Chapter 70: A Pulse from the North

Most of the day passed without news from the investigation team.

Blackstone kept moving anyway.

Several wagons remained in the caravan yard while their owners waited for clearer information about the western route. Qiao’s shop saw a steady flow of travelers buying food and supplies, and Gao Rui’s storage shed continued holding goods that could no longer travel west by wagon.

By early afternoon, lunch at Wandering Cloud Tavern had begun to slow.

Lin Yuan was carrying an empty bowl toward the kitchen when something changed in the surrounding spiritual Qi.

He stopped.

Since reaching Peak Qi Refining, subtle movements in nearby Qi had become easier to notice. Usually, the tavern’s Minor Qi Gathering effect formed a gentle current that faded into the background.

For several breaths, that current shifted toward the west.

Before Lin Yuan could decide what it meant, the floor trembled.

Cups rattled against the tables. One customer caught his bowl before it reached the edge, while another steadied himself against a chair.

Harness bells rang outside as the spirit beasts in the caravan yard became restless.

Xiao Lan appeared at the kitchen entrance just as another vibration passed beneath the building.

"That was stronger."

Lin Yuan nodded.

A clay jar began sliding from a nearby shelf. Xiao Lan caught it and moved it somewhere safer.

Su Mei was already checking the dining room.

Outside, work across Blackstone had paused.

Laborers near Gao Rui’s shed stood with their tools lowered. Merchants looked west from beside their wagons. Several Ironhoof beasts pulled uneasily against their ropes, and even those resting near the enhanced stable showed signs of agitation.

Wu Jian emerged from the Association station with a writing board tucked beneath one arm.

"I felt the Qi move before the ground did."

"So did I."

"West?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

A cultivator nearby mentioned the possibility of an earth vein.

Wu Jian glanced toward the western road.

"Could be. I’d rather hear what the survey team found before guessing."

That ended the speculation.

Blackstone had produced enough rumors lately without helping them along.

Lin Yuan climbed the watch platform.

From above, the settlement looked almost ordinary.

Wagons filled part of the yard. Travelers stood between buildings. Beyond Blackstone, dry land stretched toward scattered ridges and broken rock.

Nothing unusual moved along the western road.

After watching for several minutes, Lin Yuan returned below.

Business gradually resumed.

Damage from the tremor was minor. A few cups had fallen, one shelf had shifted, and a clay pot in Qiao’s shop had broken.

By midafternoon, Blackstone had settled back into its usual rhythm.

Sunset was approaching when the bell on the western watch platform rang.

Conversation around the settlement stopped.

Several people turned toward the road.

Six figures appeared in the distance with both pack beasts still beside them.

As they drew closer, dust covered their robes and boots. One Association cultivator had a torn sleeve, but everyone was walking normally.

Zhao Wei looked unharmed.

Surveyor He looked exhausted.

Wu Jian started toward them.

She raised a hand before he could begin.

"Chairs first."

A short while later, maps and equipment covered a table inside the Association station.

Lin Yuan brought over a pot of tea and stayed nearby.

After drinking several mouthfuls, Zhao Wei looked toward Wu Jian.

"Did anything happen here this afternoon?"

"We felt a tremor. Spiritual Qi shifted shortly before it."

Lin Yuan added, "For a few breaths, it pulled west."

Shen Yao paused while removing the wooden case from her shoulder.

"How clearly?"

"Clearly enough that I noticed before the ground moved."

Her attention sharpened.

Surveyor He unfolded a map.

A fresh mark had been added north of Red Cliff.

"We started at the damaged road. Shen Yao confirmed that the carved channel continues beyond the fragment we brought back."

Lin Yuan moved closer.

"And after that?"

"We followed the disturbance north," Zhao Wei said.

Travel had become slower once they left the road.

Unstable ground forced the group to move carefully, while Surveyor He’s instruments gave only a general direction.

Eventually, their strongest readings led into a shallow depression surrounded by broken stone.

Shen Yao opened her case and removed a sheet of paper.

A rough drawing filled most of it.

Lin Yuan studied the sketch.

Part of a thick worked stone slab had been exposed beneath shifted earth. Several carved channels crossed its surface, with one approaching from the south before dividing farther north.

"What am I looking at?"

"We haven’t identified the entire structure," Shen Yao replied. "This section appears to connect several channels."

"Part of a formation?"

"Possibly. I’d rather see more before calling it that."

Surveyor He placed another drawing beside the first.

"Most of the stone remains underground. The surrounding ground shifted enough to expose one section."

Several grooves shown in the sketch resembled the one on the Red Cliff fragment.

Here, however, they connected.

Lin Yuan looked toward Zhao Wei.

"Did anything happen while you were there?"

"Eventually."

Shen Yao traced one of the drawn channels.

"For most of the inspection, the area stayed quiet. Then the spiritual Qi around us changed."

"How?"

"Poorly."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

A faint smile touched her face before she continued.

"Part of the Qi gathered near the exposed stone. Some dispersed into the surrounding ground. The rest moved through the channels toward the north."

Lin Yuan remembered the pull he had felt inside the tavern.

"Like a pulse?"

"Very similar."

Surveyor He tapped the newly marked location.

"That’s when the stronger tremor hit."

One of the cultivators glanced at his torn sleeve.

"A section of the slope came down."

Lin Yuan looked toward Zhao Wei.

Surveyor He noticed.

"Senior Zhao held the loose rock long enough for us to move."

Zhao Wei gave a dismissive wave.

"It wasn’t much."

"It was above our heads."

"That made it more inconvenient."

Lin Yuan almost smiled.

At least everyone had returned safely.

Shen Yao turned the discussion back toward the sketch.

"During the tremor, several channels reacted at once. The effect only lasted a few breaths, but the movement was clear."

Wu Jian studied the map.

"And most of it went north?"

"Most of what we could detect."

Lin Yuan looked over the marked locations.

Red Cliff now sat south of the newest discovery, while large areas farther north remained blank.

"So the damaged road probably isn’t where this starts."

Zhao Wei leaned against the table.

"That’s becoming more likely, but we still don’t know where the actual source is."

Shen Yao pointed to the newly discovered section.

"What we can say is that the buried structure extends farther than we first knew. At least one section has shifted, and whatever flow once passed through these channels is no longer stable."

Lin Yuan thought about the spirit beasts that had been abandoning the area.

"Could that explain why they’re leaving?"

"Possibly."

Shen Yao considered the question before continuing.

"Spirit beasts notice changes in spiritual Qi easily. If these disturbances are stronger farther north, they could have reacted long before people on the road noticed anything."

It matched what Blackstone had already seen: abandoned dens, beasts moving east, and several unrelated species leaving the same region.

One important question remained unanswered.

"What made the ground shift in the first place?"

Surveyor He leaned back.

"We don’t have enough evidence yet."

Several explanations remained possible.

Tremors might have damaged the buried structure, while unstable spiritual flow could be affecting the surrounding ground. Something else might even be responsible for both.

Lin Yuan was satisfied with leaving the question open.

A wrong answer would be worse than uncertainty.

Wu Jian looked toward Zhao Wei. ℴ

"What happens next?"

"We send today’s findings back to Green River. Tomorrow we’ll return to the closest safe section and take more readings."

"Going farther north?"

"Only if the information gives us a reason to."

That sounded reasonable.

Until then, loaded wagons would continue avoiding the damaged western route.

Night brought the usual crowd back into Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Most travelers knew the investigation team had returned, but details remained limited.

Before closing the route station, Wu Jian posted a new notice.

WESTERN ROUTE UPDATE

Further survey has confirmed additional worked stone north of Red Cliff.

Spiritual Qi disturbances have been recorded in the same area.

The cause remains under investigation.

Loaded wagons should continue avoiding the damaged western road.

That was enough for one evening.

After the final customers settled, Lin Yuan went upstairs.

He sat beside the window and circulated his Qi once.

His cultivation remained steady.

What stayed with him was the change outside his body.

Until now, the trouble near Red Cliff had reached Blackstone through shaking ground, fleeing beasts, and reports carried east by travelers.

This afternoon had been different.

Lin Yuan had felt the surrounding spiritual Qi shift before the tremor arrived.

His thoughts returned to Shen Yao’s sketch—carved channels running through buried stone and dividing as they continued north.

Somewhere beyond Red Cliff, that underground structure was still reacting.

Now the disturbance had spread far enough to affect the spiritual Qi around Blackstone itself.