The sun began its descent, painting the gory scene in hues of orange and purple. Night in the Azure Serpent Mountains was not for the weak. Spiritual beasts, drawn by the scent of blood, would soon be prowling. The pain in Li Chen's chest was a constant, grinding reminder of his mortality. The System was right. The objective was survival.
He gritted his teeth, forcing the architect's mind to take precedence over the disciple's grief. Assess. Analyze. Act.
"System," he subvocalized, the word feeling foreign and natural at once. "Analyze my surroundings. Focus on structural integrity and salvageable materials."
[Acknowledged. Commencing Scan.]
The world in his vision shimmered. Ghostly blue lines overlaid the wreckage, highlighting load-bearing pillars that were still sound, sections of collapsed wall that were stable, and piles of rubble. Red indicators flashed over areas in danger of further collapse. More importantly, small, glowing nodes began to appear, each with a tag.
[Broken Spirit Jade Fragment. Purity: Low. Use: Raw Energy Source.]
[Ironwood Splinter. Properties: High Durability, Minor Spiritual Conductivity.]
[Array Conductor Shard (Silver-vein Copper). Properties: High Spiritual Conductivity. Damaged.]
[Corpse of… ]
Li Chen shut that last part out. He couldn't afford to break down now.
The scan confirmed what his inherited memories knew: The Celestial Formation Sect was built upon the idea that the arrangement of materials was more important than the materials themselves. They used common Ironwood, regular stone, and low-grade jade, but engineered them into formations that could channel and amplify spiritual energy to incredible effect. This was their "heresy"—that intelligence, not innate talent or wealth, was the true source of power. It was why they were rich in knowledge but materially poor compared to the sects who sat on mines of high-grade spirit stones.
His eyes fell upon the cellar his master had shoved him into. It was beneath the collapsed Grand Archive. According to the System's scan, the main support beam above the entrance was fractured but holding, for now. It was a death trap. But it was also the most defensible position available.
Using a splintered plank of Ironwood as a crutch, Li Chen limped toward the cellar entrance. The memories of his sect's teachings bubbled up. They weren't just about grand, mountain-covering arrays. They started with the basics: principles of energy flow, resonance, structural harmony. It was all engineering. Spiritual engineering.
He reached the rubble-strewn entrance. "System, analyze the foundational array of the Grand Archive. Is any part of its original structure still functional?"
[Analyzing… The Grand Archive's foundational array was a [Silent Tranquility Formation], designed to preserve ancient texts from spiritual degradation. 98% of the formation is destroyed. However, three primary foundation nodes are partially intact. Residual energy flow is detectable.]
A spark ignited in Li Chen's mind. A preservation array. Even broken, its core principle was to create a stable, isolated environment. It was designed to repel unwanted energy. With a little modification, could it be used to repel unwanted attention?
He looked at the rubble, then at the glowing nodes his System was pointing out. He didn't have the strength to fight a common wolf, let alone a spiritual beast. He couldn't swing a sword. But he could think. He could analyze. And maybe, just maybe, he could build.
His pre-transmigration life was one of frustration. Brilliant designs, shelved for being too expensive, too complex. Now, his vision was the only thing that could save him. The legacy of his fallen sect and the knowledge of a world a universe away merged into a single, desperate thought.
He had to turn this tomb into a sanctuary.