Yuanyuan had overheard the conversation between Qinghu and Ran Bingluan and already guessed that she had been caught up in the vortex.

Without mentioning other things, she had heard about the notion of Alien Energy before—there were quite a few in the Celestial Hook Enigma Mansion.

But the matters involving Alien Energy can range from trivial to significant.

If students took some Alien Energy materials from the Mist Mansion, the government wouldn't mind.

However, if someone could handle the Alien Energy in the Mist Mansion to allow the military better control, it would be a huge deal.

Qinghu had made it quite clear—even the Anomalous Management Division could disregard the Qi Gathering Array, focusing solely on Alien Energy!

She understood very well that Ran Bingluan might have gotten into big trouble this time.

That evening after dinner, seeing Ran Bingluan not go for cultivation, she couldn't help but ask again, "You're not cultivating?"

"My realm is stable," Qu Jianlei casually replied, "I plan to study some arrays recently."

Yuanyuan glanced around, lowered her voice, and said, "It's best for you to go out less lately; I'm seeking help from my family to make arrangements."

"Seeking your family?" Qu Jianlei blinked at her words.

In the end, he still shook his head and earnestly replied, "You don't need to think so much. Seriously, how long until you advance?"

"You're terrible at conversation," Yuanyuan recalled their bet on who advances first and turned to leave.

Qu Jianlei watched her back and helplessly raised an eyebrow, thinking, you don't really know how deep the waters are here.

After attaining the Supreme, the computational ability of the small lake indeed increased, and its intelligence level improved considerably. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

In just sixteen days, it completed the improvement of the Qi Gathering Array.

"I think this array should be called the Spirit Gathering Array; it's suitable for us cultivators."

As if you are a cultivator, Qu Jianlei nodded slightly, "Then continue calculating the Concealing Array."

The Five Elements Array doesn't need calculation, as it's already complete.

The main material of this array is the Five Elements Crystal, with too high a starting point, so even A-level warriors can't afford it, hence it's not heavily restricted.

After all, without the Five Elements Array, it wouldn't greatly affect cultivation.

However, even so, this Five Elements Array is not something ordinary people can access.

It's because Qinghu has enough capability to readily provide such an array map of the Five Elements Array.

The Five Elements Array requires little pondering, the crucial one is the Concealing Array... which involves more than just a partial map.

There are many maps from different angles, with lots of explanations, but initially, they are all in Divine Land script—Shenwen.

In the end, the array maps are mostly not too incomplete, the main difficulty lies in the interpretation of the Shenwen.

Therefore, the partial map Qinghu provided is not a problem for Qu Jianlei.

However, understanding the script doesn't mean understanding the map fully, and he doesn't want others to think he understands a lot about the Shenwen.

In the subsequent period, he continued to perfect the Spirit Gathering Array and Concealing Array.

During this time, he occasionally went out for a stroll, buying some items and clearing some surrounding risks.

He wanted to trust Qinghu but thought it would be prudent to have a double insurance, right?

Gradually, the people from the Anomalous Management Division got used to the fact that Qinghu on Half-Star Island rarely appeared, but this Supreme frequently acted.

Amusingly, they initially thought this Supreme might be relatively amiable.

More amusing is they never figured out what this Supreme's name was.

In fact, Qinghu's non-appearance wasn't just due to lack of interest in social interactions; it was mainly because she was digesting the latest rewards.

Her demand for cultivation wasn't high, and she used the Qi Gathering Array occasionally just to ensure she remained in peak condition.

At the Supreme level, Inner Breath cannot recover naturally. Being in a normal environment for too long will cause a continuous decline in state.

Only by occasionally using Qi Recovery Pills and Crystals can the Supreme maintain their state, and using the Qi Gathering Array is, of course, the best.

Qinghu was already at the Supreme Peak, but there was still some way to go before taking that final step, so intense improvement wasn't needed for now.

—Even if she wanted to make that final push, the current Simplified Qi Gathering Array couldn't support it.

Most of her time was still spent researching the insights from "Discourse."

The information Qu Jianlei provided wasn't particularly abundant, yet even so, it had a significant impact on Qinghu.

The Daoist Sect's theories were already extensive and profound, let alone the entire cultural foundation of Divine Land.

The Imperial culture is a complete system, and understanding these alone wasn't easy.

Moreover, after Qu Jianlei leaked a bit, he wouldn't provide any more explanations.

Most of the time, he would say, "I don't really understand either," or something like, "It's just a guess."

Yet Qinghu somehow felt that what he said seemed to make some sense or provided inspiration in a certain direction.

In such cases, all she could do was bury her head in thought, continuously trying.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

While Qinghu buried herself in research, Yuanyuan continued her cultivation, and Qu Jianlei alternated between calculations and occasional outings.

These relatively calm days seemed to stretch into eternity, yet, change still appeared.

After dinner that day, while perfecting the Five Elements Array, the small lake suddenly informed Qu Jianlei.

"The Anomalous Management Division has discovered your identity and confirmed that you are Ran Bingluan."

The news wasn't surprising; Qu Jianlei had been waiting for this day all along.

He even thought it took them quite a long time to find out, which showed that the division's efficiency was a bit low, not matching their authority.

"Has it finally come?" Qu Jianlei sighed softly and went to find Yuanyuan and Qinghu.

"I've received some news and need to go out to handle some matters; I'm not sure when I'll be back."

Qinghu's mind wasn't on him, and she knew he had secret contacts with the outside world.

So she just casually asked, "Do you need help?"

"Not for now," Qu Jianlei shook his head, "if I really need help, I'll contact you."

"But handling matters requires some funds, I plan to take all the Energy Blocks."

"Take some Silver Notes," Qinghu replied offhandedly, "consider it me buying part of your Energy Blocks."

In the warehouse beside the feeding port, there were nearly two million Energy Blocks, and she took out one million in Silver Notes.

The Energy Blocks had already been exchanged; a portion was left on Half-Star Island, convenient for use.

Yuanyuan felt a bit uneasy, "How long will you be gone?"

Qu Jianlei smiled and shook his head, "That's uncertain; if fast, one or two months, if slow... it's hard to say."

Yuanyuan stared at him for a while before speaking with a frown, "You're not planning not to come back, are you?"

She knew clearly that he had quite a lot of Silver Notes, yet he still wanted to take all the Energy Blocks... something seemed off.

"How could that be?" Qu Jianlei smiled, turned around, and walked out, "The Qi Gathering Array is still left here."

Yuanyuan was taken aback, then nodded her little head, which was true.

But Qinghu found it strange and asked her again, "Why do you think he's not planning to return?"

"He has quite a lot of Silver Notes," Yuanyuan didn't hide it from her.

While the two of them were talking, Qu Jianlei took away some Energy Blocks and left Lonely Leaf Lake under the cover of night.

Because he would come out from time to time and occasionally deal with some observers, Anomalous Management Division's surveillance here wasn't very tight.

Moreover, when Qu Jianlei went out, he often released supreme pressure, so no one noticed his quiet departure.

After leaving, he didn't go far but went to a farm about fifty kilometers away.

The farm owner and his family numbered nearly twenty people, plus a dozen hired workers, totaling more than thirty people.

Qu Jianlei chose a house where no one lived, and beneath it was a secret camp he had built not long ago.

The house wasn't uninhabited, but this plot of land had to lay fallow, starting this year, at least for two years.

Since no one would come, Qu Jianlei wasn't in a hurry to hide in the secret camp and decided to stay in the house.

He wanted to perceive what Anomalous Management Division would do next to Half-Star Island.

However, before he had time to start observing, Xiao Lake provided part of the answer first.

"They've begun coordinating, planning to add fifteen teams starting tonight to quietly strengthen surveillance on Lonely Leaf Lake."

"Each team has six to eight people, strictly prohibiting unauthorized actions; violators will be dealt with under military law."

"They're trying not to alert the snake," Qu Jianlei muttered softly, "They are quite patient."

Xiao Lake could also understand the logic behind this, "I wonder when they plan to take action."

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and among the members of the newly added teams, someone grew a bit suspicious.

"Doesn't this guy like to go out? Why hasn't he gone out anymore?"

"Who knows, maybe he thinks the weather has been bad the past few days?"

"Could it be that our deployment was discovered? It's said that the supreme intuition is really sharp."

"That's impossible, that guy has a bad temper. If he really discovered us, he would probably have taken action."

No one could have imagined that their supposedly secret conversation was overheard word for word by the "bad-tempered supreme."

Qu Jianlei couldn't help but nod secretly: the opponent didn't even notice he had already left.

Still, what does waiting for me come out mean? It doesn't look like they intend to act.

After another six days, finally new circumstances arose, again it was Xiao Lake who gave a warning.

"They said the support forces have arrived and plan to surround Lonely Leaf Lake tomorrow morning, with the military deploying three company-level warships in support."

Three company-level warships... Qu Jianlei was a bit speechless; they really do look up to me.

Back then, the warships from the Customs Enforcement Division that intercepted him and Buckingham were merely squad-level.

Even the Customs Enforcement Division in interstellar customs enforcement usually only fielded company-level warships, but this time they deployed company-level ones.

But warships on a habitable star are also hard-pressed to use fire casually; their primary role is to serve as a deterrent.

Qu Jianlei was more concerned about, "They mentioned support forces... how many supremes are coming this time?"

"They've concealed such information," Xiao Lake answered sulkily, "Their vigilance isn't lacking."

Qu Jianlei wasn't surprised; given the high authority of the Anomalous Management Division, it couldn't make such elementary mistakes.

"I wonder whether they intend to launch a sneak attack or follow protocol first."