21: Chapter 21 Dimensional Upgrade, First Appearance of the Cave Heaven

The night was as dark as ink, and Sunset Town slept soundly within the light green mist of the Four Symbols Maze Array.

Inside the ancestral hall, Lin Yue sat alone before the ancestral tablets, his fingertips stroking the edge of the Storage Pouch. The faint clinking of Spirit Stones inside the bag was exceptionally clear in the silence.

When he settled the accounts with Deacon Zhang during the day, he had specifically checked the numbers: this transaction brought in seven thousand three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Adding the daily accumulation from the plane and previous savings—

The Spirit Stones in the Storage Pouch had steadily exceeded seventeen thousand, far surpassing the ten thousand required for the plane upgrade.

"It is time."

Lin Yue took a deep breath and immersed his consciousness into the space that had accompanied him for so long.

[ruined plane (Rank: 4)]

[Spiritual Qi Concentration: 34 (External ordinary environment is 1)]

[spirit soil Area: 100 square meters (Including 50 square meters of mid-tier spiritual field and 50 square meters of low-tier spiritual field)]

[New Features: Spirit Spring (Produces 10 liters of spirit spring water daily);]

Mineral Veins: companion spirit iron ore vein (Produces 25 catties daily), Low-Tier Spirit Stone Vein (Produces 10 stones daily)]

[Status: Stable (Upgradable, requires 10,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones or equivalent spiritual materials)]

The "Upgrade" button on the panel glowed with a soft white light, as if calling out silently.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yue lightly tapped in the Void Realm—

He did not invest all the Spirit Stones; instead, he precisely selected five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Just as the philosophy he always upheld, one should always leave room for maneuver. The Family's Foundation needed to be steadily fortified, and the growth of the plane was no different.

Five thousand Spirit Stones transformed into a brilliant stream of light, instantly surging into the core of the plane.

In the next second, the entire space began to vibrate violently. The soil of the spiritual fields rustled, and crystalline Spiritual Qi erupted from the fissures in the Mineral Veins—

The Spirit Spring even surged into small waves, as if the entire world were cheering.

Lin Yue felt his consciousness wrapped in a warm power. Before his eyes were no longer the familiar spiritual fields and Mineral Veins, but a halo of Chaos.

He seemed to hear the crackling of plants growing, the tinkling of spring water flowing, and the heavy echoes of Ores being nurtured deep underground. These sounds intertwined like a song of rebirth.

The vibration lasted for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn before gradually subsiding.

When the halo dissipated and Lin Yue opened his eyes, he was stunned.

The plane that was once confined to a narrow space had now transformed into the prototype of a vast continent.

With a thought, his consciousness covered the entire area—

It stretched about three li from east to west and nearly four li from north to south, with a total area of exactly ten square kilometers, more than a hundred times larger than the previous plane.

The outline of the continent was irregular, with faint mists of Chaos still lingering at the edges, like undried ink marks.

The surface was no longer flat blocks of spirit soil, but had undulating gentle slopes and shallow valleys. The soil appeared a warm brownish-gold—

Looking closely, one could see that the original mid-tier spiritual field and low-tier spiritual field had merged into the earth, becoming a fertile plain in the eastern part of the continent. The Spiritual Qi flowing through the soil was several times denser than before.

What surprised him even more was the change in the Spirit Spring.

The spring eye, which was originally only about a zhang wide, had now turned into a winding Spirit River. It originated from a valley in the northern part of the continent, flowed all the way south, and passed through the spiritual field plain—

Finally, it flowed into a shallow lake in the south. The river water was crystal clear, shimmering with crystalline spiritual light. Scooping up a handful—

One could feel that the Spiritual Qi contained within was more than three times richer than the previous spirit spring water, and it also held a trace of gentle power that nourished the Divine Soul.

"Spirit River..."

Lin Yue murmured softly, turning his gaze toward the Mineral Vein area on the western side of the continent.

The changes there were equally astonishing.

The companion spirit iron ore vein and Low-Tier Spirit Stone Vein were no longer isolated rock fissures but had transformed into two long Dragon Mineral Veins coiled underground—

Silver and crystalline white glimmers flickered beneath the rock layers, like the blood vessels of the earth.

He could clearly perceive that the daily production of the companion spirit iron ore had quietly increased to forty catties—

The Spirit Stone Mineral Vein could produce fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones daily, occasionally mixed with one or two Mid-Grade Spirit Stones—this was proof that the Mineral Vein's Origin had been nourished.

Just as he was marveling at these changes, a faint throb suddenly came from the center of the continent.

Lin Yue looked in the direction of the sensation and saw a sapling sprout out of thin air on a flat piece of open ground.

The sapling was about half a foot tall, its stem a pale gold, topped with two tender green leaves. The leaves were covered with fine silver lines, resembling natural formation patterns.

The most peculiar thing was its roots, which were not planted in the soil but were slightly suspended above the ground—

Faintly connected to the surrounding mists of Chaos. With every breath, it drew a trace of extremely faint Spiritual Qi from the mist and merged it into itself.

"This is..."

Lin Yue approached to observe. As his fingertip just touched the leaves of the sapling, the plane panel automatically popped up, updating with brand-new information:

[Primary Grotto-Heaven (Rank: 5)]

[Spiritual Qi Concentration: 80 (External ordinary environment is 1)]

[Grotto-Heaven Continent: Newly Formed (Area: 10 square kilometers)]

[Spiritual Field: Merged into the eastern plain of the continent (Spiritual Qi concentration increased to 2 times that of the original mid-tier spiritual field)]

[Spirit River: Daily production of 100 liters of spirit river water (Spiritual Qi content is 3 times that of the original spirit spring water, can nourish the Divine Soul)]

[Mineral Veins: companion spirit iron ore vein (Daily production 40 catties, quality improved to Medium Grade Peak);]

Mid-Tier Spirit Stone Vein (Daily production 15 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, 5% probability of producing Mid-Grade Spirit Stones)]

[Core Lifeform: world tree sapling (Contains World Origin power, daily draws trace amounts of Spiritual Qi from the Chaos Void Realm, slowly expanding the continent's area)]

[Chaos Spirit Absorption: Led by the world tree sapling, daily converts 10 points of Chaos Spiritual Qi (Can be used to upgrade facilities such as spiritual fields, Spirit Rivers, and Mineral Veins within the Grotto-Heaven)]

[Status: Stable (Requires continuous nourishment of the world tree sapling to accelerate the growth of the Grotto-Heaven)]

Lin Yue's gaze froze on the words "world tree sapling."

The annotations on the panel showed that this sapling was the core of the Grotto-Heaven upgrade. It could not only autonomously draw Spiritual Qi from Chaos—

Its root system would also continuously extend as it grew, subtly expanding the continent's area—

At this moment, he could see that the soil around the sapling was extending outward at a speed difficult for the naked eye to discern—

Every hour, the edge of the continent would push outward by an inch or so.

"So that's how it is..."

He suddenly understood.

The "Chaos Spirit Absorption" he had previously envisioned was not an independent function, but existed by relying on the world tree sapling.

This sapling was like the heart of the Grotto-Heaven, serving as both the hub for Spiritual Qi conversion and the Foundation for the continent's growth.

He tried injecting a trace of spiritual power into the world tree sapling. The sapling's leaves immediately swayed gently—

The silver formation patterns lit up, and the speed of drawing Spiritual Qi from the mists of Chaos seemed to quicken slightly.

The "Chaos Spiritual Qi Conversion Points" on the panel was originally 10 points; at this moment, it ticked up to 10.5 points.

"It seems that nourishing it with Spiritual Qi can accelerate its growth."

Lin Yue made a plan and turned his attention back to the mists of Chaos.

The edge of the Grotto-Heaven was not a solid entity, but a flowing, gray mist, which was the unconverted Chaos Spiritual Qi.

The Spiritual Qi drawn by the world tree sapling came from here, and as the sapling grew, these mists of Chaos would gradually be converted into part of the Grotto-Heaven, causing the continent's area to expand continuously.

He reached out his hand through the mist and could feel that the outside was a void, yet it contained vast, uncultivated energy. However, with his current cultivation, he could not yet utilize it directly.

"One step at a time."

Lin Yue withdrew his consciousness and began to meticulously investigate every corner of the Grotto-Heaven.

On the spiritual field plain, the purple leaf orchid seeds he had planted before had sprouted, growing vigorously under the irrigation of the Spirit River;

In the shallow lake of the Spirit River, some transparent spirit shrimps had appeared at some point, feeding on the Spiritual Qi in the water;

On the gentle slope above the Mineral Vein, several clumps of never-before-seen Spiritual Plants had grown. Their leaves shimmered with a metallic luster, perhaps related to the companion spirit iron ore vein.

He even discovered that the night sky of the continent had changed.

It was no longer a void, but dotted with dozens of faint stars. The starlight falling upon the earth could actually slowly nourish the growth of the Spiritual Plants.

"This is a true 'world'."

Lin Yue felt emotional. From the initial ruined plane to the current Primary Grotto-Heaven, was the growth of this space not a miniature reflection of the Lin Family's development?

He again called up the panel, looking at the various data on it, and did not immediately use the Chaos Spiritual Qi conversion points to upgrade the facilities.

The world tree sapling could bring stable growth every day. The output of the spiritual fields and Mineral Veins could already meet the Family's needs at this stage; upgrading them rashly might instead break the balance.

Just as the Four Symbols Maze Array needed time to fuse with the Spiritual Qi of the spiritual fields, this Primary Grotto-Heaven also needed time to settle.

Letting the world tree sapling grow slowly, letting the Spirit River and the land fully intermingle, and letting the Mineral Veins take firm root deep in the earth... these subtle changes were more important than simply increasing the numbers on the panel.

When he exited the Grotto-Heaven, the horizon was already turning pale. Lin Yue pushed open the ancestral hall doors, and the morning breeze, carrying the fragrance of the spiritual fields, brushed against his face—

The light green mist of the Four Symbols Maze Array flowed in the morning light, enveloping Sunset Town like a fairyland.

In the direction of the spiritual fields not far away, Lin De was leading the clansmen in watering the profound ice grass.

After the Spirit Gathering of the Formation and a night of growth, the profound ice grass had grown another half-inch. The white frost on the edges of the leaves reflected tiny points of light in the sunlight, faintly echoing the scenes on the Grotto-Heaven's spiritual field plain.

"Clan Chief, look at this profound ice grass. It was only half a foot tall yesterday, but this morning it's almost a foot tall!"

Seeing him, Lin De waved excitedly. "After watering it with spirit spring water, the Spiritual Qi is so thick it's almost condensing into dew!"

Lin Yue stepped forward and brushed his fingertips over the leaves of the profound ice grass, sensing that the Spiritual Qi within was indeed much purer than yesterday.

He understood in his heart that after the Grotto-Heaven upgrade, the Spiritual Qi of the Spirit River was even richer. When used to irrigate the external spiritual fields, the effect naturally improved.

"Second Elder, starting today, when watering with spirit spring water, try mixing in thirty percent ordinary well water."

He instructed, "The Spiritual Plants are growing too fast, and their Foundations can easily become unstable. We must proceed gradually."

"Yes, Clan Chief."

Although Lin De was somewhat puzzled, he still took it to heart seriously.

Lin Yue then walked toward the Artifact Refining Workshop.

Lin Shi was repeatedly examining a newly forged dagger. The blade shimmered with a faint silver light; it was crafted from purified companion spirit iron ore.

Seeing Lin Yue's arrival, he hurriedly handed it over: "Clan Chief, look at this silver-patterned dagger. Its sharpness is thirty percent higher than an ordinary iron sword, and it can even slightly amplify spiritual power!"

Lin Yue took the dagger and injected spiritual power. The blade immediately lit up with silver patterns; it was indeed much more spiritually active than previous Magical Artifacts.

He nodded: "Not bad. First, equip every member of the Guard Team with one to test its effectiveness in actual combat."

Having arranged the Family's affairs, Lin Yue returned to his study.

He took out a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone—

This was the first Mid-Grade Spirit Stone produced by the Grotto-Heaven's Mineral Vein this morning. Holding it in his hand, he could feel the steady Spiritual Qi within.

Outside the window, the world tree sapling was growing quietly in the center of the Grotto-Heaven Continent. With every breath, it drew power from Chaos, pushing that ten-square-kilometer land to expand slowly.

And on the spiritual fields of Sunset Town, the profound ice grass grew steadily under the nourishment of the spirit river water. Within the mist of the Four Symbols Maze Array, Spiritual Qi and the scent of incense intertwined and flowed.

Lin Yue put away the Mid-Grade Spirit Stone, his heart filled with tranquility.

The appearance of the Primary Grotto-Heaven was not an end, but a new beginning.

Just as the world tree sapling needed to take root in Chaos to thrive, the Lin Family also had to use Sunset Town as its Foundation, relying on the gifts of the Grotto-Heaven to extend outward step by step.

He picked up the scroll of the "Four Symbols Maze Array" diagram and suddenly thought:

Perhaps soaking the Formation materials in the water of the Grotto-Heaven's Spirit River could increase the power of the Formation by a few more points?

As soon as this thought arose, he smiled. No rush, there was plenty of time to try.

Sunlight passed through the window lattice, falling on the Ore specimen on the desk—

Those were fragments of companion ore crystals. After being nourished by the Grotto-Heaven's Mineral Veins, the golden patterns on the fragments became increasingly clear.

Lin Yue looked at the fragments, as if seeing the slowly flowing mists of Chaos at the edge of the Grotto-Heaven Continent, and the determined breathing of the world tree sapling.

The road belonging to the Lin Family was still very long.

But as long as it was like this Primary Grotto-Heaven—firmly rooted and growing steadily—one day, Sunset Town would become the most dazzling star on this continent.