Chapter 51: Tap, Tap, Tap

An hour later, at Tianji City’s south gate.

A spacious carriage pulled by two sturdy horses slowly rolled out through the gate, its wheels rumbling over the bluestone pavement before heading southwest along the rugged official road.

Inside the carriage, Bai Yue leaned back against the cushions, resting with her eyes closed.

Across from her, Su Qingyan was practically sprawled over the low table.

Blueprints were spread out before her, with several charcoal sticks scattered nearby.

Her eyes were fixed on the gear assemblies and cylinder structures on the drawings, muttering to herself as she occasionally scribbled rapid strings of complex calculations and structural modifications in the margins.

By the window, Xiao Yueluo sat fidgeting restlessly.

She lifted the curtain, watching the increasingly desolate landscape outside, her brow furrowed.

The spiritual energy circulation within her body had become agonizingly slow.

Her once-smooth meridians felt as if they were clogged with thick mud—each circulation cycle requiring several times more effort than usual.

Xiao Yueluo dropped the curtain irritably and tugged at her collar.

Her chest felt tight and suffocating.

“Don’t you feel it at all?” she couldn’t help but nudge Bai Yue’s boot.

Bai Yue didn’t even open her eyes, just lazily shifted her position.

“The reason the Spirit-Dead Mine is called that is because this ore contains an extremely special substance.

It indiscriminately devours free-floating spiritual energy and—blocks all divine sense exploration.”

Bai Yue’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was perfectly clear in the quiet carriage.

“For that very reason, this place is a forbidden zone that cultivators who are used to absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth avoid like the plague.

But for us right now, it’s a very good place.”

Good place?

Xiao Yueluo was taken aback, then furrowed her brow even deeper.

“Without spiritual energy, a cultivator is just a cripple!

If we run into danger, we won’t even be able to cast a single spell!

Are you out of your mind?”

“Danger?”

Bai Yue finally cracked an eye open, letting out a cold laugh.

“Besides the unlucky souls exiled here, what sane cultivator would come looking for trouble in this godforsaken mountain of rocks?”

Xiao Yueluo gritted her teeth, wanting to argue, but she had to admit Bai Yue had a point.

Beside them, Su Qingyan hadn’t so much as lifted her head the entire time, as if she hadn’t heard a single word of their exchange.

She was completely immersed in her own world.

The carriage jolted along the bumpy road.

When the sun had fully set and the last traces of twilight were swallowed by the dark grey clouds, the carriage finally stopped.

“Whoa—” The driver knocked on the carriage frame.

“The road’s blocked ahead, folks.

The carriage can’t go any further.

This is as far as I can take you.”

Bai Yue was the first to jump down from the carriage.

Before them lay a vast, circular basin.

The edges of the basin were steep and rugged, the cliffs dotted with mine entrances of various sizes and depths.

In the dim twilight, those black holes looked like countless dark eyes, fixed intently on the uninvited intruders.

The air was thick with a pungent smell of rust and dry, dusty earth.

And the most unsettling thing was—

Deathly silence.

Not a single trace of spiritual energy could be sensed.

It was as if this patch of land had been completely severed from the cultivation world by some invisible law, stripping away all possibility of the extraordinary.

Bai Yue’s gaze swept toward the center of the basin.

There stood a compound built from massive bluestone blocks.

Though weathered by time, in this desolate wilderness, having such a sturdy and sizable building was undoubtedly the Du Xian Sect’s supervisor outpost here.

“We’re here.

Grab your things.

Let’s go.”

Bai Yue led the way, picking her steps along the rocky path toward the center of the basin.

Two lanterns hung outside the stone residence, casting faint light.

A plump man in the outer disciple uniform of the Du Xian Sect was dozing in a lounge chair.

“Tap, tap, tap.”

The crisp sound of footsteps was unusually distinct in the dead silence of the basin.

The man smacked his lips drowsily.

The next second, seeming to sense something, he jolted awake and grabbed the sword that had fallen to the ground.

“Who?!”

He drew his sword, the tip trembling slightly from nervousness.

Then, by the dim lantern light, he made out the approaching figures.

Three young women.

The man froze, rubbing his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating.

In this godforsaken place where even birds wouldn’t drop their droppings, how could women of this caliber possibly show up?

And three of them at that?!

“Sect transfer order.”

Bai Yue wasted no time on pleasantries.

She walked up and tossed an iron token engraved with the character “Punishment” directly into the man’s arms.

The man fumbled to catch it, and the moment he made out the inscription, his eyes went wide.

Then, an ecstatic grin spread across his face.

“A supervisor?

A new supervisor?!

Perfect!

I can finally get out of this hellhole!”

The man was so excited his whole body jiggled as he rushed into the side room.

A chaotic clatter of overturned boxes and rummaging followed.

In less than ten breaths, the man emerged with a bulging pack, charging out like a gust of wind.

His lightning-speed packing clearly came from endless practice.

At the doorway, he paused and looked back at Bai Yue with a sympathetic glance.

“This junior sister… judging by your bearing, you must be someone important in the inner sect, right?

Got on the wrong side of the higher-ups?”

The man sighed and shook his head.

“This place—it’s not fit for human habitation.

Stay too long, and your spiritual energy will dry up; your meridians will atrophy and degenerate.

You… good luck!

And whatever you do, don’t get any ideas about ending it all!”

With that, as if afraid Bai Yue might change her mind, he turned and fled back up the path they had come from without looking back.

His agile movements completely belied his two-hundred-pound frame.

Watching the man’s retreating figure, Xiao Yueluo’s face turned green.

Meridian atrophy?!

I just started getting my meridians fixed—and now this?!

“Bai Yue!”

Xiao Yueluo spun around, her voice trembling.

“H-How long exactly were you sentenced to?!”

“Six months.”

“Six months?!”

Xiao Yueluo saw stars, nearly fainting on the spot.

Six months in this place—her newly restored meridians would be utterly ruined!

Bai Yue paid no attention to her panic.

She strode up the steps and pushed open the door to the largest stone room at the center.

“Creak—”

The heavy wooden door let out a grating screech.

Bai Yue waved a hand in front of her face, dispersing the dust that had been stirred up.

Stepping inside, she looked around.

To be fair, as a top-tier sect, even the buildings erected in a place like this were solidly constructed.

The walls were made of igneous rock, perfectly fitted to keep out the cold.

But inside, it was completely bare—aside from a stone table and a few stone benches in the center, not even a wooden bed.

And that was exactly what Bai Yue wanted.

She closed her eyes, carefully sensing her surroundings.

No array-monitoring fluctuations.

No traces of recording stones.

Not even the faintest wisp of spiritual energy flow.

Perfect.

It was a naturally perfect dead zone.

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