I have a composite mirror

Chapter 126 Secluded Refinement and the Blueprint for Forging

The serene and empty grotto is devoid of sun and moon.

Only that enormous luminous pearl eternally emitted a cold, desolate glow.

I don't know which day of my seclusion it is.

Gu Shenyan sat cross-legged in the center of the stone chamber, his eyes closed, a dark blue light pulsating wildly between his brows.

That's a sign that your mental energy has reached its peak.

Deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, on the system panel, countless complex data streams poured down like a torrential rain.

He's doing a jigsaw puzzle.

On the left is the ancient talisman fragment that caused the disturbance at the Questioning Platform.

On the right is the scanned data of the Zhang family's heirloom, "Annotations on the Fragments of Ancient Battle Formations".

These two things seem completely unrelated, but Gu Shenyan had a gut feeling about them.

There must be some kind of fatal connection between them.

"Original Qi reserves, burn 30%."

Gu Shenyan coldly gave the order in his heart.

"Activate your mind-speed boost!"

"Buzz!"

It felt as if an invisible hand had gripped my brain tightly, followed by an extreme heightening of my senses.

Time seemed to slow down in his perception.

Every turn in the rune, every path of spiritual energy, is broken down into the most basic particles.

pain.

My brain felt like it was being stirred by a red-hot iron rod.

But Gu Shenyan gritted his teeth and stubbornly maintained this overclocking state.

Gradually, the two originally parallel lines finally intersected under the massive computational power.

"Found it————"

Gu Shenyan suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils were bloodshot but surprisingly bright.

He reached out and pointed in the void.

The spiritual energy gathered and transformed into a light blue holographic map.

That's a map of the underground spiritual veins of the capital city.

In the northeast corner of the map, a red dot is flickering slightly.

"It's not just simple spatial teleportation."

Gu Shenyan's voice was hoarse, tinged with barely suppressed excitement.

That formation is borrowing "momentum".

"Borrowing the power of the earth's veins and drawing upon the strength of the stars."

"Activating it requires specific star timing," and also the simultaneous resonance of at least three secondary array eyes located on special leyline nodes.

His finger slowly traced across the map, finally stopping at a range of mountains.

That place is the imperial mausoleum on the outskirts of Beijing.

At the very edge of the imperial mausoleum lies the ruins of a former imperial observatory, long since abandoned.

"The positions are completely overlapping."

Gu Shenyan took a deep breath and dispersed the spiritual diagram in the air.

The trail is now closed.

Those rats from the gutter, "Shadow Banyan," actually reached into the imperial tomb!

This is absolutely not a simple smuggling operation; it threatens to shake the very foundations of the nation!

Gu Shenyan calmed his agitated emotions.

Now that we know the location, the next step is to use our strength.

He closed his eyes again.

This time, his target is—water.

"System, bring up the progress of the 'Ancient Water Rune Library' deduction."

Current progress: 36%.

[Thirty-six core runes have been analyzed.]

[One hundred and eight variant combinations have been generated.]

This is the result of his tireless work over the past two weeks analyzing the fragments of ancient talismans.

Previously, his understanding of water was limited to "flow" and "impact".

But this ancient rune system opened a door to a new world for him.

Water has no fixed shape.

It can be as soft as silk, or as hard as iron.

It can transform into clouds and mist to dazzle the eyes, and it can freeze into ice to penetrate to the bone marrow.

"Diving into the Abyss!"

Gu Shenyan gave a low shout.

The life force within him suddenly surged.

The originally deep blue flames began to undergo a strange change.

Sometimes he would transform into a wisp of ethereal mist, completely obscuring his figure.

Sometimes it condenses into tiny ice crystals, emitting a bone-chilling cold.

"This is—morphological change."

Gu Shenyan raised his hand and waved.

The moisture in the air instantly condensed, turning into a crystal-clear ice cone that hovered at his fingertips.

Unlike ordinary ice spike spells, this ice spike has an extremely complex rune structure inside.

That is a combination of "solidification" and "sharpness".

But that's not enough.

Gu Shenyan clenched his fist, and the ice cone shattered instantly, turning into a puddle of clear water.

"The real killer move is the combination."

He took a deep breath and began to mobilize the spiritual energy within his body.

Five elements overlapping waves.

The first wave rises.

The spiritual energy surged like the tide.

The second wave, wood grows.

"Splash!"

With the transformation of spiritual energy, the pool of clear water unexpectedly took root and sprouted!

In the blink of an eye, three dark green vines shot out of the water, dancing wildly in the air like live snakes.

stable!

That's too stable!

Compared to half a month ago, the conversion efficiency of "water-based wood" has increased by a full 30%!

But this is just the basics.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Gu Shenyan's forehead.

Next comes the gates of hell.

"Wood—start a fire."

This is the most difficult part of the Five Elements' generating cycle.

Wood is mild in nature, while fire is violent.

If not controlled properly, it will backfire.

Gu Shenyan carefully guided the wood-elemental spiritual power, attempting to ignite it.

"puff!"

A muffled thud.

The vines instantly turned to ashes, and the spiritual energy dissipated completely along with them.

Failed.

Gu Shenyan was not discouraged.

This is the 108th failure.

But he could sense that he was getting closer and closer to success.

"You can't force a conversion."

He recalled the feeling when Han Sushuang unleashed the "Golden Fire Sword Intent".

"Go with the flow."

"Use the elemental power of wood as fuel, instead of turning it directly into fire."

He silently revised the model in his mind.

Time passed day by day in this tedious and frantic process of deduction.

at last.

On a quiet, late night.

At the tip of Gu Shenyan's fingertip, a small, crimson flame suddenly appeared at the top of the emerald green vine.

Although it is only the size of a fingernail.

Although it only lasted for less than two breaths.

But the flame did not burn the vine; instead, it coexisted with it!

"It's done—"

Gu Shenyan let out a long breath and collapsed to the ground.

Although he is still far from practical application, he has already grasped the basics.

Given time, this will surely become his ultimate weapon.

After resting for a while, Gu Shenyan sat up straight again.

He brought up his attribute panel.

My gaze fell on the "Realm" column.

[Cultivation Level: Perfected Spirit Gathering Realm (Currently at a bottleneck)]

[Blueprint for the Realm of Law: Under Development]

Lu Banxian once said that to enter the Forging Realm, one must forge a second life fire.

Gu Shenyan's gaze gradually hardened.

"My first life element, 'Abyss,' is associated with water and leans towards concealment, control, and explosive power."

"Based on the ancient talisman system's concept of 'water and wood mutually generating each other' —"

"The second element of fire must be wood!"

"Water nourishes wood, and wood stabilizes water."

"Only in this way can a perfect closed loop of continuous growth be constructed."

He entered a series of commands on the panel.

[Simulating the casting process of the "Water and Wood Twins" model]

Compatibility: 98%.

[Potential Assessment: Extremely High.]

Looking at the golden "Extremely High", Gu Shenyan's lips curled into a smile.

The road has been paved.

What's missing now is that final opportunity.

In other words, suitable wood-element spiritual materials, or a wood-element life chart with fire.

Just then.

"Rumble rumble rumble————"

The stone gate, which had been silent for a month, slowly opened.

The long-awaited light shone in, somewhat dazzling.

Gu Shenyan subconsciously raised his hand to cover his eyes.

A familiar figure stood at the doorway, backlit, making it impossible to see his face.

"Junior brother, it's time to emerge from seclusion."

It was Liu Wenyuan.

His voice carried a hint of urgency and a touch of solemnity.

Gu Shenyan stood up and patted off non-existent dust from the hem of his clothes.

Although his cultivation level had not broken through, his entire demeanor had undergone a tremendous change.

If he was once a sword hidden in its sheath.

So now, he is like a bottomless pool.

Calm, yet all the more dangerous.

"Senior brother."

Gu Shenyan stepped out of the stone chamber and greedily took a breath of the outside air.

"What happened?"

Liu Wenyuan looked him up and down, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"It seems you've made quite a bit of progress this past month."

Without saying a word, he handed over a jade slip.

Two things.

"First, Junior Sister Han dominated the internal selection and has already secured a spot in the Four Nations Exchange Conference. This girl is now a prominent figure in the capital."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shenyan felt relieved and a smile appeared on his lips.

"And the second one?"

Liu Wenyuan's expression instantly turned serious.

"The second thing is related to the intelligence you sent out before."

"The Xuanzheng Division and Tingtao Pavilion have joined forces and, based on the coordinates you deciphered, have located a suspicious location."

"Imperial Tombs in the Suburbs of Beijing, Ruins of the Observatory."

Gu Shenyan's pupils contracted slightly.

really.

Liu Wenyuan lowered his voice: "The higher-ups have decided to organize a secret exploration."

"This kind of task wouldn't normally be assigned to you."

"but----

Liu Wenyuan paused, then looked intently at Gu Shenyan.

"The geological ley lines in that place are extremely complex, and they seem to be covered by some kind of ancient formation."

"While the accompanying array master is formidable, he may not be as shrewd as you when it comes to ancient runes."

"Senior Brother Qin Mo specifically requested that you go."

"Of course, this is also an opportunity."

Liu Wenyuan patted Gu Shenyan on the shoulder.

According to historical records, the area near the observatory was once a royal medicinal garden.

"Although it has been abandoned for hundreds of years, there is no guarantee that some rare wood-elemental spiritual plants may have been left behind."

Upon hearing the words "wood elemental plant," Gu Shenyan's heart skipped a beat.

Isn't this like a pillow being delivered when you're sleepy?

Whether they genuinely need him or someone is trying to test him.

He absolutely had to go!

Gu Shenyan raised his head and met Liu Wenyuan's gaze, his eyes flashing with a light called "ambition".

"Senior brother."

"When are we leaving?"