Three Days in the Cavern

Time passed slowly and uncomfortably in the cave.

The search and arrest operation outside lasted for a full day and night before gradually subsiding.

Lu Yuan remained motionless, embedded in the crevice between the rocks. The cold, damp air seeped into his bones, and his stomach felt strangely empty. His food bag was long since deflated, and his water pouch was reduced to a mere bottom. The injury to his side still throbbed, and his Soul Power was recovering slowly, like a blocked stream.

We can't keep dragging this out.

He took out the small jade box he kept close to his body and opened it. Three and a half pieces of "Soul Marrow Essence" lay inside, their milky white glow gentle and warm, like a few small, warm flames being held in the pitch-black darkness.

He picked up the smallest piece, about the size of a fingernail. It felt warm to the touch, not cold.

How do I use it? I have no idea. I don't remember anything like this from my past life.

He stared at the faint light, hesitating for only a moment. He drew a wisp of Soul Power from his dried-up meridians and wrapped it around the light with utmost care.

Buzz--

The essence did not resist. A peaceful and gentle energy flowed back along the connection of Soul Power. Like warm water, it slowly seeped into the Laogong acupoint in the palm and traveled upwards along the meridians of the arm. Wherever it passed, the stiff meridians were soothed, and a slight tingling and comfortable sensation came. The speed of Soul Power recovery was slightly faster.

Even more strangely, the small scabs on his arm began to itch. He looked down in the light and saw that the skin around the wounds was slowly healing at a speed that was imperceptible to the naked eye but perceptible to his Soul Power.

It's not about curing, but about giving the body enough "material" to repair itself.

Lu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, his shoulders and back relaxing a little. It was effective, and incredibly docile.

He maintained a minimal level of guidance, allowing the essence's energy to continuously nourish his body. The hunger was alleviated, and the chill was dispelled considerably. Holding a piece of essence the size of a fingernail, he held it for a full two hours before the aura dimmed slightly.

If we calculate our current reserves and use them sparingly, we can last for five or six days.

The survival line is temporarily stable.

What followed was truly agonizing.

Absolute darkness, absolute silence. Only one's own breathing and heartbeat, and the occasional, faint whistling of the wind from the far distance overhead. Loneliness, like cold mud, seeps up from all directions, threatening to engulf one.

You can't fall into a deep sleep; you have to stay alert. But if you stay awake, you have to face this boundless, deathly silence, as if the world has abandoned you.

Lu Yuan started looking for things to do.

First, I reviewed the events: infiltration, treasure retrieval, escape, separation... Every detail, every action of Lin Xiao, every attack of the Soul Emperor flashed through my mind frame by frame. I analyzed the gains and losses and deduced the possibilities.

This is a habit: using logic to combat anxiety.

After doing all this, only about half a day had passed.

With nothing else to think about, his attention returned to the essence in his palm.

Anyway, I have nothing to do. Anyway... this is a rare opportunity to completely calm down and think things through.

He closed his eyes, focused his Soul Power inward, his senses extremely concentrated, and carefully probed into the essence.

It's not about guiding, it's about observation and deconstruction.

Time slips away when you're focused.

On the first night, he confirmed that the energy structure of this thing was frighteningly stable. It wasn't as restless as ordinary Soul Power, nor as domineering as some rare and precious treasures. It was more like a highly ordered "foundation" full of gentle vitality.

The next day, he tried touching it with Soul Power of different frequencies and attributes. The essence's reaction was always the same: it would embrace and neutralize, then return a more peaceful and easier-to-absorb energy. It seemed to be able to "smooth out" and "smooth out" the foreign, prickly Soul Power.

Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

On the second night and into the early hours of the third day, a bold idea popped into his head.

What if we use this as a "universal lubricant" or a "mild catalyst"?

Soul Master cultivation, especially Basic Meditation Method, essentially involves drawing external Soul Power into the body, guiding it along a specific route to nourish the meridians and temper the body. The smoothness and speed of this process largely depend on the affinity between the Soul Power and the meridians, and whether the flow is smooth or not.

Many commoner Soul Master cultivate slowly not only because of poor techniques and limited resources, but also because of the subtle blockages in their meridians caused by labor, hidden injuries, or congenital deficiencies. When Soul Power flows through these "blockages," its efficiency is reduced, and it may even cause swelling and pain.

Like Mo Chen, there are many others whose meridians suffer from old injuries and hidden pain due to prolonged exposure to unstable energy.

What if... we could utilize the "lubricating" and "smoothing" properties of the Soul Marrow Essence?

Once the thought arose, it couldn't be suppressed.

Lu Yuan completely forgot about hunger and cold. He was immersed in his thoughts, using the essence in his palm as a sample and himself as an experimental field to repeatedly deduce and model. His vast theoretical library from his previous life was mobilized and constantly collided with the Soul Power phenomena he saw in this life.

A rough framework about "Soul Marrow Essence assisting basic cultivation and meridian regulation" gradually took shape in his mind. He seemed to have found the direction.

This is a sliver of light shining through the darkness.

On the third night, Lu Yuan woke up from his deep state of deduction.

He first sensed the outside world.

Silence. Dead silence.

The sporadic, intermittent patrol activity that had been present before had completely disappeared. Only the howling wind remained.

He waited patiently. After another hour or so, he cautiously probed outwards with his Soul Power.

There was nothing there.

The search... is it over? Or has it been withdrawn?

Lu Yuan dared not be careless. He continued to wait until the pale moonlight shone through the cracks in the stone ceiling, letting in a few almost invisible slivers of light.

The time has come.

He slowly moved his stiff body. After three days of rest and nourishment with essence, the injury to his side waist had healed by more than half, and his Soul Power had recovered to nearly 40%. Although he was still weak, he could move.

He tidied his things. He stuffed the empty food bags and water pouches back into his bosom. He placed the last remaining Soul Power Interference Ball in the most convenient spot. He carefully wrapped the small jade box containing the essence in a scrap of cloth from his inner garment, and hid it close to his chest in his inner pocket.

There are two and a half pieces left. This is the seed, and also the Key.

He took a deep breath, the cold, stone-scented air filling his lungs and invigorating him. He reached out and carefully moved the loose concealing stone above his head.

The moonlight poured in all at once.

Lu Yuan squinted for a moment to adjust, then poked half his head out, looking around warily.

The silhouettes of the jagged rocks in the Thousand Needle Stone Forest at night are silent, devoid of human voices or firelight, save for the mournful whistling of the wind piercing through the stone crevices. Within the range of Soul Power perception, there is utter stillness.

Safety.

Like a gecko, he silently slipped out of his burrow and landed on the cool stone ground. The night wind swept over him, carrying the coolness of freedom.

He straightened up and dusted himself off. Three days in the cave had made him thinner, and his face looked pale in the moonlight. But his eyes were calmer and deeper than before he came in. It was as if all the danger, loneliness, and contemplation had sunk to the bottom, turning into an unwavering, hard light in his eyes.

He took one last look at the cave that had sheltered him for three days, then turned and disappeared into the shadows of the stone forest.

The direction is west of Maple Leaf Town, to that abandoned hunter's cabin. It's the backup meeting point I arranged with Mo Chen.

How is Lin Xiao? Did Mo Chen detonate the device and retreat? Are Dad, Teacher Shen, Su Yan, and the others at the base alright?

have no idea.

But he had to go back. With the essence, with new discoveries, with a clearer path forged in those three days of darkness.

The figure moved swiftly through the stone forest, blending into the desolation of the night. The moonlight cast long shadows, projecting them onto the obscured path ahead.