154: Chapter 154 Unexpected

On a weekend morning, Chen Zhen was awakened by a rapid knocking on the door.

He opened his eyes; sunlight had already squeezed in through the gap in the curtains.

The knocking continued, rapid and dense.

He walked over and opened the door. Zhou Rui was standing at the threshold, his hair messy, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, but he was very excited.

"Master, I succeeded."

He held up a Talisman in his hand.

The patterns on the Talisman paper were deep red, unlike all the previous ones; the lines were finer and denser, distributed across the paper surface like blood vessels.

Chen Zhen stepped aside to let him in.

Zhou Rui walked to the workbench, spread out the Talisman paper, and pointed at the patterns on it.

"Look here, I changed the structure of the Tracking Talisman. Originally, it diffused from the center of the rune outward, but now it converges from the periphery toward the center. This way, the Qi won't dissipate and will be entirely focused on the target."

He paused.

"The effect is three times better than before. Plus, it can lock onto targets further away; it can track within five kilometers."

Chen Zhen lowered his head to look at that Talisman.

The structure of the rune had indeed changed; the core circle was still there, but the radial curves had become spiral-shaped.

The Qi moved inward ring by ring from the periphery, tightening as it went, finally concentrating on the center point.

The system panel popped up a notification.

[Tracking Talisman · Zhou Rui Version]

[Effect: Tracking Range + 300%, Locking Precision + 200%]

[Quality: Top-Grade]

Chen Zhen nodded. "Not bad."

Zhou Rui smiled.

He carefully put the Talisman away and placed it into a special box.

"Master, can this be used?"

"It can be used. Make a few more and keep them for backup."

Zhou Rui nodded, turned around, and walked back to the workbench to start drawing Talismans.

His movements were steadier than before; every stroke was just right, and the Qi output was even, without fluctuations.

Chen Zhen watched him draw a few strokes and suddenly remembered when he first started learning to draw Talismans.

It was the same back then—practicing stroke by stroke, wasting sheet after sheet, drawing until his fingers grew stiff and his eyes grew blurry.

At that time, he drew dozens of Talismans every day, and the Talisman paper he used for practice piled up half as high as a person.

Now, Zhou Rui was walking that same path.

Chen Zhen walked to the window and pushed it open.

The air outside was fresh, carrying a hint of the scent of soil.

The owner of the breakfast stall downstairs was packing up; the steamer was already empty, leaving only a few drops of oil on the white steamer cloth.

He turned around and walked to that sprout.

The flower was still blooming.

The withered yellow on the edges of the petals had spread to two-thirds of the petals, but the seed in the center of the flower was still very bright, its dark blue light flickering on and off, as if it were breathing.

The new sprout at the base of the calyx had grown another circle, increasing from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a mung bean; it was a tender green, forming a stark contrast with the withered yellow petals.

Shen Nian was squatting nearby, holding a magnifying glass and staring at the new sprout.

"It grows very fast. Last night it was only the size of a rice grain, and now it's already the size of a mung bean. At this rate, by the time the flower fades, the new sprout will be able to grow into a small seedling."

Chen Zhen reached out and lightly touched the new sprout.

The moment his fingertips touched it, a faint thought was transmitted—not the clear emotion of an adult plant, but a vague, nascent consciousness. It was saying: "I am awake."

Chen Zhen withdrew his hand.

This plant was in the process of handing over.

The flower fades, the sprout grows out—generation after generation.

He stood up and walked back to the center of the array.

He used Internal Vision on his Dantian.

The seed was still spinning, and that pattern was still glowing.

The light spot next to the pattern—seventy-eight.

Yesterday it was seventy-three; today it increased by five points.

He reached out and pressed his hand on his chest, injecting Qi.

[east mountain jade tablet · Resonating]

[Current Progress: 78 / 100]

He was still twenty-two points short. He withdrew his hand and caught his breath. The consumption of Qi was very fast; he could only inject four to five points each time before needing to recover. He calculated that it would take another four or five days.

Zhou Rui walked over and sat down opposite him.

"Master, when are we going to North Mountain?"

"Wait until the East Mountain resonance is complete."

Zhou Rui nodded.

"Then I will go prepare. We need to bring more Talismans; North Mountain is more remote than West Mountain and South City. If something happens, supplies might not keep up."

Chen Zhen looked at him. "How much are you planning to bring?"

Zhou Rui thought for a moment. "One hundred Protective Talismans, fifty Tracking Talismans, fifty Purification Talismans, and thirty Attack Talismans. Plus dry rations, water, and a first-aid kit; that should be enough."

Chen Zhen nodded.

Zhou Rui stood up, walked to his workbench, and started making a list.

His handwriting was very neat; every item was written clearly—the name of the Talismans, quantity, purpose, and storage location—like a military marching list.

Chen Zhen watched him make the list and suddenly remembered something.

He took out that nanshan jade tablet and placed it in front of him.

Milky white, the surface was smooth, with no cracks.

It pointed toward North Mountain.

What was in North Mountain? A stone monument, a stone box, and something deeper.

Shen Zhiyuan dug one meter under the North Mountain stone monument, found the stone box, and took out the North Mountain Jade Tablet.

But he did not continue digging downward.

What else was below? Chen Zhen didn't know. But the jade tablet pointed there.

After the resonance is finished, go to North Mountain.

In the afternoon, Chen Zhen went out.

He didn't go to the Secret Base, nor did he go to school. He went to the Old Street.

The door of the Bookstore was open.

Old Wu was not behind the counter; the sound of turning pages came from inside.

Chen Zhen walked in and saw Old Wu squatting in front of a bookshelf, organizing a pile of old books.

"Grandpa Wu, do you have any information on North Mountain?"

Old Wu looked up. "North Mountain? What are you going to North Mountain for?"

"Looking for something."

Old Wu stared at him for a few seconds, then stood up and walked to the innermost bookshelf, pulling out a thick booklet from the bottom layer.

The booklet had no cover; the paper had yellowed, and the edges were heavily worn.

"Old Gu's notes. He wrote a lot about the North Mountain part."

Chen Zhen took it and opened it.

The handwriting was scrawled, but clearer than the one about South City.

Flipping to the middle, one page had the title "An Examination of Fu Mountain in North Mountain".

"There is a mountain in North Mountain, named Fu Mountain. On the mountain there is a stone, and on the stone there is a Talisman. It is similar to East Mountain. In the spring of 1985, I went to explore it and found a stone monument on the mountainside; under the monument was a stone box. Inside the box was a jade plaque, similar to the east mountain jade tablet. The jade plaque was intact and filled with Qi. I took it."

Below it was a drawing—a cross-section of the North Mountain stone monument.

The stone monument was 1.5 meters high, 1 meter wide, and 30 centimeters thick.

Below it was a one-meter-thick layer of soil, followed by the stone box.

Below the stone box, there was something else.

Chen Zhen stared at that drawing.

Below the stone box, there was a line of small text: "Suspected to have a space, did not dare to dig deep."

Shen Zhiyuan did not continue digging downward.

He felt there was something below, but didn't dare to dig. Why? Chen Zhen continued reading.

"At 1.5 meters underground, there is a fluctuation of Qi. It is very strong. Suspected to be another stone box. However, I am alone and dare not act rashly. Leaving it for those who come after."

Alone, and dared not act rashly. He was afraid.

Chen Zhen closed the booklet.

There was something below the North Mountain stone monument. Shen Zhiyuan felt it and didn't dare to dig. He would dig.

"Grandpa Wu, can I borrow this?"

Old Wu waved his hand. "Take it, take it."

Chen Zhen put the booklet into his Storage Space and pushed the door open to leave.

At night, at the Secret Base. Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the array, with the three jade tablets placed in front of him.

North Mountain, West Mountain, South Mountain. He stared at them for a long time, then reached out and touched them, injecting Qi.

The three jade tablets lit up simultaneously, resonating with the Composite Rune Array.

[Composite Rune Array · Strength + 5% · Current 380%]

[Jade Tablet Resonating · Progress 3 / 4]

He withdrew his hand. Still short of East Mountain. East Mountain was inside the seed.

Chen Zhen lowered his head to look at his chest. He reached out and pressed his hand against his chest, injecting Qi into the interior of the seed.

[east mountain jade tablet · Resonating]

[Current Progress: 82 / 100]

Four points. He withdrew his hand and caught his breath. Soon.

Zhou Rui stood up from the workbench and walked over.

"Master, I've finished the list. See if you need anything else?"

He handed over the list.

Chen Zhen took it and flipped through it page by page.

One hundred and twenty Protective Talismans, sixty Tracking Talismans, sixty Purification Talismans, and fifty Attack Talismans.

Dry rations, water, first-aid kit, flashlight, headlamp, raincoat, sleeping bag, moisture-proof mat.

Every item was marked with quantity and storage location.

"Enough."

Zhou Rui nodded and put the list away. "Then I will draw more over the next few days. We need more Attack Talismans and Tracking Talismans; North Mountain is even more remote than West Mountain. If something happens, long-range attacks are safer than close-quarters combat."

Chen Zhen looked at him. He was very thorough.

"Do as you see fit."

Zhou Rui nodded and walked back to the workbench.

He picked up his brush and started drawing an Attack Talisman; he succeeded on the first one.

Chen Zhen watched him draw a few strokes, then walked to that sprout.

The withered yellow of the petals had reached the base of the petals; only the center of the flower was still gold.

The seed was still very bright; the light penetrated the withered petals, illuminating the entire Secret Base in a dark gold color.

The new sprout at the base of the calyx had grown from the size of a mung bean to the size of a soybean.

It was a tender green; the leaves hadn't unfolded yet, but the outline could be seen.

When the flower fades, it will be time for it to take over.

Shen Nian was squatting nearby, holding a notebook.

"It grew a bit more today. At this rate, by the time the flower fades, the new sprout will be able to unfold its first leaf."

Chen Zhen nodded.

He walked to the window and pushed it open.

The air outside was cool, carrying a hint of moisture.

The city lights flickered in the distance, like stars.