The prehistoric infrastructure maniac

Chapter 188 Taking Charge of a Region

"Oh? Divine soul." Zhu Rong smiled noncommittally, then nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright, you must have had a tough battle. Go back and rest! By the way, would you like me to get you a new cave?"

"A cave dwelling? No need for that, the previous one wasn't small either," Shi Mo said with a slight shake of his head and a smile, slightly taken aback.

Zhu Rong smiled and continued, "I guess you wouldn't like to cultivate here all the time. The Thunder God doesn't usually cultivate here."

“In that case, I’ll have someone prepare another cave dwelling for you. If you find another suitable place outside to build your cave dwelling, just let me know,” Zhu Rong said casually, as if pondering for a moment.

After nodding and leaving the Temple of Fire, Shi Mo couldn't help but chuckle to himself. It seemed that Zhu Rong really thought highly of his potential! Her attitude towards him was completely different now.

"This Zhurong is quite different from the violent nature I expected. Instead, he's rather gentle and kind. No wonder he can have the Thunder God, Zhulong, and Yuan following him,"

Shi Mo thought to himself, "Gonggong actually led people to kill us. He seems to have an even more violent temper than Zhurong, since he was born to control the water element!"
In terms of their spiritual power, Zhurong, being an ancestral god, should be stronger than Gonggong. No wonder Gonggong, a dignified ancestral god, was later possessed and controlled by the Old Man of Source.

After returning to his cave, Shi Mo immediately began cultivating. Although he had broken through to become a True God, the battles he had fought earlier had consumed a considerable amount of divine power.

Moreover, after the transformation of divine power, the true divine power, which far surpasses the divine power of celestial gods, is even more effective in tempering the divine body. Theoretically, the divine body can be cultivated to the level of a top-grade innate spiritual treasure.

While cultivating to restore his divine power and consuming it to refine his body, Shi Mo's divine soul grew stronger, and he was also able to devote most of his mind to comprehending the Dao.

A strong soul leads to a higher efficiency in comprehending the Dao, which is why those Chaos True Gods were able to comprehend the most difficult Heavenly Dao one after another and become Dao Ancestors in the path of Qi Refining.

Of course, some Chaos Gods were slower in comprehending the Heavenly Dao, such as San Shou, who failed to comprehend a single Heavenly Dao and become a Dao Ancestor until the final battle of the ancient destruction.

However, with his powerful divine ability, the Star-Picking Hand, even without comprehending the Heavenly Dao, San Shou's strength was still among the top of the True Gods and Dao Ancestors. He killed several True Gods and Dao Ancestors in the Ancient War of Annihilation, making a significant contribution.

Shi Mo, who was distracted by comprehending the mysteries of the Dao, quickly discovered the benefits of a stronger soul. His understanding of various Daos became significantly clearer, and he felt that comprehending the Great Dao and even the Heavenly Dao was relatively easy.

Because of the abundant fire element energy in the capital of the Fire Kingdom, Shi Mo found it relatively easy to comprehend some of the Dao of Fire. Unbeknownst to him, he successively comprehended more minor and even major Dao of Fire.
"I bet even Zhu Rong would be astonished by the efficiency and speed of my enlightenment," Shi Mo thought, filled with anticipation as he immersed himself in his cultivation. "Perhaps it won't be long before I'm able to comprehend the Heavenly Dao of Earth or Fire?"

Shi Mo's realm was far too high. Not only was he a saint in the primordial world, but he also comprehended the World-Stabilizing Array and created a world within the World-Stabilizing Pearl.
Having deeply grasped the most essential mysteries of the evolution of a world, Shi Mo's understanding of the various Daos in the Pangu world was naturally profound and insightful, making it as easy for him to comprehend as eating and drinking.

After an unknown amount of time, Shi Mo, who was immersed in cultivation, was suddenly awakened by Zhu Rong's telepathic message.

Inside the Vulcan Temple, watching Shi Mo enter from outside and sensing the faint, profound aura of the Dao emanating from him, Zhu Rong couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, "This kid has comprehended more than one Great Dao in such a short time; he's truly a prodigy!"

"Give him enough time, and I reckon it wouldn't be difficult for him to comprehend the Dao and become a Dao Ancestor, right?" Zhu Rong was genuinely astonished by Shi Mo's rapid progress in cultivation.

"Haha, Shi Mo, you've devoted almost all your time to cultivation, no wonder your cultivation has improved so quickly!" Zhu Rong laughed heartily and then said:
"However, the path of cultivation requires a balance of tension and relaxation. One cannot always remain in seclusion for quiet cultivation; one should also venture out to hone one's skills and engage in battles."

“Brother Zhurong, is there something you need me to do? Just tell me,” Shi Molian said.

Seeing Shi Mo's decisive manner, Zhu Rong couldn't help but smile with even greater satisfaction: "Hehe, I did call you over because I had something to discuss. However, it's not to ask you to do anything adventurous."

“That’s right! Gonggong led his men to attack our Fire Kingdom before! Such provocation, I naturally had to retaliate against him. So recently, the Fire Kingdom and the Water Kingdom have fought several battles, and we have taken the opportunity to expand our territory by quite a bit. I want you to go and oversee it,” Zhu Rong said.

Upon hearing this, Shi Mo immediately understood; this meant he was to be stationed at the front lines!
While it's not exactly a risky undertaking, it's certainly not easy. If a war breaks out between the Fire Kingdom and the Water Kingdom, he will inevitably be the first to be caught in the crossfire.

However, the fact that Zhu Rong entrusted Shi Mo with such an important task is enough to show his trust and high regard for him.

"Thor Mountain, where Thor resides, is also on the border with the Water Kingdom," Zhu Rong continued. "The place you're going to is another border with the Water Kingdom. If you can establish a foothold there, we can form a pincer movement against the Water Kingdom, forcing them to defend one side while neglecting another."

“Alright, Brother Zhurong, I’ll go,” Shi Mo nodded decisively. Going out to oversee a region would be more comfortable, and he could also learn about the Pangu World more quickly and come into contact with more powerful people. Why not?
Zhu Rong's smile deepened, and he stood up and patted Shi Mo on the shoulder: "Good! You really are my good brother, Shi Mo. You are much more decisive than Thor."

"You went to war for me, so as your elder brother, I will naturally not treat you unfairly," Zhu Rong said, flipping his hand to take out a crimson lotus flower with nine petals in full bloom.

The lotus flower, resembling a miniature lotus throne, released a surging, scorching aura the moment it appeared, comparable to a top-grade innate spiritual treasure from the primordial world. Flames crackled around the crimson lotus, distorting the surrounding space.
"This is the Crimson Fire Lotus Platform, a primordial spiritual treasure of the highest grade. It is extremely rare, and I obtained it by chance. It is of little use to me, so I am giving it to you for protection," Zhu Rong said, handing it to Shi Mo.

Seeing the mysterious runes faintly visible on the lotus petals, Shi Mo's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly bowed to Zhu Rong with a solemn expression, saying, "Thank you, elder brother!"

“We’re brothers, no need for so many formalities. Once we defeat Gonggong, and even make the Fire Kingdom the strongest nation in the Pangu World, and dominate the Pangu World, I will naturally not treat you old brothers unfairly,” Zhu Rong said in a hearty manner, yet he was also full of domineering spirit.

Sensing his ambition, Shi Mo couldn't help but feel speechless. How could he be thinking of vying for supremacy just like the Lich and Demon races in the prehistoric world?
So what if the Fire Kingdom becomes the strongest kingdom in the Pangu World? Even if Nuwa doesn't participate in the struggle for supremacy, she will still be the leader of the Pangu World. In the end, strength is the only true measure of power!

However, not everyone is as low-key and indifferent to worldly affairs as Nuwa and Bodhi. Zhurong, Gonggong, and Sanshou also have their own pursuits. Asking them to devote themselves to ascetic cultivation would be torture.

Warlike and belligerent are the very nature of gods and demons!

"I will send Jiufeng with some celestial gods and an army of gods and demons to help you. You should prepare and set off as soon as possible!" Zhurong continued.

Several days later, a massive, dark red, pure Yang magic ship, as large as a warship, flew away from the capital of the Fire Kingdom and headed towards the territory where Shi Mo was to be stationed.
Although the Pangu World is now teeming with life and relatively prosperous, it is still in a relatively primitive stage of cultivation civilization. Not only are the cultivation methods simple and crude, but the techniques of weapon crafting, alchemy, and formations are also not yet systematic.

As an ancestral god who was born with the power of fire, Zhurong was quite skilled in the art of weapon crafting. He could even craft high-quality pure yang magic weapons by simply piling on top-grade spiritual materials.

However, what is truly precious and rare are the innate spiritual treasures that were born in the primordial world.

Inside a spacious cabin of the Pure Yang magic ship, Shi Mo was intently studying the Crimson Fire Lotus Platform floating in front of him.

Naturally born spiritual treasures possess mysterious runes and restrictions, capable of drawing upon the energy of heaven and earth to unleash powerful might.

These rune restrictions are the origin of weapon crafting and some array restrictions in the Pangu world.

There are many innate spiritual treasures in the Pangu World, but the ultimate innate spiritual treasures are quite rare, enough to make even true gods and Dao ancestors fight over them.

As for the even more powerful Chaos Treasures, they are extremely rare and precious, and the Ancestral Gods would fight tooth and nail to obtain them.

"My Boundary-Stabilizing Bead should be at the level of a Chaos Treasure. After being nurtured and transformed by this world, it is estimated to be of extremely high quality even among Chaos Treasures."

Sensing the quality and power of the Crimson Fire Lotus Platform, a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, Shi Mo naturally had a judgment on the grade of the Boundary-Stabilizing Pearl.

Because of the rarity of innate spiritual treasures and magical artifacts, some powerful true gods and ancestral gods created the God-Demon Blood Refining Method, using the ferocious and malevolent energy generated by slaughter to nurture and refine divine weapons.

However, since the current method of refining blood for gods and demons is not perfect, it is difficult and time-consuming to cultivate powerful blood-refined divine weapons. Therefore, they are basically used by weak gods and demons.

The truly powerful gods and demons rely more on their own strength, especially some divine beasts, who can temper their claws, horns, teeth, and other parts into divine weapons and magical treasures.

That's why the battles between gods and demons that Shi Mo witnessed appeared so primitive, almost entirely devoid of magical treasures and divine weapons, resembling a battle between wild beasts.

Some chaotic true gods possess divine power that surpasses the power of many innate spiritual treasures.

For the Ancestral Gods, unless they use a Chaos Treasure, the power of their casual attacks is far greater than that of innate spiritual treasures!

Of course, the power of Pure Yang True Immortals and Dao Ancestors activating magic treasures or innate spiritual treasures with their magical power should not be underestimated. Moreover, their attacks are more flexible and have no blind spots, which is why the Qi Refining technique was able to develop and flourish later.

The Pure Yang magic ship could automatically absorb the energy of heaven and earth to maintain its operation and move forward. It was not slow, but it still took several months to get close to its destination.

"Lord Shi Mo, we're almost there!" Jiu Feng's voice came from outside. Shi Mo's spirits lifted, and he quickly put away the Crimson Fire Lotus Platform. "We've finally arrived? This Pangu World is indeed vast!"

(End of this chapter)