112: Chapter 112 Riverbed Night Talk

The wind on the riverbed howled, swirling sand and dust through the cracks in the rocks.

Lin Muchen sat down with his back against a large rock and let out a long breath.

"We're safe for now," he said.

Chen Qingxue didn't sit. Holding her sword, she stood behind a protruding rock at the entrance of the stone cave, listening intently to the movement outside.

"Thunder Leopard won't give up that easily," she said without turning her head. "How long can we hide here?"

"One night," Lin Muchen said. "We must leave before dawn."

He closed his eyes. Instead of immediately adjusting his breathing, he first sank his consciousness into his Dantian.

Origin Star.

That dusty grey planet looked a bit different now.

The area where the wind spirit grass had been planted was now a lush green. When the wind blew, the blades of grass rustled, and cyan spots of light drifted up.

The thunderstruck wood stood on the other side. Blue light occasionally flickered on its branches with a crackle before vanishing.

[Origin Star Wind Attribute Derivation Cycle: 7 days (continuously shortening).]

[Feedback Efficiency: 14.0% (slight increase).]

The feedback energy was like a small stream, pouring into his body in thin threads and replenishing the spiritual power consumed during their escape.

Lin Muchen turned his attention to the Chen Tribe.

That simple campsite had grown considerably in scale.

There were over a dozen more wooden sheds, and a stone platform had been erected in the central clearing. A wooden pole was stuck into it, with a piece of tattered cloth tied to the top—likely some sort of totem.

There were more people now.

With a quick glance, there were at least a hundred and fifty people.

Men, women, old, and young; some were polishing stones, some were weaving grass ropes, and a few were gathered together, gesturing at the crooked lines drawn on the ground.

Those lines... were runes.

They were very crude, just a few strokes, but Lin Muchen recognized them. They were the simplest "Firmness" and "Sharpness" runes included when he had previously exchanged for basic forging knowledge.

These primitive people had actually figured something out.

[Chen Tribe: Population 150.]

[Civilization Rank: Primitive Tribe (Early Stage).]

[Mastered: Simple stone tool making, basic weaving, simple rune carving (Beginner).]

[Feedback Efficiency Bonus: Due to civilization development, an additional 0.2% increase.]

0.2%.

It didn't look like much, but it was essentially free.

Moreover, Lin Muchen could feel that several people in the tribe already had faint fluctuations of spiritual power.

Although they couldn't even be considered at the first level of the Qi Refinement Stage, they had indeed begun to Cultivate.

They Cultivate, and he gets a commission.

This deal was incredibly profitable.

Lin Muchen focused his consciousness on the largest shed in the center of the tribe.

Inside sat an old man with white hair and wrinkles deep enough to crush a mosquito.

This was the Elder, "Yan."

Yan was closing his eyes, holding a stone carved with a rune, and chanting under his breath.

Lin Muchen's heart stirred.

Should he try?

He mobilized the world will of the Origin Star—it was a very vague feeling, like a cloud of consciousness enveloping the entire planet.

Then, he reached a sliver of his thought toward Yan's dream.

It wasn't forced control, but guidance.

Like tucking something into a dream.

...

Yan felt as if he had fallen asleep, yet also as if he hadn't.

He stood on an open wilderness; the sky was cyan, and the clouds were blue.

The wind was very strong, blowing so hard he couldn't stand steadily.

Then he saw the wind condensing into rotating patterns, carved into the air, making a howling sound.

Immediately after, a bolt of lightning struck down from the blue clouds, exploding on the ground and leaving behind charred, branch-like marks.

The wind patterns and thunder marks intertwined, slowly turning into two simple designs.

Yan's eyes widened as he tried desperately to remember them.

But the designs quickly blurred.

He woke up with a start, panting heavily.

The rune stone in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

A young man guarding outside the shed poked his head in: "Elder?"

Yan ignored him.

He bent down to pick up the stone, his fingers trembling as he began to scratch on the ground.

First, he drew a circle with a few rotating lines inside—like the wind.

Then he drew a cross with radiating short lines around it—like thunder.

After finishing, he stared at these two crooked designs for a long time.

...

Lin Muchen withdrew his consciousness.

It worked.

Yan had remembered those images; although they were very crude, they were indeed the embryonic forms of Wind and Thunder Rune.

As for whether the tribe could realize anything from these two scribbles, it would depend on their own luck.

Regardless, the seed had been planted.

Lin Muchen opened his eyes.

Chen Qingxue was still standing at the cave entrance, but she turned slightly to glance at him.

"Just now..." She frowned. "Your aura was a bit strange."

"Just adjusting my breathing," Lin Muchen said vaguely.

"Adjusting your breathing can produce fluctuations of wind and thunder attributes?" Chen Qingxue stared at him. "Although it was very weak, I felt it."

Lin Muchen smiled and didn't respond.

He took out that damaged cyan Jade Slip and weighed it in his hand.

"This thing," he said, "the route for the Wind and Thunder Evasion inside is broken. You saw it just now; do you have any ideas on how it continues?"

Chen Qingxue walked over and sat down opposite him.

"When the owner of the Jade Slip recorded it, their movement technique should have already reached Major Achievement," she said. "But the image is incomplete, and only a small section of the energy circulation route remains. The rest... we have to guess."

"Even guessing needs a direction." Lin Muchen handed over the Jade Slip.

Chen Qingxue took it, probed it with her spiritual power, and quickly scanned it again.

"The core of Wind and Thunder Evasion is 'Wind's Swiftness' and 'Thunder's Burst,'" she said. "This preceding route concentrates wind attribute spiritual power at the Yongquan point on the soles of the feet, instantly bursting with speed. But that alone isn't enough; the consumption is high, and there's no way to turn."

Lin Muchen nodded.

He had experienced this firsthand when he used it just now.

He had shot out, but the direction was hard to control, and he was exhausted after just one burst.

"The latter part might..." Chen Qingxue drew a line on the ground with her finger, "require integrating the thunder attribute spiritual power as well. Not for a burst, but to... change direction."

"The thunder attribute instantly stimulates the Acupoints, allowing the body to forcibly change direction at high speed."

She drew a zigzag line.

"Like this: a straight burst, then a surge of thunder energy to make a right-angle turn."

Lin Muchen looked at the line on the ground, his mind racing.

That made sense.

Wind governs speed, thunder governs change.

Speed alone is just a reckless charge.

Combined with instant changes in direction, that is a true movement technique.

"But how do we integrate it?" Lin Muchen asked. "Which Acupoint does the thunder attribute stimulate? With how much force? For how long? None of this is mentioned in the Jade Slip."

"That's why it's a guess." Chen Qingxue handed the Jade Slip back to him. "And if we guess wrong, it might not be a turn, but directly collapsing with cramps."

Neither of them spoke.

The stone cave fell silent, with only the howling of the wind blowing across the riverbed outside.

After a moment, Lin Muchen spoke.

"We need to reach Luofeng Town as soon as possible," he said. "Thunder Leopard looking for us on the wasteland is like looking for rabbits. Once we're in town, with so many people, he won't dare to act openly."

"And then?" Chen Qingxue asked.

"Then you do your thing, and I'll do mine," Lin Muchen said. "You look for your clues about withered bone grass, and I... I need to continue pondering the Wind Thunder Law."

"The things in this Jade Slip can't be figured out by guessing alone; I need to find more references."

Chen Qingxue looked at him for a while.

"Who exactly are you?" she suddenly asked.

"A Qinglan Sect Outer Sect Disciple who took on your family's escort mission," Lin Muchen said.

"An ordinary Outer Sect Disciple with wind and thunder attributes? Who can quickly come up with ideas about a fragmented movement technique in an ancient Jade Slip?" Chen Qingxue's tone was flat, but her gaze was sharp.

Lin Muchen laughed.

"If I said I was an immortal who fell from the sky, would you believe me?"

"No."

"Then there you have it." Lin Muchen shrugged. "Some things, don't ask. If you ask, it's just a fateful coincidence; if you ask, it's personal privacy."

Chen Qingxue rolled her eyes at him and didn't press further.

She stood up and walked back to the cave entrance.

"You rest. I'll take the first watch."

Lin Muchen didn't stand on ceremony.

He was indeed tired.

Guiding Yan's dream just now seemed simple, but it actually took quite a toll.

That was an application of the world will, which was much more mentally taxing than directly using spiritual power.

He leaned back against the stone wall and closed his eyes.

This time, he was truly adjusting his breathing.

Spiritual power slowly circulated through his Meridians, and the energy from the Origin Star's feedback bit by bit filled the void.

In the stone cave, the campfire crackled twice, and the flames died down.

Chen Qingxue added a dry branch to the fire, and the light brightened again, reflecting off her profile.

She held her sword, her eyes fixed on the pitch-black riverbed outside, her ears perked to hear if there were any other sounds in the wind.