Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 365 Zhuge Liang cleverly deploys the Qimen Formation, and the Seven Stars Return to Origin t

Zhuge Qing placed his hand on the last layer of black cloth, his fingertips stroking the edges of the wrapping. He could vaguely make out that the contents of the wrapping resembled a command flag or a command banner, with a handle about three feet and six inches long and the shaft wrapped in cloth.

"Furthermore, people only know that Qimen is mysterious, and ordinary practitioners mostly regard it as a magic and divination tool. But they forget that Qimen was not originally used for documenting legal matters. It had a more serious mission and function."

Zhuge Qing looked at Wang Ye, who was sitting opposite him with a furrowed brow and watched his hands clenching involuntarily. He deliberately slowed down his tone and gave the other party time to calculate the divination.

King Ye, who possesses the Feng Hou Qi Men and can open the cycle of the human body, would not need to expend so much effort to perform a divination, even using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches on his palms as an aid.

He stared at the object under Zhuge Qing's palm, and suddenly a divine light flashed, and the answer from his intuition and the result of his mental calculation appeared at the same time.

"war"

After uttering those two words in shock, Wang Ye first looked at the lone Zhuge Qing with some disbelief, then stood on tiptoe to look around and confirm that Zhuge Qing was alone. After that, he did not lower his guard, but instead looked even more intently at the command flag-like object.

Just as Zhuge Qing said, Qimen Dunjia is different from other magic lineages. Its emergence and development have a complete lineage.

But it is precisely that complete and almost fantastical plot and story that often makes people forget the "heavenly role" that Qimen plays in those so-called "stories".

When discussing Qimen Dunjia, most people think of Fuxi, the ancestor of mankind, who used the Eight Trigrams to interpret the universe and impart the method of timing to mankind, thus initiating the principle of following the will of Heaven. Or they think of the Shang-Zhou War, in which Jiang Ziya used Qimen Dunjia to help Zhou establish its rule over the world.

However, there is actually a missing "story" that can be described as a myth or legend. This story is the true origin of the term "Qimen Dunjia" and also the embodiment of Qimen's original use.

Legend has it that when the Yellow Emperor fought Chi You at Zhuolu, the battle broke out and the Yellow Emperor was caught in a fierce struggle. At that time, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden descended to the mortal world and gave the Yellow Emperor military strategies and talismans, which enabled him to successfully defeat Chi You.

These military strategies and talismans, originating from "heaven," were later refined and compiled by later generations, eventually becoming the true "Qimen Dunjia."

Then, Qimen Dunjia was passed down to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, where Jiang Ziya used it to develop military formations; later, it was passed down to the end of the Qin dynasty and the beginning of the Han dynasty, where Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu, obtained the "Heavenly Book of Military Strategy" and helped Emperor Gaozu of Han defeat his enemies and establish his empire.

The original "Qimen Dunjia" has also been changed several times in this process, from the original 1,080 formations, to Jiang Taigong's 72 formations, and then to Zhang Liang's 18 formations of Nine Yin and Nine Yang.

The original function of Qimen Dunjia was forgotten in this process, leaving only the mysterious magic in people's minds.

However, in the hands of Zhuge Liang, the Qimen Dunjia, which had become almost a method of divination, once again revealed its true brilliance.

"Indeed, this is the art of war!"

Zhuge Qing grabbed the long pole under the black cloth, stood up and looked at Wang Ye in the distance, "The magical arts of our ancestor Zhuge Liang were perfected by the Divine Strategist and made even more powerful by the military might of Shu Han."

"The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in one person, not in good or bad fortune, not in the concepts of heaven, earth, man, or gods, but in the four compasses!"

As he spoke, Zhuge Qing opened his narrowed eyes. A hint of pride and excitement flickered in his clear, azure pupils, but then disappeared, leaving him calm and profound.

"My lord, today's discussion is not about whether Feng Hou Qimen or Wu Hou Qimen is stronger or weaker. In my heart, Wu Hou Qimen is no less powerful than anyone else; its strength needs no verification from me!"

Zhuge Qing ripped open the black cloth beneath his palm, revealing the true contents of the bundle: an ancient and solemn command flag, its pole three feet six inches long, with an apricot-yellow banner.

Judging from its shape, it is roughly similar to the ancient military command flag, but it also carries a mysterious and profound meaning. It should be a divine creation of the Zhuge family.

"Today's sparring is solely to verify whether what I have learned and thought about can reach the level of my ancestor, Zhuge Liang."

Although Zhuge Qing's words became increasingly arrogant, his face showed no sign of joy or anger. His calm aura deepened, and a faint blue aura emanated from his palm, disappearing into the command flag in his hand.

An inexplicable aura rose from the command flag, connecting with Zhuge Qing's aura. This divine artifact seemed to be responding to Zhuge Qing's wishes. If the weapon refiners saw this scene, they would probably be shocked and doubt the birth of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques [Divine Craftsmanship Hundred Refinements].

This scene truly exceeded the vision and experience of some weapon refiners. Even those who had witnessed Zhuge Liang's divine skills would be surprised and marvel at his superb technique.

Divine creation is not the same as so-called magical artifacts. Although both of these skills involve the application of things and are based on the transformation of things, magical artifacts pursue the refinement and alteration of things, surpassing divine creation in terms of freedom and control.

The creation of divine artifacts pursues a deeper level of application of things. Although it cannot compare with magical artifacts in terms of freedom and ease, and it is more mentally taxing, its power and uses are far greater and more profound than those of magical artifacts.

The command flag that Zhuge Qing is holding now, although it is a creation of the divine machine, can connect with the mind and spirit like a magic weapon, which is truly eye-opening.

"Whoosh—"

When Zhuge Qing's Qi merged with the command flag, he stood the flagpole to the side. The apricot-yellow flag, which was originally rolled up on the pole, moved automatically without wind. The flag rotated around the wooden pole on its own and slowly opened, revealing the patterns painted on the flag.

Meanwhile, in Zhuge Bagua Village, far away in the Jiangzhe region, deep within the village's ancestral hall, amidst the swirling incense smoke, several elderly people who had been sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed slowly opened their eyes.

"Uncles, the time has come."

Zhuge Gong, the head of the Zhuge family, who usually dressed casually and acted like a wealthy man living a leisurely life, stood in front of the incense burner and lamp at the head of the table and bowed to the seven elderly men sitting below him.

"On behalf of my son Qing, I would like to express my gratitude to all my uncles for their help."

Bowing and rising, Zhuge Gong's appearance was revealed under the lamplight. This usually unreliable head of the family was now dressed in a linen robe and a headscarf, holding a miniature command flag in his hand, the same style as that of Zhuge Qing on Wudang Mountain.

"It's alright, we old folks have wanted to do this for a long time, it's just that no one has been able to combine all four plates at the same time and return to the origin as one before."

Upon hearing this, the elders below, arranged according to the Seven Stars, all waved their hands with smiles. They were overjoyed and eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

"That's right, that's right. This is a trick that no one has tried in hundreds of years. I never thought that we old guys could still do it. Even after we die, we can still brag about it to our ancestors."

Just as the elders were joking and reveling, the elder sitting in the [Tian Shu] position stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Qing's talent is indeed amazing. The Wuhou Qimen has been passed down in the family for a long time, but no one has practiced the various techniques left by our ancestors. It is also because we descendants are unworthy."

"Today, let's try out this [Seven Stars Return to Origin], and let that carefree Feng Hou Qi Men experience what it means to fight with weapons and conquer the world."