Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 527: Chapter 282: The Second Ruin (Part 2)

After listening, Cheng Zongyang immediately said, "Then let’s go take a look first. We can leave the rest of the excavation here to them. By the way, how are things at the County Town? Have they dug up anything useful?"

Hearing the latter question, Luo Dingran immediately replied, "They’ve found quite a few things. After sorting out the many decayed items, most of the rest have been sent to the Preservation Warehouse for storage. At the same time, Ding Xing has begun to record and translate some of the materials we’ve obtained. He’s also found four assistants, so progress is moving along fairly quickly."

Cheng Zongyang nodded. "That’s good."

Afterward, the two of them immediately set off for the second ruin site, not bothering with the Teleportation Array.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two followed the river north and soon arrived at a shack at the edge of a mountain forest. This was also a way station.

Without entering the shack, they went to the riverbank at Luo Dingran’s signal.

Cheng Zongyang was immediately drawn to the sound of the rushing river.

They arrived at the riverbank. They were on the west bank, at a spot where the bank sloped gently down to a steep drop-off. The river looked to be about seventy to eighty meters wide.

Just then, Luo Dingran’s voice pulled him from his survey of the area.

"The exploration team was bathing upstream. They were dragged here by an Exotic Beast and fought it to the death. The underwater structure is right below us, built against the riverbed and the bank wall."

"This should be the deepest part of the river, about fifty meters deep. I’ve been down there. Without external aid, I couldn’t even keep my footing in the current. There is indeed an Array. When I saw the other site was protected by one, I figured this one would have the same kind of Array. But the water is too murky; I couldn’t see what was inside."

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly, then said, "I’ll go down and take a look. You wait here."

"Yes." Luo Dingran agreed. He wouldn’t be of any help if he went down anyway.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t release his Protective Gang Qi. Instead, he took out two Grade Daggers and slowly descended along the river wall.

Although he had a First Grade Cultivation, in a current this strong, he would be swept away without anything to brace himself against. So, he used the two daggers to descend step by step, plunging them into the river wall. He would then use his adaptation Talent to acclimate to the underwater environment.

With the daggers for support, Cheng Zongyang instantly adapted to the force of the underwater current the moment he entered the water. He also adapted to the murky conditions, allowing him to see his surroundings clearly.

He quickened his pace and soon reached the riverbed.

When Cheng Zongyang saw the ancient temple, protected by an Array that kept the river water out, built against the bank wall, his heart suddenly skipped a beat as he saw what was inside!

Directly ahead was a temple, but inside it... was the exact same Divine Statue!

At this, Cheng Zongyang’s brow furrowed.

He continued to observe the rest of the interior and found that it was more complete than the temple on the mountainside.

However, outside the temple, a short statue stood guard at the entrance, its body bent over with hands clasped in respect.

But the statue was covered in a robe-like layer of mud, obscuring its head and face from view. Only its feet and its posture of utmost respect—a deep bow—were visible.

This discovery struck Cheng Zongyang as even stranger. ’It even has a doorman?’

But he couldn’t break the Array here, nor should he. Otherwise, the rushing river would instantly wash away everything inside.

After memorizing the scene inside, Cheng Zongyang quickly ascended back to the riverbank.

"My lord, how was it?" Luo Dingran asked, seeing that Cheng Zongyang was unharmed.

"It’s similar to the temple on the mountainside. The same Divine Statue is inside, but there’s an additional smaller one. To break the Array and excavate, we either need to divert the river or purchase a new Array and set up an Array within an Array. That would block the river water while also protecting the underwater Array. There shouldn’t be any problems then."

Luo Dingran was taken aback. He immediately shook his head and said, "Diverting the river is out of the question. It would be a massive project, a waste of too much time and manpower. My lord, we have to use an Array."

Cheng Zongyang nodded. "Let’s head back first. You go ahead and place the purchase request; make sure you list the requirements clearly. In the meantime, I’ll go check out the relocation site you mentioned."

So, the two used the Teleportation Array in the shack to return to the cabin. After learning the location of the relocation site, Cheng Zongyang went there alone.

Luo Dingran had already given him a detailed description of the relocation site.

The site was located east of Huining County. After crossing the Huitong River and passing through a forest, one would find a stretch of plains.

One hundred and fifty li to the east of the mountain forest was the coast. The area for two hundred and seventeen li to the north was all flat mountain forests and plains, and beyond the Liao River lay new mountain forests and plains. As for the Liao River, it was the upper reach of the Huitong River. They were two names for the same great river.

The Huitong River flowed around the base of the mountains. Not far from the river, to the north of Huining County, lay the Da Fan Mountain Range, which was formed by several peaks of varying sizes. Behind those mountains were more, different mountain ranges. However, the barrier further north had not yet been opened, making this the farthest accessible point, almost parallel with Sanmao Mountain.

Furthermore, this plains area was not far from Huining County to the west, Botao Town to the south, and Dongping Village. (You can see the map in the comments section or the Chapter’s bonus content.)

If going by the territorial divisions of the Martial Arts Realm, all these places would fall within the borders of Huining County.

It could be said that this place had everything: mountains, water, and proximity to the sea. It completely fulfilled the requirements Cheng Zongyang had initially set out.

Standing on a tree on the mountainside of Dafan Mountain, Cheng Zongyang looked out over the mountain forests and plains below, feeling very satisfied with the location.

It was an excellent spot for future farmland, livestock farming, fisheries, ports, and the construction of villages and towns for the Soul Slaves.

Even if they needed to expand in the future due to lack of space, they could still push northward.

’The place really is excellent. And since this is Huining County’s territory, there should be many ruins of old villages and towns. That’ll make future exploration and development convenient.’

Cheng Zongyang went back and returned with the Flying Cloud Shuttle.

Next, without worrying about the waste of Spirit Stones, he piloted the Flying Cloud Shuttle to survey the entire plains area and observe the coastline.

However, this was his only chance to relocate, and he didn’t want to make such a hasty decision. But Snow Moon Peak was not ideal for development, and there would surely be places he liked more in the future—even more suitable ones.

He had Teleportation Arrays, so if he found a place he liked better in the future, he could just set it up as a branch location. That wouldn’t be a problem.

So, the most important thing now was to hurry, finalize the location, and start developing it to earn Points sooner.

"This is it, then. It’s far more suitable than Snow Moon Peak," Cheng Zongyang murmured. He then returned to the shack and back to the market cabin.

After he confirmed his decision with Luo Dingran, Luo Dingran said happily, "Alright! I’ll start sending people to develop that area. Once the construction is complete, we’ll relocate. This process will probably take some time."

Cheng Zongyang said, "No problem. You handle the matter with the Array. I’m going to study the Divine Statue and then go into Cultivation to break through to the Innate realm as soon as possible."

But Luo Dingran asked, "My lord, why don’t you practice Cultivation Immortality directly? It would save a lot of time."

Hearing Luo Dingran’s question, Cheng Zongyang remembered he had never told him the results of his Spirit Testing. He said with a helpless sigh:

"My aptitude is considered quite good in the Ice and Fire Cultivation Immortality Realm. My Spirit Bone Testing showed I have Three Spirit Bones, and the Spirit Testing Stone showed I have Dual Spirit Roots. Although I could practice Cultivation Immortality now, after I enter the Dao through Martial Arts, my Spirit Bones will replace my Spirit Roots for Cultivation. This will save me the time it would take to nurture one of my Spirit Roots. Besides, my Cultivation Technique can be upgraded, which is far better and more efficient than just finding some random Cultivation Immortality Technique."

Luo Dingran had a moment of realization; that answered his question. He said no more on the matter.

But Cheng Zongyang thought of something and looked at Luo Dingran. "It seems you guys have never had your Spirit Bones and Spirit Roots tested, have you?"

At this thought, without waiting for Luo Dingran’s reply, with a flick of his will, the Spirit Testing Paper and Spirit Testing Stone stored on the fifth level appeared in his hand.

"Here, drip some blood onto the Spirit Testing Stone and Spirit Testing Paper. Let’s test your aptitude first," Cheng Zongyang said with a smile.

Seeing this, Luo Dingran, who was also curious about his own situation, no longer hesitated. He took a dagger, cut his finger, and dripped a few drops of blood onto each item.

Soon, as the Spirit Testing Paper and the Spirit Testing Stone began to react, both men stared intently, not taking their eyes off them.

A moment later, looking at the unresponsive Spirit Testing Stone and the Spirit Bone result showing wood and earth Attributes, Cheng Zongyang was a little surprised.