Chapter 236: Nine Places

During those past five years, Wen Shulin had run around Shiwan Mountain and done nothing other than his calculations. However, due to the sheer size of the mountain, it was impossible for him to calculate every inch of it so he had randomly calculated as he pleased. He would occasionally pick up a piece of rock or he would calculate the little fishes in the mountain stream. Sometimes, he would measure the length of the mountain cave.

Five years later, Tian Yin had reappeared once again to collect the over two thousand results which had been calculated by Wen Shulin. Tian Yin’s face abruptly broke into a smile, “You are quite honest! I had checked on you thirty-four times but other than that one occasion when you had scolded me, you had been engrossed in your calculations most of the time. I can see that the items which you have calculated are all included in the result you have given me. Very well done! I was afraid that you might have written something at random to trick me, but you didn’t.”

Wen Shulin thought that his service was finally at an end but he was afraid that Tian Yin would kill him to prevent him from divulging his secrets. He was pondering whether he should plead for mercy but Tian Yin had then brought him to the Changbai Mountains beyond the Great Wall of China…

Wen Shulin was then continuously brought by Tian Yin to all sorts of locations for three decades. He calculated diligently and continuously at each location for one to two years, with the longest being five years.

The locations where Wen Shulin conducted his calculations were either deep in great mountains, in deserted islands overseas, or even on the snowy peak of the highland. He had unintentionally calculated where the small sword Firetail was located when he was in Changbai Mountains but Tian Yin was utterly uninterested. He only laughed gently as he said, “If you like that, then you should turn around and retrieve it.”

There were a few occasions when he had accidentally provoked some local cultivators as he was performing his calculations. However, each time he was threatened, Tian Yin would descend from the sky. To Wen Shulin, those cultivators had possessed profound magic arts but they could not even hold their own against Tian Yin’s little finger before they were reduced to ashes. Later on, in order to ease Wen Shulin’s task so that he would not become involved in any more conflicts with the other cultivators, Tian Yin had taught him a magic spell which could help Wen Shulin conceal his life vitality. At the same time, the spell also helped him to disguise his appearance.

It was at that moment that Wen Leyang understood that Wen Shu Lin’s Art of Disguise had originated from Tian Yin. It makes sense now why Tian Yin possesses the magic spell which could break the Art of Disguise spell which he had then passed to the Rainbow Brothers.

Wen Shulin’s disguise spell had been inherited from Xiang Liu’s host, though it could not be considered profound, it was very useful. Wen Shulin had dispersed his life vitality after that so that he had become virtually undetectable even to top demon immortals like Chang Li or Zhui Zi. However, one should not underestimate the fat monk Shui Jing’s cultivation method or supernatural power as his Art of Spirit-Searching was truly remarkable and was able to forcefully discover Wen Shulin’s whereabouts!

Whether it was the Mountain Sect or the World Sect, rogue cultivators or obscure cultivators, whichever sect’s cultivation method had been inherited for the past millenniums, these cultivation methods could produce miraculous effects in certain situations so no sect or cultivator should be underestimated.

At this moment, Chang Li frowned as she interrupted Wen Shulin, “You have dispersed your life vitality so how can you still cast the magic disguise spell?”

Wen Shulin explained respectfully, “This magic spell has a rather marvelous feature. It will exert one’s life vitality when you first cast it but once it has taken form, it no longer needs one’s life vitality force. After I dispersed my life vitality, my appearance after the disguise spell will never change but once I changed back to my previous appearance, there would be no way for me to change back to Wen Shulin!”

Fourth Elder Wen had kept quiet all along but he now seems to have calmed down from his rage as he suddenly spoke, “You have already revealed yourself and decided that you will no longer hide anymore so why have you not removed the magic disguise spell yet?”

Unexpectedly, Wen Shulin sighed and pleaded towards Fourth Elder Wen, “I’ve worn this mask for so long that I believe that I am Wen Shulin. Though I know for certain that the mask is useless now… But I still don’t dare to remove it…”

Fourth Elder Wen shook his head but he no longer speculated on such a trivial matter as he waved his hand and signaled Wen Shulin to continue his story.

Wen Shulin realized that Tian Yin would frequently return to keep a close watch on him so he dared not procrastinate during the calculation process. He recorded all sort of results honestly and when the time came, he submitted all of it to Tian Yin.

What took place between Wen Shulin and Tian Yin during those three decades were essentially the same and could be simplified into one word – calculate! A slightly more complicated conclusion could be summarized in five words – to calculate everywhere and anywhere!

Chang Li lost her patience as she listened to Wen Shulin’s long-winded chatter. She then waved her hand and interrupted him, “How many places had he brought you to all these years? What were all the locations?”

Wen Shulin stretched out a finger and began to count one by one, “Mingsha Mountain’s Crescent Moon Spring, West Mountain’s Mount Hua, Middle Mountain’s Heng Mountain, Star Reef which is located 450 kilometers in the South China Sea, Lao Mountain at the East China Sea, the Snowy Plains of the Western regions, Changbai Mountains beyond the Great Wall, Shiwan Mountain at Guangxi… And, also… Qilian Mountains!”

Upon saying that, Wen Shulin verified his explanation attentively once again before he nodded strenuously, “There were nine places in total, I’m certain that I’ve not missed any out!”

As Wen Shulin looked at the crowd’s slightly suspicious gaze, it almost seems like he was taking credit for his achievements. He hastily puffed up his chest, “I had not understood it well in the beginning but I was able to figure it out later that Xiang Liu knew that my magic art was incapable of directly predicting the things that he wished for, that was why he had brought me to all these places so that I could calculate whatever that needed to be calculated.”

It was much better for Wen Shulin to have left it at that, the moment he began to explain things in detail, he only made Wen Leyang even more confused.

Wen Shulin sniggered and kept the crowd guessing for another second before he continued, “I will give you an example; millenniums later, when all of Tuo Xie’s disciples have ascended into the heavens as flying immortals and other than the three families’ sites, there were no other clues as to our existence in this world. If someone were to research the origins of the Tuo Xie Sect, how could they even begin the investigation?” Wen Shulin then looked at Wen Leyang with a smile. A moment later, Grand Master Chang Li soundlessly pushed her face in front of Wen Shulin’s face and asked dully, “Who are you directing that question to?”

Wen Shulin was almost startled to death. He sat up straight hastily and said, “Naturally, the researcher would go to the Nine Peaks Mountain first and calculate all the chaos and darkness until they come up with the result of all the big and trivial matters. They will then go to Crow Ridge and the Miao stockade village and calculate there as well before they finally make a comparison of all the results from their calculations. They then select any similar results and weigh in… My explanation ends here… Do you understand me?”

Wen Leyang felt that his thoughts were in a mess. He could barely understand Wen Shulin’s explanation through great effort on his part. He spoke as he pondered, “These nine places were connected because of some matter which was closely related to Xiang Liu. Tian Yin wished to investigate this matter but he could not figure out a good way which was why he had used the foolish method of bringing you to do your calculations in these nine places. He then sifted through the results to look for similarities and compared how these similar results relate to the matter that he was investigating?”

Everyone there exhaled a long breath after listening to Wen Leyang’s convoluted explanation. However, four of them had not bothered to even listen to Wen Leyang’s explanation.

Xiaowu and Ah Dan chuckled maniacally as they watched everyone’s expression fill with puzzlement. Ah Dan would still occasionally wave the silver necklace in his hand persistently at Xiaowu.

Mumu and Wen Xiaoyi’s eyes had remained unwaveringly on Wen Leyang during his explanation. To them, Wen Leyang’s words were like the most pleasant music. As for what he was saying, none of them had paid any attention to that…

Wen Shulin had spent those three decades calculating in those nine places. It was when he had arrived at the final location – Lao Mountain at the East China Sea, that he was met by a setback. Back then, Tian Yin had arranged to meet up with him every three years. However, three years had passed but Tian Yin had not shown up as he had promised. Wen Leyang nodded when he heard this. He guessed that the true soul had been suppressing Tian Yin’s primordial spirit at that time which was the reason why Tian Yin had not been able to rush over then.

At that time, Wen Shulin was very clear on Tian Yin’s thoughts. During the past decades, Tian Yin had never made things difficult for him and other than asking him to calculate by force, they had gotten along pretty well with one another. Wen Shulin had started to shift his intention to flatter Tian Yin in order to live. He calculated non-stop all the time and he dared not procrastinate for even a moment. When it looks like he had some extra time on his hands this time, he arranged the results of his previous calculations and highlighted matters which were similar, identical or related from his thousands and millions of recordings.

At this point, Chang Li, Guo Huan and the Wen, Miao and Luo family elders all sneered in unison. Wen Shulin raised his head and looked at them in slight confusion.

First Uncle Wen Tunhai spoke coldly, “If you had remained unaware of the situation and calculated in a confused manner all the while, your chances of survival would have been higher instead! You wanted to act on your own imagined cleverness; if you truly discovered the pattern and found the identical result, Xiang Liu would certainly kill you to prevent his secrets from being divulged. You really are foolish…” First Uncle Wen Tunhai was halfway through his scolding when he suddenly shut his mouth. Everything he had said was true but Wen Shulin was sitting in front of him in perfect condition right now, not murdered by Tian Yin.

However, there was still a layer of cold sweat on Wen Shulin’s forehead. He hastily nodded and agreed repeatedly that it had been a narrow escape. First Uncle Wen Tunhai then felt happier with Wen Shulin’s current attitude.

During that time when Tian Yin had been absent longer than expected, Wen Shulin had become seriously ill in the sense of his cultivation base. He was an unorthodox obscure cultivator and though his body was stronger and healthier than an ordinary person’s, he was not immune to all diseases. He had been saved by the Sun Dynasty Palace’s Yu Lingzi who had coincidentally traveled to the same place. To repay his debt of gratitude, he told Yu Lingzi about the whereabouts of that small sword Firetail which he had discovered earlier.

In the beginning, Yu Lingzi had not believed him so Wen Shulin calculated a bunch of ‘Three-Character Classics’ based on Yu Lingzi’s destiny numbers. After a few of those predictions had come true later on, Yu Lingzi immediately worshipped him like a god and had rushed back hastily. Wen Shulin had begun to verify his results back then while also continuing his calculations based on these results. He was so focused that he entered into a state of forgetting self and forgetting all until he had accidentally muttered the words ‘big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’ three days later.

Yu Lingzi had not understood what that could mean but he remembered it firmly in his mind. Back then, Yu Lingzi was still a handsome youth who had achieved small success in his cultivation base. He was also Wen Shulin’s savior and the old man could not bear to hurt Yu Lingzi so he used the excuse of ‘God’s design must not be divulged to mortal ears’ in order to threaten Yu Lingzi and to prevent him from revealing it to others. After that Wen Shulin could not stand Yu Lingzi’s constant pestering and he had revealed his selected hideout to Yu Lingzi – the Nine Peaks Mountain.

This course of events after that had been ascertained by the small demon rabbit Bu Le a few months ago. He had reported them back to Tuo Xie’s disciples.

At this point, Wen Shulin did not wait for any further inquiry as he answered in a self-conscious manner, “When I was at the Crescent Moon Spring and Shiwan Mountain, I had not understood Xiang Liu’s purpose and I only figured that out later on. Naturally, I had thought of a way out for myself. When I was doing my calculations, I had added in my own mathematical theories. Though the results were also a mess, as I was calculating on the Snowy Plains of Western regions, Mount Hua and Qilian Mountains, I had successfully calculated the location and name of Nine Peaks Mountain! Heh, I could not tell if it was fated but since I had calculated the whereabouts which were related to me, I should then go there naturally whether I was dead, alive, or decapitated or… nose-less. I had accepted my fate.”

Tian Yin had been delayed for more than a year. When he finally arrived on Mount Hua, Wen Shulin immediately presented the results of his work to Tian Yin like he was presenting a treasure. Tian Yin chuckled and not only did he not kill Wen Shulin, on the contrary, Wen Shulin was offered compensation instead.

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Wen Shulin was a sensible person so he had wished to be able to live in seclusion on a remote mountain and nothing else back then. Surprisingly, Tian Yin had released Wen Shulin just like that and he had never bothered Wen Shulin ever since.

Chang Li nodded gently, “We shall not discuss the purpose of Tian Yin’s investigation yet, the method which he had adopted was troublesome to the utmost extent, no wonder he had let Wen Shulin live…” At this point, Chang Li suddenly revealed a mischievous expression and shut her mouth, refusing to say anything else.

Ever since that incident, Wen Shulin no longer dared to walk the mortal world but lived in seclusion on the Nine Peaks Mountain according to the homeward journey he had calculated for himself. The following decade was spent watching the Red Leaves Forest until the real Wen Shulin had died, which was when he managed to infiltrate into the place.

Wen Shulin had helped Xiang Liu’s true soul to calculate at nine places and had finally arrived at the three words of the ‘big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’. He had not come up with the same three results from every location but these results had overlapped more than the others. Still, the most puzzling thing to him was that there were only these three items here.

Almost all the nine places had been spread all over the east while the three items in the result were incomprehensible.

Wen Shulin seems to be generally done with his story and Chang Li sighed softly out of disappointment. When they heard her gentle sigh, the others could not help but lower their heads, unable to witness her disappointment which had secretly slid to the ground from her face.

They had initially hoped that Wen Shulin could give them a clearer answer but, judging from the situation now, these three items were so vague that they still could not see what they meant. The only certainty they had were the nine places.

Before they had found Wen Shulin, Chang Li and Wen Leyang had secretly hoped to ask this living immortal from the Heaven-Telling Sect to calculate Tuo Xie’s whereabouts. However, based on the situation now, that was would be a fool’s mission.

Guo Huan attempted to stay energized and analyzed the situation to them, “There is still something off about the timing. Wen Shulin and Tian Yin had parted ways at least fifty years ago but Tian Yin had only instructed the World Sect to look for those items ten years ago. What had Tian Yin been up to during that forty-year gap?”

Guo Huan then pondered for a while before he continued to emphasize his question, “I can only think of one reason upon careful consideration why Tian Yin had not killed this old lad, he must have something else for Wen Shulin to calculate but he could not bring Wen Shulin with him this time. Moreover, he had left Wen Shulin alone for forty years…”

Chang Li did not wait for Guo Huan to finish talking as she interrupted impatiently, “Tian Yin only comes out occasionally and he spends most days hiding on the Black and White Island. You’ve been to that place before, for someone like Wen Shulin who now lacks a cultivation base, he would not be able to enter that place at all!” Chang Li then frowned and shook her head gently, “Even if he could not bring Wen Shulin along, it would not be that difficult for Tian Yin to place a prohibition spell on Wen Shulin. There was no point for him to allow Wen Shulin to hide first and then to look for him forty years later…”

Wen Shulin realized that the others were filled with puzzlement and he hastily spoke up to explain in meticulous detail the situation when he and Tian Yin had parted ways back then. Ultimately, Wen Shulin made a steadfast conclusion in the end, “Tian Yin had not seemed to be injured or in a rush back then. He had chatted and laughed like an immortal before he let me go!”

Guo Huan huffed stiffly, “Even if he had been severely injured then, could you tell just by looking at him?”

It was Chang Li who then waved her hand in a very straightforward manner and interrupted their collective contemplation, “After careful consideration, the only scenario I can think of is that Xiang Liu’s true soul had bumped into an enemy back then. After battling with the enemy, it had drawn in Tian Yin’s primordial spirit’s countercharge…”

Wen Leyang, along with Mumu, Wen Xiaoyi, and Ah Dan, all inhaled a cold breath together. Wen Leyang was slightly astonished, “Other than the few of us, who else would be capable of pulling Tian Yin’s leg?”

Chang Li shook her head impatiently, “How do I know who else could have been there! The world is an enormous place, it would not be inconceivable for a few top master cultivators to be hidden away somewhere! We won’t be able to come up with a result just by making wild guesses about this matter so why bother to waste our effort!”

The rest of them nodded. Wen Shulin, however, attempted to flatter himself as he asked probingly, “Therefore, this grand old lady’s intention is that…You still want me to calculate again?”

Chang Li rolled her beautiful eyes and directed her piercing gaze at Wen Shulin’s ears as she asked with a smile, “Can you calculate that?”

Wen Shulin finally understood that he was inviting trouble to himself. His face was filled with fear as he retreated several steps, “It is not that easy to calculate… I will need to… Need to capture Xiang Liu first before I can start my calculations…”

If it had not been for Wen Leyang who had managed to grab onto Chang Li’s wrist in time, Wen Shulin’s ears would certainly be gone by now.

Chang Li raised her arm and looked at the gold bangle which glinted between Wen Leyang’s fingers. She then arched her left eyebrow and made a savage expression, “You will need to compensate me if you were to ruin that!” The gaze that she directed at Wen Leyang was filled with threat but anyone could tell that not only was her mischievous and kind mannerism in this situation harmless, on the contrary, her demeanor was warmer than the sun.

Wen Leyang could still recall that fateful number of ‘one hundred thirty-eight thousand and eight hundred’ as he hastily let go of his hold on her wrist…

After everyone had a good laugh and was more relaxed, Wen Xiaoyi, who had stayed quiet until now, spoke up softly, “There is one other matter which still requires careful consideration… If Xiang Liu had kept Wen Shulin alive, what else would he want Wen Shulin to calculate for him? Could it be some other matter or he was to continue calculating on the ‘big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’…”

Before Wen Xiaoyi’s voice could fade away, Chang Li exclaimed in surprise. She then pulled Wen Xiaoyi into an embrace as she laughed, “This little girl is still the smartest one here!” Upon saying that, her other hand pulled Mumu along as well and she asked them earnestly, “So, who amongst the both of you will be the first and the second hereafter?”

Wen Xiaoyi and Mumu were both stunned at first but they soon reacted to Chang Li’s irrelevant question. Both of their charming faces blushed as red as apples immediately and they stomped their feet and did not know how to answer the question. They grumbled in their heart, wondering how this Grand Master of theirs could just say whatever she pleases and besides, what kind of baseless question was that?!

The two elders of the Luo family and Fourth Elder Wen gazed at one another threateningly; no one was willing to let their own girl be at a disadvantage.

First Uncle Wen Tunhai hastily mediated the situation. He rubbed his palms together as he sniggered, “We are all relatives here so there’s no separation between first and second, they are both first, first!”

Chang Li looked at Wen Xiaoyi before she looked at Mumu again and heaved a sigh of defeat, “I noticed that Wen Xiaoyi was smarter earlier and I had wanted to choose her as the first but now that I’ve taken another look at Mumu, she’s not that bad too…” She hesitated for a moment before she finally spoke sulkily, “I shall not interfere anymore!”

Wen Leyang really wanted to put on a long face as he said to her, “Grandmother, no one had asked you to interfere on this matter, right!”

The three ladies each have their own charm. When they were gathered together, other than the Second Mother, everyone else would pale in comparison. Chang Li had her arms around the two beautiful girls as her hands counted the facts out for them with a smile on her face, “The nine Demon-Executing Heaven’s Cone Nails on the Black and White Island consists of Chaos, Sun, Moon, Star, Metal, Wood, stinky Water, Fire, and Earth!”

After she had counted all the Heaven’s Cone Nails, she then counted the nine places that Wen Shulin had been brought to back then, “The Gold-Consuming Nest at Qilian Mountain, the Wood Spirit of Mount Hua…” As she was talking about this, Chang Li suddenly exclaimed in surprise and turned to look at the jade knife, “Guo Huan, you are the mountain elf, how had you ended up cultivating the Wood Spirit of Mount Hua?”

Guo Huan huffed, “When I was cultivating, where else in the world would be filled with exuberant Earth elemental energy! What’s more, I’m the embodiment of the rock genus so my cultivation would get almost the same effect at any place where there are earth and soil!”

Chang Li nodded and continued, “…Heavenly Water of the Snowy Peak, the vigorous fire of Changbai, the Earth Assembly of the Middle Mountain. These five places were once the locations of the utmost Five Elements! As for the rest of the other places…”

Guo Huan continued Chang Li’s topic of conversation directly, “The Lao Mountain on East China Sea faces the sun and one can watch the sunrise from there; Crescent Moon Spring at Mingsha Mountain reflects the moon at night; Star Reef which is located 450 kilometers in the South China Sea was said to be a star chart! As for the Shiwan Mountain, it was a boundless stretch of wicked earth during the primitive ages. It had been punished continuously by the heavens until millions of years after the Yin and Yang energies of the world had been fixed, the divine punishment had broken its chaos in the end!”

After Tian Yin had captured Wen Shulin, based on the corresponding elements of the nine Heaven’s Cone Nails, he had then traveled to the nine corresponding places one by one.

Wen Leyang laughed grimly, “So, judging by the situation, Xiang Liu’s intention is to still remove the nine Heaven’s Cone Nails?” If the secret of ‘the big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’ was meant to be the method to break the rest of the eight Heaven’s Cone Nails, then it was no longer a significant issue for the lineage of Tuo Xie anymore. The matter of Xiang Liu’s true body struggling free from the rest of the cone nails was bound to happen sooner or later. Even if the Wen family had managed to prevent Xiang Liu from acquiring the ‘big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’, they were only buying some time before the great disaster happened.

The reason why Wen Leyang had searched for the ‘big flat cake, broken gong, and dog’ so diligently was because he was still hoping to discover the secret technique which was capable of suppressing Xiang Liu.

Wen Xiaoyi shook her head unexpectedly, “If you were to attempt to shatter a bowl, would you still be circling around the area of the oven which was used to bake the bowl?” Upon saying that, Wen Xiaoyi felt that her words sounded rather harsh to be spoken to her lover so she hastily smiled at Wen Leyang.

Mumu may appear to resemble a little red chili pepper and was even given the nickname of ‘fierce tigress’ years ago. However, though she appeared fierce and unreasonable in her outlook, in reality, she was not very different from Wen Xiaoyi who was ignorant of worldly affairs. Ever since she had broken the rule of not seeing Wen Leyang before their wedding, her mind had been occupied all along. She does not know what she was thinking in her intelligent mind and she could not even catch up to the other’s train of thought so she had stood next to Wen Xiaoyi piteously.

Ever since they first met in the ancient cave on Zhanyan Peak, Wen Xiaoyi was skilled in supporting and cheering for Chang Li when she was telling her stories. This was why Chang Li favors Wen Xiaoyi more but when Mumu heard Chang Li mention that Wen Xiaoyi was the smarter one and took the gold bangle from her wrist and stuffed it into Wen Xiaoyi’s hand, she had almost cried enviously. Chang Li could not bear to see that so she pointed at First Grandfather, “You, prepare one hundred thirty-eight thousand and eight hundred dollars for Mumu! Pass it to her when we are back in the village later!”

First Elder Wen shivered as he shot a heavy glare at Wen Leyang…

Wen Leyang now realized that Chang Li’s most incisive ability was not her cultivation method but her ability to distract others! The crowd had yet to figure out Xiang Liu’s intention and each person was more anxious than the other. Finally, the cause was still determined to be this Grand Master of theirs. However, their Grand Master was not anxious, instead, she was trying to extort her grandchildren’s money.

Chang Li’s laugh was so pleasant that Xiaowu could not help but laugh along with her. Ah Dan’s mouth too hastily cracked into a smile as he chuckled maniacally.