Chapter 3724: Eight Months Pass

Meng Bai trained with Stasis daily while also studying formations tirelessly.

The rune dwarves took interest in him due to his talent, while Jing Wei himself eventually began personally teaching the boy.

The more time Jing Wei spent with Meng Bai, the more nostalgic he became.

The young man reminded him painfully of Lin Mu from long ago.

The same stubbornness.

The same curiosity.

The same willingness to endure hardship.

Meng Bai absorbed knowledge like a sponge.

He studied formations during the day, sparred at night, then meditated with Stasis for hours afterward trying to understand the weapon.

The spear itself also seemed to slowly acknowledge him more and more.

As for Lin Mu’s beasts, they lived exactly as they pleased.

Shrubby practically adopted entire sections of Mantleheim as his territory. The magma rich environment suited him perfectly and many fire dwarves openly adored the giant beast.

He often lounged near giant furnaces absorbing fire energy while dwarves scratched beneath his chin like he was some enormous cat... which he was. This was helping the dwarves too since Little Shrubby stabilized and controlled the flames while they forged.

The twins continued helping around the forges.

Their ability to consume toxic Yin and Yang energies remained extremely useful for the dwarves. Many forge districts became cleaner and more efficient thanks to them.

Some dwarves even started leaving offerings of special ores and metals for the twins to snack on or take as trinkets for their nests.

Ashy remained the same as ever, still deep in cultivation though Lin Mu had sensed that she might awaken soon enough as he could tell she was close to a breakthrough.

Meanwhile, far away from all of them, Lin Mu sank deep beneath the magma sea.

Molten lava swallowed his body entirely.

The pressure and heat surrounding him would instantly kill ordinary immortals, yet to Lin Mu it felt utterly comforting now.

The completed Fire, Earth, and Metal Cores within him resonated naturally with the environment.

He descended deeper and deeper until even light disappeared completely.

Then Lin Mu finally stopped.

He sat cross legged within the magma itself while streams of lava flowed around him like rivers around a mountain.

Closing his eyes, Lin Mu began circulating his cultivation.

The three completed cores awakened immediately.

Earth.

Metal.

Fire.

The energies began supporting one another naturally in a profound elemental cycle. The Fire Core strengthened his vitality and blood flow. The Earth Core stabilized and reinforced his body. The Metal Core purified and amplified the Qi flowing through him.

The magma around Lin Mu started trembling.

Then slowly, impossibly, the entire sea around him began responding to his will.

Eight months passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.

Within Mantleheim, time itself seemed to move differently now. Ever since the creation of the Twin Void Pillars and the celebrations that followed, everyone had thrown themselves fully into their own pursuits.

Days blended into weeks and weeks into months beneath the endless glow of lava rivers and forge fires. The hidden dwarven kingdom remained just as lively as before, yet the atmosphere had subtly changed.

There was purpose in the air.

The dwarves forged endlessly, inspired by the impossible feat they had accomplished together with Lin Mu. New theories regarding spatial forging spread among the rune dwarves while the Fireforge clan attempted increasingly absurd furnace designs in hopes of recreating even a fraction of what the Dao Forge had achieved.

The Mountain Dwarves meanwhile sparred more intensely than before, several of them becoming obsessed with the applications of the Aspect of Heaviness after witnessing Lin Mu’s usage during the forging process.

As for Lin Mu’s companions, they had become fully immersed in their own cultivation and studies.

So much so that eventually, they almost forgot about Lin Mu entirely.

Or rather, they subconsciously assumed he would remain cultivating quietly beneath the magma sea for however long he wished.

After all, compared to immortal timescales, eight months was hardly anything.

Then one day, Mantleheim changed.

At first, the signs were subtle.

Small waves appeared upon the magma sea surrounding the central island.

Most dwarves ignored it completely.

Minor disturbances within the magma were common. Fire elementals and magma elementals frequently caused such phenomena while moving beneath the surface. Occasionally underground pressure shifts also triggered waves.

Thus nobody paid much attention.

But then the waves grew larger.

The rivers of lava flowing throughout Mantleheim began trembling strangely. Several forge channels started overflowing while others thinned unexpectedly.

Some dwarves finally looked up from their work.

Then things worsened further.

Entire pools of magma began shrinking visibly as if something beneath the sea was drawing the molten lava away. Lava currents shifted unnaturally, reversing directions in certain places.

The dwarves monitoring the major forge rivers finally realized something was wrong when several of the primary lava streams began drying up entirely.

That should have been impossible.

The magma sea beneath Mantleheim had existed for ages. Its reserves were vast beyond imagination.

Yet now enormous quantities of lava were vanishing somewhere beneath the surface.

The alarms quickly spread throughout the city.

Dwarves rushed from the forge districts toward the shoreline while others activated defensive arrays just in case a powerful elemental beast had appeared.

Then came the aura.

WHOOM

A terrifying fluctuation suddenly spread through the entirety of Mantleheim.

The air shook.

The lava rivers erupted violently.

Even the array barrier surrounding the hidden kingdom flickered faintly under the pressure.

The energy carried immense Fire, Earth, and Metal elemental fluctuations intertwined together so densely that weaker dwarves nearly lost their footing.

The transcendents immediately appeared.

The three elder leaders arrived above the magma sea with grim expressions while countless other dwarves gathered behind them.

Lin Mu’s companions were also alerted.

Daoist Chu emerged from the library clutching half a dozen formation scrolls.

Elyon appeared from the darkness like a phantom.

Cattaleya arrived carrying her massive sword over one shoulder while Meng Bai rushed over still holding Stasis tightly.

Even Jing Wei appeared quickly, his expression serious.

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