Chapter 168: Chapter 30: Quiz Masters, Time to Limit the Flavor
Gui Xu Palace, central courtyard.

This was an open-air spacious courtyard, its ground graced by the intricate Gui Xu Grand Formation, which resembled a constantly spinning kaleidoscope, endlessly shifting its dazzling lines and structures.

Above, a deep abyss stretched into unfathomable depths, its boundless waters forming a pitch-black “night sky” that instilled a daunting sense of fear in those who gazed upon it.

The only sources of light, aside from the rays casting through the windows of the surrounding side halls, were probably those emitted by the Gui Xu Grand Formation itself—the incantations and silver lines that made up the formation were luminous.

Luo Yan did not rashly step into the courtyard, for there were many cultivators observing the formation from behind the windows. Even just one step on their part could block the view of several people and might provoke a violent reaction from those enthralled by madness.

After all, those seized by madness were not known for their reason!

Therefore, he cautiously walked around the open area surrounding the formation and came to a pile of wood in the corner.

These logs, judging by their grain, seemed to have been felled from the abandoned gardens in the backyard and were haphazardly stacked in the corner.

Luo Yan used his Divine Sense to probe into the crevices of the wood, inspecting carefully, but he did not find anything unusual.

They seemed to be just ordinary logs… but then why were they able to resist the sinking force of the Great Gorge?

“We need to do an experiment,” Luo Yan said as he took a piece from the pile of wood.

“What?” Miss Shi, caught off guard, didn’t catch what he said.

She had been distracted the whole way there, her mind filled with all sorts of wild thoughts:

For instance, if the two really were trapped here for hundreds of thousands of years, whether she and her junior brother should become Daoist Companions to resist the erosion of time, and whether they should have children or not.

In the world of Cultivating Immortality, cultivators who became Daoist Companions could choose to have children or not, purely based on personal preference.

For Shi Liuli, it was partly due to the subtle influence of her family environment (Elder Shi Ding was clearly not an advocate of celibacy or childlessness), and partly out of concern that her junior brother might change his heart one day. Perhaps having a child might bind him more tightly?

Of course, Luo Yan had no idea that this miss with her erratic thoughts was even considering whether to have children after being trapped here, so he patiently repeated his idea:

“As it seems now, aside from the Gui Xu Palace itself, the wood used to construct the San Yu treasure ship also has the same effect in resisting the sinking trend in the Great Gorge.”

“If direct research on the Gui Xu Grand Formation yields no results, we can try studying these logs. Simply put, first we go to the backyard to get the same kind of wood, and then compare it with the logs piled near the formation for experimental comparison, looking for differences and similarities between the two.”

Shi Liuli understood this time and obediently responded with an “oh,” thinking to herself that she should be a good capable wife and mother, right?

No problem, Liuli, you can definitely do it!

Seeing her reaction, Luo Yan found it odd, considering Miss Shi had never shown such a docile and submissive attitude in the past. Even when she agreed to his requests, it was because “I find it interesting,” not because “it’s what my junior brother wants.”

He guessed that Miss Shi must have been truly frightened this time, her courage shattered, so he took her hand to comfort her:

“Don’t worry, senior sister, we’ll definitely be able to get out of here.”

At the very least, I will be able to get out…

Miss Shi felt an impulse to pull away shyly as he held her hands, but another thought struck her—if she were trapped here, what else could she do but stay with her junior brother? So she turned her head away and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Luo Yan grew even more bewildered, thinking her rational endurance was exceedingly low. How long had they been here for her to already become so unsettled?

Well, after all, she was a psychological minor, and it wasn’t right to be too harsh on her.

“`

Luo Yan led her into the garden at the back courtyard and, after walking around the perimeter for a moment, noticed that certain areas did indeed bear the marks of logging.

Apart from that Chun Mangjun, who else would be chopping down trees here… Hmm?

“Who’s there!” Luo Yan suddenly shouted loudly, his hand ready to unleash Daoist magic from within his sleeve, startling Shi Liuli so much that she quickly hid behind him.

However, what emerged from the woods was not some ill-intentioned villain, but rather a crazy old Taoist.

“Futile! Futile!” he laughed heartily, “Another one researching the wood of the vessel, do they not know that it will float without people aboard, but sink with them? This path is a dead end, a dead end!”

The old Taoist ran off laughing and crying, leaving behind a bewildered Shi Liuli and Luo Yan with a face that darkened then cleared unpredictably.

Luo Yan had heard the crazed man’s words clearly:

He said that the route of studying the wood used for the magic vessel had already been attempted by predecessors.

Perhaps it was due to the Great Gorge at this location and the formidable suppressive force it exerted, if wood imbued with the power of the grand formation was carved into a vessel, it would only float when unoccupied.

Once someone sat on it, it could not withstand their weight and would instead continue to sink.

In contrast, the Gui Xu Palace, no matter how many cultivators entered, remained firmly afloat in this spot, clearly showing that in resisting the Great Gorge’s downward force, the two were not even comparable.

Luo Yan chopped off several sections of wood from the back courtyard garden and brought them back to his dwelling to compare with the wood near the Gui Xu Grand Formation in the central courtyard.

To the naked eye, there was indeed no difference between the two.

Yet, if one were to scan the interior with Divine Sense, a subtle difference would be revealed:

The wood from the back courtyard garden had a fiber distribution with clear regularity, which was due to the phototropism plants develop in response to the direction of a fixed light source during their growth.

However, the fiber distribution in the wood near the Gui Xu Grand Formation in the central courtyard was chaotic and lacked any similar pattern.

Next, there were two experiments to be conducted: The first was to carve the wood from the back courtyard into a magic vessel and apply an “Adaptive Formation” from the formation to it, enabling it to rapidly enlarge upon leaving the water membrane—as a control group, to see if it could successfully float.

If it couldn’t, this would prove that the ability to float was not an inherent property of the wood, but rather due to the Gui Xu Grand Formation in the courtyard.

The second experiment was to take wood from the central courtyard and “refresh” the arrangement of the wood fibers inside using the Wood System Divine Light from the Five Elements Ultimate Extermination Divine Light, and then to see if it could float.

If it couldn’t, that would prove that the ability of the magic vessel to float was associated with this specific pattern of wood fiber distribution!

As Luo Yan was intently designing his experiments, his face was suddenly hit by a strand of hair.

He turned his head in confusion, only to see Miss Shi, Shi Liuli, mischievously sporting a twin ponytail hairstyle, playing with her hair out of boredom.

“…Senior Sister.”

“What’s the matter, Junior Brother?”

“Please don’t interrupt my train of thought, thank you.”

Shi Liuli paused for a long while, then flew into a sudden rage:

I’m not yet married to you, and you’re already sick of your senior sister? With my father not present, are you too lazy to even pretend anymore?

Her expression was as cold as icy water, and a hint of chill flickered in her eyes. She quietly circled to the unsuspecting Luo Yan’s back and suddenly wrapped her right arm around him, pulling his neck upwards sharply.

Crack!

“`