Cultivation begins with ice harvesters

Chapter 137: Formation and Filling the Ground

Apart from the numerous spirit islands, the entire northern icy region is covered in ice, making the spiritual soil containing spiritual energy a valuable resource.

If it's just a temporary place to stay, one can simply use the ice layer as before to choose an area with abundant spiritual energy and set up a sheltered spot under the ice. It's simple, convenient, and the location is secluded.

In fact, this method of creating a cave dwelling is no different from that of demonic beasts. Such temporary cave dwellings cannot be used to cultivate spiritual fields or spiritual herb gardens, and they certainly cannot meet the needs of cultivators for cave dwellings based on the true meaning of inheritance.

After setting up a large array to define the basic area of ​​the cave, the ice layer within this area was dug to a certain depth, and all the ice was removed and replaced with spiritual soil containing spiritual energy.

As for digging deeper into the ice layer, there is a pattern. It must follow the main direction of the spiritual veins where spiritual energy dissipates, until the spiritual soil successfully covers the main spiritual veins, and then, over time, it will be contained within the spiritual soil.

Although there are no specific requirements for the spiritual soil used in this process, the higher the quality of the spiritual soil, the shorter the time it takes to transfer into the spiritual soil.

The spiritual fields and herb gardens developed based on these spiritual soils in the future will naturally be of higher quality, and their ability to resist the invasion and ravages of low-temperature ice layers in the icy region will also be greater.

This is also the biggest challenge in building a real cave dwelling on the ice. The amount of spiritual soil required in the whole process is astonishing, especially for a rogue cultivator like Tong Bingfeng who has no foundation in the Bitter Sea Ice Domain.

"The source of this spiritual soil is still a considerable problem. Spirit stones can be used to purchase some of the core high-quality spiritual soil to cover the transformed spiritual veins, but the most abundant ordinary spiritual soil still needs to be searched and obtained by ourselves."

Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. Since you want to build a cave dwelling from scratch, you should be fully aware of the steps and challenges involved.

"Fortunately, we have already subdued and refined the queen bee. Although the Northern Frontier Ice Region is boundless and mainly composed of ice, there must also be islands scattered throughout it."

"While second-tier and higher spirit islands are already occupied by others, most first-tier spirit islands also have their own owners. However, there are always some first-tier spirit islands that are not suitable for cultivators to live on and can be used to mine spirit soil for various reasons."

There are various reasons why these spirit islands are unsuitable as a foundation for cultivators: they may be located in remote areas, have scarce spiritual energy, have just been created and have not yet been discovered, or have been occupied by demonic beasts, etc.

In short, these so-called spirit islands are all places that are neither worth eating nor worth throwing away. Otherwise, why would he have bothered to build a cave dwelling from scratch on the ice?

"Queen Bee, dispatch your worker bees to search for the exact locations of some uninhabited spirit islands while they collect pollen."

Tong Bingfeng decisively gave the order through mental imprinting. As time passed, under the queen bee's reassurance, the worker bees basically resumed their normal pollen-collecting behavior.

Although the worker bees suffered some losses in the battle, their numbers still exceeded two hundred. Spirit bees are naturally more sensitive to fluctuations in spiritual energy, so finding suitable areas for large-scale mining of spiritual soil during the pollen collection process is not difficult.

"Buzz"

The queen bee's plump body did not leave the hive; instead, she directly conveyed a positive message through mental imprinting.

The area where the beehive is currently located is also within the scope of his current cave dwelling. Tong Bingfeng plans to build a special spiritual bee breeding room for him deep underground, where spiritual energy is abundant.

This provides greater security and secrecy. Once the guardian bees have reproduced and reached a certain number, they can be distributed in different locations within the cave to provide necessary protection.

After all, compared to cultivators, these spirit bees are slender and short, agile, and naturally capable of hiding. Once an unfamiliar aura enters the cave's area, they can immediately warn the queen bee and provide the first wave of protection using their own combat power.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Although no trace of spiritual soil has yet been discovered, the excavation of the ice layer can now be officially put on the agenda. This is also a considerable project."

Tong Bingfeng set up the Spirit Shrinking Tent within the protective range of the great array, rested for a while, and after his mana in his dantian returned to a full state, he couldn't wait to begin the first major task that had to be completed.

Building a cave dwelling rooted in the icy sea of ​​bitterness from scratch by one person is a huge undertaking, requiring a tremendous amount of time and effort.

Therefore, at this stage, apart from ensuring his daily basic circulation of Qi, he will focus his main energy on this aspect.

"As a former genuine and skilled ice harvester, this job is just a return to my old profession. Watch my methods."

Tong Bingfeng examined the ice layer in front of him, took out a set of tools exclusive to ice harvesters, a pair of fine iron hammers and fine copper chisels, but their quality was vastly different from what it was back then, and they were not on the same level at all.

The ice harvesters in the early stages of Qi Refining used only first-tier low-grade iron hammers and copper chisels. The main body was still ordinary iron and copper, with only a small amount of refined iron and copper added to the core.

Now, as a genuine Qi Refining Level 8 cultivator, he naturally uses tools made entirely of high-quality refined copper and iron, which are more effective for transmitting magical power and consume less energy during the entire transmission process.

"Clang clang"

Tong Bingfeng was a true action-oriented cultivator. He skillfully wielded the refined iron hammer and refined copper chisel in his hands. The two magical artifacts worked together to strike the ice layer in an orderly manner, and cracks of varying lengths and neat shapes quickly formed.

Once a standard block of ice, two zhang long and one zhang wide, was freed from the ice layer, with the input of magic power, the ice block made a mere leap and broke free from the ice layer's restraints, arranging itself neatly to one side.

Whenever a hundred blocks of ice had been mined, Tong Bingfeng would tirelessly move them to the outer perimeter of the designated cave area and use the ice blocks as material to build an ice wall.

Such ice walls are quite common in the icy regions of the Northern Frontier. Under the dual ravages of low temperatures and cold winds year-round, the seemingly inconspicuous ice walls will become increasingly sturdy. In the future, only a small amount of first-grade low-level spiritual water needs to be added to effectively nourish them, and the entire ice wall will completely merge into one, forming the second defensive ring after the main formation.

In Tong Bingfeng's long-term plan, as his cultivation level improves, he plans to build a forest of ice pillars similar to those around Honglan Market in the area further away from this cave. He will then use these to set up a large array to transform the entire cave into a triple defense.

As the sun rises and sets, day and night alternate, time flies by, and in the midst of our busy lives, a month or so passes in the blink of an eye.

The once smooth ice layer has become a huge pit several meters deep. The ice forest that grew here has also been transplanted to the outside and has not been destructively cut down. This is the result of Tong Bingfeng's hard work day and night.