384: Chapter 384 Urgent Summon

But that zither music was different from before—it wasn't a complete melody, but rather bursts of short vibratos that radiated underground like sonar waves. It was the "Earth Vein Listening Technique," a closely guarded secret of the Tianyin Pavilion. It could use rhythm to perceive subtle changes in the flow of underground Spiritual Qi and required extremely profound musical mastery to perform.

Gao Feng walked to Luo Li's side and did not disturb her, quietly watching her fingers dance across the zither strings. A faint golden light emanated from her fingertips, a sign of spiritual power blending into the rhythm. With every pluck of a string, an invisible sound wave delved into the ground and returned to her ears as an echo. Her brow would relax at times and furrow at others, clearly discerning the information within those echoes with care.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Luo Li stopped plucking the strings and looked up, her brow tightly knit.

“Deep-level Spiritual Qi is indeed slowly draining toward the northwest.” Her fingers still rested on the strings, and while her voice wasn't loud, her tone was exceptionally certain. “The speed is extremely slow; if not for the Earth Vein Listening Technique, it would be impossible to detect. But it is definitely moving, and it's not natural diffusion—natural diffusion should flow evenly in all directions, but this loss has a clear directionality. It's as if someone opened a hole in the northwest and is slowly pumping the Spiritual Qi out.”

“To the northwest?” The northwest was exactly where the Wuxiang Sect was located. Gao Feng's heart stirred, and just as he was about to speak, a silver light lit up beside him.

Su Ning stepped out from a spatial rift, her expression also looking rather grim. She was still clutching a spatial positioning jade, which had light points flickering on it. Ever since she comprehended the Star Space Art, she had become increasingly sensitive to distant spatial fluctuations.

“I just used spatial positioning to track the direction of the Spiritual Qi loss you mentioned.” Su Ning shook the Jade Slip in her hand. “It is indeed toward the Wuxiang Sect. But strangely, this Spiritual Qi isn't flowing directly into the Sect; rather, it's being pulled by a force even further away. It's as if... as if someone on the other end is using something to suck it in, and our fief is just being caught in the crossfire.”

Chu Lan, Luo Li, and Su Ning—the findings of all three pointed to the same conclusion. There was an abnormal movement in the Spiritual Vein; the fief was only being affected, while the true source was in the direction of the Wuxiang Sect.

Gao Feng pondered for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, a sharp whistling sound came from the distance. He raised his hand to catch it—it was a communication talisman flashing with purple light, engraved with the mark of the Wuxiang Sect. The intensity of that purple light was unusually thick, clearly an emergency transmission.

As spiritual power was injected, Venerable Xuan Yang’s aged and solemn voice rang out in his mind:

“Gao Feng, return to the Sect immediately. The Spiritual Vein is experiencing an unexplained loss of Spiritual Qi, and the rate of loss is accelerating daily. The Scripture Pavilion Elder speculates it may be related to an imbalance of the Five Elements. You have traveled among the five Sects and are well-informed; return quickly to discuss this. This matter concerns the Sect's Foundation; do not be negligent.”

The voice in the communication talisman cut off abruptly, leaving only an echo lingering in his mind. Gao Feng put away the talisman, his brow furrowed.

“Venerable Xuan Yang wants you to go back?” Luo Li asked.

“There’s a problem with the Spiritual Vein.” Gao Feng repeated the contents of the message, and everyone's expressions turned solemn.

A problem with the Spiritual Vein was no small matter—the Sect's Spiritual Vein was the Foundation for a Cultivator's Cultivation. If the Spiritual Vein dried up, even Golden Core Stage Cultivators would be unable to Cultivate in the Sect for long, and the refining of Medicinal Pills, Magical Artifacts, and Formations would be heavily impacted.

More importantly, the “Five Elements imbalance” mentioned in the transmission faintly echoed the “Five Directional Spiritual Roots Life Extension” that had appeared in the ancient Jade Slip. Gao Feng felt in his heart that this was no coincidence.

“Pack up, bring essential resources, and we will set out for the Sect tomorrow morning,” Gao Feng said in a deep voice. “Lin Yue, you stay and guard the fief; re-arrange the defensive Formations. Chu Lan, take this Rhinoceros Grass back to continue your observations and record the data on the Spiritual Qi changes. Luo Li, mark out the direction of the Spiritual Qi flow you just measured in detail. Su Ning, prepare the spatial teleportation array; we need to return to the Sect at maximum speed.”

The group didn't ask further questions and dispersed to make their preparations.

That night, Gao Feng stood alone on the cliffside, looking toward the northwest. There lay the mountain gate of the Wuxiang Sect, the Foundation of his growth. Moonlight spilled over his shoulders, casting a long shadow.

The night wind blew, and the leaves in the Spirit Plant Garden made a rustling sound. Behind him, deep within the Myriad Spirit Space, that ancient Jade Slip seemed to sense something; the fluorescence on its surface brightened slightly before falling completely silent.

The next morning, the group of six stepped onto the spatial teleportation array Su Ning had prepared. Silver light enveloped them, and in the next instant, the scenery of Meteor Valley vanished from sight. When the light dissipated again, they were already standing on the bluestone plaza outside the Wuxiang Sect's mountain gate.

Gao Feng looked up; the mountain gate of the Wuxiang Sect was as towering and majestic as ever, but the clouds of Spiritual Qi that usually swirled around it were noticeably thinner, like a veil that had been mostly torn away.

The expressions of the gate-guarding Disciples were also none too good, with some showing obvious anxiety in their eyes. Many of the spirit plants on both sides of the gate showed signs of yellowing leaves—a sight that had never occurred before.

When the mountain gate guards saw Gao Feng, their eyes lit up, and they quickly cupped their hands in salute: “Elder War God, the Sect Master has ordered that you go directly to the Lingxiao Hall; all the Elders have already gathered.”

The Lingxiao Hall was the Wuxiang Sect's highest assembly hall, and a full assembly was not called lightly. Gao Feng's heart sank; it seemed the situation was even more serious than he had imagined.

Inside the Lingxiao Hall, the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy.

On both sides of the tall hall doors stood rows of Wuxiang Sect Cultivators dressed in black robes, all Core Disciples from various halls. In the center of the hall, a huge circular meeting table was surrounded by people—Sect Master Venerable Xuan Yang sat in the primary seat to the north, with the various Elders of the Wuxiang Sect lined up on either side.

Gao Feng counted them; besides the usual Teaching Elder, Scripture Pavilion Elder, Medicinal Pill Pavilion Elder, and Law Enforcement Elder, some Grand Elders who had been in seclusion for many years had also made an exception to attend. Everyone's face was as dark as water.

The moment Gao Feng stepped into the hall, several gazes fell squarely upon him. One of those gazes was particularly cold—it came from the Law Enforcement Elder, Master Cangsong.

Master Cangsong was white-haired and elderly, with a thin face, sunken eyes, and fleshless cheeks, giving off an impression of being harsh and ungracious.

His cultivation was at the sixth level of the Golden Core Stage. While not the strongest among the Sect Elders, he had presided over the penal laws for many years and held great prestige; no one dared challenge his authority. His grievance with Gao Feng could be traced back to when Gao Feng was still an Inner Sect Disciple—at that time, Gao Feng had been falsely accused by one of Cang Song's Disciples over a minor matter. Cang Song had been biased toward his own follower and nearly had Gao Feng expelled from the Sect.

Later, when the truth came to light, although Cang Song did not apologize, the grudge between the two sides was set. Since then, Gao Feng had risen through the ranks, from the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Races to Meteor City, achieving illustrious military merits. While Cang Song did not dare to openly push him out, he had frequently tripped him up in the shadows.

Seeing Gao Feng enter the hall now, Master Cangsong’s mouth twitched slightly. His gaze circled Gao Feng before shifting away.

“Gao Feng, you’ve arrived,” Venerable Xuan Yang’s voice sounded, aged and solemn. He looked several years older than their last meeting; the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were deeper, and his eyes carried an unmistakable fatigue.

“This Disciple greets the Sect Master and the Elders.” Gao Feng walked to the center of the hall and bowed.

Venerable Xuan Yang gestured for him to stand to the side, then rose from his primary seat. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone in the hall. His voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly:

“I have summoned you all here today to discuss an important matter.”

He paused, seemingly organizing his words.

The hall was silent; even the sound of breathing was clearly audible.

“Five fissures have appeared in the ancient Spiritual Vein beneath the Sect.”

Venerable Xuan Yang’s voice was not loud, but it was like a massive boulder falling into a calm lake. The hall instantly erupted into an uproar! Several impatient Elders had already stood up from their chairs, their faces filled with shock.

“Five fissures? How is that possible!” the Teaching Elder Dharma Transmission Elder Zhao Yuanbai’s voice trembled slightly. “Since the Ancestral Master established the Sect, the Spiritual Vein has never had a problem in ten thousand years!”

“The rate of Spiritual Qi loss is accelerating,” Venerable Xuan Yang continued, his voice carrying a rare gravity. “Currently, it is estimated that about ten percent of the Spiritual Qi will be lost each year. If not repaired, within ten years, this Sect will be unable to support the normal Cultivation of those at the Golden Core level and above.”

Ten years.

This number was like a muffled thunderclap that silenced everyone. Those at the Golden Core level and above were the Foundation of a Sect. If Golden Core Cultivators could not Cultivate within the Sect and had to travel abroad year-round, then what would the Sect use to nurture the next generation? What would it use to maintain its Legacy? After ten years, would the Wuxiang Sect still have the right to be called the ‘Wuxiang Sect’?”

“Elder Lingyuan, you come and explain in detail to everyone.” Venerable Xuan Yang looked toward a lean old man dressed in a cyan robe.

Elder Lingyuan rose and walked to the center of the hall. He was the Elder responsible for monitoring the Spiritual Vein in the Wuxiang Sect, with a cultivation at the sixth level of the Golden Core Stage. He had decades of research into Spiritual Veins, earth veins, and the ways of feng shui; his authority in this field was second to none. With a wave of his hand, a light surged from his palm, transforming into a three-dimensional map of the Spiritual Vein in mid-air.

The map glowed with flowing light, showing the paths, branches, and nodes of the underground Spiritual Vein one by one, winding like silver rivers beneath the earth. And at five positions on the map, piercing red light points were constantly flickering—the markers of the five fissures.

“The five fissures correspond to the missing areas of the Five Elements attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.” Elder Lingyuan pointed at the map, his voice low and slow. “The eastern fissure belongs to Metal, the western to Wood, the southern to Fire, the northern to Water, and the central to Earth. With one missing from each of the Five Elements, it has caused an imbalance in Spiritual Qi and accelerated the loss.”

Whispers filled the hall as an Elder pressed: “How were the fissures formed? Was it due to natural causes or an external force?”

Elder Lingyuan shook his head. “I have checked the residual aura at the edges of the fissures—they were not naturally formed. There are traces of being torn by external force at the edges, and the residual power aura is very ancient, at least from the primordial era.”