23: Shattered Lands and Turbulent Spiritual Energy

The intense dizziness and tearing sensation lasted for about a dozen breaths of time.

When the feeling of solid ground returned, Wen Youyi suddenly opened his eyes and immediately barked, “Be alert! Count heads!”

“I'm here!”

“I'm here!”

“I'm here too!”

“Everyone's here!”

The voices of Zhao Iron Pillar and the other three rang out one after another, carrying a trace of shock after Transmigration through space, but more so the nervousness and excitement of stepping into an unknown Domain.

Wen Youyi let out a breath of relief; The core five people were all present. He quickly looked around.

They were in a rocky, rugged Gobi Desert. The sky was an eerie dark red, devoid of sun, moon, or stars, featuring only distorted light bands slowly flowing like auroras. The air was filled with dense but incredibly chaotic Spiritual Qi, sometimes scorching hot, sometimes icy cold, and sometimes carrying a corrosive aura, making it impossible to absorb directly. The earth was a dark, blood-colored expanse, covered in cracked ravines and the massive skeletons of unknown creatures—a scene of desolate silence.

This is the Meteor Ancient Ruins? It truly lives up to its name; the environment is so harsh.

“How does everyone feel? Is anyone uncomfortable?” Wen Youyi asked. He keenly noticed that here, the omnipresent sense of restraint from the “spirit net” seemed... weakened? Although it still existed, it was intermittent, like a signal suffering severe interference, becoming intermittent.

“It's a bit stuffy. The Spiritual Qi here can't be absorbed; if I try, my stomach hurts,” Zhao Iron Pillar scratched his head and said.

Wang Wu's expression changed slightly: “Junior Brother Wen, my Spiritual Power circulation seems a bit sluggish, not as smooth as it was outside.”

Senior Brother Li and Senior Brother Zhang also expressed similar feelings.

Wen Youyi's heart stirred, and he tried to circulate the “Breathing Cache Method.” Sure enough, even “caching” became difficult here. The chaotic Spiritual Qi was like barbed wire, causing sharp pain in his Meridians the moment he tried to draw it in.

“It seems the environment of the Ancient Ruins interferes with normal Spiritual Qi circulation, and consequently, the 'spirit net's' extraction is also affected,” Wen Youyi quickly judged. “But we can't utilize this chaotic Spiritual Qi either; it even affects our own Spiritual Power circulation. We must quickly find a relatively stable area, or...”

A trace of determination flashed in his eyes: “...try our 'stupid method'!”

His so-called “stupid method” was an extremely rudimentary “Spiritual Power Linkage” concept, devised based on the *Crude Talk on Spirit Thread Traction*. The principle was to leverage the advantage of The core five people sharing the same origin (all Cultivating the Improved Breathing Method) and having a high degree of tacit understanding, attempting to temporarily “twist” their Spiritual Power together like a piece of dough to form a small internal cycle. This might, to some extent, counteract the interference of the chaotic external Spiritual Qi, or even... simulate a miniature, independent Spiritual Power environment!

“Form a circle, put your hands on the shoulders of the person in front of you, circulate the Breathing Method according to the rhythm I taught you, and try to slowly guide that thread of ‘warm Qi,’ toward me!” Wen Youyi ordered in a deep voice.

This was an extremely risky move. Even if the Spiritual Power attributes of different Cultivators were similar, they were prone to conflict, which could lead to minor damage to the Meridians or, severely, Spiritual Power Rampage. That ancient text recorded countless failed cases.

But at this moment, they had no better option. In this peril-filled Ancient Ruins, being unable to use Spiritual Power smoothly was equivalent to cutting off one's own arms.

The core five people immediately complied, forming a small circle, placing their palms on the shoulders of the person in front, closing their eyes, and cautiously circulating the unique Breathing Method, attempting to draw out that thread of pure “warm Qi” from within their bodies.

The start was extremely difficult. Everyone's Spiritual Power was like a disobedient wild horse, rejecting external forces. Waves of stinging pain came from their Meridians.

Wen Youyi, acting as the “hub,” bore the greatest pressure. He felt five subtle forces, slightly different in attribute, colliding within his body. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead, and his face turned pale.

“Hold steady! Don't use force, follow that ‘feeling’! Imagine our power is a small stream, merging into a small river!” Wen Youyi gritted his teeth, guiding them in a low voice, while fully mobilizing his Mental Energy to channel and harmonize the forces.

Once, twice... failure.

Just as everyone was about to lose persistence and prepare to give up—

Suddenly, a strange sense of resonance arose!

The five subtle streams of Spiritual Power, under Wen Youyi's guidance using his Mental Energy without regard for exhaustion and a certain indescribable tacit understanding, actually found an extremely fragile point of balance. Like five fine threads, they cautiously intertwined, forming an imperceptible, closed circulatory loop!

The moment this tiny circuit was formed!

The core five people simultaneously shook!

The sluggishness and stinging pain caused by the chaotic external Spiritual Qi instantly vanished! It was replaced by a long-lost feeling of completeness and smooth Spiritual Power flow within their bodies! Although the Spiritual Power provided by this “internal cycle” was negligible, far less than normal Cultivation, it was incredibly “clean” and undisturbed by the outside world!

More importantly, the ever-present feeling of the “spirit net” extracting power seemed to be isolated the moment this tiny circuit formed! It was like suddenly putting on a pair of headphones with terrible soundproofing in a noisy environment—you could still hear the noise outside, but it was greatly reduced!

“Suc—successful?!” Zhao Iron Pillar suddenly opened his eyes, surprised and delighted. He felt much lighter all over.

Wang Wu and the others were also full of disbelief, feeling the faint yet independently circulating warm current within their bodies.

Wen Youyi let out a long breath, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and showed a tired but relieved smile.

“The local area network... Unit 01, is barely online.”

Although the range was extremely small (limited only to the circle formed by The core five people's physical contact), the effect was minimal (only maintaining the lowest level of Spiritual Power circulation and isolating some interference), and the stability was worrying (feeling like a Broken Line at any moment), this was undoubtedly a Breakthrough from zero!

This meant they had found a path that might allow them to break free from the absolute control of the “spirit net”! Even if this path was currently so narrow that only one foot could fit!

“That's great! Little Wen! Does this mean we won't have to fear that Ghost Net anymore?” Zhao Iron Pillar asked excitedly.

“It's still too early,” Wen Youyi poured cold water on his excitement. “This is only the lowest level of connection. The range is small, the effect is weak, and maintaining it requires a large consumption of our Mental Energy and tacit understanding. Once the connection is broken, or if we move slightly farther apart, it will immediately fail.”

He looked at the desolate and eerie surroundings and said solemnly, “However, with this, our survival ability in this Ancient Ruins has increased by at least twenty percent! Now, hurry up and familiarize yourselves with this state, and then... explore this area!”

Just as they had initially mastered this rudimentary “Spiritual Power Linkage” and were preparing to start exploring, fierce fighting and angry shouts suddenly came from behind a large cluster of Weathered Rock Pillars in the distance, faintly mixed with the unique Fire Spiritual Power fluctuations of the Blazing Sun Sect.

Is that Blazing Edge and his group? Did they start fighting with people or something in the Ancient Ruins so quickly?

Wen Youyi and Zhao Iron Pillar exchanged glances.

“Let's go take a look!” Wen Youyi decided immediately. “Remember, maintain the ‘connection,’ conceal your aura. We are just the 'Yellow Oriole' waiting for the show.”

The core five people maintained that faint yet precious Spiritual Power connection, using the cover of the strange rocks and the Turtle Breath Qi Concealment Art, and silently moved toward the direction of the fighting sounds.

(End of Chapter)