Chapter 64: Handing Over the Earth Vein

“Alright, now for the real reason I brought you here,” Lu Xin said to Xiao Xuan.

Having toured the Magic Affairs Bureau from the underground training field to the top-floor director’s office, Lu Xin led Xiao Xuan to the rooftop.

After Xiao Xuan donned protective gear, Lu Xin summoned an ancient brass key from within himself with a thought.

“This is…” Xiao Xuan said, uncertain.

“Exactly what you’re thinking,” Lu Xin confirmed.

“This is the ‘key’ to the Earth Vein’s passage.”

“There are thirty-eight provincial administrative units in the country, and thirty-eight such keys, each held by the director of a provincial Magic Affairs Bureau.”

“Each key represents a node of the Earth Vein.”
Lu Xin paused, holding the key out to Xiao Xuan.

Xiao Xuan didn’t take it immediately.
Instead, he leaned closer, rubbing his chin as he examined the brass key.

“Brother Lu,” he said, “this key looks so ordinary, like some old relic from a museum.”

“Our ancestors’ aesthetics—what they made is what we inherited,” Lu Xin explained.

“But its main purpose is to take us to the underground Earth Vein.”

“No time to waste. Let’s go.”

Lu Xin inserted the key into the air before them, and it clicked as if fitting into an invisible lock.

Turning the key, he mentally selected their destination: the two of them.
Circuit-like patterns rapidly extended from the key’s end, and the two vanished from the rooftop.

…

Seventy kilometers beneath Tongzhou City, in a vast underground cavern.

Lu Xin landed steadily, while Xiao Xuan, despite preparing for the teleportation, stumbled.
If not for the rock wall to brace against, he might’ve faceplanted.

“Why does this… feel rougher than White Tower’s teleportation array?” Xiao Xuan said, fighting nausea.

“For long-distance teleportation, you sacrifice some comfort,” Lu Xin replied.

As Xiao Xuan steadied himself, his eyes were drawn to a colossal structure in the distance—a metallic city-like complex.
It reminded him of an oil refinery, but exponentially larger.

The rhythmic churn of pistons and gears, coupled with mana glowing from the seams of massive pipelines, exuded a heavy magical essence even Xiao Xuan, with his mana-resistant physique, could sense from afar.

“This Earth Vein doesn’t look like the plant-like roots from novels or games,” Xiao Xuan remarked, squinting.

“Of course it’s not plant roots,” Lu Xin said, gazing at the structure.

“It’s the foundation of our nation, the cornerstone of our supernatural system, the device that gathers and produces the materials we rely on—the Void Mana Tide Receptor.”

“What we see is just a fraction of its immense form.”

“How big is it, then?” Xiao Xuan asked, curious.

“No idea,” Lu Xin said, shaking his head.

“You know how the Common Era calendar started, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Xiao Xuan nodded.

The Common Era began with the death of Ye Su.

According to surviving records, Ye Su was a Sanctum Archmage and chairman of the Magic Committee in the pre-Common Era Central Republic.
Under his leadership, the Republic repelled countless invaders, but he ultimately fell in a dimensional space created to intercept beasts.

“After Ye Su’s death, countless historical records and documents were destroyed for unknown reasons, including those about this massive thing,” Lu Xin said, gesturing toward the structure.

“While the lineage of Earth Vein overseers has never been broken, we’ve lost knowledge of its true purpose.”

“True purpose? Didn’t you say it produces mana essence?” Xiao Xuan asked, confused.

Lu Xin reached for a cigarette but found his lighter wouldn’t ignite.
He gave up on using magic to light it.

“I forgot—the area around the Earth Vein is dense with mana essence. Sound travels fine, but there’s no oxygen down here,” he said, smacking his forehead.

He could’ve used alchemy to convert mana essence into oxygen, but he wasn’t sure if alchemical fluctuations would affect the Earth Vein.
Maybe that’s why it’s underground—like turning off a car engine near a gas station.

“Its ability to produce mana essence is just our assumption. We don’t know its other functions,” Lu Xin continued.

“Mana essence—what a subtle term,” Xiao Xuan mused.

“It exists everywhere in the universe.”

“People know to cultivate mana but don’t know its source,” Lu Xin said.

“Mana essence is the intermediary state between matter and mana.”

“Only when it’s absorbed and transformed in the body does it become mana.”

“It’s the foundation of our supernatural system, yet most people don’t even know mana essence exists.”

“They just follow methods to cultivate mana, and our textbooks no longer mention mana essence.”

Glancing at Xiao Xuan’s heavy protective suit, Lu Xin added, “Dean Merlin probably told you the air pressure here is similar to the surface. Since you lack mana circuits, you don’t need such a thick suit.”

For low-tier mages, exposure to high-density mana essence could flood their circuits, causing irreversible damage.
But for Xiao Xuan, with no mana circuits, only oxygen supply mattered, making the suit overkill.

“Me?” Xiao Xuan pointed at himself, pausing.

“As a researcher, it’s wise to take every precaution.”

“That’s a good professional habit,” Lu Xin nodded.

“Once you’re rested, we’ll head deeper. I’ll show you what lies within.”

“Alright,” Xiao Xuan agreed.