26: Chapter 26 The Hidden Spiritual Cave and Reflections on Talent

The radiance was extremely faint, bordering on a hallucination, and was completely different from the gentle spiritual light of the Earth Milk Spirit Liquid itself; instead, it carried a trace of an elusive restlessness.

Lin Chen felt a shiver in his heart. He immediately held his breath, condensed his Divine Sense into a single line, and cautiously probed toward the basin-sized shallow pit.

The thin layer of milky white paste at the bottom of the pit still lay there quietly, emitting pure Earth Spiritual Qi, exactly the same as before.

The tip of the longest stalactite on the dome was still condensing the next drop of spiritual liquid at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

Everything seemed to be the same as what he had observed in the past few days.

Was it an illusion?

Perhaps it was dizziness caused by excessive mental exhaustion from setting up the Formation for days on end?

He rubbed the rough stone ring on his thumb, its cold touch making his mind increasingly clear.

No, that palpitation just now was very real; it was more like an irregular fluctuation of some kind of Spiritual Qi in an extremely short instant.

He did not make a scene, but silently noted this point of doubt in his heart.

The next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Su Qingyao quietly came to the stone chamber holding Lin Leyao.

Her daughter seemed to have an innate affinity for the aura here; she always slept exceptionally soundly as soon as she arrived.

After placing her daughter in a corner covered with soft animal skins, Su Qingyao walked to the edge of the shallow pit, preparing to take a drop of Earth Milk Spirit Liquid as usual to dilute with clean water and assist in her morning Cultivation.

She took out a jade bottle and a silver needle, and just as she was about to dip into the paste condensed at the edge of the pit, her movements suddenly paused.

Her brows furrowed slightly.

It seemed... a tiny bit thinner than yesterday?

This change was extremely subtle; if she hadn't been in contact with it every day and been innately sensitive to Spiritual Qi, she would never have been able to detect it.

It was like a bowl of thick rice porridge that had been secretly diluted with a spoonful of clear water; it looked unchanged, but that core sense of density had faded by an imperceptible margin.

She stopped her movements, closed her eyes, released her Qi Refinement Stage Divine Sense, and carefully perceived the flow of Spiritual Qi in the stone chamber.

The Spiritual Qi remained steady and gentle, guided by the miniature Spirit Gathering Formation in the corner, forming gentle eddies.

But... for some reason, she kept feeling that the rhythm of the internal Spiritual Qi circulation within the stalactite dripping the spiritual liquid above her head was half a beat slower than usual.

It was like a precise hourglass that someone had secretly mixed a handful of damp sand into, causing the flow rate to slow down imperceptibly.

"Is my feeling wrong?" she asked herself.

She did not go to find Lin Chen immediately.

He had been consuming a great deal of mental energy over the past few days to reinforce the Formation at the cave entrance, and she did not want to disturb him because of her own uncertain feeling.

She simply, silently, used the silver needle to scrape an exactly equal amount of the spiritual liquid paste as in previous days, then returned to the cave, where she drew a small mark on a clean stone slab with a charcoal pen and noted today's date beside it.

For the next three days, Su Qingyao came to the stone chamber at the same time every day.

She no longer took any spiritual liquid, only quietly observing and perceiving.

On the first day, the sense of thinness in the paste in the shallow pit seemed to have increased a little more.

On the second day, she could be certain that the speed at which the stalactite on the dome condensed the spiritual liquid was indeed slower than when it was first discovered.

On the third day, when she came to the stone chamber again, she didn't even need to deliberately perceive it; the Spiritual Qi originating from the Spiritual Vein, while still rich, had undeniably seen its lively "vitality" fade.

On the evening of the fourth day, Lin Chen was in the stone chamber, comparing the principles of the Earth Vein Qi Nourishing Technique completed by the System in his mind, trying to deduce how to better combine the effects of a First-Order Spirit Gathering Formation with the Spiritual Vein Qi.

Su Qingyao walked in silently and gently placed a stone slab covered in dense, small characters in front of him.

"The Spiritual Qi here seems to be... slowly decreasing?" she finally spoke, her voice very soft and carrying a trace of uncertainty. "Or is my feeling wrong?"

Lin Chen shifted his gaze away from the complex Formation diagram and landed on the stone slab.

On it, written in elegant handwriting, was a detailed record of her subtle observations over the past four days regarding the concentration of the Earth Milk Spirit Liquid, the dripping rhythm of the stalactites, and the changes in the vitality of the Spiritual Qi throughout the stone chamber.

His expression instantly turned grave.

He did not doubt Su Qingyao's judgment; a Cultivator with a Wood-attribute Earthly Spiritual Root naturally possessed a perception of vitality and Spiritual Qi that far exceeded that of ordinary people.

He took the stone slab and said in a deep voice, "You have done very well. Do not tell anyone about this matter for now, including Old Man Shi."

Lin Chen did not reach a conclusion immediately.

He asked Su Qingyao to return to the cave to look after the child, while he sat cross-legged in the stone chamber alone.

He did not study the Formation, nor did he Cultivate; he simply closed his eyes and slowly began to circulate the Earth Vein Qi Nourishing Technique.

This Cultivation Technique was faintly connected to his Bloodline; at this moment, it was as if it had become an invisible tentacle reaching into the depths of the earth.

His mind followed the flow of the Spiritual Vein Qi, sinking downward, deeper and deeper.

Soon, he "saw" it.

This Spiritual Vein was even smaller than he had imagined.

It was not an independent main trunk, but rather an inconspicuous, thin root extending from a towering giant tree buried deep underground.

And this stone chamber in Luoxia Valley happened to be located at the tip of this "root," a natural condensation point for Spiritual Qi.

More importantly, he sensed that the Spiritual Qi supply of this "root" was not constant.

In the deeper, more distant main trunk of the Spiritual Vein, there seemed to be a grand and slow periodic fluctuation, like the steady breathing of a sleeping giant beast.

Every time it "exhaled," the Spiritual Qi would become more abundant; every time it "inhaled," the supply would weaken by a fraction.

It was just that this cycle was extremely long, and the changes were extremely subtle; if not for Su Qingyao's reminder and the assistance of the Earth Vein Qi Nourishing Technique, he would never have been able to detect it.

Su Qingyao's feeling was not wrong.

They were exactly in the middle of a long "inhalation" cycle.

The production of the spiritual liquid was indeed decaying at an extremely slow speed.

This discovery made Lin Chen's heart sink.

This meant that the value of this place as a ten-thousand-year Foundation held great uncertainty.

Perhaps in a few decades, or even a hundred years, the Spiritual Qi here would decay until it was no different from the outside world.

He had to make preparations for both possibilities.

Lin Chen made an immediate decision.

Before the Spiritual Qi completely decayed, this place remained their most precious sanctuary and Cultivation resource site; it must absolutely not be exposed.

He immediately stood up and rummaged through his Storage Pouch for all the remaining Materials, including several low-grade Spirit Stones with mixed attributes that he had looted from Outer Sect Deacon Wang Heng and those few Wang Family disciples.

He went to the narrow natural fissure at the entrance of the stone chamber and began to set up a composite Formation that was far more complex and concealed than before.

For this Formation, he used the Earth Vein Qi Nourishing Technique parsed by the System as the theoretical core, drew inspiration from several rune concepts regarding "breath concealment" and "shielding" from the incomplete ancient Formation on the stone wall, and used those mixed-attribute Spirit Stones he had originally looked down upon as one-time energy nodes.

The main Formation was for "breath concealment," and the auxiliary Formation was for "early warning."

The process of setting up the Formation was far more difficult than imagined.

The outlining of many runes required extremely precise control of spiritual power; the slightest mistake would mean all previous efforts were wasted.

For two whole days and nights, Lin Chen did not sleep or rest, his Divine Sense and spiritual power consumed to their limits, his face as pale as paper.

Until the early morning of the third day, when he carved the last stroke of the rune into the stone wall and embedded the last low-grade Spirit Stone, the stone wall at the entire fissure entrance hummed imperceptibly.

A layer of spiritual power membrane, invisible to the naked eye and indistinguishable from the aura of the surrounding rocks, instantly covered the entire area.

The Formation was complete!

Lin Chen scanned it with his nearly exhausted Divine Sense, a surge of weary satisfaction rising in his heart.

At this moment, the entrance to the stone chamber, from the outside, had completely merged with the surrounding rocks; the Spiritual Qi fluctuations and signs of life were all distorted, absorbed, and assimilated by the Formation.

Unless a Golden Core Stage Cultivator searched the ground inch by inch with their Divine Sense, it would be extremely difficult to discover the anomaly here.

That night, Lin Chen sat cross-legged in the stone chamber, recovering his spiritual power while pulling up the System panel.

The milky white aura representing the Family Luck above Luoxia Valley had grown significantly stronger and more solid after this period of stable development.

[Family Reputation: Awe 25 / 100]

The growth rate of his reputation was slower than he had anticipated.

Relying solely on the awe of Old Man Shi and A-Tu was still too thin.

Just as he was pondering, he noticed that on the System panel, next to the [Family Luck Visualization] function, there appeared a faint gray annotation that he had never seen before.

[Family Foundation: Taking Initial Shape.

Recruiting members with specific talents or Luck (especially through establishing stable contractual relationships) can significantly enhance the overall quality of Family Luck, accelerate the accumulation of reputation, and may provide feedback to the host on insights in specific fields.]

Lin Chen's gaze remained fixed on this annotation, his mind racing.

Specific talents! Lucky members!

This was the true key to the System's prompt.

The current core of the Lin Family consisted only of him, Su Qingyao (Alchemy talent), and his daughter Lin Leyao, whose potential was unknown.

Old Man Shi was loyal, A-Tu was obedient, and Old Zhou could manage accounts, but they were all just Mortals; they did not possess the "talent" or "Luck" that Cultivators spoke of.

To deal with a poisonous snake like Blood Crow Tower hiding in the shadows, and to cope with the risk of the Spiritual Vein possibly being exposed in the future, relying solely on their Family of three was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

He urgently needed manpower.

A Cultivator skilled in Formations could elevate the defenses here to a whole new level.

A Cultivator proficient in tracking and spying could become his eyes and ears to investigate the true strength of Blood Crow Tower.

Several fearless combat Cultivators could buy time for his Family's evacuation when a crisis arrived.

But where could he find them?

The Immortal Realm was full of sinister hearts; how could he ensure that those he recruited would be absolutely loyal?

Establishing a stable contract... what kind of contract would that be?

The next day, Lin Chen carried a small bag of rice wine and a few pieces of air-dried beast meat to find Old Man Shi, who was tanning animal skins.

A bonfire was lit, and after three rounds of drinks, Old Man Shi's words became noticeably more frequent.

Lin Chen asked casually, "Old man, regarding this Luoxia Valley, besides what you said about Cultivators coming to look for mines over a hundred years ago, are there any earlier rumors?"

"Yes, why wouldn't there be!" Old Man Shi took a swig of wine and smacked his lips. "Speaking of which, people have lived in this Luoxia Valley since the generation of my grandfather's grandfather. I heard from the elders that back then, this valley was much livelier than it is now. Not just one group of people came in; there were Immortal Masters carrying swords, and ordinary miners carrying Luoyang shovels. Later, for some reason, they all left in a rush."

He lowered his voice, leaned in closer, and said with the stench of alcohol, "Some say it's because the mineral vein here is too small and shallow for the Immortal Masters to care about. Others say... it's because they encountered evil spirits and people died."

Old Man Shi's cloudy eyes flashed with a hint of fear. "Just that abandoned mine cave to the west, if you go deeper, into the deepest mountain fissure, the elders all say that after dark, you can hear strange roars coming from inside. 'Boom, rumble,' sometimes it sounds like thunder, sometimes like some big beast roaring inside. But for so many years, no one has ever actually seen what it is. So, for us hunters, we must leave that area before dark; we absolutely dare not go near it."

Strange roars?

Lin Chen's heart jolted suddenly.

He thought of the Spiritual Qi decay that Su Qingyao had sensed, and the periodic fluctuations of the Spiritual Vein that he had investigated.

Were those roars just natural sounds generated by the resonance with the mountain body when the Spiritual Vein Qi tides changed?

Or... was there truly some unknown existence suppressed or living in the deeper parts of this valley?

Carrying a heart full of doubts, Lin Chen used the one-time transmission talisman to contact "Know-it-all" Old Xu from Liuyun Market again.

This time, his questions were more specific and more direct.

"I want to inquire about two things. First, in Liuyun Market and its surroundings, are there any Loose Cultivators or descendants of small Families who possess special skills, such as Formation, Alchemy, or Spirit Beast taming, and who are currently in difficult situations and in urgent need of support? They must have a clean background and decent Heart-Nature. Second, are there any more detailed records of the past events in Luoxia Valley from a hundred years ago?"

Old Xu's reply arrived a full day later, the content as concise as ever.

"There are three skilled individuals who meet your requirements. Formation Master Liu Yan, Ninth Level of Qi Refining, offended the Zhao Family in the market and has been cut off from his livelihood; Sun Yue, daughter of an Alchemist, possesses a Family Pill Formula, her father died, her Family was wiped out, and she is alone; Spirit Beast tamer Zhang Mang, Eighth Level of Qi Refining, his life-bound Spirit Beast is seriously injured, and he has spent all his wealth seeking medicine. Details of the three require a face-to-face meeting; flat fee, ten Spirit Stones. As for the old files of Luoxia Valley, the Loose Cultivator Guild holds an Incomplete Manual; viewing requires a Guild token, and the proxy search fee is five Spirit Stones. Additionally, the Zhao Family has recently been purchasing large quantities of 'Beast Repellent Powder' and 'Miasma-Breaking Talismans' in the market, their destination unknown."

Lin Chen looked at the handwriting on the talisman paper, his eyes becoming increasingly deep.

Three possible candidates, one clear enemy.

Formation Master Liu Yan... offended the Zhao Family? This was simply like being handed a pillow when one was sleepy.

And the Zhao Family's purchase of beast-repelling and Miasma-breaking supplies was clearly in preparation for entering some dangerous environment.

Could it be the depths of Luoxia Valley?

Or was there another target?

Everything seemed to be covered by a thick layer of fog.

Old Xu's intelligence required Spirit Stones and was difficult to verify, but it was the only clue he could grasp at the moment.

Late at night, in the mining cave stone chamber, Lin Chen set up a simple sound-insulation barrier at the entrance.

Su Qingyao sat quietly opposite him, holding the sleeping Lin Leyao; the firelight illuminated her profile, making it look soft and warm.

"I must go out for a trip," Lin Chen said straight to the point.

He explained everything exactly as it was: the decay of the Spiritual Vein Qi, the unknown risks in the depths of the valley, the intelligence sent by Old Xu, and the possible unusual movements of the Zhao Family.

"We cannot continue to wait passively like this. The Family needs fresh blood, especially talent who understands Formations, to thoroughly consolidate the concealment and protection of this place. We also need a reliable source of intelligence, instead of spending Spirit Stones every time to buy a pile of messages that are hard to verify."

He looked into Su Qingyao's cold, clear eyes and said, word by word, "I plan to go to Liuyun Market, meet that Old Xu, and personally verify those 'skilled individuals' he mentioned, especially that Formation Master who offended the Zhao Family."

Su Qingyao was silent for a moment; only the crackling of the bonfire remained in the cave.

"Is it dangerous?" she finally asked, her voice filled with uncontrollable worry.

"I will be extremely careful," Lin Chen shook his head. "I will change my appearance, restrain my aura, and only make contact on the outskirts of the market, going and returning quickly. The new Formation here has been set up; as long as you do not actively expose yourselves, no one below the Golden Core Stage will be able to discover you. You will be safe."

He paused and shifted the topic: "Additionally, for the few days I am away, you do not need to do anything; just stay in the stone chamber and Cultivate. But you must spare a sliver of mental energy to try, in the gentlest way possible, to sense whether there is any other deeper connection between the Earth Milk Spirit Liquid and Leyao's Bloodline. I always feel that the Bloodline resonance between us father and daughter last time was not accidental."

Su Qingyao nodded, her snow-white fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes; this was a small, subconscious action she did when she felt extremely uneasy inside.

"You... take care."

Lin Chen reached out and gently held her slightly cool fingertips, transmitting his own warmth and determination.

"Rest assured."

His gaze was calm and firm, like the deep night sea.

"Before we find more partners we can trust and entrust our backs to, every step we take must be walked steadily, more steadily than anyone else."

Liuyun Market, he had to go.

This was not only to recruit talent, but also to take the initiative and completely crush that fly named 'Zhao Family' before it could bare its fangs.

He had already made his plan; this time, he would use their own strength against them and make the Zhao Family pay a bloody price for their greed.