200: Chapter 200 Battle Reports Pile Up, the Deeper Foundation Begins to Emerge (2)

Chu Yunfei's voice continued: "One sentence is enough. The old surveyor conducted at least three deep-sea explorations in the Dragon Burial Trench waters back in the day—he knew about the existence of the abyssal vein sixty years ago. But he chose to write this sentence in a corner where no one would notice it—yet his complete investigation report didn't mention a single word of it. I don't know why he did that. Perhaps he realized at the time that this information shouldn't be archived. Perhaps he was just old and felt like scribbling it down. But this sentence confirms one thing—"

Chu Yunfei's voice dropped a notch.

"The abyssal vein is not a treasure. The abyssal vein is the energy source of the Haiyuan Clan. The function of the Sealing Pattern is not to 'extract' ley line energy—it is to 'seal and suppress' the abyssal vein, cutting off the connection between the Haiyuan Clan and its abyssal energy roots. Two thousand years ago, ancient Cultivators used this set of Array Patterns to seal the abyssal vein beneath the Dragon Burial Trench—from then on, the Haiyuan Clan could no longer produce high-level combatants above the Nascent Soul stage in the deep sea. They were suppressed for two thousand years—the war potential of their population was severed at the root."

"Now the Haiyuan Clan wants to pry open this lock from the outside. Once pried open—the abyssal vein will restore its connection—and the Haiyuan Clan's reproductive and advancement capabilities, which have been suppressed for two thousand years, will be released in a short period. They are anxious to pry it open before the full-scale war breaks out—because once the war begins, they will need more high-level combat power. The Sealing Pattern is their arsenal before the decisive battle."

Lu Changyuan pulled the Jade Slip from the receiving seat. The surface of the Jade Slip vibrated slightly in his palm—it was the aftershock of the communication array circuit closing.

He placed Chu Yunfei's transmission on the nautical chart table—next to the fragment map, the Jade Slip of Leng Feng's rubbing, and Su Qingli's fluctuation source distribution map. The four items were lined up. Then he also brought over the standard list issued by the military department—the five items were lined up in a row on the tabletop.

Su Qingli stood on the opposite side of the nautical chart table. She called up the latest data from the Receiving Formation—the dense waveform lines on the rubbing paper had changed over the past half day. She tapped her finger on the location of the sixth fluctuation source on the paper.

"The sixth fluctuation source—the main force—is still in place. About fifty miles from the Ring Reef. It hasn't continued to push forward—but it hasn't retreated either. They are waiting."

Her finger moved to the waveform lines corresponding to the three nodes of the Sealing Pattern—the Altar, the Red Circle, and the Connection Node. The amplitudes of all three lines were a notch higher than half a day ago.

"The spiritual power fluctuation intensity of the three nodes—has jumped up again in the past half day. The acceleration hasn't stopped. If it continues at this slope—"

She didn't finish. Lu Changyuan didn't need her to finish either.

He stood in front of the nautical chart table—his gaze swept over the five items. The fragment map, the rubbing, the fluctuation source distribution map, the military list, and Chu Yunfei's transmission. When the five items were pieced together—the picture that emerged was much larger than looking at any one of them individually.

"Ancient Cultivators sealed the abyssal vein for two thousand years—now the Haiyuan Clan wants to pry it open." He pressed his hand on the edge of the nautical chart table—and tapped his fingers on the table edge. "The first to be hit after it's pried open—"

He didn't finish. Blue Moon Island was stuck at the exit of the Dragon Burial Trench—once the Sealing Pattern was activated and the abyssal vein was restored, the first wave of the Haiyuan Clan surging out would crash directly onto the Ring Reef.

Leng Feng stood on the opposite side of the nautical chart table. His armor plates were already dry—but a very thin layer of grayish-white fine mud, brought up from the Deep Water Zone, still clung to the edges of the plates. He pressed his finger on the location of the safe passage marked on the Jade Slip of Leng Feng's rubbing.

"I can go down again—but reconnaissance alone is not enough. Reconnaissance can only see—it cannot delay."

Su Qingli flipped the latest data of the Receiving Formation to the next page. She drew a new line on the paper—one end of the line was the current state of the outer Restriction of the Sealing Pattern, and the other end was the time point she estimated for the Restriction to be completely worn through.

"Based on the current acceleration slope—at most four days, at least two days. The outer Restriction of the Sealing Pattern will be completely worn through from the outside." She tapped her finger on the line. After tapping, she placed the array pen on the animal skin paper. "After the outer Restriction is worn through—the main hub will be exposed. The Haiyuan Clan will inject spiritual power into the main hub from the three nodes simultaneously—once all three circles of sub-patterns are filled, the central opening will open. The abyssal vein—will be restored."

Leng Feng's finger extended from the safe passage marking line toward the main hub. The direction of extension was underwater—entering the water from the east side of the Blue Moon Island Ring Reef, descending along the safe passage to about 1,500 zhang, and then horizontally traversing along the undercurrent into the depths of the Dragon Burial Trench.

"The direction of the Connection Node—I caught a glimpse of it during my fourth reconnaissance. The patrol density was nearly half lower than the outer ring. It wasn't the Haiyuan Clan's negligence—it was insufficient manpower. The direction of the lid and the direction of the Lock Core had drawn away most of the guards."

Su Qingli compared the fluctuation intensity data from the three directions on the Receiving Formation. The spiritual power fluctuation density in the direction of the Connection Node was indeed lower than the other two directions—in the same time window on her Formation Plate, the lid direction could capture the spiritual power signals of at least fifteen patrol squads, while the Connection Node direction had only six.

This was the window.

But the window was also a countdown. The outer Restriction of the Sealing Pattern was being worn through—and the speed of the wearing was accelerating. Although the vanguard had been repelled—the main force was still parked fifty miles away and could launch a second wave of attacks at any time. Every day that Blue Moon Island delayed—the Restriction got closer to being worn through. And once the Restriction was worn through—the Haiyuan Clan would press all its forces to activate the main hub.

Lu Changyuan walked from the nautical chart table to the window. Outside the window—the green lights of the twelve sentry posts on the Ring Reef were still on. The Old Veteran's observation scope was still aimed in the direction of the Dragon Burial Trench. The dark purple water bands had already been dispersed by the receding tide—the sea surface had returned to its usual dark blue. But not a single fluctuation signal on Su Qingli's Receiving Formation was missing. The seventh fluctuation source was still pushing forward. The eighth—had already poked its head out at the edge of the Formation Plate.

He moved his hand away from the window frame—and walked back to the nautical chart table. Then he traced the safe passage marking line on the Jade Slip of Leng Feng's rubbing again—using the array pen to add three marker points on the line: 1,200 zhang (safe depth), 1,500 zhang (ice cave), and the starting point of the undercurrent.

"Objective: Confirm the physical form of the main hub. Confirm the progress of the Haiyuan Clan in activating the Sealing Pattern. Find possible ways of intervention—even if it's just to delay for a few days." He put down the array pen. "Return within five days. Leng Feng—pick your team."

Leng Feng did not hesitate. He used his finger to tap three people on the personal guard roster: Deng Yue, Ma Yuan, and Tian Qi. Plus himself—four people. Equipment: Bone-Repelling Paste—two pills just replenished by Gu He, and the Bone Fish school was still there. Water-avoiding Talisman. Jade Slip of the rubbing. The new underwater traction array pile made by Su Qingli—thinner than the one from three months ago, with denser anchor patterns at the base of the pile, capable of stabilizing in the Deep Water Zone where water pressure was greater.

"Depart before dawn." Leng Feng packed the traction array pile into a waterproof bag—then tapped the waterproof bag with his hand.

Lu Changyuan picked up a direct-transmission emergency talisman from the corner of the table—the same as the one given to Leng Feng, with a Spirit-Locking Array embedded in its patterns. He handed the emergency talisman to Leng Feng. Leng Feng took it—and tucked it at his waist, next to the Grand Commander's seal.

The five items were still on the nautical chart table. The animal skin surface of the fragment map reflected a very faint yellow under the cold light—the three vertices of the triangle marked on it and the position of the dead center were waiting for Leng Feng in the deep water two days later.