60: Return to Qinglan City

“The others... What is the situation in Qinglan City?” Lin Mo was more concerned about this.

“Leader [Four] has already initiated the Hidden Scale Project according to the last command you gave before losing consciousness.

Within Qinglan City, the Zhenyuan Escort Agency and Hundred Herbs Hall have entered a semi-clandestine state, only maintaining basic operations and intelligence gathering.

At the Martial Academy, Liu Qingli, Chen Feng, Lei Meng, and Fang Han have returned safely. They have publicly declared that they encountered a powerful pack of Yao Beasts in the Crimson Flame Mountain Range and are now recuperating from serious injuries behind closed doors.

The Shadow Guards of the City Lord's Manor have been active, but they have yet to find our core base.

Steward Wu of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion visited the Escort Agency three days ago and left a message, saying the owner will be leaving the city soon and will meet with you upon their return.”

One Three Six paused for a moment before continuing, “The combat group led by [Two] has broken into smaller units and dispersed around the outskirts of the city and along the possible routes leading to this island to establish an early warning line.

The intelligence network coordinated by [Three] is focusing all its efforts on gathering two types of information: first, all rumors and ancient records regarding the Far East Sea Eye.

Second, the movements of the Imperial Court, the Heavenly Supervision Department, and... forces suspected to be beyond the level of the Dynasty.

Recently, the auras of unfamiliar experts have swept across the skies of Qinglan City. Their pressure is suspected to far exceed that of a Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster. [Three] judges that it might be related to the Sects.”

The report was clear and the key points were highlighted.

Even while Lin Mo was unconscious, the Death Squad System continued to operate efficiently. A nascent, absolutely loyal secret organization was responding to the crisis according to the preset plan.

Lin Mo felt slightly more at ease.

The Death Warriors summoned by the System every day were not only a source of attribute stacking but also his extended limbs, eyes, and ears.

He struggled to sit up.

One Three Six immediately stepped forward, gently but firmly helping Lin Mo up and placing a bundle of straw behind him for support.

“How long was I unconscious?”

“Three days.”

“Is the island safe?”

“This island is small with sparse vegetation. Only a few seabirds live here, and no traces of humans or other threats have been found so far. I conducted a preliminary search after landing.

One Three Four and One Three Five are currently on perimeter guard duty and are attempting to catch food and collect fresh water.”

Lin Mo nodded, took the fish soup, and took small sips.

The warm liquid, carrying a faint fishy smell and the bitterness of herbs, entered his stomach, slowly replenishing his consumed Origin Qi. At the same time, he silently sensed his own condition.

His injuries were even more severe than he had anticipated.

His Meridians were covered in fine cracks, his True Essence was almost depleted, and the light of his hidden acupoints was dim.

Although most of the chill on his Soul had been dispersed by the aura of the demon suppressing sword, a stubborn trace still remained, requiring time to wear away.

The good news was that his Physical Body Foundation was undamaged, and the base provided by the System's stacking was still there.

After the desperate situation at the Sea Eye and the remote confrontation with that unknown entity, the quality of his True Essence and his understanding of power seemed to have gained a layer of refinement and improvement.

The urgent priority was to restore his strength.

“I need to enter closed-door cultivation for a few days. Guard this island. Anyone who approaches, if they are not my Death Warriors, kill them without mercy.” Lin Mo's voice was weak, but it carried a cold killing intent.

“Yes,” One Three Six responded without hesitation.

In the following days, Lin Mo entered a state of deep meditation.

He first drew upon the various subtle insights continuously sent by the hundred Death Warriors through the [Cultivation Feedback] channel.

These insights flowed like a small stream into his parched Sea of Consciousness, helping him perform a more detailed internal inspection and repair the cracks in his Meridians.

At the same time, he once again operated the "Weapon Casting Furnace" technique he had developed himself.

However, this time it was no longer about destruction followed by creation, but rather "nourishing and repairing."

Using his meager remaining True Essence as a guide, combined with the cool aura from the demon suppressing sword and the repair techniques he had gleaned from the Basic Qi Cultivation Art and the "Merit Dissipation and Spirit Infusion" Concept of the animal hide scroll, he slowly nourished his Meridians and reignited the nebula of his hidden acupoints.

The 1.5 times normal human physical fitness stacked by the new Death Warriors summoned daily became the best nourishment at this moment.

This surge of pure life energy accelerated the recovery of his Physical Body, and a portion of it was guided to merge into his regenerating True Essence.

Five days later, seventy percent of Lin Mo's Meridians were repaired, less than half of his True Essence was restored, and the chill on his Soul was basically dispersed.

He ended his deep cultivation and transitioned to daily breath regulation.

He summoned One Three Six.

“Young Master.”

“When I was unconscious, besides the sword, were there any other items near me? For example, some glowing fragments?”

Lin Mo recalled the strange objects floating at the edge of the Void Realm rift.

When he had swung his sword to sever the connection, there seemed to have been an extremely weak pulling sensation, as if something had been drawn by the light of the demon suppressing sword and fallen toward this side.

The situation was critical then, so he couldn't be sure if it was just an illusion.

One Three Six thought for a moment, then turned to a pile of belongings carefully wrapped in animal hide in the corner of the room and took out two items.

One was a thumb-sized stone covered in natural spiral patterns.

It felt warm to the touch. Upon careful sensing, there seemed to be a weak but pure and stable Spiritual Qi inside.

The other was a piece of dark gold metal foil, only the size of a fingernail and as thin as a cicada's wing.

The foil had extremely complex and fine natural patterns that looked like decorations.

Lin Mo used his slightly recovered True Essence to activate the demon suppressing sword and brought it closer; the patterns on the foil lit up slightly, resonating with the starlight at the sword's crossguard!

“These were found on the beach next to you, washed ashore by the waves. I sensed that they seemed to contain special energy fluctuations, so I kept them,” said One Three Six.

Lin Mo took the two items and pondered.

The Grey-white Spiral Stone seemed to be a type of natural spiritual jade embryo formed through long-term immersion in Spiritual Qi and the scouring of spatial turbulence. Although its energy was restrained and weak, its quality was extremely high.

This item might have miraculous effects if used for auxiliary cultivation or for refining certain Magical Artifacts.

As for that dark gold foil... it could resonate with the demon suppressing sword? He tried to inject a trace of True Essence into the foil.

Buzz!

The foil vibrated gently, more of its patterns lighting up, and an aura of an ancient, sharp, and piercing Concept emanated from it.

At the same time, the world quelling ruler fragment in his bosom also became slightly hot.

“Could this be a rune fragment of a higher-level world suppressing ruler or a related Formation?” Lin Mo speculated.

Even if it was just a fragment, the fact that it could exist at the edge of a Void Realm rift meant its material and the Dao patterns it carried were of incalculable value.

Perhaps he could decipher the mysteries of the Ancient Seal Formation, or even higher-level spatial Formations, from it!

After two more days of breath regulation, his strength had recovered to about sixty percent. Lin Mo decided not to delay any longer.

Undercurrents were already stirring in Qinglan City, and the gaze of the Sects might fall upon it. He had to return to take charge of the situation.

“Prepare a raft; we are returning to our base on the outskirts of Qinglan City,” Lin Mo ordered.

One Three Six, One Three Four, and One Three Five immediately set to work, using trees from the island and collected vines to quickly build a raft that was sturdier than the previous one.

Just as the raft was nearing completion, Lin Mo stood by the sea, taking one last look at the grey Sea Eye that was no longer visible but seemed to still be spinning in the depths of his consciousness—

Suddenly, from the horizon, a clear and long cry of a bird echoed without warning!