sbdcsierra Chapter 27 Repair
Chapter 27 Repair
The day after Kanwei was destroyed, the atmosphere in Qingyun Lane was as heavy as lead.
Jiang Han was placed in the guest room of the west wing to recuperate. The cracked Kan-position crystal was placed beside his pillow, occasionally emitting a very faint blue light, as if it were restlessly turning over in its sleep. Editor-in-Chief Qin stayed by his side almost every step of the way, trying to stabilize the remaining energy in the crystal using various ancient methods.
Li Shancheng practiced alone in the courtyard. The power he gained from the Kan position hadn't completely disappeared; instead, it had found a temporary balance within him, flowing like a restless river through his meridians. He had to learn to control it, or he risked overloading it again at any moment.
The Purple Dragonwood also seems to be changing. Since the Kanwei incident, its leaves have become a deeper color, turning from pale purple to dark purple, even approaching black. The runes on the trunk no longer glow steadily, but flicker irregularly, like a weakening heart.
"It is mourning," a voice suddenly rang out.
Li Shancheng turned his head and saw Su Yan appear at the courtyard gate at some point. She didn't look well either; her left arm was wrapped in bandages, there were several fresh scratches on her face, and her amber eyes showed an unusual weariness.
"Sister Su, your injury..."
"It's nothing." Su Yan waved his hand, walked to the Purple Dragon Wood, and reached out to stroke the trunk. "The impact of the destruction of the Kan position on the earth vein network is greater than we imagined. The seven array eyes are like seven pillars, supporting the entire structure. Now that one has broken, the load on the other six will increase. The Wen Shu array eye was already severely damaged, and now the pressure is even greater."
She looked at Li Shancheng: "How is Old Jiang?"
"He is still in a coma. Editor-in-Chief Qin said that his mental state has been severely damaged and he needs time."
"It's a miracle he survived," Su Yan sighed. "It wasn't just Zhao Feng's group that attacked Kanwei. When I arrived, I saw at least three high-level combatants from Hanshan Technology, and... some things that weren't human."
"A demonic beast?"
"Worse still." Su Yan's expression was grave. "It's a 'modified body'—a product of the fusion of a demonic organization and a human body. The one that attacked me had the speed of a Shadow Nightmare and the stealth ability of a Mist Demon, but its core was a human brain. They call it a 'carrier prototype'."
Li Shancheng felt a wave of nausea: "Using living people for modification..."
"They're willing to pay any price for their so-called 'perfect new world,'" Su Yan sneered. "But that's not the most troublesome thing. I noticed something during the battle: those modified beings seem to be able to sense each other and share information. If I injure one, the others will immediately adjust their tactics. It's like... swarm intelligence."
This information alerted Li Shancheng. If Hanshan Technology had already mastered this technology, then they might possess far greater combat power than imagined. Moreover, if it was swarm intelligence, it meant that every individual was part of the whole, so killing a few might not have a significant impact.
"Sister Su, that warning you received in the Earth Vein Network—'Beware of an internal traitor,'" Li Shancheng lowered his voice, "who do you think it is?"
Su Yan remained silent for a long time: "I don't know. But the trap at the Kan position was too fast. From the time we received the distress signal to when I arrived, less than twenty minutes had passed, and the entire array's core was almost completely destroyed. Unless the attacker knew the entire defensive layout, knew Elder Jiang's habits, and knew the array's weakness..."
"It's like someone provided a detailed guide," Li Shancheng replied.
"Yes." Su Yan nodded. "But among the five of us—you, me, Editor-in-Chief Qin, Elder Jiang, and Liu Wei—who would do such a thing? Liu Wei is a newcomer, so she's the least likely. Editor-in-Chief Qin has dedicated his life to protecting the core of the Wen Shu array; he has no motive. You're even less likely; how could a bloodline inheritor destroy their own legacy? As for me..."
She gave a wry smile: "I admit that the core of the formation has always been relatively independent, but I have no reason to betray the entire guardian system. That leaves only Elder Jiang himself, but the core of the formation is everything to him, and he would rather die than betray the core."
"Maybe it's not any of the five of us." Li Shancheng suddenly thought of another possibility, "What if the traitor isn't us, but... the Earth Vein Network itself?"
"What do you mean?"
"We transmit messages through leyline communication, but the leyline network is neutral, and anyone could monitor it," Li Shancheng analyzed. "Since Hanshan Technology can siphon energy from the array's core, it might also be able to monitor leyline communication. If so, they would know all our plans, Jiang Lao's location, and the defensive weaknesses of the Kan position."
This hypothesis made Su Yan's eyes light up: "That makes sense. But if that's the case, then all our subsequent communications could be monitored."
"We need to change our communication methods," Li Shancheng said. "Does Bishop Qin have any other ways to contact him?"
Su Yan shook his head: "Traditional guardians communicate through ley lines because it's the safest—or rather, we've always thought it was the safest. But now it seems..."
Before she could finish speaking, Editor-in-Chief Qin came out of the room, looking even worse than yesterday.
"Old Jiang has woken up," he said, "but the situation isn't good. The energy of the Kan position crystal is continuously draining away, and it can only last for three more days at most. After three days, if a stable energy source cannot be found to replenish it, the crystal will shatter completely, and the Kan position array eye will disappear forever."
"What can we do?" Li Shancheng asked.
Editor-in-Chief Qin looked at him: "You currently have residual power from the Kan position within you. Theoretically, if you could fully control that power, you might be able to nourish the crystal and slow its decay. But this is extremely dangerous—your body hasn't yet adapted to the power of the Wen Shu bloodline, and with the added energy of the Kan position, the risk of overload will multiply."
"I'm willing to give it a try," Li Shancheng said without hesitation.
"No." Unexpectedly, Su Yan objected. "Kanwei is already in this state; protecting Wenshu is more important. If Shancheng is destroyed because of saving Kanwei, we will lose our greatest hope of fighting against Hanshan Technology. There are only seven days left until the full moon."
"But if the Kan position completely disappears, the earth vein network will be unbalanced, and the Wen Shu array eye will collapse even faster," Editor-in-Chief Qin retorted. "The Seven Stars as One is not just a saying. Losing the Kan position will increase the pressure on the other array eyes by at least 30%. The Wen Shu is already fragile and may not survive until the night of the full moon."
The two began to argue, each sticking to their own opinion. Listening to their debate, Li Shancheng had a new idea in mind.
"Perhaps... there is a third option," he interrupted them.
Both of them looked at him.
"The Kan position crystal doesn't just need a simple energy replenishment, but rather 'repair'," Li Shancheng explained. "The memories from the Book of Light tell me that damage to the core of the array requires specific repair runes and materials. Simply injecting energy is like adding water to a leaky bucket—it's only treating the symptoms, not the root cause."
"What's needed for the repair?" Editor-in-Chief Qin asked.
Li Shancheng closed his eyes and searched his memory. The knowledge base of the Book of Light responded to his call and provided relevant information: repairing the Kan position crystal required three things - "Xuanming True Water" (a kind of spiritual water that only naturally condenses in extremely Yin places), "Cold Iron Essence" (a metallic essence extracted from thousand-year-old cold iron), and "Xuanwu Scales" (scales shed by the real Xuanwu divine beast, or equivalent substitutes).