Chapter 471 - 443: Skeleton Ridge Reconnaissance

Chapter 471: Chapter 443: Skeleton Ridge Reconnaissance

The standoff at Skeleton Ridge had been ongoing for over ten days.

None of the Golden Core Cultivators from any faction were willing to make the first move, nor would they retreat. Xuan Pu Master’s Late-stage Golden Core presence dominated the east. The three Golden Core Cultivators from the Abyss Sect held the west and north, while the Bitan Sect’s cultivator was stationed on the northeastern outskirts. The two from the Primordial Yang Sect guarded the southern line.

Li Yuan came to a halt on a low hill about fifteen li northwest of the market.

All twelve of his Divine Sense Lines unfurled, capturing every perceptible trace of aura from the direction of Skeleton Ridge.

After sunset, the various Golden Core Cultivators sank into another round of silent confrontation.

Li Yuan slid silently from the low hill.

He fully activated his Art of Untraceable Obscurity.

His aura, Spiritual Power fluctuations, residual Demonic Qi, body temperature, and even the faint disturbances his movements caused in the surrounding Spiritual Qi—all were suppressed to a near-zero state. Powered by his Late-stage Golden Core Cultivation, the Art of Untraceable Obscurity was far more potent than it had been when he was at the Early-stage Golden Core.

He used the Earth Escape Technique to delve underground, slowly advancing toward the ruins along a geological fault line on the outskirts of Skeleton Ridge.

Less than an hour later, Li Yuan reached the inner perimeter of Skeleton Ridge.

Seventy feet deep within a layer of rock, he stabilized himself and spread his senses upward.

The lingering pressure of the Tier Three Top Grade Restriction weighed down from above. Although the Abyss Sect’s prior attempt to break the Restriction had failed, it had left traces of being forcefully tampered with on the surface. Li Yuan swept his permanent Array Base Retrospection trait over the Restriction’s outer layer, and the resulting energy trajectories appeared with perfect clarity in his Sea of Consciousness.

The Restriction had been tampered with at more than one point.

There were at least four different points of attack, distributed across the northern and western faces of the Restriction. The residual energy spectrum at each point was different, but all of them were a type of directional interference using Arrays, not direct, forceful destruction.

Using an Array to break an Array.

The Abyss Sect’s Array Master had attempted to use frequency interference, generated with Homogeneous Materials, to weaken specific areas of the Restriction. This perfectly matched the first half of the plan Li Yuan had previously deduced from the encrypted jade slip.

However, the energy trajectory at one of the four attack points was clearly abnormal.

At that point, after about ten minutes, the interference frequency had suddenly and violently deviated, shifting from precise, directional interference into an uncontrolled eruption of energy. The eruption’s scope was immense. Not only did it fail to weaken the Restriction, but it activated the Restriction’s backlash mechanism, causing the tremor in the Earth Veins that had swept across dozens of li.

’Something went wrong during the execution phase.’

Li Yuan recorded the locations of all the attack points on the Restriction’s surface, their residual energy signatures, and the traces of the backlash. He then continued to extend his senses toward the airspace above the ruins.

Voices drifted from that direction.

Normally, it would be impossible to eavesdrop on transmissions sent via Spiritual Power between Golden Core Cultivators at such a distance. However, in order to convey information and probe each other’s attitudes, the factions in the standoff were conducting some of their exchanges in a deliberately semi-public manner.

"...As for what’s under the Restriction, I’m sure you all have a good idea."

The speaker was the Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator from the Abyss Sect. His voice, spread by Spiritual Power, was steady and unhurried.

"The Earth Element Spiritual Embryo."

"That is merely speculation."

Xuan Pu Master’s voice was as placid as still water.

"The Restriction at Skeleton Ridge is Tier Three Top Grade. Whatever the Profound Nether Sect sealed inside all those years ago isn’t necessarily the Earth Element Spiritual Embryo. It could just be a batch of High Tier Spiritual Materials or a Cultivation Technique inheritance."

"If you truly thought that, Master Xuan Pu, why would you be overseeing this personally?" the Mid-stage Golden Core from the Abyss Sect chuckled.

Xuan Pu Master did not respond.

Another voice chimed in, its tone much younger. It was the Early-stage Golden Core Cultivator from the Bitan Sect.

"An Earth Element Spiritual Embryo is the most likely possibility, but we cannot rule out others."

"Whatever it is, no one can claim it all for themselves," a Golden Core from the Primordial Yang Sect added.

"Rather than wasting our time here, we should first get a clear picture of the Restriction’s condition. Then, we can discuss how to divide the spoils."

The conversation ended there. No one else spoke up.

No one could be certain. The intelligence gathered by all factions was purely speculative; not a single party had concrete evidence.

Li Yuan withdrew his senses and returned to the market by the same path he had taken.

Back in his stone house, he sorted and filed away all the intelligence he had gathered that night.

’The situation at Skeleton Ridge isn’t likely to change anytime soon. All the Golden Core Cultivators are waiting—waiting for an opponent to reveal a flaw, for the Restriction to weaken on its own, or for a higher power to intervene and break the stalemate.’

’I’ll put the plan to shatter my Core on hold for now.’

’I already have the auxiliary materials for Core Formation. The purple trait from the Demon Pill’s Fortune guarantees a quality boost when I shatter and re-form my Core, and ’Adversity Remolding’ will compensate for the loss of aptitude and lifespan after I drop a realm. Theoretically, it’s feasible to shatter my Core and start over now.’

’But shattering a Core at the Late-stage Golden Core realm means entering a period of weakness. It takes time to go from shattering the Core to re-forming it, and during that period, my combat strength would plummet to roughly that of a Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivator. With the situation at Skeleton Ridge so uncertain and so many Golden Core Cultivators gathered, it’s better to play it safe.’

’Besides, my Late-stage Golden Core Cultivation, combined with the Profound Nether Bead’s Nascent Soul perspective, has put my perception of spatial power in a prime window of opportunity. Both my Void-Rending Slash and Teleportation Skill are progressing rapidly, getting ever closer to completion. It will be much safer to explore the underground spatial fissure in the valley Sun Shiyi described once my Spatial Skill reaches a higher level.’

’First, I’ll get my Spatial Skill to the completion stage and explore the stone chamber on the other side of the spatial fissure. Then I’ll think about shattering my Core.’

In the following days, Li Yuan focused most of his energy on cultivating the Teleportation Skill.

The Nascent Soul perspective provided by the Profound Nether Bead gave him a clarity in perceiving spatial structures that far surpassed other Cultivators of his realm. The core of the Teleportation Skill was to tear open a very short passageway through space and instantly transfer oneself to the other end.

The clearer one’s perception of spatial structures, the greater the precision in tearing open the passageway, the lower the cost, and the faster the speed.

’Strictly speaking, the Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul Cultivator can achieve true spatial teleportation, which is very similar to the Teleportation Skill. It’s a pity I don’t have a Nascent Soul of my own to compare it against.’

The strength of his Late-stage Golden Core Divine Sense, coupled with the assistance of the Nascent Soul perspective, made his cultivation efficiency incredibly high.

On the seventh day, the circulation path for the Teleportation Skill within his meridians underwent a complete, optimized reconstruction.

[Teleportation Skill: Proficient → Minor Achievement]

That afternoon, Xu Zhang arrived to report to Li Yuan on Yuanming Studio’s business operations.

Li Yuan suddenly asked a question.

"Xu Zhang, does the Chamber of Commerce have any magic techniques that consume one’s lifespan?"

Xu Zhang was taken aback.

"Something that consumes lifespan?" He frowned in thought. "Things like that are extremely rare. Most Cultivators avoid them like the plague. Who would actively cultivate a magic technique that shortens their own life?"

"I have a use for one."

Xu Zhang mulled it over for a moment.

"The Chamber of Commerce does have two such Cultivation Techniques in storage. We acquired them from various places years ago, but no one’s ever bought them."

"Wait here a moment."

Xu Zhang left and returned a moment later, placing two jade slips on the table.

"This one is a Secret Technique that consumes lifespan in exchange for a temporary, explosive surge in Divine Sense. The side effects are immense; using it just once will shorten your life by five to ten years. The other one..."

He picked up the second jade slip.

"This is a Divination Skill. It’s Tier Two. It consumes lifespan to divine good and bad fortune and the vague direction of the future. Its effects aren’t particularly strong, but its advantage is its stability. The amount of lifespan consumed each time is controllable."

His trait-sensing ability triggered on something within a three-foot radius. A green trait. The Divination Skill.

"Let me see the Divination Skill."

Xu Zhang handed the second jade slip over.

Li Yuan took the jade slip, and a panel popped up in his vision.

[Detectable Equippable Item: Heavenly Deduction Divination Skill (Complete)]

[Equip Trait Preview: Heavenly Deduction Offset (Green)]

[Effect: When casting the Divination Skill, the lifespan cost is automatically offset by an amount equal to one percent of your total lifespan (e.g., a 100-year lifespan provides a 1-year offset; a 1,000-year lifespan provides a 10-year offset).]

[Condition to make permanent: Successfully cast the Divination Skill 30 times (0/30).]

’A green trait.’

’The effect is exquisitely clever. The Divination Skill itself has a fixed lifespan cost, but this trait links the cost to total lifespan. The longer my lifespan, the smaller the actual percentage consumed by each divination.’

’After breaking through to the Late-stage Golden Core, I now have a lifespan of over nine hundred years, meaning each divination will have about nine years of its cost offset. If I can push my lifespan past one thousand years later by shattering and re-forming my Core or by other means, the offset amount will increase even further.’

’Combined with the Lifespan Jade Pendant’s ’Perpetual Extension’ trait, I estimate I could offset even more of the cost.’

’More importantly, this Divination Skill is one of the lifespan-consuming magic techniques required to meet the condition for making the Lifespan Jade Pendant’s trait permanent.’

"How much for this one?"

"It’s old stock from the warehouse; it’s been sitting there for years." Xu Zhang waved his hand dismissively. "Pavilion Master, please, just take it. No charge. Consider it a gift from the Chamber of Commerce to show our respect."

"Then I’ll take the other one as well." Li Yuan accepted both jade slips into his personal storage space.

Xu Zhang nodded, rose, and took his leave.

After seeing Xu Zhang out, Li Yuan took out the jade slip for the Divination Skill and probed it with his Divine Sense.

The contents of the Cultivation Technique were not complex. Its core principle was to use one’s own lifespan as fuel to drive a special pattern of Divine Sense circulation, allowing one to capture changes in the world’s Spiritual Mechanisms in an instant and thereby deduce vague trends of good and bad fortune.

Li Yuan put the Divination Skill away, in no hurry to begin cultivating it.

’The condition to make this magic technique’s trait permanent is to successfully cast it thirty times. Each casting consumes lifespan, and even with the trait’s offset, it won’t be enough to completely cover high-cost divinations. I’ll need to carefully control the scale of each divination. It would be best if I can complete the thirty effective castings without any net loss of lifespan.’

Li Yuan circulated his Cultivation Technique and resumed his training.