639 The Well

[POV: Da Wei]

“This place really had the Victorian aesthetic down to a T, huh?” I commented.

Ru Qiu led the way, while Nongmin, Tao Long, and N’wa followed behind me. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have never associated this world with the False Earth I remembered. The False Earth I knew had felt like a perpetual Warring States period, with competing feudal overlords constantly fighting for territory and influence. This place was completely different. The architecture, technology, and overall atmosphere belonged to an entirely different era.

I was beginning to suspect there was a reason for that.

“I couldn’t care less,” Ru Qiu said. “I suspect it has something to do with the technological advancements you introduced during your time here. Remember those floating platforms you created? The introduction of spirit stones as an energy source became the foundation for many of this world’s subsequent technological developments.”

“Those floating platforms were actually based on Nongmin’s Soaring Vessel technology,” I explained. “But there’s no way, right? It’s been so long. I mean, I lived here for ten years, and the other me had quite a collection of books, but none of them explicitly said that I had anything to do with the current trajectory of this world’s civilization.”

The more I thought about it, though, the more I could see it.

I remembered the methods Willow had devised for searching dragon veins and mining spirit stones. As Wen Yuhan, I had also used the Destiny Seeking Eyes to deduce certain pieces of knowledge. I had scribes make copies of various books, and the library had been relatively open to everyone. Some of the things I had considered insignificant pieces of knowledge could have been revolutionary to people who had never encountered them before.

“I am unfamiliar with that word. Victorian, is it?” N’wa asked.

“Yeah.” I smiled. “Back on Earth, it referred to a particular period in European history, specifically the era associated with Queen Victoria. It was a time when industry and science advanced rapidly. Machines, factories, transportation, medicine, engineering... a lot of things changed during that period.” I glanced around at the surrounding buildings. “Of course, the version of the Victorian era I knew didn’t have much in the way of supernatural phenomena or occult practices. This world seems to have taken that aesthetic and mixed it with things that absolutely should not exist according to Earth's standards.”

Tao Long looked around as well. “Some of the architecture reminds me of Radiant Losten, to be frank.”

“This feels familiar,” Nongmin remarked.

I immediately understood what he meant after releasing a small portion of my Divine Sense.

We weren't simply wandering through the city.

The streets were deliberately arranged. We turned from one end to another, taking specific alleys and streets before doubling back through seemingly unrelated roads. The entire route formed a maze, with spatial principles subtly woven into its structure.

I had seen something similar before.

Back when the capital of the Grand Ascension Empire still existed, Nongmin had designed a grand formation that concealed one of his most important research facilities, the one headed by Sikao Biaoji. The formation had used the surrounding city itself as part of the concealment, making it nearly impossible to locate the facility without understanding the underlying spatial principles.

Nongmin suddenly looked offended. “Someone ripped off one of my formations.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you’d feel territorial over something like that.”

“I am not territorial.”

“You're absolutely territorial.”

“I am simply recognizing intellectual theft.”

I grinned. “I bet you're fuming inside because someone managed to do it better. And they didn't even have access to the wealth of resources you did.”

Nongmin's expression darkened. That only made me more amused.

“We’re here,” Ru Qiu said. He stopped beside an ordinary-looking well. “There’s a warp array hidden inside. Let’s go.”

Nongmin immediately stepped forward and inspected the well. “A well?” He sounded genuinely disappointed. “Not very creative. Remember my Grand Library, Da Wei? Now that was how you designed a formation array. It masterfully took advantage of spatial laws and labyrinth principles.”

“I can’t say. I was only there one time,” I teased him.

That was around the time Nongmin had revealed the true shape of the world to me. It had been a genuinely mind-blowing discovery back then. To be honest, though, I had never really liked his library. The place was confusing, sprawling, and not particularly friendly to anyone who didn’t already understand how it was organized.

As an educator in a past life, I found the whole thing honestly infuriating.

I was almost glad that the place had been reduced to ruins, though losing so many valuable records was still a painful price to pay. By now, some players should still have been exploring the ruins of the imperial capital and submitting their discoveries to the Adventurer’s Guild.

“It’s not a competition,” Tao Long complained to Nongmin. “What got into you?”

On NovelPhoenix, this chapter is published by its author. The text here was taken without their permission.

I answered for Nongmin, unable to resist teasing him further. “Qi dissipates rather easily in this world. It’s practically impossible to create an external formation that can function properly. I imagine that means Nongmin’s puppets are suffering quite a bit. Isn’t that right, Nongmin? And now some unknown person is apparently using one of your designs, showing you how to express qi externally through a formation without actually relying on qi.”

“No, it’s not that simple,” Nongmin said. “I’ve already deduced that they are using spirit stones as an external energy source. It’s a rather simplistic method. Even your flying cities use them in enormous quantities.” His expression grew increasingly dissatisfied. “My gripe is that it is killing the dragon veins. From what I’ve heard, this place used to be a mining city. I imagine they started importing spirit stones after the dragon veins beneath the city were completely depleted. Such a brutal way of exploiting a dragon vein is simply unthinkable.”

“For someone who strips dragon veins from the land and transplants them onto his ships, isn’t that a little hypocritical?” A woman's voice came from the well.

A dark-haired woman climbed out, dressed in the black-and-purple xianxia-style clothing appropriate to the Hollowed World.

Nongmin froze.

The reliance of warp technology on dragon veins had become an open secret after the Hollowed World War. That was how the Federation and Adventurer’s Guild had been able to afford the construction of so many warp platforms in the first place. Even the Four Pillars and Martial Alliance had started relying on them more heavily in recent years. If Radiant Losten hadn’t introduced portal gates as an alternative, the situation could have become much worse. The Hollowed World was enormous, after all. There were still vast stretches of land outside our controlled territories where dragon veins could be harvested. Continued exploitation could have devastated the wildlife and native civilizations living in those regions.

Still, our circumstances were different from those of this place.

The woman continued criticizing Nongmin. “I can confidently say that must be part of the reason your friendship with Tao Long here went sour. Life is really strange, isn’t it? So what now? The two of you are friends again?”

Tao Long sighed. “You don’t know anything about me, you rude little thing—”

“It’s all written here.” The woman pulled a book from her sleeve and casually waved it in front of him. “It’s the autobiography of the Final Emperor. I don’t know who wrote it, but they certainly seem to know a lot about you.”

Tao Long stared at her. “Who even are you?”

“Guys, this is Hei Mei,” I cut in before the argument could escalate. “Jue Bu’s disciple and Hei Mao’s twin sister.”

Dragon veins could be mended.

With the wealth of quintessence we had obtained through the Hollow Star, along with the methods Nongmin had devised to accelerate their recovery, dragon veins had effectively become a renewable resource. With the dragons' assistance, those methods had continued to improve, allowing us to construct more ships without causing significant damage to the environment.

The dragon veins here in the False Earth were different, however.

This wasn't our land.

Most of the methods we had developed couldn't simply be applied here, especially given the strange nature of the False Earth itself. So, despite how hypocritical Nongmin's criticism might have sounded, I could understand where he was coming from.

Tao Long and Nongmin both fell silent, finally recognizing Hei Mei.

“Where’s my master?” Hei Mei asked.

The last time I had heard about Hei Mei was when Jue Bu had asked me for permission for him to take her as his disciple and for the two of them to descend into the False Earth. I remembered consulting my daughter about it, and she had told me this was for the best.

Hah.

It seemed she had foreseen me losing my “body,” which was why she had allowed them to leave.

Jue Bu’s reason for coming to the False Earth had been to pursue a lead that could help him deal with the curse the Supreme Void had placed on him. This body had also been tainted by the Supreme Void, but since I couldn’t sense the curse anymore, Jue Bu had most likely succeeded in removing it. Or perhaps he had only half-succeeded. The last time I had spoken to him, it seemed his soul was still at the mercy of the Supreme Void.

“When was the last time you saw him?” I asked, unsure whether I should be honest with her.

“Over ten years ago,” she answered.

“He’s no longer with us,” I said honestly. “This body was the one I gave him. Since it contained pieces of my existence, I was able to resurrect through him.”

“You didn’t give that body to him. He stole it,” Hei Mei said nonchalantly. “It’s your prerogative to take it back.”

I knew that.

And here I had thought claiming that I gave it to him would be the fair thing to do. I didn’t mean to paint Jue Bu in a better light in his disciple’s eyes, but I still felt like I owed her that much.

Hei Mei continued, “I believe it’s best that you took it back before it completely rotted away. The things my master and I discovered in this world... The existence that rules this world... The threat this place represents is unthinkable. The rest of the Greater Universe cannot compare.” Her expression grew solemn. “Just think about why the Great Beast headed for this place. There is still so much more to learn, so I have decided to continue my master’s work.”

“You knew,” I said idly.

She nodded.

“When the evacuation orders came from above, Master asked me to wait for you to pick me up. He didn’t want me to become entangled in the political tensions, and I don’t particularly want to get an earful from Brother.”

I sighed. “So Hei Mao still has no idea you became Jue Bu’s disciple?”

“No,” Hei Mei said plainly. “Master returned to the Hollowed World with the rest of the research group. That was the last time I saw him.”

“Huh?” I paused, thinking back to her words earlier. “Wait for me? It sounds like he knew I’d end up back here soon after. What was Jue Bu doing in the Hollowed World anyway?” I tried to recall the memories contained within this body, but I found nothing useful. I had always found it strange that when I took back Jue Bu’s body, I somehow found myself in the Hollowed World.

“It’s Gu Jie,” Hei Mei revealed. “Your daughter prepared all of this. I don’t know the consequences or the exact details, but I am privy to a few things my master shared with me. To an extent, I believe he was cooperating with Gu Jie on several matters.”

My thoughts went quiet.

If I had originally incarnated into my true body through Jue Bu, it would have happened here in the False Earth. If that had occurred, something bad would probably have happened. The timing simply didn’t make sense otherwise.

But did I really have another choice?

Yeah.

The Supreme Void had probably done something in an alternate reality that Gu Jie had seen. I had no idea what had happened there, but I refused to believe I had been completely unable to save the Hollowed World.

I probably died.

The Supreme Void taking over my body was the worst-case scenario. If that was what had happened, then honestly, I would have killed myself ten times out of ten rather than let it happen. We remained silent for a while. The more I thought about the extent of my daughter’s actions, the more unsettled I became. Whatever Gu Jie had seen, whatever she had arranged, and whatever Jue Bu had been involved in, it was beginning to sound frighteningly elaborate.

Compared to this, Nongmin’s rather recent faux betrayal seemed almost tame.

“I’m not following any of this.” N’wa finally broke the silence, looking between us with a completely bewildered expression. “Are we actually doing this or not?”

Nongmin nodded. “She’s right.”

Ru Qiu sighed. “This well leads to the main research facility. See if you can get whatever remains of the elevator system working. The sooner we get out of this place, the better.”

I glanced at the well.

After everything I had just learned, I suddenly had a feeling that the research facility was going to be a lot more troublesome than a broken elevator.