Chapter 125: There Is No Magic Here

Inside the wooden house.

"Wen Ming, this is what your father left behind."

Si Ping picked up an earthen jar, opened its lid, and carefully took out a little from inside—actually, just a few grains of soil.

The soil was black and damp, looking utterly ordinary.

Da Yu, however, formed a conjecture.

Si Ping seemed to read his thoughts, nodded, and said, "This is Self-Expanding Soil."

"Your father stole this Self-Expanding Soil back from the Heavenly Emperor."

"It was also the very reason he was executed by the Emperor!"

He returned a few grains of soil, leaving only a single grain on his fingertip.

Then he picked up a wooden bowl and gently placed that grain of Self-Expanding Soil into it.

The moment the soil fell, a strange force suddenly surged within the wooden bowl.

The single jet‑black grain of Self-Expanding Soil seemed awakened, suddenly swelling and spreading, writhing and splitting at the bowl's bottom like a living thing.

In the blink of an eye, one became two, two became four, four became eight…

The Self-Expanding Soil grew wildly in the bowl, the black soil surging like tide, filling the entire wooden bowl in an instant and even climbing upward, about to spill over the rim.

Da Yu's pupils narrowed; instinctively he reached out to stop it, but saw Si Ping calmly pick up the earthen jar and gently press it against the wooden bowl—

Wha—

The Self-Expanding Soil that was about to overflow suddenly contracted, as if pulled by an invisible force, rapidly flowing back and collapsing, finally reconsolidating into the original tiny grain of black soil, silently falling back into the earthen jar.

The interior fell silent.

Da Yu stared at the earthen jar, his breath briefly held.

He finally understood why his father was willing to anger the Heavenly Emperor for such a treasure, even at the cost of his life.

"So this… the divine artifact that can fill the flood?" he asked softly.

Si Ping slowly nodded, a complex glint flashing in his murky eyes: "Self-Expanding Soil, ever generating, never exhausted."

"If used wisely, it can raise mountains from the earth and make floods retreat three leagues."

He paused, his voice low: "But if misused…"

"It would only worsen the flood.........."

"Your father would have failed."

"Yet he also succeeded, managing to leave this Self-Expanding Soil behind. When the Heavenly Emperor saw him dead, his wrath subsided; perhaps out of pity for our flood disaster, he did not reclaim the Soil........"

"Wen Ming."

He looked up at Da Yu and pushed the earthen jar toward him:

"Since you have also chosen to control the waters, from today onward, this is yours to handle."

"Use it well."

"Of course, we cannot rely on it entirely; we still must depend on the tools in our hands!"

His gaze fell to the side, where several tools were laid out.

A hoe for digging, ropes for measuring water levels and terrain, woven baskets for moving soil, stone axes and chisels for felling trees, and so on.

Also, a topographic map that Gun had drawn on beast hide.

Da Yu took the earthen jar, nodded, and said, "I understand."

"Grandfather Ping, I won't disappoint you!"

"Hmm." Si Ping said little else, merely waving his hand:

"Go back, rest early; tomorrow when you return here, I will first teach you some things with a few water‑controlling experts from the clan."

"Go ahead."

"Yes." Da Yu lifted the earthen jar, turned, and walked out of the wooden house.

Watching his silhouette.

Si Ping stroked his long beard, pondering how to cultivate Da Yu.

But the next moment, he recalled his own grandson, who spent the whole day eating, sleeping, then playing........... sigh, never mind, even if he leaves later, Da Yu can still watch over him a little.

Shaking his head, Si Ping sat down, picked up the map, and began studying it.

"Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

Si Linghua sat in front of Da Yu's house, watching the youth approach, her eyes full of doubt.

Although his clothing was similar to theirs, his delicate skin and flesh gave no impression of combat ability; he certainly wasn't one of the Chong Clan.

The youth was, of course, Yu Lin.

Seeing that Da Yu, who should have been here carpentry, was missing, he asked, "My name is Yu Lin, looking for Wen Ming; do you know where he went?"

"Yu Lin? Strange name—how can anyone be called Yu Lin? Are you a fish demon?"

"Not that Yu Lin; it's the remaining Yu, the qilin's horn."

"What are you talking about? I don't understand; are these characters you invented?"

"........ I wrote it for you to see."

Yu Lin wrote his name on the ground, then said, "This is Yu Lin."

"You still haven't answered my question—where did Wen Ming go?"

"These two characters are read as Yu Lin? How odd," Si Linghua looked up, pointing toward the central area not far away:

"He went to attend a meeting; are you his friend?"

"Uh, look, he's coming back."

Yu Lin looked, his gaze landing on a tall figure cradling an earthen jar, and replied casually, "We're not friends yet, but we will be later."

"What is your name?"

Si Linghua also wrote her name on the ground in pictographs: "Si Linghua."

Yu Lin is not an expert in this area, but he still wants to voice his opinion.

He actually doesn't know what characters Si Linghua wrote, because, as he said at the start, he is not an expert in this field.

But that doesn't matter.

The Myth Book bestowed knowledge upon him, and after a brief activation, it became clear: "Si Linghua, I have memorized it."

"Hello."

"Hmm, hello to you too," Si Linghua said, then fell silent because Da Yu had already approached, and he hurried forward, asking:

"How's it going? Did they say anything?"

"And what is this?"

Da Yu saw his curious expression, lowered his head and laughed: "It's nothing, they just asked whether I'm willing to control the floods. If I agree, they'll cultivate me."

"That's exactly what I wanted to do, so I agreed."

"As for this..."

"Inside is the Self-Expanding Soil my father stole from the Heavenly Emperor!"

"So that's it! Let me see," Si Linghua said, eyes wide with curiosity.

Da Yu didn't refuse, handed over the earthen jar, and instructed: "Don't drop it. If you do, just put it back into the jar."

"Okay," Si Linghua took the jar, sat down cautiously, and opened the lid.

He scooped a handful of soil from inside, watched it slip through his palm and fall back into the jar, unsure what use this seemingly ordinary Self-Expanding Soil might have.

Da Yu then fixed his gaze on Yu Lin:

"Who are you?"

"Si Wen Ming, do you want to become stronger?"

.......... ah?

"To possess the powers of those deities."

"... Of course I do. Can you? Are you a god?!"

Facing Da Yu's doubtful and wary eyes, Yu Lin smiled faintly: "I am not a god, but I can make you stronger."

"Look."

He raised his hand, pointed at a tree ahead, silently recited the thunder incantation, then lightly said, "Thunder Come!"

In an instant, a gale erupted!

Within Da Yu's shocked gaze... nothing happened.

"Where's the thunder? You're a liar, right?"

"..." Yu Lin fell silent, sensed the situation carefully, then slapped his forehead.

He forgot that Chain Qi practitioners only began with Xu Fu, and at this time there was no Chain Qi Cultivation method! Hence no spells!

He must look for another cultivation path!