "Then I'll go ahead and give it a try."

"Wait!" Chu Liang suddenly called out to him.

Situ Guanhai stopped in his tracks. "Hmm?"

Chu Liang explained, "The sunlight has now moved to the boundary between the sections, making it hard to judge which position the Door of Life is in. It will likely shift soon, so let's wait a moment to be cautious."

Situ Guanhai shuddered with fear and thanked him, "Many thanks for your warning."

Chu Liang could have remained a passive observer. If Situ Guanhai had indeed chosen the wrong path, there would be one fewer competitor, which would benefit to Chu Liang.

However, Situ Guanhai was still the most knowledgeable in the Dao of Talisman-Making among them. The path ahead was unknown, so losing him might not be advantageous in the end.

Xi Miaoxian and Situ Guanhai looked over and immediately understood as well.

If they had been given the time, they would have been able to solve this puzzle fairly easily too. However, the speed at which Chu Liang and Ye Yongxing had figured it out was truly remarkable.

"Impressive," Situ Guanhai remarked.

"It was just a lucky coincidence that I happened to think of it," Chu Liang replied humbly. "We solved it thanks to Brother Situ's solid skills in talisman-making."

This was true. Without Situ Guanhai, the others, who were unfamiliar with the Disorderly Board of Talismans, might have been stuck at this stage for a long time.

This confirmed what Chu Liang had thought earlier. Those who became overly focused on competing too early would never make it to the end.

"Nothing special, really," Situ Guanhai said modestly.

Despite that, one side of his mouth couldn't stop from curving up, so much so that it formed a crooked grin. Situ Guanhai felt quite triumphant, as he had managed to redeem himself after that embarrassing incident in the previous stage.

Now that they had found the Door of Life, the group wasted no time and ventured inside.

Whoosh.

With a flash of light, they arrived in yet another new space.

...

However, this still wasn't their final destination. This new grand hall was empty, and the number of doors on the wall ahead had been reduced to two.

One was engraved with the words "Talismanic Script of Yin," and the other with "Talismanic Script of Yang."

The only clue was a stone relief mural on the wall.

The mural depicted what appeared to be a doomsday scene. The sky was filled with dark clouds and flashes of lightning as roaring floodwaters approached from afar. Raging flames ravaged the earth, incinerating plants and mountain rocks alike.

The scene depicted in this mural was similar to ones Chu Liang had seen in a previous hidden realm[3]. It was a doomsday artwork.

"This..." Monk Pushan frowned deeply. "How are we supposed to choose?"

Silence fell over the group.

Situ Guanhai looked at Chu Liang and Ye Yongxing and asked, "Are both of you at a loss as to which door to pick too?"

"I'm not sure..." Ye Yongxing replied, "but I think I'll choose the Door of Yin."

Chu Liang, on the other hand, said, "I'll choose the Door of Yang."

"Huh?" the others uttered in shock.

Up until now, Chu Liang and Ye Yongxing had always had the same opinion, so following them had allowed the group to progress smoothly to this point.

But now... why are they suddenly making different choices?

Who should we trust?!

1. See the translator's thoughts for info on the Qimen Dunjia. ☜

2. PAUSE HERE. I left a clue for this little puzzle in the paragraph that mentions "Qimen Dunjia". Here’s your chance to go back and look. See if you can figure out the answer as you continue reading. ☜

3. It doesn't state which hidden realm, but from memory, it should be the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm. ☜