428: Chapter 428 Ready

Lin Yue was inspecting his protective jade pendants, examining each one over and over, and even took one apart to study the patterns.

Yao Guang was taking inventory in the pill room, organizing the rejuvenation pills, pulse-renewing pills, and detoxification pills into categories, and cleared a separate cabinet for the Soul-calming Talismans that Tianxin requested.

Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan were sparring on the sword practice field. The silvery-white sword light of the flowing cloud sword and the icy-blue sword light of the frost sword intertwined in the twilight, with Sword Qi etching thin marks into the ground. Neither used their full strength, merely keeping their hand in.

The three years of preparation time were still long, but no one knew what they would have to face during this period. An extra bit of preparation meant an extra chance of survival.

The night wind rustled the leaves in the Spirit Plant Garden.

Gao Feng was alone in the cultivation room, his vajra sword planted in the ground before him, the sword marks on its blade glowing with a bronze luster under the candlelight. He closed his eyes and recalled the contents of the "Chronicles of the Void": the incorporeal shadows, the Void Beast that fed on Spiritual Qi, the Void Lords capable of shapeshifting, the origin of the resentment condensed over ten thousand years, and the precedents of them shapeshifting to infiltrate the Human Realm. There wasn't much information, but every detail was chilling.

He opened his eyes and gripped the hilt of the vajra sword. The blade trembled slightly, as if responding to his determination.

The "Chronicles of the Void" had been read over and over for seven whole days.

Tianxin had organized the key contents of that Jade Slip into a thick manuscript, categorized by type.

She had divided the Void Realm creatures into three categories based on their threat level: low-Rank shadows (Foundation Establishment Stage, no physical form, capable of eroding Spiritual Qi barriers), mid-Rank Void Beast (Golden Core Stage, with rudimentary physical form, capable of manipulating the Space Power), and high-Rank Void Lords (Nascent Soul Stage and above, capable of shapeshifting, with intelligence not inferior to humans). For each, she had noted the known characteristics, attack patterns, and potential weaknesses.

On the morning of the eighth day, she brought the manuscript to the main hall of the Immortal Cave and spread it out on the stone table.

Everyone sat in a circle. Gao Feng picked up the manuscript and flipped through it; every page was densely written with neat handwriting, and even the margins were filled with annotations. Tianxin sat at the end of the table, still holding a pen, ready to add new findings at any moment.

"I have asked Su Ning to deduce the three coordinates marked on the Void Realm distribution map," Tianxin said, pointing with the tip of her pen to the marks on the map. "The drift trajectories over the past hundred years can be roughly calculated, but there are no reference points in the Void Realm, so the margin of error will not be small. We need to conduct on-site investigations to determine their exact locations."

Su Ning took three silvery-white Jade Slips from her sleeve and placed them on the table. "I used the Space-Time Deduction Technique to calculate the most likely current positions of these three coordinates. However, the deduction requires constant correction of Spiritual Qi, and the Spiritual Qi environment of the Human Realm differs from that of the Void Realm, so there may be deviations in the teleportation landing points."

"How much of a deviation?" Lin Yue asked.

"At least a hundred miles," Su Ning paused, "perhaps even further."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. A deviation of a hundred miles in the Void Realm meant they could potentially teleport directly into the lair of a Void Realm creature.

"Then we shall split into two groups," Gao Feng said, his finger tracing over the map. His voice was not loud, but everyone could hear the weight in his words. "Jingyu and Situ Lan will remain in the Sect to go into seclusion, consolidate their cultivation, and assist in training new Disciples. The remaining seven will form an investigation team to first find the first coordinate. If the intelligence is accurate, we will then consider the next step."

Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan exchanged a glance and raised no objections. During the three years of preparation, the main task of a Sword Cultivator was to break through their sword Dao Bottleneck and push the Heaven Breaking Nine Swords and Aurora Sword Art to a higher Realm; investigation in the Void Realm was not their specialty.

"When do we set off?" Chu Lan asked.

"When everyone's preparations are complete," Gao Feng said, his gaze sweeping across his teammates' faces. "Tianxin, how much longer do you need for your Talismans?"

Tianxin took two Talismans from her sleeve and spread them on the table. One was completely silvery-white, with runes twisting like lightning; the other was ink-black, with dark golden luster faintly visible within the runes. "Void Positioning Talismans can indicate direction in the chaotic Void Realm. I have drawn thirty of them, which should be enough. Soul Shield Talismans can resist attacks from Void Realm creatures on Divine Sense. I have also drawn thirty of those."

Gao Feng picked up the silvery-white Talisman, feeling the Space Power contained within the paper; the runes of the positioning Talisman were more complex than any Talisman he had ever seen. Tianxin had significantly improved the drawing method based on the classics of Taixu Palace, allowing the Talisman to remain stable even in the Void Realm.

"That is enough." He placed the Talisman back on the table.

Chu Lan took a jade box from her bosom and opened the lid to reveal a pitch-black Spirit Plant. The leaves were thin and needle-like, with silver light faintly flowing through the veins. The plant was small, only a palm high, but it emitted a very peculiar aura—not Spiritual Qi, but a sense of emptiness that was almost nihilistic.

"This is Void Sensing Grass; I successfully cultivated it after three generations using branches of the azure wood holy seed and the time spirit spring," Chu Lan said, carefully touching the leaves with her finger. "It can sense high concentrations of resentment. The places where Void Realm creatures gather have the heaviest resentment; as long as we have this, we at least won't stumble blindly into the lair of a Void Beast."

She closed the jade box and tucked it into her sleeve. Cultivating this Spirit Plant had taken her nearly half a year, during which she had failed countless times. But she did not give up, because it might be the most important early warning means for the investigation team.

Luo Li placed the flowing sound zither across her knees and lightly plucked the strings. She played a melody that no one had ever heard before, slow and deep, each note like a drop of water falling into a deep pool.

"This is the "Soul Requiem", which I adapted from the Void Soul Suppressing Melody. The first version was to suppress Void Realm creatures, while this version is to soothe resentment." Her fingers glided over the strings, and the melody became more ethereal. "Ancient books say that the predecessors of Void Realm creatures were the resentment of ancient Cultivators. If those resentments can be calmed, they should dissipate on their own."

"Is it effective?" Lin Yue asked.

Luo Li stopped plucking the strings: "I tried it around the sealed territory; it is useful against those low-Rank shadows, at least it can make them fall into a brief state of bewilderment. But how effective it will be against mid-to-high-Rank Void Beasts remains to be verified in actual combat."

Su Ning placed seven silver beads on the table. The beads were the size of dragon eyes, completely silvery-white, with fine array patterns engraved on the surface, and each one emitted a faint spatial fluctuation.

"These are Spatial Anchor Beads, one for each of you. After activation in the Void Realm, it will resonate with my teleportation array, ensuring you do not get lost. Even if you are scattered by spatial turbulence, you can find the way back following the guidance of the anchor point." Su Ning distributed the beads to everyone, giving an extra one to Chu Lan when it was her turn. "I have adjusted yours; it has higher sensitivity and can provide early warning when it senses resentment."

Chu Lan took the bead and carefully placed it in her bosom.

Yao Guang placed a bundle of Medicinal Pill bottles on the edge of the table, each labeled. "Anti-toxin pills, rejuvenation pills, pulse-renewing pills, and Soul-calming pills, five bottles for each person. The anti-toxin pills are refined from the anti-toxin Spirit Plant cultivated by Chu Lan; the effect on Void Realm toxins is unknown, but at least it can enhance your Physique."

Gao Feng placed the last item on the table. It was a dark golden Talisman, with a primitive "Break" character engraved on the front, and the runes on the back were layered and dense like a spider web. A gentle light of Spiritual Qi flowed on the Talisman, and five tiny Spirit Stones were embedded on the edges, corresponding to the Five Elements.

"A World-Breaking Talisman, given to me by Daoist Master Xuanyang before he left. In a critical moment, it can tear through space and return directly to the Wuxiang Sect. But it can only be used once." Gao Feng tucked the Talisman into his bosom. That Talisman was Daoist Master Xuanyang's trump card; it was said that there were only two in the entire Wuxiang Sect, and one had already been destroyed after being used once; this was the last one.

Everything was ready, and the sky had already darkened.

The seven did not set off overnight because Su Ning needed to wait for the space-time environment of the spatial passage to stabilize. She had calculated that the best time to open the passage would be tomorrow morning.

That night, Gao Feng was alone in the cultivation room organizing the Myriad Spirit Space.

There was still more than half a pool of spirit marrow in the spirit marrow pool, over a dozen meteorite essence crystals left, and three time spirit fruits, all plucked from Chu Lan's Spirit Plant Garden. He organized these resources into categories and mentally reviewed the investigation route for tomorrow. Of the three coordinates, the first was at the edge of the area marked in the ancient books, where the concentration of resentment was the lowest, making it the most suitable target for the initial investigation.

Just as he was about to withdraw from the Myriad Spirit Space, that ancient Jade Slip in the corner of the space suddenly lit up.

Lines of primitive characters appeared on the surface of the Jade Slip, exactly the same as what he had seen before in the sealed territory. But this time, the handwriting was clearer and denser than before.

"There is a Spiritual Root deep in the Void Realm, which can extend the Spiritual Vein for a hundred years."

Gao Feng stared at that line of text, his heart jolting violently. The Wuxiang Spirit Gathering Array could only last for three years at most, and after three years, the rift would expand again. If the so-called Spiritual Root could be found, the support time of the array could be extended, buying more preparation time for the Human Realm. But the Spiritual Root was deep in the Void Realm; to find it, one must penetrate deep into the territory of the Void Clan.

The text on the Jade Slip slowly faded, and no new content appeared.

Gao Feng held the Jade Slip in his hand and pondered for a long time. Was the news about the Spiritual Root true or false? Why did the ancient Jade Slip choose to reveal these words at this time? Was it a warning or guidance? He did not know. But the Seal of the Spiritual Vein could indeed only last for three years; after three years, if there was no better way, the rift would expand again. If the Spiritual Root could be found, even if it only extended the time by one year, the Human Realm would have one more glimmer of hope.

He put the Jade Slip back into the Myriad Spirit Space and stood up to walk out of the cultivation room.

The next morning, the seven stood before the spatial passage set up by Su Ning.

The entrance to the passage was a silvery-white light gate, suspended in mid-air in the valley, with a chaotic Void Realm behind the gate. There was no sky, no ground, only endless gray-white mist flowing slowly.

Su Ning stood before the light gate, her hands maintaining the stability of the passage. Fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, and silvery-white Spiritual Qi flowed continuously from her palms into the array patterns.

"The passage has been opened and can be maintained for twelve hours. You must return within twelve hours. Otherwise, the passage will close on its own, and I will need at least three days to re-arrange the teleportation array in the Human Realm. You cannot afford to wait three extra days in the Void Realm."