Chapter 110
Chapter 110
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Blueprint (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While constructing the giant puppet, the part Seoran paid the most attention to was the joints connecting the components.
The three-headed, six-armed Vajra Yaksha, hastily pieced together from cheap stone materials, had met its end through midair disintegration.
She had no desire to repeat such an experience.
Thus, Seoran resolved to minimize the joints.
Generally speaking, the number of parts and durability were inversely proportional.
One could clearly understand why by smashing a mechanical clock with a steel pipe.
When crafting the puppet core, she had grafted dozens of Millennium Five Elements Woods with over thirty types of spirit herbs and spirit woods for the same reason.
If made into a single piece, it wouldn't easily break apart under external impacts.
Of course, there was also the hope of improving the materials' spiritual power generation and storage efficiency.
The giant puppet's components were largely divided into three parts.
A puppet core powered by Pure Wood Spiritual Power, a metal frame powered by Pure Metal Spiritual Power, and a stone outer wall powered by Pure Earth Spiritual Power.
The puppet core was already complete.
Seoran turned next to crafting the metal frame.
Theoretically, the best method was to cast the entire frame of the giant puppet as one solid piece.
With no joints at all, it would undoubtedly achieve ideal durability.
But as with all ideal solutions, it inevitably faced practical limitations.
The very idea of casting a single 400-meter-tall metal frame was unrealistic from the start.
And what about the joints?
What Seoran wanted to create wasn't a stationary statue but a puppet that could move.
In the end, some degree of compromise was necessary.
Seoran employed the following method.
First, she divided the giant puppet's frame into joint units.
Then, she segmented the frame based on the maximum size that could be cast.
Now, all that remained was connecting these fragments.
Welding alone couldn't suffice due to the excessively large bonding surfaces between frame fragments.
The same went for super-strong adhesives.
So, she designed the joints like a puzzle.
It was in the form of a cast puzzle, also known as a ring of wisdom—a complex three-dimensional puzzle.
Such high-difficulty puzzles couldn't be disassembled unless the pieces were moved in the correct direction, angle, and sequence.
The joint sections, inspired by the ring of wisdom, allowed smooth movement while remaining firmly locked together.
Reinforced with the metallic technique Ironclad Impenetrable Gold, they would withstand even a giant's joints.
And with that, the giant puppet's metal frame was complete.
All that was left was the stone outer wall.
Surprisingly, this was the easiest part.
Thanks to the earth-affinity technique, Red Earth Transmission Scripture.
The Red Earth Transmission Scripture's effect was to repair the main material of damaged earth spiritual tools—namely, stone.
However, its definition of "damage" was quite broad.
When two squarely quarried stones were perfectly abutted and the technique applied, they fused together.
Seoran began stacking regular hexagonal stone blocks meticulously around the pre-made metal frame.
Once the components were tightly fitted without gaps, she applied the Red Earth Transmission Scripture, completing the outer wall.
No adhesive was needed.
The metal frame wedged tightly inside the stone outer wall resembled reinforced concrete.
Seoran belatedly recalled the issue of thermal expansion coefficients between the metal and stone materials.
She worried what might happen if the giant puppet were damaged by differential expansion in the sweltering South Continent.
But her concern was short-lived.
Upon second thought, minerals imbued with spiritual nature wouldn't be affected by mere external temperatures.
It seemed unlikely the giant puppet would disintegrate mid-ocean en route to the South Continent.
Seoran looked up proudly at the 400-meter-tall colossal golem she had created.
In truth, it couldn't yet be called complete.
She hadn't even begun the interior facilities construction.
But its majestic form alone was satisfying.
Seoran murmured softly.
"Your name from now on is Shishan Daibeng."
Shishan Daibeng—meaning the giant peng that devours mountains.
For reference, the daibeng was the name of a massive bird said to fly ninety thousand li in a single day.
Unlike mythical beasts on Earth, it actually inhabited the North Continent.
The seasons passed swiftly.
Finally, the adorable Shishan Daibeng was complete.
Due to its mountain-like size, it could only be viewed from afar.
Looking up close made one's neck ache.
The total construction period was two years.
Considering that Seoran could handle even civil engineering works as day trips, this was quite a long time.
She had agonized over the interior layout.
The giant puppet Shishan Daibeng served as a puppet mothership, resource warehouse, and mobile base.
Key facilities included resource storage, material processing plants, puppet production factories, owl hangars, puppet core control room, living quarters, seed vaults, and more.
She had crammed in every facility she could think of.
Despite the haphazard installation, the vast size left plenty of empty space.
It was truly a masterpiece.
*****
Much had happened over the past two years.
Which events were trivial and which were significant would undoubtedly vary by individual opinion.
From the joint leadership's perspective, however, two major events stood out.
First, preparations for the South Continent expedition were complete.
Second, Seoran had finally harmonized her Triple Spirit Root.
Even while hunkered down all day in the quarry tinkering with ore chunks, Seoran had fulfilled her duties.
Through consistent elixir consumption, steam baths, and cultivation, she had at last become a true Triple Spirit Root Holder.
She could now wield even the Pure Wood Spiritual Power, once as awkward as using her left hand, with complete freedom.
Next, it was time to generate her fourth, the Fire Spirit Root.
The joint leadership immediately organized the expedition.
With Seoran and Damcheong joining the South Continent expedition, additional combat forces were pointless.
Instead, they assembled experts from every field to form the ultimate think tank.
The Black Bamboo Sect and Goldcraft Sect knew nothing of the South Continent's recent situation.
No matter how meticulously they planned, the expedition would inevitably face unforeseen circumstances.
The think tank's role was to assist Seoran and Damcheong in making sound decisions.
The duo already possessed overwhelming power.
Supplementing their lack of specialized knowledge would suffice.
The think tank would function as an external brain.
Seoran, Damcheong, and the think tank were carried by the owl legion's talons into the giant puppet's maw.
After considering various factors, Shishan Daibeng was selected as the expedition's transport.
This was due to the astonishing catalog specs Seoran had submitted to the joint leadership.
That summer, amid farewells from the Black Bamboo Sect and Goldcraft Sect cultivators, Shishan Daibeng vanished into the southeast sky.
The South Continent expedition's policy was simple.
Secure a means to generate the Fire Spirit Root within five years if possible—before Seoran turned 48.
If the primary objective failed, return to the West Continent without delay.
Everything else would be handled improvisationally.
*****
In an undersea city located deep in the ocean depths.
The leader of the Merfolk Church mounted the podium and shouted.
"Due to the absence of the Dragon God residing in the Black Bamboo Sect on the surface and the Earth Mother Goddess—and the Earth Mother Goddess and the Dragon God—holy pilgrimages are suspended for the time being!"
A sudden service shutdown announcement.
The merfolk gathered densely in the plaza before the Dragon Palace, drawn by news of a divine proclamation, wailed in despair.
"Kraaagh!"
"What?!"
"This can't be true!"
It had been over twenty years since Earth Mother Goddess Seoran and Second Dragon God Damcheong became the Merfolk Church's deities.
The merfolk were utterly shocked.
The chaotic screams soon turned to murmurs.
"Holy pilgrimage... suspended?"
"Abandoned? Ugh, my head..."
"The Dragon God is leaving again?"
"The deep sea is too dark..."
"Please don't abandon us..."
"This place is hell..."
"It's cold, Earth Mother Goddess..."
"No, that can't be..."
At that moment, someone in the crowd declared.
"I knew it would come to this!"
The merfolk's gazes converged on the speaker.
The speaker, a merfolk agitator—or more precisely, a yokai disguised as one called the Myriad Forms Worm—shouted even louder.
"See? What did I tell you?! The gods always abandon us! The First Dragon God, the Second Dragon God and Earth Mother Goddess too! The world holds only cruel emptiness!"
This master of stirring trouble, always pouring oil on fires, once again unleashed his dagger-like tongue.
As the Myriad Forms Worm's voice grew louder, the surrounding merfolk's hearts darkened.
But it didn't last long.
The leader quickly reassured the followers.
"Worry not, everyone! Here is a document personally bestowed by the gods! The Earth Mother Goddess and Dragon God—the Dragon God and Earth Mother Goddess—will return within five years at the latest! And that's not all!"
The leader read the document Seoran had written.
Five years later, upon returning from the South Continent, they would stop by the undersea city for a Dragon God Festival.
It even promised a long stay in the Dragon Palace a dozen or so years after that.
The merfolk erupted in cheers.
"I believed it!"
"Me too, me too!"
"Long live the Dragon God!"
"Long live the Earth Mother Goddess!"
Watching the merfolk's hearts purify in an instant, the diligently agitating Myriad Forms Worm muttered.
"Aw, busted again... I should've gone to the South Continent like my other cousins... Why did I stay in this undersea city dreaming of wealth and glory..."
The Myriad Forms Worm slunk away southward forlornly.
*****
Around the time the Merfolk Church was in an uproar, the South Continent expedition was locked in battle with a yokai army in perilous seas.