285: Gathering clues

A month after recruiting his army, Chen Tianming began leading his mercenaries deep into the snowy mountains.

After opening the rift, the mercenaries realized they had arrived in a unique world.

The task Chen Tianming gave them was different from previous battles.

This time, Chen Tianming instructed them to scatter throughout this world, establish their presence, and begin training their troops.

Chen Tianming's request left many mercenaries bewildered.

Usually, hiring mercenaries meant jobs where death was a constant possibility.

Rescuing hostages was considered a good job.

They had never heard of an employer gathering a group of mercenaries and telling them that emptying their guns and finishing the food in their backpacks counted as completing the mission!

But Chen Tianming actually did just that.

After the mercenaries arrived at the front lines and separated into formations,

Chen Tianming's supplies were continuously transported.

Huge heavy trucks delivered tons of ammunition, clothing, and provisions to the camp.

Chen Tianming had only one requirement for these mercenaries:

Maintain all local stability, resolving major issues into minor ones and minor issues into nothing.

If conflicts truly became incessant, they were to use their own mercenary supplies to quell the disputes.

Unexpectedly, in just over ten days, these mercenaries actually began cooperating with the people of the Small World.

Chen Tianming brought the latest examination system to the Small World.

These unruly people, who were like primitives, suddenly experienced an evolution!

All examinations were open and transparent, and with the help of the mercenaries, order remained stable for several days.

Finally, Chen Tianming selected a group of officials who truly had ideals and ambitions.

Their abilities aside, at least the situation in the Small World had stabilized.

After settling matters in the Small World, Chen Tianming returned home.

After three days and three nights of continuous interrogation, he finally extracted the secret of restoring the Small World from the Fire Kirin.

The Small World and the Source World are like a cake with a piece cut out.

To fully restore the cake, you must first cut the cake pieces and align them perfectly with the original cake, without any angle difference, and then use cream to cover the entire gap.

That is spiritual energy.

Chen Tianming was not worried about spiritual energy.

Even if the power in his body wasn't enough, he could find a way to convert it.

The problem now was how to align the Small World with the Source World.

Who knew how far apart the true cultivation world and the Small World were, or where they were located.

Perhaps it was another dimension of time, or it had already been destroyed.

Just then, the Fire Kirin suddenly became alert, and layers of spiritual energy flames began to erupt around its body.

Chen Tianming continuously tried to comfort it, but no matter how intelligent the Fire Kirin was, it was still a demonic beast transformed into a god and simply wouldn't obey commands.

In his helplessness, Chen Tianming had no choice but to raise his hand and give the Fire Kirin a big slap.

Perhaps it was because Chen Tianming's slaps, after understanding what the Fire Kirin was thinking, were too powerful.

Both times, Chen Tianming had subdued the Fire Kirin with a slap.

The Fire Kirin regained consciousness, but an inexplicable trace of fear appeared in its eyes.

This ancient divine beast,

even when facing a villain like Chen Tianming, had never hesitated.

Yet at this moment, it revealed a look of fear.

Chen Tianming couldn't help but ask,

“What’s wrong? Is there anything in this world that frightens you?”

The Fire Kirin violently shook its ferocious head.

“No, I’m not afraid, I just don’t understand… What is this place, why, why can I feel various powers constantly mixing, but… I can’t feel even a tiny bit of spiritual energy?”

So that was what the Fire Kirin was afraid of.

It was an ancient divine beast, a primordial spiritual body, and its life was sustained by spiritual energy, but in the Chaos World,

although energy was present everywhere, the existence of spiritual energy was very scarce.

After understanding what the Fire Kirin was thinking, Chen Tianming also smiled and comforted him.

“You don’t need to worry too much! As long as we find a way for the Small World to return to its origin, I can let you return to your own Xuanhuan World!”

Upon hearing this, the Fire Kirin felt a rare touch of emotion.

“Are you serious? You can let me return to the Source World?”

Chen Tianming nodded seriously.

“So, you must tell me everything you know!”

The Fire Kirin closed its eyes, shaking its head from side to side.

After a long thought, it finally replied,

“There is only one way! Go back to the Small World and discover the method to return to the Source World from there!”

The Fire Kirin gave an example.

“The changes in human history will definitely leave traces, and your Xuanyuan Sword is one of them. The Small World was originally separated from the Xuanhuan World, and there might be other ancient remnants inside. You can go look for them!”

Chen Tianming felt that the Fire Kirin’s statement made some sense.

So, after briefly settling his family, he immediately took the Frostfang Saber-toothed Tiger and returned to the Small World.

Upon arriving in the Small World, Chen Tianming immediately began recruiting soldiers!

At this time, the Small World was no longer what it used to be.

Everyone knew that to get by in the Small World, one had to go through layers of strict selection and examinations.

All the residents also abided by this rule.

However, this time, Chen Tianming was in a hurry and required no selection or examination.

Anyone who felt they had ability or clues could save their life.

One stone stirred up a thousand ripples.

Those who had been selected after rigorous examinations were immediately displeased.

“Why! We studied so hard and finally got a satisfactory job, why can just anyone work?”

Chen Tianming sneered.

“You can also go, I didn’t say I was stopping you!”

“This time, I’m here to select people to search for ancient ruins in the Small World. If you want to participate, sign up quickly!”

Those who were causing trouble froze on the spot. Then, some pretended to be passing by, while others looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle and whistled.

A small number scratched their heads and apologized, claiming they had no ability.

The people who had originally signed up vanished in an instant!

Chen Tianming couldn't help but shake his head and sneer.

He immediately announced loudly in public,

“Those willing to participate will be immediately rewarded with one thousand spiritual stones! Those who provide effective clues will be rewarded with five thousand spiritual stones! Those who follow me to find the ancient ruins will be rewarded with ten thousand!!”

Chen Tianming’s words were impactful.

Immediately, the bustling crowd once again reached a climax.

A swarm of people rushed in, eager to raise their hands.

“I’ll participate!”

“I have a clue! My ancestors had an ancient book!”

Chen Tianming immediately ordered the mercenaries to maintain order.

At the same time, he immediately dispatched advanced instruments from outside to investigate the ruins.

Just by participating, one would receive a thousand spiritual stones, enough for an ordinary mortal's living expenses for a lifetime.

Cultivators could even rapidly increase their strength with these spiritual stones.

Five thousand spiritual stones would allow one's strength to soar, establishing a sect, and ordinary people would instantly become wealthy.

However, how would ordinary people know clues about ancient ruins?