84: Chapter 84 Fragments

Monday, 7:00 PM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Eight-Talisman Chain Array, with six pots of spiritual plants surrounding him.

The eight talismans on the wall emitted a steady, pale purple halo, maintaining the Spiritual Qi concentration in the entire space at around 120%.

But he was not Cultivating.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the "anomaly" that Shen Mo mentioned.

In the afternoon, Shen Mo said that the small fragment had lit up, and he could feel the aura on Chen Zhen.

This meant that although the small fragment had not undergone Fusion, it was already in a semi-activated state.

An ordinary person, without a Spiritual Root, yet able to perceive the aura of the fragment.

This matter was not simple.

At 7:30, his phone vibrated.

Shen Mo's message: "I have a feeling."

Chen Zhen replied instantly: "What kind of feeling?"

Shen Mo: "There is something spinning in my brain. It feels like... images. Very chaotic, I can't understand them."

Chen Zhen stared at the screen for a few seconds.

Images?

He replied: "Don't resist, let it come on its own. Write it down."

Shen Mo replied with a "Okay."

Chen Zhen put down his phone and pondered for a few seconds.

The "images" triggered by the fragment were often related to the fragment itself.

Its origin, its previous owner, and what it had experienced.

Shen Mo's small fragment, although not yet fused, was carried on his person and had already begun to resonate.

If there was any key information in those images...

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was deep, and the city lights were like scattered stars.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Seventeen points of light were distributed within the range of perception.

The middle-aged man at Qi Refining Level 7 in the northeast was still moving, the old man in the due north was still stationary, and the chaotic, violent thing in the southwest was still there.

But there was one point of light that was different from before.

The Young Woman five hundred kilometers to the southeast.

Her position had changed.

Yesterday she was still in the same place, but now she was moving north, not fast, but with a clear direction.

Coming in this direction?

Chen Zhen stared at that point of light for a few seconds.

Then he withdrew his perception and walked back to the center of the array.

Whether she was coming for him or not, being prepared was never wrong.

He took out the stack of blank talisman paper and began to draw talismans.

Tonight's goal—fifty talismans.

Attack Talisman, defensive talismans, auxiliary talismans, escape talismans.

All used talisman ink mixed with anshen flower powder, and all were infused with Stellar Energy.

One after another, purple light rose and fell in the base.

At 10:00 PM, Shen Mo sent a second message.

"I'm done drawing. Can you take a look?"

Chen Zhen replied: "Tomorrow at noon, the cafeteria."

Tuesday noon, the cafeteria.

Chen Zhen finished getting his food and found a corner seat to sit down.

Five minutes later, Shen Mo came over with his tray and sat opposite him.

He took out a small notebook from his pocket, opened it, and pushed it in front of Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen looked down.

There were some scribbled patterns drawn in the notebook.

Very messy, the lines were intermittent, and in some places, it wasn't even clear what they were.

But there were a few patterns that he recognized at a glance.

A core circle plus three dots.

Radial curves.

Nested geometry.

Dongshan Rune.

He looked up at Shen Mo.

Shen Mo lowered his voice: "These are what appeared in my head. They kept spinning and spinning, and it took about half an hour before they stopped. I hurriedly drew them down."

Chen Zhen stared at those patterns for a long time.

They were the same as the Dongshan Rune, but also different.

The lines were more complex, the structure was more precise, and the outer dot matrix was not seventy-two, but three hundred and sixty.

Three hundred and sixty.

The number of the Celestial cycle.

He closed the notebook and returned it to Shen Mo.

"Anything else?"

Shen Mo thought for a moment.

"There was one more image. Not a pattern, but a person."

"What kind of person?"

Shen Mo frowned, trying hard to recall.

"I can't see the face clearly. He was wearing very old clothes, standing in a cave. He was holding something in his hand, and it was glowing."

"What did the glowing thing look like?"

"It was dark blue." Shen Mo said, "The same as the one you showed me."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

That image was the previous owner of this small fragment.

And that cave...

"Can you draw the location of that cave?"

Shen Mo shook his head.

"Only the image, no location information."

Chen Zhen nodded.

"Keep this notebook with me for now."

Shen Mo pushed the notebook to him.

"Also, that feeling is still there." He said, "I can feel that aura on you, it's stronger than yesterday."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

An ordinary person, without a Spiritual Root, yet able to perceive the aura of the fragment.

This person, either has a unique talent, or...

He remembered what Shen Mo's grandfather said: "My family has guarded this talisman for generations."

People who guard talismans for generations might have left something in their Bloodline.

"Are you carrying that small fragment with you?"

Shen Mo nodded, took out the fingernail-sized stone from his pocket, and showed it to him.

The dark blue faint light flickered.

"Wear it." Chen Zhen said, "If there are any changes, tell me immediately."

Shen Mo put away the stone and stood up.

"I'm going back to school in the afternoon."

He left.

Chen Zhen sat in his original seat, staring at the notebook for a long time.

Three hundred and sixty dot matrix.

Five times more complex than the Dongshan Rune.

What did this mean?

He didn't know.

But he knew, it was coming soon.

The third period in the afternoon was PE class.

Today was the 50-meter sprint test.

The boys stood at the starting line, rubbing their hands and fists.

Zhang Meng was warming up on the side, bragging while warming up: "I can run 6.2 seconds at my fastest, I have no rivals in the whole class."

The PE Teacher walked over with a stopwatch.

"One group at a time. Zhang Meng, you go first."

Zhang Meng stood at the starting line.

The whistle blew, and he rushed out.

6.3 seconds.

"Not bad." The PE Teacher recorded the result, "Next, Chen Zhen."

Chen Zhen stood at the starting line.

He didn't warm up, didn't have any preparatory movements, he just stood there.

Zhang Meng shouted from the side: "At least warm up!"

The whistle blew.

Chen Zhen rushed out.

He didn't use [Star Radiance Flash Step], just normal running.

But with the dual blessing of [Physical Optimization] and Stellar Energy, his speed was at least thirty percent faster than an ordinary person.

When he crossed the finish line, the PE Teacher pressed the stopwatch and was stunned for a moment.

"5.1 seconds."

The whole field was silent for a second.

"Damn!" Zhang Meng was the first to shout, "Are you even human?"

Chen Zhen didn't speak and walked to the side of the field to drink water.

The PE Teacher stared at him for a few seconds, then recorded the result in his notebook.

"Chen Zhen, 5.1 seconds, you broke the school record."

There was an uproar below.

"Isn't the school record 5.3 seconds?"

"He runs faster than the sports school students?"

"Chen Zhen, did you take drugs?"

Chen Zhen ignored them and continued to drink water.

But in his peripheral vision, he saw Zhou Rui standing at the edge of the playground, staring at him.

That look was different from before.

It wasn't curiosity, it wasn't evaluation, it was a new kind of thing—understanding.

He knew.

He knew why Chen Zhen could run so fast.

After school, Chen Zhen packed his bag and prepared to leave.

Zhou Rui walked over from behind and stood beside him.

"Master, that 50 meters this afternoon..."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"What do you want to say?"

Zhou Rui was silent for two seconds.

"I want to say, when can I practice to that point?"

Chen Zhen looked at him.

Qi Refining Stage 1, just entered the door, and thinking about running under 5 seconds?

"Lay the foundation first." He said, "When your Realm is reached, you will naturally be able to."

Zhou Rui nodded.

"I understand."

He turned and left.

Chen Zhen looked at his back, thoughtful.

This kid has good Heart-Nature.

But he is too impatient.

8:00 PM, Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Eight-Talisman Chain Array, with Shen Mo's notebook in front of him.

Three hundred and sixty dot matrix.

Five times more complex than the Dongshan Rune.

He took out the "talisman scripture" and turned to the last page.

There was also a three hundred and sixty dot matrix there, but it was incomplete, only half.

There was a line of small text next to it:

"This talisman is named 'Celestial Star Array', it is the supreme secret transmission of the talisman Dao. I spent my whole life without being able to glimpse its mysteries, a great regret."

Shen Mo's grandfather had also seen this talisman.

But he hadn't studied it thoroughly.

He closed the book and closed his eyes in thought.

Three hundred and sixty, corresponding to the degrees of the Celestial cycle.

This talisman was not an ordinary Spirit Gathering Talisman or Calming Talisman, but a grand array that communicates with heaven and earth.

If drawn, what would be the effect?

He didn't know.

But he knew that with his current level, he couldn't draw it.

It required stronger spiritual power, more precise control, and deeper understanding.

He opened his eyes and looked at the pots of spiritual plants.

The third flower bud of the largest soul-calming grass was about to bloom.

The flower buds of the other two plants were also much larger.

In another day or two, he would be able to harvest three calming flowers.

He stood up, walked to the workbench, and took out the stack of blank talisman paper.

He couldn't draw the three hundred and sixty dot matrix, but he could start with simple ones.

One by one, take it slow.

One day, he would be able to draw it.