Primordial Era: The Witch Clan Reigns Supreme, Hongjun Begs Me to Become the Demon Emperor

Chapter 38 A Different West

He turned and disappeared back into the depths of the treasure vault.

This time it took a little longer to translate.

He didn't come out again until a full half hour later.

I have a few more things in my hands.

The three chaotic stones, each about the size of a fist, were entirely gray, with a chaotic aura flowing across their surfaces, faintly exuding innate spiritual energy.

Two unidentified bones—one long and one short, the longer one about the thickness of an arm and the shorter one about the length of a calf—were pale gold in color and exuded a heavy, oppressive aura, resembling the remains of some ancient, ferocious beast.

There was also a palm-sized jade slip whose material was not immediately apparent, but the naturally formed patterns on it subtly contained the rhythm of the Great Dao.

The Star-Crowned Taoist's eyes lit up.

Chaotic Stone! Containing the aura of chaos, it can be used to refine innate spiritual treasures!

Those bones—although I couldn't identify what kind of ferocious beast they came from, their aura was at least at the level of a Great Luo Immortal!

As for that jade slip, it's an even better thing—a jade slip with natural Dao patterns that can be directly studied!

"Your Majesty is wise!" he exclaimed sincerely.

The Eastern King nodded in satisfaction and handed the items to the Star-Crowned Taoist: "Go to the West yourself. Remember, be courteous and sincere. We're going to make friends, not to put on airs."

The Taoist priest with the star-shaped crown bowed and said, "Your subject understands."

After thinking it over carefully, Dong Wanggong still called out to him.

"I'll take you with me, in case you don't know proper etiquette and offend them."

Star-Crowned Taoist: "————"

With a helpless sigh, he turned and followed Dong Wanggong.

The western continent, Mount Sumeru.

This place is no longer the dilapidated place it once was.

Although it is far inferior to the East, at least it has mountains, water, and spiritual energy, where plants can grow and cultivators can practice.

For the West, which had experienced Luo's self-destruction and the destruction of the spiritual veins, this was already a world-shaking change.

-

On the southern slope of Mount Sumeru, in a secluded valley.

Two figures were squatting on the ground, arguing heatedly about something around a bunch of strange objects.

"No, no! The guiding array patterns are crooked! Move them three inches to the left!"

"What do you know? This is called deviation? This is called adapting to local conditions! The direction of the earth's veins is dynamic, not inanimate!"

"Adapt to local conditions my ass! Have you even learned basic formations? Earth vein channeling must be directly aligned with the direction of the spiritual vein; a three-inch deviation will reduce the channeling efficiency by 30%!"

"Thirty percent is still better than your spirit-gathering array that you carved eight hundred times and still managed to explode!"

"Why are you bringing that up! That's because the materials for the guiding master weren't sufficient!"

"Ha, not enough materials? It's clearly your own fault for not being skilled enough!"

The two argued back and forth, their faces turning red with rage.

The one on the left is round-figured with large earlobes that reach his shoulders. He smiles like Maitreya Buddha, and in fact, his name is Maitreya. He is the chief disciple jointly accepted by the two Westerners, and their personal disciple.

The one on the right has a thin face, deep eyes, and a cinnabar mark between his eyebrows; he is a direct disciple of Cundi.

Both are outstanding second-generation disciples of the West.

Right now, these two outstanding individuals are arguing fiercely over a bunch of strange-looking objects.

Scattered on the ground in front of them were all sorts of strange and unusual things:

The palm-sized round copper plate is covered with dense array patterns, and a sun stone is inlaid in the center. It is said to be the "Primordial Earth Vein Guiding Instrument" invented by Maitreya, which is said to be able to accurately locate the direction of the earth veins and increase the guiding efficiency by 50%.

The thick, transparent tube with countless tiny runes flowing on its walls is Ksitigarbha's most prized creation, the "Spiritual Energy Drainage Tube," which can draw spiritual energy from high-concentration spiritual areas to barren regions.

There were also a bunch of things I couldn't name: an automatic array-engraving pen, a spiritual energy concentration testing disc, and a spiritual vein detection needle.

Everything about it exudes the vibe of a "tech geek".

Maitreya grabbed the "Primordial Earth Vein Connector," pointed at the array patterns on it, and said proudly, "See this? It took me eight hundred years to research this thing! With it, the speed at which masters repair spiritual veins can be increased threefold! Threefold! Do you understand what that means?"

Ksitigarbha scoffed, "Yes, yes, you're amazing. But do you even know how to use this thing?"

"Of course I know!" Maitreya puffed out his chest.

"Bury it at a ley line node, infuse it with magical power, and it will automatically draw in the surrounding ley line energy."

He spoke while channeling his magic.

"Buzz"

The copper plate vibrated.

Then, "Bang!"

A plume of black smoke rose from the center of the bronze plate, and the array patterns on the plate instantly dimmed by more than half.

Maitreya:

'

Ksitigarbha laughed heartily: "A 50% increase in guiding efficiency? I think it's a 50% increase in explosion efficiency!"

Maitreya's face flushed red: "This...this was an accident! It's a material problem! We can just replace it with a better sunstone later!"

Ksitigarbha laughed even louder.

After laughing enough, he looked up into the distance, his eyes filled with a hint of reverence.

"Speaking of which," he said softly, "that Golden Crow Ancestor is still working."

Maitreya suppressed his smile and looked in the direction of his own light.

Outside the valley, at the far western edge of the continent, a faint golden light could be seen shimmering.

The golden light was very small, almost invisible. But Maitreya and Ksitigarbha knew that it was an avatar of the Emperor, who was there painstakingly repairing the spiritual veins.

One year.

ten years.

century.

Millennia.

It will remain so for ten thousand years.

From the moment they became disciples, that golden light remained there, never ceasing.

"What a compassionate heart you have!" Maitreya exclaimed, his round face full of seriousness.

"He has been cultivating for thousands of years, working hard without complaint or seeking reward. My master said that the West's current state is largely due to the contributions of the Golden Crow Ancestor."

Ksitigarbha nodded, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"A true man should be like this," he murmured.

"If one day I could do something for the primordial world like him, that would be wonderful."

The two remained silent for a moment.

Maitreya suddenly slapped his thigh: "That's right! You just said my guiding device wasn't working? Come on, let's improve it!"

This time, we'll use even better materials!

Ksitigarbha's eyes lit up: "You have good materials?"

"No," Maitreya replied matter-of-factly.

"But I can ask my master for it!"

"Your master is even poorer than you."

"—Then find your master?"

"My master was poor too."

The two exchanged a glance and sighed simultaneously.

I'm poor.

The West is truly poor.

But even if you're poor, you have to do research! This is what their master taught them—engineering-based Buddhism, which emphasizes empirical evidence, efficiency, and using wisdom to change the world!

Maitreya stood up, dusting off his backside: "Let's go find Master. Even if we can't get the materials, at least we can ask if the design concept of that guiding device is correct."

Ksitigarbha also stood up: "Alright. By the way, ask Master when that avatar of the Golden Crow Ancestor will be able to rest. I've seen him working for so many years—"

The two walked side by side into the depths of the valley.

Behind them, a pile of strange and unusual objects reflected the metallic luster in the sunlight.

Who would have thought that the apprentices taken in by the two Westerners would now become "technical experts"?

Engraving, weapon forging, drawing, calculation—they all act more like engineering students than engineering students themselves.

And all of this stems from the "seed of engineering and Buddhism" planted by Emperor Yi back then.

Many years have passed, and that seed has long since taken root and sprouted, blossoming into a flower on this barren land of the West—

A flower that is not quite the same.

On the edge of the western continent, beside a broken spiritual vein.

Di Yi's clone raised his head and wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead.

He looked in the direction of Mount Sumeru in the distance, a strange smile on his face.

"These Western monks—" he murmured.

"The more I look at him, the more he seems like an engineering student."

He looked down at the small section of spiritual vein that had just been repaired beneath his feet, then looked up at the endless, shattered earth ahead, and sighed.

"This work is never-ending."

But at least, someone has taken over.

He smiled and continued working.

Golden light flashed across the western continent, never ceasing.