wavenovel Chapter 33 Seven Stones
Chapter 33 Seven Stones
Five days after the destruction of the Kan position, there were only forty-eight hours left until the night of the full moon.
Li Shancheng sat on the living room floor of Liu Wei's apartment, surrounded by seven stones of different colors—a simplified version of the "Seven Star Positioning Array" that Jiang Han had asked him to prepare. Each stone represented an array eye, arranged according to their actual relative positions in the earth's vein network. The stone for the Wen Shu array eye was purple (a fragment of purple dragon wood), the Kan position was dark blue (crystal shards), the Li position was red (a flame stone provided by Su Yan), the Dui position was white (a pearl treasured by Jiang Han), the Zhen position was cyan (a fragment of ancient jade), the Gen position was yellow (sulfur crystal), and the Kun position was brown (magnetite).
"Close your eyes and connect with these stones using your bloodline senses." Jiang Han sat opposite him, his voice weak but still carrying the authority of an instructor. "Don't look with your eyes, 'see' with your heart. Feel the energy characteristics of each stone and understand the relationship between them."
Li Shancheng did as instructed. Initially, he could only vaguely sense seven faint points of light, but as he concentrated, his perception gradually became clearer. In his consciousness, the seven stones transformed into seven orbs of light, connected by thin bands of light, forming a fragmented network—the orb at Kan position was almost extinguished, the orb at Dui position flickered dimly, the orb at Zhen and Gen positions was faint but stable, the orb at Li position was bright and vibrant, the orb at Kun position was calm and heavy, and the orb at Wen Shu... Wen Shu's orb was the most complex, with countless tiny points of light flowing within it, like the starry sky compressed into a sphere.
Even more astonishingly, as he immersed his consciousness into this network, certain images began to emerge:
Inside the Wen Shu light cluster, he "saw" the library's basement, where the three fused vessel prototypes trembled slightly in a dark red liquid, and the relic fragments embedded in their chests pulsed slowly, like three evil hearts.
Within the detached light cluster, the scene of Phoenix Mountain flashed by—an ancient Taoist temple stood atop the mountain, with an ancient well in the center, its water bubbling and steaming, reflecting the phantom of a burning phoenix on its surface.
The light from the Dui position revealed a swamp, with broken talismans and fragments of magical artifacts floating on the surface. A heavily injured figure lay on the edge of the swamp; it was the guardian of the Dui position.
The location of the earthquake... was completely dark, but a faint rumble of thunder could be heard.
The Gen position... is silent, deathly silent.
Beneath the thick earth of the Kun position, something is breathing slowly.
The Kan position... only shattered blue light, like falling stars.
"Can you feel it?" Jiang Han's voice pulled Li Shancheng back to reality. "The Seven Star Array Eyes are not only energy nodes, but also recorders and transmitters of information. Each array eye carries the history, memories, and even... omens of its region."
"omen?"
"The array's core can sense future energy fluctuations," Jiang Han explained. "When a major event is about to occur, the relevant array core will react in advance. Three days before the destruction of the Kan position, the crystal began to show cracks; that was its warning, but we didn't understand it."
Li Shancheng recalled the recent anomaly at the core of the Wen Shu formation: "In the ancient books section of the library, the books are arranging themselves into patterns..."
"That's a warning from the Wen Shu array eye." Jiang Han nodded. "It's telling you in its own way that danger is approaching. Each array eye has a different warning method—Wen Shu uses knowledge, Kan uses crystal cracks, Li uses flame changes, Dui uses dreams, Zhen uses thunder, Gen uses earthquakes, and Kun uses abnormal plants."
"What can we predict now?" Li Shancheng asked.
"Try to focus your awareness in the direction of the Twin Dragon Bridge," Jiang Han instructed. "Imagine that location and feel the flow of energy there."
Li Shancheng adjusted his breathing and extended his senses along the earth's ley lines. At first, he could only sense a chaotic vortex of energy—the siphon device of Cold Mountain Technology, the icy energy of the modified body, and some kind of immense pressure gathering. But as he went deeper, some more subtle fluctuations began to appear:
• A feeling of "hunger", like something is craving energy, craving it to a frantic degree.
• A sense of "anticipation," as if a long wait is about to end.
There is another kind of "fear"? Not human fear, but the instinctive resistance of an older, deeper being to what is about to happen.
"I sensed...a lot of emotions," Li Shancheng described, "but not human emotions, more like...the reaction of the array's core itself?"
"The ley lines network has a collective consciousness," Jiang Han said calmly. "It's very faint, almost imperceptible, but it definitely exists. When the seven array eyes were complete, this collective consciousness was balanced and peaceful. But now, it's in pain, in fear, in... anger."
Just then, the living room door was pushed open, and Su Yan and Cheng Xu walked in together. Both of them looked solemn. Su Yan had a new wound on her arm, while Cheng Xu was carrying a bulging backpack.
"There's a new development." Su Yan said bluntly, "The blockade around Shuanglong Bridge has suddenly been tightened. Hanshan Technology has deployed at least thirty modified bodies and five special vehicles. What's even stranger is that they've started dispersing the surrounding residents and businesses, claiming it's for an 'emergency reinforcement project for the ancient bridge.'"
"This is not in compliance with regulations." Liu Wei came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands. "The repair of ancient buildings requires a complicated approval process, and they cannot obtain a permit so quickly."
"But they do have it." Cheng Xu opened his laptop. "I checked the municipal system, and there is indeed an expedited permit. The approving agency is... a 'Special Cultural Heritage Protection Office' that I've never heard of before. They have extremely high authority and can bypass normal procedures."
"Forged?" Xu Qingqing asked.
"No, it's true." Cheng Xu pulled up the documents. "The official seal, signature, and registration number are all genuine. This means that Hanshan Technology has high-level supporters within the government, at least with the authority to mobilize a 'special office'."
Jiang Han's face darkened: "This is worse than we imagined. If they have official backing, the operation on the night of the full moon could be packaged as 'cultural relic protection' or 'scientific research,' and if we intervene, we will be labeled as 'saboteurs.'"
"There's something even worse." Su Yan sat down and took the water Liu Wei handed him. "Last night, I sneaked into the outer perimeter of Shuanglong Bridge and observed that altar up close. The runes on the altar... I've seen similar patterns in ancient books about the 'Displacement Array Eye.' It's not a simple star-guiding array, but a variant of the 'Seven Star Sacrifice Array.'"
"What are we offering as a sacrifice?" Li Shancheng asked.
"Everything." Su Yan's voice was low. "Energy, matter, life, memories... The altar will absorb everything within its range and transform it into pure power to open the Heavenly Gate. If they succeed, everything within a one-kilometer radius of the Twin Dragon Bridge will be drained, including people."
The room was deathly silent. Within a radius of one kilometer lay the entire Shuanglongqiao Historic and Cultural District, home to at least several hundred residents, dozens of shops, and countless tourists.
"They've gone mad," Xu Qingqing murmured.
"They considered it a 'necessary sacrifice'," Cheng Xu said. "Chen Ya's notes mention that Lin Han believed that only through extreme means could the world be completely 'purified.' In his view, sacrificing a small number of lives in exchange for the 'perfection' of the entire world was a reasonable trade."
"We must stop them." Li Shancheng stood up. "But we can't force our way in. Sister Su is right, there are at least thirty modified beings there now, and an unknown number of cultivators. We need a plan, we need a strategy."
"I have an idea," Liu Wei, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "Since Hanshan Technology can use official identities to cover up its operations, why can't we?"
Everyone looked at her.