"If we take the highway directly and drive a bit faster, it's about four more hours of driving!" said the driver in the front.
"Four more hours..." The Great Elder looked at the ti; it's only a little past nine in the evening. Four more hours ans they could reach Chatiang Peak around one in the morning. By the ti they arrive at Chatiang Peak, it will still be the middle of the night and still a half-moon night, with the Gold Silk Armor still able to guide the direction. They would have a few hours left before daybreak, which should be quite convenient for them to find the Tomb of the Ghost Valley Master.
"Alright then, let's head straight for Chatiang Peak!" The Great Elder waved his hand and said, "If all goes well, we should be able to find the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master tonight!"
Everyone else also wore expressions of excitent. Finding the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master would indeed be a great achievent, so naturally, everyone's emotions were exceptionally excited.
Without any hesitation, they got onto the highway directly, and the Great Elder, sitting in the back, quietly sent a ssage on his phone. The Seventh Elder noticed the Great Elder's action, but he didn't know what the Great Elder had arranged, so he secretly remained vigilant. At the sa ti, he discreetly adjusted his clothes, hiding a locator and a bug on him. Everything they said earlier had already been transmitted to the Wanyan Family. By now, the people from the Wanyan Family should head to Chatiang Peak to prepare for the next steps.
Ye Qing and his group followed behind, unaware of what was happening in the vehicle ahead. However, he had already received a ssage saying that the group of Japanese ninjas had hit the highway and suddenly increased their speed. This made Ye Qing a bit perplexed, not knowing what had happened. But he figured the ninjas must have made so new discovery, so without hesitation, he imdiately followed onto the highway, pursuing at a higher speed. Since there were frequent updates on the locator, tracking them was easy and there was no worry of losing them.
After driving for over four hours, they unexpectedly arrived inside the boundaries of Pingnan Province, which was Ye Qing's hotown. However, Ye Qing wasn't very familiar with the southern region of Pingnan Province, and he had never been to Xi Yuan County before, so he was not familiar at all with this place.
Learning that the Japanese ninjas exited the highway in Xi Yuan County, Ye Qing decided to exit at the highway before Xi Yuan County, proceeding leisurely towards Xi Yuan County. This way, the people from the Church could go ahead, and even if the Japanese ninjas did set up a trap, it would be the people from the Church who fell into it first. Moreover, Ye Qing also wanted to observe if the people from the Wanyan Family had arrived.
The highway exit before Xi Yuan County was only about 30 kiloters away from Xi Yuan County. However, after exiting the highway, covering that small distance took more than half an hour, which was exactly the ti Ye Qing wanted. Anyway, with soone tracking, he wasn't worried about losing them, so following slowly behind was just perfect.
But in fact, nothing went as Ye Qing had thought. Although he delayed for half an hour, the Japanese ninjas, without pausing, went straight to Chatiang Peak after reaching Xi Yuan County. This ant that there hadn't been any conflict between the Japanese ninjas and the people from the Church!
However, since the Church people were following closely, Ye Qing didn't worry too much. Even if the Japanese ninjas opened the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, the people from the Church would have to fight with them for entry. It wouldn't be so easy for either side to get into the tomb quickly, so Ye Qing would still have ti to catch up.
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Chatiang Peak is located north of Xi Yuan County, about 20 kiloters from the county, surrounded by mountains, with Chatiang Peak in the very center of this mountain range.
Chatiang Peak is quite famous in Xi Yuan County. This is because the mountain looks very peculiar, like a stone pillar thrust into the ground, straight into the sky. Additionally, Chatiang Peak has a very high elevation, approximately more than 4,000 ters high, making it a rare high-altitude place in Pingnan Province, hence the na Chatiang Peak.
After arriving in Xi Yuan County, the Japanese ninjas headed straight for Chatiang Peak. The direction indicated by the Gold Silk Armor was also exactly towards Chatiang Peak, reinforcing the Great Elder's belief that the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master must be hidden within Chatiang Peak.
Thinking that they were about to obtain the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, everyone was filled with excitent, especially the Great Elder, who couldn't help but smile. For the sake of the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, the Iga-ryu had expended countless efforts, and finally seeing results this ti, how could he not be excited?
The vehicle drove a distance along the mountain road, but eventually, due to the overly rugged terrain, they couldn't proceed any further and had to get out of the car. They took the fad instrunts from the car behind them and started proceeding towards Chatiang Peak on foot.
The surroundings of Chatiang Peak, due to the endless mountains, were extrely undeveloped, and the mountain itself had many wild beasts, so the area remained in a very primitive state. There were many wild beasts in the forest, but to the Japanese ninjas, these beasts were negligible. However, carrying over a dozen fad instrunts each was a bit troubleso.
The Great Elder, with Wen'er, led the way upfront, with the Gold Silk Armor still floating in the air, its sleeves pointing out the direction. Following the direction indicated by the sleeves, they trekked through mountains and ridges, taking them over two hours to finally overco the mountains and reach Chatiang Peak.
As described earlier, Chatiang Peak looks like a stone pillar thrust into the ground. There's no road on the mountain; in fact, this mountain is unclimbable since it's surrounded by vertical cliffs. Who could possibly climb up?
Luckily, most of these ninjas are peak masters with excellent light body skills, so rock climbing was not a problem for them. Following the direction indicated by the Gold Silk Armor, they climbed the cliff. After ascending about over a thousand ters, they finally got past the wall and found a sowhat flatter path along the mountain they could take.
Upon reaching the mountain road, the sleeves of the Gold Silk Armor gradually lowered, as if no longer guiding the way. The Great Elder took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Everyone be alert, the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master must be up here on this mountain. Watch your step carefully as you walk, as the tomb could be underfoot, sowhere around here!"
Everyone nodded in agreent, following the Great Elder, and slowly made their way along the mountain road, beginning the search on Chatiang Peak for the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master.
Just after leaving, the Church's party climbed up behind them. Led by the Great Lord, there were six or seven people following, none of whom seed weak and all were undoubtedly peak masters.
"They've slowed down, everyone be cautious." The Great Lord, walking upfront, whispered, "The Tomb of Ghost Valley Master is likely here, which is why they've slowed their search. We'll tail them carefully, but make sure not to alert them. Let them open the tomb first, otherwise, even if we get our hands on the Gold Silk Armor, it's of no use!"
The rest remained silent, acknowledging the Great Lord's words. As this was a critical mission to seize the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, no one dared to slack off in the slightest.
While all these individuals were searching on the mountain, Ye Qing and Fu Qingping had just managed to arrive at the foot of Chatiang Peak. Since they left the highway earlier, they arrived a bit later. However, Ye Qing wasn't worried at all, as the movent of the Japanese ninjas indicated that they hadn't found the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master yet.
Looking up at the towering Chatiang Peak, Ye Qing said, "This mountain looks quite strange."
Fu Qingping, also looking up at Chatiang Peak, seed slightly amazed as if he had noticed sothing curious.
"This mountain is arranged in the position of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams!" Fu Qingping said softly.
"Oh?" Ye Qing, surprised, glanced at Chatiang Peak. "It's just a mountain, how could it be arranged in the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation?"
Seeing Ye Qing's confusion, Fu Qingping pointed to the sky and said, "Look closely at the stars."
"Stars?" Ye Qing was puzzled by Fu Qingping's words, but still, he followed Fu Qingping's pointing direction towards the distant horizon.
On this half-moon night, with a sky full of stars, tonight was also a clear and fine weather.
With Chatiang Peak being extrely high, from the ground, it seems to pierce the heavens. As for the peak, it seems to sit in the sa realm as the myriad of stars above. Around the mountain peak, there were many stars, but Fu Qingping didn't specify which ones to focus on. But gazing at these stars from afar, Ye Qing suddenly felt a peculiar sense of familiarity, as if he'd seen them sowhere before. Especially several stars among them, aligned with the peak of Chatiang Peak, appeared particularly mystical and extraordinarily strange.
"These stars…" Ye Qing looked at Fu Qingping in surprise and whispered, "Could it be these stars, along with Chatiang Peak, form the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation?"
"Your perception is keen!" Fu Qingping nodded slowly, "Indeed, these stars and Chatiang Peak together form the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation. It seems this mountain was arranged by a master, employing the myriad of stars to construct the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation. If the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master is within this mountain, it wouldn't be surprising!"
Ye Qing was quite astounded. He had studied the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation a bit since he had obtained the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper Stepping Technique from the Seven-Star Ancient Sword. According to Shen Tianjun, the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper Stepping Technique was a comprehensive combination of all the Taoist Sect's formations gathered by Guiguzi, offering extraordinary power. Mastering the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper Stepping Technique was equivalent to thoroughly understanding other Dao formations.
Of course, Ye Qing couldn't fully comprehend other formations, but by often practicing the Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper Formation, he gained so understanding of other Taoist formations. However, the existence of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation, ford by the combination of Chatiang Peak and the sky full of stars, indeed exceeded Ye Qing's expectations!
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