11: Chapter 11 A Glimmer of Light in the Wasteland

After his Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Stage 4, his five senses were far sharper than before. The sound was as light as a falling leaf sweeping past, but it was definitely not something the wind could produce.

He did not move, maintaining the steady rhythm of his breathing as if he were still fast asleep.

Su Qingyao beside him seemed completely unaware, her breathing long and even.

The sound rang out only once before vanishing completely, with no follow-up.

But Lin Chen knew someone had been there.

It was not an infiltration, but rather some kind of spying or verification.

He lay there quietly, one breath, two breaths... After a full stick of incense had passed, there was no sound outside the courtyard other than the chirping of insects.

Only then did he slowly sit up without making a sound.

Moonlight filtered through the cracks in the old window lattice, casting several fine silver lines on the ground.

He glanced at the sleeping Su Qingyao beside him, carefully pushed back the thin quilt, and stepped barefoot onto the cold earth.

Throughout the process, he coated his soles with Spiritual Qi, landing silently like a wildcat.

He chose not to open the door but instead walked to the darkest corner of the courtyard, where a section of the earthen wall had partially collapsed due to years of neglect.

He took a deep breath, circulated his Spiritual Qi through his leg Meridians, bent his legs slightly, and then exerted force. His body vaulted over the nearly two-zhang high courtyard wall as lightly as a withered leaf, landing silently in the alley outside.

Black Stone Town was very quiet at night, and most households had long since extinguished their lights.

A cold wind blew, carrying a mixture of dust and vegetation.

Lin Chen did not act immediately; instead, he merged completely into the shadows of the corner and observed quietly for a long time.

After confirming there was no one around, he began a carpet search outward, centering on the dilapidated courtyard.

His movements were slow and meticulous.

His gaze searched almost flush with the ground, not missing any unusual traces.

He first checked the perimeter of the courtyard wall.

Soon, on the muddy ground not far from where he had vaulted the wall, he found a few semi-dried footprints.

The footprints were shallow, but the tread pattern on the soles was exceptionally clear—a type of anti-slip pattern resembling water waves that he had never seen before.

These were definitely not left by the straw or cloth shoes worn by the ordinary residents of the town.

The Patrol Squad? Their boots had standard cowhide soles, and the footprints had thick horizontal stripes.

Was it one of Patrol Squad Captain's private informants?

He noted the pattern and continued to expand the search area.

He did not take the main road, but specifically chose remote, untrodden paths.

The moonlight was obscured by clouds for a moment, and the surroundings plunged into deeper darkness.

When the moonlight shone down again, Lin Chen's footsteps stopped on the path leading to the wasteland outside the town.

Right beside a clump of wild grass by the road, he found that same water-wave footprint again.

This time, the footprint was much clearer and deeper than the one outside the courtyard wall.

This indicated that the person had stayed here for quite some time, with their body weight fully pressing down on their feet.

He looked in the direction of the footprints and found that not far ahead, a few inconspicuous broken stones had been piled into a small cairn.

This pile of stones looked casual, but on the flat path, it seemed somewhat deliberate.

The sharp tip of the stone on top of the pile pointed, without deviation, toward the wasteland outside the town that was shrouded in pale gray miasma all year round.

A realization dawned on him.

The Rock Slope, colluding with mountain bandits... those were all decoys!

It was a smokescreen deliberately released by Patrol Squad Captain.

His real "trap" was set in this wasteland that everyone avoided at all costs.

Lin Chen crouched down, extended his finger, and carefully restored the pile of stones to a scattered appearance, erasing any traces of his presence.

He did not go any deeper but returned the way he came, vaulting back into the courtyard silently once more.

Back in the room, he lay down again, but his heart could no longer find peace.

The opponent's methods were more insidious and patient than he had imagined.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Lin Chen got up.

He said to Su Qingyao, who was preparing breakfast, "I want to go to the wasteland outside the town to see if I can find a plot of land to develop into a medicinal herb field. We can't keep relying on going into the mountains to gather herbs."

Upon hearing this, Su Qingyao stopped what she was doing and looked at him with concern. "The miasma there is very heavy; it's not good for your health."

"I'll just walk around the edge and won't go deep," Lin Chen reassured her. "I know what I'm doing."

After eating some simple rice porridge, Lin Chen set off alone toward the wasteland outside the town.

This wasteland was quite large, covered year-round by a layer of pale gray miasma. The ground was bare, with only sparse weeds growing here and there, looking utterly lifeless.

People in town said that the earth energy here was exhausted and it was a wasteland.

Upon reaching the edge of the wasteland, a damp, cold aura with a faint smell of decay rushed toward him. Inhaling it made him feel very uncomfortable.

Lin Chen did not rush to search for anything; instead, his mind stirred, focusing his attention on the pale golden panel in the lower-left corner of his vision.

After his Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Stage 4, a new function called [Resource Log] was unlocked on the System panel.

According to the System, this was a passive function capable of automatically recording and analyzing information about Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the surrounding environment.

He activated the function and began walking slowly along the edge of the wasteland.

On the panel, rows of small golden text began to appear and refresh intermittently.

[Environmental scanning... Spiritual Qi concentration: Weak.]

[Detected free-floating Yin-Rot Qi, concentration: Low.]

[Detected Earth-Fiend Turbid Qi, concentration: Extremely low.]

He walked for a while, but the log did not show much change.

Just as he was about to reach the northwest corner of the wasteland and was preparing to give up, the text on the log suddenly changed.

[Warning: Detected slight but stable underground Spiritual Qi fluctuation... Analyzing fluctuation source...]

Lin Chen's steps came to a sudden halt, and his heart began to beat faster uncontrollably.

He stood still, pretending to observe the surrounding terrain, while his attention was entirely focused on the continuously refreshing log.

[Analysis complete: The fluctuation source is a remnant of a miniature Spiritual Vein, buried deep underground.]

[Miasma composition analysis: A mixture of Yin-Rot Qi and Earth-Fiend Turbid Qi. It is corrosive to the roots of low-grade spiritual plants, and long-term exposure has a weak erosive effect on the Meridians of Cultivators in the Qi Refinement Stage.]

[Preliminary location of the fluctuation source: Approximately three zhang underground at the current position, toward the northwest, with a diameter of about five zhang...]

There was a Spiritual Vein branch underground!

This discovery made Lin Chen's breath hitch.

Although it was only a "miniature" and "remnant" vein, as long as it was a Spiritual Vein, it meant this piece of land had the potential to become a spiritual field!

In this Black Stone Town where Spiritual Qi was scarce, a first-grade spiritual field capable of independently generating Spiritual Qi was of immeasurable value!

No wonder Patrol Squad Captain and Hong Biao were so attentive to this wasteland.

They might not know the specific reason, but they had likely learned of the unusual nature of this place through some channel.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and walked around the area a few more times, pretending to survey the terrain, while actually silently memorizing the core coordinate points marked by the System.

Afterward, he showed no signs of abnormality and turned to return home.

In the dilapidated courtyard, Lin Chen closed the gate and whispered his discovery to Su Qingyao.

After listening, a trace of shock flashed in Su Qingyao's cold, clear eyes.

She walked to the corner of the courtyard, crouched down, picked up a bit of the soil brought back from the wasteland, sniffed it gently at the tip of her nose, and felt the texture of the soil with her fingertips.

She pondered for a long time. The scattered knowledge of alchemy and plant cultivation she had read in the Sect's library, like scattered pearls, was being painstakingly strung together by her.

"To neutralize this kind of turbid Qi mixed with Yin-Rot and Earth-Fiend, we cannot use potent medicines; otherwise, it will completely destroy the weak Spiritual Vein underground," she said, standing up and looking at Lin Chen slowly. "We need to use mild herbs with 'Yang attributes' or 'purification properties' to slowly condition it. I remember a fragment of an alchemy scripture recording a folk remedy: dry the roots of 'Red Sun Grass' and grind them into powder, mix it with the lotus seed powder of 'Clear Heart Lotus,' then blend it with morning rootless water and sprinkle it evenly into the soil. This can slowly purify the soil quality."

She paused, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. "However, neither Red Sun Grass nor Clear Heart Lotus are common, and the older they are, the better the effect. More importantly, once we start purifying the land, the Spiritual Qi fluctuations will inevitably be different from before, and the commotion might not be hidden from others."

Lin Chen nodded, a thoughtful glint in his eyes. "Therefore, either we don't do it, or if we do, we must be fast! Before that group from the Black Stone Gang reacts, we must firmly occupy the land, and furthermore, make them afraid to come and snatch it easily."

When he said this, his tone was calm, but his eyes revealed an unquestionable resolve.

Just as Lin Chen was preparing to head to the wasteland again the next day, attempting to mark the Spiritual Qi source with more precise methods, he discovered an unexpected person.

A thin, small figure was crouching behind a large rock at the edge of the wasteland, with their back to him.

It was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in rags with messy hair. He was the stray boy who occasionally wandered the town, relying on picking up leftovers and running errands for people in exchange for food. The people in town called him A-Tu.

At this moment, A-Tu was holding a handful of damp soil, his expression exceptionally focused, watching the soil slowly slide through his fingers.

Lin Chen lightened his footsteps and slowly approached.

Perhaps because he was too focused, A-Tu did not notice anyone behind him.

It wasn't until Lin Chen's shadow enveloped him that he turned back sharply like a startled rabbit, and the mud in his hand fell to the ground with a "plop."

Lin Chen's gaze happened to land on that puddle of mud.

The moment it hit the ground, the puddle of mud seemed to collapse slightly toward the northwest—the direction where he had determined the strongest Spiritual Qi fluctuation to be yesterday.

This detail was extremely minute; if he hadn't been keeping an eye on that direction, he would never have noticed it.

His heart gave a sudden jolt, and a bold guess emerged.

He showed no signs of abnormality but crouched down like A-Tu, grabbed a handful of soil from the ground, and asked in a conversational tone, "Do you like playing with mud?"

Seeing that he had no malicious intent, the fear in A-Tu's timid eyes diminished, replaced by a bit of curiosity.

He looked at Lin Chen, then at the soil on the ground, and said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, "It... it's moving. Very slowly, but... it's flowing that way."

As he spoke, he extended a dirty finger, trembling as he pointed toward the northwest.

Lin Chen's eyes suddenly narrowed.

This boy actually had an instinctual, almost beast-like, sensitivity to subtle changes in Earth Spiritual Qi or the Earth Vein!

This was a talent, an unpolished gem!

Lin Chen felt a sense of compassion and also intended to recruit him.

He took out half a piece of dry ration from his bosom and handed it over, leading the clearly starving A-Tu, intending to take him back to the dilapidated courtyard for something to eat first.

However, on the way back to town, before they reached home, their path was blocked by three men wearing black short tunics, their chests exposed.

The leader was a burly man with a scar on his face, covered in bulging muscles, with a cultivation level around Qi Refining Stage 3.

He looked Lin Chen up and down, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said with a fake smile, "Brother Lin, right? Our Gang Leader, Master Hong, heard that you've been running to that wasteland outside the town lately and specifically sent us to ask if you've discovered anything good? Hehe, those who see it get a share; that's the rule of our Black Stone Gang."

Lin Chen shifted his body slightly, quietly shielding the thin A-Tu behind him.

He calmly met the other party's malicious gaze and said indifferently, "I'm just checking to see if there's any wasteland that can be reclaimed to grow some medicinal herbs to make a living."

"Make a living?" The Scarface man let out a scoff, as if he had heard a huge joke. "Our Master Hong has had his eye on that wasteland for a long time, but just hasn't had the time to deal with it. Since you want to plant there, that's fine. Pay five Low-Grade Spirit Stones every month as 'rent,' and Master Hong will ensure you stay safe here."

Five Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

This wasn't rent at all; it was daylight robbery!

Lin Chen couldn't scrape together that amount even if he pooled all his assets.

Lin Chen's eyes turned cold, but he did not erupt immediately.

He knew that if he clashed head-on now, he would only be the one to suffer.

He spoke slowly, "The rent is too high. As a herb gatherer, I can't afford it. Allow me a few days to consider."

The Scarface man seemed to have expected him to say this. He took a step forward and patted Lin Chen's shoulder heavily with his palm, which was as large as a cattail-leaf fan. The force was so great that Lin Chen felt an ache in his bones.

"Fine, straightforward! I'll give you three days to consider." He leaned close to Lin Chen, lowering his voice, his tone full of threats. "Three days later, we'll come back for an answer. Boy, remember, in Black Stone Town, if you're a Dragon, you have to coil up for me; if you're a Tiger, you have to lie down!"

After finishing, he took the other two men and strode away arrogantly.

Lin Chen stood in place, watching their arrogant backs disappear at the end of the alley. His fingers, hanging within his sleeves, slowly rubbed the rough stone ring on his thumb.

Returning to the dilapidated courtyard, Su Qingyao had already seen the scene just now, her face full of worry.

Lin Chen didn't explain much but found a piece of yellowed straw paper and a small piece of charcoal from the room. He spread it out on the table and began to draw from memory—the general outline of the wasteland and the core points of the Spiritual Qi sources marked by the System.

Su Qingyao walked over, looked at the drawing, and asked softly, "What are you going to do?"

Lin Chen used the charcoal to draw a heavy circle on the point with the most concentrated Spiritual Qi, then pointed at the drawing and said, "First, solve the miasma. I'll go into the mountains tomorrow to find Red Sun Grass and Clear Heart Lotus. At the same time, we need to do something to make Hong Biao think I've been scared by him and am honestly trying to find ways to raise money to 'rent the land.' We need time."

His gaze turned outside the window. A-Tu was crouching in the courtyard, still curiously poking at a small pinch of soil brought back from the wasteland with a small twig.

"Also," Lin Chen's voice carried a hint of inscrutable meaning, "that child... might be able to help a lot."

Lin Chen divided half of the few remaining dry rations in the house and gave them to A-Tu, then poured out a little of the "Soul-Calming Powder" refined by Su Qingyao, mixed it into water, and had him drink it.