Chapter 380: Chapter 380

"Of course!" Xu Hao gestured for them to proceed, and the old and the young walked down together.

The water here was incredibly clear; one could see to the gravelly riverbed roughly ten feet deep, where small fish darted about, creating a delightful and pleasant sight.

Master Xing Yi and Xu Hao, with their strong, quick steps and sharp observational skills, surveyed the entire river in less than fifteen minutes.

After returning, Master Xing Yi pondered for a long while before saying, "I must be honest with you, Xu Xiao You, I find no issues with the water in the river. It's a typical example of Enclosing Water, but I have a nagging feeling that something is not quite right."

Xu Hao smiled and said, "Master Xing Yi is correct; the flow of this water is convex on the outside, concave on the inside, and the river flows in a ring shape, a classic example of Enclosing Water. People have even given it a name, 'Jade Belt Around the Waist'. Generally, such water is auspicious, but there is one type of Enclosing Water, known as Ruthless Encircling Water, and this water is extremely ominous!" Find this chapter's source on *.

"Ruthless Encircling Water!" Master Xing Yi suddenly seemed to recall something and exclaimed in shock, "Could it be that this is Ruthless Encircling Water? But there are both mountains and water here, maintaining the balance between Yin and Yang in the landscape."

Xu Hao smiled and said, "In Enclosing Water, the concave areas are Rui Water, and the convex areas are of an unfavorable shape. Rui water is auspicious, while the unfavorable shape is inauspicious—it's almost become a universally accepted rule. However, when examining water, we must also pay attention to one more aspect, which is the precise locations where it emerges."

Xu Hao pointed with his finger and instantaneously marked eight spots on the hard concrete ground, saying, "These are the places where the water of this man-made river emerges. Clearly, it's all spring water gushing out from underground. But, Master Xing Yi, have you noticed anything improper about these eight points?"

By then, the crowd had surrounded them and listened intently as Xu Hao and Master Xing Yi spoke.

Master Xing Yi nodded slightly to indicate that the eight spots Xu Hao pointed out were indeed where the springs emerged. He crouched down solemnly, waving his horsetail whisk swiftly over the eight points with such speed that it dazzled onlookers.

Quickly marked eight spots on the hard concrete ground

Soon, despite his near Middle Phase Grandmaster Level cultivation, Master Xing Yi became so tired that he started sweating.

After five minutes, right when Master Xing Yi touched the last spot in the center, eight streams of black Evil Qi rose from the points and converged in the middle, exploding with a loud bang!

The sudden blast of Evil Qi blew a hole in the ground the size of a bowl!

At the same time, Xu Hao, who seemed to have been prepared, waved his hand, deflecting all the flying gravel to the ground, ensuring no one was hurt.

Master Xing Yi suddenly collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, and said, "Who could be so malicious to do this?"

Li Chenggong quickly asked, "What's wrong, Master Xing Yi?"

Xu Hao gently patted Master Xing Yi on the back, who then exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "The locations of these eight springs coincidentally form the Reverse Heaven Eight Trigrams array, and it's been very well concealed. I spent a great deal of effort in my deduction and nearly exhausted thirty percent of my cultivation to come to this conclusion. Whoever set up this formation must be far more powerful than me!"

Li Chenggong instantly realized that Master Xing Yi was exhausted from his intensive deduction, but was shocked that someone had arranged the Reverse Heaven Eight Trigrams!

He quickly said, "I've heard of this ominous Reverse Heaven Eight Trigrams. It is said that those who spend even a slightly extended period in such a layout will suffer irreparable damage to their body. But such a Reverse Heaven Eight Trigrams array must be extremely difficult to set up, right?"

Master Xing Yi looked at Xu Hao in utter shock and said, "Indeed! Without at least Grandmaster Level strength and profound mastery in the art of formations, it is absolutely impossible to lay out such an array. I had to struggle to deduce that this was a Reverse Heaven Eight Trigrams, but Xu Xiao You saw through it instantly. Xu Xiao You's mastery in the art of formations far exceeds mine!"

Li Chenggong, too, was astounded. Xu Hao's demonstrated knowledge of formations was incredibly profound!

To think someone in their twenties could surpass Master Xing Yi in knowledge of formations—if not seen with his own eyes, who would believe it?

Xu Hao smiled and said, "It was just luck. I only studied formations a little and can't claim to have a deep understanding. I just know a bit, that's all."

Xu Hao felt that his journey in the art of formations was long and had much more to cover. The study of formations was vast and complex, not something that could be thoroughly understood in a few short months; it was a subject one could spend a lifetime exploring.

"If you only claim to know a bit, Xu Xiao You, then that would be much too modest. If that were true, what would it say about us, who've lived for so long? We would be completely outshone!" Master Xing Yi said with a wry smile.

Suddenly, Li Chenggong said, "Xu Xiao You, since you were able to accept Medicine King Lei as your named disciple, why not take me on as a named disciple as well?"

"What? Medicine King Lei is Xu Xiao You's named disciple?!"

Master Xing Yi was incredibly shocked. Even from Hongkong, he had heard of Medicine King Lei's reputation. But now, to suddenly hear that he was Xu Hao's named disciple—how could Master Xing Yi believe it?

The age of Medicine King Lei was very close to his own!