Chapter 317: Snake Snake: Time To Massively Develop Goblin Farming!
Yuan Zhu used Anti-Law to implant a small portion of the Deed Copy for Xian Zhi Mountain into White Deer’s soul.
Granting it a fortune, bestowing upon White Deer the identity of an “affiliated mountain god,” and using the Shadow Spirit Vein in Mountain Lord’s Domain to Shed the Mortal Body and Exchange the Bones for it, helping it undergo Shedding the Mortal Body and Exchanging the Bones.
Once everything was finished, Yuan Zhu used Anti-Law to determine that White Deer’s “spirituality” was currently surging wildly. This was not the “artificial intelligence” gained from the Brain Eggplant CPU, but rather its soul undergoing a true qualitative change under the cleansing of the Deed Copy.
This White Deer had its spiritual intelligence forcibly awakened by him, and with the learning assistance function of the Brain Eggplant, it would surely catch up to ordinary intelligent beings at a terrifying speed, becoming a genuine, non-replicable “yao beast.”
Seeing the light of wisdom shining in White Deer’s eyes, Yuan Zhu sent it to the neighboring Xian Zhi Mountain to find a high-energy location and make its nest.
At the same time, he also allocated to White Deer 4 Shadow Magic Worms and two squads of 12 goblins each for construction, all heading together to Xian Zhi Mountain to develop a low-end version of the Mountain Lord Cave Dwelling: White Deer Cave Dwelling.
“From today onward, you are also a respectable ‘minor mountain god’! When I’m not around, you must guard the mountain gate well and mobilize the army to repel all invading enemies. Understand?”
“Yoo!”
With that said, Yuan Zhu transferred a small portion of the permissions for the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiends Formation into the increasingly intelligent and wise White Deer’s hands.
Immediately after, Yuan Zhu began assigning numerous mission instructions to White Deer, including supervising the “tree planting operation.”
With it personally overseeing the work, driving the Eggplant Goblins to plant Reverse-Life Mulberry Saplings across every node in Mountain Lord’s Domain. On top of the originally ordinary green vegetation, add this extraordinary plant, the Reverse Growth Mulberry Tree.
Plant them across all Magic Array nodes, allowing these otherworld plants to draw Shadow Power from the Earth Vein, then exhale Spiritual Energy (Miasma), improving the valley environment and adapting it for the hatching and growth of Spirit Insects and Magic Worms.
…
After issuing the instructions and watching White Deer head to the neighboring Xian Zhi Mountain with many backward glances to develop the Cave Dwelling.
Yuan Zhu temporarily had no new ideas, so he decided to leave Mountain Lord’s Domain first. He wanted to test along the way the “signal” reception issue between the Gate and this base station, Mountain Lord’s Domain.
Especially now, whether the Frog Factory could establish contact with Yin Mountain deep in the Misty Mountains.
Note that at a 10:1 ratio, Mountain Lord’s Domain’s theoretical “radiation range” approaches a radius of a hundred li, enough to cover the Frog Factory.
But the problem lies in the mist of the Misty Mountains, which innately has a shielding effect, greatly discounting the Domain’s radiation signal. So he must conduct practical testing to gather data.
After Yuan Zhu left the Yin Fiend Land and entered the nearby misty mountain area, he could still capture the strong signal radiating from Yin Mountain. He could easily open a Gate connecting to the Grotto-Heaven Space.
But due to being far from the absolute range of Mountain Lord’s Domain, he could not perform spatial movement via the Gate.
As he continued to move away from the Yin Fiend Land, getting farther from Yin Mountain, the resistance to opening the Gate into the Grotto-Heaven Space grew stronger.
When he reached the edge area of the Misty Mountains, the resistance to opening the Gate grew even greater. But the Domain signal released by Yin Mountain remained clearly visible.
Yuan Zhu could remotely control the Mountain Lord’s Domain deep in the mountains via the Gate. For example, issuing precise instructions to White Deer, who was scouting the terrain of Xian Zhi Mountain to find itself a new home.
In addition, Yuan Zhu could monitor every move of all the laborers (Eggplant Goblins) in the Domain by opening the Deed Menu in his mental space. If any one dared to slack off, he could manipulate the “vines” connected to that Eggplant Goblin, causing intense pain to erupt within its body as punishment for slacking!
Also, he could perform precise rainfall on Yin Mountain through this remote control. Adjust the concentration of Shadow Spiritual Energy in different areas to tend to Spirit Plants. (Though there hadn’t been time to plant them yet.)
Finally, Yuan Zhu could remotely communicate with the Grotto-Heaven Space, freely retrieving supplies from it (Grotto-Heaven) and teleporting them to any location in the Domain. For example, using the Grotto-Heaven to deliver meals to the Eggplant Goblins working; or teleporting sealed Reverse-Life Mulberry Saplings to the hands of goblins who had just planted one sapling.
Unfortunately, the items that could be teleported by the Grotto-Heaven were limited to supplies. Laborers like “Eggplant Goblins” could not be captured by the Grotto-Heaven.
Besides the Eggplant Goblins’ insufficient quality (pollution degree), they were also not Ghost Companions subordinate to the Tiger Demon, let alone kin. They were merely living creatures parasitized by Shadow Eggplants, imprisoned in the Domain to work diligently.
Due to the lack of close connection, even if Yuan Zhu wanted to store them into the Grotto-Heaven Space from afar, he could not.
Only the Ghost Companions and Shadow Magic Worms seriously digging caves and carving out empty shell Cave Dwellings in Mountain Lord’s Domain could be easily stored into the Grotto-Heaven Space for recharging and energy storage services.
……
By now, Yuan Zhu had left the edge of the Misty Mountains and was moving quickly toward the Frog Factory.
After exiting the mountains, he could clearly feel that the radiation range of Mountain Lord’s Domain had long since disappeared. The Frog Factory was not within the current maximum coverage range of the Domain.
However, the Gate could still clearly connect to Yin Mountain to receive information and perform remote control.
At this moment, Snake Snake suddenly spoke: “Eh? Boss, I thought of a great way to explore the world after the Gate! Why not use Shadow Magic Worms as cannon fodder probes to enter the world after the Gate on our behalf and scout and collect intelligence?”
Yuan Zhu was stunned, thought about it seriously, and nodded in agreement that it was indeed a good idea!
So he praised: “Good idea! The number of Ghost Companions that can be carried with Ghost Companion Divine Ability is limited, but Mountain Lord’s Domain can accommodate an unlimited number of ‘Ghost Companions.’ And as the number increases, it enhances Domain strength and attracts Death Qi to gather. Unfortunately, I have a limited number of Shadow Magic Worms on hand, temporarily insufficient to support ‘otherworld exploration.’ I need to transport another batch of goods from the Eclosion World.”
Using Shadow Magic Worms to explore the world after the Gate avoids personal risk and is absolutely reasonable.
However, he only had just over twenty Shadow Giant Insects on hand, all assigned to important work. Not a single spare cannon fodder, and he was reluctant to waste them by throwing them into an unknown world.
Snake Snake quickly said: “It’s not only Magic Worms that can scout and collect intelligence; all Ghost Companions can do it! Also, we must ramp up purchases of Worm Pillars! For our Mountain Lord’s Domain, I’ve now summarized three paths for growth and expansion. The simplest is to gather another 360 Worm Pillars and nest the final Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation outside the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiends Formation to perfectly upgrade the Domain!”
“By my calculations, if this Great Zhou Heavenly Stars can be successfully arranged, our Domain’s absolute control area can encompass the complete Cold Pond and the surrounding thirteen mountain peaks. Once Great Zhou Heavenly Stars succeeds, not only will the outward ‘radiation area’ surge again; our Grotto-Heaven Space can continue to expand, and the Mountain Lord divine position will also rise!”
Continuing to increase the number of Worm Pillars, even nesting Great Zhou Heavenly Stars, is indeed one of the important paths for Domain upgrade. Unfortunately, it is also the final Magic Array in the Tiger Demon Inheritance.
Once Great Zhou Heavenly Stars is also nested, his Mountain Lord’s Domain will reach its limit. Afterward, he can only add Worm Pillars haphazardly to increase the Domain’s foundation through quantity, but cannot create new ‘Magic Array’ effects.
Unless Yuan Zhu could create from nothing a more advanced Compound Magic Array that encompasses Great Zhou Heavenly Stars + Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiends + Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.
Unfortunately, Yuan Zhu lacked the knowledge reserve in this area and only planned to stop the Domain at the final Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation.
So he asked curiously: “What are the other two paths for growing and expanding the Domain?”
Snake Snake: “One path is very easy to achieve. When the Magic Array scale can no longer increase, shift focus back to individual Worm Pillars. The ‘Demonic Giant Insects’ we use to refine Worm Pillar Town Stones are not that strong. Compared to the Holy Church’s strength, they are only at 1-seal to 2-seal level. To further enhance Domain power, try starting from the Worm Pillars, refining higher-quality, stronger ‘prey’ into new Pillars for replacement.”
“Imagine if the 8 Worm Pillars constituting Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams were all replaced with Gate-level super Pillar Man Town Stones; wouldn’t the strength of Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams instantly defy the heavens? The Grotto-Heaven Space behind it would also surge in power! Besides replacing with higher-level Pillars, you can also use more same-level Worm Pillars for synthesis and upgrade.”
With that, Snake Snake gave a formula.
After Yuan Zhu completes the ultimate nesting of 360 Great Zhou Heavenly Stars, he can consume 12 same-grade Worm Pillars to reinforce and upgrade the formation base (Worm Pillar) of the Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation.
In addition, each Worm Pillar of the 72 Earthly Fiends Formation can accept synthesis reinforcement from a maximum of 24 Worm Pillars!
The 36 Heavenly Dipper Formation can withstand upgrades from 36 Worm Pillars. And the core Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation, each can accommodate synthesis reinforcement from up to 60 Worm Pillars.
This wave of operations requires at least ‘7824’ same-tier Worm Pillars to thoroughly sublimate Mountain Lord’s Domain to the extreme!
Note that the complete form of Mountain Lord’s Domain in the Tiger Demon Inheritance (Zhou Heavenly + Heavenly Dipper + Earthly Fiends + Eight Trigrams) only uses a mere 476 Worm Pillars. And Yuan Zhu currently has only the strength of 116 Worm Pillars.
Yuan Zhu praised this: “This method is truly awesome. Just hearing the numbers, one can imagine how terrifying the ultimate form of Mountain Lord’s Domain is?! Moreover, the ultimate Domain path is grounded every step. Built by piling one Worm Pillar after another, the foundation is absolutely solid.”
An ‘ultimate Domain’ costing 8300 Worm Pillars, placed in the Immortal Path Universe, would absolutely be capable of piercing through the Yin-Yang Realms and carving out a ‘Underworld regime’!
The name of Mountain God is well-deserved.
This is no mere ‘mountain god’; it is clearly a Spirit Mountain God, more than enough to serve as a low-end Lord of Mount Tai.
With the second path already so powerful, Candle couldn’t help but ask: “What about the third path?”
Snake: “The third path has nothing to do with developing the Tiger Demon Inheritance; it is to learn the local ‘Grotto-Heaven wondrous method,’ select one, and integrate it into the Grotto-Heaven Space. Use the local Yellow Heaven Method or Kunlun Method to continue cultivating, perfecting, and improving our Grotto-Heaven Space.”
Yuan Zhu instantly lost interest; he had already been planning ahead for this: “Absorbing local Grotto-Heaven secret methods can only be a long-term goal, requiring detailed research before careful consideration. It can’t be achieved in the short term, so starting from the Worm Pillars is more reliable. Unfortunately, 360 Worm Pillars already far exceeds the Tiger Demon’s smuggling limit. Not to mention 7824 for the ultimate Domain synthesis materials.”
This time smuggling large batches of ‘Worm Pillars, Spirit Medicine, Spirit Plants’ from the Eclosion World into Du Ling Star had already severely overdrawn all his savings and dividends in Animal Husbandry Village.
To replicate it, he would need at least a year cooldown to accumulate enough dividends and points for another wave.
Even so, the Worm Pillars he brought out exhausting points and wealth numbered just over a hundred. To gather the 360 needed for Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation, without extra spending, he would need to wait patiently at least 2 years.
Not to mention that Great Zhou Heavenly Stars is easy, but completing the ultimate upgrade of Mountain Lord’s Domain is: difficult! Difficult!! Difficult!!! Over seven thousand—ten years wouldn’t suffice.
Yuan Zhu: “Here’s the problem: it seems very hard to gather and transport over eight thousand Worm Pillars from the Eclosion World to Yin Mountain solely through plane smuggling. This involves serious asset loss from the Bubble World! The World Will won’t allow otherworlders to play like this!”
Snake Snake: “I’ve considered this problem too. Blindly freeloading from the Eclosion World by exploiting Demonic Giant Insects and smuggling them to the Main World is not sustainable. I strongly suggest Boss take a two-pronged approach: on one hand, deeply cultivate the Eclosion World, raise Demonic Giant Insects, refine them into Worm Pillars, and transport them out opportunistically; on the other, focus on the Real World, sourcing locally! Use Mountain Lord’s Domain’s unique ‘high-energy environment’ to cultivate new Magic Worms and Goblin Strongmen, continuously increasing their pollution degree. Once they reach Pillar Man standard, refine them on-site into super Goblin Town Stones to substitute for insufficient Worm Pillars. Without relying on the Eclosion World, we can still be self-sufficient.”
Yuan Zhu: “Focus on cultivating goblins, feed them Polluting Energy, teach the Power System (Frog-Type), help them break through to the seed level, and they can be made into Town Stones? This means massively popularizing goblin farming in the Domain!”
Snake: “Yes! Once successful, we’ll have an inexhaustible supply of ‘goblins’ to defy fate with pollution upgrades, reaching the same level as Demonic Giant Insects, then make them into Town Stones. We’ll gain a steady stream of Town Stones to upgrade and synthesize the ultimate Domain! We can even refine them into Ghost Companions and send them to die in the world behind the Gate!”
