Apocalypse: Why did you provoke her? She's a cultivator.

Chapter 158 Special Energy

Chu Qingyang was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Sister Ye is looking for... a place with special energy?"

In the apocalypse, some places retain strange energies. Some of these energies can help superhumans break through their limits, while others can give rise to mutated creatures. The base has always kept records of these kinds of locations.

However, due to the intense fighting in recent years, exploration in many remote areas has long been halted.

“You could say that.” Ye Qiumian didn’t go into detail about the “spiritual veins,” but simply said, “You just need to help me sort out these places, and I will personally go and investigate them.”

Chu Qingyang pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, I will have the intelligence department compile a list of all known special locations, including those newly discovered in the last five years, and send it to you as soon as possible."

"But... Sister Ye, things aren't peaceful outside right now. The Zombie King's aura is growing stronger, and many areas have already been overrun by hordes of zombies. Exploring here is extremely risky."

"It's nothing," Ye Qiumian said calmly.

She is now at the late stage of the Integration Realm, and ordinary zombie hordes cannot harm her.

She paused for a moment, then added, "Also, please keep an eye out for another tree for me."

"Tree?"

"A mutated tree, the whole tree is huge, and its branches and leaves have a faint golden light."

Two years ago, when she broke through to the Integration Stage at the cliff, she absorbed all the remaining spiritual energy in the spiritual vein.

The unknown tree transformed into a ray of transparent light and shot into the sky, disappearing completely without a trace.

At the time, she was in seclusion finishing up her training and couldn't chase after it.

She could no longer find any trace of it.

That tree is extremely sensitive to energy fluctuations. Since it could find the first spiritual vein, it might be able to find the second one as well.

Mutation tree?
If it's as Sister Ye described, then the strength of that mutated tree is not to be underestimated.

He dared not delay and quickly agreed: "I've noted it down, and I'll send more people to keep an eye on it."

After hanging up the phone, Ye Qiumian placed it on the table.

She trusted Chu Qingyang's efficiency; after all, he was now a powerful general in the state capital base.

However... special places are not necessarily spiritual veins, and that tree has flown away to who knows where.

We need to investigate them one by one to find out if they are spiritual veins.

She walked to the window and pushed it open a crack.

The wind outside carried a faint smell of blood, the scent of years of fighting with zombies.

On the distant defense tower, energy cannons were emitting low hums, seemingly warning of something.

The zombie king is about to break through to god-level, and humanity's situation is becoming increasingly perilous.

She must find the spiritual vein as soon as possible to break through to the Mahayana stage.

It's not just about leaving this world; perhaps... if it really comes to that, she might not be able to completely stay out of it.

Unconsciously, Ye Qiumian's fingertips traced the windowsill as she gazed towards the distant horizon.

There... the clouds were churning, much like the scene on the day the apocalypse came.

The next day, the doorbell rang.

Ye Qiumian opened the door, and standing outside was Chu Qingyang's deputy, holding a sealed metal box.

"Miss Ye, Captain Chu asked me to give this to you." The deputy spoke respectfully, with a hint of barely perceptible curiosity in his eyes.

But Ye Qiu Mian took the box and closed the door.

She opened the box, inside was a stack of neatly printed documents, the cover labeled "Summary of Energy Anomaly Areas". She flipped through it casually; there were more than thirty pages, each page detailing the coordinates of a location, environmental descriptions, known energy anomalies, and even risk assessments left by base personnel who had conducted reconnaissance.

The last page has a note in Chu Qingyang's handwriting: "Sister Ye, all the information we could gather is here. Areas newly discovered in the last five years have been marked in red."

Regarding the mutated tree you mentioned, there's no news yet. I'll keep an eye out for it.

Ye Qiumian traced the words "mutant tree" with her fingertips and nodded slightly.

She hadn't expected to find the elusive, mysterious tree easily, and the presence of these thirty-odd special locations was already a pleasant surprise.

Without delay, she opened the door and went straight down into the residential area, slowly leaving.

The guards at the gate straightened their backs instinctively when they saw her, their eyes filled with awe.

The person who garnered so much attention from both Team Chu and Team Nan unexpectedly lived in their neighborhood.

Ye Qiumian didn't linger. She walked to a less crowded area at the edge of the residential area, made a hand seal with her fingertips, and a pale blue spiritual light flew out from her sleeve, transforming into a flying boat with its bow and stern raised. As the spiritual energy flowed, it emitted a warm glow.

This is a new mobility artifact she crafted using the residual spiritual energy from the spiritual veins. Although it is not good at attacking, it excels in speed and concealment of its presence.

With a light touch of her toes, Ye Qiumian landed steadily on the flying boat.

The flying boat transformed into a streak of blue light, silently skimming over the walls of the state capital base and heading northwest.

The first target is a remote village called "Kujing Village", located 100 kilometers from the state capital base.

The information states that this village was sparsely populated even before the apocalypse.

Completely abandoned after the apocalypse, the base was once sensed by a superhuman passing by. It was a strong energy fluctuation, but it was not the aura of superpowers or zombies. Instead, it carried a cold and deathly feeling. Due to the unknown risks, the base has never been explored in depth.

The airship was extremely fast, covering a distance of 100 kilometers in just half an hour.

As they approached the village, Ye Qiumian maneuvered the flying boat to descend and disappear into the low-lying clouds.

She concealed her aura, and her divine sense, like a fine net, slowly enveloped the entire Kujing Village.

The village is small, with dozens of mud-brick houses scattered around. Most of them have collapsed halfway, and waist-high weeds grow among the broken walls and ruins. When the wind blows, they make a "rustling" sound, making the village seem even more desolate.

Strangely, even the mutated rats and rotting insects commonly found in post-apocalyptic worlds were nowhere to be seen, and the entire village was as quiet as a tomb.

Ye Qiumian's brows gradually furrowed.

Wherever his divine sense swept, he could not sense the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy, and even the already scarce free energy in the world was extremely scarce.

Instead, a somber, chilling atmosphere, seemingly capable of freezing the blood, permeated every corner of the village, especially the ancient well in the center of the village that had long since dried up.

This aura was cold and lifeless, the complete opposite of the warm and vibrant energy of the spiritual veins, and even carried a hint of malice that eroded the soul.

"It's not a spiritual vein."

Ye Qiumian withdrew her divine sense, and the last trace of expectation in her eyes faded away.

She took the document out of her backpack, turned to the page about Kujing Village, picked up a pen, and drew a clean cross next to the coordinates.

Without the slightest hesitation, she turned and boarded the flying boat.

The azure rainbow rose again, instantly leaving the gloomy village behind and flying towards the next location.

The next target is Black Wind Ridge, 300 kilometers away. The information says that strange winds with corrosive energy blow there all year round.

Ye Qiumian gazed at the horizon shrouded in gray fog, her eyes calm and undisturbed.

There are more than thirty locations, and most of them may end up like this, but even if there is only one possibility, she must investigate them one by one.

She must find the spiritual vein as soon as possible.