sbdcsierra Chapter 24 Bloodline
Chapter 24 Bloodline
Three days after the ambush at Shuanglong Bridge, Qingyun Lane was shrouded in a depressing silence.
Li Shancheng sat alone under the purple dragonwood, palms facing upwards, concentrating his mind. Since the collapse of the secret vault and the integration of the Book of Light into his bloodline, he could feel a new power surging within him—not a simple increase in energy, but a deeper connection, with the Wen Shu array eye, with the earth vein network, and even with those ancient stars.
But this power is difficult to control. Sometimes it erupts suddenly, like the night before last, when he was emotionally agitated, the books in the room moved on their own without any wind; other times it disappears without a trace, and no matter how hard he tries, he cannot move it at all.
"Power is like flowing water," Editor-in-Chief Qin's voice came from behind. "You can't force it, you can only guide it."
Li Shancheng opened his eyes: "How should I guide him?"
"First, understand what it is." Bishop Qin sat down opposite him. "What you inherited is not simple energy, but an entire 'system'—the operating mechanism of the Wen Shu Array Eye over three thousand years, the experience of generations of guardians, and the records of the Book of Light. This is not your power alone, but a collection of collective wisdom."
"Then what am I? A container?"
"No, you are the operator," Bishop Qin corrected. "Imagine you suddenly have access to a state-of-the-art library, containing all the knowledge you could possibly want. But if you don't know how to search or read, those books are just paper. What you need to learn now is how to use this library's catalog system."
He took out a thin, thread-bound book from his sleeve: "This is the foundational chapter of 'The Mind Method of Literature,' which should have been taught to you after you completed all the introductory training. But the situation is special now, and we must speed things up."
The pages were yellowed, and the text wasn't printed, but handwritten in tiny characters. Even more peculiar was that when Li Shancheng gazed at the words, they seemed to flow and recombine on the paper, transforming into content he could understand.
"The core of the mental technique is 'resonance,'" Bishop Qin explained. "Resonate with the array's core, resonate with the earth's veins, resonate with knowledge. You can now feel the pain in the array's core; this is the beginning of a resonance. But you need to learn to actively control this connection, rather than passively receiving it."
For the next two hours, Bishop Qin guided Li Shancheng through basic mental exercises: adjusting his breathing rhythm, allowing energy to circulate in specific meridians, and using his consciousness to "touch" the fragments of knowledge inherited from his bloodline.
At first, progress was slow, and Li Shancheng was constantly distracted—worried about clues to Shuanglong Bridge, the decisive battle on the night of the full moon, and Hanshan Technology's plans. But gradually, he learned to clear his mind and focus on his breathing and the flow of energy.
Just then, a strange feeling came over me.
It didn't come from the outside, but from deep within his body. It was as if something long dormant was awakening. His vision began to change; the Purple Dragon Wood was no longer a tree, but a complex energy structure—its roots penetrated deep into the earth's veins, its branches and leaves connected to the sky, and the runes in its trunk transported energy like blood vessels.
Even more astonishingly, he began to "hear" sounds. Not actual sounds, but the direct transmission of information:
"...Energy loss continues...Root system in the northwest is damaged...Adjustment of energy allocation is recommended..."
"...The frequency of external attacks has increased...a crack has appeared at the third node of the protective barrier..."
"...The new Guardian's status...is unstable but has enormous potential...Compatibility 72%...Continue to observe..."
These "voices" came from all directions: the purple dragonwood, the courtyard floor, the runes on the walls, and even the spiritual particles floating in the air. The entire Qingyun Alley was "speaking" to him, reporting its status.
"I...I can hear them," Li Shancheng said in shock.
Bishop Qin's expression was complex: "This is 'spiritual language,' the ability to communicate with the spiritual beings attached to the array's core. It usually takes several years of cultivation to master, but you... the power of your bloodline is awakening at an accelerated pace."
Is this normal?
"This might be normal for you." Bishop Qin stood up, walked to the Purple Dragonwood, and stroked the trunk. "The Wen Shu bloodline has been dormant for five generations, without a true guardian for over a hundred years. The accumulated energy and potential may erupt all at once in you. But this is both a gift and a danger."
"Danger?"
"Your body and mind need time to adapt to this change. If the awakening happens too quickly, it might..." Bishop Qin carefully chose his words, "It might 'overload' you. Like a water pipe, if it suddenly experiences too much water pressure, it will burst."
As if to confirm his words, Li Shancheng suddenly felt a sharp headache. It wasn't an ordinary headache; rather, his entire skull was vibrating, as if something was about to burst out of its shell. Double images appeared in his vision, and the "spiritual language" became sharp and piercing, with the amount of information increasing dramatically, far beyond his ability to process.
"Keep your breathing steady!" Bishop Qin immediately placed his palm on his forehead, infusing him with a cool energy. "Don't resist, but don't accept it completely. Imagine you are a sieve, letting the information flow through and only capturing the part you need."
Li Shancheng gritted his teeth and tried to follow the instructions. It was much more difficult than it sounded; the information seemed to have a mind of its own, actively trying to penetrate his consciousness. He had to concentrate all his will and build a "filter" in his mind, allowing only the most basic and simple information to pass through.
Gradually, the headache subsided, and his vision returned to normal. But the feeling of being overwhelmed by the information deluge still left him with lingering fear.
"This is overload." Bishop Qin withdrew his hand, his expression serious. "That's enough for today. You need to rest and allow your body to adjust to the changes that have occurred."
"But I need more power," Li Shancheng insisted. "There are only eight days left until the full moon."
"Power isn't everything," Bishop Qin shook his head. "If you can't control it, even the greatest power is a disaster. We'll continue tomorrow, but you must rest today."
Li Shancheng knew that arguing was useless, so he had no choice but to agree. But he didn't really rest—after returning to his room, he took out the photos of the engravings he had taken on Shuanglong Bridge and began to study them.
The constellation pattern in the photo was complex, not the common Big Dipper or the twelve zodiac signs, but an arrangement of stars he had never seen before. Li Shancheng tried to search his memory for similar patterns, and the Book of Light's knowledge base responded automatically, providing dozens of possible matches.
Most did not meet the criteria, but three of them caught attention:
The first is the "Tianquan Constellation Chart," which depicts the arrangement of Tianquan star and its associated stars during a specific historical period, three thousand years ago—the time when the artifact was sealed.
The second is the "Earth Vein Star Correspondence Diagram," which shows the correspondence between the positions of the seven array points on the ground and the seven stars in the sky. The location of the Shuanglong Bridge corresponds exactly to the projection point of the Tianquan star at a certain angle.
The third and most mysterious is a title consisting of only one symbol, and its content is a dynamic star chart showing how the stars move over time. At a specific point in time—the night of the next full moon—these stars will align in a pattern almost identical to that in the photograph.
"Star-guiding array..." Li Shancheng murmured to himself. According to this dynamic star map, on the night of the full moon, when the stars align in a specific position, the starlight will be refracted through the engravings, casting a spot of light on the ground. The location of that spot of light is the opening point of the hidden portal.
He continued his search and discovered an even more unsettling piece of information: the Star-Guiding Array did not operate independently. The seven nodes were interconnected, and when one node was activated, the others resonated. If all seven nodes were activated, a "Seven Stars Alignment" effect would occur, greatly enhancing the artifact's power.
"Hanshan Technology may have already activated other nodes..." Li Shancheng felt a chill. If they had already activated some nodes before the night of the full moon, then the resonance generated when the Twin Dragon Bridge node was activated might far exceed expectations.
There was a knock at the door; it was Xu Qingqing.
"I have news from Cheng Xu," she said as she entered the room. "He found out about Hanshan Technology's recent procurement list through some special channels. There's something unusual about it."
Li Shancheng took the tablet computer; a long list was displayed on the screen. Most of it consisted of standard experimental materials and equipment, but a few items stood out:
High-purity moonstone, quantity: seven pieces, specifications: identical.
• Star positioning device, military-grade accuracy
• Living monster tissue sample: Shadow Nightmare Core x3, Mist Demon Crystal Core x2, Illusion Butterfly Powder x1
• A fragment of the ancient book "Seven Stars Secret Essentials," of unknown origin.
"Moonstone is a commonly used amplification material in star-guiding arrays, with seven pieces corresponding to seven nodes," Li Shancheng analyzed. "The star positioning instrument is used to precisely calibrate starlight angles. The samples from the demon beast organization... may be for experiments, or they may be materials for some kind of ritual."
"What is the Seven Star Secret Manual?" Xu Qingqing asked.
Li Shancheng searched his memory: "An ancient book about the Seven Star Relics and the array's core, said to have been lost for a thousand years. If Hanshan Technology obtained the fragments, they might possess information we don't know."
"There's another discovery." Xu Qingqing pulled up another document. "Liu Wei, through her network at Hanshan Technology, found out that Lin Han suddenly left the company three days ago and his whereabouts are unknown. Several of his core researchers have also disappeared."
"They might be preparing for the night of the full moon," Li Shancheng speculated. "They might be going to a specific location, or... to search for more artifacts."