53: Dispersing energy and infusing spirit

The tunnel continued downward, but the temperature shifted from extreme heat to a strange, lukewarm coolness.

The crystals on the rock walls on both sides occasionally flickered faintly, like the broken strokes of some massive rune.

The vibration frequency of the rusted sword changed, shifting from a violent hum to a steady, soft drone, while the mark continued to emit warmth.

Lin Mo was on high alert, his internal qi circulating silently through his Meridians as he pushed his senses to their limit.

The passage was not a straight path but spiraled downward; after several turns, a faint light appeared ahead.

He slowed his pace and silently hugged the corner.

A massive underground space shaped like an inverted bowl appeared before his eyes.

In the center of the space stood a circular stone platform about ten zhang in diameter.

The surface of the platform was covered in a dizzyingly complex runic array; at its core hovered a fist-sized, crack-riddled dark-gold crystal.

Below the crystal, there was a groove on the platform's surface, its shape remarkably similar to the crossguard of the rusted sword.

Scattered across the ground around the stone platform were several items.

The most conspicuous were three skeletons sitting cross-legged in a triangular formation.

The skeletons had endured untold ages; their clothes had long since turned to ash, yet their bones remained as white as jade, with a faint luster even flowing through them.

Between the three skeletons sat a low stone desk.

Three items were placed on the desk:

On the left was a dust-covered, pale green Jade Slip.

On the right was a palm-sized fragment, dull and lusterless.

In the middle was a beast-skin scroll, more than half unfurled.

The material seemed to share an origin with the beast-skin parchment that recorded the "Aperture Condensation Method," but it was even more ancient. The diagrams and text upon it were far more complex, though most were blurred as if eroded by some power.

Lin Mo's gaze swept across the area, but he did not step forward immediately.

He noticed the domed ceiling and the surrounding rock walls.

They were also covered in massive runes, but unlike the array on the stone platform, most of these runes were broken.

Countless fine wisps of grayish-black airflow were seeping in through the fractures in those runes and the cracks in the rock walls.

They drifted slowly toward the central stone platform, where they were absorbed and transformed by the dark-gold crystal, which then exhaled pure Spiritual Qi.

However, the crystal's transformation speed was clearly unable to keep up with the rate of the grayish-black gas's infiltration, resulting in a thin layer of gray mist lingering around the crystal.

“The core of the Seal... or rather, a purification core.”

Lin Mo understood instantly. “The crystal is purifying it and producing Spiritual Qi. But the crystal is damaged and can't keep up with the purification, hence the leakage.”

His gaze returned to the three skeletons and the stone desk.

For caution's sake, he did not touch anything directly.

Instead, he first took out the beast-skin parchment obtained from Jubao Tower from his robes and compared it with the unfurled beast-skin scroll on the stone desk.

The feel of the patterns and material indicated a shared origin. The one on the stone desk was likely a more complete or primitive version.

The guiding pulses of the rusted sword pointed clearly toward the groove in the center of the stone platform.

Lin Mo pondered for a moment and made his decision.

He first walked toward the stone desk. Without touching the Jade Slip or the fragment, he carefully examined the unfurled beast-skin scroll.

The remaining diagrams faintly depicted human silhouettes and star-point markings, along with numerous broken annotations of Spiritual Qi circulation routes, far more complex than his “Aperture Condensation Method.”

“It seems to involve a deeper construction of spiritual power, like a method for Foundation Establishment?” He attempted to reverse-engineer it using the Aperture Condensation Method he had mastered, combined with the massive amount of martial arts insights fed back by the Death Warriors, his mind racing.

After a moment, his gaze narrowed, landing on several barely discernible ancient Seal characters in a corner of the beast-skin scroll—“...Foundation... Dissipation... Infusion...”

“Merit Dissipation and Spirit Infusion?”

A hypothesis emerged. “Could this technique be teaching one to dissipate martial True Qi through specific hidden acupoints throughout the body, and then use that as a foundation to draw in Spiritual Qi and reconstruct one's Dao foundation? A bridge from the Martial Path to the Immortal Path?”

If so, its value was immeasurable.

He looked at the Jade Slip again. To be placed here, it had to be extraordinary.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Mo reached out and carefully picked up the Jade Slip.

It felt warm to the touch. He tried to probe a sliver of internal qi into it.

Boom!

A massive amount of information instantly flooded his mind!

The “Basic Qi Cultivation Art”—a complete technique from sensing Spiritual Qi and drawing it into the body to opening the twelve primary meridians and the eight extraordinary vessels, all the way to the ninth level of Qi Refinement Perfection, presented with absolute clarity.

It included not only circulation routes but also knowledge of Spiritual Qi, basic principles of spells, and vague guidance for breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

More importantly, at the end of the Jade Slip, there was a cold and brief message, imprinted with a Divine Thought:

“Successor.”

“This place is the pivot of Demon Suppressing Island; we are the last Array Guardians of the Seven Profound Sect.”

“The demonic taint is unending, and the sealing array is gradually collapsing. This ‘Basic Qi Cultivation Art’ was modified by our generation based on the characteristics of the remnant Spiritual Qi in this realm. Anyone with a sense of Qi can Cultivate it; it is the seed for continuing the flame.”

“A world quelling ruler fragment is here, but the ruler is shattered and the array is damaged—the situation is beyond salvation. Outside the island, a giant wall Seals everything off; reaching the Golden Core stage will trigger Heavenly Tribulation. This is the iron law of the sealing array, protecting the island while also imprisoning it.”

“Our strength is exhausted, and demonic consciousness has invaded our bodies. We can only dissipate our merit and Seal our consciousness here to delay the core's disintegration. If a successor arrives, you may take the Legacy and also know this:

This island Spiritual Qi will grow thinner by the day, and the demonic taint's infiltration will intensify until all things wither and die.

Either find a new path or wait for the destined time. However, to break the lock of the Golden Core realm and escape this cage, nothing less than the mighty power of a Nascent Soul can shake the sealing array's boundary wall... yet this realm can no longer give birth to a Nascent Soul.”

The information came to an abrupt halt.

Lin Mo slowly lowered the Jade Slip, the light in his eyes flickering intensely.

This was a sealed world that was slowly dying!

The “demonic taint” in the message! It was what the entire Seal was meant to isolate, and now, the Seal was failing!

Li Chongshan and the prairie forces might know a little something and want to seize benefits or find a way out before the end comes.

The Heavenly Supervision Department might be a derivative of the Array Guardians, attempting to maintain the Seal. The proprietor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion... might be looking for a “new path.”

As for himself... Lin Mo looked at the rusted sword in his hand.

“seven stars of the mountain peak”... world quelling ruler fragment... He walked to the edge of the stone platform and looked at the groove beneath the dark-gold crystal.

Then he looked at the rusted sword in his hand.

This sword might not just be a key; it could be a part of the “world suppressing ruler” itself!

The mark on the crossguard corresponded to the groove. What would happen if he inserted it? Activate the remnant array? Accelerate the collapse? Or... the message in the Jade Slip had already indicated that following the rules would at most lead to the Golden Core stage, followed by waiting for death.

Or like these three Array Guardians, sacrificing oneself to delay the collapse.

This was not the path Lin Mo wanted.

His gaze swept over the three skeletons once more, landing on the scars on their bones. Those were marks of battle against “demonic consciousness” or those corrupted by the demonic taint.

“dissipating merit and sealing consciousness...” Lin Mo chewed on the phrase, then looked back at the blurred words “Merit Dissipation and Spirit Infusion” on the beast-skin scroll.

A bold idea, combining his own greatest advantage, struck his mind like a bolt of lightning!

“What the System stacks for me daily is the purest basic physical quality—the hardware. The cultivation insights fed back by the Death Warriors are the software and data.”

“Martial True Qi is a low-efficiency energy program produced by utilizing sparse Spiritual Qi and blood vitality under the rules of this realm.”

“The ‘Basic Qi Cultivation Art’ is a more Advanced energy transformation and operation program.”

“And the Aperture Condensation Method, along with the possible Merit Dissipation and Spirit Infusion technique on this beast-skin scroll... might be program converters or System compatibility layers!”

“If I don't directly Cultivate the ‘Basic Qi Cultivation Art’ to transform spiritual power, but instead use the concepts of the Aperture Condensation Method and Merit Dissipation and Spirit Infusion, using these hidden acupoints as buffer zones and converters.

To directly purify and compress the terrifying physical and blood vitality foundation stacked daily, along with the massive martial True Qi insights from the Death Warriors.

Attempting to bypass the limitations of this realm's sparse Spiritual Qi to generate higher-quality energy within my body... could I forge a different path?”

“Even the rusted sword, if it truly is a world quelling ruler fragment and can resonate here at the core, could it help me deceive or bypass some of the Seal's rules?”

This idea was extremely risky, but theoretically, only he possessed the capital to attempt it.