Chapter 713: Mad Water Epidemic

The Spirit Root had just formed; what came next was a matter of slow, patient work.

Cultivating the Heaven-Mending Mantra could not be rushed. Lü Zhong paused to reflect, then with a flip of his hand, produced a ball of light. It was the Spirit Treasure Embryo he had obtained, and after this period of refinement, it had already begun to change.

Observing it with his Divine Sense, he found that a great number of Spirit Patterns had grown within it. The Spirit Treasure’s future Divine Power Techniques would evolve from this foundation. Beyond that, the treasure’s form had also changed considerably, gradually solidifying from its original amorphous state into a specific shape.

‘It looks something like a fan. I wonder what kind of treasure it will turn out to be.’

Lü Zhong appraised it for a moment, his eyes filled with anticipation. He then absorbed it back into his Dantian, allowing it to be tempered by his Nascent Fire and polished by Pure Spiritual Energy. He imagined its growth rate would quicken significantly, and the day it revealed its full potential would not be far off.

‘Next, I just need to wait for the Spirit Communication Mantra to form!’

Lü Zhong then turned his attention to his Thunder Skills.

The Little Purple Sky Thunder Skill was astonishingly powerful; once mastered, few in this entire realm would be able to stand against it. But that was also the problem. This exquisite Thunder Skill was so incredibly difficult to cultivate that even after spending several years, he had only barely managed to comprehend half of it.

‘Fortunately, Thunder Skills can also break ten thousand techniques with a single one…’

Thanks to the Little Purple Sky Thunder Skill, Lü Zhong’s Wood Thunder Skill had improved significantly.

As expected of an Immortal Thunder Skill, it had allowed him to grasp the rudiments of how to Call the Wind and Summon the Rain. With time, he might even master a full-fledged Divine Power Technique from it. Even his ability to avert disasters and cure illnesses had improved slightly. But the most important result was in combat: his Wood Thunder Seal had developed new variations, which in turn allowed him to master a new move.

Purple Cloud Thunder Pillar.

As the name implied, when cast, a purple cloud would condense and then unleash a Thunder Pillar.

The Thunder Pillar was ill-suited for attacking agile targets, but it was perfect for dealing with larger opponents. The skill incorporated some of the secrets of the Little Purple Sky Thunder Skill, allowing it to stir the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. Even the slightest wisp was enough to elevate its power by an entire level.

Just then, Lü Zhong’s expression shifted slightly.

His incarnation had initiated contact.

‘An ore vein? Suspected to be Gravity Ore…’

Lü Zhong looked slightly surprised. So such a mineral actually existed in the world? He had assumed the mountains in the Heaven-Suspended Sea floated due to a gravitational imbalance, never imagining it could be because of an ore.

True or not, he had to go and see for himself.

With a flash of movement, he was outside the Quiet Chamber.

…

「The Upper Reaches of the Heaven-Suspended Sea.」

A colossal ship, as massive as a mountain, hung in the air. It was the Bihai Sect’s flagship, the Bihai Ship. At this moment, runes flickered erratically across its hull, the ports for the Primordial Cannons opened one by one, and even its protective shield was fully deployed. The alert level had been raised to its highest, ready to counter any potential attackers at a moment’s notice.

The atmosphere in the central chamber was somewhat tense.

The disciples who had discovered the Gravity Ore had all been summoned to this place.

“…Progenitor, that is the full account of how this disciple discovered the ore,” said a portly woman. Her expression was anxious and her heart was pounding. After she finished, she bowed and stepped back.

“Yes, you’ve all done very well! This is a writ. You can take it to the Treasure Vault to claim your rewards.” Lü Zhong always rewarded meritorious deeds, and he gave the disciples rewards of varying worth, including one Golden Core Pill. Before the overjoyed disciples could come up to thank him, he waved his hand, dismissing them.

Once the disciples had left, he turned his gaze to the ore.

A silver-gray Crystal Stone was suspended in the air.

It was surrounded by a hazy glow.

‘It really is Gravity Ore!’

Lü Zhong could, of course, tell that the Crystal Stone was not floating due to some external force, but rather because of an intrinsic property.

If this was Gravity Ore, its applications would be vast.

If it could be applied to the construction of Flying Ships, supplemented with Gravity Spirit Patterns, the resulting ships would be even more massive. Building a Floating Fortress would probably not be difficult at all. If he could truly achieve that, it would be a historic change for this realm.

In the face of a Floating Fortress, even a Divinity Transformation cultivator would likely be no match.

After a moment of contemplation, Lü Zhong decided to study it in detail. He wouldn’t work on it directly, but would first run simulations in the Gray Mist Space. Once he had a clear understanding of the Gravity Ore’s properties and could guarantee a foolproof process, it would not be too late to begin researching its real-world applications.

There was one other thing to do as well: mine the vein.

Compared to this, even developing the space inside the Mountain and River Map was of little consequence.

Thus, with a single written order, all the cultivators mobilized. Some began to mine the discovered vein, while others started prospecting in other areas of the Heaven-Suspended Sea, hoping to find new Gravity Ore veins.

Unfortunately, the results of the survey came in quickly.

There was only a single vein of Gravity Ore.

Lü Zhong found this perfectly normal.

In the million-year history of the Cultivation Realm, there were no clear records of this substance’s existence, which indicated that Gravity Ore was exceedingly rare in the Qinghe Realm. This might even be the one and only vein.

Through simulation, he found a method for smelting the ore.

The processing method was surprisingly simple. It only needed to be purified with the Purple Gold Extreme Fire, and the finished product would naturally collapse and condense into a small sphere under its own influence.

Since it was silver-gray, Lü Zhong simply decided to name it “Gravity Silver.”

Although the purified piece of Gravity Silver was only the size of a watermelon, it was comparable to the Mountain Shaking Ship’s Soul Wind Crystal. As long as enough Spiritual Qi was channeled into it, it could lift the Mountain Shaking Ship into the air. Moreover, this was far from its limit. If he continued to increase the Spiritual Qi input, the buoyancy it could provide would be even greater.

However, doing so would result in diminishing returns, to the point where the cost would outweigh the benefits.