80: Chapter 80 The Sect is in Sight

The next day.

Only a trace of warmth remained in the campfire.

He stretched his neck and packed his things.

"System, continue the journey. Back to the Sect."

[Route planning in progress.]

[Final stretch of the return journey. Arrival at the outer perimeter of the Qinglan Sect is estimated for this evening.]

[The path ahead is level, with no known high-risk points.]

"Alright."

Lin Muchen set off, walking out along the stream valley.

After walking for over an hour, he felt a bit bored.

He simply immersed his consciousness into his Dantian to see how things were on the Origin Star.

Origin Star.

Chen Tribe.

The stone altar in the center of the village seemed to have been built a bit higher.

Elder Yan was squatting next to the altar, holding a stone slab in one hand and a piece of charred charcoal in the other, drawing something on it.

Several young tribesmen were gathered around, watching with serious expressions.

Lin Muchen moved his consciousness closer.

On the stone slab were several crooked wavy lines, somewhat similar to the "Water Ripple" he had sent over before, but messier.

"It looks like a bunch of gibberish..."

Lin Muchen grumbled to himself.

However, the direction was correct; these primitive people were actually figuring it out.

He concentrated his mind and sent a more stable structure for the "Water Gathering" rune, along with a simple thought of Spiritual Qi flow, toward Elder Yan.

It wasn't a specific Cultivation Technique, but a kind of intuitive guidance.

Elder Yan's hand trembled, and the charcoal drew a long mark across the stone slab.

He froze for a few seconds, then suddenly looked up at the sky, muttered a few words, and fell to his knees with a thud.

The surrounding tribesmen also knelt down in a wave.

"Great, they're kneeling again."

Lin Muchen felt a bit helpless.

However, Elder Yan quickly scrambled up, grabbed the charcoal, and began drawing on the stone slab again.

This time, the lines he drew were much more orderly than before, and the undulations of the waves had some regularity.

"His Comprehension Ability is decent."

Lin Muchen withdrew his consciousness from his Dantian and returned to reality.

The sun had already risen directly overhead.

He quickened his pace.

[Notice: Fifteen miles ahead, you will soon enter the routine patrol range of the Qinglan Sect.]

[Detected faint Spiritual Qi fluctuations, two points, in motion.]

[Analysis: The fluctuation characteristics match the Spiritual Qi of Qinglan Sect Outer Sect Disciples. Suspected patrol team.]

"A patrol?"

Lin Muchen didn't stop.

After walking another seven or eight miles, two people emerged from the forest ahead, both wearing the blue-gray robes of Qinglan Sect Outer Sect Disciples.

A man and a woman, looking to be in their early twenties, both with cultivation at the fifth or sixth layer of the Qi Refinement Stage.

The two of them also saw Lin Muchen, froze for a moment, and then looked over warily.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

The male Disciple placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

Lin Muchen stopped, pulled out his Outer Sect Disciple identity token from his robe, and held it up.

"Outer Sect Disciple, Lin Muchen, returning from an external trial."

The female Disciple stepped forward a few paces, carefully inspected the token, and then sized up Lin Muchen.

"Lin Muchen... sounds familiar. Were you with Elder Zhao's team?"

"Yes."

"Why are you alone? Is the mission complete?"

"It's complete. I'm returning alone."

The two Disciples exchanged a glance, and the male Disciple relaxed his grip on the sword hilt, his expression softening slightly.

"Alright, go ahead. It's been unsettled outside lately, so be careful."

"Thank you, Senior Brother and Senior Sister."

Lin Muchen put away the token and walked past them.

After walking about a dozen paces, he could still hear the two whispering behind him.

"Coming back all this way alone, he's quite brave..."

"I heard he performed quite well before..."

Lin Muchen didn't look back and continued forward.

Passing through this forest, the view suddenly opened up.

The familiar silhouette of the Qinglan Sect mountain gate appeared among the distant peaks.

The blue-gray buildings were built along the mountainside, shrouded in mist and clouds.

"Finally here."

Lin Muchen breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't delay and walked directly toward the Mission Hall below the mountain gate.

There were many people in the Mission Hall, with lines forming at several windows.

Lin Muchen found the window responsible for registering returns from trials and joined the queue.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, it was his turn.

Behind the window was a middle-aged Deacon, who looked up at him.

"Name and mission number."

"Lin Muchen, number Ding-793, long-distance escort mission, destination Black Rock City."

The Deacon pulled out a thick ledger and searched through it.

"Ding-793... ah, found it. Proof."

Lin Muchen handed over the jade token proof he had received when the mission started.

The Deacon took the jade token and placed it on a palm-sized stone platform.

The stone platform lit up with a faint glow, and the mission completion information stored in the jade token was read out.

"Mission completion... good. Settling points."

The Deacon made several entries in the ledger, then took out a small bag from under the counter and pushed it over.

"These are the remaining mission points, eight hundred in total. Please count them."

Lin Muchen took the bag and scanned it with his consciousness.

Inside were eight standard Low-Grade Spirit Stones, each representing one hundred points.

"That's correct."

[Long-distance trial mission settlement complete.]

[points +800.]

[Current total points: 11,000.]

"Eleven thousand now."

Lin Muchen felt a surge of joy.

He put away the bag of points and turned to leave the Mission Hall.

Without lingering in the Outer Sect, he went straight back to his residence.

A simple wooden house, just as it was when he left, covered in a thin layer of dust.

Lin Muchen closed the doors and windows, waving his hand to sweep away the dust with Spiritual Qi.

Then he sat down at the table.

He took out two items from his Storage Pouch.

On the left was the blue-gray stone he had picked up from the bottom of the stream, about the size of a palm with natural patterns on the surface.

On the right was that light blue Water Cloud Art Jade Slip.

"System, plan it out. I'll study these two things first after returning."

[Received.]

[Analysis: The green stone fragment contains incomplete ancient teleportation array patterns, which need to be deciphered.]

[The Water Cloud Art contains exquisite Water Element concepts, which can optimize the water environment of the Origin Star.]

[Recommendation: Exchange for 'Spatial Array Pattern Analysis (Basic)'.]

[Requires 3,000 points.]

[Research on the green stone fragment can then be initiated.]

[Simultaneously, the essences of 'Water Vein Circulation' and 'Cloud Transformation and Rain Moistening' from the Water Cloud Art can be extracted to design an optimization plan for the Origin Star's water network.]

"Three thousand points... exchange."

Lin Muchen didn't hesitate.

[Exchange successful.]

[points -3,000.]

[Remaining points: 8,000.]

['Spatial Array Pattern Analysis (Basic)' has been loaded.]

[Starting scan of the residual array pattern structure inside the green stone fragment...]

[Scanning. Estimated completion of preliminary analysis in three days.]

[During the analysis period, extraction of the Water Cloud Art's essences and planning of the Origin Star's water network can be conducted simultaneously.]

"Alright."

Lin Muchen placed the green stone fragment on the table and pressed the Water Cloud Art Jade Slip to his forehead.

His consciousness sank into his Dantian.

The landscape of the Origin Star unfolded in his mind.

Mountains, rivers, lakes, grasslands, and the tiny village of the Chen Tribe.

His attention focused on the scattered water sources.

Several main rivers and a few lakes, with some dry areas in between; the water network was not continuous enough.

"System, extract the parts of the Water Cloud Art related to constructing water environments."

[Extracting...]

[Essence Extraction: 'Water Vein Circulation'—guiding underground water flows to connect scattered water sources, forming a living water network and promoting the flow of Spiritual Qi.]

['Cloud Transformation and Rain Moistening'—regulating the atmospheric water cycle to make rainfall more even and nourish arid regions.]

[Preliminary optimization plan generated: Requires guiding the Origin Star's existing water sources, digging three small irrigation canals to connect two isolated lakes with the main river channel.]

[Simultaneously fine-tuning atmospheric circulation parameters to increase rainfall frequency over the central plains.]

[Implementation requires points: approximately 1,000.]

[Estimated effect: Overall ecological stability of the Origin Star +5%, slight increase in Spiritual Qi concentration, enhanced feedback from water element nodes.]

"One thousand points... I'll do it after finishing the analysis of the fragment."

Lin Muchen withdrew from his Dantian and opened his eyes.

He picked up the green stone fragment with his left hand and pressed his right hand onto the Water Cloud Art Jade Slip.

A cool sensation came from both hands.

"Three days."

"First, I'll figure out the details of this teleportation array, then I'll connect the Origin Star's water network."

He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The System panel unfolded in his consciousness, and the complex and incomplete array pattern structure inside the green stone fragment was being scanned, recorded, and analyzed bit by bit.

The dense lines and data streams would make an ordinary person dizzy with just a glance.

But Lin Muchen watched very seriously.

Ancient teleportation array...

If he could really understand even a bit of this thing, it might be of great use in the future.

The sound of other Disciples' footsteps and conversations came from outside.

Gradually fading away.

The room became quiet.

Only Lin Muchen's steady breathing and the continuous, subtle analysis prompts from the System in his mind remained.

[Array pattern structure recording progress: 1%... 2%...]

Night slowly deepened.

Moonlight from outside shone in, falling onto the azure stone and Jade Slip on the table.

They glowed with a faint, cool light.