Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Spirit Detecting Disc
After finishing his morning practice of the Iron Bull Skill, Li Yuan rose to his feet.
The five forms, now at the Skillful Realm, flowed together with increasing smoothness. As his Qi Blood washed over his organs and limbs, his body responded almost instinctively, no longer requiring conscious guidance.
Li Yuan straightened his clothes and hung the waist token at his waist. Today, he was going to patrol the outskirts of the market town.
Leaving the market town through the eastern gate, Li Yuan found that the paved bluestone road ended after only a few steps.
In its place was a dirt path, flanked by overgrown weeds and dotted with a few stunted, crooked trees.
In the distance, the Yuanheng Mountain Range stretched across the western skyline. Its gray-blue ridges rose in overlapping layers; they looked close, but were actually nearly a hundred li away.
Inside the walls of the market town was another world.
Li Yuan followed the route marked on the document, heading north before turning east and passing several intersections on the outskirts of the Spirit Field District.
The journey was slightly different from what Li Yuan had expected; there was nothing out of the ordinary. The wasteland was quiet, with only the occasional gray sparrow FLUTTERING up from the grass before settling back down.
He passed a few members of the guard squad returning from the outside. They exchanged nods, and he continued his patrol.
When he reached the outskirts of the Spirit Field District, he could see the tassels of Cyan Jade Rice swaying gently in the wind on the distant paddies. Several Spirit Farmers were bent over, busy at work in the fields.
Everything looked the same as always.
Just as he was about to quicken his pace and turn back, a Spirit Farmer came jogging toward him from a field-ridge, a hoe clutched in his hand.
"Deputy Li!"
This was a Spirit Farmer with the surname He, who worked the southern section of the Spirit Field District. He was at the Qi Refining First Level and had rented over twenty mu of land to grow Cyan Jade Rice. In his forties, his face was dark and weathered, and now, it was etched with clear anxiety.
"The day before yesterday, I went out to my fields and discovered that something had trampled through those southern plots. Several rows of rice were knocked down, and there were claw prints in the dirt."
"What kind of prints?"
"Three-toed." Spirit Farmer He gestured, cupping his hand to indicate a circle the size of a bowl’s mouth.
A three-toed print the size of a bowl wasn’t something that could be left by the common field mice or wild rabbits in the Spirit Field District. It was most likely a Demon Beast.
"Take me there."
Spirit Farmer He led Li Yuan across several field-ridges to the outermost fields on the southern edge.
He saw it at a glance.
Three or four rows of Cyan Jade Rice had been trampled to the ground, their tassels snapped. Several clear claw prints were sunk deep into the soft, damp soil of the field.
The prints were three-toed and webbed. The claw marks at the tips were sharp and had gouged shallow grooves into the soil.
Li Yuan crouched down, placing his finger next to a print to gauge its depth.
’It’s quite deep. Whatever left these tracks is heavy.’
’The prints are spaced over two feet apart, and the stride is consistent. It doesn’t look like it was being chased.’
Spirit Farmer He squatted beside him, wringing his hands. "Deputy Li, how could a Demon Beast have gotten all the way out here? We’ve never had Demon Beasts in the Spirit Field District before."
The Spirit Field District was on the east side of the market town, separated from the Yuanheng Mountain Range by the entire town.
For a Demon Beast to get here from the western mountains without passing through the main gate, it would have had to make a wide detour to the north or south, and those routes were guarded by the guard squad.
That’s why a Demon Beast had never been seen in the Spirit Field District.
Li Yuan followed the direction of the tracks south for a short distance.
After he left the edge of the Spirit Field District, the soft, damp field soil gave way to hard, dry earth and gravel. The outlines of the tracks grew fainter, obscured by weeds and stones, and after about a hundred steps, they disappeared completely.
Without going any deeper, Li Yuan turned back toward the market town.
As he passed through the market town via North Alley, the streets were still crowded. Things had been tense in the Yuanheng Mountain Range recently, and Loose Cultivators were still pouring into the market town. The stalls on East Street and North Alley were nearly overflowing.
Li Yuan went straight to the patrol team’s headquarters.
The door to the main building was ajar. Wang De was sitting behind his desk, his teacup set off to the side.
Li Yuan recounted what had happened in the Spirit Field District.
When he finished, Wang De didn’t speak immediately, instead tapping his index finger on the desk twice.
"Another Spirit Farmer from the Spirit Field District already reported it directly to the administration office."
Wang De pulled a document from a stack of papers, glanced at it, and set it aside.
"The administration office wants the patrol team to send someone to investigate for a few days. Find out if it was just passing through or if it’s made a nest here. Best if you can kill the thing."
"I’m putting you in charge of this. I’ll arrange the manpower. I’ll give you a concrete plan tomorrow."
Most Spirit Farmers don’t have high Cultivation levels or much combat experience. Combined with the cover provided by the fields, even a slightly stronger Demon Beast could easily cause significant casualties and damage the Spirit Fields. That’s why it has to be dealt with quickly.
However, the Spirit Field District was vast and overgrown with weeds, making the Demon Beast difficult to find.
Li Yuan thought for a moment, then added, "The Spirit Field District is east of the market town. For a Demon Beast to come from the mountains, it would have to circle around from the south or the north. The southern route is within the guard squad’s patrol range. Logically, nothing should have been able to sneak past."
"There was a problem with the southern patrols for a period of time last month."
Wang De’s tone was flat.
"I’ll look into the specifics. You just focus on handling the situation in the Spirit Field District first."
Li Yuan nodded in agreement and excused himself.
...
Early the next morning, Li Yuan went to the patrol team’s headquarters.
Wang De was already sitting behind his desk, a completed document spread out before him.
"About that matter in the Spirit Field District we discussed yesterday—I’ve gathered the manpower for you."
"The mission starts this afternoon. You’ll assemble at the eastern gate."
Wang De pushed the document over. The mission briefing was short: an investigation into the Demon Beast tracks in the Spirit Field District. Deputy Captain Li Yuan was assigned to lead the team, with three others temporarily allocated to assist him.
"You’re at the Qi Refining Fourth Level. Even if there really is a Demon Beast in the Spirit Field District, it’s most likely just a Tier One Low Grade creature. You can handle it."
Wang De flipped through a roster and read out three names: Zhou Dazhuang, Xu Mao, and Lin Xiaowu.
Zhou Dazhuang had just finished his guard rotation and hadn’t officially reported back to the patrol team yet, so he was intercepted and shoved into the mission. Xu Mao and Lin Xiaowu were a veteran and a newcomer to the patrol team, with Cultivations at the Qi Refining Third Level and Second Level, respectively.
"One more thing."
Wang De retrieved a palm-sized wooden box from under his desk, placed it on top, and pushed it over.
"Your standard-issue Magical Artifact as a deputy captain. I should have given it to you sooner, but you were promoted the moment you broke through, so there wasn’t enough time to prepare it."
Li Yuan opened the wooden box.
A brass-colored disc lay on the inner lining. It was about two fingers wide and one finger thick, its surface covered in intricate patterns. The edges were polished smooth, and a cyan Crystal Stone the size of a grain of rice was embedded in the center.
"A Spirit Detecting Disc."
Wang De said.
"Everyone at the rank of deputy captain and above gets one. It’s a standard-issue Magical Artifact from the family. When you infuse it with Spiritual Power, it can detect Spiritual Qi fluctuations within a radius of several dozen zhang. Demon Beasts, Cultivators, Spirit Ores—it can sense anything with Spiritual Qi. The range isn’t large and the precision is average, but it’s good enough for tracking."
Li Yuan took the Spirit Detecting Disc out of the box. The brass disc felt slightly heavy and cool to the touch.
The moment his fingers touched it, translucent text appeared before his eyes.
[Equippable Item Detected: Spirit Detecting Disc (Intact)]
[Entry Preview: Spiritual Sense Expansion (Green) — Passively sense aura fluctuations within a thirty-zhang radius. Can perceive the strength and direction of most Spiritual Qi fluctuations within range. Can be stacked with other effects. Has a certain piercing effect against Concealing Magic and cloaking methods.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Possess Divine Sense]
[Current equipment slots are full (2/2). Replace currently equipped item?]
Green.
’Gray, White, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Gold... All the entries I’ve gotten so far have been white or gray. This is my first green one.’
’The Spirit Detecting Disc itself only has a range of a few dozen zhang, and I have to actively infuse it with Spiritual Power.’
’But the green entry bumps the range up to thirty zhang, makes it passive, and it doesn’t need any Spiritual Power. That means it would be active all the time. It can even pierce through some concealment effects.’
’But my equipment slots are full. The accelerated circulation from the Meridian Opening Pill is essential for my daily cultivation, and the organ strengthening from the Iron Bull Skill also speeds up my progress with mundane techniques. I can’t just get rid of either of them.’
’Besides, the condition for making it permanent is no simple matter.’
’Generally, only Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage can possess Divine Sense. If I were at that stage, I could make the entry permanent just by equipping this item.’
’But for me, who’s only at the Qi Refining Fourth Level, that condition is far too remote.’
Li Yuan tucked the Spirit Detecting Disc into his sleeve and closed the wooden box.
Wang De then handed him another notice—an adjustment to his monthly stipend.
The deputy captain’s monthly stipend was reduced from six Spirit Stones to three, while his Contribution Points were increased from ten to fifteen.
’My Spirit Stones were cut in half, but my Contribution Points went up by five. Spirit Stones and Contribution Points are roughly one-to-one, so on the surface, it looks like I came out ahead by two Spirit Stones, but the actual gain isn’t that much.’
’Contribution Points can only be used for exchanges within the Wang family, so they’re not as flexible as Spirit Stones.’
’Besides, physical goods cost more in points, and they’re only really a better deal when you’re exchanging them for things like Cultivation Techniques.’
’It’s true that with enough Contribution Points, you can get items that can’t be bought outside, but that has nothing to do with a peripheral member like me.’
Li Yuan put the notice away without asking any questions and turned to leave the headquarters.
