Will Spiritual Veins Run Dry?

Su Miao's sudden question was like a small stone dropped into a deep pool, sending ripples through the hearts of the Three Pure Ones.

Could Kunlun's Spiritual Vein run dry?

Tongtian's hearty smile froze slightly.

He had been born here and raised here; he had never considered such a question.

Kunlun Mountain was the Ancestor of All Mountains, formed from Pangu's spine.

Its Spiritual Vein was so vast and mighty that few in heaven and earth could compare. Spiritual Qi regenerated at a rate beyond imagination—how could it possibly run dry?

That was what he instinctively wanted to say.

Yet before the words left his mouth, he stopped.

Because in his Little Disciple's clear eyes, he saw not merely innocent curiosity, but a trace of worry.

It was especially abrupt, yet strangely impossible to ignore.

How had this little one even thought of that?

Yuanshi's clear gaze fell upon Su Miao, carrying scrutiny and deeper contemplation.

He was accustomed to divining heavenly secrets, maintaining Order, and considering the workings of heaven and earth and the balance of Rules.

Su Miao's question seemed like needless worry,

yet it faintly touched upon the concepts of cycles and limits.

The Prehistoric World was vast, and its Spiritual Veins immense, seemingly inexhaustible—but what if they were truly exploited without restraint?

Cultivators were steadily increasing in number, while the consumption of Great Experts was even more terrifying...

Could the rise of Tribulations be related to this as well?

After pondering for a moment, he did not directly deny it. Instead, he answered with a more rigorous attitude.

"Heaven and earth's Spiritual Veins have their own laws of operation, endlessly renewing themselves.

"Yet excessive extraction can indeed harm their origins,

causing the spiritual vitality of a region to decline, requiring long years to recover.

"Kunlun is the core of an ancestral vein, with profound foundations.

It is unlike ordinary lands, so there is no need to fear depletion.

"But... using them with caution and using them well is also part of the Dao."

His explanation was as mild as possible, but since it involved Dao Rules, his words naturally carried a certain solemnity.

Su Miao only understood half of it, but her little brows relaxed somewhat.

Oh, so the reserves were enormous, but not truly infinite.

They still had to conserve it and develop sustainably.

Got it!

Seeing the atmosphere grow overly serious, Tongtian quickly burst into laughter and broke the silence.

"Hey, why is that little head thinking so far ahead?

"If the sky falls, your Masters will hold it up!

"Don't worry, there's enough for you to use for tens of thousands of Eons!"

As he spoke, his hands itched again, and he rubbed Su Miao's hair, making her already slightly curly soft locks even fluffier and messier.

Su Miao's little head swayed from the rubbing, and her attention was indeed diverted.

She puffed out her cheeks and decided to ask something more practical.

She pointed at the Sun Star on the horizon, radiating boundless light as it eternally traversed the sky.

"Master, the Sun Star... it's so big and so heavy. Why doesn't it fall down from up there?"

Did gravity not apply in the Prehistoric World? Or was there some kind of super orbital mechanics?

"Pfft—"

This time, Tongtian truly could not hold it in and laughed aloud.

"Fall down? Hahaha! If it fell, the Prehistoric World would be roasted!"

The corner of Yuanshi's lips seemed to twitch almost imperceptibly.

He tried to explain.

"The movement of the Stars all follows the trajectories of the Heavenly Dao Laws.

"The Sun Star has its own path through the heavens, cycling endlessly. It does not simply float there without support..."

He cited principles and doctrines, attempting to explain the Rule Power governing stellar motion and the sustaining of the Heavenly Dao's network.

Su Miao: I don't understand...

Say something I can understand!

So there's an invisible orbit?

Or some kind of super magnetic levitation?

Without even lifting his eyelids, Laozi simply let out one faint remark.

"Because it belongs there."

Su Miao: "..."

All right, the ultimate answer.

What exists is reasonable.

She pointed again at the Moon Star, which was gradually becoming clearer in the night sky.

"Then why is the moon sometimes round, like a big platter, and sometimes curved, like a little boat? Did someone bend it?"

Phases of the moon! She understood that!

But what was the Prehistoric World version of the principle?

Tongtian laughed so hard he could barely contain himself, finding his Little Disciple's comparison immensely amusing.

"Bent? Hahaha! Yes, yes, maybe some mischievous Great Expert bent it for fun!"

Yuanshi shot Tongtian a disapproving glance, then patiently explained.

"This is caused by changes in the relative positions of the Moon Star, the Sun Star, and the lands of the Prehistoric World. Light and shadow intertwine, revealing different shapes; its true form does not actually change..."

He began explaining the principles of light and shadow and the angular relationships of the celestial cycle.

Su Miao: Oh...

So it was still an optical phenomenon, plus revolution and rotation? The principle was pretty much the same!

Looks like basic physical laws were still somewhat useful.

Laozi was once again concise.

"You see its shadow, not its whole form."

The flight continued, and the scenery below constantly changed.

Su Miao's questions grew more numerous, and her angles became increasingly tricky.

Some were childish enough to make one laugh, while others were like arrows loosed without intent, striking precisely at the target of the Great Dao's utmost simplicity.

She often used her limited scientific knowledge and life experience from Blue Star to understand the mysteries of the Prehistoric World.

The conclusions and metaphors she came up with often made Tongtian roar with laughter, left Yuanshi alternately helpless and thoughtful, and occasionally drew a meaningful glance from Laozi.

Tongtian felt that this Little Disciple was simply a treasure trove. Every time she spoke, she brought a surprise.

He liked holding this soft little fellow more and more, occasionally ruffling her curls or pinching her little cheeks.

Under the bombardment of Su Miao's strange questions, Yuanshi's solemn expression gradually became harder to maintain.

Teaching this child would likely not be easy.

He would need to... find another approach?

The curiosity and surprise in Laozi's gaze toward Su Miao became increasingly apparent.

This Little Disciple's way of thinking seemed different from that of every other living being in the Prehistoric World.

She did not revere Rules.

Instead, she was full of exploration into "why" and "how,"

and even faintly showed a tendency to... "use" or "understand" the Rules.

Su Miao's soul was damaged to begin with, and she had been asking questions with intense concentration all this time. A child's body was ultimately prone to fatigue.

Her little head began to bob, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and one yawn followed another.

Her breathing became even and long, and she fell asleep directly in Tongtian's arms.

Her long lashes were like two little fans, casting soft shadows over her rosy cheeks.

Her slightly parted lips exhaled a breath carrying the fragrance of lotus, and she slept with utter sweetness and peace.

Tongtian felt the little one in the crook of his arm fully relax. Lowering his head to look at her defenseless sleeping face, he saw that her chubby little cheeks looked even more quiet and obedient in deep sleep, and his heart involuntarily melted into a puddle.

He instinctively adjusted his posture to make her more comfortable, his movements gentler than ever before.

Yuanshi looked at Su Miao, asleep in Tongtian's arms with her little face flushed red, and even his ever-slightly furrowed brows unconsciously eased.

This little one was particularly pleasing to the eye when she was quiet.

Yet when his gaze swept over the occasional slight furrow between her brows and that overly pure yet faintly fragile aura,

the string in his heart concerning her Old Soul Wound tightened once more.

After they returned, he needed to discuss nourishing her soul with Eldest Brother as soon as possible.

Laozi's gaze swept over the sleeping Su Miao,

then over his two Junior Brothers with their differing expressions. The faint smile at the corner of his lips never faded.

Immortal Light traveled onward, passing over Endless Mountains and Rivers,

steadily drawing closer to that Majestic Sacred Mountain Range.