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墨書 Inktalez
Soon, the lights in the dormitory went out. Wei Ning confirmed that the other three people inside were asleep before cautiously getting up. He took a Red Umbrella from his box and walked to the balcony.
The night was serene, with a full moon surrounded by a faint blue halo. Wei Ning gazed at the moon and murmured, "The Evil Energy hasn't been this strong in a long time. I wonder how many ghosts will come out to harm people tonight..."
With no time to ponder further, he opened the Red Umbrella and carefully glanced back into the room, ensuring there was no movement before jumping down.
Wei Ning's dormitory was on the third floor. For an ordinary person, jumping down might result in serious injury or worse, but the Red Umbrella served well as a parachute. After landing, he rolled to dissipate the impact, stood up, brushed off the dirt from his clothes, and put away the Red Umbrella before heading straight to the Mortuary.
By this time, it was late, and the entire campus was eerily quiet. There wasn't a sound to be heard, especially around the Mortuary, where the air seemed tainted by death itself, exuding an eerie stillness.
Wei Ning knew that no normal person would come to this place at such an hour—when the Evil Energy was at its peak—but he couldn't shake off a feeling of guilt as if he were doing something wrong. He moved stealthily along the way, finally arriving at the Mortuary's entrance.
To his surprise, the door of the Mortuary was ajar; someone must have forgotten to close it when they left. A dim light spilled out from inside, illuminating rows of pale corpses on their gurneys under the bleak glow. The silence was profound, occasionally broken by a cat's meow piercing through the night.
It turned out that nighttime cat calls could also be quite terrifying.
Wei Ning pushed open the door, which creaked ominously due to years of neglect.
"You finally came."
Suddenly, a voice echoed from somewhere unknown. Even Wei Ning, who was usually bold, felt a shiver run down his spine and halted in his tracks.
"I knew you'd return when you passed by here tonight. It's a rare occasion for the Supreme Star Shift; Night Stalker and Seven Evil Spirits are all coming out to play. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist either," said a voice that belonged to the Mysterious Old Man who had first called out to him. Wei Ning sighed inwardly; he realized his cover had been blown and that he wouldn't be able to cultivate tonight. It was a pity about the abundant Evil Energy brought by the Supreme Star Shift—he had waited so long for this moment. Annoyed with the meddlesome old man, he replied coolly, "I just couldn't sleep and came out for a stroll. But now I suddenly feel tired; I’ll take my leave."
He turned to head back to his dormitory but found an invisible wall blocking his path after only a few steps. Wei Ning tried several directions before realizing he had been trapped in an invisible circle—clearly set up by this strange old man.
"What's wrong? Didn't the Wei Family teach you the simplest technique of 'Drawing a Boundary'?"
Wei Ning, taking advantage of the dim light of the night, carefully surveyed his surroundings and realized that he had been trapped in an Evil Formation.
The "prison" set by the man was square-shaped, with the corners forming the boundaries of the "prison." In the upper left corner was a pot of green plants, which appeared to be aloe vera; in the lower left corner was a box of matches; in the upper right corner was a pot of damp soil; and in the lower right corner was a cup of rainwater. These represented Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water respectively. Due to the darkness, Wei Ning had not noticed these four items' existence, let alone their connections. In the center of the "prison" was a Metal Box, from which Wei Ning could smell the scent of incense ash. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the old man had drawn lines with fine vermilion from each corner toward the center, connecting each item to the Metal Box and forming a square. The four items were linked by vermilion at their corners, and talismans inscribed with the characters "Bitter," "Block," "Ditch," and "Fill" were affixed to each corner.
At that moment, Wei Ning found himself at the center of this 'Drawing a Boundary.'
It seemed that the old man had long planned to trap Wei Ning.
The old man shook his head and said, "There are three methods for setting up a boundary. The first is to use specialized Talismans to create a barrier that prevents Demon Gods from approaching; this is the most inferior method, one I originally looked down upon. The second method involves using magical tools to set up a boundary by placing invisible treasures in the air to create an enclosure; this can be done by anyone with some magical ability. However, if one can employ the Twelve Divine Generals Protective Formation to establish a boundary, that is considered the highest form."
Wei Ning felt frustrated with himself for being so careless as to fall into such a simple formation. Yet he couldn't help but feel alarmed; while the old man's words sounded casual, Wei Ning knew well how difficult it was to set up such formations. Most practitioners used talismans for this purpose. Those who could use the second method needed both favorable circumstances to obtain high-quality magical tools and superior magical abilities compared to ordinary cultivators. Even Wei Ning's master, Wang Tuozi, he couldn't be sure would know how to use this second method. But hearing it described as merely requiring "some magical ability" from this old man made him realize how terrifyingly skilled he must be if he knew all three methods.
The old man coldly warned, "Don't move around; be careful not to disturb the energies inside and trigger a killing formation."
Wei Ning replied, "Senior, I have no enmity with you; what do you mean by this?"
The old man snorted coldly and said, "No enmity? Yes, you indeed have no enmity with me. But there's nothing I can do; blame yourself for being born into the Wei Family. Blame yourself for your lack of skill; you can't even break such a basic Evil Formation."
Wei Ning felt his anger rising. He wanted to remove the incense from that box but feared that this old man might have further tricks up his sleeve that could unleash an even greater Evil Formation. Thus, he hesitated. The old man continued, "This Drawing a Boundary technique was passed down from Western Zhou's Ji Chang. He once used this formation to trap Wuji. For thousands of years, this formation has become widely known; didn't they teach you even this?"
Raising his voice, the old man called out to Wei Ning, "How many generations has your family been in the Wei Family? Who were your ancestors?"
Wei Ning answered, "My grandfather is named Wei Qiuxi."
"Wei Qiuxi? Xian, Wan, Qiu, Wen, Ning," the old man counted on his fingers before suddenly letting out a long sigh. "Time really flies."
The old man said, "Then your grandfather never taught you the 'Drawing a Boundary' Evil Formation?"
Wei Ning shook his head.
"How about the Five Thunder Palm? Did he teach you that?"
Wei Ning replied, "When I was young, my grandfather... he went missing. I learned from my master."
The old man sighed and said, "I see. No wonder the Wei Family has been declining. With your generation, I truly wonder if you can still protect the Undying Bone. Alas, an innocent man may suffer for holding a precious item. Friend, you are in great danger, do you know that? You have no idea how many people are secretly plotting against you. Yet you can't even master the basic techniques of the Wei Family. How could you possibly withstand the likes of the Nine Yin Ice and Snow Palm or the Three Yin Demon Slayer Blade?"
"However, Wei Xian Gui's Old Ghost only knows how to hoard secrets, and that brat Xiang has gone missing. They won't teach you, but I will."
"You'll teach me?" Wei Ning nearly choked on his words, caught off guard. "You know our Wei Family's techniques? Who exactly are you?"
The old man's identity seemed increasingly mysterious. On one hand, he boasted about knowing the Wei Family's techniques, indicating a deep connection to them. Yet, from his tone, it seemed he harbored a grudge against some ancestor of the Wei Family.
Regardless of who Wei Xian Gui was, it sounded like this old man might be related to him. Hearing him insult his ancestor made Wei Ning furious. "I will live or die by my own choices; what does it have to do with you? Besides, I will learn the Wei Family's techniques in due time. When did it become your place as an outsider to teach me?"
The old man retorted, "You and I have unfinished business..." Realizing he had misspoken, he huffed angrily and turned to leave. "I want to see how you plan to break this 'Drawing a Boundary' Evil Formation without my guidance today!"
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