Chapter 392 - 379: Exploring Mozhou

Chapter 392: Chapter 379: Exploring Mozhou

Unlike his previous breakthroughs, this entry into Tier Three didn’t show a specific proficiency level. ’Perhaps my cultivation isn’t high enough to proceed,’ he thought.

Li Yuan carefully stored the box containing the core of the Demon Qi Pill Platform, then turned and walked out of the stone cave.

He didn’t immediately retrace his steps to the Teleportation Array. Since he was already in Mozhou and had just achieved a Tier Three mastery of arrays, it was the perfect opportunity to conduct a thorough and systematic survey of this unknown underground region.

He kept his stealth technique active, his figure blending completely into the dim underground environment.

Casting the Earth Escape Technique, Li Yuan’s body sank into the hard rock strata as silently as a drop of water into a sponge. The dual sensory net of his Earth Vein Spirit Pivot and Spirit Vein Affinity spread out rapidly in all directions.

Now that his Spirit Vein Affinity was a permanent ability, its sensory range had doubled. Underground, the combination of these two abilities gave him what felt like an omniscient, penetrating view of the earth’s strata. The density of the rock, the direction of subterranean water veins, and even the gossamer-thin branches of Spirit Veins were all projected clearly into his mind.

He followed a minuscule branch of a Spirit Vein beneath the cave, delving deeper into the strata under Mozhou.

The deeper he went, the more complex the geological structure became. At a depth of roughly two hundred zhang, Li Yuan stopped.

His sensory net detected a large area with clear signs of man-made excavation.

He moved through the rock for a short while longer, passed through a thick stone wall, and entered a wide underground passage.

The passage was three zhang high and wide enough for two beast-drawn carts to travel abreast. The surrounding rock walls had been fused solid by some kind of high-temperature magic, leaving them with a dark, glazed luster and making them exceptionally sturdy. Deep ruts were carved into the ground, stretching into the darkness ahead.

This was an old, abandoned miners’ tunnel.

Li Yuan walked down the tunnel. Every ten zhang, a recessed stone niche had been carved into the walls. Inside were the remains of illumination Array Discs, their Spiritual Qi long depleted. Judging by the design of the discs and the weathered, peeling Array Patterns on the walls, this was undoubtedly the handiwork of the Profound Nether Sect.

After walking for about a mile, the tunnel opened into a massive fork.

Li Yuan’s gaze fell to the center of the intersection, where a large section of the floor had collapsed, revealing a complex structure below.

He walked over, crouching down to take a closer look.

Beneath the collapsed section was a wide channel built from a mix of some special Spirit Wood and bluestone. The channel’s interior was lined with densely packed Spirit Copper conduits. Although most were now corroded and broken, the overall framework of the circuit was still discernible.

It was a Spiritual Power diversion channel.

Li Yuan extended his Divine Sense into the channel’s remains, following the network of residual Array Patterns toward both ends.

One path led toward the large, sealed Spirit Vein he had discovered earlier. The other connected to the smaller branch veins scattered beneath Mozhou, even faintly pointing toward the location of the Teleportation Array.

Li Yuan stood up and continued his exploration, following the path of the Spiritual Power diversion channel.

The tunnel began to slope gently downward, and the signs of excavation grew more frequent. Along the way, he discovered several abandoned mineral-sorting areas filled with mountain-like piles of slag, but any valuable Spiritual Materials had long since been taken.

After walking for about another hour, his path was blocked by a heavy stone door.

The stone door was sealed shut, its surface covered in dust and cobwebs. Intricate Array Patterns were carved around the frame; though their luster had faded, a faint, almost imperceptible trace of Spiritual Power still flowed within them.

His Earth Vein Spirit Pivot’s senses penetrated the stone door.

Behind the door was a sizable stone chamber. Several diversion channels converged in the center, and a few large chests were placed against the walls.

This was an old diversion chamber, a nexus used to monitor and regulate the flow of Spiritual Power.

Li Yuan stepped forward. Five lines of his Divine Sense shot out, instantly piercing into the Array Patterns on the stone door.

In the past, faced with a Protective Array on the level of the Profound Nether Sect, he would have had to spend a great deal of time deducing its nodes. But now, his newfound Tier Three mastery of arrays allowed him to see through its underlying logic at a single glance.

He didn’t resort to brute force. Instead, he guided his Spiritual Power along his Divine Sense Lines, precisely injecting it into three of the Array Pattern’s key nodes.

The dull sound of grinding mechanisms echoed out.

The Array Patterns on the door flickered twice before going completely dark. The heavy stone door slowly slid apart, kicking up a cloud of ancient dust.

Li Yuan waved a hand to disperse the dust and stepped into the stone chamber.

The air in the chamber was oppressively stale. The diversion channels on the floor were completely dry, and the central control console had been shattered into pieces.

His gaze shifted to a corner of the room.

Five black storage chests were stacked neatly there. Their surfaces were coated in a thick layer of Sealing Spirit Glue, a common method used by Ancient Cultivators for long-term preservation of materials.

Li Yuan walked to the first chest, formed his Spiritual Power into a thin blade, and sliced through the Sealing Spirit Glue before prying open the lid.

A rotten, musty smell hit him in the face.

The chest was filled with a batch of Spirit Grass. However, too much time had passed, and tiny cracks had formed in the Sealing Spirit Glue over the long years, allowing all the spiritual essence to dissipate. The entire chest of Spirit Grass had decomposed into a worthless, blackened sludge.

He shook his head and moved on to the second chest.

Upon opening it, he found it filled with unfinished prototypes for Low Tier Magical Artifacts. Most had corroded into little more than scrap metal, crumbling to dust at the slightest touch.