Yet the difficulty only piqued his interest.
He truly wanted to see what lay inside the box!
After studying it carefully, Lu Changfeng discovered that the faint, clear cries within the box seemed to have some subtle connection to the Formation Disk's shifting rotations.
He held his breath and focused, listening intently while watching the disk's movements. His mind raced through deductions and calculations, trying to catch the fleeting pattern.
Luo Qingge sat quietly beside him, watching his face in profile as he concentrated. A gentle curve unconsciously touched her lips.
Lu Changfeng's expression grew increasingly solemn. He cautiously tried twice, and understanding gradually flickered in his eyes.
On his third attempt, his fingers finally moved.
As the clear cries waxed and waned, brightened and dimmed, his fingertips deftly shifted the Formation Disk. Each turn landed precisely at a change in the melody, returning the disk's components to their proper positions and altering the cries within the box.
Gradually, the faint cries grew clearer, becoming a melody of exquisite beauty.
At times, it was like a Phoenix Cry across the nine heavens; at others, like a hundred birds paying homage to their sovereign.
The music was both illusory and real, endlessly changing. It seemed to hold some profound truth of heaven and earth, drawing the True Qi of both people in the room into spontaneous circulation.
Luo Qingge could not help holding her breath, while Lu Changfeng braced himself.
With one final, crisp click, the cries abruptly ceased. All the markings of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches returned to their proper positions at once. The outline of a phoenix spreading its wings to take flight appeared on the box's surface, and the lid slowly opened, revealing a lustrous jade ring inscribed with the cultivation method's guiding principles in characters