Diverting Trouble Eastward

Lu Yuan stood up and traced his fingertips along the rock face.

Lin Xiao leaned against the door frame, his vertical pupils fixed on him.

"The Listening Wind Pavilion are intelligence brokers; they've caught wind of something," Lu Yuan said clearly. "The Cloud Mist Sect has lost face and is desperate. They're all eyeing Old Crow Ridge."

He turned around.

"Give them a more enticing target."

Half an hour later, in Mo Chen's stone chamber.

Lu Yuan pushed two sketches over. "Forge two things. One is an ancient Soul Tool map, the patterns must be ancient, and the directions must be vague. The other is an observation record of the strange Soul Power fluctuations in the Mist Canyon, the data must look real, but the key parts must be missing."

Mo Chen glanced at it a few times, his eyes lighting up. "Trying to make people think there's treasure there?"

"Yes." Lu Yuan nodded. "The Mist Canyon is plagued by chaotic Soul Power and powerful Soul Beast, whose characteristics match perfectly. The information was 'accidentally' leaked to the Listening Wind Pavilion's spies through Bai Zhi's channels."

Mo Chen chuckled. "Two days."

Lu Yuan found Lin Xiao.

"Go to the outskirts of Black Stone Town and pretend to be an injured hunter." He lowered his voice. "'Accidentally' discovered by the Cloud Mist Sect. They'll say you encountered a suspicious person near Mist Canyon a few days ago, carrying a strange Soul Tool and heading deeper into the canyon. Be vague about the details, but make the fear real. Then run."

Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Let them think what we're looking for is there?"

"Yes," Lu Yuan said, "After comparing the information from both sides, Mist Canyon becomes much more suspicious. They might even start to suspect each other."

Lin Xiao's lips curled into a smirk. "That's cunning."

"Just trying to protect myself."

The plan is underway.

Two days later, Mo Chen handed over a rusty copper coin and a roll of dark yellow parchment. The items were sent out through clandestine channels.

Lin Xiao brought back the message: "It's done. We ran into a hothead from the Cloud Mist Sect, and he believed it about 80%. I left a trail pointing to the canyon."

Next comes the waiting.

Lu Yuan returned to the quiet room and continued his attempts to communicate with the silver bud deep within the Blue Silver Grass. Progress was extremely slow; the bud had almost stopped growing. He needed some kind of special energy, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Five days later, Bai Zhi sent back feedback.

After reading the secret letter, Lu Yuan burned the grass stems.

"The fish have taken the bait." He summarized the intelligence report, "The Listening Wind Pavilion obtained the information, and the Cloud Mist Sect's forces are retreating into the canyon. A minor skirmish occurred between the two sides at Pass No. 7."

Mo Chen slapped his thigh. "They're really fighting?"

"A minor friction," Lu Yuan said, "But it shows they all believe it. With Mist Canyon becoming the focus, our pressure will lessen."

Shen Moxin pushed up her glasses. "How long can we stall?"

"Looking at the canyon is too troublesome." Lu Yuan walked to the map and drew a circle there. "The Soul Power there is chaotic, the terrain is complex, and there are powerful Soul Beast. It won't be easy for them to explore it thoroughly. We can at least buy them half a month."

Lin Xiao snorted. "They'd better lose more of their men."

"Hurry up." Lu Yuan turned to the others, "Uncle Mo, what's the progress of the workshop's repairs?"

"The core furnace is repaired; it can be used to make basic things. The Soul Power sensing alarm you mentioned last time, we can get that done."

"As soon as possible." Lu Yuan looked at Shen Moxin, "Aunt Shen, how's the theoretical framework coming along? Especially the conjecture about the connection between the Martial Soul Origin and the 'lock'."

Shen Moxin pulled out a stack of papers. "I've done a preliminary review, but a lot of it is still hypothetical."

"Everything." Lu Yuan took it. "Also, help me look for any records related to 'rare energy' and ' Origin nourishment,' any clue will do."

He looked at Su Yan and Li Wangye. "Once the passage is reinforced, you will begin the second round of basic Soul Power manipulation training. The focus is not on the total amount, but on precision and stability. Su Yan, your micro-management potential is great, keep exploring."

Su Yan straightened his back. "Yes, sir."

Life has settled into a tense yet orderly rhythm.

Lu Yuan spent even more time locked in his quiet room. His research on the silver bud had hit a bottleneck. He couldn't strengthen the connection he felt with the underlying energy. He knew the problem might lie in the "quality" of the energy, but he couldn't find the answer.

Time passed day by day.

Bai Zhi's reports were becoming increasingly reassuring. Listening Wind Pavilion and Cloud Mist Sect had increased their investment in Mist Canyon, leading to more intense conflicts and manpower losses. Spying on the outskirts of Old Crow Ridge had almost disappeared.

The team gained a breather. Mo Chen produced the first batch of Soul Power sensing alarms. Shen Moxin's theoretical notes grew thicker and thicker. Su Yan's Soul Power micro-management was now able to pierce three pebbles three feet apart and maintain that for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Everything seemed to be getting better.

On the evening of the seventeenth day, Bai Zhi's new secret letter arrived.

Lu Yuan unfolded the tree bark in the quiet room.

He frowned at just one glance.

[There's been unusual activity at the top of the Listening Wind Pavilion. Their focus on ' Spark ' is no longer just an investigation. Recently, a covert order was issued to assess the 'potential' and 'controllability' of the ' Key '. The deliberate manipulation of the copper coins and parchment scrolls may have been detected. They might be playing along.]

[The Cloud Mist Sect suffered a loss of one Soul King and several serious injuries in the Mist Canyon. The sect leader is furious and has ordered the withdrawal of most of its forces. Latest intelligence: The Cloud Mist Sect is secretly mobilizing its elite troops and activating a large-scale Soul Power detection device developed over many years. Target: To conduct a comprehensive, detailed search of the eastern region of the Black Stone Mountain Range, including Old Crow Ridge. Deployment is expected to be completed within three days.]

[Time is of the essence. Zhi.]

The oil lamp flame suddenly flickered.

Lu Yuan stared at those few lines of text, his fingers tapping lightly on his knee.

Listening Wind Pavilion isn't stupid. They probably already saw through the flaws and deliberately followed the clues to the canyon, partly to verify their findings, and partly... to observe "Spark's " methods? To assess the "Key"?

Having lost Soul King, the Cloud Mist Sect completely lost patience. They were done playing the game and were going to overturn things, using the most basic yet effective method—a massive, comprehensive search. With the help of their detection devices, it was only a matter of time before Old Crow Ridge was thoroughly searched.

The two-week respite has come to an end.

Even worse.

He leaned against the rock wall and closed his eyes. Every corner of the base, every passage, and every hiding place flashed through his mind.

That's not enough.

Faced with a large-scale Soul Power detection device, unless one ventures to the very depths of the earth or has more advanced shielding methods, the risk of exposure is extremely high. And the depths of the earth... the mine structure is unstable and Soul Power is scarce, making it an unsuitable place to linger.

time.

What he lacks most is time.

Just then, a faint tremor came from his palm. It was from the Blue Silver Grass, that silver leaf bud. It seemed to sense the intense fluctuations in Lu Yuan's emotions and trembled slightly on its own.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely subtle yet clear emotion of "desire" came through the Martial Soul connection.

That's not a desire for Soul Power.

It was a special kind of energy, colder and more concentrated, seemingly containing the luster of stardust. The feeling was fleeting, yet incredibly real.

Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and looked at his left hand.

He had never sensed this type of energy in his surroundings before.

Not a single trace.

In the mine tunnel, the light of the oil lamp cast his long shadow on the rock wall. In the distance, the faint hum of Mo Chen adjusting his Soul Tool could be heard, along with Shen Moxin's low-voiced explanation.

Everything is as usual.

But Lu Yuan knew that the final buffer period was over.

He needed a new hiding place, a place that could shield him from detection. He needed to accelerate his research on Martial Soul and find that special energy. He needed to... find the next gap before the net tightened.

The bark curled silently and charred black at my fingertips, turning to ashes.

He stood up, pushed open the door to the quiet room, and walked towards the dimly lit area. His footsteps echoed through the mine shaft, unhurried yet carrying the weight of a resolute determination.

His shadow on the rock face gradually disappeared into the deeper darkness as he moved.