After bidding farewell to the five leaders of the immortal sects, Emperor Xia heard the call of the Ancestor, asking him to go to the forbidden area for some important matters.

“Ancestor, what’s the matter?” Emperor Xia arrived at the forbidden area and respectfully saluted the Ancestor.

After waiting for a long time without any response from the Ancestor, he secretly lifted his head.

When he raised his head, he saw the Ancestor’s face, which was smiling but not really, and he instinctively retreated a few steps.

“I heard that you just incited Yun Zhi, saying that she should teach me a lesson?”

Emperor Xia was shocked. The palace was enveloped by an immortal array, and only he and Yun Zhi were present. How did the Ancestor know?!

“Nonsense, I set up the immortal array, of course, I can listen to whatever I want!”

“You little brat, I think I didn’t beat you enough when you were young!” The Ancestor reached out his big hand and pinched Emperor Xia into the forbidden area.

“Ancestor, please be gentle, I grew up under your watch, if you hit me, it will hurt your heart!”

“Don’t worry, my heart is as hard as iron!”

Soon, the forbidden area was filled with shrill screams.

No wonder there were rumors in the palace that the forbidden area was suppressing an ominous immortal being, which was often tormented by the array and let out miserable howls.

Of course, some eunuchs and palace ladies speculated that it might be Emperor Xia who was screaming, but such speculation was considered disrespectful and did not spread.

Even if it did spread, people would probably think it was a rumor.

……

“Brother Lu, do you want to learn a new spell? Elder Brother Ji Hongwen wants to teach.” Lu Yang was practicing swordsmanship in a neat white outfit when Man Gu came to find him, along with Meng Jingzhou.

“I was also called by Man Gu.” Meng Jingzhou explained with a smile. Why not learn an extra spell if you can?

“Why would Elder Brother Ji Hongwen think of teaching us spells?” Lu Yang wondered.

Ji Hongwen was the eldest disciple of the fourth elder of the Confucian cultivators, proficient in the art of painting, and his cultivation was comparable to that of Elder Brother Dai Bufan.

“Oh, it’s like this.” Man Gu explained, “I think the battle of Confucian cultivators should be more elegant. Fighting with a big hammer like me is not a normal Confucian move, so I want to learn some elegant spells.”

Lu Yang looked at Man Gu in surprise, amazed.

Could it be that Man Gu was going to break the curse that the Immortal Maiden had placed on the barbarians? That would be cause for celebration.

“Besides, my hammer has been sent to Li Haoran for an upgrade, and I can’t practice hammer techniques for a while, so I might as well find something else to do.”

“Then I found Elder Brother Ji and asked if he could teach me a Confucian spell or two. He said he could, and I asked if I could bring you two along to learn, and he said yes. So, here I am to find you and Brother Meng.”

Lu Yang nodded, “Thanks for that.”

Man Gu quickly said, “Brother Lu, don’t mention it. I’ve learned a lot of principles by following you and Brother Meng. This is just a small favor, asking Elder Brother Ji to teach you while he’s teaching me.”

Meng Jingzhou patted Man Gu on the shoulder, “That’s called taking advantage of the situation.”

“You’re indeed more knowledgeable, Brother Meng.”

Meng Jingzhou: “……”

The three of them arrived at the bamboo forest, where Elder Brother Ji Hongwen was dozing off in the pavilion. As soon as the three of them stepped into the bamboo forest, he woke up.

Lu Yang shook his head, his sleep quality was far worse than that of the Immortal Maiden.

Even now, the Immortal Maiden was still sleeping, sleeping very soundly.

“Are you here?” Elder Brother Ji greeted with a smile.

“Hello, Elder Brother Ji!” The three of them saluted and said in unison.

Elder Brother Ji put on a serious expression, “Man Gu asked me to teach him a Confucian spell, which is fine. However, Confucian spells are traditionally difficult to learn, and you may not be able to master them. You three are all geniuses, and I hope that even if you can’t learn, you won’t be discouraged.”

Man Gu was full of confidence in Lu Yang, “Brother Lu’s talent for spells is far above mine, he will definitely be able to learn!”

Elder Brother Ji shook his head and laughed, thinking that Man Gu’s words were too exaggerated.

Except for the eldest sister, who can guarantee that they will definitely be able to learn a spell?

“The spell I’m going to teach you is called ‘Drawing Ground as Prison’.”

“You should all have heard of this spell. As long as you draw a circle on the ground, you can confine the opponent within the circle. Combined with fierce attack methods, the opponent has nowhere to escape and must bear your attack!”

The three of them brightened their eyes, they didn’t expect it to be this spell. ‘Drawing Ground as Prison’ was quite famous.

Just draw a circle casually, and you can trap the opponent. How elegant, it’s a top-notch immortal technique!

“Let me demonstrate for you.”

Elder Brother Ji extended a finger, used his hand as a brush, and gently drew a circle around Lu Yang and the others. The three of them found themselves blocked by an invisible barrier and could not leave.

Man Gu and Meng Jingzhou tried to break the barrier with brute force, but it was useless.

Lu Yang tried to use the ‘Shrinking Earth’ technique to leave from the ground, but he hit the ground hard and failed.

“Haha, this is ‘Drawing Ground as Prison’.” Elder Brother Ji casually cancelled the circle.

“To learn ‘Drawing Ground as Prison’, you must first be able to draw a circle with your bare hands, and secondly, remember the mantra.”

Elder Brother Ji asked the three of them to draw circles. The circles they drew were crooked and looked like circles formed by several caterpillars.

“Look at what you’ve drawn, it’s like an egg.” Meng Jingzhou mocked Lu Yang.

Lu Yang glanced at what Meng Jingzhou had drawn, “You’re even worse than me, it looks like a tea egg.”

“A tea egg is worth more than your egg.”

“But it’s more troublesome to make.”

The two of them started arguing about something completely unrelated to drawing.

“Practice more, as cultivators, it’s not difficult to control your body to draw.” Elder Brother Ji reminded the three of them, and Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stopped their meaningless argument.

As Elder Brother Ji said, as long as they consciously control their bodies, they can quickly draw circles with their bare hands.

“Next, I’ll teach you a mantra. Listen carefully, you have to remember not only the words but also the tone of each word!”

“Unstoppable force, unanswerable argument……”The three of them listened attentively, striving to remember every word and every tone. After several stumbling attempts, they finally memorized everything.

“Lastly, and most difficultly, you must thoroughly understand the mantra. Only when it naturally transforms into the circulation route of the spiritual power within your body, can you successfully cast the spell!”

Ji Hongwen warned the three of them not to slack off in learning the spell ‘Drawing Ground into Prison’.

Man Gu recited the mantra silently, attempting to cast ‘Drawing Ground into Prison’. He circled around himself again and again, but never succeeded.

Meng Jingzhou was slightly better than Man Gu, probably because he had a better comprehension. After many attempts, he occasionally managed to form a few circles into an invisible cage. However, the success rate was too low, and it certainly couldn’t be used in actual combat now.

“Don’t be anxious. When I first learned this spell, I was at the Golden Elixir stage. Even so, it took me five days to learn it.” Ji Hongwen didn’t want to discourage them. In fact, he had learned it in two days.

“How is Lu Yang doing?”

At this moment, Lu Yang had his eyes closed, repeating the mantra in his mind over and over again. He imagined himself as the creator of the spell, pondering the mindset of the creator when he first invented this spell.

Lu Yang opened his eyes, which were bright and spirited.

“I’ve got it!” Lu Yang was full of confidence, calm and composed, like a martial arts master who had been practicing for fifty years, defeating strong enemies with ease.

Lu Yang’s voice caught the attention of Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu. They stopped practicing to see how Lu Yang was doing.

Could Lu Yang succeed in one go?

Even Man Gu, who thought highly of Brother Lu’s talent in magic, didn’t think Lu Yang could succeed.

At least practice a few more times.

Following the example of Senior Brother Ji, Lu Yang extended his index finger and drew a flawless circle around himself.

“Drawing Ground into Prison!”

Then Lu Yang found the scenery around him changing.

It was dim and silent, with pillars trapping him and thick soil above his head.

This was a dungeon.

Lu Yang: “…So what I learned is Drawing Ground into Dungeon?”

(End of the chapter)