86: Chapter 86 Approaching

Thursday, 6:00 AM, Chen Zhen opened his eyes on time.

He didn't use Internal Vision on his Dantian as he usually did; instead, he directly activated [Fragment Perception].

Seventeen points of light.

The middle-aged man to the northeast was still in the same spot.

The old man directly to the north was still in seclusion.

The chaotic, violent thing to the southwest still made one's heart palpitate.

The Young Woman to the southeast—

She was closer.

Yesterday she was five hundred kilometers away; today she had already entered the four-hundred-kilometer range.

Moreover, her movement speed was twice as fast as yesterday.

Chen Zhen stared at that point of light for a few seconds, then retracted his perception.

Four hundred kilometers. At this speed, she would arrive in three days.

He sat up and swept his gaze across the room.

Cleaning Spell.

With a consumption of 1 point of spiritual power, a ripple mixed with Stellar Energy swept through.

The room became instantly clean, the air crisp and cool, and the leaves of the two spiritual plants unfurled.

He walked to the window and looked at the city outside.

Who was The Young Woman coming for?

For him? Or was she just passing through?

He didn't know.

But he knew he had to be prepared.

He took out the stack of blank Talisman paper and began to draw Talismans.

Today's goal—one hundred.

All made with Talisman ink mixed with anshen flower powder, and all infused with Stellar Energy.

Attack Talismans, Protective Talismans, auxiliary Talismans, escape Talismans.

One after another, purple light flickered in the room.

After two hours of drawing, all one hundred Talismans were finished.

[Stellar Mind-Calming Talisman × 30]

[Stellar Spirit-Refreshing Talisman × 20]

[Stellar Heart-Clearing Talisman × 20]

[Stellar Protective Talisman × 15]

[Stellar Thunder Fire Talisman × 10]

[Stellar Invisibility Talisman × 5]

He sorted the Talismans and checked the time—7:20.

Time for school.

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 his notebook over.

Zhang Meng caught it and buried his head in copying.

Chen Zhen walked to his seat and sat down.

Su Xiaoya, sitting in front, turned her head, her expression a bit strange.

"Chen Zhen, my mom had that dream again last night."

Chen Zhen looked at her.

"Dreamed of what?"

"Still that old man." Su Xiaoya lowered her voice. "But this time, what he said was different."

"What did he say?"

Su Xiaoya hesitated for a moment.

"He said: 'She is coming.'"

Chen Zhen's heart jolted.

She is coming.

"Did he say anything else?"

Su Xiaoya shook her head.

"Just those three words. Then he disappeared."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

"Tell your mom not to overthink it."

Su Xiaoya nodded and turned back.

But Chen Zhen knew those three words weren't a dream.

They were a warning.

The first period was math.

Old Zhao was lecturing on comprehensive functions, and the blackboard was full of formulas.

Chen Zhen didn't hear a single word.

His mind was filled with the point of light representing The Young Woman.

Who was she?

Why was she coming?

What did she have to do with Shen Mo's grandfather?

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Southeast direction, three hundred and eighty kilometers.

Another twenty kilometers closer.

He retracted his perception and took a deep breath.

No matter who she is, he would know when she arrives.

At lunch, Chen Zhen went to the cafeteria.

After getting his food, he found a seat.

He had only taken a few bites when someone walked over with a tray.

Shen Mo.

He sat down opposite Chen Zhen and lowered his voice: "That small fragment lit up again last night."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"How bright?"

"Very bright." Shen Mo took the small fragment out of his pocket and showed it to him. "Three times brighter than before."

Chen Zhen stared at the fragment.

The dark blue light was flashing, and the frequency was twice as fast as yesterday.

It was resonating.

Resonating with what?

With The Young Woman who was approaching?

He returned the fragment to Shen Mo.

"Keep it with you. Don't let it leave your person."

Shen Mo nodded and put the fragment away.

"Also, I saw the vision again last night."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"What vision?"

Shen Mo frowned, struggling to recall.

"Still that cave. But this time, there was another person."

"What kind of person?"

"A woman." Shen Mo said, "Young, long hair, wearing very strange clothes. She was standing opposite that old man, and she was also holding something that was glowing."

Chen Zhen's heart jolted.

The Young Woman.

Something glowing.

star core fragment.

"Did they say anything?"

Shen Mo shook his head.

"No sound. But I could see their expressions. The old man was smiling, and the woman was crying."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

The old man in the cave was Shen Mo's grandfather.

Who was the woman?

"Anything else?"

Shen Mo thought for a moment.

"There was one more image. Outside that cave, there was light. Very strong light, dark blue, falling from the sky like a waterfall."

Star Radiance falling from the sky.

Chen Zhen took a deep breath.

"Don't tell anyone about these visions."

Shen Mo nodded.

He stood up and walked away with his tray.

Chen Zhen sat in his seat, staring at the food in front of him, not taking a single bite.

The small fragment left by Shen Mo's grandfather was transmitting information through these visions.

And The Young Woman was approaching.

The third period in the afternoon was physics.

Old Li was lecturing on electromagnetic induction, and the blackboard was covered in coils.

Chen Zhen listened for a while, when suddenly an idea popped into his head.

Electromagnetic induction—a changing magnetic field produces an electric field.

What if the resonance between the fragments was also a kind of "field"?

What if The Young Woman could sense his location because his fragment was "emitting a signal"?

He activated [Star Core: Second Layer], attempting to suppress the fluctuations of the spiritual bead in his Dantian.

The rotation speed of the spiritual bead slowed down instantly, and the Stellar Energy receded.

[Fragment Signal Strength: 100% → 30%]

It worked.

He adjusted the suppression to the maximum.

[Fragment Signal Strength: 30% → 5%]

5%, almost imperceptible.

He nodded with satisfaction.

This way, The Young Woman wouldn't be able to find him.

At least, not so easily.

After school, Chen Zhen packed his bag to leave.

Zhou Rui walked over from behind and stood next to him.

"Master, I tried drawing a Talisman again last night."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"And the result?"

Zhou Rui took a Talisman out of his pocket and handed it to him.

Chen Zhen unfolded it.

On the Talisman paper was a complete Calming Talisman—the core circle, the three-point triangle, the radial curves, the nested geometry, all correct. Moreover, the lines were continuous, with no broken strokes and no overlaps.

The most critical part was—there was a faint trace of spiritual power fluctuation remaining on the Talisman paper.

[System Prompt: Disciple Zhou Rui has successfully drawn a Talisman for the first time]

[Quality: Mortal · Low Grade]

[Effect: Calming + 20%]

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"You did it."

Zhou Rui was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

It was the first time Chen Zhen had seen him smile so happily.

"Thank you, Master."

Chen Zhen nodded.

"Go back and keep practicing. One a day, you can't stop."

Zhou Rui nodded.

He turned and left.

Chen Zhen watched his back, suddenly remembering the first time he successfully drew a Talisman.

It was the same feeling.

At 8:00 PM, at the Secret Base.

Chen Zhen sat cross-legged in the center of the Eight-Talisman Chain Array, with three simplified Celestial Star Arrays posted on the walls and six spiritual plants surrounding him.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Southeast direction, three hundred and twenty kilometers.

Sixty kilometers closer.

At this speed, she would arrive the night after next.

He retracted his perception and took out the stack of newly drawn Talismans.

Thirty Attack Talismans, twenty Defensive Talismans, fifteen Protective Talismans, ten Thunder Fire Talismans, five Invisibility Talismans.

Enough.

He sorted the Talismans and posted them in various locations around the base.

Ten Attack Talismans on the east wall, ten Defensive Talismans on the west wall, ten Protective Talismans on the north wall.

The remaining one hundred were put into his Storage Space to carry with him.

After setting it up, he stood in the center of the base, looking at the Talismans covering the walls.

Two hundred Talismans—if they were all activated, what level of enemy could they stop?

He didn't know.

But at least, they could buy time.

He sat down cross-legged and began to Cultivate.

The spiritual bead in his Dantian slowly rotated, and the Stellar Energy intertwined with ordinary spiritual power, pouring into the meridians throughout his body.

[Cultivation Progress: Qi Refining Level 4 578 / 1800]

It had increased by 40 points since the morning.

Faster.

In another week, he would be able to achieve a Breakthrough to Qi Refining Level 5.

He closed his eyes and continued to Cultivate.

Outside the window, the night was deep.

To the southeast, that point of light was still moving.

Step by step, getting closer and closer.