Li Nanzhu suddenly jerked her head up, a startling brilliance erupting in her eyes!
She slapped Duan Xianxing hard on the shoulder, then pointed to the things scattered all over the ground, then to the other three, and finally to her own head, making a "thinking" gesture.
Duan Xianxing looked completely bewildered.
Jiang Yifan, Zhu Yinxi, and Feng Weilan also cast doubtful glances her way.
Li Nanzhu was anxious. The resonance of the Soul-Sound Bell was too weak to transmit complex thoughts. She had to demonstrate with actions!
She quickly reached out and precisely picked several items from the pile of junk: a small bundle of blank talisman paper, two talisman pens, a few stones of various colors, and several small low-grade magic tools with distinct functions.
These items either had obvious elemental attributes or clear uses. Most importantly—they all existed perfectly fine, without being erased by the rules!
She carefully arranged these items on the ground in front of her, then looked up at Jiang Yifan, Zhu Yinxi, Feng Weilan, and Duan Xianxing with burning eyes.
She first picked up the red sunstone and placed it gently in front of herself.
Next, she looked at Feng Weilan, picked up the green jade stone, and gestured with her eyes as she handed it to him. Although Feng Weilan didn't understand why, he took it and placed it in front of himself, mimicking her.
Then, she placed the cold crystal stone in front of Zhu Yinxi, the brown ironstone in front of Jiang Yifan, and the red iron ore in front of Duan Xianxing.
Having done this, Li Nanzhu picked up the small wooden sword, pointed it at the flowing runes on the walls, then at the sunstone in front of her, and made a slashing motion to represent an "attack."
Watching her movements, the four of them were blank at first, but then it was as if a bolt of lightning had flashed through their minds!
Zhu Yinxi stared at the placement and relative positions of those three items. His brow was furrowed at first, but then it suddenly smoothed out, his eyes shining with disbelief and extreme excitement!
He understood!
Li Nanzhu wasn't just arranging things randomly!
She was using the types of items, their sequence of placement, and their relative positions to transmit information!
This was an extremely primitive "object language," similar to ancient knot-tying records!
He immediately picked up the cold crystal stone in front of him and the spray bottle that could emit a weak mist. He pointed at another set of wall runes, then made a gesture for "entwine and cover."
Feng Weilan picked up the green jade stone and the night-luminescent pearl, pointed at a certain pattern on the ground, and made a gesture for "growth and connection."
Jiang Yifan picked up the brown ironstone and the small shield, while Duan Xianxing picked up the red iron ore and the small wooden sword, both starting to grasp the concept.
They understood!
Li Nanzhu was using these items with distinct attributes and specific uses to replace language—to speak!
The red iron ore, green jade stone, cold crystal stone, sunstone, and brown ironstone—they directly corresponded to the five elements!
They even corresponded to the five of them based on their primary cultivation attributes or areas of expertise. Using these stones, they could directly refer to a "person" or an "attribute"!
The small wooden sword represented "attack," the small shield represented "defense," the spray bottle represented "control/support," the night-luminescent pearl represented "exploration/observation," and the simple wind-attribute magic tool represented "movement/disruption"...
Every one of these items they carried, which they were all familiar with, could represent a specific meaning!
Through different combinations, sequences, and positional relationships, they could completely form a complex "codebook." Furthermore, this codebook belonged exclusively to the five of them; even if outsiders saw these items, they would have no way to crack it!
More importantly, this method of communication did not involve any release of energy or transmission of divine sense. It was merely "placing objects," completely bypassing the rules' blockade on information transmission in this place!
Because it relied on the shared understanding that already existed among the five of them to "comprehend" rather than "explain"!
The objects themselves were the vocabulary, and the combination and placement of the objects were the sentences!
Feng Weilan immediately pulled several jade slips carved with simple array patterns from his storage bag. Although they couldn't be activated, they could represent arrays and nodes. He also took out several small array flag models, adding them to this system of "language."
Jiang Yifan also contributed several fragments of magic tools of different shapes, which could be used to represent concepts like "danger," "safety," "mechanisms," and "passageways."
Duan Xianxing turned up a bunch of other miscellaneous but distinct trinkets, such as a small clock that could make a ticking sound, several balls of yarn in different colors, and even a few small wooden puppets.
The five of them quickly huddled together and began to "write" their "conversation" on the ground using this dazzling array of "vocabulary."
Li Nanzhu used the sunstone and the small wooden sword to point at a dense area of runes on the wall, placing a magic tool fragment representing "danger" next to it.
Feng Weilan immediately used the green jade stone and the array flag jade slips to arrange a simple defensive formation pattern next to another pattern on the ground, then used the night-luminescent pearl to draw a question mark beside it.
Zhu Yinxi used the cold crystal stone and the spray bottle to point toward the ceiling, then used a ball of yarn to lay out a winding line.
Jiang Yifan used the brown ironstone and the small shield to mark several key positions, indicating they were "defensible."
Duan Xianxing used the red iron ore and the small wooden sword along with the wooden puppets to simulate several routes for attack and probing.
A crude, primitive, yet effective "visual communication system" was rapidly established within this absolutely silent bronze hall!
Although expressing complex meanings still required combinations and guesswork, and the efficiency was far lower than normal speech, it was a massive leap compared to purely guessing or relying on the faint sensations of the Soul-Sound Bell!
Most importantly, this system was "tangible." It could be repeatedly viewed, modified, and discussed without consuming mental power, and it was entirely within the bounds of the rules—they were just placing objects, not transmitting any direct, permanent information prohibited by the rules!
High above the platform, before the water mirror.
When the masters of the various sects saw the five members of the Five Elements Dao Sect stop their deep contemplation and meditation, and instead suddenly start arranging a bunch of random junk on the ground like children playing house—even solemnly using stones and magic tools to make patterns—everyone was stunned.
"What... what are they doing?" an elder asked in bewilderment.
"Fiddling with junk? Could they be... at their wits' end and started acting out?" someone wondered.
But soon, when they saw the five of them adjusting their focus and behavior after placing different items, these experienced and knowledgeable masters gradually began to see the logic!
"Using objects as language... conveying meaning through objects!" A startling light erupted in Bu Qingwei's eyes as he clapped his hands in amazement. "Good, very good! To think they could come up with such a method to bypass the rule restrictions! Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"
This method was not particularly profound once explained, but in such a desperate situation, how many people could instantly think of and flexibly apply it?
Master Huiming pressed his palms together, whispered a Buddhist invocation, and a look of admiration also appeared in his eyes. "Unconstrained by convention, with a clear spiritual altar. This child has deep roots of wisdom."
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