Chapter 53

As Feng Ye casually waved his hand, he retracted the Sui Ren Lamp and transformed the Ye Long avatar directly into a red dragon that coiled around his left arm, turning into a red dragon tattoo. After merging the avatar with his true self, he opened his eyes and said, "I have already asked Yuan Kui to go and find a famous mountain or blessed land, but this won't be accomplished in just a day or two. I'm afraid I will have to trouble Your Majesty during this period!"

Although the era of Honghuang is abundant in spiritual energy and veins, those famous mountains and blessed lands are not so easy to find. Ordinary mountains simply don't meet Feng Ye's standards.

Since the flourishing of human civilization, the spiritual veins have shifted, and Huoyun Cave has become a top-tier spiritual vein location. The innate spiritual energy here is abundant, comparable only to the top-tier mountains like Kunlun, Zhonghuang, Fengqi, Ziyang, Xumi, and Wan Shou.

Feng Ye, having gotten used to the innate spiritual energy in Huoyun Cave, naturally wouldn't be satisfied with mountains that have thin spiritual energy when choosing a new Daoist retreat.

However, these top-tier mountains all have their masters. Kunlun and Xumi are the Daoist retreats of the Sages, Zhonghuang and Fengqi are the Daoist retreats of Nüwa and Fuxi, and Ziyang was once the Daoist retreat of Donghuang Taiyi, now inhabited by Lady Ziguang. These masters are either great sages or Sages, and Feng Ye can't afford to offend them.

Thus, Feng Ye had to lower his standards and choose mountains like Emei, Dahuang, and Jiuhua. But these mountains also have their masters, and the few that don't are bound to be contested by the Buddhist and Daoist sects in the future.

Feng Ye didn't want to live with those people, nor did he want to get involved in those causal entanglements, to avoid frequent troubles in the future. So, he searched for a long time but couldn't find a suitable Daoist retreat.

As for those lakes and spiritual rivers, although they are also good, Feng Ye is not a water deity and isn't very interested in them. Otherwise, the Yellow River is also a top-tier river in the Honghuang era, with spiritual energy no less than that of Emei. Moreover, Yuan Kui, as the River God of the Yellow River, naturally has the advantage of location.

However, the Xuan Zao tree and the Sui wood are not spiritual roots that grow in water, and establishing a Daoist retreat in a water palace would bring many inconveniences. Therefore, Feng Ye had to abandon this idea.

Feng Ye brought Fuxi into Huoyun Cave, looked around, and Fuxi pursed his lips: "Fellow Daoist, not to be blunt, but your cave is too simple! In the future, many virtuous humans will reside here, and this small cave won't be able to accommodate them!"

Fuxi had little direct contact with Feng Ye, but he was familiar with Feng Ye's avatar, so he spoke in his usual tone, after all, there needs to be a period of adjustment for their first meeting, right?

"Simple? I am just a shallow Golden Immortal, how can I compare to Your Majesty? Why don't you, Your Majesty, improve it? After all, it will be our residence for some time!" Feng Ye waved his sleeve and chuckled.

Speaking of clothing, it's worth mentioning that since the humans haven't yet learned sericulture from Lu Zu, they only use animal skins for clothing. However, the immortals and deities are different; using spiritual energy and heavenly treasures, they can create various kinds of clothing. Feng Ye wore a Shuiyue Immortal Robe, made by a pearl spirit under Yuan Kui's command.

Originally, when Fuxi attained enlightenment, he also wore animal skin, but Nüwa later made him a Nine-Dragon Imperial Robe. Otherwise, Fuxi, wearing animal skin, wouldn't be able to meet his fellow Daoists in the future. After all, as the Heavenly Emperor, he needs to prepare his Daoist retreat for the great sages who will come to congratulate him. At that time, he needs to dress well to avoid losing face.

"Fellow Daoist, do you know what a Grotto Heaven is?" Fuxi chuckled.

"Grotto Heaven? A small world?" Feng Ye frowned. "Is Your Majesty planning to create a world? But what are the benefits? It's just a waste of effort and energy." (Cough, it's not that Feng Ye is lazy, but in this era, Daoist retreats are generally just a mountain guard array and a place to live, with no other requirements. After all, they are cultivators who don't rely on external things.)

"At least, by using the Void Mustard Seed technique, the number of people this place can accommodate will increase. Otherwise, just finding a spiritual vein on Mount Sui and opening a cave like Huoyun Cave, how many people can it accommodate?" Fuxi paused.

"If it's a world Grotto Heaven, you can fully control the spiritual veins and holes. As the master of the world, you can determine the distribution of spiritual energy. You can perceive every movement in the Daoist retreat, reaching a state of omniscience, and won't be taken advantage of by external enemies. Moreover, if the Grotto Heaven is well-made, it can become an independent world in the future, not connected to the Honghuang land, self-sufficient in spiritual energy, and free from the threat of heavenly calamities."

"Like the Palace of Nüwa?" Feng Ye's heart stirred.

"Exactly, like my sister's Palace of Nüwa, opened by a Sage, self-sufficient in the chaos, and free from causal entanglements."

"But to do so, there must be a world-stabilizing object responsible for the world's operation. Where can we find such an object?"

"An innate object, preferably an innate spiritual root. Spiritual roots can absorb negative energy and nourish spiritual energy. If we have a top-tier innate spiritual root as the center of the Grotto Heaven, it will be like the Wanshou Mountain, using the Ginseng Fruit Tree, with no worry about a lack of spiritual energy! Unfortunately, the two spiritual roots on Mount Sui, although innate, are still too weak. If we wait for a few ten thousand years, they might be able to generate spiritual energy on their own, without relying on external sources. But now—"

Feng Ye frowned and looked at the two spiritual roots on the back mountain. It's not that Fuxi was belittling them; one is a branch of the Sui wood, and now the Sui bird's fire seed is on it, re-growing. The Sui wood hasn't grown for a long time, and most of its spiritual energy is used to nourish the Sui bird.

The Xuan Zao is a seed of a top-tier innate spiritual root, with a long growth period. Even after a thousand years, it has only just started to bloom, let alone bear fruit!

"A top-tier spiritual root? I know the location of a spiritual root." Feng Ye stroked his chin. "The ancestral root of the Sui wood in the Tongming Kingdom, stretching for ten thousand miles, can cover the sky. I think it would be sufficient as a world-stabilizing object. But I wonder if the small world can contain it?"

"The skill of containing a mountain in a mustard seed, although I'm not very good at it, I can still do it. After all, the world is still large enough to contain a ten-thousand-mile mountain, especially since the virtuous humans will all move into Huoyun Cave in the future. To prevent overcrowding, the Huoyun Grotto Heaven needs to be larger."

Not knowing when those great sages will come to congratulate, they naturally need to act quickly.

After Fuxi attained the position of Heavenly Emperor, he was blessed by the Heavenly Dao, and his magical power was restored to the Great Luo realm. In terms of status, the Heavenly Emperor is on par with the Sages.

The Great Luo realm is naturally much faster in speed and dexterity than Feng Ye. Fuxi, carrying Feng Ye on a cloud, arrived at the Donghai Tongming Kingdom in no time.

The Tongming Kingdom, after the sky was patched, also suffered a great disaster. The flood was inevitable, and the people of the Tongming Kingdom disappeared, leaving the once prosperous kingdom in silence. The Tongming birds on the Sui wood were also much fewer, with only a few flying around.

Feng Ye looked at the Sui wood and frowned. "Your Majesty, the Sui wood seems much weaker than before. I wonder if it can still be used?"

"It should still be usable, with no major issues. My sister is skilled in creation; if there's a problem, we can ask her for help." Fuxi then used his magical power to uproot the Sui wood, transforming it into a three-inch sapling and placing it in a jade basin. He then carried Feng Ye back to Mount Sui.

Next, they needed to create the Grotto Heaven.

Feng Ye and Fuxi stood in the air above Mount Sui. Fuxi asked Feng Ye, "Fellow Daoist, do you remember the steps I mentioned earlier?"

Feng Ye nodded. "No problem, let's start!"

Hearing Feng Ye's words, Fuxi threw out the River Map and the Luo Book from his sleeve, spreading them in the wind. The River Map covered the sky above Mount Sui, and the Luo Book sank into the mountain, lifting it from below. The Luo Book continuously lifted the mountain, while the River Map continuously covered it, gradually forming a large sphere that enveloped the mountain.

As soon as Mount Sui was lifted, a huge pit appeared underground, and the spiritual energy burst forth.

Feng Ye stepped forward, took out the Taiji Seal, and threw it down, transforming it into a large seal that locked the surging spiritual energy. He then drew talismans with his hands and cast them into the pit, forming a foundation talisman array.

The River Map and the Luo Book, enveloping the mountain, formed a large sphere and hovered in the air. Fuxi then used the River Map and the Luo Book to create a world. Fuxi's method of creation was different from Pangu's, which was more direct and forceful.

Fuxi's actions were subtle, just using Mount Sui as the base to create a space. According to Feng Ye's observation, the two spiritual roots inside the mountain were not damaged, and the mountain's structure was largely preserved.

After a day and a night, Feng Ye closed his eyes to gather his spirit and seal the earth's energy. Suddenly, he heard Fuxi shout, and he opened his eyes. Fuxi made a hand seal and withdrew the River Map and the Luo Book, revealing a miniature model of Mount Sui, about ten feet in diameter. Fuxi then took the Sui wood from the jade basin and threw it onto the model. The Sui wood, as if it had a spirit, inserted its roots into the mountain model and began to absorb spiritual energy. In no time, the Sui wood covered the entire mountain.

Finally, Fuxi shouted to Feng Ye, "Fellow Daoist, move aside!"

Feng Ye quickly moved away from the pit. Fuxi slowly lowered the mountain model, which grew larger and larger, gradually returning to its original size. It filled the pit, and the talisman arrays connected it to the Honghuang land, re-establishing the mountain's spiritual veins.

With the presence of an innate spiritual root and the transformation by Fuxi, the landscape of Mount Sui and Huoyun Cave changed dramatically.

Clouds rose from all directions, dragons soared, and the ancient pines and cypresses on the mountain absorbed the essence of the innate spiritual root, growing lush and verdant. The originally sparse spiritual herbs on the mountain spread and flourished, like dragon whiskers and phoenix tails.

The main peak where Huoyun Cave was located was raised much higher, towering into the sky. In the continuous mountain range, pavilions and terraces were scattered, shimmering with golden light and purple mist.

Feng Ye and Fuxi looked at the newly created Huoyun Grotto Heaven with satisfaction. Suddenly, Feng Ye sighed, "Unfortunately, the scenery here is indeed beautiful, but the only flaw is the lack of immortal birds and spiritual beasts, which makes it less lively."

As soon as Feng Ye finished speaking, a group of golden boys and jade girls arrived. There were eight of them, four boys and four girls, holding bamboo baskets, and they bowed before Fuxi: "We, the young servants, have been ordered by Lady Nüwa to congratulate Your Majesty on the successful establishment of your Daoist retreat and to present immortal birds, spiritual beasts, rare flowers, and exotic fruits to add vitality."

Fuxi laughed, "Fellow Daoist, look, you just said it lacked vitality, and my sister immediately sent them!"

But it didn't end there. Another young servant arrived, wearing a turtle shell, a member of the water clan,