What Was It About Carving a Boat to Find a Sword Again?

Originally, Lanting was used to meditating instead of sleeping at night, but since joining the barbecue restaurant, he has developed the good habit of sleeping at night.

When the four woke up, they felt refreshed and full of energy, thanks in part to the formation set up by Lanting.

"Come on, let's go out and play! I haven't had enough fun yet!" Meng Jingzhou was the most energetic, waking Lu Yang out of bed like a pig being chased.

Lu Yang kicked Meng Jingzhou before reluctantly getting out of bed.

Man Gu went to the market early to buy supplies; he was the first one up.

Man Gu made a pot of dumpling soup, cracked four eggs on it, and added a few drops of sesame oil, filling the entire hall with its aroma.

Lu Yang liked vinegar, so he added a small spoonful to his bowl of dumpling soup. The four of them finished their meal and went out to play feeling refreshed.

The four of them left relatively early, but there were already a large number of tourists on the street. Lu Yang heard that the hostels were already fully booked and many people were choosing to stay in guesthouses.

People's faces were filled with joyful smiles. The children wore the same tofu masks as Lu Yang and held big windmills in their hands, jumping up and down. Their parents held their children's hands, afraid that they would get lost.

"It's as lively as a temple fair here."

"Have you heard? Someone brought a huge creature from the southern part of the continent. It's right by the river. Let's go take a look!" someone excitedly told their companion.

Upon hearing this, Meng Jingzhou couldn't contain his curiosity and led the three of them to the riverbank to see the enormous creature.

The four arrived at the familiar stone bridge, but this time they stood on it. Squad Commander were planted on both sides of the bridge.

Seeing the enormous creature, Meng Jingzhou was somewhat disappointed. "I thought it was something else, but it's just an elephant."

Along the Yinlong River, a place that has always been a gathering place for tourists every year, even more tourists have now come to watch, drawn by the sight of elephants brought from the southern part of the mainland, just to show off.

Lu Yang, needless to say, must have seen elephants. Meng Jingzhou and Lan Ting, from aristocratic Aristocratic Clan, had seen more strange and unusual things since childhood than Lu Yang had ever heard of. Man Gu lived in the wilderness and had even hunted elephants.

Most people don't have the experience of Lu Yang and his companions, who are very interested in animals as large as elephants.

Tourists exclaimed in amazement, "Is this Demon Beast? It's so big, and it has such a long nose and teeth!"

The elephant's owner, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, explained, "It is indeed Demon Beast. The level of Demon Beast is difficult to assess, but it's probably around the sixth level of Qi Refining. However, its size has nothing to do with being Demon Beast; these kinds of creatures are called elephants, and they all grow to this size when they reach adulthood."

The tourist continued to ask, "How much does such a large creature weigh?"

The elephant's owner chuckled, "Who would have known? There's no scale big enough to weigh it."

Another tourist suggested, "Since this place is right next to the river, we can put the elephant on a large boat, mark the spot where it touches the water, and then load the boat with stones or something similar. When the marked spot touches the water again, we can weigh the stones to know how much the elephant weighs."

The elephant's owner, also wanting to know how much his pet weighed, readily agreed.

At the owner's command, the elephant was driven onto the boat. The elephant was too heavy for the boat in the shallow water to carry, so the owner rowed to the middle of the river, took out a knife, and made a cut on the part of the boat that touched the water.

Just as its owner was about to swim back, the elephant inadvertently looked up and saw the Man Gu, and was immediately startled.

Demon Beast are most sensitive to auras. Ancient Barbarian Tribe often hunted elephants in the wilderness. This fierce killing aura flowed in their blood. Although elephants did not understand its meaning, they felt a chill in their hearts when they saw Man Gu. This was due to the suppression of their bloodline.

The elephant panicked and fell into the water with a splash, sinking straight to the bottom.

People on the shore cried out in alarm, urging the elephant owner to rush to the rescue. Unexpectedly, the owner calmly marked the spot where the elephant had fallen into the water, saying, "This is where the elephant fell in."

The people on the shore were puzzled, and the elephant owner didn't explain. But as they neared the shore, the owner pointed to the mark and explained, "My elephant fell in right here, and it's still here!"

Everyone burst into laughter, thinking he was joking. But then the river churned, a whirlpool appeared, and the elephant really did flap its two big ears and fly out from under the mark.

Dumbo, a specialty of southern China.

Man Gu witnessed this scene, his brows furrowing, then he suddenly realized, pounding his palm and saying, "I remember now, I learned this idiom in class, it's called 'carving a mark on a boat to find an image'!"

He now has a profound understanding of this idiom.

Lu Yang: "..."

What the hell did you learn in class?

Meng Jingzhou laughed and said, "I still remember when we found the first Reversal of Lifespan Talisman under the bridge. I was really shocked when I found out that there was such a thing as a Reversal of Lifespan Talisman. Luckily, we had already reported the person who found it."

Lu Yang was about to joke along with Meng Jingzhou when he suddenly saw the Squad Commander in front of him. His smile faded, and as if remembering something, he pulled the Squad Commander down, frowned, and examined it carefully in the sunlight.

When Lu Yang saw the Squad Commander in the sunlight, a chill ran down his spine.

"What's wrong?" Meng Jingzhou noticed Lu Yang's expression. He waited a long time for Lu Yang's teasing response before realizing Lu Yang's unusual behavior.

Lu Yang's expression was solemn as he pointed to the faintly visible pattern on the Squad Commander and asked, "Look at the pattern, what does it look like?"

"A Reversal of Lifespan Talisman?!" Lan Ting was the first to react, as she was most familiar with this pattern.

Meng Jingzhou's eyes widened. The pattern on the Squad Commander was very faint and could not be seen at all unless held up to the sunlight. Even if it could be seen, tourists would only think it was a Spring Festival specialty. How many people would know the pattern of the Reverse Longevity Talisman?

"Don't panic, the Reverse Lifespan Formation might not be completed yet!" Meng Jingzhou convinced himself not to falter.

Lu Yang calmly analyzed, "That's impossible. Don't forget, these aren't just one or two Squad Commander; the entire Yanjiang Prefecture is covered in them!"

The Squad Commander bearing the inverted lifespan symbol was hidden among ordinary Squad Commander —who would have guessed?!

Lu Yang continued, "In other words, the Reverse Lifespan Array is complete, clearly displayed before everyone, but no one has noticed!"

"Why didn't the Reverse Lifespan Formation activate?" Meng Jingzhou recalled the conditions for activating the Reverse Lifespan Formation: in addition to using Reverse Lifespan Talismans to form the Reverse Lifespan Formation, blood sacrifice was also required.

Anyone who dares to set up a Reverse Lifespan Formation can easily kill several people. What is he waiting for?

Lu Yang said coldly, "He's waiting for someone. There aren't enough people to gather for the Spring Festival yet, and there's still a steady stream of people heading to Yanjiang County!"

The Reverse Lifespan Array plunders the lifespan of mortals and converts it into the cultivation of the person who sets up the array. The more mortals are plundered, the greater the boost to the cultivator's cultivation!

Meng Jingzhou also remembered. "According to custom, on the night of the second day of the Spring Festival, people gather in the streets to sing and dance, and hold banquets and song festivals by the river!"

Today is the second day of the Spring Festival harvest.