A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 185 The Artificial Ice and Snow Miniature Realm Became

Hou Haikun acted quickly, and the first Lingjie Hot Pot restaurant was soon ready.

The professional cultivators were indeed impressive, blending the spirit world style with the earthly charm almost perfectly.

Li Weizhou took several sets of photos, planning to set one up near the royal city as well.

However, even with the construction speed of the University of Tokyo, it would be impossible to complete such a magnificent building as a hot pot restaurant in just a few days.

Li Weizhou invited his family, along with Tian Ru, Tao Ling'er, Bai Zhiwei, Granny Jin Hua, and five other rogue cultivators including Hou Haikun and Lan Gu. It was quite a large sect, and they had a lively hot pot meal together.

While Tian Ru initially found it absurd, she gradually began to find it interesting.

If the sects had been able to hold such gatherings more often back then, with toasts and conversations, would the Five Families have ended up in this mess?

At that time, most of the members of the five factions didn't even know each other, so when they started fighting, they naturally killed each other to the death...

Li Weizhou greeted Hou Haikun, Wang Kui, and the others, saying, "You should treat everyone to meals these next few days. Treat relatives, friends, and acquaintances for three consecutive days, and the reputation of Zuixianlou will be pretty much established."

Hou Haikun nodded repeatedly, then said, "Sect Leader, we definitely need to open one in Qingshui City too?"

Li Weizhou said, "Of course! From now on, we will open branches wherever the Five Elements Sect's territory extends. Our goal is to open branches throughout the entire Northern Spirit Domain!"

Hou Haikun exclaimed excitedly, "We must also charge into Zhongzhou!!"

"Fuck off!"

Li Weizhou laughed and scolded, "Our sect is in the Northern Spiritual Domain. What are you doing running off to the Central Continent? Go by yourself."

"Hahaha!"

Wang Kui, Luo San, Liu Zhe, and others teased this little grasshopper who had been jumping around quite enthusiastically lately.

Hou Haikun, undeterred, advised, "Sect Leader, you may not know, but Xuantian Pavilion dreams of becoming a major merchant alliance spanning the human and demon realms, like the Immortal Alliance, the Myriad Spirits Pavilion, and the Spirit Cloud Treasure House..."

Li Weizhou asked curiously, "Why didn't these three families open branches near the Five Elements Sect?"

Hou Haikun chuckled and said, "You'd have to ask the Supreme Elder..."

Tian Ru felt somewhat ashamed of this Supreme Being. She glared at the instigator and said, "Your ancestor had a grudge against them and forbade them to come here."

Li Weizhou exclaimed in surprise, "They come here to do business, and they dare to offend the patriarch?"

Tian Ru coughed lightly and said, "That's not true... It's a long story. Your master will tell you about it after he comes out of seclusion."

Seeing this reaction, Li Weizhou understood. He was probably mistaken. It wasn't that the three major merchant alliances had offended the Five Sacred Mountains True Lord; it was that this patriarch had angered the three major merchant alliances and was blacklisted by them.

Wang Kui, a reckless man, was still marveling: "The three major merchant alliances are truly impressive, far surpassing Xuan Tian Guan. Their city-protecting formations are also formidable. If Qing Shui City belonged to the three major merchant alliances, the Sin Clan wouldn't have been able to breach it so easily."

Tao Ling'er didn't believe it and said, "Aunt Wan's protective formation for Qingshui City is already very strong!"

Wang Kui shook his head repeatedly and said, "There's no comparison. The reason is simple: the three major merchant alliances are rich. Qingshui City uses spirit stones to set up the formation, while they directly summoned a small spiritual vein. Even if it can't compare to the Five Elements Formation, which is endlessly regenerating, it's a joke to try to break through their level 5 or even level 6 city protection formation with a casual attack."

Li Weizhou asked Hou Haikun to pour him a glass of wine and then asked, "Has Deacon Wang gone out for a stroll?"

Wang Kui nodded and said, "Back then, I took on an escort mission and went to Lingze City in the territory of Xuanyuan Dao Sect. It was a city built by Lingyun Baoshe. Tsk tsk tsk, if you ask me, Lingze City deserves a lot of credit for Xuanyuan Dao Sect's achievements today and its position as the top of the seven sects in the Northern Spirit Domain."

Li Weizhou asked in surprise, "Really?"

Wang Kui explained, "Disciples of the Xuanyuan Dao Sect go down the mountain for training. No matter what fortuitous encounters they encounter, if they find something useful, they will keep it. If it is not suitable for their own cultivation level, they can exchange it for a suitable treasure of equal value in Lingze City..."

Li Weizhou asked, puzzled, "Can a sect really sit idly by and watch its own disciples become laborers for the three major merchant alliances?"

Lan Gu chuckled, "Generally not. When disciples bring treasures back to the sect, it strengthens the sect's power. The Northern Spirit Domain is, after all, just a corner of the Spirit Realm. The seven sects of the Northern Spirit Domain aren't weak, but their power can't compare to behemoths like the three major merchant alliances, and their foundations are far inferior. Take the Ice Soul Pearl for example; all six sects came, not necessarily because they needed so many themselves. But the three major merchant alliances would definitely want as many of these treasures as they could get, and at extremely high prices. Or if you don't have what you want, they'll send a message throughout the entire Spirit Realm to search for it for you."

Li Weizhou gasped and said, "Such attentive service?"

A spiritual version of "the customer is God"?

Lan Gu nodded and smiled, "It was through this method that the three families became the largest merchant alliance in the entire Spirit Realm, and they have many experts and extraordinary resources."

Li Weizhou asked in confusion, "Would the dynasties and immortal sects of Zhongzhou tolerate the existence of three such families?"

The power of this business alliance can no longer be described simply as overwhelming.

The feudal dynasties of the mortal world are not even worthy of carrying their shoes. Even the Central Plains Dynasty and the Immortal Sect cannot control the "local tyrants" in such a remote place as the Northern Spirit Domain, but the three major merchant alliances can.

Don't say that cultivators are busy cultivating the Tao and pursuing immortality, and disdain power and influence.

Nonsense.

The path to immortality has been severed for tens of thousands of years. The vast majority of cultivators constantly pursue power, seeking nothing more than two things: longevity and the power that comes with strength.

One can live for 500 years in the Spirit Transformation stage, 800 years in the Spirit Origin stage, and over 1,500 years in the Spirit God stage.

The Immortal Realm, on the other hand, grants a lifespan of three thousand years.

Of course, these are all ideal scenarios.

In reality, very few cultivators can truly die a natural death, because if they want to become powerful, live long, or break through to higher levels, they must seize opportunities.

Every opportunity in the spirit world is accompanied by danger.

And the best way to reduce the risk of such a fall is through power.

Let alone the spirit world, even in the immortal realm, no one can resist the power of authority.

In this situation, the existence of the three major business alliances becomes extremely conspicuous.

In terms of being well-informed, probably no one can match these three.

Lan Gu was unaware of this matter, but Shen Quan, the Broken Blade Master who came from a distinguished background, knew more about it and said, "It seems that the three major merchant alliances are backed by those influential figures or those from top-tier families."

Li Weizhou sighed, "Indeed, the world is full of heroes... But no matter how powerful they are, they won't get to eat our food today. Come on, let them fight their battles, we'll celebrate ours, cheers!"

The entire room erupted in laughter.

Apart from Hou Haikun, who had poor cultivation but great ambition, everyone else was having a good time.

The five rogue cultivators had only joined the Five Elements Sect because they were tired of the life of danger and bloodshed.

I can be busy, but I won't go into fighting or killing.

Although Tian Ru had the desire to expand the Five Elements Sect, she was actually more unwilling to see the people she passed on her knowledge to be ambitious and impatient.

This is just right.

Only Zhou Yueniang and the other three smiled without saying a word, because only they knew exactly how far Li Weizhou had gone.

And what they know is only the tip of the iceberg...

……

Compared to the gentle breeze and mild rain in the spirit world, things on Earth are in a state of cataclysmic upheaval.

Martial arts should be banned throughout the land!

Since the dawn of humanity, has anything like this ever happened?
This incident caused a huge uproar, and Xiao Rui was accused of being the culprit at the joint meeting.

They were obviously just trying to figure out who the real culprit was, but they didn't dare to attack that person directly.

Faced with various accusations, Xiao Rui remained calm and composed, reasoning with everyone: "Nuclear fusion is about to achieve a breakthrough, at which time humanity will have almost unlimited energy. What's wrong with using this energy to improve the human living environment, enhance living standards, and allow all of humanity to explore the universe together? Why do we have to kill each other? Engaging in an arms race, building so many extravagant weapons, and repeatedly constructing them is such a waste of resources!"

She smiled brightly and said, "If you want territory, why fight and kill each other? Tigarden B is only 12.5 light-years from Earth, and it's widely recognized as the top choice for interstellar migration. Look, scientists have even determined the first step humanity will take outside Earth. The infinitely vast universe will be most in need of immigrants and population in the future. Why are you still fighting and killing each other?"

Xiao Rizi sneered, "Easy for you to say. Then why does Dongda University keep all its weapons?"

Everyone looked at the Russian bear, who shrugged and said, "I don't care. As everyone knows, we are a peace-loving nation, and we are good at singing and dancing."

Everyone knows that although the bear looks fierce, it is actually the weakest part of the animal.

"..." The countries began to disregard etiquette, shouting and yelling "Fuck this, Fuck that!"

Dezi tried to reason with them: "Even if we need to migrate to other stars in the future, shouldn't we preserve and develop our military capabilities even more? Otherwise, there are countless dangers in the universe, and how can we move forward without weapons?"

Xiao Rui said, "Therefore, we will retain Dongda's weapons. You can also join Dongda's weapons research and development to accelerate the pace of interstellar development."

Deko disagreed, saying, "You are helping Tokyo University become the new hegemon, and you are also trying to completely weaken us. We will never accept such absurd and despicable coercion."

Xiao Rui shrugged and said, "Alright, if this is your decision, I can only say good luck. However, we will still give you a month to think it over. Hans, you are a smart man. Whether you want to live in the shadow of war or in peace and happiness, the choice is in your own hands."

Xiao Ying said with great doubt, "If Dongda University cuts together, we can still discuss it. Otherwise, they will do whatever they want."

Dongda took a sip of tea and said slowly, "In terms of sentiment, your British Empire still owes Dongda a historical debt. To this day, your museum still displays precious artifacts stolen from Dongda. If it were me personally, I would be willing to settle this score. We dare not forget the enmity of nine generations. However, every war means countless lives are lost, and those are all children from ordinary families. Therefore, since the founding of our nation, every war we have experienced has been a war of self-defense and counterattack."

Xiao Rui added, "Just a reminder, we need to settle all the old scores as soon as possible. Xiao Ying, pay what you owe and compensate what you owe. He's not a patient person, and he's very angry about what happened back then. But once everything is settled and compensation is paid, humanity can move forward."

Xiao Rizi stared at Xiao Rui and slowly said, "What about us?"

Xiao Rui smiled but didn't say anything.

Little Days: "..."

……

Half a month later, in the ice cellar at the foot of Cangshui Peak, the walls made of frozen rock gleamed with a cold white light.

Standing at the entrance, Li Weizhou watched as the last batch of equipment moved from Dongda was slowly installed into place by the construction cultivators, and a relieved smile finally appeared on his face.

The foundation was completed ten days ago. The construction workers laid three layers of frozen rock on the ground according to the blueprints, and filled the cracks with melted ice marrow. After freezing, it was even harder than black iron.

At this moment, the construction cultivators were leading their disciples to install the cooling modules. The modules were silver cubes about half a person's height, with fine Earth runes engraved on their surfaces. The cultivators dared not touch them with their spiritual power, but could only use specially made cold iron pliers to hold them and fix them around the foundation according to the markings drawn by Li Weizhou.

Move it half an inch to the left!

Li Weizhou, holding a laser rangefinder, shouted towards the module's location.

He naturally didn't understand the principles, but there was a whole team of engineers at Dongda University on standby, monitoring the situation in real time through the videos Li Weizhou filmed, and then giving advice.

The leading construction cultivator wiped the sweat from his brow, directed his disciples to make adjustments, and then smiled obsequiously at Li Weizhou, saying, "Sect Leader, rest assured, we construction cultivators are the best at 'alignment.' Even a slight deviation is a disservice; it would ruin our reputation!"

Even so, he couldn't resist his curiosity and reached out to touch the module's outer shell. He immediately withdrew his hand and exclaimed, "Good heavens! This thing is colder than the ice cave on Cangshui Peak. Just touching it makes my fingers go numb!"

Nearly another hour passed, and Dongda University could no longer offer any suggestions, so the matter was considered temporarily resolved.

After Hou Haikun, who breathed a sigh of relief, sent out the construction cultivators, the artificial ice and snow mini-secret realm was officially launched.

Li Weizhou had everyone leave the ice cellar, closed the entrance, and activated all the equipment through the control panel in the secret room: the superconducting cooling module started operating, and the temperature on the screen gradually decreased from minus eighty degrees to minus one hundred and twenty degrees, and finally stabilized at minus one hundred and fifty degrees.

The silent fan started up slowly, and the airflow sensor showed that the wind speed at each vent was stable at 0.8 m/s.

The holographic projection played a loop of images of the icy wonderland, including snow-capped mountains, ice fields, falling snowflakes, and even the patterns of the wind sweeping across the ice surface were clearly visible.

The moment the switch was pressed, the top of the ice cellar suddenly lit up. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the continuous snow-capped mountains seemed to unfold before our eyes. Snowflakes slowly drifted down and landed on the ice platform without leaving a trace. It was the effect of holographic projection.

The superconducting diesel generator and superconducting energy storage technology from the University of Tokyo perfectly provide energy supply!

At this moment, Li Weizhou was accompanied only by Zhou Yueniang, Situ Qingyue, Feng Biwu, Qi Erniang, and Ximei. The moment the ice cellar door was slowly pushed open, a chilling and biting cold air rushed in. However, Zhou Yueniang and the others' eyes lit up, and they all showed excited expressions.

It looks like it really worked.

Li Weizhou stepped in first. The frozen rock ground beneath his feet was covered with a very thin layer of ice crystals, which made a soft "crunching" sound when he stepped on it, just like the icy plains in a real ice and snow secret realm.

Looking up, the entire ice cellar had completely changed. The holographic screen on the dome filled the space with "blue sky and white clouds," which were thin and fluffy. Occasionally, a ray of "sunlight" would shine through the gaps in the clouds and fall on the ice crystals on the ground, refracting into tiny specks of light, but without any warmth.

The superconducting cooling module precisely locks the temperature at minus 150 degrees Celsius, making even the "sunlight" an illusion of light and shadow.

The distant "snow mountain" is the core of the holographic projection. When viewed up close, one can clearly see the icicles hanging on the mountain wall, with the tips glowing with a pale blue light, much like the "ice spirit icicles" naturally formed in the icy and snowy secret realm of the spirit world.

From a distance, the snow-capped mountain is shrouded in a thin veil of "clouds and mist," which flow slowly and occasionally reveal the snow on the mountaintop, as if an avalanche might roll down at any moment.

The most wonderful thing is that the "snowflakes" don't drift randomly, but fall slowly in one direction, carried by the wind from the silent fan.

There's also the Ice and Snow Forest, the Ice and Wood Forest beneath the ice, exactly the same as the Ice and Snow Secret Realm!
The "sky" is actually composed of a huge ice crystal, which is the core of the entire secret realm and the place where the Ice Dragon hid.

The surface wasn't deliberately polished smooth; instead, it retained natural ice crack patterns. A very thin layer of ice mist condensed within these patterns, and upon closer inspection, one could see that the mist slowly seeped from within the ice platform. The top of the ice platform was flat, with shallow grooves carved along the edges. These grooves were lined with a layer of ice silkworm silk, specially prepared by Bai Zhiwei for the Ice Soul Insects to inhabit. The silkworm silk shimmered with a faint white light, blending seamlessly with the color of the ice platform, making it virtually invisible without close inspection.

"These are all illusions?"

Standing on a patch of ice, looking down at the snowy forest "below," Feng Biwu said speechlessly.

all fake?

Li Weizhou chuckled and said, "I was just fooling the insects. Who told them to have such high standards? If we were to actually build a real ice and snow secret realm, even selling the entire Five Elements Sect wouldn't be enough."

Qi Erniang chuckled and said, "Won't you be able to see through me?" She paused and said, "Actually, if I didn't say anything, even if I came in and stood still, I wouldn't be able to see through me. There wasn't a single spiritual fluctuation."

Situ Qingyue said, "The Ice Soul Insect's habit is to lie still. It's extremely sensitive to spiritual energy and doesn't need to move. Shall we have those two from the Medicine Hall take a look?"

Li Weizhou nodded, and Ximei volunteered, "I'll go find Xiaowei!"

She got along well with Bai Zhiwei, and with Tao Ling'er joining in, the three quickly became good friends.

Before long, Granny Jin Hua and Bai Zhiwei were brought over.

The moment they pushed the door open, the two froze completely...

Two hours ago, they had accompanied the construction monks to inspect the ice cellar's frozen rock walls, and at that time they had absolutely no idea what to expect.

Even using the power of the formation, it might not be possible to recreate the Ice and Snow Secret Realm, let alone without any spiritual inspiration.

But when they looked up and saw the scene in the ice cellar, they were stunned and their breathing slowed down.

Li Weizhou chuckled to himself. No wonder, the difference before and after was no less than the difference between a bare-bones apartment and a fully furnished one.

Grandma Jin Hua's hand was still resting on the door, her knuckles white from the force.

She had lived for nearly three hundred years and had never seen such a miraculous thing happen without using a spiritual array.

The icy crystal illusion on the dome was almost identical to the one in the Ice and Snow Secret Realm. She subconsciously raised her hand, wanting to activate her spiritual sense to confirm whether it was an illusion, but as soon as her fingertips lifted, a gentle breeze brushed past her.

The wind was gentle, cool on her face, but it didn't stir her clothes; it only made the stray hairs at her temples flutter gently.

The force of this wind is exactly the same as that in the true secret realm!

She suddenly recalled the scene from ten days ago when the ventilation pipes were being laid. At that time, Hou Haikun directed the construction workers to hide the silver pipes in the crevices of the rocks. She wondered: what kind of wind could such thin pipes blow?

He even whispered to Bai Zhiwei in private, "The methods in the mortal world are probably just tricks to fool people..."

But now, the wind emerging from the cracks in the rocks, carrying a very faint mist of ice, felt just like the wind in the true secret realm, carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible, aura of icy marrow. She finally understood that those "thin tubes" were not a gimmick, but genuine artifacts capable of producing "winds from the secret realm."

Bai Zhiwei was even more excited than Granny Jinhua. She staggered forward two steps, the icy rock beneath her feet making a soft "crunching" sound. This sound was like a key, instantly unlocking her memory. That year, when she went to the Ice and Snow Secret Realm with her father, she heard the same sound when she stepped on the icy plain!
She bent down and gently touched the ice crystals on the ground with her fingertips. The ice crystals were very thin, only as thick as a fingernail, but they were exceptionally hard. Her fingertips could clearly feel the patterns on the surface of the ice crystals. These patterns were not the regular shapes formed by spiritual magic, but rather like the surface of naturally frozen ice, with subtle bumps and unevenness, just like the icy plains in the True Secret Realm.

"The craftsmanship of the mortal world... can actually be this good!"

Granny Jin Hua sighed, her voice full of amazement, and slowly said, "I used to think that the mortal world was corrupt and filthy, and apart from the sect leader and other geniuses, everyone else was... Now it seems that I was indeed ignorant and arrogant."

Bai Zhiwei nodded repeatedly, her gaze falling on the dazzling ice crystals on the dome. She said softly, "When I saw the sect leader fiddling with that 'glowing box,' I thought it was for lighting. I didn't expect that when he pressed it, the entire ice cellar would change... This isn't an illusion; we've really 'brought' the secret realm here."

The wind was still blowing gently, the snowflakes were still falling slowly, and the clouds and mist over the snow-capped mountains were still flowing.

Granny Jin Hua and Bai Zhiwei stood in the ice cellar, looking at everything before them, and all their doubts and anxieties completely vanished.

They finally believed that Li Weizhou's claim of "creating a secret realm without using spiritual power" was not empty talk. Those "worldly wonders" that they couldn't understand before could really create a home where the Ice Soul Insects could live in peace.

Seeing the two's shocked expressions, Li Weizhou smiled. He didn't step forward to disturb them, but simply said to Zhou Yueniang and Situ Qingyue behind him, "Once they've recovered, have them put away the insect eggs they prepared earlier. Let's see if they'll succeed!"

……

(End of this chapter)