After leaving the Northern Sea Dragon Palace, Jiang Yun flew straight towards the Northern Region Frozen Plains.
A cold wind howled from the North Sea, whipping up a sky full of ice and snow.
The Frozen Plains, true to its name, are frozen year-round, a vast expanse of white snow.
The extreme cold condensed into frost, even freezing spiritual energy, turning it into tiny ice crystals that floated in the air, refracting a rainbow of colors under the sunlight.
However, when Jiang Yun arrived at the heart of the Frozen Plains, the scene before him took him slightly by surprise.
Along the way, all that had passed was a desolate ice plain. But now, ahead of us stood ice crystal palaces, crystal clear and translucent, as if cast from glass, shimmering under the starlight.
Outside the palace, a pale blue light curtain enveloped an area of a thousand miles, keeping out the raging cold winds. Inside, the spiritual energy was abundant, forming a Spirit Land suitable for cultivation!
"How long has it been? The Three Xiao have already established themselves here and Spirit Land Construction to this extent?" Jiang Yun thought to himself with admiration. He flashed and landed inside the light curtain.
The Frozen Plains Spirit Land, the Ice Plains Crystal Palace.
Inside the main hall, Yunxiao was holding an array plate, discussing the details of Jieyin Star Power with the Three Star Lords; Qiongxiao was directing the cultivators brought from Spirit Bamboo Mountain to transport Spirit Materials and set up Formations; Bixiao was the most active, standing on a huge piece of Mystic Ice, hands on her hips, directing a group of Ice Crystal Puppet to dig out the Earth Veins.
"Dig three more zhang! Yes, that's it! Draw out the Earthly Fiend Qi, and our 'Cold Soul Spirit Gathering Array' will be just one step away from completion!" Bixiao's clear and loud voice echoed across the icy plain.
Jiang Yun appeared quietly behind her and said with a smile, "Bixiao, the way you're giving orders is just like a great general."
Bixiao turned around abruptly and saw Jiang Yun. Her eyes lit up immediately. "Senior Brother! What brings you here?"
Yunxiao and Qiongxiao rushed over upon hearing the commotion, all three of them beaming with undisguised joy.
"Senior Brother, what do you think of our Spirit Land Construction?" Qiongxiao pointed around, her tone tinged with pride.
Jiang Yun looked around and nodded approvingly. "Not bad, much faster than I expected."
Yunxiao smiled slightly and explained, "Thanks to the Three Star Lords of the Star Academy — Kui Mulang, Lou Jingou, and Wei Tuchi —their efficiency in Jieyin Star Power is extremely high. Although the Frozen Plains are extremely cold, the Star Power is unaffected. After some effort in the early stages, we repaired the Earth Veins in this large area and slowly nurtured it using Formations such as the Earth Vein Spirit Infusion Array. Then, we set up the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation, using the Jieyin -in Star Power as a foundation, and began to create a spiritual Earth Spirit veins in the core area."
Jiang Yun looked at the Three Star Lords and bowed in greeting. "Thank you for your trouble."
Kui Mulang Star Lord quickly returned the greeting. "Daoist Friend Jiang Yun, you are too kind. This is simply our duty."
The three of them had already accumulated some Merit while helping to repair the Earth Veins. Although the environment here was somewhat harsh, they didn't feel it was a hard job; on the contrary, they were full of enthusiasm.
The Spirit Land Construction in the Frozen Plains is on track. With the manpower brought, all the halls of the Office have been built. The next step is the most crucial one - opening the Star Gate. Once the Star Gate is opened, it will be easier to allocate manpower and resources. The Frozen Plains is indeed too cold, and the population is far from that of the Spirit Bamboo Mountain Earthly Realm!
Yunxiao took out the Star Gate Formation Disk, and the others followed her to the core of the Formations in the center of the Spirit Land.
The Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation has been set up here, with a huge "Ice Spirit Crystal" embedded at the array's core Star Power and icy energy flow within the crystal, making it appear exceptionally beautiful.
"The Star Gate Formation Disk needs to be connected to the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation, using Star Power as its energy source, in order to operate stably," Jiang Yun instructed Yunxiao from the side, sharing some of his experience with her.
Yunxiao is exceptionally talented in the art of Formations. She had seen Jiang Yun operate it before at Spirit Bamboo Mountain. She placed the array plate at the core of the Formations, made a hand seal with her fingertips, and a wisp of Magical Power surged from her palm and poured into the array plate.
In an instant, the Star Track Patterns on the array plate lit up one by one, intertwining with the Star Power network of the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation.
"Buzz--"
The void trembled, and a dazzling starlight shot up from the array plate, soaring into the Yunxiao and echoing the Circulating Stars. Then, the starlight condensed above the Frozen Plains, slowly transforming into the outline of a phantom portal—the prototype of the Star Gate!
After the Star Gate were formed, she inscribed the spatial locations of several other Star Gate onto the array plate, then sank the array plate into the ground, concealing the strange phenomena of the array Formations.
"Big sister succeeded!" Bixiao excitedly tugged at Qiongxiao's sleeve.
However, the Star Gate trembled slightly as soon as it took shape, as if it were somewhat unstable.
"The extreme cold of the Frozen Plains is interfering with the spatial fluctuations." Jiang Yun frowned slightly, then raised his hand and drew more Star Power from the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation, continuously injecting it into the Star Gate Formation Disk.
The Star Track Patterns on the array plate became increasingly brilliant, and starlight surged in like a tide, causing the Star Gate to gradually solidify and eventually become completely stable.
"The Star Gate is complete!" Jiang Yun nodded in satisfaction. "Junior Sister, why don't you try it out and see how it works?"
Yunxiao took out her Protective Jade Talisman, lit up the coordinates of Spirit Bamboo Mountain, activated the Star Gate, and stepped inside. She passed through the Star Gate and instantly arrived at Spirit Bamboo Mountain, only to be teleported back a moment later.
"Star Gate Teleportation is indeed convenient!" Yunxiao exclaimed sincerely.
With the opening of the Star Gate, the Frozen Plains officially became a member of the Star Gate Network, and will be able to connect with other Spirit Land Node of the Western Teachings, making the exchange of resources, information, and personnel much more convenient.
After the Star Gate was completed, Jiang Yun looked at the Three Xiao and noticed that their mental state was somewhat different from before.
This Spirit Land was built from scratch by them, and now that the Star Gate is complete, the next step is to systematically expand their sphere of influence.
Having gone through these experiences, all three of them have shed some of their naivety.
Yunxiao's gaze hardened; as the person in charge of the Frozen Plains, she seemed to have shouldered some kind of mission.
Qiongxiao was originally a steady person, and now she looked even more composed, clearly having grown a lot in the process of building the Spirit Land.
Although Bixiao was still lively, she had lost some of her playfulness, and the construction process had unconsciously given her a greater sense of responsibility.
"You've done a great job," Jiang Yun said with satisfaction. "The Frozen Plains have grown from nothing to a considerable size, and that's all thanks to you."
Yunxiao shook his head and said softly, "Senior Brother, we were just doing our duty."
What truly moved me was... witnessing this barren land come alive through our efforts; that feeling...
She paused, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. "The Western Land have been shattered for far too long. As Primordial World Living Beings, we should do something."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's heart stirred.
This is exactly the effect he wanted: only by having disciples personally participate in the construction can they truly understand the ideals of Western Teachings, rather than just talking about Great Vow and great compassion.
I am pleased that you recognize this.
When I was born in Spirit Bamboo Valley, hundreds and thousands of years have passed. Looking around at the surrounding land, it remains unchanged, full of desolation and ruin. It was after seeing this scene so much that I had some insights and wanted to do something for this land.
The reason we asked you to leave the mountains and build Spirit Land is that we hope you can gain some insights from it and truly understand the doctrines of our Western Teachings.
After staying in the Frozen Plains for a few more years and helping them sort out the work progress, Jiang Yun decided to set off to conduct rotational inspections and provide guidance to the Spirit Land Node under the responsibility of his fellow disciples.
Before leaving, he instructed the Three Xiao: "The Spirit Land of the Frozen Plains is on the right track. Now we just need to expand according to the plan."
I have already been to the Northern Sea Dragon Palace and talked to the old Dragon King about things here. I also asked him to take good care of you. The Dragon Palace should send a lot of people to help you build the Spirit Land. If you need anything, you can tell the Dragon King. Don't be shy, I will take care of everything for you.
If you encounter any difficult problems, you can also contact me through the Star Gate.
Bixiao waved with a grin. "Don't worry, Senior Brother! With us here, the Frozen Plains will surely prosper!"
Jiang Yun chuckled, then said to the Three Star Lords, "Three Star Lords, I entrust the Jieyin the Star Power of the Frozen Plains to you."
Kui Mulang cupped his hands in greeting. "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, we will certainly not fail your trust."
After leaving the Frozen Plains, Jiang Yun transformed into an Evasion Light and flew towards the Eastern Hurricane Plains.
"Next, let's go check on Junior Brother Gongming's progress..."
The Starfire have been ignited on the Frozen Plains, and the curtain has officially been raised on the revival of the Western Land!