After hearing Arthur's explanation, the women all wore strange expressions, unsure of what to say for a moment.
None of them had expected that the reason the Golden Crow egg had remained unhatched for so long would be something so absurdly dramatic.
That Three-Legged Golden Crow clan leader had probably left in too much of a hurry and completely forgotten to account for one very basic fact—
The Fusang Tree would keep growing.
"So what do we do now?" Huangxi asked, looking at Arthur. "Can you help modify the formation?"
Huangxi wasn't particularly skilled in formations, so she could only turn to Arthur for help.
After all, the Golden Crow clan leader had entrusted the Phoenix clan with looking after his child. Now that such a major oversight had come to light, she couldn't just pretend nothing had happened.
"Hm… not for now," Arthur replied after some thought. "Give me a few days. I'll try again then."
Formations weren't his strong suit either.
Although his Magic Codex contained a vast amount of formation knowledge copied from Mount Shu, he simply hadn't had the time to study it yet.
Arthur planned to use the time-dilation inside the Zen Garden over the next few days to cram formation theory, then see if he could rework the array left behind by the Golden Crow clan leader.
Speaking of the Zen Garden, seeing this blessed land had actually given Arthur another idea.
He wanted to move this entire blessed land into his Zen Garden.
This blessed land was several times larger than his Zen Garden and contained an astonishing number of rare treasures. To say he wasn't tempted would be a lie.
In certain matters, Arthur was also quite greedy. When conditions allowed, he followed the philosophy of—
I want everything.
But this place was the Phoenix clan's homeland. He couldn't just uproot someone else's home and take it for himself.
That left him feeling conflicted.
After finishing with the Golden Crow egg, everyone descended from the Fusang Tree. Aside from the excellent view, there wasn't much else up there.
Once back down, Huoxuan asked Huangxi to take her to the treasure forest to collect gemstones, jade, and pearls.
After spending an entire night playing mahjong together, the two equally carefree women had grown surprisingly close.
Hermione, curious about the heavenly materials, followed along as well.
Arthur, meanwhile, set up a fishing rod by the lake and cast his line, sitting down to fish while thinking about how he might relocate the entire blessed land.
He still hadn't given up on the idea.
Ranni sat quietly beside him, keeping him company.
Arthur pondered for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a good solution.
Suddenly, he thought of someone who might be able to help him—
Well, not exactly someone.
He thought of his system, which had been quiet for a very long time.
Arthur called out mentally, "System, are you dead? If not, say something."
[Thank you for your concern, Host. The system is functioning normally.]
"If you're fine, why haven't you made a sound in ages?"
[The system remains in standby mode by default. It only responds when summoned by the Host, which helps conserve energy.]
"Oh? You need to store energy too?"
[Yes.]
"Then where does your energy come from?"
[From the interstitial void between worlds.]
"What kind of place is that? Can I go there?"
[The interstitial void lies between different worlds. Though called a 'gap,' it is in fact more vast and desolate than the universe itself.]
[With the Host's current strength, the probability of survival there is zero.]
Judging from the system's description, it was clearly not a place Arthur could mess with yet.
But that wasn't what he'd summoned the system for.
"Right, System," Arthur said, refocusing. "I want to take this entire blessed land for myself. Got any good ideas?"
[Replying to Host: this is actually quite simple for you.]
"Oh?"
[Whether naturally formed or artificially created, every secret realm or blessed land possesses a core. Whoever controls the core controls the entire space.]
[For others, acquiring such a core would be extremely difficult. For you, it is trivial.]
[Does the Host still remember the key symbolizing the Zen Garden?]
"Of course," Arthur replied.
When he first obtained the Zen Garden, the system had given him a key. That key was the medium used to access the Zen Garden.
Anyone marked by the key could freely enter and exit the Zen Garden. At present, only Hermione and Ranni bore that mark.
Aside from that, Arthur hadn't discovered any other use for it, so he'd kept the key stored in system space.
"Don't tell me… that key is the Zen Garden's core?"
Arthur suddenly realized the possibility.
[Correct. As the Host suspects, that key is the core of the Zen Garden.]
[You only need to insert the key into this blessed land's core. The Zen Garden will then absorb and merge with it.]
Arthur nearly laughed out loud.
He'd only been thinking about how to move the treasures out—yet the system's solution went straight for the jugular.
Not just the treasures, but the entire blessed land and all life within it.
Brutal.
Efficient.
And something Arthur greatly approved of.
"Then do you know where this blessed land's core is located?" Arthur asked.
[Approximately five hundred meters beneath the Fusang Tree.]
"Perfect. Thanks, System."
[You're welcome, Host.]
As if sensing that Arthur's problem had been resolved, the system fell silent again, returning to standby mode.
Ending the conversation, Arthur stood up and said to Ranni beside him, "Come on. I'll take you somewhere interesting."
He led Ranni to the base of the Fusang Tree and activated the Earth Escape Technique he'd learned from Mount Shu.
The ground before them parted as if pushed aside by invisible hands, revealing a sloping passage downward.
To make things easier, Arthur even shaped a flight of steps inside the tunnel.
Originally meant as a defensive escape art for Mount Shu disciples, the technique had been thoroughly repurposed in Arthur's hands.
The two descended the steps, arriving at the location the system had indicated—the core of the blessed land.
It was a small space, less than twenty square meters in size, with nothing special about its surroundings.
The only remarkable thing was the seven-colored sphere of light floating at the center, radiating dazzling brilliance.
"This… is the aura of space," Ranni said softly. "But it's different from the space I know."
Her sensitivity to spatial phenomena was extremely sharp.
The second phase of the Rennala battle in the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria had, in fact, taken place inside a pocket dimension created by Ranni herself.
And in Elden Ring, if the player chose the Age of the Stars ending, the Dark Moon that appeared behind Ranni wasn't purely a moon—at its center was a swirling vortex, strikingly similar to the teleportation gates found across the Lands Between.
Considering that she would later leave the Lands Between to hunt the Greater Will, it wasn't hard to infer that the Dark Moon portal was her path out of that world.
All of this pointed to one fact—
Ranni's mastery over space was profound, perhaps even surpassing Arthur's.
Arthur could sense the spatial aura of the blessed land's core, but couldn't tell what made it special.
"May I study it, my King?" Ranni asked. "I feel it could be beneficial to me."
"Go ahead," Arthur replied without hesitation.
Since the core could help Ranni, there was no rush to take it.
With Arthur's permission, Ranni placed her hands on the core, closed her eyes, and carefully sensed its changes.
She remained like that for a full two hours.
Arthur waited patiently at her side.
Finally, Ranni opened her eyes and slowly exhaled.
"Space… naturally formed space truly is more wondrous than anything artificial," she said with emotion.
"Did you gain something?" Arthur asked.
"Yes," Ranni nodded. "I've fully analyzed this core. My understanding of spatial application has advanced further."
"From now on, I can construct complete spatial realms—though their scale won't rival something naturally formed like this."
In the past, Ranni could create space, but it was barren—no land, no life—and unstable, easily shattered.
Now, the spaces she could create had stable structures and all the conditions necessary for plants and living beings to exist.
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
Wasn't this exactly what Huoxuan had described—those great beings capable of creating secret realms?
Seeing Ranni grow stronger filled Arthur with genuine happiness.
"Do you still need this core?" Arthur asked.
"I've already finished analyzing it," Ranni replied. "It's of no further use to me."
Arthur nodded.
Since it no longer benefited Ranni, it was his turn.
He took out the Zen Garden key and inserted it directly into the core.
As the key pierced the core, a blinding light erupted.
The entire blessed land began to tremble violently.
However, the upheaval didn't last long.
As the key absorbed the core, the blessed land gradually stabilized once more.
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