Heaven's Formula

"You mean, there is no food left in the kitchen? Could it be that the first group of people who found it divided it up?"

"How could it be so fast? As far as I know, the hotel has suspended food supply since last night."

"It's not the evacuated people who took the food with them, right?"

"Let's not talk about hotels, I've searched all over the private houses in Qingshan Town, and guess what, all the rice vats are empty! Let alone competing with the aristocratic family, it's hard to survive until the end of the scholar's exam."

"how so……"

Similar topics can be heard everywhere, and just when everyone was in panic and uneasiness, a loud voice suddenly rolled over their heads.

"Everyone be quiet, please listen to me!"

Xia Fan raised his eyebrows unexpectedly, and saw a woman jumping up to the long table next to the notice board, just like when he first saw her.

It was Luo Qingqing from the Luo family.

"Junior Sister!" Another young man hastily dissuaded.

But she was unmoved, and after seeing everyone's attention focused on herself, she said, "I suggest that everyone quit the exam immediately and come back in three years!"

The crowd suddenly exploded——

"What did you say!?"

"Why do I listen to you!"

"If you want to quit your Luo family, demonstrate first!"

"That's right!"

Luo gently took out a talisman again, covering the voices of others, "Listen, this is no longer a question of whether you can pass the scholar's examination, but a question of whether you can survive! Where we are - there is no Not Qingshan Town!"

Chapter 19 The Wild Night

"It's not... Qingshan Town, what do you mean by that!?"

"Could it be that you mean that the Privy Council is lying to us?"

"Since you said it's not called Qingshan Town, what is it called?"

This sentence caused an uproar from everyone, even Xia Fan was quite surprised.But he quickly thought of one thing, that is, all his knowledge of Qingshan Town came from the Privy Council.He didn't come here by himself, but he arrived at Jianglin City first according to the road guide, met some candidates, and then was transported here by the government carriage.

In other words, he really had no chance to prove whether there really was a place called "Qingshan Town".

Of course, this has nothing to do with omissions. The map at this time—that is, the map, is a first-class confidential document, and ordinary people can't touch it at all.However, limited by the speed of information dissemination, it is normal for residents of a town not to know how many villages are around them. If there is no special guidance, most candidates may find it difficult to find the examination room located among the mountains on time.

"Of course I know, that's why I propose to you all to come back in three years!" Facing the uproar, Luo Qingwei did not lose any momentum, "In fact, the real name of this place is "Qingshan Formation"! "

"Qingshan Formation? No way..." Wei Wushuang's expression changed drastically.

"Uh, what's the difference between the two?" Xia Fan was stunned, feeling the embarrassment brought by his shallow knowledge again.

Why doesn't master cheap teach more common sense related to alchemy!

Quan taught him how to kick the crotch and take advantage of it.

"Haven't you even heard of this?" Wei Wushuang asked in surprise, "It is said that it is the source of the destruction of Yongguo."

Finally, an understandable word came, "Yongguo...is that the previous dynasty?"

"That's right, King Yong was extremely extravagant, and there were countless gold and jewels in the palace. The local government did what he liked, and wantonly expropriated people's power to mine mines. Until the 31st year of Yongxing, this action aroused the wrath of the sky and triggered a great night of famine. As a result, Yongguo quickly declined and completely disintegrated in less than ten years." Wei Wushuang patiently explained, "It is rumored that the origin of the evil night is the Qingshan mining area."

"The Great Desolate Night... what is it?"

"This... I don't know the specifics." The other party scratched his head, "After all, I heard these when I was doing business with my father. I only know that it is a kind of evil phenomenon caused by many resentful souls. In the areas it passed by, the living died and the dead lived. Not to mention ordinary people, even alchemists fell into it. I heard that Yongguo spent a lot of money to eliminate this evil phenomenon, and the Privy Council was established independently after that. From the sixth department of the government."

Xia Fan took a breath. If Luo Qingqing was right, wouldn't it mean that the group of candidates were all in the center of the most dangerous place?

The noisy crowd also fell silent.

Obviously, such shocking information takes time to digest.

"Do you have any evidence?" "Brother Yan" asked loudly again, "If you say this is not Qingshan Town, but the Qingshan mining area, you must have real evidence!"

"That's right, who knows if your aristocratic family is tricking us so that everyone will be out of the game voluntarily!"

Luo gently showed an expression that she knew it would be like this, she made a gesture, and the two Luo family children in the audience put a gray thing on the table.

"This is the evidence. Everyone can come forward and check."

Someone in the front row wondered, "Is this for refining...Tao Fan?"

"That's right. I found it on the back mountain." Luo nodded lightly, and then briefly recounted his experience of going up the mountain and finding the wooden track and the pile of bones. "After seeing the scene in the valley, I went to the top of the mountain again. After searching for nearly a mile, I found this broken pottery fan. The reason why it was made into a long strip was obviously only to hold molten metal."

"The key to making me sure that this place is Qingshan is the inscription on the pottery fan." She said in a clear and melodious voice, "Yongxing 28 years, supervised by Taihu Gold Manufacturing Bureau!"

"Yongxing Year... is indeed the year name used by Yongguo."

"Taihu Gold Construction Bureau? I seem to have heard of it somewhere."

Everyone was talking for a while.

"Can you explain it to me in detail?"

"The Gold Mining Bureau was established in the ninth year of Yongchang, the same year that the Qingshan Gold Mine was discovered. These deeds are recorded in the "Taihu Chronicle Chapter" and "Yongchang Record". I think everyone present should have read these two People from this book." Luo Qingqing said in an orderly manner, "After the establishment of the Taihu Gold Manufacturing Bureau, its main supply area is the Qingshan mining area. If this is not Qingshan, why does the Tao Fan of this gold mining bureau appear?"

After pondering for a while, Xia Fan realized that the so-called "Tao Fan" is a mold made of clay.

The other party continued, "There is more than one point confirmed in the book. According to the "Taihu Lake Chronicle", in order to increase production, the Jinzhou Bureau forced a large number of residents to go to the mining area, so that many villages and towns were empty, until Yongguo None of them were able to fully recover after the fall. Many people were sent to Qingshan, but none of them ever came back. Now we know where these people are. This also explains why they needed to build a special wooden track to transport the remains —Because there are too many of them.”

"Okay, okay...awesome." Wei Wushuang murmured.

The exclamation of fellow countrymen is undoubtedly the thinking of most candidates at this moment. The scene suddenly became extremely quiet, and even the previous doubts disappeared without a trace.

Obviously, since Luo Qingqing dared to speak out, she was naturally not afraid of everyone's investigation.Even if molds can be faked, the track on the mountain and the corpse in the valley cannot be faked.When several key points are connected together, they basically constitute an interlocking evidence.

Although Xia Fan has never even heard of these two books, judging from the titles, it is obvious that they are not must-read classics.One is probably a local chronicle, and the other is barely half a history. In simple and easy-to-understand terms, they are all extracurricular readings.It’s fine if I happen to have seen it, I can remember it so clearly, there is no other explanation other than the extraordinary talent.

"Haven't you heard that the Luo family in Youzhou has the knowledge of all things?"

He suddenly remembered what Luo You'er had said.

"Half of the libraries in the country are opened by the Luo family, and the Youzhou government has a collection of over ten thousand rare books. In terms of worldly knowledge, no one can compare to the Luo family."

Now it seems that Luo Qingqing himself may be able to count as half of the library.

"Please wait a moment," Fei Nian suddenly stood up and said, "I remember that the Great Desolate Night is very difficult to be completely wiped out. Every once in a while, it will make a comeback until all the resentful souls dissipate. That's why Da Qi set up an antidote Mountain array, limit its harm to a controllable range. If your inference is correct, wouldn't it mean..."

Luo nodded lightly, "This cycle is not a secret. It is recorded in detail in "The Privy Council's Essentials", and it appears once every five and a half years. I calculated that the next period of yin prosperity will be exactly two days later."

——And today is the fifth day of the examination.

In other words, on the last day of the exam, there will be a wild night.

After a short silence, the crowd suddenly boiled——

"No way, how can there be such a coincidence?"

"Where's the invigilator? I want to ask the invigilator for proof!"

"Do you think the Privy Council will ignore this? I'm afraid this is the key to the assessment."

"Are you kidding! Either pass the exam or die? I don't want to bet my life on this damn place."

"Could it be that all the locals evacuated to avoid this catastrophe?"

"Not necessarily, does anyone want to go to the back mountain to confirm?"

"Say, you're right... At present, it's just the Luo family's opinion, we can't let the other party lead us by the nose!"

The examinees were obviously panicked, and the center of the square suddenly became a mess.

At this moment, a slightly sharp voice overwhelmed the chaotic dispute, "There is no need to go, I can prove that what she said is true. In fact, you can also prove it yourself."

This sentence immediately attracted the attention of the examinees. Everyone followed the reputation and focused their eyes on a pale young man in gray clothes and holding a paper fan.

The gossip map behind him has already explained his identity - he is a disciple of the Fang family.

"Isn't that... Fang Xiandao?" Wei Wushuang said in a low voice.

"You know him?" Xia Fan asked.

"Well, I didn't intend to pass the exam anyway. I basically stayed in the teahouse for the past few days to inquire about news and met a lot of people." Wei Wushuang nodded and said, "Although the Fang family is not as powerful as the Fei and Luo families, they are He also has his own uniqueness, and he is very proficient in divination and divination. And this Fang Xiandao, it is said that he is the disciple who is best at this method in the new generation of the Fang family."

"Tell me, what do you mean we can prove it?" Someone asked eagerly.

"The hexagram has already explained everything. What Miss Luo said is basically consistent with the result of my divination—that is, there must be a catastrophe on the last day of the scholar's examination, and only those who seize the opportunity can avert disaster." Fang Xiandao opened the paper fan in his hand, and said calmly, "I know this method of divination is extremely profound, and not everyone can master it, but the flow of Qi itself is a sign. Many people in China should have received warnings."

"What kind of... warning?"

"If I remember correctly, in the first two days of the exam, many people had nightmares!" Fang Xiandao snapped the paper fan shut, "Dreams are the manifestation of the consciousness' response to the energy of heaven and earth, although they are not as good as Divination is accurate, but sometimes it is extremely specific. Is there any more obvious warning than this nightmare? The red moon dripping with blood, the dead crawling out of the ground, and the living things contaminated by evil spirits. What is it?"

"Pfft." Xia Fan couldn't hold back for a moment, and spit out his saliva.

"Brother Xia, why are you laughing?" Wei Wushuang looked at him in surprise.

"Cough...it's nothing." Xia Fan coughed twice, and returned to his nonchalant appearance.If it weren't for the fox demon lying in his room right now, he might really have believed this nonsense.

Other candidates, however, don't think so.

"What you said... I did it!"

"Me too!"

"So that's the case, has the dream reminded us long ago..."

"I thought I was the only one having the nightmare."

"There are so many people... It seems that the dream is not accidental!"

In everyone's eyes, the aristocratic family will deceive Sanmen, but it is impossible for Sanmen to unite to deceive themselves.All doubts disappeared, and in less than a quarter of an hour, the matter of Qingshan Formation and Great Desolate Night had become the consensus of all the candidates.

Chapter 20 Irreplaceable Proof

"I didn't expect you to speak for me." Seeing Fang Xiandao approaching, Luo gently jumped off the long table.

"Is this strange? Didn't the aristocratic family help each other realize the monopoly of the Spirit Fire Land before?" Fang Xiandao shook his fan, "Although it's only a one-day rule, my Fang family didn't participate in the discussion."

The young man on the side, Luo Fengqing, the eldest brother of the Luo family, couldn't help frowning, "This matter was not a result of sitting at the table and discussing it thoroughly. It can be said that things should be done urgently. Besides, there are a large number of Sanmen, I think one day is a reasonable rule, otherwise they will really make trouble-"

"Okay, I'm not here to listen to your preaching." Fang Xiandao interrupted him, "I just want to confirm one thing, even if it's a wild night, the Luo family will not just let it go and evacuate Qingshan Town obediently, right?"

He was asking about the Luo family, but he didn't look at the elder brother at all, but looked straight at Luo Qingqing.

The latter nodded, "If it was the evil night a hundred years ago, of course the Luo family would have avoided it, but it has been released back and forth many times, and there is no rumor of a evil night raging in Qiguo. , so how much power it still has, I want to see it with my own eyes."

"Sure enough, as I expected." Fang Xiandao chuckled, "And your method should be to use the wells below Qingshan Town, right? The entrance is narrow, but the interior is criss-crossed. It's easy to defend but difficult to attack. It's a good choice. It's a pity. ..."

Luo Fengqing's expression was already tense when the other party mentioned the shaft, and when the last sentence came out, he almost immediately continued, "What's the pity?"

"It's a pity that the best place has been taken by our Fang family." Fang Xiandao grinned.

Luo Fengqing couldn't help being taken aback.

"Otherwise, what do you think we were doing during the two days when the Fei family and the Luo family occupied the spirit fire land?" He played with the fan in his hand and said, "Although divination cannot accurately determine the details of the incident, it can warn of danger and seek escape But it is not difficult to do it. You have taken the lead in collecting spiritual fires, and this time it should be the Fang family's turn first. Remember what I said - only those who seize the opportunity can avert danger."

"You..." Luo You'er said anxiously, "Are you saying this just to annoy us?"

"It's just a little return." Fang Xiandao smiled slightly, "Besides, if I were a genius of the Luo family, I wouldn't tell everyone such an important matter. Even after so many years, the Great Wilderness Night is still extremely dangerous to us. If Candidates fleeing in a hurry can attract the attention of some evil spirits, wouldn't it be able to relieve their own pressure accordingly? Or are you so anxious to eliminate your opponent?"

Without waiting for the crowd to reply, he gently cupped his hands at Luo, turned around and walked out of the crowd.

"Then... see you in two days, I hope you are still safe and sound by then."

"This guy is really hateful!" Luo Changtian said angrily.

"It's hateful, but what he said is not unreasonable." Luo Fengqing looked at Luo Qingqing with a face of reproach, "I don't understand why you insist on making the clues we finally obtained public. Pushing the Luo family away from the cusp of the storm is really harmful but not beneficial. Gentle, it’s not that I want to suppress you as a senior brother, it’s just that you have been a little abnormal these two days-before you brought your female disciples to block the hotel lobby, and then dragged you A group of people went up the mountain without explaining the reason to me from the beginning to the end. Don't you believe me?"

Luo You'er shrank back, "Uh...that's not a question of believing or not..."

"I didn't ask you." Eldest brother glared at Luo You'er, and continued, "The Fang family is one step ahead of us now, and there are very few usable places in the well. If they occupy it, how much space can we leave behind?" It’s hard to say personally, the whole plan basically has to be repeated. What’s more, there is the Fei family—even if they don’t know as much about the Great Desolate Night as we do, they don’t know everything. Your announcement is tantamount to reminding the Fei family in advance. Get ready to add competitive pressure to yourself."

He paused, and his tone became harsher, "Junior Sister, I'm not allowing you to have secrets, but you shouldn't put your personal interests above the Luo family. If you don't want me to report this matter to Master and Lord patriarch, now explain clearly the reasons and thoughts of what you have done in the past two days!"

"Tell you, why don't you tell Master?" Luo asked softly.

"...I have to decide according to the severity of the situation." Luo Fengqing said in a deep voice.

"Actually, I've been thinking about the essence of this exam, or... what the invigilator wants to see." She said after a moment of silence, "Collecting spirit fire? As long as the place is chosen properly, ordinary people can We did it. And what did we do? We used the advantage of a large number of people to exclude the scattered sects, and internally agreed on the distribution results to ensure that some of the disciples could pass the examination. Apart from that, there is nothing else."

"Is there any problem with this?" Luo Fengqing took it for granted, "Strengthen one's own strengths, cover up one's own weaknesses, and use strengths to attack the opponent's weaknesses, in order to be able to win a hundred battles. Master has always taught us this way."

Luo You'er and Luo Changtian also nodded.

"No problem, but it has nothing to do with the "alchemist" itself. "Luo lightly showed a strange smile, "If that's the case, the Jianghu sect is not worse than us.Think about it, if Wu Gang or local tyrants joined this exam, would they be able to pass the exam?In terms of numbers, they are more; in terms of means..." At this point, she paused slightly, as if remembering something, and said a little annoyed, "Alchemy may not necessarily be superior.In a real fight, we might lose. "

Luo Fengqing shook his head, "Those people can't even feel the anger, and they are not qualified to take the scholar's examination. Why do you have to make such an assumption of self-deprecation?"