Earth-Core Fire Dragon

Deep within an underground spiritual meridian, Shi Mo manifested his physical form. He stared at the golden light shimmering on his hands, feeling a mix of shock and uncertainty. "Golden light of merit?"

"How could there be power of merit? Could it be that because I started repairing the Western leylines, benefiting the Primordial World, I received merit? If I were to repair all the broken and ruined leylines in the West, how much merit would I obtain?"

At this thought, Shi Mo's eyes burned with heat, but his mouth twitched immediately after.

"Repairing the leylines of the entire West—never mind how long it would take, if I had to do it alone, I'd be worked to death! The scale of the project is just too massive!"

"Forget it, I'll start by repairing them slowly, connecting the leyline network around Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain first."

Shaking his head, Shi Mo continued his work, extending the connections outward in a series of fan-shaped arcs.

Roar. A sudden, violent roar reached his ears, causing Shi Mo's spirit to sharpen. His invisible perception spread outward.

"Is that an Earth-Core Fire Dragon, a creature born from volcanic magma, formed by the combination of leyline energy and subterranean fire?"

Shi Mo clearly sensed the violent aura of the Earth-Core Fire Dragon.

"With the leylines blocked, this Earth-Core Fire Dragon has become a trapped dragon. No wonder it's so irritable, rampaging and destroying everything around it."

"Wait, if I could command this Earth-Core Fire Dragon to help me clear the leylines..."

With this thought, Shi Mo's eyes brightened, and he hurried toward the underground magma lake where the Earth-Core Fire Dragon resided.

Aoooo! As he drew closer, the roar became increasingly violent. Shi Mo caught a glimpse of the scarlet fire dragon as it leaped out from the magma lake, its body coated in lava and erupting with flames.

Upon seeing Shi Mo, the incredibly savage Earth-Core Fire Dragon charged directly at him, reaching his position in the blink of an eye.

"Go!" With a low shout, Shi Mo focused his intent. The Wind-Fixing Pearl inside his body shot out, transforming into a stream of light that pierced straight through the Earth-Core Fire Dragon's body.

Aoooo! Amidst a desolate, pained roar, the Earth-Core Fire Dragon was sent flying, lava and flames scattering from its body as its aura grew sluggish and weak.

Immediately after, the glowing Wind-Fixing Pearl landed on the top of the dragon's head. Mysterious, illusory patterns began to trace from the dragon's crown across its entire body, seeping into its flesh like a runic grid and causing its violent aura to recede.

"It's a good thing I have the Wind-Fixing Pearl; otherwise, subduing this Earth-Core Fire Dragon would have been quite troublesome. Trying to make it serve me would have been even harder."

Watching the Earth-Core Fire Dragon struggle under the restraint of the Wind-Fixing Pearl, Shi Mo pondered for a moment. He then used his invisible soul power to permeate the dragon's body through the pearl, preparing to have a proper conversation with it.

Although the Earth-Core Fire Dragon was not a true dragon, it possessed enough potential to transform if given the chance; naturally, it didn't have a good temper and wasn't easily subdued.

However, under the suppression of the Wind-Fixing Pearl, Shi Mo balanced threats with reasonable negotiation, analyzing the pros and cons. In the end, he forced the Earth-Core Fire Dragon to bow its head and agree to follow his commands temporarily to help clear the leylines.

After all, the Earth-Core Fire Dragon already possessed intelligence and did not want to remain trapped here forever. Only by clearing the leylines could it absorb more leyline energy and subterranean fire, giving it the hope of truly transforming into a dragon in the future.

With the Earth-Core Fire Dragon's assistance, the speed and efficiency of Shi Mo's leyline clearing increased significantly.

In the process of clearing the leylines, Shi Mo gradually discovered more Earth-Core Fire Dragons trapped by the blockages.

These creatures were born in underground magma and were not living beings in the true sense. Leaving the magma was like being a fish out of water; they could only maintain their energy form through the spiritual meridians, allowing them to travel far from their birthplace.

Just like that, with more Earth-Core Fire Dragons helping him clear the paths, the efficiency of Shi Mo's leyline restoration increased almost geometrically.

It didn't take long before, with the cooperation of the eight Earth-Core Fire Dragons he had discovered and brought into his service, Shi Mo connected the vast leyline network in the area surrounding Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain.

When Shi Mo returned to Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain and felt the leyline spiritual energy, now ten times more concentrated, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He arrived at the summit of Eight Treasures Peak, the main peak of the mountain, only to see the Flat Peach Mother Tree still looking half-dead, which made him frown.

"With such dense leyline spiritual energy, is it still unable to make up for the exhaustion of the Flat Peach Mother Tree's origin?"

"The connected leyline network is already quite large. Expanding it any further will consume a significant amount of time and energy."

Frowning in frustration, Shi Mo suddenly thought of something. With a shift of his intent, his entire body began to shimmer with golden light.

In an instant, Shi Mo's body took on the appearance of a golden statue. He poured a portion of his internal power of merit into the Flat Peach Mother Tree. Immediately, the tree began to glow with flowing golden light, drawing the leyline spiritual energy into itself as if it were boiling.

"As expected, possessing merit means being favored by the Primordial World; even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will actively pour into me, allowing it to be absorbed."

Shi Mo's eyes brightened as he watched the Flat Peach Mother Tree begin to regain its vitality at a visible rate. He was pleasantly surprised.

"With the protection of this power of merit, I'm afraid it would be difficult for this tree to wither even if it wanted to."

Seeing that the power of merit had such an effect, he continued to pour more into the tree until he felt that any further merit would have limited benefits. Only then did Shi Mo stop.

Although he had consumed more than half of the merit he had gained from repairing the Western leylines, Shi Mo didn't feel a shred of regret.

After all, the Western leylines he had repaired were only a tiny fraction of the ruined outer regions. As long as he wasn't afraid of hard work, he could continue to repair the Western leylines and earn more merit with ease.

If he truly repaired the leylines of the entire West, the merit he possessed would likely not be inferior to Nuwa, who would one day become a Saint through merit. At that point, even the Saints would likely want to win him over.

A person with great merit, not to mention having heaven-defying luck, could walk sideways through the Primordial World; almost no one would dare to plot against him or make him an enemy.

"The Flat Peach Mother Tree is fine for now; I should continue to repair the Western leylines and earn merit! Where else could I find such a good opportunity? Besides, the more leylines I connect, the denser the spiritual energy at my Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain will become."

With this thought, Shi Mo dove directly into the underground spiritual meridian. He looked at the eight Earth-Core Fire Dragons, whose violent auras had receded and whose bodies now shimmered with a faint golden luster—clearly, they had also gained much merit and their intelligence had increased significantly. He signaled to them, and they set off together.

"Let's go! The Western leyline restoration project is waiting for us! Follow me and let's earn some merit!"