142: Chapter 142 Composite Rune Array

Sunday morning, Chen Zhen pushed open the door to the Secret Base.

It was the same as usual inside; talisman paper and a brush with wet ink were scattered on Zhou Rui's workbench, Shen Nian's notebook was spread open next to the spirit plant rack, and there was a shallow dent on the wall that Yun Xi often leaned against, though it was unclear when it had been bumped.

Shen Nian looked up upon hearing the movement, heavy dark circles hanging under his eyes, his hair a mess.

"How is it?" Chen Zhen asked.

Shen Nian rubbed his eyes and pointed to the Mutant Seedling.

"It grew again last night; the veins increased from thirty-five to thirty-eight, and the flower buds grew from the size of a green bean to the size of a soybean."

Chen Zhen walked over and crouched down; the golden veins on the leaves had indeed increased, three more than before they left.

The flower buds on the back of the leaves were plump, and the outlines of the petals were vaguely visible; the color was a pale gold, exactly the same as the spiritual light of the Dongshan Rune.

"It's still accelerating," Shen Nian said. "At this rate, it might bloom by next weekend."

Chen Zhen didn't speak; he stood up, walked to the center of the array, and sat down, taking two jade plaques out of his Storage Space.

The North Mountain one and the West Mountain one were placed side by side in front of him, their milky-white surfaces shimmering. The frequency of their light was different—the North Mountain one was slow, while the West Mountain one was fast, like two people speaking at different speeds.

He reached out and touched both jade plaques at the same time.

They both lit up simultaneously, then their light began to synchronize; the fast one slowed down, the slow one sped up, and finally, they stabilized at the same frequency.

The system panel popped up a line of text.

[Resonance with jade plaque detected · North Mountain · West Mountain]

[Resonance progress: 2/4]

[Current effect: Qi recovery speed +20%, Talisman Array stability +30%]

[Remaining jade plaques: East Mountain, South Mountain]

Chen Zhen stared at this prompt for a few seconds.

Four jade plaques: East Mountain, North Mountain, West Mountain, South Mountain.

He had two in his hands, and the East Mountain one was in—he touched his chest, next to the seed.

It wasn't a jade plaque, it was a fragment.

But the fragment and the jade plaque were one entity; if the fragment was there, the function of the jade plaque should also be there.

He looked at the prompt again.

East Mountain was not checked; the System didn't recognize it.

He needed to find the east mountain jade tablet.

Shen Nian walked over to him, crouched down, and stared at the two jade plaques for a long time.

"Is this what you brought back from the West Mountain?"

"Mm."

"What use does it have?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment. "I don't know yet. I have to find the other two before I can use it."

Shen Nian nodded, stood up, and walked back to the spirit plant rack to continue recording.

In the afternoon, Chen Zhen sat alone in the center of the array.

He laid out the rubbings of the three runes—East Mountain, North Mountain, and West Mountain—side by side in front of him. The Dongshan Rune was seventy-two points clockwise, the North Mountain seventy-two points counter-clockwise, and the West Mountain seventy-two points clockwise.

Putting the three together looked like two forward-facing ones sandwiching a reverse-facing one.

He took out paper and a pen, trying to layer the three runes together.

First he drew the Dongshan Rune, then the West Mountain, and finally the North Mountain.

With three layers of runes superimposed, the lines were as dense as a spider web; the paper tore halfway through drawing.

He changed to a new sheet of paper and redrew it, this time starting from the most complex North Mountain, adding layers one by one. By the fourth attempt, he finally succeeded.

The three layers of runes overlapped; the core circle plus three points became a whole, the radial curves intertwined into a web, nested geometries layered within each other, and the outer dot matrix became three layers—clockwise, counter-clockwise, clockwise—like three gears meshing.

[Composite Rune · Three Mountains]

[Effect: Qi field intensity +300%, range +200%, stability +100%]

[Usage: Can be used to set up a large-scale Talisman Array, requires jade plaque to activate]

[Activation condition: Collect East Mountain · North Mountain · West Mountain jade plaques]

Chen Zhen looked at this prompt.

Three jade plaques, he had two.

The East Mountain one was next to the seed. It wasn't a jade plaque, it was a fragment.

But the fragment also came from the East Mountain, so it should be usable.

He reached out and pressed his hand to his chest, probing his Qi into the inside of the seed.

The seed was rotating, and that golden vein was glowing.

Next to the vein was a tiny point of light.

It wasn't part of the seed; it existed independently.

It was very faint, but it was indeed glowing.

He tried to touch that point of light with his consciousness.

The point of light lit up for a moment, then dimmed.

No response.

He tried again, but it was the same.

He couldn't open it.

He withdrew his hand and stared at the two jade plaques for a long time.

It required three, he had two, and the third was inside the seed, but he couldn't take it out.

Or perhaps, the seed itself was the third piece.

He stood up, walked to the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and began to draw the Composite Rune Array.

East Mountain, North Mountain, West Mountain, three layers superimposed, one stroke at a time, infused with Qi.

After drawing the last stroke, the entire blackboard lit up, the halo lasting for a few seconds before dimming.

[Composite Rune Array · Not activated]

[Requires jade plaque to activate]

Chen Zhen put down the chalk and looked at the blackboard.

The Talisman Array was drawn, but without the jade plaque, it was just a drawing. He needed to embed the jade plaque into it.

He walked to the center of the array and sat down, taking out the two jade plaques.

He placed them in his palm and injected his Qi.

Both jade plaques lit up simultaneously, the light spreading from his palms to his fingertips, like two streams of water looking for an outlet.

He guided them to flow toward the blackboard.

The moment the light from the jade plaques touched the blackboard, the entire Talisman Array lit up.

It wasn't the faint light from before; it was a blinding, golden-white light that illuminated the entire base.

The three layers of runes operated simultaneously, the clockwise ones turning clockwise, the counter-clockwise ones turning counter-clockwise, like three precision gears meshing.

The system panel popped up a prompt.

[Composite Rune Array · Three Mountains · Activated]

[Effect: Qi field intensity +300%, range +200%, stability +100%]

[Duration: Permanent]

[Consumption: None]

Zhou Rui stood up from the workbench and stared at the blackboard. "Master, this is..."

"A Composite Rune Array."

"What can it do?"

Chen Zhen felt the changes in the base.

The concentration of Qi was rising; not the slow rise like the Spirit Gathering Talisman, but a surge.

Three hundred intensity, two hundred range, one hundred stability—the entire base was enveloped by an invisible force field.

The leaves of those spirit plants unfolded simultaneously, as if taking a deep breath.

The golden veins of the Mutant Seedling flashed violently, then stabilized, brighter than before.

"It's for Cultivation," Chen Zhen said.

Zhou Rui was stunned. "Cultivation?"

"Sit down and try it."

Zhou Rui sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, his expression changed.

"Master, the Qi is so dense."

Yun Xi straightened up from the wall, walked to the blackboard, and stared at the runes for a long time. "How long can this last?"

"Permanently."

Yun Xi was silent for a few seconds. "Then this place will be a Holy Land for Cultivation from now on."

She walked over to Zhou Rui, sat down, and closed her eyes. After a while, she opened her eyes and looked at Chen Zhen. "It is indeed dense. Three times denser than before."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

He walked back to the center of the array, sat down, closed his eyes, and used Internal Vision on his Dantian. The seed was rotating, and that vein was glowing, a little brighter than before. The Qi field of the Composite Rune Array penetrated his body and acted directly on the seed.

The seed was accelerating.

He opened his eyes.

The seedling was accelerating, the seed was accelerating, the Composite Rune Array was accelerating. Everything was accelerating.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, it was getting dark, and the city lights were turning on one by one.

He turned around and walked back to the center of the array to sit cross-legged.

Tomorrow is Monday, a new week.

[Qi Refining Level 7: 12800 / 25000]