The Floating Cloud Ship carried Liang Yi and the others across half of the Abyss Continent, taking several days before they could finally see Redfeather City in the distance.

On the journey, Uncle Ju was not idle either, constantly sensing the Spiritual Energy Veins of the Abyss. Ninety percent of the Abyss Continent's energy consisted of Abyss Demon Qi, with only ten percent being Spiritual Power, but the two were intermingled, naturally following the same pathways.

"Did you find anything?"

As Redfeather City drew closer, Liang Yi nudged Uncle Ju, who was sitting beside him.

The others were all in seclusion within the cabin, cultivating. Each of them was on the verge of reaching the Eighth Realm, and in the dangerous Abyss, only formidable strength could guarantee everyone's safety.

Meanwhile, Liang Yi was accompanying Uncle Ju in sensing the Spiritual Energy Veins, while also keeping an eye on the player forums, hoping that his good luck might help them locate the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core sooner.

"Not exactly nothing..."

Uncle Ju opened his eyes and moved his body, which had grown somewhat stiff from sitting too long.

"You found something?"

Liang Yi turned excitedly to Uncle Ju, wondering if luck had indeed brought them a result.

"The find is that the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core is not located along our current route."

Uncle Ju helplessly spread his hands, taking out a piece of dried fish as a small reward for himself.

He hadn't had a moment's rest as a Cultivator on this journey, fearing that any oversight might cause them to miss the location of the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core.

But now, as they approached Redfeather City, Uncle Ju had not sensed any abnormalities, suggesting that the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core was not nearby.

Next would be the painstaking task of sweeping the area; with Redfeather City as the center, the group would split into two or three teams and begin a large-scale Investigation!

"Sigh, finding the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core really isn't that easy."

Liang Yi stretched lazily, feeling not too disappointed in his heart.

They had prepared for a long haul; had they stumbled upon the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core upon entering the Abyss Continent, it would have been as if heaven denied the Abyss Continent itself, and they would have already destroyed the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core and fled.

"The main problem is that the Spiritual Energy Vein pathways are not fixed. They change constantly with the Cultivators' battles or breakthroughs, the shifting of the terrain, or the emergence of Spiritual Treasures from heaven and earth, and the unknown place where the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core resides shifts with them."

Uncle Ju took out a map of the Abyss Continent and casually began sketching on it.

Liang Yi looked over to see that the path they had traveled, marked by Uncle Ju with a unique Spiritual Power, was traced with patterns resembling leaf veins or blood vessels.

"I've recorded the veins in this area, so what we need to do next is to fill in the Spiritual Energy Veins in other areas on this map. Only then can I use this map to predict where the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core will move to next!"

Uncle Ju copied the map several times and handed them to Liang Yi to distribute to the others later.

Liang Yi took them, gave the map a cursory examination, and made some estimates.

At the rate they had been going, the area Uncle Ju had recorded was at most one percent of the whole map. Even if they split their forces and explored different parts of the continent, it would still take them at least half a year.

"Half a year?"

Liang Yi murmured to himself; finding it somewhat acceptable if half a year would complete the map.

"What you are talking about is only the ideal situation."

Wan Tinggui appeared silently, graceful as a mysterious and elegant black rose.

"What's wrong?"

Uncle Ju was a bit perplexed. Hadn't they completed one percent in just a few days, so wouldn't half a year roughly complete the entire map?

"It's because our intentions are too obvious."

Liang Yi rubbed his temples, understanding Wan Tinggui's point.

Starting from Redfeather City, making rounds that last a few days, traversing the entire continent.

Ordinary Cultivators might not know what they were doing, or even be aware of the existence of the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core, but if any Abyss Envoys took notice, they would definitely guess their intent.

Thus, discretion was of the utmost importance for this endeavor; they could not let the Abyss Envoys detect them.

The time they would need was sure to be much longer than they had hoped, possibly up to a year.

"Indeed, maintaining discretion, we need at least a year," Wan Tinggui said with a charming smile, leaving the choice to Liang Yi.

"A year… that's not unacceptable…"

Liang Yi carefully sorted through the information in his mind, comparing the two scenarios: "risking exposure but finding the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core within half a year" and "lower risk but needing a full year."

In the end, Liang Yi chose the second option.

"The first option could save us a lot of time, but the risk is too high. After all, once we've completed the map and located the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core, we still have to destroy it. If the Great Cultivators of the Abyss discover our purpose, the difficulty of destroying the Heavenly Vein Spirit Core will skyrocket!"

Liang Yi shook his head, discarding that option.

"So now we're trading time for reduced risk. I believe that spending a bit more effort on hiding our tracks will surely be more relaxing than facing the Abyss Army later on."

"Mm-hmm, that's what I think, too."