Chang 'an was said to be impregnable. In fact, it had never been. To be more precise, it had never been tested since the founding of the Tang Empire.
But no one doubted it, because Chang 'an was the last and strongest source of confidence for the Tangs. As long as the city stood on the plains south of the Sishui River, the Tangs would always be smiling.
Besieging the city was also not advisable. As long as Chang 'an was still there, the resistance of the Tang Empire, especially the areas near the capital, would not stop. The Tangs' spirit of resistance and determination to fight to the last moment would continue.
For the Tangs, Chang 'an would never fall was a psychological stereotype. It was almost a truth and did not need a reason. Not many people knew that the fundamental reason was a big array called the God-stunning Array.
That was a fact only those who stood at the top of the cultivation world knew.
Now there was a problem with the God-stunning Array, and Chang 'an was not as indestructible as it had been for a thousand years. What if an army came and powerful cultivators entered the city?
Only a few people knew about this problem, including Ning Que.
Looking down at the densely packed residences and streets that extended in all directions, his brows were filled with exhaustion and worry.
He held a charcoal pen and kept drawing on the map. Looking at the places in the city that were blocked, he thought about ways to repair or unblock them. But the more he thought, the more he looked terrible.
Third Sister had given him seven days. Now more than two days had passed, but he had not come up with a good solution. Instead, he noticed that the situation of the big array was getting worse.
Starting from the Daming Palace outside the North City, the dark water hidden in the autumn forest flowed out of the curved mountain, converged at the lake, passed the Southern Gate Temple, passed the Wanyan Tower, entered the Vermilion Bird Avenue, and came out from the South Gate of Chang 'an …
All the blockages happened on this dark line. In the God-stunning Array, this dark line was very important. It was called Breath, and it was the key passage for the cycle of life and death.
He had long discovered and removed the tricks that Haotian Taoism did at the bottom of the small building in the palace. But the interference of the God-stunning Array was irreversible. As time went by, it became worse and worse.
He thought for a long time but still could not come up with a solution.
If the blockage had been a natural landscape or a constructed street, it wouldn't have been much of a problem. Given the Great Tang's formidable administrative and mobilization abilities, even a small mountain would be hollowed out in seven days.
The problem was that the method of the Dao Sect was directly used in the array pivot under the small building, causing the operation of the Qi of Heaven and Earth in the array to be disturbed. Several Qi holes were blocked, directly affecting the entire array.
At this moment, the south gate under his feet was affected the most.
Ning Que did not understand how He Mingchi could enter the small building without the array eye pestle. He also could not understand how Haotian Taoism could calculate the God-stunning Array so clearly.
Now that he thought about it, he could only say that the Dao Sect had made ample preparations for this moment.
Haotian Taoism had prepared for thousands of years and gathered the wisdom and ability of countless Haotian Taoism sages. Even though they were not as good as the Headmaster and could not directly destroy the God-stunning Array, they still successfully interfered with the operation of the God-stunning Array. It was extremely tough and irreversible.
Ning Que had eliminated all the sources of interference that Haotian Taoism had placed in Chang 'an, but he could not repair the blockage of the array because it would require an unimaginable amount of Qi of Heaven and Earth.
In fact, this level of damage or interference could be repaired by the God-stunning Array itself, but it would take a long time, two or three years. In times of peace, this was not a big deal. The problem was that now was the time of the world war against the Tang Empire. The enemy would not give the Tangs such a long time.
If the Headmaster had not ascended to Heaven, this would be a very simple matter. He only needed to wave his sleeves to summon the Qi of Heaven and Earth from the continent and under the sea of clouds to Chang 'an.
But the Headmaster no longer existed in the world.
In today's world, no one could use such a method.
In that case … was there really no way to repair this formation?
Would Chang 'an be opened?
…
…
The array eye pestle was in Ning Que's arms. It was as hard as a stone, which made him feel a little flustered.
This city was left to him by the Headmaster, and the array eye pestle was left to him by Master Yan Se and His Majesty. This meant that protecting Chang 'an and the Tang Empire was an inescapable responsibility.
This was the supreme glory, but also the heaviest burden in the world.
But the most ridiculous thing was that … Ning Que was not an Array Tactical Master.
Master Yan Se once said that the array was a big talisman, and the talisman was a small array. There had always been a saying in the cultivation world that an Array Tactical Master might not be able to become a Talisman Master, but a Talisman Master must be a very good Array Tactical Master.
Ning Que was a very talented Talisman Master, but for some reason, his talent in array tactical was terrible. When he first entered the Back Mountain of the Academy, he helped Seventh Sister set up the array for many days, but he did not make any progress. These years, he studied hard to control the God-stunning Array, but he also did not make any progress.
Now that Fourth Brother and Seventh Sister were not in the Academy, he did not know where to ask. So he became more and more anxious, and his shoulders were about to collapse from the heavy burden.
The autumn wind blew on his face, making him feel cold. After a moment of silence, he walked down the city wall.
The south gate of Chang 'an, facing the Vermilion Bird Avenue, had been heavily guarded since the war began.
At his request, the imperial court transferred all the last Yulin Royal Guards in the city here. More than a hundred Yulin Royal Guards in shiny armor were waiting in the side street with serious expressions, and the atmosphere was even more solemn.
Dozens of members of the Fish-dragon Gang in indigo clothes were vigilantly watching people entering and leaving the city under the eaves. The troops around Chang 'an had been transferred to the Northern Borderline, leaving the city defenseless. The imperial court was forced to use the power of the people.
The sergeants of the City Defense Department carefully checked the teams entering and leaving the city, and each document was checked by three people in turn, to ensure that there were no spies or contraband.
This kind of inspection was very complicated, and the workload was very heavy. Fortunately, there were very few people entering and leaving Chang 'an at this time, only the endless supply of grain caravans occupied the official road outside the city.
These were all the grain transported from various states and counties.
The Tang Empire was ready for Chang 'an to be besieged.
But no one began to prepare for Chang 'an to be breached, not even psychologically prepared.
Looking at this scene, Ning Que's mood became heavier.
At this moment, a woman walked out of the city gate.
The woman's eyebrows were like ink, her eyes like lacquer, and her face was picturesque.
Her lips were a little thin, and they were calmly closed. On her white face, it was like a wintersweet in the snow.
Her straight black hair was scattered on her shoulders, no longer like a waterfall in the past, but like a beautiful brush stroke.
Ning Que looked at her quietly, and suddenly looked up to the sky.
The late autumn sky was high and distant, and extremely light.
He suddenly felt that Haotian … No, it should be the teacher in heaven, felt his anxiety and uneasiness at this time, so he sent her to Chang 'an, to him.
Then he withdrew his gaze from the sky, looked at the picturesque woman, and smiled.
"Why did you come to Chang 'an?"
"I wanted to come, so I came."
Mo Shanshan replied with a smile, and her white cotton dress was slightly blown by the autumn wind passing through the city gate.
Ning Que thought of a question, and said, "Black Ink Garden …"
Mo Shanshan knew what he was going to ask, and before he finished, she said calmly, "I have left."
Ning Que did not expect to hear this answer, but in fact, he knew that this was the only answer.
If Mo Shanshan did not want to implicate Black Ink Garden, her teacher and fellow disciples, and even the Great River Kingdom, then she had to break away from the sect to come to Chang 'an and stand against the West-Hill Divine Palace.
After a moment of silence, he reached out his right hand and invited her to enter the city.
…
…
Ning Que and Mo Shanshan walked in Chang 'an.
They walked side by side again, just like in the past. But in fact, it was not like before.
The two came to the front of the palace, and came to the bridge of the past. They looked at the same vermilion palace wall, but there was no snowflake flying in the sky, only yellow ginkgo leaves covering the ground.
"I don't have time, or we can travel together again."
Ning Que reached out to the water outside the bridge, and caught a falling ginkgo leaf in the air. He said, "This is the fourth blockage. Feel the aura of Heaven and Earth directly under the arrow tower."
Mo Shanshan closed her eyes, and her sparse and long eyelashes trembled slightly on her white skin.
After a moment, she opened her eyes, and the emotions in her eyes were a little complicated, shocked and uneasy.
"What a … powerful tactical array."
Ning Que withdrew his hand, and the ginkgo leaf fell into the moat under the bridge. The river flowed very slowly, and at this time the surface of the river was already full of beautiful yellow leaves. With the addition of this leaf, no change could be seen at all.
He looked at the yellow leaves on the moat and said, "It is because it is powerful that it is troublesome. Now that it has been blocked by Haotian Taoism, to unblock it, we need more Qi of Heaven and Earth."
After thinking for a moment, Mo Shanshan shook her head and said, "No one can summon such a large amount of Qi of Heaven and Earth, and no one can set up a tactical array that can repair this big tactical array."
Ning Que asked, "Can we use talismans?"
Mo Shanshan said, "If the tactical array is a talisman, then this big tactical array is the most powerful talisman I have ever seen in my life. It can even be said to be a real Divine Talisman."
Ning Que understood what she meant.
Chang 'an was a huge city, and the wisdom of the Headmaster of Academy was a steep mountain that was difficult to climb.
Haotian Taoism's method seemed simple, but the use of these two points was secretly in accordance with the law of nature.
He said, "I hope you can solve this problem."
Mo Shanshan said, "I don't have this ability."
Ning Que said, "You are better than me."
Mo Shanshan said, "Then you can give me the array eye pestle."
Ning Que shook his head.
Mo Shanshan said with a smile, "I thought you have learned to trust after experiencing so many things."
Ning Que thought of the dark-skinned girl on the Sishui River, whose feet were as white as snow lotuses.
The one who stepped on the light and lived in the dark.
He said, "I am sorry, except for the Academy, even if Li San Niang came back to life, I still can't trust her completely."
Mo Shanshan asked, "Who is Li San Niang?"
Ning Que said, "My mother."
Mo Shanshan said after a moment of silence, "I am sorry."
…
…
(Long Qing also enthusiastically recommended Bean's new book, Ascending Evil. I really don't understand the title of this book. 'Moving Mountains' is so wonderful. I'm guessing that it's about Immortal Ascension and then changing Immortal into something else. Anyway, I'm enthusiastically recommending it. The quality is guaranteed. The book number is 2572738 … Also, Shanshan celebrated her birthday a few days ago. I just happened to stop updating on that day. Haha, there's one more chapter today. Also, I won't be resting tomorrow on Saturday. (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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