The situation was starting to appear particularly dire this time around. As Laude continued sprinting toward Lantern-Bridge Mountain's central structure, the Observatorium, the seismic tremors had begun growing in strength.

It wasn't long before the buildings surrounding the Observatorium began jerking and wobbling as if they were made of out wet cardboard. Laude's blood pressure skyrocketed when he realized that it would not be very long before the big project that he and Head Elder Ohtal had been working on would pass through the critical threshold.

No matter how quickly Laude ran, he would never reach the underground site where their project was located. Once Laude recognized that sobering fact, the gears in his head began turning — he needed a faster form of transportation and fast.

Goddamnit!! Where's an elder disciple when you need one?! Or a junior disciple with a flying tool?! Even a mildly fast spirit beast will suffice! Anything will do!

He wildly scanned his surroundings but only found fleeing junior disciples that would be of no help. If there were any elder disciples around, they would likely be escorting their juniors out of the mountain, so Laude knew that he would not be able to count on them to help him.

A miracle would have to happen if Laude was to fix this disaster. What he needed specifically was a hero. Thankfully, one such hero was already on the way...

"Laude!! Stay right here, you bastard! Don't run away!!" shouted a distant voice behind Laude.

When Laude turned around to see who was calling out to him, he discovered Belladonna approaching him at a blistering pace. Even though Laude did not know why she had followed him, he gladly welcomed her abrupt appearance. She was precisely what Laude needed at the moment — a trusty steed.

He cheerfully waved his arms in the air and shouted, "Bella!! Hurry up and get your ass over here!! I need your help!!"

The instant that Belladonna reached Laude, she tossed out a fearsome palm thrust that would have probably terrified the almighty Buddha had he been around to witness it. Laude was immediately catapulted like a rag doll, and he achieved flight for a couple of meters before he crashed into the ground pathetically.

"That was for ruining my favorite dress robe, you bastard. I'm never going to be able to get the ink completely off! Next time we go out to town, you're going to buy me a brand new one, or else... Have I made myself clear, punk?"

As Laude gasped for dear life, he painfully spat said, "T-Transparently clear... So please don't do that again... My poor, poor spleen..."

Though Belladonna wasn't delighted with Laude at the moment, she put aside her feelings after he informed her about the current situation. After all, it wasn't every day that White Dew Society was under threat of exploding in a cataclysmic man-made disaster. Even so, Belladonna never imagined that she would be forced to do something so... uncouth for the sake of her Society.

A grim scowl was clearly plastered across her obscured face as she carried Laude in her arms as if he were a bride-to-be. Unlike Laude, who could not use any Immortal Arts without using his plum branch, Belladonna was perfectly capable of using them without the use of a tool.

A single use of the "Swiftwind" Immortal Art by Belladonna, which propelled the user forward with a powerful current of wind, and she was sent flying across the sky like a low-altitude glider with her man-bride in tow.

"Oh, I didn't notice at all — did you cut your hair recently? It looks good on you," said Laude as he took in the sight of his dashing hero. Strange as it sounded, Laude felt it quite enjoyable being carried like a princess. Having someone cradle you in their arms was a very comforting and reassuring experience. Laude assumed that was why ladies enjoyed being carried like this so much...

Belladonna snorted coldly, but Laude knew better than to take her reply at face value. Though he couldn't see her face, he knew that she was probably embarrassed right now. Belladonna was the type of person that was weak to compliments and teasing, despite the elegant and poised facade she kept up for the public.

She smells faintly of lavender today... Reminds me of home. It's really nice, but I get the feeling that if I comment on it, I'm going to get the shit kicked out of me again. Best not to provoke this tigress any further for now. Gonna have to make all of this up to her later, too... That's going to cost me a pretty little penny...

Not too long afterward, they arrived at the entrance of the Observatorium, the central structure of the Lantern-Bridge Mountain. It was an impressive 350-meter tower built at the summit of Lantern-Bridge Mountain. At the top of the tower, a fancy domed roof held an impressive arcane telescope used to observe the stars above and the aetherial flow of Spiritual Qi in the uppermost layers of the sky.

It was deep beneath this tower created to gaze up at the Heavens that Laude and Head Elder Ohtal had dared to delve into unknown territory. Not for personal benefit, but for the benefit of everyone. This, however, did not mean that they had been in the right to do what they had done.

There was a good reason why the old proverb, "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions," existed...

Laude ushered Belladonna as they entered the Observatorium and said, "Come on, we don't have any time left. The fastest way down to the heart of the mountain is down that big hole right there. Sorry, but you're going to have to carry me again. It's a bit crude, but that excavation hole goes down about 1200 meters. That'll get us about, say, 85% of the way to the mountain's core in one go."

Do you... usually use this pit to go down? How do you get back out afterward?" said Belladonna, slightly concerned.

"Oh, that's the easy part. Head Elder Ohtal assembled a shift-blink array at the site where we were working. Step on the shift-blink array, and you'll end getting transported to its sister array, which is in a room three stories above us."

Belladonna grunted in acknowledgment, but she still wasn't all too excited about delving into the depths of a mountain on the drop of a hat. Anyone would feel the same about entering a dark, confined, and unknown place like that...

Even worse was that in the heart of most mountains, one could usually find a slumbering mountain god — the crystallization of a ludicrous amount of Spiritual Qi and the unconscious desires of intelligent beings.

Thankfully, none of the mountains that White Dew Society had been built on had a mountain god sleeping within them. This was because all the mountains in White Dew Society's vicinity were remote and, more importantly, unnamed mountains. They were far removed from a large population of intelligent beings, such as humans or beastfolk.

Without a proper name, recorded history, and the unconscious wishes of people, a god would never manifest in a mountain, no matter how much Spiritual Qi might flow through them.

Gods existed everywhere and nowhere, born from people's beliefs, yet they remained hidden from the mortal world.

Some gods were so feeble that they sometimes evaporated like morning dew once it got too hot in the afternoon, only to appear again in the morning once the proper conditions for their manifestation allowed them to do so.

Other gods were so powerful they could remain alive at all times of the day and night, unlike their weaker brethren. With enough willpower and Spiritual Qi, they could even affect the mortal world and interfere with more... intangible connections that formed the world.

As Belladonna carried Laude down the excavation pit with the use of the "Featherfall" Immortal Art, which was only helpful in making soft landings, she said, "But how does that all of that tie into what is happening right now? You already said that there isn't a god within Lantern-Bridge Mountain."

Laude chuckled awkwardly and said, "About that little detail... Well, you see... Head Elder Ohtal came up with a wonderful idea several months ago. What if White Dew Society had its own guardian deity? Wouldn't that be wonderful? A god dedicated to protecting the Society in case it ever, uh, got in a troublesome situation? So, we kind of gave it a shot..."

"We tried to create a god."

The concept of a guardian deity was relatively obvious, as evident in the name. In the past, before the Spiritual Qi Crisis, many grand Societies had built their headquarters atop famous mountains or nearby great rivers that had given birth to a powerful god.

Contracts made between cultivators and a god were relatively simple; in return for protecting the domain of the god and spreading awareness of their name, the god would protect the Society and its disciples as long as they remained within its territory. It was essentially just a form of insurance that well-to-do Societies employed to establish their authority in the cultivation world over a section of land.

Laude and Ohtal knew that even if they succeeded, they wouldn't be able to create a powerful god. But that wasn't their goal in the first place. They just wanted to create something that would appear threatening. What they wanted was a paper tiger, so to speak.

Laude knew that even he left today, parties interested in him would eventually come knocking at White Dew Society's doorstep, looking for answers. And, sure, some of these parties would certainly behave cordially and respectfully; others would not be so... civilized.

He wanted to give something to White Dew Society to handle the unruly folk that would inevitably come to start trouble. A guardian deity just convincing enough to scare and deter any would-be villains from attacking White Dew Society outright. A scarecrow to spook misbehaving cultivators.

"It's the very least I can do for this Society. I can't assemble an army of soldiers to protect it or face the horde of people who want my head, but I can at least pull a little trick to help this place get by. Might as well do the only thing I'm good at to pay this Society back for its kindness..."

Belladonna asked, "And what exactly are you good at? Playing cheap tricks on people? Or is it lying to people?"

"The only thing I'm good at is pretending to be something I'm not. In fact, I was so good at pretending to be an Imperial Official that I..."

He immediately restrained himself when he felt his rage gurgling up his throat like vomit. The last thing he wanted to do was let his emotions get the best of him at the moment. Focusing on the current task at hand was all that mattered. If he failed to resolve the issue, it would lead to the destruction of Lantern-Bridge Mountain and, in all likelihood, the deaths of many innocent disciples.

Laude refused to let that happen. He already had enough blood on his hands. A single drop more, and he would never be able to live with himself...

Once they finally made it to the bottom of the excavation pit, Laude said, "Follow me. The path to the heart of the mountain is relatively straightforward — Bella, can you release a thread of Spiritual Qi in that direction? We're going to need a bit of light to show us the way."

Belladonna didn't understand, but she complied with Laude's request nevertheless. She released a tiny thread of her Spiritual Qi in the direction Laude gestured towards and let it aimlessly float ahead of them. Almost immediately, darkness gave way to a stunning display of fractal light.

The thread of Spiritual Qi caused an innumerable amount of fingernail-sized Spirit Stones to enter a spontaneous chain reaction, upon which they all released a little bit of their own Spiritual Qi and a small amount of light. Each mote of Spiritual Qi released by the Spirit Stones caused other Spiritual Stones to react in response.

In the blink of an eye, the tunnel path they were in turned into a glittering lightshow filled with tiny little stars. It was such an incredibly moving sight to behold that Belladonna was actually struck dumb when she witnessed it form before her eyes. Hundreds of thousands of tiny flickering light formed what could only be described as a literal path of stars.

"Come on, we need to follow the path before the chain reaction finishes, or we'll get stuck in the dark again. The tunnel system in here is rather complex, and it's very easy to get lost if you take a wrong turn," said Laude as he pulled Belladonna forward and began running.

Even so, Belladonna was equally amazed and confused at the stunning turn of events. As far as she knew, White Dew Society was founded upon a Spiritual leyline, not a Spirit Stone mine. And yet, there were an endless amount of Spirit Stones buried deep within Lantern-Bridge Mountain. Yes, they were tiny little things compared to the common Spirit Stones, but they were still Spirit Stones.

How is this possible? The Head Elders should have discovered these Spirit Stone fragments ages ago. And I've never heard of us having a hidden mine either. A secret like that would've been revealed to me when I became an elder disciple years ago...

Something's not adding up... and when things don't add up, it usually means shenanigans must've been afoot. In other words, Laude...

After a few minutes of frantic sprinting and muffled cursing, Laude and Belladonna finally arrived at their destination, the now-beating heart of Lantern-Bridge Mountain.

A truly vast, hollowed-out area was laid before them, large enough to hold multiple Observatoriums with plenty of space to spare. It was so expansive that you could actually see a false night sky formed from enormous crystal pillars made of Spirit Stone when you looked up. The Spiritual Qi was so condensed at the heart of Lantern-Bridge Mountain that if a non-cultivator were present, even they would have been able to visibly see the flow of Spiritual Qi around them.

At the center of the hollowed-out mountain was a huge altar formed entirely out of Spirit Stone, which caused Belladonna to gasp sharply. She quickly determined that the amount of Spirit Stone required to build something like that exceeded the White Dew Society's annual budget. Hell, even with a decade of stingy saving and hoarding, they still wouldn't have been able to construct that absurd altar.

Either they won the lottery and stumbled into a Spirit Stone mine down here, or... No, it doesn't make sense. But if that's the case, then how...?

Above the Spirit Stone altar, a gigantic, glowing conflux of Spiritual Qi had congealed into a viscous liquid that seemed to have the consistency of wriggly gelatin. In all honestly looked quite tasty, but Laude wagered that if he ate even a fistful of it, he'd explode tragically like a waterskin that had been filled way beyond its limit...

Atop the Spirit Stone altar, a middle-aged wearing an elegant Northern suit waved his arms wildly and shouted, "Laude, my chap!! I think we've finally done it!! The Spiritual Qi has attained the necessary concentration, and the cognitive amplifiers are operating at their maximum load!! Get a move on and help me stabilize the convergence nodes at points 8, 14, and 23!!!"

Unlike the rest of Lantern-Bridge mountain, which was in a state of crisis, Head Elder Ohtal was having the greatest time of his life. He was what would describe in the not-too-distant future as a "mad scientist," an academic with no regard for personal safety or ethics when it came to one great passion of his life.

Belladonna frowned when she heard Head Elder Ohtal's jovial tone and quietly said, "I am absolutely going to report this to Elder Alnus after we're done. Just you wait, just you wait... You're both going to get it today."

Laude would have shuddered at Belladonna's and begged for mercy on any other occasion, but he surprisingly kept a serene expression as he began to head over to the Spirit Stone altar.

Oh, my sweet little summer child... What you don't know is that Alnus was the one who greenlit this project. You're barking up the wrong tree... but I won't tell ya that. Go follow your dreams, sis...