Sprouting

Shu Li hurried into the central hall of his domain. The entire hall was trembling at that moment, while the yao beasts of the legion let out restless whimpers. Every shaman throughout the domain—whether resting or cultivating—looked up in shock toward the main hall. Having lived and cultivated in this domain for ages, they could clearly sense Shu Li’s towering rage. From the domain’s deepest, murkiest corners, colossal wills began to stir, silently watching the developments in the hall. Shu Li’s avatar flew out of the hall and roared at the attendants inside, “Where is Shengxin?! Tell him to come see me!” Just then, Shengxin’s soft, unhurried voice rang out: “Lord Shu Li, what has happened? You seem to be in quite a foul mood.” Looking at Shengxin’s clean, composed face—one that seemed entirely immune to worldly disturbance—Shu Li suddenly found him more hideous than ever before, even nauseating. Shu Li thrust a massive hand forward, seizing Shengxin by the neck and lifting him off his feet. Beside him, Huixin was shocked and rushed to grab Shu Li’s arm, crying out, “Lord Shu Li! Please, speak reasonably! What on earth happened?” Shu Li’s grip tightened, and he barked, “Do you know what Wei Yuan is doing?” Shengxin remained perfectly calm and said, “Lord Shu Li, this is your domain. If even you do not know what Wei Yuan is doing, how could I?” Shu Li glared fixedly at Shengxin. Huixin shook his arm desperately, but it stayed solid as bedrock, completely unmoving. After a tense standoff, Shengxin said quietly, “Lord Shu Li, rather than groundlessly suspecting me here, why not tell me what actually took place?” Shu Li slowly released his grip, and Shengxin landed on his feet. “He has been continually active beneath Nether Mountain, disturbing the growth array I laid at the summit. I do not know what he is doing down there, but one thing is certain: he has never given up.” Shengxin asked, “Lord Shu Li, if you were trapped beneath Nether Mountain, could you escape?” Shu Li shook his head. Shengxin continued, “Neither could I. If neither of us could accomplish it, why do you think Wei Yuan can? Or do you have some way to move Nether Mountain so that we might go down and investigate?” Shu Li frowned and said, “My Nether Realm growth array has been sustained for eight hundred years. Once activated, it will be ruined and require re-laying. What is more, Nether Mountain is one of the domain’s three major array eyes; it cannot be moved lightly.” Shengxin pondered for a moment. “That is indeed quite a steep price. Can you sense what kind of activity he is conducting down there?” Shu Li’s face darkened grimly. “I cannot tell. But I can sense that an empty space has appeared inside Nether Mountain. The missing volume already approaches an entire year’s worth of growth!” Shengxin thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “I heard that Lord Shu Li has been diligently preparing a terrifyingly powerful magical treasure. Could the rough blank be this very Nether Mountain?” Shu Li’s expression stiffened unnaturally. “Of course not. But this mountain does have another use, so it cannot be disturbed carelessly.” Shengxin’s gaze shifted. “Could it be an array eye for suppression?” Shu Li exhaled a heavy breath. “...One of the array eyes.” Shengxin turned grave. “Then it must indeed be treated with care. Could we carve a passage from the mountain’s edge down to the center to see what is happening?” Shu Li shook his head. “The soil layers surrounding this mountain were packed solid long ago, and the lower sections have most likely crystallized. Only Great Shamans could dig through it. Even if I deployed every Great Shaman available in my domain, excavating such a passage would take at least a dozen years.” Shengxin gave a faint smile and said, “Isn’t that precisely it? If it would take us over a decade to dig, how long would it take Wei Yuan? Fifty years? A hundred? By the time he digs his way out, Lord Hongye will have long since flattened Qingming.” Shu Li considered this and realized it seemed true enough; his complexion finally improved slightly. Shengxin smiled gently. “Since Lord Shu Li is no longer so anxious, allow me to mention a side matter. Lord Shu Li, we can speak like this right now only because of our disparity in realm. However, with just a single avatar, you cannot defeat me. Three attacking together might stand a chance, but unfortunately, you can deploy at most two right now. “Therefore, until you refine your fourth avatar, you had best speak to me with more courtesy. If something like earlier happens again, I will strike back. You may have Lord Hongye backing you, but I am not without clan elders as patrons of my own.” Shu Li’s face turned livid in an instant. With a heavy huff, he turned and stalked away. Shengxin paid it no mind. Once Shu Li had gone far off, he called to Huixin, “Let’s go. We’re heading to another domain to have some fun.” Huixin was puzzled. “We finally grew familiar with this place. If we switch domains, won’t we have to start all over again? That will delay our cultivation by at least half a year.” Shengxin replied, “If we don’t leave now, we won’t be able to leave at all.” “Are you saying...” “I didn’t say anything.” *** Deep beneath Nether Mountain, a space measuring roughly twenty feet across had already been excavated. The floor was now a solid iron plate, supported at the four corners by pillars. Two smelting furnaces were operating at full blast. Cramming over a dozen people alongside two furnaces into such a modest space made it difficult even to turn around. Fortunately, the smelting furnaces possessed inherent formations that contained their heat from leaking out; otherwise, no one here could have endured it except Longying and Wei Yuan. Even so, Longying’s Nanming Li Fire and the true fire of the two dharma idol cultivators heated the air inside to the point where water could boil out of nothing. Wei Yuan had no choice but to lay down another barrier to isolate the heat, allowing the Dao Foundation cultivators to move about. A small portion of the mined nether iron was used for structural construction, while the vast majority was funneled into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Volume for volume, nether iron was seven to eight times heavier than ordinary iron. Thus, while the nether iron sent into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World did not look voluminous, it had already reached twenty million jin. Strictly speaking, this was not yet true nether iron; it still contained twenty percent impurities that required further refining. But as a support structure within the Nether Cold Realm, it was more than adequate. At that moment, Han Li and Long Wushuang were inscribing array formations in a corner of the space. Dao Foundation warriors appeared continuously, assembling slabs of refined nether iron into the rough outline of a doorway. Yet these Dao Foundation warriors could barely endure the environment for half the time it took to finish a cup of tea; at best, they lasted the span of a single cup. Han Li and Long Wushuang seemed to be quietly competing, stepping out to rest almost simultaneously and reappearing together to resume their work. Wei Yuan watched for a while and felt tempted to assist, but this sort of formation was truly outside his expertise, let alone engraving array patterns while simultaneously building. He could only leave them to their work and await the final result. After a full two hours of intense labor, a great gate framed in nether iron was finally completed, its frame covered in dense, exquisite array patterns. Han Li and Long Wushuang exchanged a glance, their eyes practically sparking. In this round of array inscription, the two had ended in yet another draw. With the gate built, it was finally Wei Yuan’s turn to take the stage. His task was straightforward: activate the gateway spell, anchoring the portal within the nether iron frame. Once the formation on the frame was triggered, the portal could maintain its stability without having to draw continuously upon Wei Yuan’s magic power. Wei Yuan observed the portal’s stability for a moment, and then his figure vanished like a burst bubble, having returned to Qingming. Yet the gateway remained intact. Han Li and Long Wushuang stepped through several times, coming and going freely. Longying then walked over and replenished the magic power within the frame’s formation. Moments later, Wei Yuan’s figure reappeared, having returned to the Nether Cold Realm. The moment he stepped through, he asked, “Does it work?” Han Li said, “Passage works normally. Replenishing the magic power once can sustain it for...” He calculated the rate of power consumption, then continued, “...four hours.” Wei Yuan was overjoyed. From this moment on, he would no longer need to keep watch in the Nether Cold Realm every single day. Even if he returned to Qingming, this portal would allow the dragon guards to enter and leave the Nether Cold Realm at will from the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, continuously mining and hauling away the gold... no, the mountain of nether iron. The dragon guards were naturally endowed with intelligence, so the few dharma idol dragon guards would only need to come periodically to top off the formation’s magic power. For the time being, there was little left for Wei Yuan to do here. The four dharma idols took charge of mining nether iron, while the Dao Foundation cultivators refined the metal and produced bricks, gradually expanding the outpost alongside the mining progress. Each time a new section was cleared, the isolation array was extended over it. Just then, Han Li noticed that while the perimeter of the isolation and wind-fire arrays was fixed horizontally, its upward reach was far from its limit. At his suggestion, the Dao Foundation cultivators began erecting a second level, while Longying excavated and expanded upward. Wei Yuan watched for a while longer, when he suddenly caught a minuscule fluctuation. A wisp of peculiar spiritual energy seemed to materialize out of nowhere, only to vanish into Nether Mountain. Possessing keen senses, Wei Yuan immediately fixed his gaze upon the spot where the energy had vanished. Comparing the current scene against past memory within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, he detected a discrepancy: a grain-sized speck of nether iron had appeared there. Wei Yuan dug out the tiny speck and studied it for a long while without finding anything extraordinary about it. Yet it had truly appeared from thin air. Considering that vanished spiritual energy, it had likely condensed directly from that specialized spiritual aura. He had no idea what use this phenomenon might serve for now; the primary priority was still to dig their way out. A calculation within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World estimated that excavating a passage would likely take several months. By then, the extracted nether iron would probably exceed ten billion jin. Wei Yuan increasingly felt the inadequacy of traditional units of measurement. Neither the jun nor the dan was large enough, so he resolved to promote the concepts of grams, kilograms, and tons across the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World and even Qingming from here on out—chiefly tons. Seeing that there was nothing left for him to do, Wei Yuan prepared to return to Qingming, leaving Longying and the others to continue digging. In any case, dragon guards had no need for sleep; when exhausted, they could simply return to the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World to replenish their magic power. The only issue was that the magic power within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World was effectively Wei Yuan’s own magic power; Longying’s replenishment was merely transferring Wei Yuan’s power to himself. Foreseeing an impending shortage of magic power, Wei Yuan decided to seek out Xu Henshui upon returning to Qingming to open the furnaces and concoct pills. Just then, a thought transmitted from the immortal orchids: one of them intended to take root and grow in the Nether Cold Realm. Since the immortal plant had requested it of its own accord, Wei Yuan cleared a small patch of ground at the edge of the chamber, exposing the nether crystal beneath, and then carefully transplanted an immortal orchid onto it. The orchid’s roots plunged swiftly into the nether crystal. The very material Wei Yuan had strained with all his might just to chip away a chunk from proved as soft as tofu before the immortal orchid’s roots, which pierced straight in and anchored firmly. The immortal orchid immediately radiated delight, spreading its leaves and branches wide. A ring of invisible domain rippled outward, displacing the original aura of the Nether Cold Realm. In his domain, Shu Li’s avatar let out a roar that reverberated across the entire realm and stormed out of the hall. Just an instant ago, he had discovered that a tiny point within his domain had slipped from his control. There, it seemed, the sprout of a new domain had appeared.