Pegunungan kristal spirit itu pemandangan yang megah. Meski ada tanah dan berbagai jenis tumbuhan menutupi gunung-gunung itu, kristal beningnya terlihat menonjol dari setiap sudut.
Jika kau menatap jauh ke dalam kristal, kau hanya akan melihat kegelapan samar, tapi di permukaannya tetap pemandangan yang memesona. Konsentrasi energi di sini juga sangat tinggi. Sampai-sampai Lex hampir yakin bahkan kultivator alam Fondasi biasa pun tak akan sanggup menahannya.
Bahkan Lex sendiri merasa sedikit tak nyaman begitu dekat dengan gunung itu—atau setidaknya dia akan merasa begitu, kalau saja dia melepas Pakaian Tuan Rumah. Udara terasa 'tebal', dan angin punya tekstur yang tak bisa dia pahami.
Tapi itu tak begitu penting. Seluruh gunung ini, dan segala sesuatu di atasnya, termasuk tanahnya, sangat berharga. Rumput yang tumbuh di sini hampir transparan, hanya berwarna hijau paling tipis, tapi lebih bagus dan lebih berharga daripada harta alam yang tumbuh di tempat lain.
Ini barang super premium, dan seseorang setidaknya harus berada di ranah Golden Core untuk menoleransinya. Misalnya, kalau teh dibuat dari daun rumput ini, kultivator alam Fondasi tradisional akan meledak saat meminumnya.
Tentu saja, ini hanya analisis Lex sendiri berdasarkan pengetahuannya. Butuh kajian mendalam untuk mengeksplorasi manfaat dan batas dari rumput ini saja, belum lagi pohon, buah, dan sayuran yang tumbuh di gunung ini. Lex cukup yakin kalau dia mengambil segenggam tanah di sini dan melelangnya di Infinity Emporium, harganya akan sangat mahal.
Tapi itu tak penting bagi Lex. Kenapa dia butuh uang sekarang kalau dia punya gunung batu spirit? Tidak, yang dia butuhkan sekarang jauh lebih berharga.
Dia berteleportasi, lalu muncul sekitar 1600 kaki (500 meter) di bawah gunung, di sebuah gua kecil bawah tanah.
Gua itu, meski terbentuk alami, punya bentuk tak biasa: lorong panjang dan sempit yang bergerak dalam pola spiral menuju pusat. Untuk pertama kalinya, Lex merasa sedang dipaparkan pada salah satu karakter yang biasa dia pakai untuk membuat formasi di alam.
Meski Lex pernah melihat karakter-karakter ini dipakai dalam arsitektur, dia tak pernah bisa menemukannya di alam, padahal di situlah seharusnya mereka ada. Bahkan, seharusnya mereka begitu umum sampai ada di segala hal yang pernah dia lihat atau sentuh. Tapi entah kenapa, Lex tak pernah menemukannya—sampai sekarang.
Alih-alih muncul langsung di tengah, Lex muncul di ujung gua dan menyusuri panjangnya. Dengan Pakaian Tuan Rumah menyala, dia tak khawatir terjebak semacam jebakan.
Sebaliknya, dia mencoba mempelajari karakter itu, dan menebak makna apa yang terkait dengannya. Ada genangan kecil spirit elixir di tanah yang dia lewati—sayang sekali kalau sepatunya tercelup sesuatu yang begitu berharga.
Anehnya, Lex tak menemui hambatan. Mungkin kalau dia tak memakai pakaian itu dia akan menemui, tapi dia tak tertarik bereksperimen saat ini. Saat mencapai ujung spiral, dia menemukan mangkuk alami yang seluruhnya terbuat dari berlian, penuh terisi cairan seperti susu.
Tepat di atasnya ada stalaktit kristal yang memanjang dari atap gua, turun sampai hampir menyentuh cairan di mangkuk. Kalau orang lain datang ke sini mereka tak akan tahu, tapi Lex tahu mangkuk ini tepat di bawah puncak gunung di atasnya.
Cahaya kuning hangat memenuhi stalaktit, seolah membawa cahaya dari ujungnya sampai ke terowongan gelap ini, dan di ujungnya, cahaya itu tampak mengembun menjadi cairan. Satu tetes masih terbentuk di ujungnya, dan akhirnya akan jatuh ke mangkuk.
Tubuh Lex, yang sudah menjadi sangat kuat selama pelatihan di kuil, mulai bereaksi terhadap cairan itu. Instingnya bangun, membuatnya mendambakan cairan itu seolah dia hampir mati kehausan dan menemukan oasis surgawi. Aromanya, begitu nikmat dan halus, menggoda dia untuk menyesap seteguk saja.
Tapi meski begitu menarik, ini bukan tujuan utama Lex, meski dia berencana membawa sebagian saat pergi.
Sasarannya adalah sesuatu yang tersembunyi di dalam kolam elixir seperti susu itu. Menggunakan indra spiritual, karena dia tak ingin tanpa sengaja menumpahkan elixir kalau memakai tangan, dia meraih ke dalam mangkuk dan menggenggam kalung kecil berdesain rumit yang tampak terbentuk alami.
Bahkan talinya terbuat dari logam yang tak dia kenali, tapi memancarkan aura mendalam—seolah itu benda paling berharga di dunia.
"Susu gunung," Mary bergumam kagum, saat dia muncul di bahunya. "Ini barang bagus. Tapi aku tak sarankan kau minum lebih dari setetes sebelum menjadi abadi. Seberapa banyak yang bisa kau serap terbatas, dan terlalu sayang kalau diminum sekarang."
"Akan kuingat," Lex mengangguk sambil mulai mengangkat kalung itu. Beratnya mengejutkan, sampai membuatnya tegang.
"Bisakah… bisakah kau sisihkan setetes untukku juga? Untuk membuat tubuhku, maksudku."
"Tak masalah," jawabnya. "Ini baru benda kedua yang kau minta untuk membuat tubuhmu. Seberapa tinggi kualitas tubuh yang ingin kau buat?"
"Ini bukan soal kualitas tinggi," jawabnya, dengan sedikit melankoli di suaranya. "Kalau aku ingin menciptakan ulang tubuh dari ras asliku, ini baru kebutuhan paling minimal. Bahkan kalau aku berhasil, tubuhnya mungkin mirip dengan yang kumiliki saat masih anak-anak, paling banter. Mungkin bahkan tidak sampai itu, kalau realistis."
"Apa—apa ras aslimu sebenarnya?" Lex bertanya, tertegun. Tak pernah terpikir olehnya bahwa dia bukan manusia.
"Aku dulu seorang Celestial."
The spirit crystal mountains were a magnificent sight. Though there was dirt and various kinds of vegetation covering the mountains, the clear crystals were visible prominently from every corner.
If you looked deep within the crystal, you would only see a distant darkness, but on surface level it was a mesmerizing sight, nevertheless. The energy concentration here was also extremely high. It was to the point where Lex was almost certain even a normal Foundation realm cultivator would not be able to tolerate it.
Heck, even Lex himself felt slightly uncomfortable so close to the mountain - or he would, if he removed the Host Attire. The air was 'thick' almost, and the wind had a texture which was something he could not wrap his head around.
But that hardly mattered. This entire mountain, and everything on it, including even the dirt, was extremely valuable. The grass growing here was almost transparent, with only the lightest green hue, but was better and more valuable than natural treasures that grew in other places.
These were extremely premium goods, and one would need to be at the very least in the Golden core realm to tolerate them. For example, if tea was made using these grass leaves, then traditional Foundation realm cultivators would explode upon drinking them.
Of course, this was only Lex's own analysis based on his knowledge. It would take proper study to explore the benefits and limits of just this grass alone, not to mention the trees, fruits and vegetables found growing on this mountain. Heck, Lex was pretty certain that if he took a handful of the dirt here and auctioned it at the Infinity Emporium, it would sell for an immense amount.
But that did not matter to Lex. Why would he need money now that he had literal mountains of spirit stones? No, what he needed now was much more valuable.
He teleported away, and reappeared around 1600 feet (500 meters) below the mountain in a small, underground cavern.
The cavern, though naturally formed, had an unusual shape in that it was a long, narrow corridor that moved in a spiraling pattern towards the center. For the first time ever, Lex felt like he was being exposed to one of the characters he used to make arrays in nature.
Although Lex had seen these characters used in architecture, he had never been able to find them in nature, which is where they're supposed to exist. In fact, they're supposed to be so common that they exist in everything he has ever seen or touched. But, for whatever reason, Lex had never found them - until now.
Instead of appearing directly in the middle, Lex appeared at the beginning of the cavern and walked its length. With the Host Attire on, he was not worried about getting stuck in some kind of trap.
Instead, he tried to study the character, and try and guess what meaning it was associated with. There was a small puddle of spirit elixir on the ground that he was walking above - it would be a shame if he dipped his shoes in something so valuable.
Strangely, Lex encountered no obstacle. Perhaps if he had not been wearing the suit he would have, but he was not interested in experimenting at the moment. When he reached the end of the spiral, he found a naturally formed bowl made entirely of diamond, filled to the brim with a milky liquid.
Right above it was a crystal stalactite extending down from the roof of the cavern, all the way down till it nearly touched the liquid in the bowl. If anyone else were to come here they would have no way of knowing, but Lex knew that this bowl was directly under the very peak of the mountain above it.
A warm, yellow glow filled the stalactite, as if carrying light from the very tip all the way down to these dark tunnels, and on its very tip, the light seemed to condense into a liquid. A drop was still forming on the tip, and eventually it would fall into the bowl.
Lex's body, which had grown tremendously strong during his training at the temple, began to react towards the liquid. His instincts woke up, and were causing him to crave the liquid as if he were on the verge of dying from thirst, and had encountered a heavenly oasis. Its scent, so pleasant and subtle, enticed him to take just a sip.
But as appealing as it was, this was not Lex's primary goal, though he did plan on taking some with him when he departed.
His goal was something hidden within the pool of milky elixir. Using his spirit sense, since he didn't want to accidentally spill some of the elixir if he used his hand, he reached into the bowl and took hold of a small, intricately designed necklace that seemed to have formed naturally.
Even the string around it was made from metal he did not recognize, but gave off a profound aura - as if it were the most valuable thing in the world.
"Milk of the mountain," Mary muttered in awe, as she appeared on his shoulder. "This is good stuff. But I don't recommend you have more than a drop of it before you become an immortal. How much of this you can absorb is limited, and it would be too wasteful to have it now."
"I'll keep that in mind," Lex nodded as he began to lift the necklace. It was surprisingly heavy, straining him.
"Can you… can you set aside a drop for me as well? To create my body, I mean."
"No problem," he replied. "This is only the second item you've asked for to create your body with. Just how high quality is the body you're trying to make?"
"It's not about high quality," she answered, with a hint of melancholy in her voice. "If I want to recreate a body from my original race, this is just the bare minimum of what I'll need. Even if I succeed, the body will probably be akin to the one I had as a child, at most. Probably not even that, if I'm being realistic."
"What- what was your actual race?" Lex asked, stunned. It never occurred to him that she wasn't human.
"I was a Celestial."
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!