"What is this?"
Ling Qian lowered her head curiously, and in front of her were several black stones on the table.
"I picked them up at the place where that strange giant passed by, they may have fallen from the giant's body. Do you see anything special about them?"
I replied casually. Ling Qian reached out to pick up one of the stones, looked at it closely, and found that the surface of the stone was very smooth, it did not appear transparent or have any special characteristics when held up to the sunlight.
"I can't see anything special..." Ling Qian shook her head. Just then, Fatty picked up a water glass from the table and, as he was talking, placed the glass on the table. Unexpectedly, as soon as the glass landed, the black stone instantly adhered to the surface of the glass!
With a crisp sound of "clink", both Fatty and I were shocked.
The fat man used an iron water cup with a white porcelain surface. I immediately brought the water cup over and gently separated the black stones, feeling a faint attraction with my fingertips.
"This is a magnet!" I exclaimed, while trying the other black stones with the water cup, unsurprisingly, all the black stones had magnetism, each one was a magnet!
"Could the giant be completely formed by magnets?" the fat man scratched his head and asked. Neither I nor Ling Qian were able to provide an answer, and there was no similar record in "Mountain Wild Tales". This discovery made the originally mysterious giant even more enigmatic.
"Regardless, we still need to find a way to catch this giant. But with our current abilities, it's probably very difficult for the three of us to catch him..." Ling Qian's statement wasn't to deflate our morale, she was just stating the fact that the fat man and I didn't have much capability.
"If we can't subdue it with force, then we'll have to use our wits. If this giant is really formed by magnetism, I think we can use some tricks to deal with it," I suggested.
While the three of us were discussing, suddenly there was a commotion outside. I quickly walked to the window to look outside, and in the distance, I saw Qin Qianqiu and three young men performing a strange ritual in the center of the village. Ling Qian walked up to me and also looked outside, saying, "He is using the art of walking through the earth to determine the locations of earth beasts and monsters."
"What is the art of walking through the earth?" the fat man asked in confusion.
"The so-called art of walking through the earth is, in simple terms, a simplified version of the art of the Eight Diagrams compass, or a branch. By sending one's qi into the ground and following the terrain according to the meridians, one can ascertain the positions of earth beasts and monsters. As earth beasts and monsters move between the earth, they leave their qi underground. Based on this qi, their positions can be determined," Ling Qian explained professionally. After listening, I pondered for a moment and asked, "Is the accuracy high?"
"It depends on the practitioner's level of cultivation; the deeper the cultivation, the higher the accuracy," she replied.
As we were talking, in the center of the village, three young men brought in several tables, arranged them in a circle, and Qin Qianqiu stood in the center of this circle of tables. A strange pattern was embroidered on the cloth on each table - some had mountains, water, and trees, some depicted wild animals, while others showed monsters and demons. There was a bowl of water above each piece of cloth. Qin Qianqiu first lit an incense, then bowed in the four directions, and finally sat down cross-legged.
It seemed like the three young men were there to assist him, urging the surrounding crowd to step back. After sitting down, Qin Qianqiu muttered some words, with his left palm placed flat in front of him and his right hand making a strange gesture. It all seemed quite mystical to us.
The fat man and I couldn't see much significance, we just waited for about seven or eight minutes, and suddenly one of the bowls on one of the cloths started to tremble slightly, with the water inside swaying.
I looked closely and saw that the red cloth embroidered with monsters under the bowl of water was shaking. I turned and asked, "The water in the bowl on this red cloth with monsters is moving, what does that mean?"
"This indicates that Qin Qianqiu's qi has captured the presence of monsters around us. The more forcefully the water in the bowl shakes, the more dangerous the monster is. I think the degree of shaking of that bowl of water indicates that there is only a small ghost lurking nearby, not our target," Ling Qian explained. Just as she finished speaking, the water in the bowl gradually quieted down, apparently, Qin Qianqiu's qi hadn't lingered on the small ghost for long.
"If we let him continue to search like this, he might find the mysterious giant before us. Haven't you practiced the 'Wudang Five Elements Technique'? Can you disturb his qi?" Ling Qian turned to me and asked. I was momentarily stunned. Although I had been practicing the 'Wudang Five Elements Technique' for more than a month, I was still far from proficient, and I probably hadn't even reached the level of an entry-level disciple. Qin Qianqiu was also a well-known figure in the circle, my level of cultivation was nothing in front of him.
But on second thought, I had just staunchly declared that I was determined to participate, how could I shrink back now when I was needed? So, I reluctantly nodded and said, "I can try. Fat man, get me a bowl of water and then find a bundle of straw. It would be even better if you can get an egg."
These things were ready in no time. I tied the straw with a black twine and then directly lit it with a lighter. The straw didn't burn too quickly, but the flame was strong.
The 'Wudang Five Elements Technique' itself is a practice that studies the body and external qi. In simple terms, the human body contains qi, and it is stronger in some people than in others. If someone's qi is strong, they can communicate with the qi of nature and control the five elements, manipulating the power of water and fire.
Naturally, I hadn't cultivated to that level, and whether I would be able to reach that level in the future was also unknown.
The left hand held burning straw, and the index and middle fingers of the right hand pointed at the water. "Wudang Five Elements Gong" doesn't need a chant. After having a strong qi, it will naturally be able to control it freely. My fingers touched the water in the bowl, and the ripples on the water gradually calmed down.
"What is he doing?" The fat guy asked strangely.
"He is adjusting his qi. If the inner qi of the body can reach the level of releasing the technique, then there will be obvious changes in the flames in the left hand and the water surface in the right hand. I heard from the senior masters of my sect that beginners, at the beginning of communicating with the outside world, are not sure if they can be accepted by the qi of nature, so they would use this method to visually verify."
At this moment, with my eyes closed, the old man once warned me to have a calm mind when casting spells, because the mentality would affect the flow of qi in the body. Being too nervous would weaken the body's qi. Closing my eyes, if I could see obvious ripples of light and flow, it means the qi in my body is flowing.
But I waited for a few minutes, and besides the chaotic light that my eyes could sense, I saw nothing.
At that moment, the fat guy suddenly said, "Qin Qianqiu seems to have sensed something big."
Qin Qianqiu, who had set up a formation outside the village, was standing at one side of a red cloth, representing the earth-beast. The water bowl shook violently, and even the water in the bowl started to splash out.
Qin Qianqiu showed a cold smile and said in a low voice, "I've found you."
"Oh no, Qin Qianqiu has found something. Baxiaoshan, quick!" Lingqian urged, but the more she urged me, the more anxious I became, and the flow of qi inside my body became more chaotic. I had just felt the flow of qi in my body, but when she called out, the qi became completely chaotic. I couldn't see anything in front of me...
"Stop."
Qin Qianqiu raised his right hand, and one of the three young men went to the shaking water bowl, opened a piece of paper, and pressed it on the water bowl. After a while, he lifted it, and the water stain on the paper looked like a topographic map!
I pressed my lips tightly, knowing that at this moment, I couldn't be disturbed by the outside world. Following the methods written in the book, I mobilized the five elements of qi in my body, but this feeling was mysterious and erratic.
Take a deep breath, the old man said, when the sensation is weak, if you put yourself in a state of emptiness, you may directly appeal to the qi of heaven and earth.
The state of emptiness is, being thoughtless and mindless, as if confused and lost.
At this time, the young man outside kept printing four or five pieces of paper, and Qin Qianqiu had started to finish his technique. After a while, he smiled, opened his eyes, and said, "Have you all made a record?"
The young man nodded hurriedly, and Qin Qianqiu laughed and intentionally shouted in the direction of Lingqian and the fat guy, "Your cultivation is still shallow, I'll take this single business."
Lingqian's face turned slightly, sighing unhappily, "Indeed, we can't rely on you two!"
The fat guy wanted to retort, but couldn't speak, and as he turned around he was about to call me, but when he looked in my direction, he immediately showed surprise, patting Lingqian and said, "You have to see this!"