105: Chapter 105 Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise

Ending the communication, he put away the Talisman and gazed toward the southwest.

Thirty miles away, Iron Ridge.

That was a medium-sized mining area on the periphery of the Tianzhu Mountain Range, primarily producing "Red Iron Ore" and a small amount of "Black Copper"; it was of low grade and belonged to a secondary resource point not highly valued by the Sect.

But there, a secondary Spiritual Vein tributary extending from the main Spiritual Vein happened to pass through.

Destroying it would neither cause substantial damage to the Sect's core Spiritual Vein—because the distance was far enough and the buffer was sufficient—nor would it fail to trigger a seismic tremor in the Spiritual Vein, with the fluctuations conducting throughout the entire Sect, interfering with all Formations, Pill Furnaces, and tool furnaces that relied on the Spiritual Qi of the Spiritual Vein...

As well as the Golden Core seclusion in the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven that required an extremely stable Spiritual Qi environment.

"The chosen point is very tricky."

Lin Xuan whispered to himself, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

This was not a full-scale assault by the Xuanyin Sect; that would have caused too much commotion, and the Sect-Protecting Formation was not just for show.

This was a precise, small-scale harassment and sabotage operation.

The goal was not to cause significant actual loss, but to create chaos, disturb the mind, and disrupt the rhythm.

Especially during the critical period of Qi Tianyuan's Core Formation—any minor external interference could be amplified, becoming a trigger for the growth of a Heart Demon or causing deviations in the intake of Spiritual Qi.

"An inside agent..."

Lin Xuan recalled the words Senior Brother Feng said before he disappeared: there was a mole inside.

To be able to so precisely find the node at Iron Ridge that could trigger tremors throughout the entire Sect without immediately triggering the highest alert, to avoid the patrols to sneak in and sabotage, and to be able to retreat quickly after succeeding...

It was almost impossible without the cooperation of internal personnel.

He closed his eyes, and fragments of words Senior Brother Feng had once mentioned inadvertently flashed through his mind.

"The Mutual Aid Society... the handler has dealings with several Deacon Disciples, and some 'extra' outflows of controlled materials were not following the formal allocation channels..."

"Over at Iron Ridge, Deacon Liu, who guards the mine, seems quite short on Spirit Stones and was privately asking about ways to quickly earn contribution points some time ago..."

The clues were very fragmented, like scattered beads.

But at this moment, amidst the tremors of the earthquake, these beads seemed to be vaguely strung together by an invisible thread.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, his gaze clear.

He did nothing, just stood quietly in the courtyard, continuing to feel the gradually weakening tremors coming from beneath his feet.

The sensory image transmitted by the Pangolin through the contract showed that the explosion point deep underground in the southwest had stopped bombarding.

The seismic source was calming down.

But the disturbance caused was like a stone thrown into a pond, with ripples spreading throughout the entire Sect.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn later.

From the direction of Rising Sun Peak, several Divine Senses, vast as an abyss, swept out without any concealment!

Those Divine Senses were vast, majestic, and carried the unique pressure of heaven and earth belonging to a Golden Core Cultivator, shrouding the entire Sect like an invisible giant net; every inch of land, every Formation node, and every wisp of Spiritual Qi flow were meticulously scanned.

Lin Xuan felt his whole body tighten, as if he had been gently pinched by an invisible hand, then immediately released.

He knew that the Sect's higher-ups had made a move.

Sure enough, a moment later, the Sect Master's voice resounded through the night sky again, with three parts more coldness than before:

"The Earth Vein Department shall immediately proceed to Iron Ridge to inspect and repair."

"The Law Enforcement Hall shall coordinate and thoroughly investigate the mining area guards and all entry and exit records from recent days."

"The other peaks shall stabilize their Formations, pacify the Disciples, and must not panic."

"This is merely an act of harassment by petty scoundrels; everyone perform your duties and do not throw yourselves into disarray."

As the voice faded, from the direction of Rising Sun Peak, three streaks of light shot up into the sky and darted toward the southwest—those were the Deacons of the Earth Vein Department.

Following closely behind, five more streaks of light swept out, their auras sharp; they were people from the Law Enforcement Hall.

The bell ringing finally stopped.

The tremors also completely subsided.

The night returned to silence, as if everything just now had been an illusion.

But Lin Xuan knew it was not.

He returned to the Quiet Room, sat cross-legged again, but did not immediately Cultivate.

Instead, he entered the Spirit-Taming Tower Space again.

He wanted to confirm whether the man-made Spiritual Vein tremor just now had any effect on the spiritual plants within the space.

The moment he stepped into the space, Lin Xuan was slightly taken aback.

The Lightning Spiritual Qi... seemed a bit more active than before?

He walked quickly to the center of the spirit field and looked at the thunder essence fruit tree.

The next moment, his pupils constricted slightly.

The ovary at the center of that flower, in the less than half an hour he had been away from the space—

Had actually expanded by another circle!

The ovary, originally the size of a soybean, was now the size of a fava bean; the lightning patterns on its surface were clearer, and faint, dense electric sparks were jumping and circulating between the patterns.

The speed of absorbing the Lightning Spiritual Qi in the space was clearly a fraction faster than before the earthquake!

The exotic fragrance had also become stronger.

Lin Xuan squatted down and sensed carefully.

Soon, he understood the reason.

The external Spiritual Vein tremor had caused a Sect-wide disturbance of Spiritual Qi.

But the Spirit-Taming Tower Space was self-contained and not directly affected by the outside world.

On the contrary, when the external Spiritual Qi fluctuated, the stable and pure Lightning Spiritual Qi environment within the space instead became a kind of "low-lying area."

The instinct of the thunder essence fruit tree seemed to have detected the instability outside, so it actively accelerated the absorption of the stable spiritual energy within the space to cope with potential external "variables."

This was a stress response of the spiritual plant for self-protection and accelerated storage.

"Misfortune is where fortune relies..."

Lin Xuan murmured softly, a trace of realization flashing in his eyes.

In great crises, there are often hidden opportunities for accelerated growth.

This Spiritual Vein tremor was a harassment, an interference, and a hidden danger to the Sect.

But for him, for this space that belonged solely to him, and for the thunder essence fruit tree that was gestating, it had, by some twist of fate, become a catalyst for growth.

He stood up and looked at the Herb-Seeking Mouse lying by the spirit field and the Pangolin that had poked its head out of the burrow.

The two little guys also seemed to have been affected, their spirits more excited than usual, but their condition was very good.

"Continue to be vigilant."

Lin Xuan transmitted his intent to the Pangolin through the contract.

"Next time you are out for air, pay more attention to abnormal fluctuations underground."

The Pangolin let out a low growl, transmitted the intent of "understood," and then retreated back into the burrow.

Lin Xuan exited the space.

Returning to the Quiet Room, he walked to the window and gazed toward the southwest.

The night was still deep; the streaks of light could no longer be seen in the direction of Iron Ridge, but he could vaguely feel the subtle Spiritual Power fluctuations coming from there—the people from the Earth Vein Department should be doing their best to repair the damaged nodes.

The people from the Law Enforcement Hall were probably interrogating the guarding Disciples, checking entry and exit records, and trying to catch the tail of the mole.

But this tail, I fear, would not be easy to catch.

The person capable of planning this kind of operation would not leave too obvious a trail.

"This is just the beginning."

Lin Xuan looked at the heavy night outside the window and whispered to himself.

A precise harassment, a demonstration, a probe.

The Xuanyin Sect and that small team of demonic cultists that had infiltrated were using this method to tell the Sanyang Sect: We know Qi Tianyuan is undergoing Core Formation, we know the critical period, we have the ability to interfere, and we are right beside you.

And that mole inside the Sect had also used this to show its fangs—perhaps there was more than one.

The mountain rain had arrived.

The thunder was about to fall.

And this tremor of the Spiritual Vein was merely a dull drumbeat before the opening.

Lin Xuan slowly exhaled, closed the window, and returned to sit on the prayer mat.

He closed his eyes, and the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art ran once again.

The outside world was chaotic, and crises were hidden.

But what he could do was still to stabilize himself, continue to Cultivate, continue to nurture spiritual plants, and continue to train Spirit Beasts.

Plant his roots deeper.

Sharpen his sword to be sharper.

Then, wait for the real storm to arrive.

Outside the window, on the distant Rising Sun Peak, in the direction of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven.

That pale golden halo, after a brief fluctuation, stabilized again, still slowly rippling in the night.

But those with a keen eye could feel that the speed of the halo's circulation seemed to be, compared to before the earthquake...

A fraction faster.

The night was still long.

And the darkness before dawn is often the deepest.