Outside the Canyon

After the tense and busy Canyon Home Upgrade and Renovation Project was completed, Lin Yan enjoyed a period of leisurely idleness.

Ever since gaining the protection of the Nine Palaces Earth Vein Array, Lin Yan had worried less about safety. He had personally tested it: when the grand array was activated, even with his early Earth Immortal cultivation and the Earth Spirit Seal driven at full force, he could not shake the array in the slightest.

Lin Yan estimated that even if a fierce beast with Heavenly Immortal cultivation attacked, it would not be able to break through the array's defenses in a short time. The sense of security the array gave him directly turned into complete relaxation.

Cultivation remained a daily necessity. The Kun Yuan Thick Earth Art truly deserved to be called a top-grade cultivation method. Every time he cultivated, Lin Yan could feel pure Earth Element Spiritual Qi steadily strengthening his Earth Element Origin. It reinforced his body while also nourishing the Earth Spirit Seal within his dantian.

Once his cultivation was done, he would wander around the canyon with his hands behind his back like an old farmer.

He first went to the spirit spring to check on the seeds Old Daoist Hongjun had given him. The seeds of Star Fruit, Moonlight Grass, and Vajra Bamboo had now emerged from the soil, but they still had a very, very long way to go before maturing.

As for the three unknown spirit seeds, there was still no movement from them. In order to make them sprout as soon as possible, Lin Yan had not only buried them in Spirit Soil mixed from Self-Growing Soil and Innate Earth Essence, but also personally nourished them every day with Wu Earth Spiritual Qi. Yet the three spirit seeds refused to cooperate, showing no sign of sprouting even now.

"Can't rush it, can't rush it." Lin Yan could only comfort himself. "Famous spiritual roots in the Prehistoric World take thousands of years to sprout and ten thousand years to mature. How long have mine even been planted?"

Besides tending to those spiritual roots and seeds, Lin Yan would also instruct his younger brothers in cultivation whenever he had nothing to do.

These fellows' intelligence had gradually awakened, and they were becoming increasingly naughty and difficult to manage.

Lin San was directing Lin Er to loosen the soil around the Spirit Plants, but Lin Er's body, over twenty zhang long, plowed through the earth and sent dirt flying everywhere, even uprooting the Spirit Plants' roots from the ground.

Lin Si had caught several enormous Water Turtles and had them carry his massive body around while he wandered about. Had he found himself a few mounts? But the Water Turtles crawled even slower than he wriggled himself.

Overenergetic Lin Qi was chasing Lin Wu and Lin Liu as they sparred. Several Earth Dragons tangled together, occasionally biting each other with their not-so-sharp mouthparts. Other than getting themselves covered in saliva, they could not even break each other's skin.

Lin Ba was holding a pile of poisonous grass and tasting them one by one, trying to identify the most toxic one.

Lin Jiu and Lin Shi were the most attached to Lin Yan, often pestering him for "stories." Lin Yan could only rack his brains and adapt the fairy tales and fables he had read in his previous life into Primordial Versions to fool them. Even so, the two little ones listened with great relish.

Such days were peaceful, fulfilling, and even somewhat... dull. Sometimes, Lin Yan would sit in the lounge chair he had carved from a whole piece of Yellow Amber Stone and, in a daze, feel that it might not be so bad if things could stay this way forever.

[**Ding!** Reminder, host, the system task has been activated. Please complete it promptly.]

[Current Task List:]

Task One: Explore the area within a million li around the canyon and eliminate adverse factors within the range that affect the ecological environment.

Task Two: Expand the Earth Dragon Community, absorb at least three different races, and establish a preliminary Civilization Symbiotic System.

Task Three: Spread the Ecological Civilization Concept, guide tribal beings in developing Ecological Protection Awareness, and formulate preliminary ecological rules.

Perhaps the system could not stand seeing Lin Yan live so leisurely, because it reminded him from time to time that unfinished work was still waiting for him.

"Stop urging me! Urging me all day long, all you know is how to make me work. If you've got the ability, give me some benefits first!" Lin Yan said to the system disdainfully.

However, Lin Yan himself knew that he could not keep lazing around like this. The system had his cultivation improvement by the throat. If he did not complete the tasks, then no matter how much he cultivated, his cultivation would not increase.

Moreover, he still longed for the Prehistoric World Old Daoist Hongjun had once described to him. The world was so vast; he really should go see it.

Leaving as soon as he decided, Lin Yan inspected every array base of the Nine Palaces Earth Vein Array and made sure they were all operating without issue. He then held a "family meeting" with his younger brothers, repeatedly warning them to guard their home well. If they encountered a powerful enemy, they were not to fight head-on. They were to activate the grand array's full defenses immediately. Then, with one step, he crossed the Array Light Curtain and arrived in the outer area of the canyon, a place he had never set foot in before.

Less than a hundred li out of the canyon, Lin Yan was stunned by the sight before him.

He knew the environment outside the canyon would certainly not be as good as his home, but he had never expected the difference to be this enormous!

Separated by only a single boundary, they seemed like two entirely different worlds.

The air in the world before him was filled with a rotten, fishy stench. Wisps of gray-black Malevolent Qi were mixed into the thin Spirit Qi, like maggots clinging to bone as they tried to corrode all life force.

Looking around, the earth was scarred and battered. Cracks intertwined across the exposed rocky ground, and black Malevolent Qi still gushed out from some places. In the barren soil, there were only scattered clusters of thorn-like plants with weird colors and ferocious appearances.

In the distance, mountain ranges rose and fell, but most were gray rock where not a blade of grass grew. The sky was misty gray, as though shrouded in a murky halo. Occasionally, enormous and strangely shaped birds of prey swept overhead, casting heart-chilling shadows across the ground.

"Is this really the Prehistoric World? Isn't this a Doomsday Wasteland?"

In Lin Yan's impression, the Prehistoric World should have been filled with immortal mountains and treasure lands, with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures everywhere. Even a small grass by the roadside should have been something like a rare treasure in later generations.

Yet the scene before him completely overturned his impression of the Prehistoric World.

"No wonder Old Daoist Hongjun praised my little canyon so highly. Compared to this place, my canyon is practically heaven on earth."

Lin Yan looked back toward his canyon, but saw nothing. Concealed by the array, the canyon seemed to have vanished from between heaven and earth. From outside, it was merely a desolate mountain wall no different from its surroundings, with even its spiritual qi fluctuation barely detectable.

[**Ding!** It has been detected that the host has left the Safe Zone for the first time and entered the Primordial Wilderness. System prompt: The current area has an extremely poor Ecological Index and contains a large number of Unstable Energy Nodes. The host is advised to proceed with caution.]

The System Panel automatically appeared, thoughtfully marking all sorts of information about the surrounding environment.

Lin Yan gave a bitter smile. "Do you really need to tell me that? Even a blind person could see how terrible the environment is here."

He steadied himself, pulled up the Primordial Basic Knowledge Atlas and the Mini Ecology Simulator from the system, and strode toward the distance.

[**Ding!** Bone-Corroding Thorn. low-tier Fierce Plant. Prefers Malevolent Qi Environment. Its branches are tough and poisonous, and it can secrete Corrosive Liquid. ecological value: extremely low. treatment suggestion: Purify or remove.]

[Ding! Crimson Flame Stone. A common Fire Attribute Spirit Ore containing a trace of Innate Fire Essence. It can be used to refine low-tier Fire Attribute Magic Treasures or set up Fire Attribute Arrays. Ecological impact: large quantities can cause regional ground temperature rise and soil erosion.]

[Ding! Target discovered: Rotten Swamp Poison Toad. Low-Tier Fierce Beast. Intelligence Not Yet Opened. It dwells in Poisonous Swamps. It has thick skin and flesh, while its saliva and dorsal poison sac are highly toxic. Ecological impact: Pollutes water sources and preys on small benign creatures.] ```

The System Prompt Tone rang out from time to time, reporting in real time on the things Lin Yan saw.

Along the way, most of what Lin Yan encountered were Fierce Plants and fierce beasts harmful to the ecological environment. Spiritual roots and Spirit Plants capable of producing a positive impact on the environment were few and far between.

Only after Lin Yan had traveled tens of thousands of li from the canyon did he discover several small grasses in a sheltered mountain hollow. They were all green, with leaves as translucent as jade. The atlas displayed: [Condensed Jade Grass, low-tier Spirit Plant, gentle nature. It can absorb a small amount of Malevolent Qi and transform it into pure Wood Spirit Qi. Its leaves can be used medicinally and have slight healing and detoxifying effects. ecological value: Moderate.]

"Finally, I've found something good." Lin Yan was overjoyed. Though this Condensed Jade Grass was not high-tier, its function was practical. It was practically a natural air purifier. He carefully dug up several plants with roots and soil, intending to bring them back to the canyon for large-area cultivation.