Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1403 - 1353: Planting the Seed

"However, Zichuan, have you considered that it took Wen He half a year to come up with such a small toy, and to reach the level you’re talking about..." Li Youu calmly poured a bucket of cold water on the two of them, successfully sobering them up.

"I never said we had to come up with it right now. As long as there is a beginning and a direction, anything can be continuously researched, and Wen He’s creation is just that." Chen Xi also came back to his senses, feeling slightly embarrassed about his previous behavior.

"But what is the principle behind this thing?" Chen Xi finally reached the most crucial core point after coming to his senses.

"Spiritual capacity plus Heaven and Earth Essence, isn’t this just a formation?" Li Youu said irritably, as for a master of formations like him, this was no challenge at all, "Moreover, this is the Eight Gates Heavenly Lock Wen He tricked out of me."

"It’s just a different method. Previously, it mobilized Heaven and Earth Essence to form a closed environment for enhancing soldiers internally. Now it’s reversed, letting the Heaven and Earth Essence flow to drive this contraption." Li Youu saw through the essence of this thing at a glance. After all, he was the one who researched the formation.

"I completely don’t understand." Chen Xi said, pulling at his mouth.

"That’s not right, you yourself can create formations with the required attributes, so how could you not understand such a thing?" Li Youu felt a bit confused.

It was known that Chen Xi had customized a formation for Zhao Yun, so Li Youu always assumed Chen Xi had a high level of skill in formations. But now, Chen Xi was telling him he didn’t understand.

"Huh? Isn’t the essence of a formation based on utilizing Heaven and Earth Essence and Inner Qi dissipated by soldiers to form Cloud Qi, creating the desired effect through a fixed circulation method?" Chen Xi questioned.

"Exactly." Li Youu nodded.

"But this thing has no Inner Qi." Chen Xi looked at Li Youu with confusion.

"..." Li Youu pinched his forehead. "Is this essentially designed by mimicking how an Inner Qi Manifestation General uses Heaven and Earth Essence?"

"What is that?" Jia Xu only reacted at this point. Without Inner Qi, Cloud Qi couldn’t form, and without Cloud Qi, there shouldn’t be any effect, yet the current situation is...

"Heaven and Earth Essence doesn’t need to form Cloud Qi to be used. For ordinary people, this is a technique for killing, but for a dead object like this, it’s essentially a form of nurturing," Chen Xi said, stroking his chin, realizing he might have discovered some fundamental truths.

"If we say Heaven and Earth Essence is also a form of nurturing..." Jia Xu had a strange expression. "That would imply that essentially, Heaven and Earth Essence is Inner Qi without personal attributes or a personal will."

"Cloud Qi can be used by ordinary military generals, and its essence is a mix of Inner Qi and Heaven and Earth Essence. This also explains why generals using Cloud Qi and achieving Qi Refining to Gang can perform those Inner Qi Manifestation techniques. No wonder I’ve always felt Legion Attack is quite similar..." Chen Xi sat down slowly and said. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Considering what we know now, Inner Qi Manifestation is essentially adapting to and utilizing Heaven and Earth Essence. Hence, when using Legion Attack, the process is equivalent to Inner Qi Separation during Qi Refining to Gang..." Li Youu also took a seat and said.

"The biggest difference between Qi Refining to Gang and Inner Qi Manifestation should be the will. Breaking through Qi Refining to Gang to Inner Qi Manifestation and using Heaven and Earth Essence is probably due to one’s will directly controlling Heaven and Earth Essence," Jia Xu said, sitting down and looking at his miniature water wheel.

"Essentially, Heaven and Earth Essence would damage the mortal body, but Inner Qi Separation, due to that will, organizes the Heaven and Earth Essence, allowing the body to gradually strengthen amid the destruction and recovery. That’s probably the explanation," Chen Xi said slowly, pressing his temples as he laid out the facts.

"That’s likely how it is. I bet even those Inner Qi Manifestation Generals wouldn’t detail it more finely than this." Li Youu said with a wry smile. "Let’s continue discussing this water wheel. Although its current significance isn’t large, if researched to Zichuan’s described level, it will prove immensely significant in the future."

"The biggest problem with this device currently is that it can only drive something of this size." Jia Xu said helplessly, "This is the largest water wheel it can drive at present. Anything larger is immovable."

"That’s why it requires ongoing research. Even one relic from Kushan could represent one-tenth of their national fortune. If this thing is perfected, it will definitely become the nation’s cornerstone treasure of fortune." Chen Xi said with a smile, "As for whether it takes time, we can pass it through one or two generations for secret study."

"That’s fine." Jia Xu nodded, "I’ll help when I can, and when I can’t, I’ll leave it to others. As for which Grand Craftsman I want, you just assign them to me."

"That won’t be a problem, though the only ones who can assist you might be someone at the level of Duke Wen or Miss Huang. Others won’t be able to help unless they can perceive Spiritual Capacity." Chen Xi nodded, agreeing to Jia Xu’s request.

"We’ll find a way in the future to see if it’s possible for ordinary people to use this. Otherwise, its significance would be greatly diminished." Chen Xi sighed.

"I’ll think of something when the time comes, but don’t hold too much hope." Jia Xu sighed, "This thing was an unintended product. Although we later figured out what was happening, enabling ordinary people to use it is mostly hindered by the matter of externalizing spiritual capacity, which most people can’t overcome."

"So, let’s try our best. If everyone can use it, the development would speed up greatly. If we ever reach a point where manpower is no longer needed to sail ships, and your creation can carry vessels, then we won’t be far from a true empire." Chen Xi said solemnly.

Jia Xu and Li Youu exchanged glances and both questioned, "A true empire?"

"Yes, a true empire. Once we achieve that, manpower can be liberated from the land, grain will no longer be an issue, and true prosperity will emerge." Chen Xi nodded and said, "The empires of this era can probably only be regarded as primary empires."

"It really is inspiring." Jia Xu said after a moment of silence, "Having such a goal is good. Honestly, Zichuan, I’m genuinely impressed. The visions you’ve painted for each of us give us something to look forward to."

"You speak as if you haven’t already tasted those visions, but if it were truly unattainable, you wouldn’t be putting such faith in me." Chen Xi said with a chuckle, "The North’s five hundred million acres of land, the personnel registration for development is handed over to Wen Ru."

"This is the best opportunity to assess the manpower and resources of the aristocratic families, as well as the best chance to manage the aristocratic families. The new household registration depends on you, Wen Ru." Chen Xi turned to Li Youu and instructed, as it would have been most suitable for him to handle this task, but now he could only leave it to Li Youu.