Chapter 293: A Loophole?
Xingnong walked in the darkness, concentrating on her research, with Chu Tiankuo following behind her, protecting her.
The further they went in, the darker the surroundings became.
There were too many people following behind, and Chu Tiankuo was worried, so all his attention was focused on the people behind, lest someone take the opportunity to hurt her.
A voice rose from behind Old Master Guo: “This formation has a snake pit. When I first broke through the formation, I fell into the snake pit. There were hundreds of venomous snakes inside. It almost scared me to death! It made me afraid to come in for half a year!”
Old Master Xu: “Fortunately, I accidentally entered the tiger’s den.”
Old Master Tang: “I entered the spider’s cave! Those spiders were as big as cicadas! When I came out, I was covered in cobwebs! It took me half a day to wash them off!”
Old Master Xu: “I was almost knocked unconscious by a big black bear.”
“There’s also an ant nest! Heavens, the ants are densely packed, it makes one’s scalp tingle!”
“What’s an ant nest? A scorpion nest is truly terrifying.”
“A wasp nest is even more terrifying.”
The ten formation master judges were talking about their experiences of breaking through the formation.
Princess Shengping was breaking through the formation for the first time. She was most afraid of snakes, so she asked: “Master, where did you encounter the snake pit? We must avoid it later!”
Old Master Guo waved his hand: “The first time I came, I fell into the snake pit after just a few steps! This is an ancient formation. Every time I come, it’s different. I don’t know where the snake pit is now. As for your master, I haven’t even broken through the previous formation. I only come to this formation occasionally to try and break through, but I haven’t figured it out yet.”
Old Master Xu: “That’s right. The first time I came, I encountered a tiger as soon as I stepped in. The second time, I encountered a group of monkeys, and they almost stripped me naked! The third time, I encountered a snake pit. Those slippery things are indeed frightening.”
“That’s right, if ancient formations were so easy to remember, they wouldn’t be ancient formations! I’ve broken through hundreds of times and haven’t found where that scorpion nest is! Every time I come in, I bring medicine, planning to poison those scorpions to death!”
“Haha, I also brought medicine!”
“As it happens, I also brought some!”
“Haha.”
At this moment, Xingnong’s voice rang out: “The snake pit is here.”
The laughter and chatter around them stopped abruptly, and everyone gathered around. They saw a rectangular pit, densely packed with long snakes flicking their tongues and crawling around. Many people felt their scalps tingle after just one glance!
Princess Shengping didn’t dare to look.
“Tsk tsk, these things seem to be getting more and more numerous!” Old Master Guo said.
Zhao Luran was quite bold. She looked at the snakes and asked with slight surprise: “Are they real snakes?”
After speaking, she gave Xingnong a subtle glance.
Old Master Guo: “Of course not, it’s just an illusion. Otherwise, who would dare to break through this ghostly formation?”
“These ancient formations are for students to learn from; there won’t be any real danger.”
“That’s true.” Zhao Luran’s eyes flashed with a hint of contemplation, but it was too dark for anyone to see.
Chu Tiankuo glanced at her and then looked away.
Xingnong looked around and then withdrew her gaze: “Let’s go!”
Everyone’s hearts tightened at her words, and they quickly followed.
In a few steps, Xingnong successfully avoided the snake pit and continued forward.
Old Master Guo couldn’t help but say: “Princess Xingnong’s strength truly makes me admire her!”
Even if he came in again, he couldn’t guarantee that he could avoid falling into the snake pit, but Xingnong not only avoided it but also brought them in for a look, and then easily led them out in a few steps!
Shen Hanyu: “Doesn’t Old Master Guo know? My imperial sister breaking through formations is like walking in her own backyard! There’s no formation that can stump her!”
“Haha, the Third Prince is right!”
Princess Shengping pursed her lips. She only knew where a snake pit was! If she was so capable, why didn’t she take them to see all the tiger dens, spider caves, and so on!
✿✿✿
Thinking of this, an idea came to Princess Shengping. She smiled and said: “Everyone says that Princess Xingnong breaking through formations before was like strolling through her own backyard. I was in the competition at the time, so I didn’t get to see it! Could Princess Xingnong take us to see this formation? That way, when we come to break through it in the future, our chances of success will be greater!”
Hmph, she didn’t believe Xingnong could take them to see the entire ancient formation. Princess Shengping had also heard that Xingnong relied on intuition the first time she broke through the formation. Many formation masters with extraordinary talent have a kind of intuition when breaking through formations. She herself had relied on intuition to successfully overcome difficulties in formations many times.
Therefore, being able to break through a formation successfully didn’t mean that one was truly familiar with it.
Zhao Luran also chimed in: “Princess Changle’s suggestion is good!”
Xingnong didn’t say anything, which was taken as tacit agreement.
She had planned to properly explore this entire formation anyway.
Xingnong led the group around a corner, and a tiger’s roar shook the ground!
Everyone’s hearts tightened.
Xingnong stood outside the tiger’s den: “This is the tiger’s den.”
She even playfully patted the tiger’s head as it poked out, pushing it back in.
The tiger had probably never been teased like this before. It was stunned for a moment, then roared even louder, wanting to pounce out. However, there was a barrier, and as long as one didn’t accidentally step over the line, one wouldn’t fall in.
Old Master Xu: “. . .”
As soon as one touched this tiger, it counted as failing the formation, and one would be sent out. How did Princess Xingnong manage to even tease the tiger?
Someone voiced the thought in Old Master Xu’s mind.
Xingnong: “The design of this formation has a slight loophole here. Standing where I am, and patting the tiger’s head when it first appears, is fine. You can all try it!”
Everyone: “. . .”
An ancient formation had a loophole?
And she had discovered it on her first attempt to break through the formation!
Princess Shengping rolled her eyes inwardly. “Princess Xingnong is truly amazing!”
There was nothing wrong with her tone, so no one could detect her disdain.
“Princess Xingnong, could it be that you designed this formation in your previous life?” Old Master Xu asked.
Xingnong shook her head: “No, I wasn’t in this line of work in my previous life.”
Everyone: “. . .”
Why did this answer sound so strange?
It was as if she knew what she did in her past life!
Old Master Guo stepped forward and tried patting the tiger. As expected, he wasn’t sent out of the formation: “I must say, this tiger’s fur feels really good, just like the real thing!”
Hearing this, the others also stepped forward and tried it.
Princess Shengping didn’t believe in her heart that Xingnong could find a loophole in an ancient formation. Besides, this might not even be a loophole! She said: “Princess Xingnong can see this loophole at a glance. Does that mean you can also fix this loophole? ”
Zhao Luran smiled and added: “Princess Xingnong’s formations are magical, like ancient formations. Surely you can do it! Princess Xingnong, why don’t you try it and let us all witness it!”
Everyone looked at Xingnong.
They also wanted to know if Xingnong could actually fix this loophole.
Xingnong said calmly: “It’s not good to casually alter an ancient formation. After all, this loophole is nothing major and doesn’t affect the formation.”
Shen Hanyu immediately added: “That’s right, this is an ancient formation passed down through generations. How can it be altered!”
Princess Shengping smiled: “You’re right, I misspoke. If you accidentally fail, the loss would be too great! Princess Xingnong, let’s continue our tour!”
Hehe, so a loophole?
She probably deliberately pointed it out to boast about herself!
