277: Reporting, Messages

Half an hour later, Lu Chen's figure appeared deep within a more hidden stronghold in the west of the city.

This was the lair where Kui Sang usually studied Formations, the air filled with the faint scent of Spirit Stone powder and a certain special ink.

Traces of half-drawn Formation patterns were visible everywhere on the walls and floor, revealing a unique order amidst the chaos.

In the center of the Stone Chamber, Kui Sang was hunched over a large desk, completely focused and unaware of Lu Chen's arrival.

He clutched the blood-colored Jade Slip in his hand, his eyes staring fanatically at a piece of parchment spread out before him, covered in complex lines and runic annotations.

At times, he would grab a charcoal pencil from the side to quickly record something, and at other times, he would furrow his brows in deep thought, muttering to himself.

Dozens of papers filled with calculations and fragments of Formation diagrams were scattered and stacked on the desk and at his feet, some with ink that had not yet dried.

Lu Chen walked to the table silently, his gaze sweeping over those Formation diagrams that looked like ghost talismans.

He did not have a deep understanding of the Dao of Formations and could only barely recognize some of the basic spiritual power nodes and circuit markings.

The more profound nesting, variations, and blood-Dao runes were like reading a heavenly book to him.

He casually picked up the top sheet, which depicted a twisted core structure, annotated with dense, tiny characters—mostly Kui Sang's own deductions and questions.

After glancing at it twice and not understanding it, he gently put it back, not disturbing the immersed Kui Sang.

It was not until Lu Chen spoke in a calm voice: "Take me to the Teleportation Formation."

Kui Sang's body jolted, as if awakened from a deep dream.

He jerked his head up, only then discovering that Lu Chen was already standing by his side.

There was no change in his expression, only the fanatical focus in his eyes quickly faded, returning to his usual dullness.

He put down the charcoal pencil and Jade Slip, stood up silently, and made a simple gesture to Lu Chen: "This way."

Without any unnecessary pleasantries, he walked straight towards a seemingly flat wall on one side of the Stone Chamber, his fingers pressing on several inconspicuous protrusions in a specific order.

The wall slid open silently, revealing a downward staircase behind it.

Kui Sang entered first, followed closely by Lu Chen.

The stairs extended downwards for about ten zhang, leading to another, more spacious underground Stone Chamber.

This Stone Chamber was over ten zhang square and about three zhang high, the walls and floor carefully polished and carved with reinforcement and isolation Formation patterns to block spiritual power fluctuations.

In the center of the Stone Chamber, a Teleportation Formation about a zhang in size, with an intricate and complex structure, sat quietly.

The main body of the Formation was made of a dark silver metal, with fine lines intertwined into complex geometric patterns.

Dozens of Spirit Stones were evenly embedded around the edge of the Formation Plate, all of which were Mid-Grade Spirit Stones full of Spiritual Qi, emitting a soft glow and providing stable basic energy for the entire Formation.

At the core of the Formation, several gemstones with different attributes were embedded at key nodes to harmonize and guide the power of space.

The entire Teleportation Formation looked smaller than what Lu Chen had seen in the Sect before, but the structure seemed more compact and precise.

"Patrol Officer Lu,"

Kui Sang walked to the side of the Teleportation Formation and began to explain in a flat voice, as if describing an object unrelated to himself.

"This Formation can be stably activated once every half month. Your subordinate has referred to ancient texts to improve and upgrade the original foundation. Currently, it can safely transport one person back to the Sect's preset reception point."

He paused and added: "But this is a one-way teleportation; it can only teleport from here back to the Sect. The reception Formation on that side is not set up with a reverse teleportation function; at least for now, it cannot transport people from the Sect back to this place. And..."

He raised his head and glanced at Lu Chen; his eyes still lacked any ripples, but his tone held a hint of rare caution.

"Space teleportation is inherently risky. My improvements have not yet undergone long-distance, multiple-time practical verification, so stability cannot be guaranteed one hundred percent. During the teleportation process, unpredictable accidents such as slight coordinate deviations or spatial pressure fluctuations may occur."

He spoke straightforwardly, with no intention of claiming credit or hiding shortcomings, merely stating facts.

Lu Chen nodded, expressing his understanding.

To be able to independently complete a usable, improved one-way long-distance Teleportation Formation under limited resources and hidden conditions was already extremely difficult.

A few risks were acceptable when necessary.

"We are short-handed now, so naturally, we will not send people back easily."

As Lu Chen spoke, he took out a light blue Jade Slip from his storage space and handed it to Kui Sang.

"You can activate the Teleportation Formation now and send this Jade Slip back."

Kui Sang took the Jade Slip; it felt slightly cool to the touch.

He did not ask what was inside, just nodded.

Then he carefully placed the Jade Slip into a specific groove in the core area of the Teleportation Formation.

There seemed to be a faint light flowing there. After contacting the Jade Slip, a faint blue halo appeared on the surface of the Jade Slip, echoing the spiritual light of the Formation.

After placing the Jade Slip, Kui Sang quickly retreated to the edge of the Formation and took out a palm-sized bronze Formation Plate covered with fine patterns from his bosom.

He looked focused, his fingers tapping and sliding quickly and steadily on the Formation Plate.

Every touch carried a specific rhythm and spiritual power output.

Following his operation, the patterns of the Teleportation Formation on the ground lit up one by one, spreading from the edge to the center.

Surprisingly, the activation process of the Formation was exceptionally quiet, without the low humming or violent spiritual power vibrations typical of ordinary Teleportation Formations.

All the light was firmly confined within the range of the Formation; the light in the Stone Chamber only brightened slightly, with no signs of leaking outward.

Obviously, when Kui Sang set it up, he had fully considered concealment and added powerful breath-concealing and isolation Formations.

A flash of approval passed through Lu Chen's eyes.

This Kui Sang, although dull and taciturn, was truly reassuring in his talent and rigor regarding the Dao of Formations.

He did not disturb Kui Sang, turned, and walked to a relatively clean place in the corner of the Stone Chamber, where a chair was placed casually.

He brushed away non-existent dust, sat down peacefully, and waited quietly.

The light of the Teleportation Formation grew stronger and stronger, eventually forming a stable, vortex-like silvery-white ball of light in the center of the Formation, slowly rotating.

The blue Jade Slip was enveloped by the ball of light, gradually becoming blurred and transparent, and finally, with a "whoosh," it disappeared into the center of the ball of light.

Immediately after, the ball of light rapidly contracted inward, the light dimmed, and it completely disappeared.

The patterns on the Teleportation Formation also went out one by one, returning to their original dark silver appearance.

Only the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones at the edge seemed to have dimmed slightly.

The Stone Chamber returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Chen did not leave; he remained sitting quietly on the chair, closing his eyes to rest.

He knew that after the Jade Slip was teleported over, it would take time for the other side to receive, interpret, discuss, and reply.

But since this Teleportation Formation could transport people, the round trip of communication Jade Slips should be much faster.

He was waiting, waiting for the Sect's response.

Time passed slowly in silence.

After Kui Sang completed the teleportation and confirmed that the Formation was stable.

He immersed himself again in the research of that blood-colored Jade Slip, crouching in the corner, furrowing his brows in deep thought over several newly drawn sketches, seemingly unaware of Lu Chen's presence.

About two hours passed.

In the center of the Stone Chamber, the Teleportation Formation that had just quieted down suddenly began to emit a faint light again in its core area without warning.

Then the light spread rapidly, and the entire Formation was once again covered by a soft and restrained silvery-white light, exactly the same as when it was activated earlier.

Kui Sang immediately noticed, put down the charcoal pencil and sketch in his hand, took out the bronze Formation Plate again, and began to operate it with a serious expression.

His fingers tapped quickly on the Formation Plate, adjusting the receiving spiritual wave frequency and stabilizing the spatial coordinates, which were slightly chaotic due to the cross-boundary transmission.

After a dozen breaths, the light of the Teleportation Formation stabilized and slowly converged inward.

When the last trace of silver light dissipated, there was unexpectedly an extra Jade Slip in the specific groove in the center of the Formation.

It was not the light blue one Lu Chen had sent, but a deep, noble purple throughout, the jade texture warm and moist, with light faintly flowing within it.

Just as Kui Sang was about to step forward to retrieve it, his vision blurred, and a figure swept past like light smoke.

Lu Chen had already stood up from the chair at some point, and with a movement of his body.

He appeared on the Teleportation Formation, so fast that he only left a faint afterimage in his original spot.

He reached out, and two fingers steadily picked up the purple Jade Slip.

The Jade Slip felt slightly heavy in his hand, with a delicate texture, and he could faintly feel the seals and aura markers contained within, which were completely different from the blue Jade Slip.

This represented a reply from a higher level of the Sect, or at least a more urgent and important one.

Lu Chen's gaze lingered on the purple Jade Slip for a moment, his fingertips able to feel the imperceptible unique spiritual pattern fluctuations on its surface.

He did not check it immediately, just held it in his palm, and nodded slightly to Kui Sang on the side, as a greeting.

Immediately, his figure moved again, and like a gust of wind, he left the underground Stone Chamber silently, heading up along the stairs he had come from.

In the Stone Chamber, only Kui Sang was left alone, along with the Teleportation Formation that had returned to silence, and the sketches scattered all over the floor, filled with the mysteries of the Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation.

Kui Sang glanced in the direction where Lu Chen had disappeared, his face still devoid of expression.

He just walked back to his desk silently, picked up the blood-colored Jade Slip and the charcoal pencil again, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.

Only the arrival of that purple Jade Slip signaled the information from the outside world and possible instructions.

It had already crossed the vast space and arrived in Lu Chen's hands.

It also meant that some kind of response and new variables were about to unfold.