Chapter 71: Blackstone’s Qi

The investigation team left again shortly after sunrise.

Surveyor He wanted fresh readings from the exposed sections near Red Cliff, while Shen Yao planned to compare the carved channels they had found so far.

Zhao Wei went with them.

Lin Yuan stayed in Blackstone.

Unstable ground, buried structures, and unexplained spiritual disturbances were already enough reasons to remain where he was useful.

Breakfast kept Wandering Cloud Tavern busy until late morning.

Several travelers had delayed their journeys because of the western road, leaving every room occupied and most of the dining hall full. Fang Yu came over from the inn once to ask whether anything new had arrived from the Association.

"Not yet."

Fang Yu glanced toward the western road.

"People keep asking me."

"Tell them the same thing."

"Which is?"

"We’re waiting."

Fang Yu gave him a tired look.

"Very helpful."

"Accurate."

That was enough for him to return to the inn.

By midday, the crowd inside the tavern finally began to thin.

Lin Yuan stepped outside with a cup of tea.

Blackstone looked normal.

Workers moved between Gao Rui’s storage shed and the caravan yard. Two merchants were sorting goods beneath a cloth awning, while several Ironhoof beasts rested beside the water trough.

Then the spiritual Qi changed.

Lin Yuan lowered his cup.

Yesterday’s disturbance had felt like a brief pull toward the west.

This time, Qi gathered around Blackstone instead.

The difference was subtle at first, but it strengthened quickly.

A cultivator walking past the tavern slowed.

Near Qiao’s shop, another man stopped halfway through a conversation and looked around.

Lin Yuan felt it as well.

For several breaths, breathing and circulating Qi became slightly easier.

Then the sensation faded.

His attention shifted inward.

The Territory Core responded.

Territory Spiritual Environment Change Detected

Current Spiritual Environment: Faint Spirit

Temporary Spiritual Qi Fluctuation Detected

Lin Yuan studied the message.

Faint Spirit.

That part hadn’t changed.

Whatever had just happened wasn’t an improvement to Blackstone’s spiritual environment. The fluctuation had simply become strong enough for the Core to notice.

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Owner Lin."

One of the cultivators staying at the inn stood a short distance away.

"You felt that too?"

"I did."

"The Qi suddenly became denser."

"For a moment."

The man looked west.

"Red Cliff?"

Lin Yuan took another sip of tea.

"Could be. We’ll know more when the survey team returns."

The cultivator seemed disappointed by the lack of a more exciting answer.

Lin Yuan wasn’t.

A sharp clatter came from the caravan yard.

One Ironhoof beast had jerked against its tether, forcing the owner to grab the rope. Another stamped repeatedly at the packed ground.

Lin Yuan crossed the yard.

Their reaction wasn’t panic, but both animals were clearly unsettled.

Beasts resting near the enhanced stable behaved differently. A few shifted uneasily, yet the stable’s calming effect kept them manageable.

Gao Rui came over from his shed.

"Something wrong with them?"

"They noticed the same thing we did."

Gao Rui looked toward the west.

"Blackstone keeps getting more interesting."

"I preferred it when customers were the interesting part."

"Trouble brings customers too."

"So does dinner."

Gao Rui laughed and returned to his workers.

Within minutes, the surrounding Qi settled again.

Lin Yuan checked the Core once more.

The message remained unchanged.

Temporary Spiritual Qi Fluctuation Detected

The Core offered no explanation or source, only confirmation that something had changed.

For now, that was enough.

A weaker fluctuation came later in the afternoon.

Lin Yuan felt it while standing behind the tavern counter.

Spiritual Qi thickened slightly, shifted for a few breaths, then settled.

Several cultivators noticed.

Most ordinary travelers continued eating without reacting.

This time, the ground didn’t move.

That interested Lin Yuan more than the increase in Qi.

Yesterday, the spiritual disturbance had arrived with a tremor. Today, it had appeared twice while the ground remained still.

He waited for the Core.

The familiar message appeared.

Current Spiritual Environment: Faint Spirit

Temporary Spiritual Qi Fluctuation Detected

Still nothing else.

"Very informative."

Xiao Lan looked up from the table she was cleaning.

"What is?"

Lin Yuan realized he’d spoken aloud.

"Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes.

"You’ve been doing that more often."

"Doing what?"

"Talking to yourself."

"I own a tavern in the wasteland. I’m allowed one strange habit."

"Only one?"

Lin Yuan looked at her.

Xiao Lan smiled and went back to work.

The western bell rang near sunset.

By the time Lin Yuan stepped outside, six figures were already approaching Blackstone.

Everyone from the investigation team had returned.

Dust covered their boots, but there were no torn clothes or obvious injuries this time.

Wu Jian met them beside the Association station.

Lin Yuan joined them shortly afterward.

Shen Yao set down her wooden case.

"Did anything happen here today?"

"Twice," Lin Yuan said.

That immediately caught her attention.

"Another tremor?"

"The ground stayed still."

Surveyor He looked up from her notes.

"Only the Qi changed?"

"The first fluctuation made it noticeably denser. The second was weaker."

Shen Yao exchanged a glance with Zhao Wei.

"You recorded the same thing?" Lin Yuan asked.

Zhao Wei nodded.

"Both times."

That was enough to confirm the connection.

Shen Yao opened a folded map and placed it on the table.

Several locations had been marked along the route between Red Cliff and the junction they had inspected yesterday.

"We didn’t push farther north today," she said. "We compared the exposed sections we could reach safely."

Surveyor He tapped one of the marks.

"Recent ground movement exposed small sections of worked stone in several places."

Lin Yuan studied the route.

"And they connect?"

"We can’t confirm what’s still buried," Shen Yao replied, "but the orientation of the channels is consistent."

Red Cliff sat farthest south. Several exposed sections lay farther north, with the junction they had found yesterday at the end of the known line.

"Most of the carvings continue in the same general direction," Shen Yao said.

"North."

"Mostly."

Zhao Wei folded his arms.

"Which means blindly walking toward the strongest reading isn’t useful anymore."

Lin Yuan glanced at him.

"So you’re mapping the structure instead."

"What’s exposed of it."

That sounded considerably safer.

Wu Jian studied the markings.

"Any idea how large it is?"

Shen Yao shook her head.

"We don’t have enough exposed sections to estimate that yet."

Lin Yuan preferred a cautious answer to another rumor.

"What happened during today’s fluctuations?"

Shen Yao pointed toward yesterday’s junction.

"The channels reacted both times."

"Even without a tremor?"

"Yes. The first pulse was stronger. Spiritual Qi moved through several exposed channels before the effect faded."

"Still toward the north?"

"Mostly."

Lin Yuan looked down at the map.

Blackstone had felt the same pulse from far away.

Zhao Wei tapped one of the marked sections.

"Tomorrow we’ll keep comparing what we can reach safely. If the exposed pieces form a larger pattern, that may tell us more than walking deeper into unstable ground."

Wu Jian nodded.

"And Green River?"

"Today’s measurements will be sent back with the next message."

That was enough for Lin Yuan.

The team had confirmed two useful things: the fluctuations could occur without tremors, and the buried structure extended beyond Red Cliff.

Dinner brought the usual rumors.

One traveler claimed Blackstone’s spiritual environment was improving.

Another wondered whether a spirit vein had awakened beneath the settlement.

Lin Yuan corrected the first few conversations he overheard.

By the fourth, he stopped trying.

People would talk.

As long as nobody started digging beneath his tavern, he could live with that.

After the dining hall quieted, Lin Yuan went upstairs.

Lantern light filled the road outside his window.

The caravan yard had settled for the night. Wandering Cloud Tavern remained full, and voices from downstairs had faded to a low murmur.

Blackstone looked exactly as it had that morning.

Lin Yuan opened the Territory Core.

Territory Spiritual Environment

Grade: Faint Spirit

Temporary Spiritual Qi Fluctuation Detected

His gaze remained on the final line.

The disturbance had lasted only a few breaths.

Nothing had broken, and Blackstone’s spiritual environment hadn’t advanced.

But the Territory Core had noticed it.

For Lin Yuan, that made the change harder to dismiss than any rumor carried in from the western road.