Chapter Fifty-Five: Unveiling the Secret

The appearance of that half piece of ancient seal was astonishingly similar to the one he had bought for five taels of silver at a street stall.
“If a complete seal can open this gate,” Liu Ping could not help but speak, “then perhaps I have the other half.”
At his words, everyone’s eyes instantly converged upon him.
“No, that's not right.” Liu Ping frowned slightly, a thought suddenly coming to him. “I am here by soul projection—if I do have it, it would still be with my original body…”
“What nonsense is that? What’s going on? Do you have it or not?” The Peach Blossom Spirit, who had taken the ancient seal, frowned in dissatisfaction and pressed him.
Liu Ping was not angered, replying calmly, “During the Flower Festival, I wandered through the night market. At a farmer’s stall, I saw a half piece of ancient seal that seemed extraordinary, so I bought it. That seal is quite like this one, and the inscription reads ‘Guarding Mountains and Rivers.’”
Meng Shang’s eyes brightened at once, and before any of the other flower spirits could speak, she hurriedly said, “Guarding Mountains and Rivers? This half of the seal is missing the inscription at the bottom. According to the records, it is likely the missing half of this very seal.”
At her words, everyone was invigorated, but Liu Ping shook his head, “But it’s with my original body… Wait—”
Suddenly, with a surprised cry, Liu Ping discovered that the half seal was actually on his soul-form body.
“How can this be… Is the seal a magical artifact, able to follow the soul outside the body?” Liu Ping was somewhat perplexed.
“Of course it is a magical artifact! This seal, the Guarding Mountains and Rivers Seal, was the treasure of Mount Wanquing in ancient times.” The Plum Blossom Spirit said with delight. “The seal is with you? Quickly, take it out—the monsters are coming.”
Behind them, countless monsters surged forth, vast in number, sending chills down their spines. At first, they could hold their ground, but if this continued, they would surely collapse. Though each monster was weak, their numbers were overwhelming.
Liu Ping nodded and, without hesitation, took out the half piece of the Guarding Mountains and Rivers Seal and handed it over.
The Plum Blossom Spirit received the seal, her heart settling. At first, she was skeptical—how could such coincidence be true? But once she touched it, she could discern it was indeed genuine.
She immediately joined the two halves together.
The ancient seal slowly melded into one, forming a complete seal, though fine cracks remained, showing it was not entirely whole.
Once the seal was united, she hurriedly inserted it into a square recess on the stone pedestal beside the gate.
With a click, as the seal was placed, spiritual energy surged and the gate shifted.
A breath of ancient aura seeped from the gap, unsettling hearts, mixed with an indescribable sense of sanctity.
Click, click, click—the gate gradually opened, revealing utter darkness within.
“Let’s go in,” Meng Shang said solemnly, glancing at the monsters rushing behind them.
“Alright.” Having come this far, there was no place for fear or retreat.
They retrieved the seal, entered, and together closed the gate, shutting the monsters outside.
Within, another stone pedestal awaited, the key to opening the stone doors.
The Lotus Spirit raised her gemstone high, illuminating their surroundings.
The space was vast—so much so that even the gemstone’s brilliance could not cover it all.
Within view, lay skeleton after skeleton.
Judging by their form, these skeletons, translucent as jade, were beautiful to behold.
It is said that no matter how beautiful one was in life, death leaves only bones—but these ancient immortals, even in death, left such lovely skeletons. It moved the heart to wonder: how beautiful must they have been in life?
“Be careful,” Meng Shang warned, noticing Liu Ping’s carelessness and shooting him a stern look, “You too, sir—be alert.”
“I understand.” Liu Ping was not offended, smiling knowingly. Meng Shang’s concern for his safety was clear, and her stern admonition seemed all the more charming.
They searched cautiously, spending much time, but the results were disheartening: not a single thing was found.
This made everyone restless and ill-tempered.
Under the ravages of time, even the grandest things lose their vitality and turn to dust.
Treasured magical artifacts are no exception, though they can last for ages. The distance to the ancient heavenly court was vast, but it should not have yielded nothing—after all, the last immortal relic had brought much benefit to those powers. Yet here, nothing at all?
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Their exploration brought not a hint of danger, and they were somewhat relieved—yet the result was so bleak. Was it that only by facing peril could treasures be found?
“Are we to leave empty-handed?” The Jade Hairpin Flower Spirit said, unwilling to accept it. “Such misfortune.”
“Who could disagree?” The Lotus Spirit rubbed her shoulder, asking, “Deputy Envoy, what should we do next?”
Meng Shang’s eyes betrayed her regret as she sighed, “After several searches, we’ve found nothing. In that case, let’s return.”

“It's all we can do,” the Plum Blossom Spirit shook her head.
“Indeed.”
“All for nothing.”
Meng Shang added, “But before we leave, let’s lay these predecessors to rest.”
At this, the immortals grew solemn, inwardly admiring her. Even in disappointment, Meng Shang thought of this, earning their respect.
They began carefully burying the skeletons.
Because of the yang energy, Liu Ping was not asked to help, and he was content to stand aside, watching these ten or so breathtaking immortals busily moving back and forth—a pleasing sight, though the skeletons somewhat marred the perfection.
Not long after, when most skeletons had been properly buried, the youngest Water Narcissus Spirit cried out, “Sisters! Come quickly, look at this!”
Startled, they hurried over to find her holding a piece of beast skin.
She explained, “While burying a body, I found this beneath her—it hasn't turned to dust despite the ages, which marks it as extraordinary. Out of curiosity, I opened it—it’s a map of this immortal relic! Looking closely, I found the location of the treasure vault!”
Everyone was energized, spreading the beast skin flat and examining it. Soon they pinpointed the treasure vault’s location.
Someone exclaimed, “To think there’s a hidden chamber here! What ingenious mechanism!”
Following the map, they passed through a secret room and along a long corridor, soon arriving before the treasure vault.
The vault was unremarkable, with only a simple, massive stone door sealing it off.
Yet in its simplicity lay great mystery.
The stone door remained as solid as ever after all these years, astonishing them. The material must be precious, for no matter how they attacked it, not a mark was left.
In front of the heavy vault door stood a stone pedestal, conspicuous and drawing attention.
They had expected to open it with the ancient seal, but it was not so.
The pedestal had four rows and four columns of small squares, like a chessboard, though with fewer cells. Nearby were small square pieces.
“What is this?” Liu Ping, recognizing the ancient numerals, murmured in confusion, “Could it be a magic square?”
The flower spirits examined it closely, frowning slightly, ignoring Liu Ping’s question and murmuring, “It likely needs to be arranged properly to open the door.”
But Meng Shang would not ignore him, addressing Liu Ping, “Sir, the numbers on these pieces are ancient characters, one to nine. This must be a secret arrangement needed to open the vault. I wonder if it’s the magic square you mentioned?”
“I recognize the numbers…” Liu Ping began, but was interrupted by a sudden exclamation and quickly looked over.
“There’s a clue!” The Peach Blossom Spirit cried, brushing dust from the pedestal to reveal the original inscription. She read aloud, “Regardless of row, column, or diagonal, the sum must be equal…? Does that mean placing the nine numbers so every line, column, and diagonal adds up the same will open the door?”
“A clue, even?” Liu Ping was speechless. “What was Mount Wanquing thinking—giving hints for the vault’s password? Whatever the reason, it confirms this is indeed a magic square.”
Meng Shang said, “I’ve read records that Mount Wanquing valued mathematics in that era, so perhaps that’s why this mechanism was made. But what is a magic square?”
Liu Ping explained, “It’s a game of nine squares, arranging numbers so all rows, columns, and diagonals sum equally.”
Meng Shang, not fully understanding but impressed, nodded, “I see.”
“That’s right,” Peach Blossom Spirit nodded, “I’ve heard a little of it in the mortal world… saw the solution once.”
“But I’ve forgotten it,” the Apricot Blossom Spirit said with a bitter smile.
“I have too—I didn’t memorize it.”
“So have I…”
They had all forgotten.
“But here is a mortal, a scholar at that,” the Jade Hairpin Flower Spirit said with a smile, turning her gaze to Liu Ping.
Having just been ignored, Liu Ping now found himself the focus once more.
The flower spirits, recalling their earlier attitude, now sought his help, feeling somewhat embarrassed, opening their mouths but unable to speak for a long while.
The atmosphere was subtly awkward.
“Can you solve it, sir?” Meng Shang, seeing this, smiled and asked. Inwardly, she thought, You immortals considered yourselves above him, ignoring my young master, but now you all depend on him!
Liu Ping was unaware that, in Meng Shang’s heart, he was already her young master. The question filled him with emotion—at last, he was noticed again.

“Of course I can.”
He moved to the pedestal and arranged the pieces.
“The meaning of the magic square: two and four are the shoulders, six and eight the feet, three on the left, seven on the right, nine above, one below, and five in the center.”
“That’s it.”
As Liu Ping spoke and swiftly solved the puzzle, the flower spirits’ faces flushed with embarrassment.
“Sir, you are remarkable!” Meng Shang exclaimed in delight.
Click, click, click—the stone panel sank, but the door did not open; instead, another stone panel appeared.
Everyone was startled. This time, the panel had five rows and five columns—sixteen squares, with sixteen pieces numbered one to sixteen.
Having relaxed, thinking the problem solved, they now faced an even harder puzzle.
“What is this! Sixteen squares?” Peach Blossom Spirit was frantic.
Apricot Blossom Spirit frowned, “How can we solve this? I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
Plum Blossom Spirit said, “Sixteen squares, same total for every row, column, and diagonal—this is much harder…”
Meng Shang turned her gaze to Liu Ping. In her heart, he seemed capable of anything, so she asked, “Sir, can you solve this too?”
Once again, all eyes were on Liu Ping.
He did not answer immediately, staring at the panel as he recalled the formula from his previous life. Then he nodded, “I can solve it.”
At his words, the immortals’ eyes sparkled—this fellow was truly impressive.
“Arrange in order…” Liu Ping placed numbers one through sixteen in the squares, then began to switch their places as needed. “Swap the pairs.”
“Swap one and sixteen, four and thirteen, six and eleven, seven and ten.”
“That’s it.”
Click, click, click—the panel sank, but still the door did not open. Another appeared: six rows and six columns—twenty-five squares.
Seeing this, the twelve flower spirits cried out, “Another one?!”
“Twenty-five squares—so much harder!”
“This is maddening! Did the ancient immortals really have such skill in mathematics?”
They instinctively turned to Liu Ping, their demeanor much improved, asking, “Can you solve this, Master Liu?”
Liu Ping paid no mind to their changed attitude, instead recalling and thinking, then nodding, “I can.”
At his words, the flower spirits exchanged glances, seeing admiration in each other's eyes. Such a learned man easily won their respect—where once they were cold and distant, now, through continued interaction, they grew warm.
Meng Shang watched all this, very pleased. She thought, Now you immortals know how impressive my young master is.
“Arrange in sequence,” Liu Ping placed the numbers and swiftly adjusted them.
“Swap the outer corners, switch the inner corners.”
“That’s it.”
Click, click, click—the panel sank, and this time, no new panel appeared; instead, a recess opened, just like the one at the entrance for the ancient seal.
Liu Ping glanced at the Plum Blossom Spirit, about to step aside, but she handed him the ancient seal.
He hesitated, then accepted and placed the seal into the recess.
A sharp creak resounded—
The vault door opened!