They didn't speak much as they walked.
The wind was dry and tugged at their cloaks like it was trying to drag them back. The soil was cracked beneath their feet, fractured with fine white lines. Sometimes patches of brittle grass clung to the stones, only to fade again a few steps later. The land felt like it couldn't decide if it wanted to live or die.
Shang Di walked at the front, his eyes scanning the terrain not just with vision, but sense.
His thoughts were half buried in the silence of the system's interface.
[System Function: Terrain Compatibility Scan – Active]
Area: Lower Southern Vein Arc
Qi Presence: Weak to moderate
Spiritual Flow: Dispersed
Foundational Stability: 37%
Compatibility Rating: Rejected
He exhaled through his nose and kept moving.
Behind him, Wei Lin stretched out his arms. "You know, most people when they're wandering around with no goal usually have a drink in hand."
"You can go back to the market and get one," Shang Di replied without looking back at him.
Wei Lin scoffed. "And for that i should miss the scenic dead grass tour?"
Yun walked quietly behind them both. The fifteen-year-old boy didn't complain, didn't ask any questions, but he also didn't keep up too well. His clothes were patched at the shoulder now — Wei Lin had given him some spare thread and wrapped his feet with old cloth. Still, Yun never asked for anything.
"What are we even looking for?" he asked after some time.
Shang Di glanced back at him.
"Somewhere to begin."
Yun's brows pulled together. "You mean the sect?"
He nodded.
Wei Lin cut in. "Apparently not just any place will do. The land needs to have good bones. Something about Qi alignment and foundations and spiritual… whatever."
Yun tilted his head. "How do you know when a place has that?"
Shang Di didn't answer directly.
Instead, he veered left down a sloping trail toward a rocky outcrop. The sun hit the stone oddly here—like light wasn't welcome.
He pressed his hand to the ground.
[System Scan – Cost: 25 SP]
Confirm?
…Confirmed.
Qi Pattern: Unstable
Formation Echoes: Null
Vein Pulse: Absent
Compatibility: 14%
"No," he said aloud.
They climbed out again, leaving the outcrop behind.
...
It went like that for hours.
The terrain shifted from shale hills to scattered ash flats. There were old signs of cultivation — a broken stone platform here, a shattered training post there — but everything felt half-devoured by time.
The sky began to darken again.
And just when they thought there was nothing left—
They came across a low ridge, and beyond it, a flat plateau stretched out like a wound carved into the land. Tall stones jutted from the earth in a semi-circle, and the very center was unnaturally smooth — smoothed by something more than nature.
Yun pointed. "That looks… different."
Shang Di's pulse quickened.
He stepped forward and knelt down at the center of the circle.
[System Notification]
Residual Formation Signature Detected
Category: Binding Nexus (Collapsed)
Qi Conduction: High
Vein Echo: Dormant
Terrain Rating: 79%
Compatibility: Tentative – Condition Locked
Sub-Vein Node Present – Currently Sealed
A pause.
[New Objective Triggered – Vein Unsealing]
Condition: Locate the Vein Core Anchor
Bonus Objective: Establish Temporary Bond
Reward: Unknown (Determined by Completion Clarity)
Shang Di didn't speak.
Wei Lin leaned in. "That the look you get when something's good or bad?"
"I think," Shang Di said slowly, "we're finally close."
⸻
They set camp on the edge of the plateau.
Yun gathered sticks for the fire while Wei Lin lit it with a small talisman spark. Shang Di sat just outside the ring of light, gazing at the formation stones.
He opened the system again.
[SP Remaining: 535]
[Shop – Minor Rotation Available]
Scout's Pouch Cache – 250 SP
Contents: 1 Formation Analysis Tool, 1 Vein Sensing Orb, 1 Minor Spiritual Marker
Rarity Distribution:
– UC: 50%
– R: 30%
– E: 15%
– SR: 5%
Draw Method: Fixed (3 Items)
"…Let's make sure this doesn't go wrong."
[250 SP Deducted]
[Opening Cache…]
Three items materialized in his inventory as glowing outlines before fading.
[Vein Sensing Orb (R)] – Scans dormant vein energy within a 500m radius
[Formation Analysis Tool (UC)] – Detects structural degradation in remnants
[Spiritual Marker (UC)] – Tags chosen site for anchoring
Useful.
He pocketed the orb, already planning how to deploy it at sunrise.
Wei Lin stirred the fire with a stick. "You've been quiet all evening. You thinking about that spot?"
Shang Di didn't look at him. "Yeah."
"You think it's the one?"
"…Maybe."
Wei Lin leaned back and threw another twig into the flame. "You always sound like you've got it figured out. Like there's some big map in your head, but you're not letting anyone see it."
Shang Di didn't answer.
A beat passed.
"You know," Wei Lin added with a light chuckle, "sometimes I feel like I'm walking beside a ghost that knows the script already."
This time Shang Di looked up, his gaze flat. "There's no script."
Wei Lin blinked. "Well… sure. I didn't mean—uh, forget I said anything."
He turned back to the fire, scratching the back of his head.
Shang Di turned his eyes toward the dark plateau beyond the firelight.
He didn't explain.
Because he couldn't.
And because no one needed to understand — not yet.
Shang Di stayed up longer than both of them.
And when he finally rested, the wind had stopped.
Only the formation stones still stood — watching.
Waiting.
...
To be continued…