A so-called grotto-heaven was a minor world that was attached to this greater world yet operated independently.
Not only could mortals survive within a grotto-heaven, but the environment inside high-grade grotto-heavens possessed all sorts of extraordinary traits, allowing mortals to cultivate certain types of methods more swiftly or develop specific innate talents.
The earliest grotto-heavens were all naturally occurring minor worlds. According to the deductions of human Immortal Monarchs, many primordial grotto-heavens were formed from the remains of ancient fiendgods after their demise.
In this world, the history of alien races far surpassed that of humanity. Northern Liao alone possessed recorded history spanning three million years, while the Shamans were even more ancient. It was said that the oldest tribes could be traced back tens of millions of years.
In ancient times, the mighty among alien races revered returning to Heaven and Earth. Upon their deaths, their bodies would slowly disintegrate, once again becoming part of the world.
Some ancient powerhouses were so overwhelmingly strong that after death, their mortal forms warped the fabric of heaven and earth, giving rise to marvelous grotto-heaven worlds.
Other primordial grotto-heavens had been created when ancient powerhouses tore heaven and earth apart in mortal combat. Such grotto-heavens were often fraught with peril; anyone lacking sufficient strength who entered them would be doomed beyond redemption.
However, once humanity achieved success in cultivation, they pioneered the path of acquired grotto-heavens. When a Scenery Command True Monarch reached the later stages of cultivation, their heart-image world began to manifest in reality, blending illusion and substance, progressing from formlessness to form, generating tangibility out of emptiness.
As they approached the end of their lives, such Scenery Command True Monarchs would often choose to solidify their heart-image worlds, turning them into minor worlds akin to grotto-heavens, which were known as acquired grotto-heavens.
In terms of stability and completeness of natural laws, acquired grotto-heavens fell far short of primordial ones, yet they could still sustain mortal life all the same. Furthermore, as cultivators inside continuously repaired and maintained them, an acquired grotto-heaven could also approach perfection over time.
Often, when another Scenery Command True Monarch of the same human lineage reached the end of their lifespan, they would merge their own heart-image world with an existing grotto-heaven, either expanding into new space or patching original flaws. Thus, accumulated over time, humanity's grotto-heavens and secret realms gradually multiplied.
The realm of Immortal Monarchs was naturally different. They either forged a relatively complete and vast grotto-heaven world—which already fell into the category of primordial grotto-heavens—or simply fused their heart-image world into reality, thereby completely transforming a region of heaven and earth.
The founding patriarch of the Palace of Grand Beginning had transformed his very body into precious land, establishing the first blessed ground for the sect's gate.
Of his three disciples, one had passed away within the patriarch's mountain gate, transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang solitary peak that directly elevated the gate's blessed land by a full grade. The other two chose to transform into blessed lands elsewhere, establishing two other mountain gates.
Regarding blessed lands and grotto-heavens, successive generations of human immortals held that the alien races remained uncivilized savages without progress across millions of years precisely because their mighty returned to Heaven and Earth generation after generation. In contrast, human forebears used their physical forms to shelter their descendants, turning the mighty power of heaven and earth they cultivated into shade, protection, and resources for future generations. Only thus could humanity stand out from thousands of lesser races, gradually carving out a respectable domain of survival step by step.
The grotto-heaven here in the Shattered Lands had originally been an acquired grotto-heaven jointly constructed by three Scenery Command ancestors of the Xu family to serve as an anchor guarding Ningxi. However, the Shamans proved too powerful; they forced back Xu Wangu, defeated the combined armies of the Xu family and Western Jin, and breached the grotto-heaven.
Acquired grotto-heavens were inherently unstable to begin with, and this one belonging to the Xu family had still been in its nascent stages. Unable to withstand the clash between the powerhouses of both races, it ultimately shattered into multiple fragments that fell across various parts of the Shattered Lands.
There was a grotto-heaven fragment near Qingming, but Wei Yuan had not yet found the time to put it on his schedule.
Originally, Wei Yuan had thought that after years of intense war, the Xu family would surely have evacuated their personnel and important treasures before the grotto-heaven fell. There was unlikely to be anything of great value left inside, only lurking dangers. Thus, Wei Yuan had not been particularly eager to explore it, intending to wait until the realm naturally expanded and engulfed it.
But now that Perfected Chuhe had come knocking in such solemn earnest, Wei Yuan had no choice but to take it seriously.
Even so, for prudence's sake, Wei Yuan still wanted to confirm. "Perfected Person, why are you so certain there is a treasure inside?"
Perfected Chuhe held out a hand, and an enormous spirit mushroom materialized in his palm. Beneath the mushroom slept a small mouse with golden fur. The moment it appeared, it suddenly stood on its hind legs, sniffed fiercely in one direction, and burst into frantic squeaks and shrieks.
Perfected Chuhe closed his fist, recalling his dharma idol. "This poor Daoist's dharma idol is innately adept at seeking treasures, especially innate spiritual entities and spiritual flora. When the Xu family's grotto-heaven shattered, a wisp of aura leaked out. Because this poor Daoist was close by, I managed to perceive it."
"What grade of spiritual flora do you think it might be?"
"For it to agitate my dharma idol to this degree, it must be supreme grade!" Perfected Chuhe said.
Wei Yuan was startled as well. A supreme-grade spiritual plant was of the Scenery Command rank, something even ordinary True Monarchs would fight over. The warfare in the Shattered Lands had fractured heaven and earth; ordinarily, a spiritual plant of this caliber could never have survived. Perhaps only the shelter of the grotto-heaven had allowed it to endure until now.
"Besides you, could anyone else know about this?"
"Even with methods no inferior to a True Monarch's, this poor Daoist could only sense it from close range. Under normal circumstances, no one should know. However, the Xu family certainly does—though why they never moved it remains a mystery. This poor Daoist suspects that this spiritual entity might not have been of high grade originally, but underwent some unforeseen transformation during the shattering of the grotto-heaven, allowing it to evolve."
Wei Yuan nodded. That was the only plausible explanation.
After seeing Perfected Chuhe off, Wei Yuan spread out a map and began pondering carefully. Though a treasure tree was wonderful, the risk was by no means small. For such a treasure to emerge within a grotto-heaven fragment, there was likely an attendant ferocious beast as well. Even old Daoist Chuhe was constantly terrified and had not dared to bypass Wei Yuan to monopolize the spoils.
Aside from their fellowship in the same sect, Wei Yuan knew he shared no special bond with the old Daoist; the old man would never hand over all the benefits out of the goodness of his heart. The only reason he had come to Wei Yuan was that he knew he could not swallow it alone.
If they were to explore the grotto-heaven, prudence was paramount. Moreover, once the treasure was successfully retrieved, they had to guard against someone swooping in from behind to reap the harvest.
Ranked treasures were favored by Heaven and Earth, and virtually all possessed origins and pedigrees. Wei Yuan suspected that before its transformation, the treasure in the grotto-heaven must have had an established name and background; the Xu family had simply never expected it to evolve. But once it left the grotto-heaven, someone might very well perceive its presence. Therefore, preparatory and follow-up measures were both vital.
Wei Yuan looked at the locations on the map. The grotto-heaven fragment lay between one hundred and three hundred li to the northeast; the entrance could be anywhere in that range. Locating the entrance to the fragment required sending people out to conduct a thorough search. The trouble was that such a large commotion could hardly be concealed from the eyes and ears of Western Jin and the Shamans.
Then again, Wei Yuan had never intended to let Western Jin and the Shamans sit idle. As long as he kept them occupied, they wouldn't notice a few extra scouts in the north. This presented the perfect opportunity to handle both matters at once.
Wei Yuan flew out of his quarters and arrived at the northwestern edge of the realm. Cloaking himself with the power of Qingming, he looked toward Shaman City in the distance.
Shaman City had originally been one hundred li from the realm. Over these days, as the realm naturally expanded, the distance had shrunk to ninety-five li. Wei Yuan had now reined in the realm's expansion, slowing it to one li per month so as not to scare the Shamans away.
The strategy had worked. Even after suffering a crushing defeat, the Shamans had not abandoned Shaman City. Instead, they were heavily reinforcing its defenses, constantly funneling commoners, warriors, and supplies into the city.
Having governed the realm for some time, Wei Yuan knew full well that this sort of temporary, emergency fortress construction could cost several times more than normal. Though he didn't know the exact strength and scale of the opposing Shaman tribe, for them to erect a sizable city in such a short span meant they had poured an immense fortune into it.
Having confirmed the state of Shaman City, Wei Yuan felt the time was ripe.
He returned to the realm and issued an order. Thousands of Body Casting cultivators pushed steel cylinders—each one zhang long and as thick as a water vat—toward designated positions. A few of the cylinders had just been rolled out of the Weaponsmith Workshop.
A large detachment of Dao Foundation cultivators also flew out from their encampment, taking their seats at designated formation nodes according to their prior drills. In the blink of an eye, several hundred Dao Foundation cultivators formed a long line stretching a thousand zhang. Dozens of Body Casting cultivators worked together to lift a steel cylinder and set it into the formation. Ji Liuli conducted a final inspection of the formation before activating it.
As the formation began to operate, the steel cylinder slowly floated into the air.
Meanwhile, Wei Yuan came to the door of Zhang Sheng's room, knocked, and said, "Teacher, it is time for us to issue the challenge."
The door opened, and Zhang Sheng stepped out. His entire demeanor had changed, becoming lofty and ethereal. He asked placidly, "What does this master need to do for this battle?"
"You need only carry yourself like a peerless master."
Chapter 249