106: Chapter 106 Spiritual Energy Storm

The aftershocks of the earth vein tremors rippled through the Sect for an entire night.

The next morning, when Lin Xuan pushed open his courtyard gate, he discovered that the dew condensing on the bamboo leaves was slightly murkier than usual, carrying a faint, lingering scent of damp earth.

The air was permeated with a sense of tension, like the faint humming of a bowstring pulled to its limit.

He cast the Wind Control Technique and flew toward Thousand Talisman Peak; along the way, he saw that the number of patrol squads had doubled compared to yesterday.

The five-man squads had become seven-man squads, each member wearing a stern expression, their gazes sharp enough to peel skin.

In front of the Hundred Talisman Hall, the four guards remained, but today they held a Magical Artifact resembling a bronze mirror, which they used to scan every Disciple entering the hall for three seconds.

When it was Lin Xuan's turn, the bronze mirror emitted a faint, clear light, and the surface reflected his calm face. The guard nodded and waved him through.

The atmosphere inside the hall was even more oppressive than yesterday.

The constant-temperature Formation was still running, providing a refreshing chill, but within that chill, there was now a hint of an indescribable "agitation."

It felt like the free-floating ions in the sultry air before a summer thunderstorm, making one feel inexplicably anxious.

Lin Xuan walked into cubicle Ding-Wei 73, activated the soundproof Restriction, and spread out the purple-patterned paper.

He dipped the tip of his brush into the thunder-patterned cinnabar until it was saturated, then lowered it.

The first stroke had barely reached one-third of the way— "Sss!"

The Thunder Spiritual Energy on the Talisman paper trembled without warning, clashing with the spirituality contained within the cinnabar, and the entire Talisman paper instantly self-combusted, turning into a small pile of charred ash.

Lin Xuan furrowed his brows slightly.

He set down his brush, closed his eyes, calmed his Divine Sense, and carefully sensed his surroundings.

Indeed.

The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within the hall was fluctuating violently!

It was not the rhythmic transmission of the earth vein tremors from yesterday, but rather... chaos.

It was like a pot of porridge being stirred haphazardly, with Spiritual Qi of various attributes colliding, tearing, annihilating, and regenerating.

The Spirit Gathering Formation was trying desperately to sort it out, but the source of the chaos seemed to come from outside the hall, from the periphery of the entire Sect's protective Formation, seeping in endlessly.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes and looked up at the hall ceiling.

Through the semi-transparent Formation light screen, he could vaguely see the scene in the sky outside—

The originally azure sky was now displaying an eerie, multi-colored brilliance!

Red, blue, yellow, white, black... turbulent currents of various Spiritual Qi, like roaring, angry Dragons, rolled and collided in the sky, constantly battering the golden light screen of the Sect-protecting Formation.

With every impact, a corrosive "hissing" sound erupted, and the light screen rippled gently, either neutralizing, deflecting, or absorbing those violent turbulent currents of Spiritual Qi.

But a small amount of the aftershocks always managed to seep through the gaps in the Formation.

This was the source of the Spiritual Qi disorder inside the hall.

"Chaotic Spirit Formation..." Lin Xuan whispered to himself, recalling a niche Formation he had seen in the "Illustrated Guide to Basic Formations."

It was a one-time, malicious Formation; it was simple to set up and low in cost, but highly effective—it could incite the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in an area to fall into a frenzy within a short time, forming a "Spiritual Qi Storm" that could last for days or even longer.

For a Sect that relied on a stable Spiritual Qi environment for Cultivation, Alchemy, Talisman making, and Artifact Refining, this thing was like pouring ink into clear water; while not fatal, it was utterly disgusting.

Especially at this critical juncture.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath and laid out another Talisman paper.

This time, he did not rush to put his brush to paper.

Instead, he first operated the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art, pushing the light of the purple thunder seed within his Dantian to its limit, while silently invoking his "Thunder Gathering" talent.

In an instant, within a three-foot radius around him, those chaotic and irritable Thunder Spiritual Energy currents were gently smoothed over, as if by an invisible hand, becoming much more docile.

Although the overall environment remained chaotic, within this small circle under Lin Xuan's control, the flow of Thunder Spiritual Energy had regained basic order.

The brush tip descended once more.

The runes of the Thunder Shield Talisman extended stroke by stroke; although it was 30% slower than usual, and each stroke required more mental effort to suppress the agitation of the Spiritual Qi, it... held steady.

The Talisman was complete.

The quality was above average, barely usable.

Lin Xuan let out a soft breath and put away the Talisman, not immediately drawing a second one.

He needed to rest for a moment. That last effort had consumed more mental energy than drawing three Talismans normally.

Through the cubicle's light screen, he could see the scene in the corridor outside.

Blue smoke rose from quite a few cubicles—the traces of self-combusting Talisman paper. Some Disciples were slapping their tables in frustration, some sat slumped in defeat, while others, refusing to believe it, continued to try, only to meet with another failure.

Junior Brother Zhao in cubicle Bing-Wu 12, diagonally opposite, was currently pulling at his own hair; his table was a mess, with at least four or five Talisman papers ruined. His face was pale, his lips were trembling, and his eyes were filled with disappointment.

Lin Xuan withdrew his gaze and took out a communication Talisman.

A moment later, Chen Hao's voice came through:

"Lin Xuan! It's over! It's all over!"

"The batch of 'Green Edge Swords' we started refining at the Artifact Refining Peak this morning—all twelve of them—are all half-finished products! The Earth Fire suddenly became unstable, and the heat was off for just a breath... just one breath! All twelve sword blanks cracked! Master's face is as black as the bottom of a pot..."

Lin Xuan asked in a deep voice: "How great is the loss?"

"The material costs alone exceed three thousand contribution points! Not to mention labor and time..." Chen Hao's voice trembled, "Now the whole peak is in a panic; the Earth Fire is unstable, and the Spiritual Qi is chaotic—we can't work at all. Master says this 'Spiritual Qi Storm' will last at least three to five days; if it lasts any longer..."

He didn't continue, but the meaning was clear.

During wartime, every day of production concerned the consumption at the front lines. A shutdown of three to five days would result in immeasurable losses.

"How about you guys? Can you still continue making Talismans?" Chen Hao asked.

"Barely." Lin Xuan said, "But efficiency is greatly reduced, and the error rate is very high."

Ending the communication, Lin Xuan put away the Talisman and began to meditate to regulate his breath.

His gaze, however, quietly swept across the other cubicles in the hall.

Among those anxious, desperate, and dejected faces, there were a few that looked... unusual.

It wasn't just simple annoyance, but a complex expression mixed with tension, anticipation, and even a faint hint of excitement.

Lin Xuan remembered one of them—it was a Disciple of a Talisman-making Deacon who had been taken away by the Law Enforcement Hall earlier; his surname was Sun, Qi Refining Level 6. He usually had average popularity in the hall, but his Talisman-making skills were quite good.

At this moment, although this Senior Brother Sun was also frowning and his brush was stopping and starting, his eyes would occasionally glance toward the sky outside the hall, and the corners of his mouth would occasionally twitch unconsciously, as if suppressing something.

There was also a Thin Tall Man in another cubicle diagonally opposite; Lin Xuan remembered he seemed to be quite close to a certain Deacon in the General Affairs Hall.

At this moment, he had also ruined quite a few Talisman papers, but there wasn't much distress on his face; instead, there was a sense of... relief?

Lin Xuan withdrew his gaze, a cold sneer in his heart.

There was more than one inside agent.

Or rather, those who had been bought off, coerced, or simply turned to the other side for the sake of profit were now secretly hoping that this chaos would last longer and cause greater losses.

Because that aligned with the interests of the people behind them.

In the afternoon, at the beginning of the Hour of the Sheep.

The Sect's counterattack finally began.

The first thing to change was the Sect-protecting Formation.

The golden light screen was no longer passively defending but began to actively circulate. Dense, ancient runes appeared on the surface of the light screen, as if they had come to life, constantly combining and changing as it circulated.

At the peaks of the seventy-two outer peaks, towering beams of light lit up simultaneously!

Those light beams were of various colors—crimson, azure, earthy yellow, white gold... corresponding to auxiliary Formations of different attributes.

At this moment, all the light beams converged on the main Formation's light screen, like seventy-two giant pillars supporting the heavens and earth, forcibly "combing" and "returning" the turbulent Spiritual Qi currents to their proper places.

The multi-colored brilliance in the sky began to fade at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Although it was still chaotic, at least it was no longer a frenzied, lawless collision.

Immediately after, from the direction of Rising Sun Peak, three majestic figures soared into the sky!

They were three Golden Core Elders!

They did not fly out of the Formation but hovered inside the light screen, each sacrificing their Magic Treasure—a crimson bronze cauldron, a green jade whisk, and an ancient black iron mirror.

The light of the Magic Treasures flared brightly, resonating with the power of the Sect-protecting Formation.

The next moment, dozens of golden light chains condensed on the Formation's light screen, drilling out of the Formation like spirit snakes, shooting toward the setting points of those "Chaotic Spirit Formations" in the distant sky!

Almost simultaneously, Lin Xuan felt that the chaotic Spiritual Qi inside the hall had stabilized slightly.

Although it was still not as good as usual, at least it was no longer fluctuating violently.

He seized the opportunity, immediately spread out the Talisman paper, and his brush moved like a dragon and snake.

A Thunder Shield Talisman quickly took shape in the relatively stable environment, its quality returning to top-tier.

Other Disciples in the hall also noticed the change and perked up, trying again.

And in the sky outside the hall, an uneven chase was currently unfolding.

Although Lin Xuan could not see the details, he could piece together a corner of the battlefield through the vibrations of the Formation light screen, the faint explosions coming from afar, and the residual Spiritual Energy in the air.

On the Xuinyn Sect's side, the leader was a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator, accompanied by several Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators, who had used a large number of disposable Formation Plates and Talismans to create this "Spiritual Qi Storm."

Their tactics were clear—harassment, attrition, and interference; they would never engage in a frontal battle.

But this was the home turf of the Sanyang Sect.

With a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor presiding, the support of the Formation, and several Golden Core Elders working together.

Those golden light chains accurately found several setup points; under the strangling of the chains, the Formation Plates and Talismans shattered one after another.

Sharp-eyed Disciples saw several black shadows fleeing in panic in the distant sky; two of them were caught up by the golden light chains and instantly exploded into two mists of blood.

Another black shadow withstood a blow, its aura significantly withered, and it fled far away without looking back.

The cost was huge.

While making Talismans, Lin Xuan realized something in his heart.

This was a strategy of open conspiracy by the Xuinyn Sect.

They knew that this kind of harassment could not kill Qi Tianyuan, nor could it break the Sanyang Sect's defense.

But they just wanted to use this method to disturb Qi Tianyuan's state of mind, consume the Sect's reserves and energy, and test the response of those "dark pieces" inside.

At the same time, it was also showing their muscles to all the watching forces: Look, we can reach into the heart of the Sanyang Sect and turn your world upside down.

The true danger, perhaps, was never in those few fleeing black shadows outside.

But right beside him, in this hall, in every seemingly peaceful corner of this Sect.

At the Hour of the Rooster, work ended; Lin Xuan handed in four Talismans—one less than the quota, but all were of top-tier quality.

The Deacon Disciple glanced at him, said nothing, and deducted the contribution points.

When he walked out of the Hundred Talisman Hall, the sky outside had returned to normal.

The multi-colored turbulent Spiritual Qi currents had disappeared, and the Sect-protecting Formation's light screen had become stable and transparent again, glowing with a gentle golden light under the setting sun.

It was as if the chaos of the day had just been a nightmare.

But everyone knew it wasn't.

The air still held the faint, scorched smell of Spiritual Qi clashing, and the light beams on several distant outer peaks had not yet completely extinguished, like silent sentinels.

Lin Xuan cast the Wind Control Technique and flew toward Emerald Bamboo Peak.

Returning to his small courtyard, he first checked the early warning Restriction to ensure it was intact.

Then he entered the Spirit-Taming Tower Space.

At the heart of the thunder essence fruit tree's flower, the ovary had already grown to the size of a broad bean, and the thunder patterns on its surface were becoming increasingly clear. The exotic fragrance was so thick it was almost palpable; taking a single breath made one feel invigorated.

The Pangolin poked its head out of its burrow and let out a low growl.

Lin Xuan stroked its heavy back armor and fed it a small spoonful of golden bone grass powder.

Exiting the space, he stood in the courtyard and looked toward the direction of Rising Sun Peak.

The halo of the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven was still rippling slowly in the night, but the speed of its circulation seemed to be a fraction faster than yesterday.

It was like some kind of countdown.

The mountain rain had arrived.

The thunder was about to strike.

And this Spiritual Qi Storm was merely another urgent drumbeat before the main act began.