I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

Back at the camp, Meng Chuan was put into a refrigerated truck.

Jiang Yue stood outside the car door, waiting for the staff to pull up the black curtain before turning around and walking towards the intelligence tent.

Before Zhao Cheng's bloodstains had even been washed away, another person appeared in the refrigerated truck.

No one spoke in the camp, and even the movement of equipment was much quieter.

Group Two did not rest.

After the wounds were treated, everyone went directly into the meeting tent.

Lin Ye's right arm was still numb, and the Zhenling Nail had been temporarily removed by the medical team. The spot on his back where he had hit the tree trunk was also swollen, and it ached slightly whenever he sat down.

Cheng Fang glanced at him.

"If you can't hold on, just stand up."

"It hurts more when I'm standing."

"Then don't move around too much."

Lin Ye sat down obediently.

Jiang Yue projected all the photos, test results, and residual sound records from the rock face onto the screen.

Han Xu and Zhou Heng connected via a remote line.

In the center of the screen are seven animal bones of different shapes.

The animal bones themselves have no power, and the residual spiritual energy is very weak. What's truly noteworthy are the engravings on them.

The bones corresponding to wild boar bones extend from the abdomen towards the shoulders and back.

The wolf's path followed along its spine.

The markings on lynxes and macaques are more fragmented, clearly indicating an adaptation to a different body structure.

Zhou Heng enlarged several photos side by side.

"These are not array patterns."

"It's not a symbol used to gather spiritual energy either."

Tang Zhi asked, "Are these really pictures for animals?"

"More like a hint."

Zhou Heng said, "After the church is established, let them use these markings to remember how the spiritual energy traveled."

"It's similar to looking at a breakdown diagram when practicing moves with someone."

Lin Ye added, "The same sound lingers near the old locust tree and the rock face."

"It doesn't just repeat the formula."

"If a wild boar breathes incorrectly, it will correct itself. Once it learns, it can recognize the error."

Zhou Heng looked at him.

"Are you sure it remembers that wild boar?"

"It cannot be 100% certain."

Lin Ye thought for a moment.

"But that sentence was clearly an evaluation of someone who had practiced for a while, unlike a pre-recorded message."

Jiang Yue retrieved the data on the mutated wild boars that had been brought back to the camp.

After the wild boar regained consciousness from anesthesia, it had already repeated its breathing exercises on the restraint frame several times.

Each time, the spiritual energy within the body moves along a similar route.

This operation is too rudimentary and cannot form a complete cycle.

But it did learn it.

Qin Zhao said, "Ordinary spiritual artifacts don't teach anything."

"And they certainly won't teach according to aptitude." Zhou Heng chimed in, "They can distinguish between wolves, wild boars, macaques, bears, and humans from the same voice, and they also know that methods used on animals cannot be directly applied to humans."

The tent fell silent.

The answer is already obvious.

Tang Zhi spoke first.

"A spirit type?"

"It must contain at least the characteristics of a spirit."

Zhou Heng did not state the conclusion definitively.

"The spiritual energy concentration in Black Locust Ridge is also significantly higher than that in the surrounding area, and it gets higher the deeper you go into the mountains. Although the spiritual energy in these cultivation sites on the outskirts is not exaggerated, it has always been very stable."

Cheng Fang raised his eyes.

"There's also a spirit-gathering type."

"right."

Zhou Heng displayed the spiritual energy data collected from Black Locust Ridge on the screen.

Several anomalies are scattered in different areas.

They are not like independent spiritual sources, but more like tributaries extending from the depths of the mountains.

"The core artifact likely possesses both spirit-gathering and artifact-spirit characteristics."

"It gathers spiritual energy in the mountains and then uses its preserved knowledge to teach these animals how to absorb and utilize it."

Jiang Yue frowned.

Why would it teach wild animals?

"I don't know for now."

Zhou Heng said, "It could be a screening process, or it could just be a way to influence the surrounding environment after being trapped."

"But there is one thing that can be basically ruled out."

"It doesn't control all the animals on the mountain directly through some kind of ability."

Last night, the wolf pack attacked the camp and also temporarily used a herd of wild boars to block their pursuit.

Wolves have their own judgment.

The same is true for the animals in front of the rock face today.

They retreated seven times and then stopped attacking. They only became defensive when approached by the animal bones.

None of these seem to be being led by an invisible rope.

Cheng Fang looked at the engravings on the screen.

"The real key is not beast taming."

Zhou Heng nodded.

"It's something it controls."

He listed out a few sentences that Lin Ye had overheard.

The wolf walks on its back.

The bear first sank into its belly.

To draw in vital energy, one must first find the pathways.

Animal fighting techniques cannot be copied verbatim.

The sentences are incomplete.

But when put together, the meaning changes.

It doesn't only teach one type of animal, nor does it just happen to have preserved a fragment of a manual.

It knows how to guide spirits to different bodies, where the spirit should go after entering the body, and what the consequences of misuse will be.

There must be a systematic set of knowledge behind this.

Han Xu finally spoke.

"Can completeness be judged?"

Zhou Heng remained silent for a moment.

"It's impossible to determine how much high-level content it stores."

"But the basic components are most likely complete."

"Breathing, spiritual energy, circulation, physical strengthening, and possibly even bandhas and cycles."

Lin Ye subconsciously looked at the screen.

cycle.

These are precisely the seven things that are currently most lacking.

The Basic Spirit Induction Method can only allow spiritual energy to enter the body, but it does not solve the problem of how to stabilize the circulation of spiritual energy.

The unusual noises that occurred inside his body earlier were because the spiritual energy was entering too quickly and had no outlet.

If that magical artifact truly preserves the complete foundational inheritance, many of the problems in the Seven Places can be easily solved.

This is no longer an ordinary magical artifact.

Rather, it is something that can advance the entire cultivation system by a significant margin.

Han Xu did not ask any further questions.

"The level of the Black Locust Ridge mission has been increased."

"The outer perimeter of the blockade has been expanded, and reinforcements are bringing large-scale storage equipment into the mountains."

"We will try our best to recover the bones and data that the Candlelight Society took away."

"The core magical artifact must not fall into their hands."

Jiang Yue asked, "What about the search for the missing persons?"

"continue."

Han Xu said, "But we can't let the squad split up again."

"From now on, all search routes must simultaneously include reconnaissance of the core area."

Cheng Fang nodded.

"clear."

After the meeting, Jiang Yue stayed in the tent and did not leave.

Meng Chuan's rifle had its magazine removed and was placed on the corner of the table.

He reached out and picked it up, inspecting the bolt.

"After the reinforcements arrived, I continued into the mountains."

Cheng Fang said, "Take care of the injury on your hand first."

"A minor scrape."

"We'll deal with that too."

Jiang Yue glanced at him, didn't argue, and went out with his gun.

At the same time, on the other side of Black Locust Ridge.

Inside an abandoned quarry, the Candle Shadow Society was also sorting out the spoils of this operation.

Zheng Kui's body had been wiped of blood from its face and covered with a coat.

Jiang Zhaoye sat at the cave entrance, re-bandaging the wound on his chest.

Lizard Shadow was shot in the left shoulder. He had just removed the bullet and his face was still a little pale.

Lai Changqing sat in front of a flat stone platform.

Two bones were placed in front of him.

A piece taken from the outer edge, with simple engravings.

The other one came from the rock face, and the route was significantly more complex.

Instead of rushing to infuse spiritual energy into them, he first rotated the two bones in several directions, carefully comparing the starting points and turning points of the engravings.

After a moment, he finally spoke and asked:

"How long did the people from Site Seven stop in front of the rock face?"

The lizard shadow replied, "Approximately twenty minutes."

"That guy named Lin Ye, he's been standing next to the animal bones the whole time?"

"Yes."

"After he spoke, the people from the Seventh Division began to take notes."

Lai Changqing hummed in agreement.

"They figured it out too."

Jiang Zhaoye asked, "What did you see?"

Lai Changqing picked up the first bone.

"This section records the initial movement, only the breathing and the first stage of spiritual energy circulation."

He picked up a second piece.

"There has been a turning point in this area, and subsequent adjustments are also needed."

"It's not the same approach."

Jiang Zhaoye looked at the carvings on the bone.

"One set for each animal?"

"At least according to body shape and meridian pathways."

Lai Changqing spoke calmly.

"The fact that it can distinguish between wolves, pigs, and macaques, and even mentions bears and humans separately, means that these are not just a few fragments of texts left behind by chance."

He placed the bone back on the stone platform.

"What they are taught is conscious, and they understand the complete cultivation system."

"The spiritual artifacts of Black Locust Ridge should possess both the characteristics of gathering spiritual energy and having a spirit within them."

Jiang Zhaoye remained silent for a few seconds.

"Complete inheritance?"

"Highly likely."

Lai Changqing said, "As for how much is still up there, we'll only know once we see the real thing."

He never lost his composure because of a mere guess.

But the more things were like this, the clearer Jiang Zhaoye became about how important this matter was.

The Candlelight Society has no shortage of methods for guiding spirits.

What's lacking are more stable, complete cultivation paths that can adapt to different physiques.

If one can obtain this spiritual artifact, one will gain more than just a few cultivation techniques.

There is also a spirit that truly knows how to teach people how to cultivate.

Lai Changqing connected the communication with Guixu Island.

After a while, the president's voice came from the other end.

"Little Lai".

"How is the situation?"

"The core artifact has not yet been found."

Lai Changqing briefly explained his judgment and evidence, without exaggeration or omitting any of the seven findings.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication.

How confident are you?

"At least 70%."

"That's enough."

The chairman said, "The two nearby teams have already turned towards Black Locust Ridge."

"You'll be in charge of overall coordination."

"Don't continue to waste your energy on seven places just for a few bones."

"First, find the real magical artifact."

Lai Changqing responded in a low voice.

"clear."

"And that young man who could hear the lingering echo."

The president paused for a moment.

"I'll bring it back when I have the chance."

"If there's no chance, don't let it affect the main storyline."

Communication ended.

Lai Changqing packed up the equipment and turned to look at the group.

"Jiang Zhaoye, after you've treated the wounds, take two people and head north."

"Shadow Lizard, keep an eye on the seven reinforcements, and don't get too close."

"The rest of you, follow me and investigate further."

Jiang Zhaoye asked, "Seven locations have already sealed off the mountain; should we take out their camp first?"

"Need not."

Lai Changqing put the two pieces of bone into a sealed bag.

"The more they value it, the more it proves that we are on the right track."

"Let them investigate."

"We'll go there after we find the place."

Another low roar came from outside the cave.

It's a little closer than before.

Lai Changqing walked to the cave entrance and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Deep in the mountains and forests, several birds suddenly burst out of the treetops.

"Find that bear first."

He said.

"The fact that it has survived until now and can still keep the nearby mutated beasts away means it must have learned more than just a few breaths."

Meanwhile, a new round of mapping has been completed at the seven camps.

On the screen, the activity routes left by wild boars, wolves, macaques, and lynxes converged from several directions into the depths of the mountains.

There, the drones couldn't see the ground clearly.

All that could be captured were large areas of exceptionally dense tree canopies.

Cheng Fang stood in front of the map and pointed to that area.

"Once reinforcements arrive, move into the mountains."

Both sides made their decisions almost simultaneously.

Whoever finds the artifact spirit hidden deep within Black Locust Ridge first will likely be the first to obtain the complete cultivation inheritance.