235: Chapter 235 The Appearance of the Spiritual Essence: The Prelude to a Grand Scheme

Mo Lao did not drink the tea.

He pushed the rough ceramic cup aside by half an inch—then pulled an extremely thin silver needle from under his workbench.

The needle tip had been polished until it shone—polished so many times that the original texture on the tip was no longer visible.

He tapped the coral box lid lightly with the silver needle—the lid was still closed.

The spot he tapped was the seam between the lid and the box body.

"Box—let me take another look."

Lu Changyuan took the coral box out from his Storage Pouch—and placed it on the workbench.

Mo Lao used his fingertips to flick the lid open—a blue-white cold light shot out from the box seam once again.

This time he wasn't drawn to the light.

His gaze fell directly on the Spirit Marrow inside the box—then he hovered the silver needle tip about half a grain of rice's height above the Spirit Marrow's surface.

He hovered it for about three breaths—the needle tip fell less than half a grain of rice's distance—and scraped the surface of the Spirit Marrow lightly.

The debris scraped off was extremely scarce—so scarce it was almost invisible to the naked eye.

The silver needle tip was only stained with a faint blue-white glimmer—the rhythm of the light point flickering on the needle tip was perfectly synchronized with the Spirit Marrow itself.

Mo Lao placed the silver needle tip on the tip of his left index finger—and pressed it lightly.

The debris transferred from the needle tip to the skin of his fingertip—the blue-white glimmer flashed in the grooves of his fingerprint.

Then he pressed his fingertip onto his Dantian position—through his old cloth robe—and pressed for about three breaths.

Three breaths later.

His expression changed.

It wasn't a change in expression—it was something moving outward from under his skin.

At the Dantian position—through the old cloth robe, one could see a small patch of skin change from normal skin color to a very pale gray-black.

The gray-black moved upward under the skin along an extremely thin line—the route was from the Dantian towards the chest.

It moved nearly two inches—then stopped below the collarbone.

After it stopped—the gray-black seeped out from under the skin.

What seeped out was a wisp of extremely fine gray-black Impurities—the form of the Impurities was like extremely fine smoke threads—it drifted out from the skin pores and dissipated in the air in less than half a breath.

Mo Lao moved his finger away from his Dantian.

His right hand—the same hand that had been holding the silver needle so steadily just a moment ago—began to tremble.

The amplitude of the trembling wasn't large—but the frequency was extremely high.

His fingertip pressed a constantly vibrating small pit into the old cloth robe.

The old scar that had trapped his Dantian for twenty years—had expelled a wisp of Impurities.

Only an extremely thin wisp—less than one-thousandth of the entire scar's area.

But it had been expelled.

The old injury left behind by the backlash of an ancient Restriction twenty years ago—was written as "irreversible" on the medical report from the Ministry of War Array Bureau.

The best medicine Cultivator in the Royal Capital had seen it—and shook his head.

The military doctor from the Fortress Logistics Department had seen it—and prescribed a painkiller, then there was no follow-up.

For twenty years, this old injury had been like a piece of rusty iron pressing on the center of his Dantian—whenever his Qi circulated through that area, it would slow down—every time it slowed down, it reminded him: Your Realm can never go back.

Now, this piece of rusty iron had been touched by a trace amount of debris from the Spirit Marrow.

Just touched once—and a very thin layer had fallen off the surface of the rusty iron.

Mo Lao placed the silver needle on the workbench—withdrew his hands to his knees—and clasped both hands together.

His left hand pressed on his right hand—suppressing the trembling of his right hand.

"This Spirit Marrow—was cut out from the belly of a Haiyuan Clan commander."

His voice was suppressed—lowered by nearly a degree compared to when they were discussing ancient Formations earlier.

"Commander—what level is that in the Haiyuan Clan?"

"False Core.

Nearly three times the size of a Human Race False Core Cultivator—and the shell thickness is twice that of a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Abyssal Beast."

"A False Core Commander—swallowed this box."

Mo Lao lifted his two hands from his knees—and placed them back on the workbench.

The trembling in his right hand had stopped.

"After it swallowed it—the Spirit Marrow was soaked in its stomach by gastric acid and digestive fluids for who knows how long.

But the surface of the Spirit Marrow has no damage.

The double-ring sealing Formation on the surface of the box cannot even be corroded by gastric acid.

This box and the Spirit Marrow combined—are things from at least two thousand years ago.

Two thousand years—the price on the black market is not calculated by the drop."

He didn't continue.

His gaze moved from the Spirit Marrow to Lu Changyuan's face—and paused for about two breaths.

Within those two breaths—the light in his eyes changed from the excitement of successfully deciphering the Formation to something else.

It receded a little—and while receding, he was re-evaluating the young man at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage before him.

Lu Changyuan caught this gaze.

He didn't dodge—nor did he meet it head-on.

He closed the coral box lid—the blue-white cold light disappeared from the stone house for the third time.

Then he put the box back into his Storage Pouch—his movements were neither fast nor slow.

After putting it away—he pushed the pot of hot tea Su Qingli had prepared for him half an inch toward Mo Lao.

The tea was still hot—faint white steam rose from the spout.

"Mo Lao—I want to talk to you about three things."

Mo Lao picked up the rough ceramic cup—and drank this time.

He took a sip—and placed the cup back on the workbench.

The bottom of the cup made a very faint, dull thud against the wooden board.

"First."

Lu Changyuan put the teapot back in its original place.

"This coral box—was cut out from the belly of a Haiyuan Clan False Core Commander.

The commander was strangled by a sword Formation on the flank of Blue Moon Island.

Blue Moon Island faces the outlet of the Dragon Burial Trench—there will be more battles with the Haiyuan Clan in the future.

If one False Core Commander can be cut out—a second one can be cut out.

Under the sea—there are more things."

Mo Lao didn't speak.

But his fingers tapped lightly on the workbench—the spot he tapped was where the coral box had just been placed.

"Second.

Zhenhai Fortress Deputy Commander Tie Zhan—is my father's old subordinate.

Within the scope of his authority at Command Headquarters—he will give Blue Moon Island the greatest room for maneuver.

This includes—"

Lu Changyuan reached into his inner sleeve pocket—and took out a copy of the supply order for double the monthly quota that Commander Tie Zhan had previously added—and placed it on the table.

The vermilion commander's seal and personal signature of Commander Tie Zhan on the order—were clearly visible under the cold light stone lamp.

Mo Lao took a look—and didn't speak.

But his finger tapping the table stopped.

"Third.

Chu Yunfei of the Royal Capital Ministry of War Grain Supervision Office—just sent a batch of high-level Formation Materials to Blue Moon Island today.

He bought them with his own Spirit Stones—it's not military supply distribution.

He has connections in the Capital Ministry of War Array Bureau—and can find old copies of files from the sealing era two thousand years ago.

The few rubbings of the ancient Array Patterns of the Sealing Main Hub you just looked at—the data comes from Leng Feng's four explorations into the abyss.

Leng Feng—is my Chief Guard."

Lu Changyuan took the order back into his sleeve.

"Blue Moon Island has Formation Masters—has an abyss exploration team—has first-hand rubbing data of the Sealing Main Hub—and has a direct communication channel with Deputy Commander Tie Zhan."

The stone house was quiet for about ten breaths.

One could only hear the faint rustling of the old rubbings on the wall being gently flipped by the night wind blowing in through the door cracks.

Mo Lao lifted his hands from the workbench—crossed his fingers and rested them on his knees.

"You saying these things—is telling me—you have the ability to protect this piece of Spirit Marrow."

"I am telling Mo Lao—Blue Moon Island is not a small outpost with only a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Lord.

Behind Blue Moon Island, there is direct support from the Fortress Command Headquarters—there is an information channel from the Royal Capital Ministry of War—and there is independent underwater abyss exploration capability.

If this Spirit Marrow is placed on Blue Moon Island—it will not be robbed.

If Mo Lao helps Blue Moon Island decipher the Formation—what Blue Moon Island can provide—"

Lu Changyuan took the coral box out of his Storage Pouch—and placed it back on the workbench.

Then he opened the lid—and pulled out an extremely thin Qi blade from his sleeve—the blade edge cut into the edge of the Spirit Marrow.

The thin slice cut off was about the size of half a little finger—and the thickness was less than one-tenth of a grain of rice.

After the thin slice was separated from the Spirit Marrow—the blue-white cold light flashed on the surface of the slice—and then stabilized.

The two cut surfaces of the slice were so smooth they could reflect the old ink stains on Mo Lao's fingers.

Lu Changyuan placed the thin slice on the workbench—and pushed it nearly two inches toward Mo Lao.

"Appraisal fee."

Then he closed the coral box—and put the box back into his Storage Pouch.

"If Mo Lao is interested—Blue Moon Island still has some rubbing data of ancient sealing Formation veins.

It was rubbed directly from the outer Formation veins of the Sealing Main Hub at the bottom of the Dragon Burial Trench—not a second-hand copy.

The routing of those Formation veins—is the same style as these hundreds of rubbings in your room.

That area of ancient Formation veins at the bottom of the Dragon Burial Trench—covers at least dozens of miles—Blue Moon Island has only explored less than ten percent so far."

Mo Lao looked at the thin slice of Spirit Marrow on the table—he looked at it for nearly twenty breaths.

Then he wrapped the thin slice carefully with extremely thin oil paper—and put it into a secret pocket on the inside of his old cloth robe that had been sewn countless times.

He didn't agree.

But he didn't refuse either.

"You go back first."

Lu Changyuan stood up—and left the teapot and two rough ceramic cups on the workbench.

He walked three steps toward the door—and paused on the third step.

He didn't look back.

Then he walked out of the stone house.

Outside—the sky was completely dark.

In the narrow alley of the Fortress Logistics Area, there were only old Spirit Stone street lamps every ten zhang—the light was extremely dim, unable to reach the depths of the alley.

Lu Changyuan mounted his military horse—the echo of the horseshoes hitting the stone road traveled further and further toward the foot of the mountain in the night wind.

When he returned to the Blue Moon Island Lords Mansion—it was nearly the Hai hour.

Leng Feng was standing at the entrance of the Lords Mansion.

His standing posture was different from usual—his center of gravity was shifted to his left foot—and his right thumb was hooked into the inside of his belt.

There was an urgent report.

"Commander Tie Zhan sent a message."

Leng Feng handed over a folded military urgent report—the seal of the urgent report was pasted with a vermilion urgent mark.

"The Royal Capital Ministry of War Inspectorate has sent a full-time investigator—arriving at Blue Moon Island tomorrow morning.

To inspect the defense of the Tier-D outpost.

A comprehensive inspection."

Lu Changyuan took the urgent report—and tore open the seal.

Printed on the paper was the official notification format of the Royal Capital Ministry of War Inspectorate—the name of the inspected outpost, inspection date, inspection scope, and the name and position of the inspector.

The inspector's name—Special Commissioner Wei Yuan.

Head of the Inspectorate's Foreign Affairs Archives Room—member of the logistical inspection team for this Royal Capital Battle.

It was exactly the same as the first name on the network of relationships Shen Qinghan had written down from memory.

"It is Special Commissioner Wei Yuan himself who is coming."

Lu Changyuan folded the urgent report—and stuffed it into his inner sleeve pocket.

He stacked it with the image-recording bead, the sketch of the soul-searching fragments, and the list of the relationship network.

The inner sleeve pocket was now stuffed with five things—it was already so full that a bulge of nearly half an inch had been pushed out at the seam of the cuff.

"Not a real investigator—he is leading the team himself."

Leng Feng didn't speak.

Waiting for Lu Changyuan's next sentence.

"Whatever he checks tomorrow—we will let him see what we want him to see.

Things he cannot find—he will guess.

Things he cannot guess accurately—he will fear."

Lu Changyuan walked two steps toward the Chart Room—and stopped at the door.

"Call Su Qingli and Commander Cai tonight."

In the Chart Room.

Su Qingli came over from the Formation Affairs Room—still holding an unfinished charcoal pencil in her hand.

Commander Cai followed behind—his pipe in his mouth, unlit.

Lu Changyuan told them about Special Commissioner Wei Yuan coming to the island for inspection tomorrow—and then began to arrange.

"Su Qingli.

The Spirit Stone consumption ledger for the Formation base—make two copies.

One real—keep it yourself.

Put the other one on the file rack outside the Formation Affairs Room—it must look reasonable.

The Spirit Stone consumption amount cannot be inconsistent with the actual number of times the Killing Array has operated—but the destination of the consumption must be blurred.

Blurred to the point where it is impossible to tell when the Killing Array has operated at full power."

Su Qingli drew two lines on the charcoal paper—a solid line and a dashed line.

"Two ledgers.

For the fake one—spread the consumption of the full-power operation when the sword threads were pushed five miles away on the flank last night into three different daily tests.

The total matches—but the times are staggered.

If the person checking the accounts doesn't understand Formations—they won't be able to tell.

If they do understand—"

She paused.

"If they do understand—they will find that it is spread too evenly.

The consumption of real Formation tests won't use up the same amount of Spirit Stones every time."

"Then—mix in a real daily consumption.

Mix it into the third apportionment.

Make the total match—but have one spot in the distribution that is uneven."

Su Qingli nodded—and added a fluctuation point on the dashed line.

"Commander Cai.

For the sign-in records of incoming and outgoing Materials—replace all records involving Shen Qinghan and Xue Lang.

Shen Qinghan's medicine—record it as routine external medicine for sentries guarding the reef.

The hemostatic powder Gu He used to change Shen Qinghan's dressing—is the same batch as the hemostatic powder used for wounded soldiers on the front line—there is no difference in the records.

The registration of Xue Lang being piled with other remains of defeated troops before—delete it from the battle damage list.

Change the 'suspected twelve defeated troops' on the list—to 'eight of our own killed in action'."

Commander Cai took the pipe out of his mouth—and spun it in his hand.

"The names and serial numbers of the eight people—use real ones.

The eight people who died on the front line three days ago.

The names match, the serial numbers match, the time of death matches—it cannot be checked."

"Sin Battalion roster—there can only be those eight names in the casualty column.

Feng Laosan's name—delay reporting for three days."

"Understood."

Su Qingli looked up.

"Shen Qinghan—cannot stay in the shed area tomorrow.

Special Commissioner Wei Yuan is a full-time investigator—he will personally enter the shed area to inspect.

The investigation of the perimeter of the shed area is done by people in plain clothes—Special Commissioner Wei Yuan will be more detailed when he checks himself.

He might push open the doors."

"Let Shen Qinghan stay in the small storage room next to the Chart Room all day tomorrow.

The secret door to the storage room opens from the Formation Affairs Room—only you and Leng Feng know about it.

The shed area—clear it out tomorrow.

Move everything Shen Qinghan left behind—clean up even the medicine film residue on the bed board."

Leng Feng walked half a step toward the door.

"The cleaning of the shed area will be done by me—bring two guards.

Clear it out within one hour."

"After moving everything—scatter a layer of dried fish scales on the floor of the shed area.

The Sin Battalion canteen dried fish yesterday—there are plenty of fish scales.

If the shed area hasn't been lived in for a long time—there should be accumulated dust and fish scales on the ground."

Su Qingli drew a final line on the paper with the charcoal pencil— "Three arrangements—fake ledger, replaced records, cleared shed area.

Everything will be in place before dawn tomorrow."

Lu Changyuan stood up—and walked to the window of the Chart Room.

Outside the window—in the direction of the North Corner Berth.

The mast lights of the Royal Capital Fleet connected into a very long chain of warm yellow light in the night—making the Pier area brighter than any night since Blue Moon Island was built.

Special Commissioner Wei Yuan was on one of the ships under that chain of light—preparing for tomorrow's inspection.

Tomorrow—Special Commissioner Wei Yuan would knock on the door of Blue Moon Island with the official seal of the Inspectorate.

He would use his professional expertise to rummage through every corner—looking for people, looking for account books, looking for leverage against Blue Moon Island.

But he would find nothing.

And Lu Changyuan—would take another close look at the burn scar on that left hand while accompanying him on the inspection.