Life force coursed through Adam’s meridians all the way to his clenched fists. The sensation of purity was incredible as if he had taken down an invisible dam muzzling a river’s flow. And what a flow! The gas had turned liquid, thick like mercury, and humming in sync with the surrounding space so much that he grinned from ear to ear.
But he knew it would become even better. The nascent soul realm was his first step into the ranks of elites, and he wouldn’t stop until he stood unrivalled at the pinnacle. Mastery, however, would require more time—much more time.
A staggering eighty-seven stars formed the Heavenly Market Enclosure, for example. ’Condensing them is much harder now that my qi is liquid.’ He sighed. ’How hard will it become after it turns solid?’ Somehow, he felt glad not to know.
But time waited for no one, and his was worth gold—literally. After all, he hadn’t pushed his other projects aside.
Crooked trees with green veins pulsing like liquid fire flourished into a small forest within his soul sea. Beside it, a garden filled with young flowers had appeared on blackened soil. He didn’t like either much, especially not their thick stench of sulfur, but they were interesting study materials and ingredients for future potions or pills.
His expanding world seed still felt a little barren, though. ’I’ll add magical plants and beasts after theorising an ecosystem with Lulu, but that’s for later. The bastion first.’
With the plans complete and material costs optimised, he had spent the past two years digging and plating the conduction channels’ walls with conductive metal, arranging energy storages to serve as backups, and drawing the magic circles that would function as propelling engines. It was a colossal construction site, but each rock taken down sent an excited shiver down his spine. It would be his bastion, entirely molded with his own two hands.
Fortunately, Yunxu exchanged his pills and weapons for materials from the outside. 1 But even then, he needed several overpriced cores from tier-eight beasts, top-quality gems to fuse, and flexible alloy for the modular ring.
The colossal qi barrier required a hundred perfect spiritual stones, each worth five million sect points. These gave him a headache. Sect leaders monopolised them to fuel their cultivation or reward outstanding contributions. So far, he had only gathered three, making the grim future... grimmer.
Especially after Yunxu had warned him about the growing sect alliance. With fifteen sects preparing and the assault happening in four years, he even cut his time with the girls short. Only the bastion and their strength would keep them alive.
They reluctantly acknowledged it, too. Still, they worked closely, feeling each other’s comforting presence and smiles.
Nursed by the noise of pounding hammers, the scent of smelted metal, and the prickle of sweat on his skin, he continued to work relentlessly. Days melded into months, then years, as the blessed land changed.
A vibrating sky-blue veil came to encase the forest’s edges. The soil split open in a circle before blue conflagrations roared in the tunnels beneath the hiding local beasts.
Adam nodded with a satisfied smile. His circles worked as long as he fueled them with mana. But though not even half was built, he moved to his cultivation room.
Devouring pills like snacks, he condensed more constellations in his dantian. His already unmatched connection to energy skyrocketed until the Heavenly Market Enclosure flickered to life around the black hole.
He became a soul transformation realm expert and his qi thickened after three years of relentless work but found no strength to celebrate—not with Yunxu’s alarming news. ’One year before the assault. These bastards gathered five more sects! Forget about cultivation, fool. The bastion takes priority!’
Not a day passed without dark smoke reaching for the sky and a cacophony of metal reverberating across the peaceful land. Fueled by urgency, he combined gems, enchanted alloys, and connected channels.
Yet, the spiritual stones clawed at his heart. He had to get them no matter what. So, gritting his teeth, he crafted sun-grade weapons, armor, and pills of the eighth tier and offered them for trade. Arming anyone he didn’t acknowledge, much less his enemies, didn’t please him one bit, but he had to adapt... and avenge himself for the years of stress!
’These will become garbage once you craft void-grade items of the ninth tier,’ he repeated to himself, grimacing each time he enchanted a blade.
"Are you serious?!" Yunxu roared in the middle of the dream place after he poured hundreds of pieces of equipment. He could tell from her almost popping eyes and cracking voice that she had never seen such quality. And she confirmed it. "You’ll still lose out if you trade one for ten stones. Are you sure?"
He gritted his teeth, his voice a guttural hiss. "Do you think I want to do it? Exchange them! Stones, minerals, herbs; I’ll take anything of the eighth tier. But I want the eighty-seven perfect spiritual stones first and foremost!"
Huffing in rage, he didn’t wait for her answer and left her flabbergasted on the plaza.
It took her two dozen calming breaths to recover before a steely glint flashed in her eyes. "I won’t let you suffer losses!"
Determined to help, she returned to the Jin Long sect and immediately burst into Tianlong’s cultivation cave. "Master! You must help me!"
He gestured to the chair across from him, his golden eyes narrowing slightly. "Sit first. You know the war effort takes all my focus. You’ll have to forgive me if your request isn’t of utmost importance."
She jumped on her seat, cupping her fists. "I’ve just received a batch of equipment from a friend: hundreds of sun-grade weapons and armor." She saw him frown and open his lips but cut him off. "He wants perfect spiritual stones and materials of the same tier. I came to you first, so you could buy the best ones. Please help me auction the rest to our allied sects, then."
Tianlong’s eyes widened, his heart racing against his chest as she retrieved the fiercest halberd he had ever seen. Style, elements imbued, or powers, how could a qi smith eclipse him to the extent that he felt like an amateur next to him?
"Who’s that friend of yours? Why didn’t he come in person?" He leaned forward, overthrowing the pot, his breath hastening. Even if he could claim the expert’s equipment, meeting him was much more valuable. How much could he learn from a discussion and a few pointers? "You must introduce him to me!"
She moved back, coughing to express her discomfort. "He’s just lending a hand because I mentioned the war. But I’ll invite him right after. Please master, can you pick the items you want and set up the auction today or tomorrow?"
Tianlong nodded, grinning at the promise of a meeting. "Sure. We’ll need time to adapt to such high-grade items. Pick one for yourself—my reward for your loyalty."
What an irony. Before entering the blessed land test, his master had already marked Adam as dead. Now he was about to attack him, yet asked for a meeting? She focused all her strength on keeping a straight face as she picked a scarlet fan engraved with golden phoenixes.
Tianlong picked a weapon for himself and six armors for his core elders, paying sixteen spiritual stones for them, before he gathered the nineteen other sect leaders for the auction a day later.
She marvelled at how fast these revered leaders scrambled to the sect’s teaching hall upon learning about the content. Then, she shuddered as a disproportionate bidding war began.
Roars echoed, and materials she had only read about in books streamed into her spatial ring, without forgetting the critical spiritual stones. She gasped, so numb that she didn’t react even after the echoes of the spirited bids faded.
"A hundred and fifty stones and five hundred tier-eight materials..." Her breath caught in her throat, her mind refusing to believe she carried wealth far beyond the Jin Long sect’s liquid assets before a thought thundered.
’Did Adam just bleed twenty sects’ treasuries dry for a war he’ll avoid by using their own resources?’ She shuddered, yet the corner of her lips curled as she returned to the dream place and contacted him. ’Terrifying.’
AN: Did my best. Hope you’ll enjoy this Chapter... (took me so long to write. :foams:)