Chapter 522: with translation of chapter title

The lighter lit the candle.

Fang Chuanzong placed the candle in front of the overlapping part of the architectural drawing that he had integrated.

The candle's light shone through the gaps in the three‑dimensional architectural drawing, forming an image.

"Holy crap!"

I don't know who sighed that.

I was also astonished in my heart.

Because of this little experiment, the room actually gained a shadow of a Bagua diagram.

Fang Chuanzong started moving the candle around the edges of the architectural drawing nonstop; no matter how he moved, as long as he stayed within this plane, the projected shadow was always exactly the same Bagua diagram.

Hui Moqiong exclaimed excitedly, "Still, Old Fang is well‑versed and knowledgeable; if you were counting on my paste‑brain, even if these few drawings were placed with me for a hundred years, I still wouldn't discover the mystery inside."

Not to mention Hui Moqiong, how many people in the world could think of that?

"It's not over yet."

Fang Chuanzong said, opened his phone, placed it beneath the architectural drawing, and blew out the candle.

This time we saw a fully opened double‑petaled lotus, lifelike as could be.

Then he again inverted the phone from above to shine downward, and we saw another bud‑about‑to‑bloom… mandala!

"Absolutely divine!" Hui Moqiong said, "But… what does this signify?"

Fang Chuanzong put away his phone, gestured for us to open the doors and windows, and pull back the curtains.

Sunlight poured in instantly, and every face was filled with surprise and a thirst for knowledge.

Fang Chuanzong sat down, took a sip of tea, then exclaimed in astonishment: "It represents the overturning of heaven and earth, the transformation of yin and yang, the shifting of the stars, and stealing heaven to replace the sun!"

A string of four idioms stacked together packs a shock far stronger than imagined.

No matter which word you use to describe it, it signifies an unprecedented, unparalleled contest.

I pondered and said, "Is Dìshì trying to steal the Heaven‑Stealing Fortune?"

As soon as I said that, everyone suddenly understood.

Fang Chuanzong gave me a thumbs‑up: "Xiao Jiu Zhanggui hit the nail on the head."

Hu Yulin analyzed: "Since it's the overturning of heaven and earth and the transformation of yin and yang, we must certainly distinguish Qian from Kun, yin from yang—so where is Qian, where is Kun? Where is yang, and where again is… yin…"

When the final "yin" character was spoken, Hu Yulin's pronunciation became so faint it was barely audible.

Because of that single word, it seemed to clarify everything in an instant.

"'Yin' is the Nether Realm." I said firmly, "Narrow the scope a bit more and you can directly define it as the City of Wrongful Death."

Fang Chuanzong nodded: "Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, do you still remember what you told us earlier—that you saw the interior of a divine temple in the Xuanfeng dream? You had me look into it, but to this day I haven't found a place that matches."

Yes, that did happen.

"I remember back then I also reminded you to focus your attention on the Zàng Qū."

"Yeah, it seems we got the direction wrong from the start." Fang Chuanzong said, "We thought their root lay in some divine temple or monastery in the Zàng Qū, because from the beginning our gaze was drawn to the Zàng Qū, forming a mental set; in fact, the other side is likely imprisoned in the Nether Realm, and to escape they reached out into the Zàng Qū."

They seemed somewhat bewildered, after all many places and events were personally experienced and handled by me and Liu Junyan; they only heard our descriptions later and know only a rough outline.

Therefore they couldn't immediately connect everything into a coherent system in their minds, whereas I can.

I tried to break down Fang Chuanzong's words and explain them to them.

I faintly sensed that what comes next might require everyone present to join in.

Still the same saying: when our battle of wits and courage with Dìshì reaches the state of "white‑day transformation," no one can remain uninvolved.

"If Old Fang's analysis has no deviation, Āyàn should now be in the Zàng Qū; he didn't get there via transportation or the like, but through a formation array."

Āyàn is in the City of Wrongful Death, having discovered Dìshì's ultimate secret, and he intends to verify it.

"The internal structure of the divine temple I saw in the Xuanfeng dream is not an exact pointer to an actual temple or monastery in the Zàng Qū; rather, it is Dìshì's final ideal state…"

"Wait a moment." Hui Moqiong interrupted me, frowning, and said, "I'm a bit lost here—what do you mean by 'ideal state'? Isn't that the image you excavated from the Xuanfeng dream through witchcraft?"

I further explained: "Put another way, it means that the divine‑temple interior scene appearing in the Xuanfeng dream actually is the ideal state Dìshì wishes to achieve, and Dìshì has the ability, via witchcraft, to influence a person's spiritual world."

Hu Yulin caught on: "In other words, Dìshì takes the territory of a certain temple or monastery in the Zàng Qū as a base, using the means of overturning heaven and earth and transforming yin and yang, aided by the temple's incense, Buddhist Dharma, and energy, to free himself from the imprisonment of the City of Wrongful Death, thereby gaining freedom and rebirth; the lotus represents the Buddhist gate of the Zàng Qū, while the mandala represents Dìshì."

Fang Chuanzong couldn't help but pat Hu Yulin on the shoulder: "Immortal Fox Sir, you are truly extraordinarily clever."

Hu Yulin hit the point exactly.

Now everyone heard and understood.

"Let me add one more point." Fang Chuanzong said solemnly, "Earlier, Xiao Jiu Zhanggui had me keep an eye on the Empty Silence Abbott's movements, to prevent a large number of monks from voluntarily offering sacrifices in advance, right? Those monks' souls ultimately end up being sent to the City of Wrongful Death; they… are also part of this."

Exactly, I don't know how I overlooked that for a moment.

Hui Moqiong immediately raised his hand and said, "Also those birds, that… what's it called, the Bird‑Beak Yin Marshal, used an iron chain to drag the souls of the voluntarily sacrificed bird flocks into the City of Wrongful Death as well."

Huang Fan also nodded in agreement.

Everyone fell silent, but surely their minds were churning with thoughts.

After a while, I had Li Qingying fetch paper and pen, then began speaking while drawing: "This time I returned to the Feng Clan, experiencing many, many things; aside from Nirvana, I had direct confrontations with Dìjiàn, Fengxianqiu, and Dìshì, involving many people and a huge amount of information; listen to what I say next, and try not to interrupt."

Where should we start?

Let's start with the long underground tunnel from the Luan Zang Gang to beneath the Phoenix Ridge.

I depicted the murals on the cavern walls, the carvings on the screen wall, and the final suture distribution map, bit by bit, using drawings together with language to express them.

Throughout the process, no one interjected, and they even softened their breathing.

It wasn't my prior request that took effect; rather, they too were stunned by what they saw and heard.

Until I finished speaking, parched‑throated, Li Qingying quickly handed over a water cup so I could wet my throat.

Only then did Hui Moqiong clear his throat and say, "So does this mean Dìjiàn is completely dead this time, while Fengxianqiu has advanced?"

Hu Yulin shook his head: "Think deeper—Dìjiàn is fundamentally different from us; he was molded by Dìshì from a wicked bone, but Fengxianqiu is probably no longer the original one; Fengxianqiu escaped, and that is the most deadly…"