Just as Li Mo began organizing the schematics for Sector D-12, a subtle change occurred in the apartment. The gentle, steady hum of the Minor Qi Condensing Formation faltered, a harmonic dissonance piercing the stable flow of energy.
Lin Xuan, focused on maintaining his Qi Condensation Stage Two foundation, snapped his eyes open. His pupils glowed faintly with Immortal Qi as he channeled his Night-Piercing Gaze toward the North, the direction of Industrial Zone 7.
The spiritual atmosphere of the city, normally a calm, faint wash of dormant energy, had just been violently disturbed. It wasn't the slow, heavy pressure of a high-level cultivator like the disgraced Elder Jing—it was a sharp, chaotic spike of foreign energy, erupting directly from the ground at the coordinates of Industrial Zone 7, specifically Sector D-12.
"What is it?" Li Mo whispered, clutching her chest. She hadn't seen the glow, but she felt the sudden, crushing weight of pressure and the dizzying moment the Formation had staggered.
"A geological anomaly," Lin Xuan stated, his voice tight with focus. "The sealed fissure is being stressed. That energy spike was the liquefied Earth Vein Essence fighting a sudden, external pressure."
He quickly consulted his Divine Will against the known schematics of D-12. The sealed fissure, dormant for decades, was now under attack.
The geological surveys mentioned instability, but this is an unnatural force, Lin Xuan calculated. Someone is attempting to drill, mine, or force entry into D-12's high-hazard tunnels. And they are using technology capable of stressing the containment polymer.
The implications were critical. That fissure was the single most valuable resource Lin Xuan had located on Earth, capable of boosting him into the Foundation Establishment realm and granting him the ability to traverse dimensions. If a mortal corporation or, worse, a fledgling rival cultivator were to breach the seal, the resource would either be stolen or, more likely, catastrophically destabilized, lost forever in an energy burst.
Lin Xuan needed more information, instantly. He thought of Zhang Wei, the newly appointed, terror-stricken information broker.
"Li Mo, use the secure channel I gave you," Lin Xuan commanded, pointing to her phone. "Contact Zhang Wei. Give him these coordinates—the coordinates for Sector D-12. Tell him to find every scrap of information related to any unusual industrial activity, drilling licenses, or unsanctioned geological surveys in that specific area, effective immediately. If he fails, tell him his 'tribute' will be returned in a highly volatile, explosive form."
Li Mo, recognizing the gravity of the situation, didn't hesitate. She quickly began typing the coded message.
As she worked, Lin Xuan stepped away and initiated a rapid Rank E Synthesis with a purpose. He pulled out a discarded industrial magnet from a broken desktop computer and a handful of small, specialized capacitors he had salvaged.
SynthesisQuery:(SalvagedMagnet(E)+SpecializedCapacitors(E)=?)Suggestion:ElementaryMagneto−SensorTalisman(E+).Cost:1SynthesisPoint.
"Execute Synthesis," Lin Xuan commanded. The components dissolved, reforming into a palm-sized, metallic disk that pulsed with a dull, magnetic light.
"This Magneto-Sensor Talisman will detect the specific signature of the seal's thermal polymer," Lin Xuan explained, slipping the disk into his pocket. "It will allow us to navigate the structural chaos of D-12 and verify if the seal is intact. The second haul must happen now. Whoever is probing that tunnel is dangerously close to triggering a collapse."
The urgency had escalated from a simple resource retrieval to a high-stakes, time-sensitive race against an unknown, destructive intruder.