My Martial Spirit is Nanobot

Chapter 415: Chapter 415 Tracing

The silence that followed was absolute, lasting for nearly a minute.

Then, the air in front of the boulder shimmered, and a low, dry voice echoed in Tian Wei’s mind, a sound like rustling dead leaves. "Speak, child. What kind of triviality allows you to dare interrupt my centuries of cultivation?"

Tian Wei felt his entire body tremble under the invisible pressure.

"Ancestor, it is no trivial matter. Last night, our Moon-Crowned Treasury was violated. Elder Yao, a high-level Jindan cultivator, was murdered inside the vault, and the entire third floor... our most precious resources, including the Heaven-Blessing Scroll... was stolen."

The voice in his mind remained flat, devoid of surprise, yet the air grew perceptibly colder. "A mere thief bypassed the Seven-Stars and Frost-Mist arrays, and killed a high Jindan cultivator within a sealed chamber?"

"Yes, Ancestor," Tian Wei confirmed, keeping his head bowed low. "The formations were intact, indicating a deep familiarity with the sect’s spiritual paths. The murderer’s strength is terrifyingly high, or they possess an artifact that negates our defenses. This individual is not a simple rogue cultivator."

Tian Wei took a steadying breath, pressing his core message. "Ancestor, the culprit’s ability to achieve such a feat despite our high security and Elder Yao’s presence means they possess strength far beyond our estimation... likely at the Peak Jindan stage, or perhaps even... a nascent Yuan Ying. Such a threat, if left unchecked, could collapse the entire Hua Sect."

He added urgently, "We cannot risk the survival of the sect. Only your ’Shadow Tracking Technique’ can trace the residual spiritual links on the stolen items and reveal the identity of this mole before they strike again. We beg the Ancestor to act."

Another long silence enveloped the peak, the gray mist swirling slightly as if in consideration.

Finally, the voice returned, colder and sharper than before. "The Shadow Tracking Technique requires a heavy price. But the loss of the Heaven-Blessing Scroll is an insult to the sect’s foundation. Very well. Bring me the remnants of the Treasury. I will awaken."

The huge boulder sealing the cave entrance vibrated, and slowly, with a grinding sound that seemed to scrape against Tian Wei’s soul, a narrow crack appeared, wide enough only for a single scroll to pass through.

"Thank you, Ancestor! This junior will return immediately with the necessary items!" Tian Wei exclaimed, relief washing over his tense body. He rose, bowed once more, and turned, flying down the mountain with unprecedented speed.

An hour later, the gray mist on the secluded peak deepened, chilling the air to an unbearable degree.

Sect Master Tian Wei returned, carefully holding a tattered, scorched section of Elder Yao’s robe and a small, cracked piece of the marble lectern from the treasury that still bore a faint scent of the Elder’s lingering qi. He gently placed both items before the narrow opening in the boulder.

"Withdraw. Do not disturb the process," the ancient voice commanded, the sound resonating with an almost tangible darkness.

Tian Wei immediately retreated several hundred feet, kneeling in the mist, his heart pounding with a mix of dread and hope.

Inside the cave, Ancestor Yuan, a figure unseen for decades, moved.

A wave of inky black spiritual energy, thick as oil, leaked from the crack. This was the raw, primal energy of the Yuan Ying realm, capable of bending minor laws of the world. The black energy coiled around the remnants, focusing first on the Elder’s shattered robe fragment.

"Shadow Tracking Technique... Bind!"

Ancestor Yuan’s voice echoed only in the silent cave and in the consciousness of Tian Wei, who watched from afar.

The dark energy solidified, twisting into complex runes that dug deep into the residual qi on the cloth. The air above the remnants warped, and a faint, flickering image began to coalesce.

It was the scene of the treasury hall... the dim light, the stacked shelves, the familiar space. Elder Yao’s phantom figure appeared, standing guard, his face stern.

The scene jumped toward the sudden impossible appearance of another person, his speed defying the Jindan realm.

Ancestor Yuan focused the tracking on the Elder’s soul remnant, pulling the last moment of his life from the piece of fractured qi.

The phantom image became startlingly clear. Elder Yao’s eyes were wide with terror as a young man... a disciple in a common outer-sect uniform... clamped a hand onto his skull.

The young man’s face, calm and utterly ruthless, was displayed for a moment, it was Lin Lee.

But the most shocking part was not the face, but the spiritual act. A searing, pale-blue light erupted, a phenomenon Ancestor Yuan did not recognize.

"What is that power?" the Ancestor thought, his attention now completely locked.

He watched as Elder Yao’s strong Jindan core and cultivation were violently devoured, compressed, and poured into the thief. The Elder withered to ashes, and the thief’s aura briefly swelled, stabilizing at the Intermediate Jindan realm with a powerful six-line core.

The power was terrifyingly refined. As if It wasn’t simply devouring, it was transference. And the artifact causing it... a faint pulse that originated from the thief’s forehead was unlike any treasure known in the Lower Realms.

’A Heavenly Bead.’

A single, long-forgotten memory flashed through the Ancestor’s mind, causing his Yuan Ying to tremble and he exclaimed.

"Is it the Heavenly Bead? Impossible! Those are treasures of the Chaos! Although, there are rumors regarding a fallen heavenly bead in this world, how can a mere boy like him encounter such treasure."

The scene vanished, leaving only the smoking remnants of Elder Yao’s qi, Ancestor Yuan fell into deep thoughts.

After a while,

Ancestor Yuan’s dry voice now carried a dangerous, cold excitement, completely devoid of the previous indifference. "I have found him. And I have found a treasure worth a thousand sects!"

...

On the other hand,

Lin Lee, sitting cross-legged in his inner-sect residence, felt the sharp, invisible probe strike his hidden formations.

Crack!

The high-grade talismans shrieked and shattered instantly. Lin Lee’s eyes snapped open, a cold light blazing in their depths.

’Looks like the Yuan Ying expert had moved faster than expected. Also, he personally decided to act, which means that he has found out about the heavenly life bead.’

Lin Lee thought to himself, before he could even move, the air around his courtyard condensed.

Boom!

The walls of his elegant stone residence collapsed inwards as a massive wave of Yuan Ying pressure slammed down, instantly locking the surrounding space.

Sect Master Tian Wei landed heavily in the rubble, followed by the three remaining elders. All four faced Lin Lee, who stood calmly amidst the dust and wreckage, his suppressed Top Jindan aura radiating the low-level Foundation aura.

"Lin Lee!" Tian Wei roared, his voice thick with disbelief and fury. "You dare! A Foundation Establishment disciple!"

Elder Hu, the wise old man, pointed a trembling finger at Lin Lee. "You murdered Elder Yao, you stole the Treasury, and you even dared to use the Heaven-Blessing Scroll!"

Lin Lee sighed, shaking his head. "I was going to keep a low profile. Now look at the mess I’ve made."

Suddenly, a fifth presence appeared on the edge of the destruction.

Ancestor Yuan, a gaunt, aged man in threadbare robes, materialized from the gray mist. His eyes, sunken and dark, fixed on Lin Lee, not with anger, but with intense, devouring greed.

The Elders and Sect Master immediately fell to one knee. "Ancestor!"

Ancestor Yuan ignored them, his gaze piercing through Lin Lee’s disguise, locking onto the faint, invisible top Jindan level spiritual source in his soul.

"Boy," the Ancestor’s dry voice cut through the air, vibrating the very stones in the surroundings,

"I have no interest in your petty thievery. The items you stole are mere trifle. But the artifact you possess... the source of that devouring technique... that is worth the death of ten such sects."

His skeletal hand slowly reached out, cloaked in black Yuan Ying energy.

"Hand over the Heavenly Bead, and the accompanying technique. If you surrender it to me, I will spare your life and allow you to live as a crippled mortal."

Lin Lee looked at the gaunt Ancestor Yuan, a faint, cold smile touching his lips. He slowly pulled his suppressed aura, letting the full power of his Top-Level, Six-Line Jindan core radiate outwards. The oppressive Yuan Ying pressure hitting him immediately lessened, countered by his refined, peak-stage power.

Ancestor Yuan’s eyes narrowed, surprised by the sudden, terrifying power radiating from a disciple he thought was just Low level Jindan.

Lin Lee ignored the shock on the faces of the Sect Master and Elders. He looked directly at the Ancestor’s extended, claw-like hand.

"Crippled mortal?" Lin Lee’s voice was calm, yet it carried an underlying ridicule that made the air crackle around him,

"You dare interrupt my cultivation, destroy my perfectly good temporary residence, and then offer me a fate worse than death for a treasure you don’t even deserve to hold? Your audacity is truly a reflection of this entire minor realm, Ancestor Yuan."

... Chapter End ...