386: Chapter 386 Before Departure

Gao Feng nodded without asking much. He trusted Venerable Xuan Yang's judgment.

In the following days, everyone was busy with intense preparations.

Luo Li completed most of the unfinished Time-Space Soul Suppressing Melody and took the score with her, planning to continue refining it during the journey. She also selected three Disciples from the Tianyin Pavilion, all juniors with outstanding musical talent, to accompany her to Taixu Palace.

Su Ning went into seclusion for two days to refine over a dozen Space Positioning Jade Slips and distributed them to everyone. These Jade Slips could guide everyone to converge in an emergency and were a new Spell she had comprehended from the Starry Myriad Arts.

Chu Lan sorted and packed the spirit plant seeds she had brought from the Meteor War God Realm and specially cultivated several spirit plant seedlings that could be carried along—they could provide her with a continuous supply of spiritual power during the journey. She also carefully placed a branch of the Time Holy Vine in a special jade box to take with her.

Tian Xin reorganized all her Talismans and rushed to create over a hundred new ones in the three days before departure. She also improved the crafting method of the heart sound talisman, increasing its sensitivity and sensing range. The night before they left, she stuffed a small packet folded from Talisman paper into Gao Feng's hand.

"What is this?" Gao Feng took it and opened it to find a small Talisman drawn with fine patterns in crimson cinnabar.

"A heart sound talisman," Tian Xin said with a rare serious expression. "I've improved it. If you encounter danger, crush it, and I'll be able to sense your location. But this Talisman can only transmit location information once and cannot be used for communication, so use it wisely. If you are in danger, you must use it."

Gao Feng carefully put the Talisman away and nodded. "Thank you."

Tian Xin said nothing more and turned to pack her belongings.

Yao Guang worked for two days and nights to refine hundreds of various Medicinal Pills, packing them into over a dozen jade bottles and labeling them with Tian Xin's tags before distributing them. She also specially refined a bottle of Life-Sustaining Golden Pills for Gao Feng; these were not ordinary pills like the azure wood healing pill, but true life-saving treasures.

"There are seven inside," Yao Guang said as she handed him the jade bottle. "As long as the soul has not dissipated and the Physical Body remains, it can preserve your life. But there are only seven; once they are gone, they are gone."

Gao Feng took the jade bottle and weighed it in his hand; it felt heavy, each pill a crystallization of Yao Guang's hard work. He carefully stored the jade bottle in his Myriad Spirit Space.

Lin Yue spent those three days setting up the defense Formations for the fiefdom. Ten of his twelve-layer Formation's layers had been broken during the great battle, and he had to repair the most important ones before leaving, or the fiefdom's security would not be guaranteed. He integrated the essence of the Ten Thousand Arrays Rock Demon Map into the new Formations, raising the defense to a higher level. Before leaving, he patted Gao Feng's shoulder. "Go on, I'll take care of the fiefdom."

Lin Jingyu sparred with Gao Feng in sword techniques every day. His sword became faster and more ruthless, with every strike seeming to pierce the Void Realm. Gao Feng felt significant pressure when facing him. Situ Lan would occasionally join the sparring, and the three of them familiarized themselves with each other's combat styles in preparation for the trip to the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The night before departure, Meteor Valley was not as quiet as usual.

The hall of the Immortal Cave was brightly lit as several people sat around a long stone table. The oil lamp on the table flickered with orange flames, casting shifting light and shadows on every face. The air was filled with the medicinal fragrance of spirit plants and the bitter scent of Medicinal Pills, left behind after Chu Lan and Yao Guang finished organizing the supplies.

Gao Feng sat at the head of the table, holding the stack of information given by Venerable Xuan Yang, which he had already reviewed several times. Jian Wuwei of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Gongyang Lie of the Wanfa Sect, Immortal Master Qingmu of Changsheng Valley... behind every name was a mountain that might need to be climbed. He handed the information to Lin Jingyu beside him and said in a deep voice, "The Heavenly Sword Sect is built on the Dao of the sword. Jingyu, you have the most experience in sword arts; we cannot rely on brute force when the time comes."

Lin Jingyu took the Jade Slip and probed it with his spiritual sense. After a moment, he looked up. "The Heavenly Sword Sect's Soaring Cloud Sword Art is famous for its sharpness and focuses on overwhelming opponents with momentum. But as long as we don't fall into their rhythm, we should be able to handle it. My Heaven Breaking Nine Swords focuses on finding weaknesses, which gives me an advantage against such aggressive opponents."

"That's good." Gao Feng then turned to Su Ning. "Is the teleportation Formation ready?"

Su Ning placed a silver Jade Slip on the table, its surface floating with fine Formation patterns. "It's already set up. The coordinates are fixed in a wilderness a hundred miles outside the Heavenly Sword Sect's gate. There are ancient spatial Restrictions around the Heavenly Sword Sect covering a fifty-mile radius; no spatial teleportation can directly enter the interior of the Restriction. We will need to walk the remaining hundred miles."

"A hundred miles?" Lin Yue scratched his head. "We'll be there in half a day's walk."

"Don't be too optimistic," Su Ning warned. "The Restriction at the Heavenly Sword Sect's gate is not just a spatial blockade, but also a Sword Intent suppression. Generations of Heavenly Sword Sect experts have carved their Sword Intent into the surrounding peaks, and after ten thousand years of accumulation, its power is extraordinary. The closer we get to the gate, the stronger the suppression becomes."

Everyone's expression grew more serious. Lin Jingyu, however, gripped his sword hilt, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes. "Sword Intent suppression? This is a perfect chance to see if my Sword Intent is stronger or if their ten thousand years of accumulation is superior."

Situ Lan said nothing, only silently checking the spirit sword at her waist, her fingers lightly stroking the scabbard. Having left the Heavenly Sword Sect years ago, returning now as an 'outsider' filled her heart with mixed emotions, but her expression remained as calm as water, showing no ripples.

Chu Lan placed a Storage Pouch on the table and opened it to reveal ten crystal bottles. They contained a pale gold liquid that reflected a gentle glow under the light. "Spiritual Qi Concentration Liquid. Each bottle can quickly restore twenty percent of your spiritual power when it's depleted. But you can only have one bottle a day; your Meridians won't be able to handle more." She distributed the bottles one by one. "I refined these from the essence of a hundred spirit plants and nurtured them in the time spirit spring. Each bottle is extremely valuable, so use them sparingly."

Tian Xin placed a thick stack of Talismans on the table, neatly categorized. Twenty Stealth Talismans, which can completely hide one's aura when applied; ten Teleportation Talismans, which can instantly teleport one ten miles away in a random direction when activated—use with caution; fifteen Explosive Talismans, with power equivalent to a full strike from a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator—just throw them. "Keep them safe," she said, her voice as brief as ever.

Su Ning took out eight silver beads, one for each person. The beads were entirely silver, carved with fine Formation patterns that glimmered at a light touch. "space positioning beads. They can sense the location of other beads within a thousand-mile range. If we get separated or trapped in a spatial Restriction, they will help you find your nearest companion."

Yao Guang opened a large medicine chest filled with various Medicinal Pill bottles. She counted them while distributing: "Twenty rejuvenation pills each for minor injuries. Five Detoxification Pills and three Bone-Setting Pills each. Three azure wood healing pills each for severe injuries; they are ten times more effective than the rejuvenation pill."

She took a particularly small jade bottle from the bottom of the chest and handed it to Gao Feng. "These are Life-Sustaining Golden Pills; there are only three. As long as the soul has not dissipated and the Physical Body remains, they can preserve your life. Keep them safe."

Lin Yue distributed eight Protective Jade Pendants to the group. The pendants were dark green and carved with complex Formation patterns. "They will automatically trigger a shield when attacked, capable of withstanding a full strike from an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivator. But they only work once; the pendant will shatter after blocking an attack."

Gao Feng counted the spirit marrow and meteorite essence crystals in his Myriad Spirit Space, confirming that supplies were sufficient. He mentally reviewed every resource before standing up. "Everyone, rest well tonight. We depart early tomorrow morning. Su Ning, check the teleportation Formation once more to ensure there are no issues."

Everyone stood up and returned to their respective tents.

In the late night of Meteor Valley, the moonlight was like water and everything was silent. The lights in the eight tents were extinguished one after another, leaving only a few night-luminescent pearls emitting a faint glow. In the Spirit Plant Garden, the Time Holy Vine shimmered with a faint silver light in the moonlight, its leaves swaying gently.

A dark shadow quietly drifted down from a distant peak. He was wrapped in a pitch-black cloak and his face was covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of gloomy eyes. This man's name was Wei Wuya, a trusted Disciple of Master Cangsong. He had followed Cangsong in cultivation for decades and was proficient in wind-style escape and stealth techniques, specializing in acting from the shadows.

Like a nocturnal bat, he silently glided past the cliff and landed behind a rock near the teleportation Formation. He did not show himself immediately but crouched behind the rock, carefully sensing the surrounding aura. After confirming no one was around, he slowly stood up and walked to the edge of the teleportation Formation.

The Formation patterns on the ground were faintly visible under the light of the night-luminescent pearls, with silver lines forming a complex hexagram. Su Ning's technique was extremely exquisite; the direction of every line and the placement of every node had been carefully calculated.

Wei Wuya crouched down and suspended his palm over the Formation patterns, closing his eyes to sense them. Among his Cultivation Techniques was a Pulse-Finding Technique that could sense the flow of spiritual power and the distribution of spatial nodes within Formation patterns. After a moment, he opened his eyes and took out a Jade Slip.

The surface of the Jade Slip shimmered with a faint fluorescence; it was a Magical Artifact personally refined by Master Cangsong that could record the structure of Formation patterns and make fine adjustments when replicating them. Master Cangsong's instructions to him were: "There is no need to destroy the teleportation Formation; simply change a few lines to shift the teleportation coordinates. We cannot let them fail to reach the Heavenly Sword Sect, but we should make them suffer a bit on the way and waste some of their energy."

Wei Wuya injected spiritual power into the Jade Slip, and silver light corresponding to the Formation patterns appeared on its surface. He gently pressed the Jade Slip onto several lines, and minute spiritual power seeped out from it, quietly infiltrating the Formation patterns. That spiritual power was extremely well-hidden; without profound attainments in spatial Formations, it would be impossible to detect.

"Change a few lines, shift the coordinates by a hundred miles..." he muttered to himself, his voice low like a breath squeezed from his throat. "A hundred miles is neither too much nor too little, just enough to keep you busy on the road for most of the day. Junior Martial Uncle Cangsong said we can't let things go too smoothly for you. There are people waiting for you at the Heavenly Sword Sect as well."