Chapter 117: Firm Spirit Convergence (Monthly Ticket Bonus Update)

At dawn, in a mountain forest filled with pale green miasma and toxic vapors, about two thousand li away from the outpost camp in a straight line, two streaks of spiritual light arrived one after another and landed.

Yu Jian was in the lead, his nerves taut, guarding against the surroundings, while simultaneously—regardless of whether Du En could manage it or accept it—he began to explain directly in the form of a divine sense conversation.

"Our usual work is very simple. Along the border, there is a slightly curved patrol section about ten thousand li long. It is usually divided into two shifts, day and night, with each person assigned a stretch of about eighty li to linger and patrol within."

"The basis for the division lies in the Sentry Jade at the center of the block. Look, it's this thing. You need to leave a mana imprint on it first, then use the corresponding specific technique to activate it. If there are any abnormal situations within that area, it can generally record them, so you need to check its status every time you arrive and every time you leave."

Although it is said to be a two-shift day and night rotation, it is obvious that the camp is short-handed, so in this area before them, there is no sign of a night patrol; I fear that even the day shift was lacking before.

Therefore, Yu Jian was quite nervous and guarded at this moment, and only after activating the Sentry Jade and seeing that there were no abnormal records on it did he let out a slight sigh of relief.

Du En looked at the Sentry Jade; it was a small cyan jade pillar, five feet high and eight inches wide, carved with simple patterns. As the technique was activated, a natural, fresh green light emerged through its body.

【Hundred Arts: Gathering & Appraisal (Proficient 0/50), Culinary Arts (Slightly Accomplished 0/100), Spirit Seeking (Novice 0/20), Artifact Refining (Novice 0/20)】

"Poor wretch, you don't have a single point of squeeze-value right now, tsk! Once the monthly pay is issued, I'll come back to settle accounts with you..."

At the same time, the purity of the gaseous mana was higher, the quantity and quality of the crystal dust carried within it had increased, accounting for one-eighth, and the infiltration into the middle dantian, the Crimson Palace, was also greater.

In other words, whether it was spirit meals or artifact refining, these various aspects needed to be updated and supplemented in a timely manner, otherwise, they would not keep up with the growth of his strength.

The thing Yu Jian did most was to find a place to sit cross-legged and cultivate.

That is to say, normal combat and killing do not count as abnormal situations. This warning line is indeed aimed at evil cultivators, or perhaps, that so-called resentment-spawn?

"However, I must warn you: the red and black warnings will be transmitted simultaneously to the border city, reaching Manager Tang in the Outer City Affairs Office directly. If it is determined afterwards that it wasn't that serious, you can just wait to die!"

Thinking about it this way, the act of checking when arriving and leaving is, in a sense, clocking in and out, confirming whether the patrol guards have actually reached their posts.

Naturally, he performed in a plain and ordinary manner thereafter.

Once you patrol alone, learn your lesson, and come running to beg me, don't even think about me paying attention to you, even if you act like a grandson!

Yu Jian thought this, flicked his sleeves, and left, still feeling a bit depressed inside.

Yet it hadn't reached the point of flying into a rage or needing to teach a lesson; being manipulated so thoroughly just made him feel depressed and stifled.

"In short, I've taught you everything I should. From now on, you will be responsible for patrolling this area during the day."

But if Du En chose to slander him, saying he hadn't explained anything, then it would be interesting, because their conversation now was recorded in the Sentry Jade. Once retrieved, Du En's fate would only be more miserable.

Upon hearing this, Yu Jian involuntarily answered: "The width is ten zhang. Essentially, it's just drawing another warning line outside the border. Of course, the camp has one; the central house where the Camp Master lives is the main hub, two hundred li long and slightly wider, twenty zhang..."

There were a few times when they discovered traces of demonic beasts; if they encountered weak ones, they would even chase them directly outside, under the guise of eliminating accidents, but in reality, it was to capture and kill the demonic beasts to line their own pockets.

The key is that such situations, regardless of distance, would not be recorded in the Sentry Jade.

【Spirit Root: Low Grade】

The entire body also became increasingly hard and translucent. Under the introspection of divine sense, it was like looking at the prototype of a work of art. Physical strength had clearly reached a higher level; now, by squeezing with his hand, he could easily crush a medium-grade spirit stone into powder.

Hmph! He's quite good at pretending!

"However, because the higher the quality of mana, the harder it is to push, the efficiency of circulating energy has dropped significantly. Now, with the various buffs from spirit meals and artifacts, I can barely maintain thirty cycles a day."

"At the same time, when lingering and patrolling on weekdays, if you encounter an abnormal situation yourself, the process is basically the same, and generally, you must also use transmission techniques and transmission talismans to carry out a more detailed secondary report."

He glanced at the panel on the way.

【Divine Ability: Burying Death, Flourishing Life (Novice 0/20)】

As he spoke, he felt something was not quite right.

Du En made a judgment.

However, Du En noticed at this moment that this divine sense conversation had traces of another intervention; he had already determined that the Sentry Jade, which possessed recording capabilities, was recording the conversation taking place here.

The accumulation in the lower dantian's sea of Qi did not increase; instead, it condensed and decreased by half a percent.

Looking at it, he asked nonchalantly: "How wide is it? Does the camp have one too? If it does, it should be able to cover a longer and wider area, right? What counts as an abnormal situation?"

Watching this departing back, the expression of the person being secretly grumbled about remained unchanged; he simply controlled his artifact to fly up and headed toward the assigned plot.

【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Early Stage (14/100)】

Especially when seeing the newcomers serving their other colleagues as honestly as grandsons, he felt even more dissatisfied and disgusted with Du En.

Feeling ashamed that he had actually answered every question just now, he coughed lightly, glared at Du En, and pulled the topic back: "Anyway, that's how it is when there are no abnormalities—a natural, fresh green light. If there is a common abnormality, it will be a flashing white light, and then your divine sense will receive a playback of the abnormal scene it recorded."

Such behavior of not proactively taking on all tasks, big or small, was, in Yu Jian's eyes, exceptionally ignorant of the situation and unaware of the gap between superior and inferior, making him feel even more displeased and disgusted.

There were other situations, such as an increase of five years in lifespan and an increase of ten percent in the basic efficiency of cultivation on the original foundation.

And his bystander-like negligence and sluggishness when catching demonic beasts were what made Yu Jian most dissatisfied.

At the same time, he became increasingly solemn.

But the rules were there, so he still had to be patient and guide him properly for these few days.

In other words, as long as this was done, then, during this period, it actually counted as "free time"?

Du En thought this, not saying anything more to avoid stimulating Yu Jian's narrow mind, and instead began to observe the other's behavior to carry out various confirmations and judgments.

Even his soul was affected to a certain extent; his perceptions became increasingly sharp, and the coverage of his divine sense also increased by five zhang.

Simply put, one cannot report it indiscriminately just because one is in danger and about to die.

Through Du En's observation, the work content of this lingering patrol was indeed very relaxed.

It wasn't that Yu Jian was suddenly kind and reminded him; it was mainly because if things went wrong, he himself would also be implicated and punished.

【Cultivation Method: Firm Spirit Art (Mastery 12/3000)】

With the Firm Spirit Art reaching Mastery, the entire person's condition also underwent obvious changes.

This foundation was becoming more deeply rooted and indestructible.

He already had ideas about this.

【Age: 24/235】

"Cough!"

"You will need to make your own judgment at that time. What can be solved naturally must be solved; what cannot be solved must be reported as a warning—that is, apply the technique to it, according to the difference in abnormal situations, from the lowest white, to the second-lowest yellow, the second-highest red, to the highest black."

On the morning a few days later, Yu Jian dropped this sentence in front of Du En's room quite naturally.

Especially regarding Yu Jian's situations during the patrol, such as signaling with his eyes or making snide remarks, he basically had no reaction and remained indifferent.

Just a few days ago, to be precise, on the night he officially began his patrol duties, Du En's cultivation technique had broken through once again.

【Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Perfected to the Extreme), Sand Raising Technique (Perfected to the Extreme), Breath Concealment Technique (Perfected to the Extreme), Earth Armor Technique (Perfected to the Extreme), Object Manipulation Technique (Well-versed 190/500)】

And since this situation was not something that absolutely had to be reported, Yu Jian had actually cut corners and quietly left behind a few small traps.

At this moment, Du En had already fully and thoroughly understood that the position of patrol guard had plenty of room for freedom, so upon hearing this, he merely nodded calmly.

"After coming here, the evil cultivators actually showed no signs of coming to retaliate; it seems they truly have other motives..."

Thinking this, Du En felt the need for improvement in all aspects becoming even more urgent.

(End of this chapter)