171: Energy Vortex and "Laying Eggs in Another's Nest"

With the star core fragment in hand, Wen Youyi felt greatly relieved, though he kept up the appearance of lingering fear, following the crowd away from the lakeshore as if truly shaken by the chaos just now.

The commotion on the lake gradually subsided, but the two Elders dared not be careless, strictly ordering all Disciples not to approach the lake water again today and only to Cultivate in the open space far from the lakeshore.

This was exactly what Wen Youyi wanted.

He needed time to process the fragment he had just obtained and plan his next step: setting up a node.

Sitting cross-legged on a flat rock, Wen Youyi pretended to close his eyes and Cultivate, but in reality, his consciousness sank into his body, guiding the power of the complete main star core within his Dantian to slowly envelop the newly obtained fragment.

As they were of the same origin, they attracted each other. As soon as the two star core fragments (to him, the one on the altar was complete, and the newly obtained one was a fragment) touched, they resonated strongly. The new fragment, like a weary bird returning to the forest, had its dormant energy rapidly activated and guided, beginning to slowly and firmly merge into the main star core.

This process was gentle, but the benefits were immense. Wen Youyi could clearly feel that the light of the main star core had become more solid and brilliant, and both the total amount and quality of the energy it contained had significantly improved! Consequently, the circulation of his own spiritual power became smoother, and his perception of the surrounding energy became a fraction sharper.

"Not bad, a pleasant surprise." Wen Youyi was satisfied. The enhancement of the main star core meant that the Foundation of the ark main node and the Star Network was more solid.

Next was how to set up the second node in this heavily guarded Falling Star Lake, which was monitored by a Formation, without anyone knowing.

Using force was definitely not an option. There was a Formation at the bottom of the lake, and there were Elders and observers on the shore; once discovered, all previous efforts would be wasted.

He had to find an excellent location—a place that could effectively utilize the rich Star Power here, be sufficiently hidden, and even avoid the Formation's scanning to a certain degree.

His Mental Energy, once again utilizing the deep connection with the main star core, acted like the most precise probe, carefully avoiding the main warning Formation veins at the bottom of the lake, scanning every corner of the lake bottom and the lakeshore.

Time passed bit by bit, and the third day, which was the final day, was approaching.

Just as Wen Youyi was becoming a bit anxious, his Mental Energy discovered a peculiar phenomenon in an area at the bottom of the lake near the northwest shore.

There was a relatively hidden cluster of underwater caves there. Deep within the caves, seemingly due to geological structure and long-term energy erosion, a small energy vortex had naturally formed. This vortex was not violent; rather, it was quite stable. It rotated slowly, constantly absorbing the Star Power and water spirit Qi permeating the lake water, but because of its unique structure, it bound most of the energy within the vortex, with only a very small amount escaping.

What was even better was that the energy disturbance of this natural energy vortex happened to interfere with and cover up the effects of the Formation's scanning in the nearby area! It was like covering a surveillance camera with a layer of constantly rippling water, making the surveillance image blurry!

"This is it!" Wen Youyi was overjoyed! This was simply a natural node setup point!

Sufficient energy? Yes! This vortex itself was a natural energy gathering point.

Strong concealment? Yes! The vortex's own energy disturbance was the best camouflage.

Suitable location? Yes! Located at the bottom of the lake, near the rocky shore, making it convenient for future maintenance and concealment.

This was simply a "server room" tailored for him!

"Borrowing a nest to lay eggs..." A phrase instantly popped into Wen Youyi's mind. He would use this natural energy vortex to silently place the Star Network node inside!

The plan took shape rapidly.

The final day, early morning.

Perhaps feeling that the accidents over the past two days had left the Disciples with meager gains, or perhaps because the Formation showed everything was normal, the Elders finally relented, allowing the Disciples to attempt to enter the lake one last time to search for Opportunity, provided they took protective measures, but strictly forbidding them from approaching the center of the lake.

Everyone had long been unable to restrain themselves and jumped into the water one after another.

Wen Youyi and Zhao Iron Pillar were mixed in among them. Wen Youyi's goal was clear: that area of underwater caves on the northwest shore. Zhao Iron Pillar's task was to act as a "wingman," creating some small commotions nearby to attract potential surveillance gazes.

The two dove into the water. Wen Youyi, like a swimming fish, used the cover of the jagged rocks at the bottom of the lake to silently approach the target area. Zhao Iron Pillar deliberately made some noise, picking up some shiny ordinary Ore, and occasionally "clumsily" startling one or two small star threads, drawing disdainful side-glances from several nearby Black Sha Disciples.

Wen Youyi successfully snuck into the cave area. The light inside the cave was dim, and water plants swayed. Following the direction of his sensing, he quickly found that natural energy vortex located deep within the cave.

The vortex was about a zhang in diameter, rotating silently. Inside, there were specks of starlight, as if it contained a miniature starry sky, emitting stable and restrained energy fluctuations.

Wen Youyi did not hesitate and immediately took out the second-generation Star Network repeater he had prepared from his Storage Pouch. It was similar to the "Liuyun No. 1," but smaller in volume, more intricate in structure, and had stronger concealment capabilities.

He carefully dropped the repeater into the center of the energy vortex.

As soon as the repeater entered the vortex, it was immediately wrapped and supported by the rotating energy flow, hovering in the center position. The grain-sized star core fragment in the center (separated from the main star core) was instantly activated, emitting a faint light, and began to greedily absorb the pure Star Power within the vortex!

At the same time, the repeater's built-in concealment Formation activated, and its own presence rapidly decreased, almost merging with the surrounding rotating energy starlight. Viewed from the outside, this was just a slightly brighter center of the vortex, completely inconspicuous.

Wen Youyi remotely controlled it through the Mind Net, guiding the repeater to establish a connection with the main node, the ark.

[Main node, this is sub-node 'Falling Star No. 2', requesting connection test!]

[Main node received! Energy path stable, signal clear! Connection successful!]

It worked! The "Falling Star No. 2" node was successfully online!

This node relied on the natural energy vortex, so its energy was almost endless, its concealment was excellent, and it was located at the bottom of the Falling Star Lake, making its geographical location crucial! In the future, this place could not only serve as an information relay station but even as a small energy supply point and safe house!

Wen Youyi restrained the urge to look up and howl, quickly evacuated the cave, and met up with Zhao Iron Pillar, who was still there "performing" picking up Ore.

The two surfaced, and like the other Disciples who had "gained much" (which were actually all ordinary Ore), they wore "satisfied" smiles on their faces.

When the final time arrived and everyone left the Falling Star Lake, Wen Youyi looked back at the dark blue lake surface that had returned to calm, his heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

The Black Sha Elder probably could not even dream that the Falling Star Lake, which he regarded as his exclusive treasure, had already had its biggest treasure at the center of the lake taken away, and a crucial "nail" had been buried at the bottom of the lake by someone!

"This wave, 'stealing the base' was a success!" Wen Youyi was in a pleasant mood, feeling that these three days had been incredibly fulfilling.

However, just as they were following the Elder to leave the barrier and return to the Outer Sect, the star core fragment (main star core) in his arms suddenly transmitted an extremely faint, yet warning-laden fluctuation.

[Warning... detected... high-priority scan... originating from... 'spirit net' deep protocol... target... Qingxuan Sect area...]

Wen Youyi's heart skipped a beat!

Deep scan from the "spirit net"? And the target was the Qingxuan Sect area?

Could it be that their recent actions, including the abnormal performance in the Grand Competition and the commotion at the Falling Star Lake, had finally attracted the attention of a higher level of the Creation Heavenly Court?

The storm seemed to be escalating.

(End of chapter)