The ash storm had completely passed by the next morning.
Gray dust still covered parts of the sect courtyard, but the sky above the mountains had cleared enough for pale sunlight to pass through the clouds.
Iron Root Sect slowly returned to its usual quiet routine.
Some disciples were already training on the stone platform.
Others were performing daily tasks like repairing damaged rooftops or cleaning the courtyard after the storm.
Kael walked along a narrow stone path that led deeper into the sect grounds.
Instead of heading toward the training field, he moved toward one of the oldest buildings in the sect.
The sect library.
The building stood slightly apart from the other structures, built against the mountain wall itself. Its stone exterior looked older than most buildings in the sect, and several of the wooden windows had been replaced many times.
Kael pushed the door open.
The inside of the library was quiet and cool.
Rows of wooden shelves filled the room, holding dozens of old scrolls and books. Some were neatly stored in boxes, while others were stacked in piles that had clearly been moved around many times.
Iron Root Sect once had a much larger collection of cultivation manuals and records.
But many of those had been taken away when powerful sects evacuated the planet centuries ago.
What remained were mostly basic manuals, historical records, and scattered maps.
Still, Kael enjoyed coming here.
A thin layer of dust covered the wooden table in the center of the room.
Kael sat down and began unrolling a large map he had brought with him.
The map showed the mountains surrounding Iron Root Sect and the wide plains stretching far to the south.
Small markings covered different parts of the map.
Some indicated places where Kael had found herbs.
Others marked abandoned buildings or broken roads.
Many areas remained blank.
Kael picked up a small charcoal stick and carefully added a few new markings.
Yesterday's trip to the Ashwind Plains had revealed another ridge formation he had not mapped before.
He drew a curved line on the map to represent it.
When he finished, Kael leaned back slightly and studied the drawing.
The ridge he found yesterday followed a similar pattern to several others he had already marked.
They stretched across the plains in long curved lines.
Almost like veins running through the land.
Kael frowned slightly.
"Strange…"
He had noticed this pattern before, but he still didn't understand it.
Most natural mountain ridges did not form such regular shapes.
Kael shook his head slightly.
He rolled up the map and placed it beside him.
Then he stood and walked toward the shelves along the wall.
His fingers moved across the wooden labels attached to the shelves.
Basic Cultivation Manuals
Sect Records
Old Maps
Historical Notes
Kael stopped in front of the last section.
The scrolls here were older than most of the others.
He pulled one out carefully and brought it back to the table.
The scroll was thin and worn, its edges slightly damaged from age.
Kael slowly unrolled it.
Inside was a record written nearly four hundred years ago.
The writing described several regions of Astra Minor before the great evacuation.
According to the document, the planet had once contained many powerful sects and large cultivation cities.
Spirit forests had grown across the southern plains.
Several major spiritual rivers had flowed through the mountains.
One section of the record caught Kael's attention.
It described something called the Great Ley Line Network.
Kael read the passage carefully.
Long ago, powerful cultivators had studied the natural spiritual energy flow of the planet.
They discovered that spiritual energy traveled through underground channels beneath the surface.
These channels were called ley lines.
Where several ley lines met, spiritual energy became extremely dense.
Many sects built their headquarters at these locations.
Iron Root Sect had once been built near a smaller ley line branch connected to a larger network across the planet.
Kael leaned forward slightly as he read.
The record continued.
Over time, however, many ley lines began weakening.
Some collapsed completely.
As the ley line network broke apart, spiritual energy across the planet slowly declined.
Kael sat quietly for a moment after finishing the passage.
Ley lines.
He had heard the term before during cultivation lessons.
But this record described the system in much greater detail.
Kael glanced toward the map lying beside him.
Then he slowly unrolled it again.
His eyes moved across the lines he had drawn over the past few months.
Mountain ridges.
Dry riverbeds.
Unusual stone formations.
Suddenly Kael noticed something interesting.
Some of the ridge patterns he had mapped seemed to follow directions similar to the ley line descriptions in the scroll.
He leaned closer to the map.
Several of the ridges curved across the plains in long arcs.
They almost looked like…
Kael stopped himself.
"Probably coincidence," he muttered.
Without more information it was impossible to draw any real conclusions.
Still, the idea remained in his mind.
Kael carefully rolled the scroll back up and returned it to the shelf.
Then he folded his map and stored it in his bag.
The library door creaked slightly as someone entered the building.
Kael turned his head.
Lira stepped inside, brushing dust from her sleeves.
"I thought I might find you here," she said.
Kael smiled slightly.
"I come here often."
Lira walked over and looked at the shelves around them.
"Reading old records again?"
Kael nodded.
"Mostly history."
Lira laughed softly.
"You're probably the only disciple in the sect who enjoys reading those old scrolls."
Kael shrugged.
"They help me understand the planet."
Lira crossed her arms.
"You and your planet mysteries."
She looked around the room again.
"Anyway, Ronan asked me to tell you that Elder Darius finished making the recovery pills."
"He said everyone should collect their share this afternoon."
Kael nodded.
"I'll come by later."
Lira turned toward the door.
"Don't stay in here all day."
Kael smiled slightly.
"No promises."
Lira laughed and left the library.
Kael remained standing beside the shelves for a moment.
Then he glanced once more at the map inside his bag.
The curved ridge patterns he had drawn still lingered in his thoughts.
But for now, it was just another small mystery on a dying planet.