150: Hidden pulse

At these words, the entire scene fell silent.

heart moon fox array foundation? That is one of the core eyes of the Sect-protecting Formation!

Zhao Gan frowned, clearly slightly dissatisfied that the sparring match was interrupted, but upon hearing that it involved the main array Foundation, his expression immediately turned serious. Lin Feng felt a stir in his heart, vaguely having a premonition.

"The sparring hasn't finished yet, this..." Sun Li could not help but whisper.

Qu Yunshang's gaze swept over the two completed Formations, lingering for a moment on Lin Feng's Formation in particular. A strange look flashed in her eyes, but she did not comment, only urging, "The Elder is already waiting. This is of great importance, let's hurry over."

Zhao Gan and Lin Feng exchanged a glance, both suppressing their thoughts about the sparring match, and immediately replied, "Yes." Then, the three of them hurried away, leaving behind a group of Disciples in the arena looking at each other in dismay.

The training grounds quieted down, leaving only the two self-operating Formations emitting a faint glow.

"This... what's going on? It isn't finished yet?" Zhou Chun scratched his head.

Sun Li did not answer. His gaze was fixed tightly on the two Formations in the arena; the more he looked, the more shocked and uncertain his expression became. He quickly stepped forward, circling the two Formations to carefully investigate and sense them, sometimes comparing them, sometimes concentrating in deep thought.

"Senior Brother Sun, what did you see?" a Disciple asked.

Sun Li stopped abruptly, his face filled with disbelief. He pointed at Lin Feng's Formation, his voice slightly off-key: "You... look for yourselves! Senior Brother Zhao's Formation is certainly exquisite, with majestic Qi and a perfect structure; it is a textbook example. But Junior Brother Lin's Formation... feel its Qi circulation! And feel its compatibility with the Spiritual Vein!"

Reminded by him, Zhou Chun and the other Disciples also concentrated their senses. At first, they had preconceived notions that Zhao Gan's Formation was stronger, but upon tasting it carefully, their expressions all changed.

"This... how is this possible?" Zhou Chun exclaimed, "Junior Brother Lin's Formation looks simple, yet its Qi circulates perfectly, without any stagnation, as if it is one with this world! Its stability... actually doesn't seem weaker than Senior Brother Zhao's!"

"Not just 'not weaker'!" Sun Li took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent waves in his heart, "Senior Brother Zhao's Formation relies on exquisite techniques and vast Qi; while Junior Brother Lin's Formation is already borrowing the power of heaven and earth for its own use, and its stamina might be even more enduring! This is simply not a competition of the same Realm!"

At these words, the Disciples were in an uproar. They had originally thought it was a one-sided coaching session, but they discovered such a subversive fact. That Disciple of the Tianxuan Sect, who had been in the Qingyun Sect for less than a month and looked unremarkable, had reached a Realm in Formation mastery that allowed him to rival the Sect's Genius, Zhao Gan, and even surpass him in certain aspects.

"No wonder... no wonder Senior Sister Qu and Elder Mo Yuan both look at him with special regard..." Zhou Chun muttered, looking in the direction where Lin Feng's Formation had disappeared, lost in thought for a long time.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng, who was hurrying away with Qu Yunshang, did not know what kind of cognitive earthquake his Formation had triggered behind him.

The three of them followed Qu Yunshang through the array pavilion corridor and arrived at the cave where the heart moon fox array foundation was located, only to see Elder Mo Yuan standing with his hands behind his back in the center of the huge Formation Plate, his brows tightly locked.

"Junior Martial Uncle." Qu Yunshang stepped forward to salute. Elder Mo Yuan turned around, his gaze sweeping over Zhao Gan and Lin Feng, finally landing on a slightly darkened rune on the Formation Plate: "The Qi circulation of the heart moon fox array foundation has slowed by half a fraction in the last three days."

Zhao Gan's expression turned stern: "The heart moon fox array foundation has never had any issues in three hundred years; how could it suddenly experience decay?" He subconsciously took a half-step forward, his gaze fixed tightly on the dim rune, "This decay pattern seems... not very natural."

Elder Mo Yuan took in his reaction, saying in a deep voice: "That is precisely why it is more suspicious." He pondered for a moment, "It is as if something is secretly devouring the Star Power."

The heaven-stealing vine in Lin Feng's Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled slightly. He clearly sensed that deep within the darkened rune, there remained a trace of extremely hidden, cold aura that was completely out of place with its surroundings. This feeling was fleeting, but it made his spine go cold.

"The Qi loss has not yet been found." Elder Mo Yuan's words interrupted Lin Feng's thoughts, "The two of you will assist Qu Yunshang in patrolling the array Foundation tonight, especially paying attention to abnormal fluctuations in Star Power." He looked at Lin Feng specifically, "Qu Yunshang says your perception is sharp; see if you can discover any hidden dangers we haven't found before."

By midnight, the three were carefully investigating along the flow of the Formation's Qi. Lin Feng, following the perception of the heaven-stealing vine, placed his hand on a seemingly ordinary bluestone slab at the edge of the array Foundation.

"The Qi flow here seems not quite right," Lin Feng said in a low voice.

Qu Yunshang and Zhao Gan immediately leaned in, simultaneously probing with their Divine Sense. Just as their Qi touched some kind of hidden ancient Restriction beneath the bluestone slab, an accident occurred!

The moss on the stone slab suddenly emitted a faint light, and a silent spatial ripple spread out, instantly sweeping the three of them in.

After the world spun around, the three stabilized themselves and found they were standing in a completely unfamiliar, dark cave. The air was filled with thick water vapor, and the surroundings were so silent that they could only hear the gurgling sound of an underground river flowing.

"What is this place?" Zhao Gan summoned a lighting Magical Artifact and looked around vigilantly.

Qu Yunshang steadied herself, carefully looking at the natural patterns on the cave walls and the faint traces of the Formation, her face gradually turning pale: "We might have been teleported to a Spiritual Vein node at the edge of the great Formation. Looking at the structure here, it seems like the 'Hidden Vein' mentioned in ancient books, which was an emergency passage reserved when the Formation was built. But because of the long passage of time, even the Sect's records are incomplete."

Zhao Gan's brows were tightly locked: "I didn't expect that beneath the heart moon fox array foundation, there was a teleportation Restriction leading here. It seems that we still don't know nearly enough about this Sect-protecting Formation that has guarded the Sect for hundreds of years."

Qu Yunshang stopped: "The water-elemental Qi here seems a bit more stagnant than what is recorded." She squatted down, carefully observing the underground river's flow, "The flow speed is also slower than usual."

Lin Feng followed his intuition and looked at some inconspicuous corners of the cave walls: "The texture of those rocks... seems to have traces of being slightly disturbed, very recent."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gan immediately took out his compass Magical Artifact to investigate carefully. A moment later, he pointed at a slight deviation on the compass: "The flow of the Spiritual Vein's Qi indeed has a deviation, as if it were guided by some external force... toward another direction. If we were not investigating at close range at this node, it would be extremely difficult to discover."

The three proceeded cautiously along this imperceptible clue. Near a natural grotto where Spiritual Veins converged, Lin Feng again discovered several dark, dull spots on the slippery rock wall that were almost the same color as the rock; if one didn't look closely, they would be impossible to detect.

"This is... 'Sinking Water Sand'?" Qu Yunshang touched it lightly with her fingertip, her expression becoming solemn. This mineral is harmless on its own, but if refined with specific techniques and placed at a Spiritual Vein node, it can, like dripping water wearing away stone, subtly influence the properties of Qi over the years.

"Someone has laid a trap here, intending to change the properties of the water-elemental Qi here."

The three investigated further and, in a corner of the grotto, discovered several residues of Yao Beast inner cores; their energy was almost exhausted, but the way they were scattered vaguely formed a convergence structure that was almost impossible to recognize.

"The method is hidden, but the purpose is obvious," Zhao Gan's voice was low, carrying a chill, "Someone is trying to slowly erode our Sect's Sect-protecting Formation from the very Foundation. This is definitely not an accident, but a premeditated scheme."

Qu Yunshang pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, her tone uncertain: "Senior Brother Zhao, do you remember Martial Uncle Chu Jinghong, who went out on a wandering journey several years ago and has not yet returned? What Martial Uncle Chu specialized in back then was precisely Spiritual Vein anomalies and ancient Formation relics..."