Chapter 18

Zhang Tie, who had always been curious about the "Spirit Energy" option, couldn't wait to open it. Just like the other two options he had opened the day before, at the top of this option's log was a top-pinned message about the "Spirit Energy" of the Black Iron Castle. Compared to the two previous messages about "Merit Points" and "Basic Energy," the information about "Spirit Energy" deepened Zhang Tie's understanding of this world significantly.

— Plants serve as the bridge between the material world and living beings, and spirit energy originates from the release of life potential when plants combine with matter and grow. This is the foundation upon which all living beings survive and evolve, and it embodies the principle of harmony between the universe and nature. The more spirit energy there is, the faster plants can grow, and the more active other living beings become, allowing them to progress further on the path of evolution.

Like the previous two, this discussion about spirit energy once again left Zhang Tie in awe. He read it over a dozen times, and finally, he had an epiphany. He finally understood why everyone liked the color green. Green is the color of plants, and where there are plants, there is spirit energy, food, water, and all the necessities for survival. The more green there is, the more plants there are, and the more living beings can thrive. Think about it: a barren desert and a lush forest, which is more suitable for human survival and reproduction? Naturally, the latter, because it represents more survival resources and more spirit energy, or, as the text put it, more life potential.

A tiny seed buried in the soil can grow into a towering tree in a few years. Think about it, isn't that a miraculous thing? Without soil, the seed remains a tiny seed, but with soil, the seed undergoes a tremendous transformation. This transformation is the result of the release of life potential when the two combine. Plants convert substances and energy that cannot be directly absorbed by humans and animals into visible food, fresh air, and the invisible spirit energy, nourishing all living beings and bridging the gap between matter and life. In Zhang Tie's view, the principle of harmony between the universe and nature is a process of positive interaction between the material world, plants, and all living beings. Plants continuously provide spirit energy to all living beings, and in return, all living beings must ensure that the process of plants providing spirit energy is not disrupted and create a suitable environment for plants. He remembered that his teacher in school once said that the reason for the decline and eventual collapse of the human world before the Great Catastrophe was fundamentally the result of humans constantly destroying nature and the laws of the universe. At that time, humans were so arrogant that they viewed everything in nature and the universe as resources and items to be plundered and destroyed, rather than as a home and partner for their survival. People were constantly taking without giving back, which led to a series of serious problems. This is why, in the official school education system, the Great Catastrophe and the arrival of the God Star are seen as disasters for humanity, while in reality, many extreme sects view the Great Catastrophe and the God Star as the beginning of human rebirth, because in their eyes, the Great Catastrophe and the arrival of the God Star represent the end of human errors and the beginning of a new era for humanity.

After reading the above, Zhang Tie pondered for a moment and then turned his attention to the next piece of information that appeared automatically.

— On the evening of May 13, 889 (Friday) of the Black Iron Calendar, potato seeds began to sprout in the Black Iron Castle, and the spirit energy value of the Black Iron Castle's space is slowly increasing. Please note, Lord of the Castle, the growth rate of the Black Iron Castle's spirit energy value is directly proportional to the number, variety, and quality of plants in the space. The more plants, the more high-level plants, and the more different types of plants that can form the different levels of life potential required for a complete ecosystem, the more spirit energy will be provided in a unit of time.

This was the second entry in the "Spirit Energy" log. As soon as he read it, Zhang Tie felt he had uncovered another secret of this mysterious space, and he was very pleased. A few sprouted potatoes could provide 0.3 units of spirit energy to the Black Iron Castle in one night. So, what about other plants? For example, the purple-leafed catalpas on the street near his home. Although Zhang Tie had not learned much about plant taxonomy, he instinctively felt that a tree should provide more spirit energy than a few potatoes. This was a simple truth that even a knee-jerk reaction could understand. Of course, how to distinguish between different tree species was something Zhang Tie could not answer at the moment, but what did it matter? Zhang Tie scanned the empty space with his eyes and muttered to himself, "There's plenty of room to play around. As long as they can grow, it doesn't matter what they are." With this thought, some strange ideas popped into Zhang Tie's head. However, since he was still in the Black Iron Castle and there were many more secrets to explore, he had to put those strange ideas aside for now.

After closing the basic attributes of the Black Iron Castle, Zhang Tie casually clicked on another branch of the menu tree and opened the "Space and Terrain Creation" function. The last time he clicked on this function, the system's prompt was, "Due to the three major reserves of the Black Iron Castle being 0, the space and terrain creation function cannot be used." Zhang Tie wanted to see what surprises this "Space and Terrain Creation" function could bring now that the three major reserves were no longer zero.

Sure enough, there were surprises. When the "Space and Terrain Creation" button was clicked, three sub-menu options appeared before Zhang Tie:

— Surface Layer Options

— Underground Layer Options

— Underwater Layer Options

The buttons for "Underground Layer Options" and "Underwater Layer Options" were gray, and based on his experience, Zhang Tie knew that these options were currently unavailable. So, he clicked on the "Surface Layer Options" button. As soon as he did, a one-foot-square 3D image appeared before Zhang Tie. After a careful examination, he realized that this 3D image was a miniature version of the entire Black Iron Castle space map. The image was so detailed that even the rebar he had stuck in the ground as a marker was visible. It seemed that the image could be rotated to facilitate observation, so Zhang Tie tried to rotate the 3D image in the air with his hand. To his surprise, the 3D map image really rotated in the direction he applied force, presenting the original appearance of the Black Iron Castle map from another angle. Zhang Tie was delighted and kept rotating the image 360 degrees, examining his Black Iron Castle from various spatial angles. Not only that, but he also discovered that any part of the 3D image could be zoomed in and out. When he spread his hands apart, as if pulling open a curtain, the map would enlarge, and when he brought his hands together, as if closing a window, the map would shrink. When he moved one hand in a certain direction, the perspective of the map would change. In this process of changing size and perspective, he could see every detail of the 3D map more finely or more broadly.

This was so much fun! This was Zhang Tie's feeling at the moment. Just operating the 3D map felt like playing with a fun Rubik's cube and toy, full of enjoyment. Zhang Tie kept manipulating the 3D map, zooming in and out, and flipping it around for over ten minutes before he finally stopped, still feeling unsatisfied, and began to study the other details. Since this was called "Space and Terrain Creation," it definitely wasn't just for visual pleasure.

There were no other function buttons on the entire 3D map. Just as Zhang Tie was wondering how to "create," a line of text appeared before him.

— Lord of the Castle, all creation follows the principle of "what you see is what you get." As long as you can imagine and visualize any terrain image in your mind and project it onto the map, the Black Iron Castle can create it for you.

Zhang Tie decided to give it a try. He adjusted the map to a 90-degree top-down view and focused his eyes on a spot in the upper left corner of the map. Then, he imagined a pond about ten square meters in size in his mind. Slowly, a pale blue shadow of a pond about ten square meters in size appeared in the upper left corner of the 3D map. The shadow was a bit blurry, but its shape and outline were exactly what Zhang Tie had visualized.

Visualizing was a very mentally taxing task. With Zhang Tie's current abilities, he could not perfectly visualize all the details of a ten-square-meter pond in his mind, so the pale blue shadow of the pond was also somewhat blurry.

Just as Zhang Tie was using his mental effort to try to visualize all the details of the pond but could not complete the task, another message appeared before him.

— The completeness of the terrain details visualized by the Lord of the Castle is less than 5%. Do you allow the system to use the random natural creation rule to supplement the missing parts? After the system completes the natural creation, the Lord of the Castle can manually adjust it!

— Agree... Disagree

What else could he say? He could only "agree." When Zhang Tie clicked the "agree" button, the pale blue virtual pond image on the map finally solidified. It was exactly as Zhang Tie had imagined, and even more natural and vivid than what he had "imagined." Looking at the virtual image, Zhang Tie let out a long sigh. Although it was a bit embarrassing, he had to admit that the system did a much better job than he did. These days, he had been practicing the "Zhu Xin Shen Suan" and had to visualize an abacus. For his current abilities, visualizing an abacus was manageable, but visualizing a pond was out of the question.

After the basic terrain creation was determined, the so-called "manual" adjustment was much simpler. It involved using the map manipulation method to adjust the "size," "width," "outline," and "position" of the pale blue shadow on the map, similar to kneading dough. Other smaller details could not be adjusted manually. However, even so, the fun and convenience of the "Space and Terrain Creation" function of the Black Iron Castle far exceeded Zhang Tie's best expectations by dozens of times. In Zhang Tie's eyes, this function turned the entire Black Iron Castle into a super fun and interesting toy. It was really too damn interesting.

Zhang Tie was overjoyed and almost jumped up again, but before his smile reached his ears, a line of text on the pale blue pond shadow instantly poured cold water on his heated head.

— This terrain creation will require the following resources:

— Basic Energy Reserve: 56,879

— Spirit Energy: 6,878

— Merit Points: 912

— Do you wish to create?

— Yes... No...

What a joke! Looking at the basic energy reserve, spirit energy, and merit points in the Black Iron Castle's basic attributes, which were so pitifully small, Zhang Tie almost shed tears. According to the current rate, even if he did all the housework at home, cooking, cleaning, and washing clothes, he would only get about 3 merit points a day. To gather 912 merit points, he would need to do this for at least two years? Spirit energy was a bit better; the sprouted potatoes gave him a bit of hope. If he planted more things, he wouldn't have to worry about spirit energy. As long as there were plants, this value would steadily increase. But the basic energy reserve was truly frustrating—56,879 units. A piece of pyrite weighing about one pound could only provide 0.2 units of basic energy when thrown into the Chaos Pool. To get 56,879 units, he would need at least 280,000 pounds, or 28 tons, of pyrite.

The harsh "reality" made Zhang Tie realize that the "Space and Terrain Creation" function of the Black Iron Castle, which seemed like a big toy, was not something he could afford at the moment. The system of the Black Iron Castle seemed to follow a strict "equivalent exchange" rule. If he didn't accumulate enough resources, the system wouldn't even acknowledge him. Everything here required the consumption of various resources and enormous effort to obtain. There was no free lunch, even for the "handsome and majestic Lord of the Castle." This big toy was not something to be taken lightly!

Forget it, he should look at the other functions to see which ones were more practical for him at the moment.

After closing the "Space and Terrain Creation" function, Zhang Tie opened the "Biological and Species Management"...

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