312: The mystery of the stars orbiting the North Star is solved; the wise strategist prevails.

Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly, standing to the side without saying a word, letting Jin Wei act as he pleased.

Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng did not stop him, Jin Wei felt even more confident and continued to press aggressively: "Do you dare to duel one-on-one? Give me an answer!"

Yan Bipo secretly took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists inside his sleeves several times. In the end, reason suppressed his anger. Over a hundred years of Cultivation had taught him to hide his emotions and remain calm regardless of favor or humiliation. Given the urgent situation and the need for cooperation, it was truly not the time for a fight.

Once a fight broke out, the situation would spiral out of control. If they failed to clear the barrier due to infighting and missed out on the Heaven-Escaping Ruler, it would be a lose-lose situation for both sides.

Yan Bipo knew this clearly, so he chose to endure the slight humiliation for now. Once the barrier was cleared and the Heaven-Escaping Ruler appeared, he would settle both old and new scores. He flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly: "Hmph, Jiang Yunjian, don't think I'm afraid of you or dare not fight you. I am considering the big picture and don't want to lower myself to your level. Don't go too far, or be careful, or you won't even know how you died."

Hearing this, Jin Wei immediately sneered: "Yo, yo, yo, if you don't dare, just say it. Cowardice is cowardice, don't make such high-sounding excuses. It's embarrassing..."

Zhou Qingfeng raised his hand to signal him to stop and said calmly: "Alright, Fellow Daoist Jiang, everything should be done in moderation."

Jin Wei immediately shut his mouth. He could naturally ignore others, and could even pay lip service to the City Lord of the First Division, but the consequences of not listening to the Young Lord would be very severe. He knew very well what fate usually awaited a dog raised at home when it disobeyed.

Yan Bipo said coldly: "Only this once. Fellow Daoist Tian, keep your friend in check. If there is a next time, don't expect me to consider the big picture."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled slightly, his eyes squinting into a bright smile: "Understood, clear."

Since it was a collaboration, one-sided concessions were meaningless. Sometimes, showing one's fangs appropriately would make the other party restrain themselves. By Jin Wei giving the other side a certain degree of counterattack, they would regain some leverage and equal status, preventing them from being walked all over.

Both sides continued to try to break the barrier. Because of Yan Bipo's misjudgment, everyone now had to rotate the first wind chime statue again and wait until nightfall to decide which statue to turn next. During the five or six hours of waiting, some tended to their injuries, some recovered their Qi, and some checked the area around the altar.

Waiting was one thing, but they couldn't just do nothing.

Time passed silently. The sun set and the moon rose. When the scarlet moon hung in the sky, everyone gathered at the First Division.

Yan Bipo asked for his opinion: "Fellow Daoist Tian, according to your judgment, which statue is the correct one to turn next?"

Zhao Ying and Li Ergou both looked at Zhou Qingfeng, waiting for his answer.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng looked calm and gazed up at the sky: "Next, look at the stars circling the North Star, moonlight falls without touching the dust."

He walked slowly to the Star-Plucking statue in the due north direction. Looking at the statue holding a star, surrounded by eight stars, it seemed the first half of the line referred to this statue. However, the day's events proved that this statue was not the second in the sequence; the order was wrong.

Then he continued to verify more possibilities. "Stars circling the North Star" — perhaps it referred to the two statues on the left and right?

No, that was not right. With the due north Star-Plucking statue as the core orientation, all other statues were moving around it.

The key information was not in the first half of the line, but in the second half.

"Moonlight falls without touching the dust..."

Zhou Qingfeng murmured to himself twice, then immediately looked up and commanded: "Go check which statue has no dust on it when the moonlight hits it."

"Oh, oh, oh..." Jin Wei immediately ran off to check.

Zhao Ying and Li Ergou looked at each other, not knowing whether to listen to Zhou Qingfeng, so they could only look at Yan Bipo to seek his approval.

Yan Bipo frowned slightly, feeling very resentful of Zhou Qingfeng giving orders, but since they were cooperating to clear the barrier, he put his personal feelings aside and said: "Go, do as Fellow Daoist Tian said, and carefully check which statue has no dust."

Zhao Ying nodded coldly and turned to check the statues.

Li Ergou hurriedly cupped his hands in acknowledgment: "Yes, Chief Yan."

Yan Bipo stood where he was, hesitated for a moment, and then went to search as well.

Zhou Qingfeng stood in front of the due north position with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, brows slightly furrowed in deep thought. His demeanor and actions were like those of a true leader; even his enemies had to follow his instructions at this moment.

In the blink of an eye, everyone reported their findings: "The statue on my side has dust on it."

"Same here."

"Me too."

"Same!"

Everyone looked at Zhou Qingfeng, thinking he had misjudged. But Zhou Qingfeng was only simply verifying a possibility; after all, it was very easy to verify and carried no risk. It was best to eliminate this most likely option.

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly: "The puzzle is not that simple; I was just confirming. Keep looking. 'Moonlight falls without touching the dust' should refer to a statue that symbolizes noble character, a pure heart, lofty sentiments, and is untainted by the secular world. See if there is one."

Everyone searched again, and suddenly Li Ergou shouted excitedly: "Found it, found it!"

Hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng walked over, looked up at the Bodhisattva Sitting on a Lotus statue in front of him, and nodded slightly: "That's it, this is correct."

Yan Bipo frowned slightly: "What is the basis for this?"

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly: "The second line of the poem: 'Next, look at the stars circling the North Star, moonlight falls without touching the dust.' The first half is telling us that with the Star-Plucking statue in the due north position as the core, the second statue is hidden among the other statues surrounding the Star-Plucking statue."

"The second half, 'moonlight falls without touching the dust,' is the key information. A superficial understanding seems to suggest that the statue upon which moonlight falls without dust is the second statue, but the facts have ruled out this possibility. Therefore, I believe it refers to a statue that symbolizes purity and nobility, just like the moonlight."

"Of course, this is just my personal judgment. Whether it is accurate still needs further verification."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bipo, Li Ergou, Zhao Ying, and Jin Wei's eyes widened slightly, and their scalps tingled.

On the surface, they appeared calm and unperturbed, but in their hearts, they were silently exclaiming, "Damn, that's impressive."

They had never thought of this train of thought or perspective. Upon carefully savoring these words, they couldn't find any faults in them.

"Fellow Daoist Tian, I think what you said is very correct. My thoughts coincide with yours. We can try it." For the sake of Face, Yan Bipo had to maintain his dignity and could not show the ugly state of having his intelligence crushed. However, he had to admit that the reasoning and judgment of the enemy before him were simply impeccable. This aroused a bit of respect and admiration in his heart, but that was all; he still had to be killed.

Li Ergou whispered: "Senior Sister Zhao, he is so amazing. How can someone be so smart..."

Zhao Ying glared at him: "Shut up, you idiot. If you don't know how to speak, don't speak. At a time like this, you're boosting the enemy's morale and dampening our own."