Chapter 468: Hesitation
Translator: YH Editor: TYZ, KLKL
Time is like a river. A river will flow through the desolate, barren ravines, bug -infested swamps, and also the snow-capped mountain as it starts to melt, while the birds and flowers begin to appear in the valley.
The Central Pine Valley, located under the Blackfish Mouth Volcano, was exactly what people deemed a paradise.
The drifting jadesword bamboo leaves flew gracefully in the sky as if they were green butterflies swirling in the air. These fluttering bamboo leaves would tremble in the air every now and then, producing a slight booming noise. Just like a sword chime, it started to generate minute torrents and this was followed by invisible waves of energy ripples.
Wood elementalists were meditating in the bamboo forests and a faint green halo was seen revolving around their bodies.
Colourful flowers bloomed everywhere in the bamboo forest and were intertwined with the defensive vines arranged by Duanmu Huanghun. It was a magnificent sight.
For a teenager who had an obsessive compulsive disorder, this was one of the compulsory aspects which had to be considered while designing the defence.
The biggest credit for the massive changes in Central Pine Valley went to Wang Xiaoshan.
Wang Xiaoshan labelled the construction of Central Pine Valley as "Moulding the Mud". Although there were many earth elementalists in Central Pine Valley, he was the only one that was proficient in construction. Basically, all the hard work was completed by him alone. It might have been tiring for someone else, but Wang Xiaoshan garnered pleasure from doing it.
There was no other place which had such a vast number of buildings for him to construct. Being in charge of military logistics in the past, he used to silently construct the buildings, and thereafter demolished them.
Central Pine Valley not only had a vast number of buildings, but there were other aspects which had to be taken into consideration as well. The most important aspects were the elemental energy flow, how the buildings harmonized with the surrounding elemental energies, and how they could further strengthen the elemental energies.
This was a field which Wang Xiaoshan had yet to explore.
Large amounts of elemental traces were found inside the buildings. This was the most popular and advanced theoretical detail. With the exception of Ai Hui and Lou Lan, the others were totally clueless about these things.
Wang Xiaoshan was a little fearful, but looked forward to what was going to happen.
He wholly participated in and witnessed Master Han’s [treating the city as a piece of cloth], therefore he had deeper emotions in this aspect. After he’d served as a warehouse logistics person in-charge in the past, he once thought that if he had considered the issue of elemental nodes right from the start when he was building the city, would it be possible to produce an elemental energy needle that allowed the nodes to be activated and deactivated? During peacetime, these elemental energy needles could be concealed by buildings. They could then be activated when dangers arose. Or could he use the buildings to serve as the elemental energy needles?
It was just that he was distressed about not having anyone to impart these skills to. In the market, any information related to elemental traces was extremely costly.
Thank goodness for Ai Hui, as he was Teacher’s Wang only student.
Hugging a pile of items which Ai Hui disposed of, Wang Xiaoshan felt that he’d gained the most precious treasures and was deeply indulged in them. The entire Central Pine Valley was handed over to him together with plentiful materials. With such ideal conditions, this was something Wang Xiaoshan could never imagine, even when he was a person in-charge.
Lately, the five elemental energy pools had been very stable. Moreover, with Ai Hui’s relentless effort, the scale of the pools had expanded exactly double in size.
Everyone made rapid improvements with the presence of concentrated elemental energies.
In this chaotic world, even the dumbest person would know that being capable was the only way to survive. This included Fatty who trained daily at all costs. Lou Lan’s elemental soup was what kept him this energetic.
Lou Lan’s elemental soup had already become what everyone anticipated the most everyday. Even the laziest or most fanatic person at training would not give Lou Lan’s elemental soup a miss.
With the sale of the snow lava, Central Pine Valley did not encounter any financial concerns. Furthermore, the price of the dire-beast based materials had been falling drastically. This proved that the elementalists already had a firm foothold in the Wilderness and were gradually turning the situation around. With the abundance of dire-beast-based materials, Lou Lan now had more areas in which to utilize his talent. Different types of elemental soup were being prepared daily. With a combination of high-grade and low-grade soups, it helped to further enhance the results as well.
Mister Dou put his bowl down and wanted to express himself, but regretfully said," Never did I expect that I would be retiring and enjoying my time in this small valley for the rest of my life."
Yang Xiaodong, who was standing at the side kept quiet, but could not hide the satisfaction on his face.
Ai Hui finished the bowl without a single drop left and was full of arrogance, " That is Lou Lan’s elemental soup, the best in the whole world!"
Lou Lan smiled till his eyes formed two crescent moons and happily replied, " Thank you everyone, Lou Lan will continue to work hard!"
Everyone couldn’t help but smile. Lou Lan, who was always filled with vitality, was Central Pine Valley’s most well received person. If anyone were to badmouth Ai Hui, a group of people would be formed immediately and the others would chime in to gossip. On the other hand, if anyone were to badmouth Lou Lan, a group of people would unrestrainedly bash the party. Neither would they ask for the reason, nor hear any excuse.
Mister Dou asked Ai Hui, " Have you found a place which to plant the Northern Underworld King Tree?
Ai Hui pondered, "There is a place, but I’m not sure if it will work."
From the start, he had already been eyeing Mister Dou’s Northern Underworld King Tree.
Using the Northern Underworld King Tree to battle would enhance their weakness. Wouldn’t being unable to move equate to being a free target? No matter how strong one’s defence was, a free target would definitely be attacked.
Although it was not ideal for battles, it definitely was an effective defence for the city.
However in reality, the Northern Underworld King Tree needed to absorb light rays in order for it to expand. By planting the tree in the valley, it will cause the entire valley to fall into pitch darkness. Without any light rays, other vegetation in the valley would then gradually wither to death.
The fish-mouth-like opening of the Blackfish Mouth Volcano was also the volcanic crater of the Volcano.
Within sight, a red ocean of bubbling, bright red lava could be seen surging endlessly. From time to time, columns of flames and black smoke could been seen squirting out of the magma and a concentrated sulphur smell pervaded the atmosphere.
Mister Dou nodded his head, "So this is the place you mentioned."
Actually, he had thought of this place before. He now had a better understanding towards the Northern Underworld King Tree and was already certain that it was not suitable for being planted in the the valley.
"Flames are also a type of light which the Northern Underworld King Tree would be able to absorb." Mister Dou affirmed the feasibility of this suggestion and continued, "But, there would be other problems faced. You would have to consider this carefully. One problem would be if the tree only absorbs the flames. I am also uncertain of what would happen, but according to my understanding, the fountainhead of the elemental energy pools in the valley is this volcano. If the Northern Underworld King Tree swallows all the flames of this volcano, what will happen to the valley?"
Ai Hui was stunned, "It is able to absorb the entire volcano?"
A look of aghast was shown on every other person’s face.
Mister Dou warned them: "That’s right! This is the Northern Underworld King Tree. It was already a treasure during the Cultivation Era. As long as light was present, it would never be destroyed. Let alone one volcano, it was even possible to swallow ten times the number.
Ai Hui felt that this was a little tricky.
The Blackfish Mouth Volcano was the source of elemental energy of the Central Pine Valley. Suppose the fire elemental energy in the Blackfish Mouth Volcano actually got swallowed up, Central Pine Valley would not be able to sustain itself.
Ai Hui felt a quick shudder internally. He knew that the Northern Underworld King Tree was difficult to deal with. However, he never expected that it would be this formidable. Even if the five elemental pools in the Central Pine Valley revolved, the fire elemental energy drawn from the Blackfish Mouth Volcano would only be insignificant for the Northern Underworld King Tree. Unexpectedly, such a small thing could actually devour the entire volcano and this was intimidating. He somewhat believed that this tree was derived from the abyss.
But, to ignore such a valiant treasure, Ai Hui did not want to resign to his fate.
He thought repeatedly, "How long will it take to devour the entire Blackfish Mouth Volcano?""
Mister Dou sighed, "It will not exceed three years."
Ss, everyone exhaled a breath of cold air.
The amount of fire elemental energy the five elemental pools absorbed annually was not even significant as compared to the entire Blackfish Mouth Volcano. Let alone three years, even if it’s thirty years, one percent of the energy might not even be consumed. Nowadays, the amount of fire elemental energy consumed by Central Pine Valley was about the size of two Hellfire Pagoda Cannons. But even so, the amount of fire elemental energy consumed was considered negligible to the entire Blackfish Mouth Volcano.
From such an analogy, everyone then understood that the Northern Underground King Tree was a terrifying existence.
Even a fussy person like Shi Xueman had a sudden urge to do something. Being able to absorb such a huge amount of fire elemental energy proved how strong the Northern Underworld King Tree was.
After the Northern Underworld King Tree absorbed the entire Blackfish Mouth Volcano, to what extent would it grow to? To what extent would it strengthen to? Even with the simplest imagination, a normal master would definitely not be its match. Moreover, it was the Northern Underworld King Tree absorbing the fire elemental energy. It was already seen as a treasure in the Cultivation Era, so how mysterious could it be?
Everyone’s breathing started to get heavy.
Three years later, they would be able to harvest a treasure tree which could possibly counter a Grandmaster. Nobody could resist such a temptation.
On the contrary, Ai Hui started to calm down. "It is not easy to dominate such a powerful treasure. We should not fill its stomach now, as when the time comes it might backstab us. Then the joke will be on us."
The others came to a sudden realization and vigilantly looked at Mister Dou. As Mister Dou was still a captive, he was not able to acquire everyone’s trust. A few of the quick-witted fellows must have thought that this was one of blind Mister Dou’s plots.
Could this be a sugared pill with poison?
Mister Dou was just as calm and there was no change in his voice, "Definitely. I know my own limits, and therefore I do not dare to pursue this. I am unsure of what changes will occur when the Northern Underground King Tree grows to that degree. But there is one point which I can guarantee. Since the Cultivation Era, these types of treasures have only recognized their owners.
Many people revealed their disappointment. Mister Dou’s words were very logical, but their problem went back to square one.
Supposing he had the strength of a Grandmaster, why would he still require the Northern Underworld King Tree? There would be no value if the full grown Northern Underworld King Tree still required the control of a Grandmaster.
However, Ai Hui was not disappointed and his eyes flashed,"Is this a gradual process?"
Mister Dou nodded his head and replied,"Yes, but I need to warn you. You might not be able to suspend it from absorbing the fire. The tree’s current strength is already enormous enough to wear myself out. If it starts to absorb fire, I can guarantee that I will be no match for it in the future. Hence, you will have to think really carefully. If there are any accidents, please do not rely on me. At this old age, I only wish to enjoy my retirement and teach these kids."
Ai Hui revealed a rare look of hesitation on his face.