55: Chapter 55: Observing Ancient Bamboo Slips, Obtaining Fragmented Symbols, and Gaining Enlightenment from the Void.

In the quiet room in the back courtyard of Baicao Hall, the fragrance of tea curled in the air.

Shopkeeper Zhou Ming was all smiles as he pointed to an open sandalwood box on the table, inside which were scattered a dozen or so ancient Jade Slips that were dull in color, covered in cracks, and even had chipped edges.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, please take a look. These are them. A few days ago, my subordinates acquired them from a team of adventurers, reportedly excavated from an ancient battlefield ruin on the outskirts of the 'Dragonfall Abyss'. Unfortunately, most are severely damaged, their spiritual essence has faded, and the contents are difficult to discern. You are knowledgeable, Fellow Daoist, so why not take a look? Perhaps you might gain something."

Ye Qing's gaze swept over the Jade Slips, and he could feel the lingering vicissitudes of time and faint Spiritual Qi upon them.

He casually picked up a dark cyan Jade Slip with the fewest cracks, pressed it to his forehead, and submerged his Divine Sense into it.

The information inside the Jade Slip was blurred, filled with a large amount of static and blank spaces, occasionally flashing with a few distorted, unrecognizable ancient runes, as well as a few fragmented, jumbled sentences.

"...Void Realm...Anchor...Star Shift...Constellation Rotation..."

"...Formation Base...Requires...Star...Iron..."

"...Great Omen...Do Not Approach..."

The information was fragmented and difficult to connect. However, the words "Void Realm", "Anchor", and "Star Iron" caused Ye Qing's heart to stir slightly.

He picked up another gray-white Jade Slip with a missing corner.

This Jade Slip was in slightly better condition; the remaining content seemed to be an extremely brief description of the refinement ideas for a certain ancient "Void Realm Shift Talisman". It was also incomplete, but the several rune structures mentioned within faintly echoed the insights transmitted by the "Void Dao Seed", giving him new inspiration.

Ye Qing did not speak, checking the Jade Slips one by one.

Most were of little value, or the content was completely unrecognizable.

Until he picked up the last one, which was also the most dilapidated-looking, pitch-black, covered with fine cracks, and seemed as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

The moment his Divine Sense submerged into it, an extremely faint, yet exceptionally pure and ancient fluctuation of "Seal" and "Space" traveled along his Divine Sense.

Inside the Jade Slip, the information had almost completely vanished, with only half of an extremely complex and profound, three-dimensional rune phantom, composed of countless tiny lines and light spots, remaining in the deepest part!

This half-rune phantom was incomplete and its light was dim, but as Ye Qing looked at it, the "Void Dao Seed" deep within his Divine Soul suddenly shuddered, transmitting a strong resonance and desire!

This half-rune clearly contained a trace of a deeper, more original "Void Realm Seal" true meaning than what he had currently comprehended! Just the Dao Rhyme emitted by the incomplete phantom made his understanding of "Seal" and "Space Stabilization" instantly much clearer.

"This is... a core rune fragment of some ancient spatial sealing Formation?" Ye Qing was shocked internally. The value of this half-rune far exceeded the sum of all the other Jade Slips! If he could comprehend it, it would have immeasurable benefits for him to perfect the "Lesser Heavenly Cycle Five Elements Earth Vein Array", and even for setting up more powerful spatial Formations in the future!

He suppressed the excitement in his heart, calmly put down the Jade Slip, and looked at Shopkeeper Zhou Ming: "Shopkeeper Zhou, these Jade Slips are indeed damaged, with less than one in ten pieces of information remaining. However, there are some scattered records about ancient runes and Void Realm Formations, which offer some inspiration for my Formation deductions. How do you intend to dispose of them?"

Shopkeeper Zhou Ming observed his expression and, seeing that Ye Qing seemed to have noticed the last black Jade Slip, understood in his heart and smiled: "These pieces of junk just take up space in the shop. Since they are useful to you, Fellow Daoist, I will gift them to you, just to make a friend. I only hope that in the future, when you practice Alchemy, you will support our shop's business more."

"Then many thanks, Shopkeeper Zhou." Ye Qing did not stand on ceremony; he tucked the dozen or so ancient Jade Slips into his pocket and left behind two bottles of newly refined High Grade "Clearing Heart Jade Dew Pill" as a return gift.

Shopkeeper Zhou Ming's smile widened, and he thanked him repeatedly.

Leaving Baicao Hall, he returned to his Immortal Cave.

Ye Qing could not wait to take out that black residual slip, once again submerged his Divine Sense into it, and carefully observed that half-rune phantom of profound mystery.

The "Void Dao Seed" resonated with it, and strands of insight welled up in his heart.

This half-rune was extremely complex in structure, as if it had sealed a miniature, stable Void Realm within the lines and light spots. The "Seal" true meaning it contained was not a brute-force confinement, but rather used space itself as a prison and Void Realm rules as a lock; it was mysterious and unfathomable.

"If it can be completed, perhaps I can use this rune to set up a true 'Void Realm Sealing Formation', which would have infinite uses for trapping enemies, protecting myself, and even sealing spatial rifts."

Ye Qing tried to copy it with his Divine Sense but felt a stabbing pain in his Divine Soul; the rune structure was too complex and profound, far exceeding what his current Realm could understand. Forcing himself to memorize it would only damage his Divine Soul.

"I cannot master it for now, but I can first use my Divine Sense to trace this half-rune phantom, store it in my Sea of Consciousness, and wait until my cultivation improves and my insights deepen in the future to slowly comprehend it."

He carefully used the "Void Dao Seed" as a guide to slowly lead that trace of resonant insight and the blurred outline of the rune phantom into the depths of his Divine Soul, placing it alongside the "Void Dao Seed" to form a new, extremely dim rune mark.

After doing this, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his Divine Sense had been consumed significantly.

But the harvest was huge.

This half of an ancient Void Realm sealing rune opened a door for him to a higher level of spatial Formations.

He took a Clearing Heart Jade Dew Pill to regulate his breath and recover.

Afterward, he carefully examined the remaining ancient Jade Slips one by one, extracting, recording, and classifying the sporadic valuable information within.

The Jade Slip regarding the ideas for the "Void Realm Shift Talisman" also gave him quite a bit of inspiration. Combined with his insights from "Void Step", he faintly felt that perhaps he could try to refine a simplified version of a short-distance, instantaneous "Void Realm Shift Talisman" as a trump card for life-saving in critical moments.

Days flew by in study and deduction.

Ye Qing devoted most of his energy to comprehending that half of an ancient rune and to refining the framework of the "Hunxu Yandao Scripture".

The feedback from the space within his body continued uninterrupted, and his Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation steadily advanced toward Perfection.

His understanding and application of Void Realm power also became increasingly profound due to the existence of that half-rune.

The distance and precision of "Void Step" improved, the penetrating power of "Void Finger" became stronger, and he even began to try integrating a trace of Void Realm sealing power into the "Five Elements Demon Sealing Chain" to enhance its binding effect.

He did not lay down the various arts such as Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Spirit Plant cultivation; with the high-quality Materials provided by the space and his super-high Comprehension Ability, he steadily progressed.

On this day, he was deducing how to stably integrate a trace of star power into the "Lesser Heavenly Cycle Five Elements Earth Vein Array" to enhance its defensive and concealment capabilities when the Restriction outside his Immortal Cave was triggered again.

This time it was not a Sound Transmission Talisman, but someone directly knocking on the door with magic power.

Ye Qing swept his Divine Sense out; standing outside the Immortal Cave were two Foundation Establishment Cultivators wearing the standard black armor of Liuyun City, their auras stern and murderous. One was Middle Stage, the other Early Stage.

"City Guard Army?" Ye Qing frowned slightly. The Liuyun City City Guard Army coming to his door was usually not a good thing.

He opened the Formation, arrived at the courtyard gate, and cupped his hands: "Fellow Daoists, what is the matter?"

The lead black-armored Middle Stage Cultivator had a cold, stiff face and scanned Ye Qing with a sharp gaze, revealing a black token engraved with the character "Patrol": "By order of the City Lord's Mansion, we are conducting a city-wide inspection. Please present your identity Jade Slip, Fellow Daoist, and open your Immortal Cave Formation to cooperate with the inspection."

"Inspection? For what reason?" Ye Qing's expression was calm as he handed over his temporary identity Jade Slip.

"Recently, Yao Race spies have been active, and Cultivators have been repeatedly attacked. To ensure peace within the city, the City Lord's Mansion has ordered an inspection of all Cultivators who have recently entered the city, have suspicious movements, or whose Immortal Caves have abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations." The black-armored Cultivator took the Jade Slip, checked it with a compass-shaped Magical Artifact, confirmed it was correct, and added, "Please open the Formation, Fellow Daoist. We need to enter and check to confirm there are no lurking Yao Race or Restriction traps."

Ye Qing understood in his heart. It seemed that the appearance of the One-Eyed Poison Scorpion had alerted the high-level officials of Liuyun City, who had begun a city-wide investigation.

His Immortal Cave's Formation was usually kept on, and he had been testing Formations outside the city, so perhaps the patrol team had noticed the abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

"My Immortal Cave is humble, and there is nothing unpresentable inside. Please come in, both of you." Ye Qing's expression was composed; he opened the outer protective Formation of the Immortal Cave and stepped aside to let them in.

The two black-armored Cultivators walked in, their Divine Senses scanning every corner of the courtyard unscrupulously, and then entered the quiet room and cultivation room to check carefully.

Ye Qing had long since stored important items in his internal space, leaving only ordinary furnishings, Medicinal Pill Materials, and the drafted Formation Jade Slips he was currently deducing inside the Immortal Cave.

The content of the draft Jade Slips was obscure, involving Five Elements Earth Veins and Void Realm Formations, but they were incomplete; to an outsider, it just looked like a normal deduction record of a Formation Master.

A moment later, the two finished their inspection and found nothing unusual.

"Sorry for the disturbance." The black-armored Middle Stage Cultivator returned the identity Jade Slip to Ye Qing, his cold, stiff expression softening slightly. "It is not peaceful outside the city recently. If you have no important business, Fellow Daoist, try to reduce going out. If you discover any suspicious persons or traces of the Yao Race, report it to the City Guard Army immediately."

"Certainly." Ye Qing nodded.

The two left, and the Immortal Cave returned to tranquility.

Ye Qing closed the Formation, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"City-wide inspection... It seems the border situation is more tense than imagined. Liuyun City has begun martial law. My cultivation and actions need to be more careful; I cannot arouse any suspicion."

He walked to the window of the quiet room and looked toward the City Lord's Mansion.

Under the night sky, Liuyun City was still lit, but the air seemed to be filled with an invisible air of killing and tension.

"A storm is brewing..."

Muttering to himself, Ye Qing returned to the meditation cushion and sat down, continuing the unfinished deduction.

Inside his body, in the 150-zhang Immortal Cave, the Chaos Qi flow circulated slowly, and the moonlight star seed grew quietly.

No matter how the wind and rain were outside, steady development and improving his strength would always be his top priority.

Only by being strong enough himself could he stand securely in the increasingly surging tide, until reaching the other shore.