Hearing the emperor's words, Ning Que's expression became a little complicated. He subconsciously raised his hand and touched the slightly hard thing in his arms through the black Academy uniform.
The dark passage under the small building was not long. It didn't take long for them to reach the deepest part, which was an empty underground hall.
Ning Que had enough mental preparation for what he would see today, but he didn't expect that there was nothing in this hall. The ground in the hall spread around until it disappeared in the darkness. It seemed to be boundless, and there was nothing but dust.
There were no countless treasures, armors, magic weapons, iron men or strange beasts, or traces of tactical arrays as he had imagined. The ground was so clean and empty that it made his heart palpitate.
There was no gap on the ground paved with granite, and no one knew what craftsmanship the craftsmen had used to build the palace.
Ning Que looked up at the starry night pearls on the top of the hall and the man-made stone walls, recalling the wisdom and action of the predecessors of the Tang Empire. He couldn't help but feel dazzled.
The emperor led Ning Que to walk on the clean stone ground into the hall.
Their footsteps occasionally brought up a few wisps of thousand-year-old dust.
The emperor stopped when they came to the center of the wide stone ground.
Ning Que noticed that there was a small hole in the center of the ground.
The edge of the black hole was smooth and perfectly blended with the ground, and it was only as deep as an ordinary person's palm.
The emperor said, "You know what to do."
Ning Que looked at the small hole on the ground and suddenly asked, "Is this the array eye?"
The emperor said, "No, the one in your arms is the array eye."
Ning Que was shocked and speechless.
He had always thought that the array eye should be an eye, and the thing in his arms was only the key to open it. Now he knew that the array eye had been with him all the time, and he couldn't help feeling a little scared.
After a moment of silence, he took out an object from his arms, put it at his feet, and slowly untied the cloth on it.
The cloth was coarse cloth used by Sangsang to cover the soles of her shoes, and it was very strong. Sangsang had wrapped it in many layers, so it took Ning Que a long time to untie the cloth.
A pestle-like object was lying quietly on the coarse cloth.
The material of this pestle was a little strange. It seemed to be metal or stone, faintly exuding a cold smell, but its surface was as warm as jade, and it was engraved with complicated patterns.
For decades, this club-shaped object had been kept by Master Yan Se.
Before the battle with the Great Divine Priest of Light, Master Yan Se gave it to Sangsang and asked her to pass it to Ning Que. So now it was in his hands.
The emperor silently looked at the pestle-shaped thing on the ground. No one knew if he thought of Master Yan Se, but his face showed a faint sadness and nostalgia.
Ning Que reached out to hold the pestle and felt the cool and warm touch in his palm. He was a little nervous and put his left hand on it. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down so that his hands were no longer trembling. Then he put the pestle upright and slowly inserted it into the hole.
The pestle in his hand sank into the ground inch by inch. Ning Que did not feel any resistance, but he could feel the smoothness of the ground.
With a light click, the pestle touched the bottom of the cave, as if it was locked by some kind of spring. A small part of the pestle was still exposed on the ground. The complicated patterns engraved on it made it look like a flower carved out of the pestle.
Ning Que did not know what was going to happen next. He subconsciously stepped back and wanted to stay away from it.
There was no vigilance on the emperor's face. He just quietly looked at the half of the pestle on the ground.
Ning Que stopped and stood beside the emperor.
After a moment.
The half of the pestle exposed on the ground suddenly lit up. More precisely, it should be the complicated patterns on the pestle that were difficult to understand lit up, like a flower bathing in the sun.
The complicated patterns became brighter and brighter. The light spread to the lower part of the pestle. Even the granite ground was illuminated and the lines in the stone could be seen.
The light in the lines on the pestle gradually condensed and seemed to become a kind of luminous liquid. It gradually flowed back and forth along the lines, which was very beautiful.
A crack suddenly appeared on the granite ground next to the pestle.
The crack spread extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, it passed through the soles of Ning Que's feet, which scared him. Then he noticed that these cracks were not real cracks, but grooves formed by the regular subsidence of the ground.
Numerous stone grooves appeared on the previously clean and empty ground.
More and more stone grooves appeared, and they became denser and denser. Like an invisible carving knife, it drew countless straight lines on the smooth stone ground and cut the ground into countless parts.
The liquid light on the pestle flowed down the complicated lines and into the stone groove next to it. Then, like a stream, it flowed along the stone groove and into the distance. However, there was absolutely no stream in the world that could flow as fast as the liquid light in the stone groove. In a flash, it had spread to the edge of the ground.
No one knew how much light was contained in the pestle. It kept flowing to the ground, as if it was inexhaustible. After a moment, all the stone grooves were lit up.
Looking at the magical scene in front of him, Ning Que revealed a nervous and solemn expression. But his eyes became brighter and brighter. His gaze kept moving along with the flow of the liquid light in the stone groove.
The stone groove at the edge of the ground was the deepest and contained the most liquid light. Four extremely long straight lines surrounded the ground in the center of the hall, like a city.
There was a deep, wide, and dazzling stone groove in the middle. It seemed to be a long street.
"This is the Vermilion Bird Avenue?"
Ning Que looked at the stone groove and muttered to himself.
His Majesty looked at his expression and smiled slightly.
Suddenly, the calm liquid light in the stone groove violently rolled, as if there was a raging fire under the ground and the liquid light was about to boil.
Ning Que's expression became more and more solemn.
A very faint sound rang in the underground hall, as if countless flowers were blooming, as if countless green trees were breathing, as if countless people were cheering.
In reality, it was just the liquid light in the stone groove that had evaporated into gas.
The evaporated gas filled the air in the hall, gently swaying like clouds. Then, unable to escape the gravitational pull of the stone groove, it slowly converged into lines or surfaces that glowed with light.
These lines and surfaces that glowed with beautiful and pure light formed countless three-dimensional structures on the ground. They were countless glowing buildings that looked so illusory, yet so real at the same time.
Ning Que looked at the palace formed by light in front of him. He looked at the Yanming Mountain in the distance, which was almost at the waist height. He looked at the Wanyan Pagoda that was not even knee-high and looked at the thick and glossy city wall in the distance. He was so shocked that he could not speak for a long time.
This was a miniature Chang 'an City.
But in this Chang 'an City, it was real and alive.
The Emperor walked outside.
Ning Que followed behind him. When his feet stepped on the Southern Gate Temple that was condensed from light, his body was a little stiff. When he stepped on the houses in the west of the city, he was even more careful. He always felt that he had become a giant, and any random step would cause great harm. Fortunately, the lines and surfaces that were condensed from light and vapor did not seem to be connected to the real world. When they touched his body, there were no changes.
Walking in the miniature Chang 'an City that was condensed by light, Ning Que felt very complicated and shocked. He saw many familiar buildings and sceneries. He even found Lin 47th Street and the Old Brush Pen Shop among the densely packed buildings. At this moment, the Old Brush Pen Shop was just a box.
Following behind His Majesty, they finally walked out of this miniature Chang 'an City. For some reason, Ning Que felt much more relaxed. He held his chest and gasped.
The Emperor looked at the Chang 'an City in front of him and said, "The entire Chang' an City is a big array."
Ning Que had heard about this from Master Yan Se.
"The first big array in the world, the God-stunning Array."
The Emperor pointed at the pestle on the ground in the distance and the palace beside it. He said, "The center of this big array is deep in the building where we are standing now."
Then he pointed at the widest, deepest and brightest stone trough and said, "The Vermilion Bird Avenue is the array root. The four walls of Chang 'an City are also array roots. The hole in the city is the door of life."
"There are countless Divine Talismans in this formation, and the Vermilion Bird is the most powerful one among them. When Wei Guangming hid in Chang 'an, he avoided it. If he had dared to show his full power in the city, this formation would have killed him in an instant."
Ning Que listened attentively in silence.
The Emperor pointed at the lake of light at the foot of Yanming Mountain in the south of the city and said, "This big array in Chang 'an City is not easy to build or maintain. Last year, the imperial court spent a lot of money to repair Yanming Lake. It has nothing to do with the people's lives. It is to maintain and repair this big array. These things have always been the responsibility of the Imperial Center Administration."
"The God-stunning Array has a history of a thousand years, but it has not been activated even once. However, every emperor of the Tang Empire has spared no effort to keep this big array intact. Do you know why?"
The Emperor looked at Ning Que and asked.
Ning Que said, "Because this is the last shelter of the Tang Empire."
"Shelter, that's a good word."
The Emperor said calmly, "With this big array, Chang 'an City will be safe. Chang' an City will be safe. Even if the national power of the Tang Empire declines and falls apart, it will eventually rise again."
Ning Que said, "My master once told me that when the time comes to activate the God-stunning Array, it means that the Tang Empire is in the most dangerous moment."
"So this big array has never been activated."
The Emperor said, "But as long as it continues to exist in the world, whether it is activated or not, Chang 'an and the Tang Empire are safe."
After Ning Que successfully climbed the mountain and entered the Second floor of the Academy, he was invited to the palace. At that time, the Emperor said that he would take him to see something in the future. Today, he finally saw it.
Master Yan Se once took him to the tower and looked down at Chang 'an City. He said that he would hand over the big array to him. Now that his master had passed away, it was finally his turn to take this responsibility.
He looked at the Chang 'an City in front of him and thought about it.
…
…
(There is one more chapter. I don't know when I can write it. I advise you not to stay up late. I will.) (To be continued.) If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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