I was a mineral prospector in Chengdu, who transmigrated into the body of a mortal sword immortal.

Li Bai stood motionless in the shadows of the trees, his gaze sweeping across the flickering lights of the camp below, as sharp as a hawk's. Campfires outlined the tents, patrol torches moved like fireflies along fixed routes, and occasionally, the figures of cultivators performing hand seals flashed by in the firelight. The night wind carried fragments of conversation, mingled with the soft clang of clashing weapons. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, pressing his body lower. The end of his thousand-mile journey was within reach, yet it was blocked by an iron curtain. The Azure Lotus Sword trembled subtly within his dantian, as if echoing a familiar pulse emanating from the distant mountains. He needed to get closer, to see every sentry post clearly, to find that gap hidden beneath the tight defenses. The night was deep, and time was running out.

He moved down the mountainside like a gecko, each step landing in the shadows of the rocks, each breath blending with the rhythm of the night wind. His Foundation Establishment stage spiritual energy flowed slowly through his meridians, forming a thin barrier that concealed his aura, body temperature, and even his heartbeat to the extreme. This was a breath-concealing technique he had practiced repeatedly during his month-long trek, now mastered to perfection.

He stopped when he was 300 feet away from the camp.

The spot was located behind a naturally recessed rock face, with dense bushes blocking the view in front, but through the gaps in the branches and leaves, one could see over the entire eastern side of the camp. He crouched down, pressing his cheek against the cold rock, feeling the rough, grainy texture of the surface, damp with night dew.

The camp was larger than he had expected.

In the center stood five large, dark blue tents arranged in a plum blossom pattern, with flags depicting the Big Dipper hanging from their tops. A wooden fence enclosed an open area between the tents, where three large pots sat, their embers still burning, emitting a faint aroma of rice porridge. This aroma mingled with the camp's distinctive scents of sweat, leather, and the smoke of burning herbs, drifting on the night breeze.

The patrol was divided into three groups of six, walking around the camp along a fixed oval route. They wore uniform attire—dark blue, wide-sleeved robes with leather drawstrings for ease of movement; black trousers with tapered legs; and leather boots. A sword was strapped to their left hip, and a bulging, palm-sized leather pouch hung on their right, its contents unknown. Each person carried a short crossbow on their back, its trigger gleaming coldly in the firelight.

What caught Li Bai's attention even more were the busy figures at the edge of the camp.

About twenty cultivators were scattered across the hillside. Unlike the patrol team, they were not in perfect unison, but their movements were more focused. Some squatted on the ground, carving something on the ground with their fingers, a faint spiritual light flickering from their fingertips; others held compass-like magical artifacts, moving slowly under the moonlight, stopping from time to time to adjust their orientation; and two others worked together to lift a three-foot-long bronze stake, driving it deep into a crevice in the rock. With each inch it was driven in, a ring of runes would light up on the surface of the bronze stake, then disappear.

They are setting up their formation.

Li Bai squinted, carefully examining the patterns carved by the cultivators. The moonlight wasn't bright, but the eyesight of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was enough to see the details—the patterns were winding and interconnected, vaguely forming a huge, net-like structure covering an area of ​​a hundred feet in radius. Faint spiritual energy flowed within the patterns, like blood flowing in veins.

"Earth Vein Detection Array," Li Bai murmured to himself.

The knowledge gained from his past life as a geological engineer was awakened at this moment. This array was not for attack or defense, but rather to detect the direction of underground spiritual veins, energy nodes, and spatial anomalies through spiritual resonance. The principle was similar to modern geological exploration, only the physical signals were replaced by spiritual energy fluctuations.

The imperial court was indeed searching for the entrance to the secret realm.

Moreover, their methods are quite professional.

Li Bai's gaze shifted to the five large tents. The largest of them was located in the center of the plum blossom formation. The tent door was tightly closed, but the light shining from inside was much brighter than the other tents, and one could vaguely see figures moving around inside. Two guards stood outside the tent, their figures as straight as pine trees, their auras calm and composed, far superior to the cultivators on patrol.

"Officials are in charge," Li Bai concluded.

Just then, the curtain of the central tent was lifted.

A middle-aged man dressed in a scarlet official robe and wearing a black gauze hat stepped forward. He was slightly plump, with a fair complexion and no beard. He held a roll of silk in his hand, which he unfolded and examined closely in the firelight. Two elderly men dressed in dark purple Taoist robes with silver cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs followed behind him, and the three of them conversed in hushed tones.

The night wind carried the fragmented words to Li Bai's ears.

"...Sector Three exploration complete...No abnormal spiritual energy reaction..."

"...Expand the area...Advance three miles westward tomorrow..."

"...The Imperial Preceptor has ordered...it must be done before the full moon..."

Full moon?

Li Bai's heart skipped a beat. Today was the thirteenth day of the lunar calendar, two days before the full moon. The Imperial Preceptor? Was this the same Imperial Preceptor who had laid a trap in Chang'an and nearly cost him his life? Had this man actually extended his reach to Mount Shu?

He held his breath and strained his hearing to its limit.

The official in crimson robes put away the silk and said to the two elderly men in purple robes, "Taoist masters, the Imperial Preceptor's calculations indicate that the entrance to the secret realm should be located in the core area of ​​the 'Seven Stars Reflecting the Moon' formation. According to the 'Spiritual Pivot of Geomancy,' there are seven earth vein nodes in this area of ​​Mount Shu, arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper. We have already found five of them; we need to hurry to find the remaining two."

An elderly man in purple robes stroked his beard and said, "Rest assured, Supervisor Wang. I have already ordered my disciples to set up the 'Dragon-Seeking and Cave-Exploring Array.' This array can sense even the slightest changes in the earth's veins. As long as there is the slightest leakage of spiritual energy at the entrance of the secret realm, the array will definitely react."

Another elder added, "However, Mount Shu is an ancient sacred land, naturally riddled with array formations. Even if we find the entrance, how to break through the restrictions will require careful consideration."

Wang Jianzheng nodded: "The Imperial Preceptor has his own arrangements for breaking the ban. All we need to do is find the exact location, and that will be a great achievement."

The three talked for a while longer, then the two elderly men in purple robes bowed and left, heading towards a makeshift altar on the west side of the camp. Wang Jianzheng returned to his main tent, where the curtains were drawn, separating the inside from the outside.

Li Bai slowly exhaled.

The information is very clear.

This team belonged to the Imperial Observatory—an agency in charge of astronomy, calendar systems, divination, feng shui, and… official cultivation affairs. The leader, Supervisor Wang, held a high-ranking position. The two elderly men in purple robes were likely highly skilled retainers within the Imperial Observatory.

They are carrying out the Grand Preceptor's orders to search for the entrance to the secret realm.

Moreover, a specific search plan has already been developed – the "Seven Stars Reflecting the Moon" formation, consisting of seven leyline nodes.

Li Bai closed his eyes, and a topographical map of the outer area of ​​Mount Shu appeared in his mind. His geological knowledge from his previous life, his memories of entering the secret realm in this life, and his understanding of the fragments of inheritance in recent days merged to form a three-dimensional map of spiritual energy.

He "saw" it.

On the outskirts of Mount Shu, there are indeed seven points where spiritual energy is relatively concentrated, their locations vaguely corresponding to the Big Dipper. Five of these points have likely already been marked by the Imperial Observatory—those are the locations where bronze stakes are driven into the ground. The remaining two…

Li Bai's consciousness extended along the earth's veins.

One location is to the northwest, about two miles from the camp, in a cave behind a waterfall. The other...

His heart beat slightly faster.

Another location was directly below his current hiding place, in a rock layer about thirty feet deep.

That is the core of the "Seven Stars Reflecting the Moon" formation—the location of the seventh star of the Big Dipper, "Yao Guang," which is also the point of "moon reflection." According to feng shui, when the moonlight is at its strongest, the earth's spiritual energy will gather here, forming a temporary "gateway."

That is the exact location of the entrance to the secret realm.

Li Bai opened his eyes, a glint of blue light flashing deep within his pupils.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau has not yet discovered this place.

Why?

He carefully observed the movements of the cultivators on the hillside below. They were indeed advancing westward, their detection range gradually moving away from this direction. Occasionally, a cultivator would walk towards this side, but would stop a hundred feet away, their compass artifacts showing no reaction, before turning and leaving.

The natural formation is at work.

Li Bai could sense that the area beneath his feet was shrouded in an extremely subtle spiritual energy field. This spiritual energy field was not man-made, but rather a barrier naturally formed by the earth's veins over millions of years. It acted like a filter, diluting, distorting, and dispersing the spiritual energy fluctuations leaking from the secret realm, making them difficult to detect using conventional methods.

Only those who are extremely sensitive to the earth's veins and know the exact "key" can find and open that door.

Li Bai was that person.

He not only knew the location of the entrance, but also remembered how to enter—the mark left in his consciousness by the High Priest of the Western Mausoleum Kingdom when he left the secret realm last time included the steps, hand gestures, and spiritual energy circulation routes for entering and exiting the restriction.

The question now is: how to approach the entrance and open it without alerting the Imperial Observatory?

Li Bai continued to lie in wait and observe.

Daylight arrives.

The camp became even busier. The cultivators split into several teams and, under the command of Wang Jianzheng and the purple-robed elder, advanced in two directions: west and north. The detection array's range expanded, more than a dozen bronze stakes were driven in, and the spiritual energy patterns on the ground became increasingly dense.

Li Bai noticed a detail: the cultivators' search method was a typical "grid-based investigation." They divided the target area into squares, probed each square with magical artifacts, recorded the data, and then moved on to the next square.

This method is both scientific and clumsy.

Science lies in not overlooking any area; stupidity lies in its inefficiency and its inability to counter natural formations.

Li Bai observed that when a group of cultivators detected the area near him, the compasses in their hands began to spin erratically, and their spiritual energy sensing devices emitted chaotic fluctuations. The leader of the group frowned and examined the area for a long time before finally concluding that it was either a "geomagnetic anomaly" or "mineral interference." He marked the area as "worthless" in his logbook and led the group away.

A natural formation protects the entrance.

But it can only provide temporary protection.

Li Bai observed that the two purple-robed elders would occasionally ascend the altar to cast some kind of large-scale detection spell. Each time they cast the spell, a circle of pale golden light would spread out from the altar, covering an area of ​​several miles. As the light swept across, Li Bai could feel a slight tremor in the earth beneath his feet.

They are using violence to "whitewash" the situation.

If once doesn't work, try twice; if twice doesn't work, try three times. Eventually, a loophole will appear in the natural array's shield, and a trace of spiritual energy fluctuations at the entrance to the secret realm will leak out.

At that point, it would be impossible to hide it anymore.

Time is tight.

Li Bai waited patiently.

He was like a real rock, blending into his surroundings. By day, he remained motionless, using the shadows of the rock face and the cover of the bushes. By night, under the cover of darkness, he slowly adjusted his position, searching for the best angle to strike.

He needs two conditions:

First, there was a gap in the exploration activities of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory.

Second, a "window period" has appeared for the flow of spiritual energy from the earth's veins.

The first condition was that he discovered a pattern after observing for a whole day.

钦天监的修士也是人，需要休息。他们的活动有明显的时间段：卯时到辰时（早上5点到9点）是布阵和準备工作；巳时到申时（上午9点到下午5点）是主力探测时间；酉时（下午5点到7点）是收工和数据分析；戌时到寅时（晚上7点到凌晨5点）是警戒和轮休。

The most heavily guarded time is from 7 pm to 1 am, when the camp is brightly lit, the patrol density is the highest, and two elderly men in purple robes take turns guarding the altar.

The relatively weak period is from 1 AM to 5 AM (丑时 to 寅时).

It was the darkest time of day, when people were most tired, and the cultivators who had been on duty all night would be in a state of exhaustion. Although the patrol was still moving, their pace was noticeably slower, and their concentration had decreased. The two purple-robed elders would usually return to their tents to rest during this period, leaving only their disciples at the altar to maintain basic vigilance.

The second condition requires more precise sensing.

Li Bai gently pressed his palm onto the rock.

The spiritual energy of the Foundation Establishment stage seeped into the rock strata through the palm, extending downwards like tendrils. One zhang, two zhang, five zhang, ten zhang... the spiritual energy tendrils sensed the density, temperature, humidity of the rock, and the faint earth vein energy flowing within it.

He "saw" the flow of the earth's veins.

They were luminous "rivers" winding deep within the rock strata. Some were as thick as an arm, brimming with spiritual energy; others were as thin as a hair, almost broken. They intertwined, forming a complex network.

At the core of the network, at the "Yaoguang" node, the earth's spiritual energy is pulsating in a specific rhythm.

dong... dong... dong...

Like a heartbeat.

Li Bai held his breath and concentrated, recording the frequency of the pulse.

After every seven slow pulsations, a stronger fluctuation will follow; after every forty-nine stronger fluctuations, a violent oscillation will follow; and after every three hundred and forty-three violent oscillations…

There will be a brief "quiet period".

At that time, all the earth's spiritual energy will converge simultaneously, the shielding effect of the natural formation will be minimized, and a slight gap will appear in the restriction at the entrance to the secret realm.

The duration is approximately thirty breaths.

Li Bai was calculating the time.

The last major shock occurred yesterday at noon. At this rate, the next "period of stillness" will be...

It is 3:45 AM tonight.

He opened his eyes, a resolute glint in the depths of his pupils.

It's tonight.

***

Night was falling.

One by one, the lights in the camp were extinguished, leaving only the necessary campfires and the torches of the patrol team. The monks returned to their tents to rest, with only two young disciples remaining on duty at the altar. They sat cross-legged, a bronze mirror floating in front of them, its surface reflecting the blurry images of the surrounding mountains and forests.

Li Bai began to take action.

Like a shadow, he slid out from behind the rock face, moving briskly down the hillside. Each step landed on the thickest part of the grass to avoid making a sound; each movement was concealed by the whistling of the night wind.

There are still two hundred feet to go to the entrance.

He needed to cross a relatively open slope, where there were no tall trees, only low shrubs and weeds. This was the most dangerous section.

Li Bai lay prone at the edge of the grass, waiting for his chance.

A patrol came from the left, six men lined up in a row, their torches illuminating a ten-zhang (approximately 33 meters) area in front of them. Li Bai calculated their pace, line of sight, and the range of the torchlight.

Right now.

When the patrol reached the middle of the slope and turned their backs to him, Li Bai moved.

He darted out like a cheetah, his body low to the ground. His Foundation Establishment stage spiritual power erupted in his legs, pushing his speed to its limit, yet without creating a noticeable gust of wind. Ten zhang in three breaths.

He rushed into the bushes opposite, curled up, and held his breath.

Unaware of what was happening, the patrol continued onward.

Li Bai breathed a sigh of relief and continued downwards.

One hundred zhang.

Fifty feet.

Twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters).

He could clearly feel the pulse of the earth beneath his feet, growing stronger and faster. The Azure Lotus Sword trembled even more noticeably in his dantian, and the lotus patterns on its surface began to shimmer with azure light, as if in celebration.

Ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Li Bai stopped in front of a rock wall.

It looked no different from the surrounding rocks—the gray-brown rock surface was covered with moss, and a few tenacious weeds grew from the crevices. But Li Bai knew that the entrance was just three zhang (approximately 10 meters) behind this rock face.

He needs to wait for a "resting period".

One quarter past midnight.

The camp was silent. The two disciples on the altar began to yawn, one of them even dozing off against the edge of the altar. The footsteps of the patrolmen became sparse, and the torchlight dimmed considerably.

The second quarter of the hour of Zi (11:45 PM).

The earth's veins pulsated to their peak.

Li Bai could feel the ground beneath his feet trembling slightly, and a deep rumble coming from deep within the rocks. The sound was extremely faint, imperceptible to ordinary people, but clearly detectable to cultivators.

The tremors of the Azure Lotus Sword were almost uncontrollable.

Li Bai took a deep breath, circulated his internal energy, and forcibly suppressed the resonance of the sword.

It cannot be exposed.

The third quarter of the hour of Zi (11:45 PM).

coming.

The earth's pulsation suddenly stopped.

The feeling was extremely strange—one second it was a surging ocean of spiritual energy, the next it turned into a still, lifeless pool. All energy receded, all fluctuations disappeared, and even the shielding force field of the natural array experienced a brief vacuum.

It's now!

Li Bai's hands formed a complex hand seal, his fingers flying across the page. The spiritual energy in his dantian circulated along a specific route, flowing through his meridians to his hands, where it condensed into a blue light spot within the hand seal.

He took a step forward.

The steps are peculiar—the left foot takes a half step forward, the right foot steps diagonally, and the body twists, as if performing an ancient sacrificial dance. This is the "key step" for entering the secret realm; every step must be precise, and every turn must conform to the rhythm of the earth's veins.

The first step is to step three feet to the left of the rock face.

Ripples spread across the surface of the rock, like waves on water.

The second step is to step diagonally to the right, with your body almost parallel to the rock face.

The ripples expanded, the rock wall began to become transparent, and the distorted light and shadow of the space behind could be vaguely seen.

Step 3...

Li Bai was about to take his third step.

A powerful divine sense swept across the area without warning.

That divine sense was like a tangible tide, cold, majestic, and bearing the mark of official authority, instantly covering every inch of land, every rock, and every blade of grass within a radius of a hundred feet. Wherever the divine sense passed, even the air seemed to freeze.

Li Bai froze instantly.

The third step he took abruptly stopped in mid-air.

His muscles tensed, his spiritual energy flowed abruptly to a halt, and even his breathing stopped. He activated the Concealing Breath Technique to its limit, transforming himself into a lifeless, breathless, and cold rock.

The divine sense lingered on him for a moment.

That moment felt as long as eternity.

Li Bai could feel the divine sense piercing his body like a probe, scanning his meridians, dantian, and even the depths of his consciousness. The Azure Lotus Sword trembled wildly in his dantian, its sword spirit emitting a silent shriek, but Li Bai forcefully suppressed it with his powerful willpower.

Do not move.

Unable to resist.

Not a single trace of spiritual energy fluctuation can be revealed.

The master of this divine sense was far more powerful than him. At least at the Golden Core stage, and possibly even the Nascent Soul stage. A cultivator of this level possessed a divine sense so sharp that it could detect the most subtle energy anomalies.

Li Bai didn't even dare to think.

Because high-level cultivators' divine sense can sometimes detect strong fluctuations in thought.

He emptied his mind, making his brain a blank and his body a truly inanimate object.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

The consciousness finally shifted away.

It swept across the rock face, across the bushes, across the distant camp, and finally slowly retreated, disappearing in the direction of the central tent.

Li Bai remained motionless.

After another ten breaths, confirming that the divine sense had not swept over again, he slowly and very slightly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

My back was soaked with cold sweat.

Just a moment ago, he was only a hair's breadth away from being exposed. If it weren't for his masterful concealment technique, if it weren't for the sword spirit of the Azure Lotus Sword suppressing him, if he hadn't decisively stopped all his movements...

They are probably already locked onto by that divine sense and surrounded.

Li Bai looked down at his feet.

The "static period" of the earth's veins has passed.

The pulsation resumed, but its intensity was much weaker than before. The shielding force field of the natural array was restored, the ripples on the rock wall disappeared, and it returned to hard rock.

The window of opportunity has been missed.

The next "static period" will not occur until after the 343rd oscillation—that is seven days later.

Seven days.

The Imperial Observatory's search will not cease. Seven days is enough time for them to expand their detection range to this area, enough time for them to discover the anomalies in the natural formations, enough time for them to... find the entrance.

Li Bai slowly retreated, disappearing back into the darkness.

He needs a new plan.

The powerful divine sense that was stationed at the camp was like a sword hanging overhead, making every action fraught with danger.