Chapter 8: Undercurrents, Third Level of Body Refinement

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In the dim underground chamber, the gaunt fingers of the figure clad in black robes gently traced the edges of a parchment report. The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows in his sunken eye sockets.

He read through the report titled "Suspected Discovery of an Individual with Spatial Power Aptitude" for the third time, and with each reading, his doubts deepened.

"Two days..." The black-robed man's hoarse voice echoed through the basement, grating like sandpaper. "Only two days from receiving the order to the target's appearance."

He slowly rose, the hem of his robe sweeping across the bluestone floor with a faint rustle.

Pacing toward the wall, he fixed his gaze on the vast map of the Azure Continent hanging there, lingering long over the position of Destiny City.

Since the calamity thirty thousand years ago, not a single individual with the aptitude to cultivate spatial powers had appeared across the entire Azure Continent.

Though his cultivation was profound, he himself was certainly not one who had mastered spatial powers.

This meant he had no means to detect who possessed such aptitude.

When he first received the order from the esteemed lord, the black-robed man was troubled for a long time, unable to conceive a method to locate the target.

After half a day of agonizing contemplation, he shifted his strategy—if he could not find the spatially gifted one, then he would force the spatially gifted to reveal themselves.

"Gray crystal stone-associated ore..."

He murmured softly, recalling the meticulous instructions he had given to his subordinates to set up the trap.

He had directed them to place numerous treasures within the shops throughout the entire Destiny Market.

All these treasures shared two features: first, their true nature was concealed by special means, making it impossible to discern their identity at a glance; second, each contained a trace amount of spatial power.

The gray crystal stone-associated ore was one such item.

His subordinates deliberately mixed these ores with ordinary ones, coating their surfaces with a black glaze that blocked detection. Even a second-grade appraisal master from Destiny Tower would have to slice open the ore to notice anything amiss.

"In the blink of an eye..." A cold smile tugged at the black-robed man’s withered lips.

"From the moment he noticed the gray crystal stone-associated ore to when he decided to purchase it, this youngster barely paused to think. He merely asked the price as a formality and then bought it outright."

He turned toward the obsidian table at the center of the chamber, fingertips igniting a faint blue flame. The firelight cast the words on the report into sharp relief:

[Target: Lin Chuan, male, age twenty. Two days ago, after identifying a star core fragment, he was invited by Li Ming, chief appraisal master of the Destiny Tower’s outer market branch, to become a fifth-grade guest appraisal master.

At the hour of the dog (7–9 pm) on the same day, he entered the Hundred Herb Hall to purchase materials for body-refining medicinal baths (these materials differ from common formulas sold publicly). Afterward, he casually bought a disguised gray crystal stone-associated ore. Today, he sold star sand to the West Main Hall of Destiny Tower for seventy-five taels of gold...]

The black-robed man’s fingers suddenly clenched, the parchment groaning under the strain.

Thirty thousand years—an entire thirty millennia without the emergence of a spatially gifted individual—and yet, on the second hour after he set his trap, the target willingly took the bait. Such coincidence was far too deliberate.

"My lord..."

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A gleam flickered in the black-robed man’s eyes. "Is this your doing?"

He paced back to the table and retrieved a jade talisman from a hidden compartment.

The talisman’s surface was etched with intricate cloud patterns, shimmering with an eerie blood-red hue under the candlelight.

His skeletal fingers caressed the talisman for a long moment, feeling the faint ridges beneath his touch, before returning it to its place.

"No rush..." he muttered, his voice barely audible. "If that lord could predict Lin Chuan’s appearance, then he can surely anticipate our thoughts as well..."

A low, rumbling laugh escaped the black-robed man’s throat, resembling the hoot of a night owl.

He took out a fresh sheet of parchment, dipped his brush in vermilion ink, and began to write, leaving dark red strokes across the paper:

[Effective immediately, covertly surveil target Lin Chuan, recording his every move. Pay special attention to interactions with spatial attribute objects. Submit a comprehensive intelligence report every seven days. Do not alert the target; violators will be severely punished.]

Upon finishing, he lightly shook a copper bell resting at the table’s edge.

Its clear chime echoed throughout the underground chamber.

Within three breaths, a figure shrouded entirely in grey mist silently materialized in a corner of the stone chamber, as if emerging directly from the shadows.

"My lord."

A hoarse voice drifted from the mist, as if carried from a distant place.

The black-robed man rolled the parchment and sealed it with black wax, stamping an arcane rune upon the seal.

"Dispatch the Shadow Guard to execute this. Remember, only surveillance, no contact. If the target leaves the boundaries of Destiny City, report immediately."

"Understood."

The grey mist rippled subtly, as if stirred by a breeze, then vanished into the shadows, taking the parchment with it as though it had never been there.

The black-robed man sank back into his obsidian chair, fingertips tapping rhythmically on the armrest.

Thirty thousand years of silence, the sudden emergence of a spatial prodigy, and the timely orders of that lord...

All of it felt too coincidental, too carefully orchestrated like a meticulously scripted play.

He closed his eyes, recalling the details of the ancient catastrophe from the texts, searching for any hint or clue.

"Lin Chuan..." he murmured the name, as if trying to extract some hidden secret from it.

Regardless of whether this was the lord’s arrangement or not, the value of one with spatial aptitude was beyond measure.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and withdrew a small crystal orb from his sleeve.

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Inside the orb floated a tiny, grey crystal—the sample of the gray crystal stone-associated ore.

The black-robed man stared intently at the crystal, recalling records about whether novice body-refining warriors could comprehend spatial power.

———

Morning light filtered through the window lattice as Lin Chuan climbed out of the medicinal bath barrel.

The herbal liquid inside had turned a murky gray-black, emitting a pungent, fishy stench, with strange sediments floating atop the surface.

His body was flushed red, like a peeled shrimp; every inch of skin burned fiercely, yet excitement sparkled in his eyes.

"Body Refining Realm, level three!"

Lin Chuan clenched his fist, feeling the surge of power coursing through his muscles, at least twice as strong as before.

He tried punching the wall, and to his surprise, his fist left a shallow imprint on the hard blue brick.

A lazy voice came from the ring on his finger: "Don’t get cocky. To teleport to the Core Secret Realm, you need at least Earth Martial Realm cultivation. You’re still a long way off at Body Refining Realm level three."

Lin Chuan pouted, drying off with a towel and changing into a clean set of rough cloth clothes.

As his cultivation advanced, his hunger grew ravenous enough to swallow a whole ox, his stomach growling loudly in the quiet room.

Upon opening the door, he saw Pan Yu standing at the entrance holding a delicate food box, a sweet smile lighting up her face.

"Young Master Lin~"

Pan Yu’s eyes sparkled as she spoke in a cloyingly sweet tone, "I specially prepared breakfast..."

Lin Chuan instinctively wanted to refuse, but his stomach betrayed him with a loud "grumble" that even Pan Yu heard.

By the stone table in the courtyard, Wang Tiezhu was already loudly calling out, a half-eaten bun stuffed in his mouth: "Brother Lin! Come try Miss Pan’s cooking! These crab roe buns are incredible! I’ve eaten eight and still want more!"

Lin Chuan had no choice but to accept the bun Pan Yu handed him.

The bun’s skin was so thin it was almost transparent, revealing the golden filling inside.

With one bite, the savory broth burst in his mouth, scalding him, yet he unwillingly held it in.

"How is it?" Pan Yu asked eagerly, blinking her eyes.

"It’s... it’s okay," Lin Chuan replied, though his hands were honest enough to reach for another. This time, he was wiser, carefully biting a small opening first to let the steam escape.