111: Chapter 111 Closing the Net

At 6:00 AM on Monday, Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

Nine points of light slowly rotated within his Dantian. After a night of Cultivate, his Cultivation had surged by four hundred points.

Qi Refining Level 6, 1,900 — he was only 600 points away from a Breakthrough.

He stood up and walked to the window.

The sunlight was bright; it was an ordinary Monday morning.

But he knew that from today on, many things would be coming to an end.

He had nine fragments in his hand. Nine remained. Four were in the hands of The Out-of-Controls, and five were unaccounted for.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Seventeen points of light.

To the northeast, a red point of light — Qi Refining Level 5 — was moving.

Directly to the west, a red point of light — Qi Refining Level 6 — was stationary.

To the southwest, two red points of light — Qi Refining Level 4 and Qi Refining Level 5 — were gathered together.

To the southeast, a yellow point of light — a neutral party, Qi Refining Level 3.

Directly to the north, a yellow point of light — a neutral party, Qi Refining Level 4.

Elsewhere, there were seven more yellow points of light — all neutral parties, scattered in various locations.

Including himself, there were seventeen in total.

The last one was on the other side of the Heavenly Road.

He withdrew his perception and turned to walk toward the pots of spiritual plants.

The six pots of spiritual plants had grown out of control. The four soul-calming grasses were covered in blooms, the Mint leaves were so dense the soil was invisible, and the wild soul-calming grass had produced a large patch of seeds.

He plucked the flowers, collected the leaves, and gathered the seeds, all in one smooth motion.

anshen flower powder stock: 4 kilograms.

Mint leaves: 10,000 leaves.

soul-calming grass seeds: 10 large bags.

Enough to last a lifetime.

He walked to the workbench and looked at the stack of blank Talisman paper.

There were now 5,000 Talismans in his Storage Space. 1,500 Attack Talismans, 1,200 defensive Talismans, 800 binding Talismans, 800 Purification Talismans, 800 suppression Talismans, and 500 special Talismans.

Enough.

He pushed the door open and walked out.

At 7:20, Chen Zhen stepped into the classroom.

Zhang Meng was in the back row catching up on homework. Seeing him enter, he shouted as usual: "Help! Let me copy your math homework!"

Chen Zhen threw the notebook over.

Zhang Meng caught it and buried his head, copying frantically.

Chen Zhen walked to his seat and sat down.

Su Xiaoya, sitting in front, turned around, her eyes bright.

"Chen Zhen, where did you go this weekend?"

"Taking care of some business."

Su Xiaoya stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're different again."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Su Xiaoya waited for two seconds, then pulled a small item from her pocket and handed it to him.

It was another Protective Talisman.

"My mom went to pray for it again," she said. "She said you might have something big happening during this time, so you need extra protection."

Chen Zhen took the Protective Talisman and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks."

Su Xiaoya smiled and turned back around.

In the last row, Zhou Rui looked up at him, then lowered his head to read his book.

Chen Hao turned his head from the front row and glanced at him.

"You're back?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Chen Hao nodded and turned back.

In the back row, Zhang Meng finished copying the homework and looked up at Chen Zhen.

"Chen Zhen, want to eat lunch together?"

"Sure."

When school ended at noon, Chen Zhen went to the cafeteria.

He got his food and found a seat.

He had just taken a few bites when three people walked over carrying their trays.

Zhou Rui, Zhang Meng, and Chen Hao.

Zhang Meng plopped down and started eating voraciously.

Chen Hao sat opposite Chen Zhen and looked at him.

"Chen Zhen, have you been very busy lately?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"Why do you ask?"

Chen Hao was silent for two seconds.

"You're never around on weekends. And you look... less and less like a student."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Chen Hao waited for two seconds, then sighed.

"Forget it, pretend I didn't ask."

He lowered his head and ate.

Halfway through the meal, someone walked over with a tray.

Yun Xi.

She sat down next to Chen Zhen and started eating.

Zhang Meng looked up at her.

"You again?"

Yun Xi ignored him and kept eating.

Zhang Meng scratched his head and didn't ask again.

After finishing the meal, Yun Xi looked at Chen Zhen.

"Are you free this afternoon?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Yun Xi stood up.

"The usual place."

She left.

Zhang Meng looked bewildered.

"Who is she? Why is she always looking for you?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

At 3:00 PM, at the Secret Base.

Chen Zhen pushed the door open; Yun Xi was already inside.

She was standing in front of the map, pointing at the red dots.

"I confirmed it again last night," she said. "The one in the northeast is named Li Sen, Qi Refining Level 5, he's killed three people. The one directly to the west is named Wang Lie, Qi Refining Level 6, he's killed five people. The two in the southwest are brothers, Qi Refining Level 4 and Level 5, they've killed seven people."

She looked at Chen Zhen.

"Which one are we hitting first?"

Chen Zhen looked at the map.

"We'll hit them all."

Yun Xi paused in surprise.

"All?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"We'll hit the closest one first. After that, we'll move on to the next."

Yun Xi was silent for a few seconds.

"Are you sure? These ones aren't like the previous ones. They have connections with each other; if you hit one, the others will be alerted."

Chen Zhen looked at her.

"So what?"

Yun Xi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

She looked at Chen Zhen's eyes, no longer knowing what to call it.

"Fine, I'll listen to you."

At 4:00 PM, they set off.

Northeast direction, first target.

At 7:00 PM, Chen Zhen stood in front of an abandoned factory.

In his perception, that Qi Refining Level 5 was inside.

He walked in.

Three minutes later, he walked out.

There was an extra fragment in his hand.

The tenth one.

Yun Xi was waiting outside; seeing him come out, she paused in surprise.

"So fast?"

Chen Zhen didn't speak; he activated a Speed Talisman.

"Next."

At 10:00 PM, in the western direction.

At the foot of a desolate mountain.

Chen Zhen looked up at the summit.

In his perception, that Qi Refining Level 6 was up there.

He climbed the mountain.

Fifteen minutes later, he came down.

The eleventh fragment.

Yun Xi was already numb to it.

"Next?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

At 3:00 AM, in the southwest direction.

A small village.

The two red points were in an abandoned house at the edge of the village.

Chen Zhen walked in.

Five minutes later, he walked out.

There were two extra fragments in his hand.

The twelfth and thirteenth.

Yun Xi stood at the village entrance, watching him approach.

"You solved them all?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Yun Xi was silent for a long time.

Then she spoke.

"Are you a human or a monster?"

Chen Zhen looked at her.

"A student."

Yun Xi smiled bitterly.

"Fine, if you say so."

At 5:00 AM, at the Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Seven-Path Heavenly Star Formation, with the four newly acquired fragments laid out in front of him.

Including the original nine, there were thirteen in total.

Five remained.

He took a deep breath and began the Fusion.

The first fragment turned into a point of light and poured into his body.

The second.

The third.

The fourth.

The thirteen points of light rearranged themselves within his Dantian, forming a perfect circle, rotating slowly.

Power.

It was stronger than before, by an unknown magnitude.

[Fusion Successful]

[Spiritual Energy Limit: 5000 → 8000]

[Realm Breakthrough: Qi Refining Level 6 → Qi Refining Level 7]

[New Ability Obtained: [Star Core: Thirteenth Layer] (Passive) Stellar Energy intensity increased thirteenfold, Cultivation efficiency +1000%, damage against yin and evil entities +10000%]

[New Ability Obtained: [Star Radiance Descent] Consumes 200 points of Spiritual Energy, summons large-scale Stellar Energy to strike, range 500 meters]

[New Ability Obtained: [Master of Ten Thousand Talismans] Can instantly activate all Talismans within range]

Chen Zhen opened his eyes and looked at his hands.

In his palms, the pale golden light had turned into pure gold.

Thirteen pieces.

Five remained.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the sky was about to brighten.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Seventeen points of light.

Red ones — there were none left.

Yellow ones — five, scattered in various locations.

Green ones — Yun Xi, and the two from Changbai Mountain and Wuyi Mountain.

Himself — here.

The last one was on the other side of the Heavenly Road.

He withdrew his perception and turned to look at Yun Xi.

Yun Xi stood at the door, watching him.

That look, she no longer knew how to describe it.

"What... what Realm are you at now?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"Qi Refining Level 7."

Yun Xi was silent for a few seconds.

"Do you know, I have been cultivating for twenty years, and I only just reached Qi Refining Level 5."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Yun Xi smiled bitterly.

"Forget it, I can't compare to you."

She turned and pushed the door open to leave.

"I'm going back to rest. Call me if you need anything."

The door closed.

Chen Zhen stood alone in the center of the formation.

Thirteen points of light rotated slowly.

Five remained.

He walked to the pots of spiritual plants.

The six pots of spiritual plants had started to mutate under the nourishment of the thirteen fragments.

Golden patterns had appeared on the leaves of the four soul-calming grasses, and the flowers were as large as peonies.

The Mint leaves were thick as jade, the seeds of the wild soul-calming grass had fallen all over the ground, and a patch of new seedlings had already sprouted.

He plucked the flowers, collected the leaves, and gathered the seeds.

anshen flower powder stock: 5 kilograms.

Mint leaves: 12,000 leaves.

soul-calming grass seeds: 15 large bags.

He walked to the window and watched the rising sun outside.