144: Chapter 144 Three Days of Seclusion: Shi Jie Conceals His Edge

That spying "moth" was like an invisible poisonous thorn, deeply embedded in Lin Chen's perception.

He stood in place; the rich Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi in the Meditation Room remained gentle, but a bone-chilling coldness welled up in his heart.

Tianji Pavilion claimed to be neutral, trading in intelligence from all over the world.

Yet, this Elder Wu Qinian had just delivered a gold-embossed "War Letter" a moment ago, and immediately after, he was targeted by a "moth" of unknown Origin.

Was this surveillance from within Tianji Pavilion, or was it the handiwork of those so-called Seven Sects, or perhaps even the True Blood Temple?

Regardless of which it was, it proved one thing—he, Lin Chen, and the entire Family, had been exposed at the center of an invisible web from the moment they stepped into this turmoil.

The opponent's methods of spying were far more secretive and bizarre than he had imagined.

This so-called trip to the Central Plains had been filled with unseen eyes from the very beginning.

He had to possess a stronger trump card.

A trump card that could protect his own secrets even under the gaze of the public, and perhaps even allow him to strike back.

Lin Chen slowly closed his eyes, his mind sinking into his Sea of Consciousness.

That familiar System panel unfolded following his will.

Unlike before, he did not focus on his offspring or Cultivation Technique, but instead locked his gaze directly onto a module at the very top of the panel that he had never paid much attention to before—[Family Luck Visualization].

As his thoughts touched it, a grand scene appeared in his Sea of Consciousness.

A massive golden pillar of light that reached from the heavens to the earth stood in the Void Realm like a stabilizing needle.

The Foundation of the light pillar was deeply planted in the phantom land representing Black Wind Valley, majestic, vast, and solid.

This was the pillar of the Family's Luck.

With his Formation of the Chaos Golden Core and the Spiritual Vein upgrading to quasi-third rank, this pillar of light had surged more than several times over compared to before, shining with brilliant golden light, and even faintly having the forms of a Dragon and tiger coiling within it, full of exuberant vitality.

However, Lin Chen's gaze was fixed firmly on the outer edge of the golden light pillar.

Right at the edge of that brilliant golden light, from some unknown time, a trace of gray-black aura, thinner than a spider web, had silently coiled around it.

It was like a poisonous snake lurking in the shadows, clinging tightly to the golden light, exuding an indescribable sense of decay, ominousness, and destruction.

[Ding!]

[Detected a trace of "Ink Abyss Calamity Qi" infecting the Family Luck. Source: Unknown. Impact: Weak. Warning: This Calamity Qi possesses extremely strong infectivity and growth potential; if not contained, it will erode the Family Foundation over time and invite unprovoked disasters.]

Lin Chen's heart sank completely.

Ink Abyss... He had only seen this name in some of the most ancient fragments of texts, mentioned alongside the "World-Devouring Demon."

Now it seemed that Sect Master Tie Kuang's confession, the dirty water splashed by the True Blood Temple, and this quietly appearing "Ink Abyss Calamity Qi" must have some terrifying connection that he had not yet discovered.

The storm was even larger than he had anticipated.

Lin Chen did not panic; the more dangerous it was, the calmer his heart became.

He forced himself to move his attention away from that ominous Calamity Qi, instead immersing all his focus into the rough stone ring on the thumb of his left hand.

That was the key to breaking the situation.

As his mind sank in, a cold and vast stream of information surged from the stone ring into his Sea of Consciousness.

[Earth Pulse Perception (Passive)]: Unlocked after deep binding with the Spiritual Vein. The Host can merge their Divine Sense with the earth to perceive the aura of all living beings, energy flows, and changes in the earth veins within the range of perception. The perception range and precision increase with the Host's cultivation and the grade of the Spiritual Vein.

[Pure Land Domain (Prototype)]: Based on the Spiritual Vein Origin, it can be activated to form a purification Domain. Within the Domain, it isolates prying eyes and purifies all evil. Currently in a prototype state, the Domain range is three feet, the duration is one quarter of an hour, and it can be used three times a day.

So that was it.

That "Earth Pulse Perception" was more like a passively triggered talent, while this "Pure Land Domain" was a Divine Ability that could be actively activated and served both offense and defense.

Lin Chen's thoughts stirred, and the Chaos Golden Core spinning in his Dantian Qi Sea suddenly hummed.

A Chaos Spiritual Qi far purer and heavier than ordinary Spiritual Qi surged out along his Meridians like a great river, instantly injecting into the stone ring on his thumb!

"Hum—"

The stone ring trembled slightly, and on the unadorned stone surface of the ring, a tiny, almost imperceptible golden light lit up.

The next moment, a semi-transparent light shield with a diameter of three feet, composed entirely of countless tiny, profound golden runes, silently enveloped his entire body.

The moment the light shield appeared, Lin Chen felt that all his connections with the outside world had been cut off.

It was not an isolation of Divine Sense, but a higher level of "purification."

It was as if this three-foot space where he was located had been temporarily "carved out" from this world.

The rich Fire-attribute Spiritual Qi in the Meditation Room, the heat from the magma deep underground, and even the dust floating in the air, were completely dissolved and purified by those constantly flowing golden runes the moment they touched the light shield.

Inside the light shield, even the air became incredibly pure. Every breath felt like inhaling the most original clear Qi from when the heavens and earth first opened, and his Divine Soul was refreshed.

Lin Chen reached out his hand and gently touched the inner wall of the light shield.

His fingertips felt a sensation that was as warm as jade, yet indestructible.

He could even feel that the trace of "Ink Abyss Calamity Qi" coiled around his golden pillar of Luck became restless in this Pure Land Domain, as if it had encountered a natural enemy.

It works!

A flash of brilliance appeared in Lin Chen's eyes.

This was his greatest safeguard for when he walked outside!

But he was not satisfied with this.

Although this Pure Land Domain was strong, its range was too small, and its duration was short; it could only serve as a life-saving trump card for critical moments, not as a conventional method.

He needed a Spell that could integrate this power of "purification" into his own offensive and defensive System.

Lin Chen's gaze fell on the stone bricks beneath his feet.

The Chaos Golden Core in his Dantian contained the Five Elements Origins of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, among which the Earth attribute was the heaviest, governing defense and endurance.

If he could combine this "purification" power with an Earth-attribute Spell...

Lin Chen closed his eyes. In his Sea of Consciousness, countless rune structures related to Earth-attribute Spells began to collide, deduce, and fuse with the golden runes of the Pure Land Domain.

Time quietly passed during this deep seclusion.

Three days later.

"Creak—"

The stone door of the Earth Vein Meditation Room slowly opened.

Lin Chen walked out, dressed in a green robe, black hair draped over his shoulders, his aura even more restrained and profound than it had been three days ago.

He just stood there quietly, and his whole person seemed to have merged with the earth beneath his feet, giving people a sense of heavy stability, like a deep pool or a towering mountain, impossible to shake.

He did not delay and went straight to the Family's meeting hall.

Liu Ruxu had already been waiting there.

Lin Chen handed her several newly inscribed Jade Slips and said in a deep voice: "This is a defensive Spell I have newly deduced, called 'Thick Earth Bearing Objects.' It can not only improve the defensive power of the mountain-protecting Formation, but also dissolve the foreign energy attached to it. Organize personnel immediately to integrate it into the Formation System, especially those core Formation eyes; they must be replaced as soon as possible."

Liu Ruxu took the Jade Slips, swept them with her Divine Sense, and a look of shock immediately appeared on her face.

The Formation changes recorded in the Jade Slips were incredibly profound, and its core concept was actually to perfectly combine defense with purification!

"Disciple obeys!"

She bowed heavily, turned around, and walked away quickly, her steps full of urgency.

Immediately after, Lin Chen found Su Qingyao.

"How much longer can the Divine Souls of those two hold on?" He asked straightforwardly.

Su Qingyao's cold face showed no emotion, and she just handed over a jade bottle: "Sect Master Tie Kuang is a Golden Core Body Refining practitioner, his Divine Soul is tough, and he can hold on for another half a month. Cave Master Yue Ji's Divine Soul is severely damaged, at most seven days. This is what I stripped from their memory fragments regarding part of the Formation layout of the True Blood Temple's main altar, which might be useful."

Lin Chen took the jade bottle, nodded, and urged: "Be careful. If it cannot be done, destroy it directly."

"I understand." Su Qingyao nodded.

Finally, Lin Chen found Lin Haoyu on the martial arts practice field, who was guiding his younger clan brothers in Cultivation.

"Father." When Lin Haoyu saw him, he immediately stopped his actions and bowed in salute.

"Prepare yourself, and accompany me on a long journey." Lin Chen said concisely.

A glimmer of excitement flashed in Lin Haoyu's eyes. He didn't ask where they were going, nor did he ask what they were doing, but just nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

The father and son got ready and arrived at the mountain gate of Black Wind Valley.

The sunlight was just right, and the valley was filled with Spiritual Qi, a scene of prosperity, forming a sharp contrast with the oppressive atmosphere of the impending storm outside.

However, just as they were about to step out of the mountain-protecting Formation's light screen, a figure hurried over from behind.

"Clan Chief!"

Qin Ruowei arrived nearby, her usually cold and calm face now filled with rare solemnity.

She didn't speak, but just handed a message Jade Slip into Lin Chen's hand.

"Clan Chief, for that secret trade route to Baicao Valley given by Cave Master Yue Ji, after our people arrived at the meeting point, they found that it had long been abandoned, leaving only a triggered early-warning Formation with faint Devilish Qi."

Qin Ruowei took a deep breath, her voice lowered even further, as fast as if she were spitting out hot iron sand.

"At the same time, Sect Master Tie Kuang in the dungeon suddenly went crazy, desperately hitting the Restriction, roaring through Divine Thought transmission, saying that what Cave Master Yue Ji gave was a trap, that the trade route did not lead to Baicao Valley at all, but was an ambush circle prepared for us by the True Blood Temple!"

One said east, one said west.

One gave a road that was a dead end, and the other, when facing death, shouted the exact opposite warning.

True and false intelligence formed a bizarre Rashomon at this moment.

Lin Chen took the cold Jade Slip, his Divine Sense sinking into it, carefully investigating the energy residue information about the early-warning Formation sent back by the scouts on the front line.

There was not a hint of surprise on his face, and he didn't even raise an eyebrow, as if this contradictory situation, which would have been enough to throw anyone into Chaos, had long been within his expectations.