79: Chapter 79 Ancient Teleportation Array

Lin Muchen gripped the star dagger and, listening to the distant howling of Yao Beasts, dazed off into sleep.

He woke up just as dawn was breaking.

The bonfire had long since gone out, leaving only a pile of ash.

He stretched his arms, finding that the soreness from the previous night had vanished.

"System, continue the journey."

[Route planning in progress.]

[Today's itinerary: Cross the hills fifty miles ahead to avoid known Yao Beast gathering areas.]

[Estimated arrival at 'Clear Stream Valley' by evening, suitable for camping.]

"Alright, let's go."

Lin Muchen packed his things and walked out along the mountain col.

In the early morning mountain forest, the mist had not yet dispersed, and the air smelled of grass leaves and soil.

He didn't walk fast; as he went, he sank his consciousness into his Dantian.

He needed to see how things were going over at the Origin Star.

Origin Star.

Chen Tribe.

The originally scattered wooden houses were now connected, looking like a proper village.

In the open space in the center of the village, a stone platform about half a person tall had been erected.

Elder Yan was busy working around the platform with several strong men, seemingly building something.

"Are they making an altar?"

Lin Muchen wondered to himself.

He tried to focus his consciousness there.

Elder Yan seemed to sense something; he suddenly stopped, looked up at the sky, and then bowed toward it.

The other tribesmen followed suit and bowed.

"His senses are quite sharp."

Lin Muchen was amused.

He remembered that in the Water Cloud Art he had just obtained, there were some basic descriptions of Water Element runes.

"Let's see if I can transmit something over."

He concentrated and sent a simple sketching method for 'Water Patterns' and a bit of 'Water Gathering' intent toward Elder Yan.

It wasn't a complete Cultivation Technique, just a bit of vague guidance.

Elder Yan's body shook, and he stood frozen in place for quite a while.

Then he suddenly turned around and began gesturing to the tribesmen, speaking rapidly in an unintelligible tongue.

Soon, someone brought a flat stone and some charred charcoal.

Elder Yan crouched down and began drawing on the stone with the charcoal.

The drawing was crooked, but one could roughly see several wavy patterns.

"It actually works?"

Lin Muchen was a bit surprised.

Although it looked like ghostly scribbles, the direction was correct.

"Take it slow; the spark of civilization cannot be rushed."

He withdrew his consciousness from his Dantian and returned to reality.

He had been walking for nearly an hour; the sun had risen, and the mist had mostly cleared.

A Stream appeared ahead, its current quite swift.

Lin Muchen walked to the edge of the Stream and crouched down, intending to wash his face.

Just as his hand touched the water—

[Warning: Weak spatial fluctuation detected.]

[Source of fluctuation: Stream bed, depth approximately two meters.]

[Intensity: Extremely low, non-continuous emission.]

[Threat Assessment: No life signs, non-aggressive.]

"Spatial fluctuation?"

Lin Muchen's hand stopped.

He stared into the clear Stream water, where he could see the pebbles at the bottom.

"Where is it?"

[Coordinates marked.]

[Suggestion: Investigate personally.]

Lin Muchen looked around; no one was there.

He took off his outer robe, leaving only his inner short-style clothes, took a deep breath, and jumped into the Stream.

The water was quite cold.

He dove down and searched the Stream bed according to the coordinates marked by the System.

After searching around, he found nothing but stones and sand.

"System, be more precise."

[Move half a meter to the left.]

[Target object: A blue-gray stone, about the size of a palm, irregular shape, with natural patterns on the surface.]

Lin Muchen moved slightly to the left.

Sure enough, he saw a blue stone half-buried in the sand, looking no different from the other stones.

He reached out and dug it out.

The stone felt ice-cold and heavy in his hand.

[Confirmed: Spatial fluctuation source.]

[Analysis: The blue stone contains trace spatial attributes and has a special structure; suspected to be the fragmented remains of an Ancient Teleportation Array.]

[Energy Status: Residual energy is less than one-ten-thousandth; currently in a dormant state.]

"A teleportation array fragment?"

Lin Muchen surfaced and climbed onto the bank.

He held the blue stone, turning it over and over to examine it.

The patterns on the surface looked natural, but upon closer inspection, they followed a regular path.

"How do I activate it? Or at least confirm it?"

[Suggestion: Exchange for 'Spatial Sensing Talisman (One-time use)', requires 200 points.]

[Can guide a weak energy injection to trigger the residual reaction of the fragment.]

"Exchange."

[Exchange successful. points -200, remaining points: 9974.]

A pale silver talisman paper appeared in Lin Muchen's hand.

Following the System's prompts, he stuck the talisman onto the blue stone and then channeled the energy from the Five Elements Cycle in his Dantian, slowly injecting it.

The talisman paper lit up with a faint glow.

The "natural" patterns on the surface of the blue stone also lit up briefly, emitting an almost invisible pale blue halo.

The halo lasted for about three seconds before fading away.

But in those three seconds, the patterns became much clearer, revealing complex, broken lines that were interconnected.

[Array pattern structure recorded.]

[Confirmed as part of an Ancient Teleportation Array's patterns; degree of incompleteness exceeds 95%.]

[Can supplement points to exchange for 'Spatial Array Pattern Analysis (Basic)' to attempt reverse engineering of some principles.]

[Exchange requires points: 3000.]

"Three thousand points... I'll think about it after I get back."

Lin Muchen threw away the now-useless talisman and put the blue stone into his Storage Pouch.

This thing was useless for now, but keeping it was definitely worth it.

An Ancient Teleportation Array—it sounded Advanced.

He put on his outer robe and continued his journey.

He was in a good mood.

The gains from this trip were more than he had expected.

After walking for about half an hour, he entered a forest.

The System suddenly popped up a window.

[Detected a gathering of life signs ahead.]

[Species: Gray-backed Wolf (First-Order).]

[Quantity: 7.]

[Threat Rank: Low.]

"A wolf pack?"

Lin Muchen stopped.

Seven First-Order Gray-backed Wolves emerged from the forest ahead, their green eyes staring at him as they growled low.

The leading Wolf King was a size larger, estimated to be at the First-Order Peak.

"Here come the points."

Lin Muchen didn't panic.

He just happened to want to test to what extent the 'Cloud Transformation' force neutralization he had pondered last night could be used in actual combat.

The Wolf King growled and was the first to pounce.

It was very fast, its claws whistling through the air.

Lin Muchen didn't dodge, nor did he use the Five Elements Body Protection Aura to resist head-on.

He raised both hands, circulating Water Element spiritual energy to draw a semicircle in front of him.

When the Wolf King's claws hit that pale blue spiritual energy trajectory, its force suddenly veered off, grazing past Lin Muchen's waist.

The Wolf King itself was stunned, failing to land steadily.

"Force neutralization efficiency... about forty-five percent."

Lin Muchen now had a good idea of his progress.

He was a bit more proficient than when he fought the Iron Claw Eagle yesterday.

The other six wolves also surrounded him.

This time, Lin Muchen stopped testing.

The Five Elements Body Protection Aura was instantly activated.

A five-colored light shield expanded with a hum.

Several wolves crashed into the light shield and were immediately repelled, howling in pain.

"My turn."

Lin Muchen moved his feet and charged into the wolf pack.

His fist, wrapped in Earth Element spiritual energy, smashed into one wolf's waist.

Crack.

The bone broke.

The wolf let out a miserable yelp and collapsed on the ground, motionless.

Then came the second, and the third.

Seeing things were going south, the Wolf King turned to flee.

Lin Muchen raised his hand and threw out a strand of Metal Element Sword Qi.

Puchi.

It pierced through the Wolf King's neck from behind.

The battle ended.

All seven wolves were down.

[Battle ended.]

[Settlement: Killed First-Order Demonic Beast x7.]

[points +226.]

[Current points: 10200.]

[Feedback Efficiency slightly increased: 10.5% → 10.6%.]

"Not bad."

Lin Muchen briefly processed the useful Materials from the wolf carcasses and put them into his Storage Pouch.

He continued on his way.

By evening, he reached the Clear Stream Valley mentioned by the System.

A clear Stream flowed through the valley, and the terrain on both sides was flat, indeed suitable for setting up camp.

Lin Muchen found a spot backed by a stone wall, cleared it, and lit a bonfire.

After sitting down, he took out the blue stone and looked at it again.

"System, what can I do with this teleportation array fragment once I've researched it?"

[Possibility Analysis:]

[1. Repair or replicate small-scale teleportation arrays.]

[2. Comprehend some Spatial Array Dao principles.]

[3. Locate the source of the fragment, possibly finding Ancient Teleportation Array ruins.]

[4. Extract trace spatial attribute Materials for Artifact Refining or setting up arrays.]

"Ruins..."

Lin Muchen's eyes lit up.

Ancient ruins usually meant Opportunity, but they also meant danger.

"Once I get back and have enough points, I'll exchange for that 'Spatial Array Pattern Analysis' first."

"I need to figure out exactly where this thing came from."

He put the blue stone away and took a few bites of his rations.

The night grew deeper.

The bonfire crackled.

Lin Muchen leaned against the stone wall, watching the dancing flames.

This journey from the Vast Mountain Range, encountering the Iron Claw Eagle, finding the spatial fragment, and taking out the wolf pack...

It wasn't a wasted trip.

"One more day of travel tomorrow, and I should be able to see the Sect territory."

He closed his eyes.

His mind was already planning: first optimize the Origin Star water network, then research the spatial fragment, then break through to the Second Level of Foundation Establishment...

There was a lot to do.

He had to hurry.

The cries of night birds came from the distance.

Lin Muchen unconsciously tapped his knees with his fingers.

That cold blue stone was still lying quietly in his Storage Pouch.

An Ancient Teleportation Array...

Where would it lead?