As for the concept of formations, it can be said to have a long history, with various origins and explanations.

But what is certain is that although formations may not be as miraculous as depicted in TV shows or novels, they do indeed exist.

And the "Seven Stars Linked Pearls" formation that Master Jiu has set up at present is roughly equivalent to a kind of geological exploration device. It may not seem advanced, but it gives an impression of being sophisticated and mysterious.

Master Jiu took out a piece of chalk and began to label the order of the seven pegs. After marking them, he took out a spool of red thread and wound it around each peg from one to seven.

When the threads of the seven pegs were wound together, it appeared like an infrared sensing defense in front of everyone. The threads crisscrossed, and if viewed from a distance, resembled a more three-dimensional star map.

"Aren't you coming out?" Xiao Feng looked at Master Jiu, who was trapped inside the red thread, and asked.

Master Jiu blushed slightly and awkwardly said, "Uh, the problem is I can't get out now, but it's okay. The remaining tasks are simple. I'll teach you how to do them.

First, take those seven pearls over there and string them onto the red lines, one pearl per line. Don't get them wrong."

Xiao Feng immediately felt that this famous Master Jiu might not be a very reliable person. Setting up a formation only to trap himself inside—this was totally untrustworthy.

Moreover, since the pearls had to be strung onto the line, why not do it from the start? Now they had to untie the rope and redo it, wasting extra effort.

However, it soon turned out that Xiao Feng was wrong. The white pearls themselves had a slit, perfectly fitting the red string.

As for how to ensure the lines weren't strung incorrectly, it was actually simple. Just find the peg and string it through the base, making it impossible to go wrong.

Once everything was strung, even before Master Jiu spoke, Qi Xiaoman chimed in, "Aren't you going to chant a spell, set up an altar, or draw a talisman or something?"

Master Jiu reiterated, "You misunderstood. I'm not the kind of Daoist you imagine, who subdues demons."

At this point, even Xiao Feng and Zhao Guo'an could see it. Qi Xiaoman knew a bit of everything, but nothing in depth, like she had read pirated books where 'Journey to the West' could directly segue into 'Dream of the Red Chamber.'

Just then, the seven pearls suddenly trembled and began to move on their respective red lines as if by magic, astonishing everyone.

"Throw the compass over here."

With a call, the compass was handed over. Master Jiu placed it on the ground, keeping it absolutely stable while observing the compass's direction and the pearls' trajectory, sometimes frowning, sometimes clicking his tongue, wearing a worried expression.

"Can I ask what you guys are up to?" Qi Xiaoman looked at Xiao Feng and asked.

With her short hair and baby face, she gave off a protective vibe, completely different from Xiao Yalan's mature aura.

Xiao Feng didn't hide anything and directly said, "Looking for the entrance to the underground chamber."

"You guys...are tomb robbers..."

Before she could finish, Xiao Yalan covered her mouth.

Xiao Yalan hurriedly explained, "We know nothing, and once we leave this room, we'll forget everything that happened here. Please don't misunderstand."

Xiao Feng shrugged; he had thought of saying they were an archaeological team. But coming to work in the middle of the night with such "primitive" equipment—who would believe that?

Qi Xiaoman pried Xiao Yalan's hand away, gave her a disgruntled look, and said, "If you're sure the entrance is under this room, isn't it unnecessary to be so precise? Just dig down indiscriminately."

The atmosphere instantly turned tense. Zhao Guo'an and Xiao Feng looked at Master Jiu, feeling more and more that the old guy was unreliable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten himself trapped in the formation.

However, Master Jiu shook his head and said, "Crossed and chaotic magnetic fields don't indicate the entrance to the underground chamber.

The Dragon-Seeking Ruler malfunctioning and the compass being affected mean there's a wall in front of us, one we can't bypass from any direction.

If we make a wrong move here, every step afterward will be wrong. Finding the right direction in the chaos is the right path."

...

Time passed minute by minute, and half an hour later, Master Jiu was still frowning deeply.

If there was any gain in this half-hour, it was that Master Jiu had filled three whole A4 sheets with writing that appeared as incomprehensible as hieroglyphs to most.

Zhao Guo'an, with some knowledge of classical Chinese studies, could understand a bit but only knew that the papers noted directions, not which ones were correct.

"Still not done?" Xiao Feng was getting impatient.

"Haste makes waste," Master Jiu replied without even lifting his eyelids.

Zhao Guo'an couldn't help but add, "Aren't you an expert? Could it be that your skills have gotten rusty from years of disuse?"

Master Jiu snorted coldly, glaring, "Don't speak nonsense if you don't understand. Do you think this is as simple as eating and drinking?

Let me tell you, finding a tomb is fundamentally different. For tomb robbing, once you determine the main chamber's location, you just dig down from the nearest point to the coffin. But this time, we're looking for an entrance. Can it be the same?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yalan and Qi Xiaoman couldn't help but exchange glances, suddenly feeling like they had fallen into a den of wolves.

Unlike Xiao Yalan's apprehension and nervousness, Qi Xiaoman seemed somewhat scared but exhilarated and eager to try.

She had always liked bizarre stories, so this reaction was quite normal upon witnessing such an event.

At this moment, Zhao Guo'an couldn't hold back anymore. He was about to harshly criticize Master Jiu for his double standards, treating Xiao Feng and himself completely differently. Why was he treated worse?

But before he could act out, Xiao Yalan, standing by the door, tentatively asked, "Can we leave now? Don't worry, we didn't see or hear anything."

Xiao Feng waved his hand, indicating they could go. He had hoped the girl who could understand Master Jiu's formations might offer some new ideas, but it now seemed unlikely.

With confirmation, Xiao Yalan was overjoyed and, not waiting for Qi Xiaoman's response, dragged her out without further ado.

At this point, Master Jiu slowly stood up, hammering his waist with his hand, and sighed, "Things are a bit tricky. Although both are underground, there is an essential difference between chambers and pits.

Geomancy is like Chinese medicine, emphasizing observing, listening, inquiring, and feeling. Observing is certainly not applicable, and the site selection isn't based on Feng Shui.

Listening doesn't have substantial significance, which is why I directly used 'feeling' to find out myself. But for now, the gains are pitiful.

Xiao Feng intuitively understood, "So, you're planning to use 'inquiring' next?"

"Exactly. Find the contact information of workers who have worked on this site and make a list. I'll question them one by one," Master Jiu said.

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