Chapter 34: Beneath the Spiritual Spring

Lin Mei followed Ao Kuiba out the main hall. She caught up with him in a matter of moments. Ao took note of the girl’s presence, but made no inquiry as to why she followed him. For a while Lin Mei simply grew annoyed by the man’s behavior.

"Are you seriously going to continue pretending I’m not here?"

"Yup."

Lin Mei raised an eyebrow. "You answered rather quickly. Fine, I’ll ask properly then. Why won’t you teach me? I already told you that I want to learn alchemy and I’m willing to do whatever work you require. You didn’t even ask what I know before refusing to teach me. If you’re worried that I’ll be a waste of your time, prove that I’m worthy of your instruction."

Ao Kuiba continued to walk to the west side of the property.

"You’re assuming I want an apprentice."

"You don’t need me to be your apprentice. You just need to teach me."

"I don’t teach people."

Lin Mei quickened her pace to keep up with him. "Then what should I call what you do with alchemy? You know alchemy, which means you learned it from somebody."

"I learned."

"From who?"

Ao turned to look at her.

Lin Mei immediately understood that she would get no answer.

"You know, you could’ve just said that you don’t want to talk about it."

"I don’t want to talk about it."

Lin Mei sighed. "Fine, but that doesn’t change anything. I still want to learn."

"You should find another teacher."

"I have tried. My aunt knows alchemy, but she’s busy with her own work, and whenever I ask her to properly teach me, she tells me that I’m being impatient. Maybe she’s right, but I don’t want to come to you because I want a shortcut. I want to learn how to properly refine pills. I want to be able to look at a furnace and know what went wrong without having to guess."

Ao’s pace slowed a fraction of a percent.

Lin Mei took notice.

"So you understand what I mean."

"I understand what you’re saying."

"Then why won’t you teach me?"

"Because I have better things to do."

Lin Mei stared at him.

"You really like that answer."

"It works."

"It does not."

Ao turned back to walking.

Lin Mei followed. "I’ll keep asking."

"I know."

"And I won’t get tired."

"You will."

"We’ll see."

Ao said nothing more as they came upon the edge of the herb field and the Spiritual Spring. Located on a stone platform surrounded by formations carved into the rock, the spring had currents of spiritual energy flowing through it that fed into the herb field.

Ao stopped to the side of the spring.

Lin Mei glanced at him. "We came all the way out here for this?"

Ao nodded.

Lin Mei crossed her arms. "What are we looking for?"

"I noticed something when I came out to the property before."

Lin Mei immediately knelt down beside him. "Something about the spring?"

"The formation beneath it."

Lin Mei looked at the markings. "I’ve seen this formation before. My family uses it to channel the spring’s energy into the field. What’s wrong with it?"

Ao placed his fingers against the stone wall.

"This isn’t the original formation."

Lin Mei frowned. "What are you saying?"

"The formation that your family uses was built atop something else."

Lin Mei looked at the markings again

"You’re saying that there’s another formation beneath this one?"

"Part of one."

"Did you know who built it?"

"No."

"Did you know what it was for?"

"No."

Lin Mei studied Ao’s face. "You came out here because you suspected that there was something beneath the spring."

Ao nodded.

Lin Mei nodded slowly. That answer made sense to her.

Ao brushed aside some of the dirt along the edge of the stone platform. Beneath it was a set of markings that ran from one side to the next. Further in, there was another marking partially covered by the dirt.

Lin Mei leaned closer.

"I can’t even make out what that is."

"You’re looking at the surface."

"What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"The flow."

Lin Mei furrowed her brows. "The spiritual energy?"

"Yes, now don’t look at the markings and follow the flow of the energy."

Lin Mei did as instructed. After several seconds she exhaled.

"I can feel it. It flows into the field, but there’s something beneath it. It’s not as strong."

Ao turned to look at her.

Lin Mei took notice.

"What?"

"You can sense it."Of course I can. I’m a cultivator."Most people would’ve missed it."

Her eyes widened

"Was that praise?"

"No."

"It sounded like praise."

"It wasn’t."

Lin Mei smiled regardless.

Ao turned his attention back to the formation

The flow beneath the surface did not behave like an ordinary gathering formation - it branched out through pathways that led further underground and away from the spring.

Ao placed his palm against the stone.

A faint glow came from the buried formation.

Lin Mei leaned closer.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Then why did it react?"

"There is still energy stored within it."

"After all this time?"

"Yes."

Lin Me looked surprised. "How is that possible?"

"The formation was built well."

"Can you repair it?"

Ao paused. "Possibly."

Lin Mei’s eyes lit up. "If you repair it, what happens?"

"I don’t know."

"You don’t know?"

"I haven’t determined its purpose."

Lin Mei thought the question over.

"Could it be a teleportation formation?"

"It’s not the kind of teleportation you’re thinking of."

"Then what?"

Ao studied the formation.

"The distance is too great."

Lin Mei looked at him.

"How great?"

"Greater than anything I’ve ever seen."

Her face changed as realization seemed to dawn on her

"You mean outside Azure Cloud City?"Much farther."

"How much farther?"

Ao refused to answer.

Lin Mei stared at him before turning back to the formation

"Are you saying that this could take someone outside Azure Heaven Realm?"

"I said I don’t know its purpose."

"But you think it could?"

"Yes."

Lin Mei became silent

Ao moved to the other side of the spring. The formation continued underground along with the strange current of spiritual energy. Ao stopped to examine a part of the formation that had been cut into.

Someone had tampered with the formation.

Ao crouched down closer. The person who tampered with the formation had enough knowledge to keep from damaging the entire formation with their interference. Ao ran his finger along the altered part of the formation.

Lin Mei noticed the change in Ao’s expression

"What happened?"

"Someone changed this."

Lin Mei crouched down beside him. "Changed what?"

"This part."

She looked it over, but couldn’t see what was different about it.

"How can you tell?"

"The spiritual energy doesn’t flow naturally in this area."

"Could it have had something to do with the passage of time?"

"No."

"Then someone did it?"

"Yes."

"When?"

Ao looked over the residue left behind on the stone.

"Recently."

Lin Mei’s curiousity turned into concern

"Someone came onto our property and altered an ancient formation without telling us?"

"Yes."

"Who would do that?"

"I don’t know."Can you find out?"Not from this."

Lin Mei looked at Ao. "Then what are you going to do?"

Ao stood.

"Look."

He turned to the other side of the formation.

Lin Mei followed quickly. "You’re not going to tell my father about this?"

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I don’t know enough."

She opened her mouth to retort, but another voice interupted.

"Sir?"

Ao turned. A Lin family servant stood at the edge of the herb field with a basket in his hands. He had obviously been working nearby when he noticed them.

The servant looked over the exposed part of the formation, then Ao. "You shouldn’t be here."

Ao’s eyes darkened. Lin Mei frowned. "Why are you saying that? This is our family’s spring."

The servant lowered his head. "The family head didn’t give anyone permission to tamper with the formation."

Ao’s expression remained the same.

"I didn’t disturb it."

The servant looked around nervously. Lin Mei knelt beside him. "He’s only examining it. You don’t need to be quite so afraid."

The servant swallowed. "I should inform the family head."

Ao let him go.

"Go."

The servant turned and hurried back to the main house.

Lin Mei watched him leave. "You knew he was going to tell them."

"Yes."

"And you’re just going to let it happen?"

"Yes."

Lin Mei looked at Ao in disbelief. "You could’ve at least told me before they get here."

"There’s nothing to tell yet."

Lin Mei let out a sharp breath

"You really don’t care about making it easy for people, do you?"

"No."

The sound of approaching footsteps came from the direction of the residence. Lin Mei turned. Several guards came into the herb field, running at a brisk pace towards the spring. Their hands rested near their weapons and their faces were serious.

One of the guards stepped forward. "Sir, please step away from the Spiritual Spring."

Lin Mei immediately frowned. "Why?"

The guard looked her over. "Miss, please step back. We were ordered to secure the area."

"By who?"

"The family head."

Lin Mei crossed her arms. "Then tell me why my father decided that Ao was suddenly a threat."

The guard hesitated. "We were only ordered to ensure that nobody tampered with the formation."

Ao looked at him. "I wasn’t touching it when you got here."

The guard had no response. More footsteps were coming. Lin Zhengyuan, accompanied by Lin Yuanhong, Su Wan, and Lin Yue, came into the herb field. A group of other family members followed.

Lin Zhengyuan’s gaze settled on Ao the moment he arrived. "Ao Kuiba, what are you doing here?"

Ao turned to look at the formation before answering. "Examining it."

Lin Zhengyuan’s expression tightened. "You could’ve told me before coming out here. This formation belongs to the Lin family, and nobody has the authority to tamper with it without my permission."

"I didn’t tamper with it."

Lin Yuanhong stepped forward. "Then why are you examining it?"

Ao turned to look at him

"Because the formation has been tampered with."

Lin Yuanhong’s expression darkened

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell who did it?"

"No."

Lin Zhengyuan turned to look at the ground then back at Ao.

"Then tell me what you know."

Ao remained calm.

"I know that the formation is much older than your family."

Lin Zhengyuan narrowed his eyes

"What else?"

"That it was built for spatial travel."

Lin Qingshan had not come with them, but Lin Zhengyuan’s expression betrayed his surprise nonetheless.

Lin Yue stepped closer

"Spatial travel?"

Ao nodded.

Lin Zhengyuan stared at the formation for several seconds before finally asking "And the person who tampered with it?"

Ao’s gaze returned to the altered portion of the formation

"They weren’t trying to destroy it."

Lin Yuanhong’s voice was carefully measured

"Then what were they trying to do?"

Ao did not turn away from the formation.

"Make it work."