Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 568

Chapter 568: Time

A jade amulet flashed.

Xu Miaoran grabbed the amulet on her waist and examined it. On it were details of the materials He Chong wanted and what he was going to use them for.

“Making an ocean creation formation to use seawater to fill the void. There’s nothing wrong with the idea…” Xu Miaoran muttered.

She slightly creased her beautiful brow as she tried to see if there was anything suspicious about He Chong’s request. If there was something she didn’t understand, she would take a look at the formation treatise Tang Jie had left for her. Although she could just ask Tang Jie, she didn’t want to distract him while he was preparing to enter the Treasure Paradise.

An excellent woman should be able to handle problems for her man.

After looking everything over, Xu Miaoran grabbed a brush, crossing out several items and reducing the amount a little. She then looked the list over again, and once she found that there were no problems, she let out a flame from her finger.

A maid entered, and Xu Miaoran passed over the list. “Go to Xian Tao and have her get me the things on the list. Send them over to the Heaven Manor Mountains tonight.”

The list was delivered to the Rosecloud Store on Heavenly Flax Street in the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Xian Tao, who was already the general manager, swiftly mustered her people and gathered up all the materials, which were delivered to the Heaven Manor Mountains that night.

Yiyi was the one responsible for receiving them.

She took all the goods into the cave, where they were sent through the teleportation formation into the diagram and into He Chong’s hands.

Usually, Yiyi would also put some flower and grass seeds with the goods, and decorate them with pretty pictures. In her view, those three uncles in the diagram were rather pitiful, like laborers in a mine. In that lightless world, they were going to great pains to modify the world, offering up their energy to it.

A beam of light lit up the wilderness, signifying that the goods had arrived.

He Chong picked up that paper covered in elegant handwriting that had been placed in front of the goods. On it was written: “While a Jade Dew Bottle does have the ability to condense energy into rain and create sweet dew, it also has the ability to remake the world and hide from the heavens. As Sir might harbor ulterior motives, it is best if you did not have such a thing. Instead, I have sent three clumps of Spirit Firmament Clouds, which also have the ability to create clouds and rain. Please accept them. The Genesis Immortal Spring is everflowing and able to create all things, but while it is wondrous indeed, it is too expensive. This lady already spent all her money on the Three Witherings and cannot afford it, and if I could, I would use it for myself. After all, this is a divine item meant for cultivating Water spell arts, which just happens to be what I cultivate. Instead, use this Coldstone Stream as a replacement. The Violet Radiance Stone Foundation sounds good, but did you know that it can be used as the foundation of a teleportation formation? Considering that the items you asked for last time are also linked to teleportation formations, I’m wondering: are you planning to make another teleportation formation? If you want one, you can just ask. There’s no need to secretly make another, as that’s a huge waste. So this item is forbidden. There’s a few other things that I won’t talk about, but I’m sure Sir knows what they are. Finally, Tang Jie’s understanding of formations isn’t any worse than yours, so please think carefully about your decisions.”

Bang.

A flame burned the paper into ash.

He Chong gnashed his teeth and shouted, “That bitch!”

He waved his hand, and Duan Fourth and Deng Yuqing came forward and began to sort through the materials.

Deng Yuqing carefully put away the grass seeds that Yiyi had placed with the materials.

Duan Fourth looked at him strangely. “What are you keeping those for? The land here can’t sustain them yet.”

Deng Yuqing chuckled as Yiyi’s cute little face appeared in his mind.

From a little babe to a little girl, Yiyi had now grown up a little more, appearing now like a young woman, showing signs of a city-toppling beauty. Tang Jie, who had grown up alongside her, was completely unaware of the change, but other people had already started to eye that girl.

As Deng Yuqing carefully put away the grass seeds and felt the warmth upon them, his mind recalled Yiyi’s form, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

It wasn’t long before a mountain of ice silently appeared to the east of the Broken Stream Island. In the center of the ice mountain was an Iceseal Crystal, radiating a chill and forming large quantities of frost around it.

A glacier was slowly taking form.

An ice sea.

This was the best way to turn the void into a sea. He Chong had thought of it but had said nothing, so Xu Miaoran had suggested it for him.

Ice and fire were like the two poles of the world, silently resonating with each other from their respective positions in the east and west.

This world had cold and warmth, so air currents began to form.

As these air currents flowed over the landmass, they started to form rain clouds.

This was the first rain within the Mountain River State Diagram.

Its appearance had the creatures living on the Great Broken Stream in an immense panic. After a short while, the creatures gradually started to adapt.

The ice sea to the east silently expanded.

It wasn’t expanding very quickly, the lack of matter remaining a bottleneck. Even Tang Jie did not dare to brazenly swallow up land, only furtively steal some matter from under the Heaven Manor Mountains. Regardless, though, this was still a good start.

As the area of water expanded, He Chong felt a sense of accomplishment. He was creating a world, a real world.

Not just anyone got this opportunity.

As the ice sea was established, this world now had water, and the first specks of green appeared in the wilderness.

They were scattered like stars, but they foretold that a green carpet would cover the land in the near future.

It was the miracle of life.

As the ice sea expanded, other parts of the wilderness also began to change.

The earth was thickening and accumulating, with the thicker piles forming into mountain ranges and the thinner areas becoming lakes. And through guidance and instruction, rivers and forests would begin to appear, and the environment would improve.

But this would have to wait for the future. There was something else that He Chong urgently needed to do.

The Space Crystal, serving as the substitute for the sun, neither moved nor gave off heat.

It only gave off limited light, and as it did not orbit this world, there was no sunrise or sunset, no night or day.

Thus, this world’s light was forever dim and gloomy.

An eternal dusk!

Now that He Chong had solved the problem of water, he needed to solve the problems of light, heat, and time.

He had designed a new formation for this, one that would create a new sun that would orbit the world together with the Space Crystal. The Space Crystal would be the moon, its light gentle and pure, while the formation would be the sun, blessing the earth with its dazzling light.

Of course, this would require many materials to pull off.

“He’s gone crazy!” Xu Miaoran cried out in surprise after getting the new list of materials.

“Taking the role of the Heavenly Dao and creating the sun, moon, and stars truly is a crazy idea, but I like it.” Tang Jie smiled.

This was the day after the encounter with the Blood River Lord.

Tang Jie had never expected to see something like this.

“Suns, moons, and stars aren’t something that humans can make. Are you really going to give him what he wants?” Xu Miaoran asked, staring at him.

Tang Jie chuckled. “What’s wrong with it? There are small suns and big suns. Big suns are so vast as to be worlds of their own, but small suns can be like fireballs, serving as bright suns only for antholes. While the world in the diagram isn’t small, it can’t compare to the vastness of the myriad domains. I lack a Divine Connection that can move stars or moons, but there’s no problem with making a little sun that can shine across a thousand miles.”

“If you want it to shine over a thousand miles, the cost won’t be small. Is that really necessary?” Xu Miaoran worriedly said.

“It’s very necessary,” Tang Jie replied. “Actually, even if He Chong hadn’t asked about it, I would have. So his bringing it up is perfect.”

“You’re going to make one?”

“Mm! But not a sun,” Tang Jie replied. “I was planning to make a time formation in the Mountain River State Diagram so that time flowed faster inside the diagram.”

“What?” Xu Miaoran said in shock.

Tang Jie nonchalantly replied, “If we want to establish a resource base, how can we not have control over time? It’s not like we can really wait ten thousand years to get a ten-thousand-year Immortal plant. What I want is a formation that can control time. What’s a sun in comparison to that? It’s just a necessary component of the formation I really want.”

Xu Miaoran was stunned by Tang Jie’s tone. “The costs of such a formation are so immense that even the six major sects couldn’t do it.”

None of the six major sects of Rosecloud had a paradise with a formation that could control the flow of time. This was not because they didn’t want one, but because such a formation was far too difficult to establish, even more difficult and costly than a spatial formation that could replace the Space Crystal.

Tang Jie wanting to replace the Space Crystal was a pretense, but his desire for a formation that could control the flow of time was real.

Tang Jie replied, “You’re wrong about one thing, Miaoran. The six sects haven’t done such a thing not merely because of money, but more because of domestic and foreign concerns.”

The establishment of an enormous formation would be incredibly costly and affect numerous matters.

Sects like the Basking Moon Sect and Horizon Ocean Pavilion might have had the wealth to build one, but in the process of doing so, they would run into all sorts of mishaps that would eventually lead them to failure. For example, an enemy faction would damage and threaten the project, as no one was going to just sit back and watch an opponent get stronger. And since a time formation of this magnitude would require huge amounts of labor and resources, it would be easy to attack once discovered. Let alone one’s sworn foe, even other people might interfere and destroy it, even one’s ally.

Besides that, while the six major sects had a lot of money, they also had plenty of places to spend it.

In truth, the more one approached the apex of political power, the more one lacked money. For example, the emperors of China’s various dynasties had all been sorely lacking in money, for there were places all across the realm that demanded money to be spent, like bottomless holes.

Something like a time formation would require a major faction to tighten up their belts and save for a few years before they started, and even if they had no opposition, they would not lightly make the decision to build one, even if everyone understood the benefits of success.

But Tang Jie was different.

In terms of making money, while the inter-domain trade was profitable, it couldn’t compare to the revenues of the six major sects. But the six major sects had a lot of people to pay, a hundred thousand disciples, a million warriors. What was left over was actually very small.

Fortunately, Tang Jie didn’t employ as many people, so much of his revenue was pure profit, which made his available capital much greater than that of the six major sects.

Secondly, his time formation would be made in the Mountain River State Diagram, which was like a portable cave estate.

The greatest advantage of this portable cave estate was that he didn’t need to worry about interference from his enemies.

If the Basking Moon Sect were to build one, it would definitely be in the Water Moon Paradise, so if the Beast Refining Gate attacked, there would be no running away. But Tang Jie didn’t have this worry, as he could just roll up the diagram and leave.

Finally, Tang Jie was an individual, not a sect, so he wasn’t restrained by sect factional strife.

As an example, if the Basking Moon Sect wanted to make the formation, the academy faction and radical faction would probably support it while the conservatives would oppose it. Opposition was natural, but someone even more petty might choose to secretly work against the project.

The more distributed power was, the more difficult it was to get a major project completed.

Again, Tang Jie did not have this problem, and he was himself a formation master. In addition, he had his greatest advantage: he was young and had entered the Dao. These two points meant that if he was willing and had the time, he could set up the time formation on his own.

After hearing Tang Jie’s analysis, Xu Miaoran carefully thought it over. “How long do you expect it to take?”

“If everything goes smoothly, it should take between two hundred and three hundred years,” Tang Jie answered. “But that’s if we invest the majority of the money we’ve made so far.”

“‘The majority’? How much?”

“Eighty percent.”

Xu Miaoran gasped. “Do you know how much money that is?”

Tang Jie nodded. “Of course, but I also know that money’s uses will become more limited in the future. The 19 Celestial Chiefs of the Basking Moon Sect are all sitting on huge fortunes, but in the last several centuries, the only one of them to reach Violet Palace has been Ming Yekong. The medicines needed at that level simply can’t be valued or bought with money. For example, if you wanted a Nine Heavens Luan Grass, you could offer an astronomically high price and still not find a seller. Cang Qingfeng lived a hundred lives and once possessed enormous wealth, but none of that could get him an Evercycle Rising Dragon Pill. The Immortal path is long, and the farther you go along it, the more difficult it is to traverse. It’s precisely because I understand this that I’ve made this decision. Moreover, this will have countless other advantages in the future, which I already explained to you yesterday.”

“But you cultivate the Parting Classic. You need those resources.”

That’s why I’m keeping 20%. Don’t worry. The hundred-meter giant isn’t the end for me. Above the Diamond Body is the Immortal Spirit Body and the Great Dao Body. Just the name alone, ‘Great Dao Body’… you think that’s something you can get with just money? Even the Immortal Spirit Body will require countless Immortal plants to attain. So… that makes this even more necessary!” Tang Jie solemnly said.

“What about He Chong? He wants to divide Yin and Yang, fix Qian and Kun, and partition time. If he knows that you want to make a time-controlling formation… anyway, if I were him, I wouldn’t accept it.”

“Only at the start. But when he gradually begins to like that land, it won’t matter anymore.”

“‘Like that land’?” Xu Miaoran was dumbfounded. “That barren land in the Mountain River State Diagram? Do you think He Chong is crazy enough to like that place?”

“No one will dislike their own child… So long as you truly devote your heart and soul to that land, you will come to truly love it and consider it like your own child. Moreover, while this child is a little ugly and barren right now, as you nurture it more and more, one day it will begin to sprout buds.”

Xu Miaoran fell silent.

After a while, she finally nodded. “I grant that you’re correct, but the problem is the present. The present He Chong definitely doesn’t like that land yet, right?”

“Of course, so he won’t know about this for the time being.”

“Then how are you going to start building the formation?”

“I’ll do it myself.”

“You?” Xu Miaoran was just about to say that he was busy when she suddenly realized and blurted out, “Your original body?”

Tang Jie nodded. “The Dao merging in the valley is basically about done. In two days, I’ll be heading into the Treasure Paradise, and I plan to bring in the original body, so I’ll be putting it in the diagram. With the original body around, setting up the formation will be no problem. I just need all the materials to be sent over in the next two days.”

“You’re taking the original body into the Treasure Paradise? Why not use a teleportation formation?”

Tang Jie shook his head. “That won’t work. The Treasure Paradise isn’t like the Martial Lord’s hidden realm. In order to be accessed by a teleportation formation, the hidden realm started off with a weak barrier that could be easily penetrated. But the Treasure Paradise is the exact opposite. It is a Dao armament that has been sealed off, and even the Blood Sea Formation needs twenty years to open it up each time. A teleportation formation can’t access this kind of place, so the only method is the Mountain River Diagram.”

“Then bring me too!” Xu Miaoran said. “I want to adventure with you.”

“Silly fool,” Tang Jie chuckled. “If you went too, who would keep watch over this place? The inter-domain trade is too important for it to be left unattended. If you can’t relax, then refine a few more pills for me. While the Dao of Life is powerful, it consumes too much lifespan, so if possible, I would rather eat medicine. In the past, I couldn’t afford it, but now, I basically have to eat pills like they’re jellybeans.”

Xu Miaoran found this rather amusing, and she couldn’t help but giggle.

Knowing that he was thinking for her sake, she didn’t push the matter. “Then you should take Yiyi and Tutu. They’re both at Transformation, so they will be of big help.”

Yiyi and Tutu had successfully reached Transformation a few days ago, which Tang Jie had already been told about. Yiyi’s strength had soared because of this, and she truly could serve as a reliable helper for Tang Jie.

As for Tutu, Tang Jie hadn’t seen it after it had attained Transformation.

Only after hearing Xu Miaoran mention it did Tang Jie finally remember this. “Right, that rabbit! Why is it that I haven’t seen it once after it attained Transformation?”

Xu Miaoran covered her mouth and giggled. “It doesn’t dare to see you.”

“Oh? Why?” Tang Jie asked out of curiosity.

Xu Miaoran softly coughed. “Hurry and come out already.”

In the distance, two long ears suddenly popped out of the ground.

The moment the ears appeared, Tang Jie’s heart hiccuped.

There was no doubt that they were much larger than before.

Xu Miaoran waved her hand. “What are you hesitating for? Come out!”

A large hole opened up in the ground as Tutu emerged.

Tang Jie was gobsmacked, and it took quite a while for him to finally speak again. “Tutu… you… How did you get so big?”

This rabbit fiend was now a big rabbit, ten feet long. Sitting on the ground, it seemed very reluctant to raise its head.

Xu Miaoran chuckled. “This is why it doesn’t want to see you… Heaven-Lost Rabbits are the best at traveling the void, not just because of their ability to orient themselves within the void, but also because of their incredible speed.”

Suddenly, Tang Jie recalled what the rabbit had told him once.

“Back then, I traveled the void with my young master, searching for a treasure…”

“Traveled the void with my young lord…”

“Traveled the void…”

As the voice bounced around in Tang Jie’s mind, he suddenly understood.

He understood why Cang Qingfeng had brought this rabbit.

It wasn’t because of its ability to orient itself within the void, but because he could ride the rabbit!

Tang Jie cried out, “No wonder it was so uninterested in advancing despite having no ability… The Heaven-Lost Rabbit race is actually a race of natural mounts!”