45: Chapter 45 The Dragon Emerges from the Water

However, Cao Xiao had no intention of being a "nature's porter"; the flow rate of this small stream wasn't enough to supply a city. Since being attacked by the python, Cao Xiao had developed an inexplicable fear of Baiyun Mountain. Located at the mysterious 30th parallel north, no one had ever truly entered its deepest reaches, and animal attacks on humans were frequent in the surrounding areas. It was clear that the animals in Baiyun Mountain were far more aggressive than those elsewhere. Thus, Cao Xiao changed his mind and no longer considered channeling surface water to Tianxing Garden. Doing so would cause other problems: first, animals might follow the stream to Tianxing Garden; second, the rainy season would cause flash floods; third, surface water was easily contaminated; and fourth, the terrain was uneven.

To this end, he pondered for a long time before coming up with a solution: using underground pipes to channel water directly from the source. This way, no other problems would arise, and the concealment would be excellent; otherwise, it would be difficult to explain how a stream had appeared out of nowhere from the mountains. Once the pipes were buried, the outlet could be made into a spring, and no one would notice anything unusual. As for the pipes, they were easy to solve: he could simply melt soil and rock into lava at high temperatures and then mold them into pipes. Soil composition is complex, with minerals making up a relatively small portion alongside water, air, and organic matter. However, the Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace could generate ultra-high temperatures and pressure, forcibly blending all substances produced by melting the soil into a stable stone-like material. Although the quality of this stone material couldn't compare to ordinary bluestone, its corrosion resistance made it more durable than plastic or metal pipes, lasting eight to ten years without breaking.

A thirty-centimeter diameter would be enough; any larger might cause the stream to run dry. However, the pipe walls had to be thick so they wouldn't be easily damaged even by geological shifts.

He began collecting soil underground from a depth of fifty meters within the rock crevices, creating a cavity one meter in diameter and one hundred meters long at a depth of ten meters, connecting it to the water vein. Then, using the Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace, he melted it into magma at several thousand degrees and processed it into a pipe the same size as the cavity. After quickly cooling it and placing it in the underground cavity, the water began to flow along the pipe. Then, Cao Xiao continued laying pipes from the end of the previous one, wrapping the joints with molten magma. Once the magma cooled, the two pipes would be sealed together, preventing leaks.

Cao Xiao walked back along the path he had cleared, laying pipes as he went. It only took two minutes to lay one pipe; the Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace could instantly create ultra-high temperatures inside, melting the soil in thirty seconds, with half of the two minutes spent walking.

After two hours, he finally finished laying the pipes to Tianxing Garden. He chose the highest point in the garden for the outlet. Originally, he intended to just throw something together, but then he thought of a fountain, and his imagination ran wild; he wanted to make this outlet unique.

Forgetting the leaden heaviness in his legs, he used the remaining magma in the Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace to mold an eighteen-meter-long Stone Dragon. Furthermore, he covered the dragon's exterior with purple scales made of two-centimeter-thick melted Amethyst. The eyes were two Crystal Balls with pupils made of black charcoal, and the two dragon horns were made of chicken blood stone. This Purple Divine Dragon had its tail and hind claws on the ground, connected to a stone platform, while its upper body rose over five meters high. Its head twisted back in a full circle before turning forward with its mouth wide open in a roar, its two front claws splayed forward, looking lifelike. The dragon's body was hollow, with the tail connected to the underground pipe. A jet of water sprayed forward from the dragon's mouth, shooting ten meters away. From a distance, it looked like a divine dragon furiously launching a water attack.

After finishing the divine dragon outlet, he wasn't done. Cao Xiao collected soil to a depth of one meter in a pot-bottom shape within a ten-meter radius of where the water landed. Then, in the Synthesis and Decomposition Furnace, he fired it into a circular Stone Pot with a ten-meter radius. He placed the Stone Pot into the pit to serve as a pool. The upward surface of the Stone Pot had spiderweb-like cracks, but they were only a few centimeters deep; the pool wouldn't leak, it just gave people the impression that it was made of joined pieces of bluestone.

Finally, Cao Xiao placed the three-meter-diameter Crystal Ball in the center of the pool. The water jet landed perfectly on the Crystal Ball, and he wasn't afraid the impact would damage it; if it broke, he could just remelt it. Doing this wasn't enough, so he set an outlet on one side of the pool. When the water overflowed, it would flow out through the outlet. He also needed to create a small ditch to guide the water to a low-lying area. He had already found a spot—a small basin nearby—but it wasn't deep enough to hold much water.

This basin was a bit over ten mu in size and could be deepened and expanded into a small lake. It wouldn't take much effort; a single collection could dig a massive pit of nearly fifty mu. It was also pot-bottom shaped, with the deepest part thirty meters below the surface. However, he left a ten-mu island in the center. The island rose five meters above the water level, with soil on the surface, but he turned the area two meters deep into Lava Stone; otherwise, it wouldn't withstand the erosion of the water. This lake was a perfect circle, which was too regular and might look suspicious, so he haphazardly widened the edges a bit and made the lakebed terrain messy. This way, it looked fine. However, he accidentally doubled its size, and now it looked to be at least a hundred mu. It didn't matter if it was large; he could raise more fish here to supplement his energy later.

He used the collected soil to make Lava Stone for a stone path around the lake, but he only used a small portion. There were nearly a million cubic meters of stone, which he couldn't use up all at once. So, he drove his car around the small road surrounding Tianxing Garden and replaced all the wire mesh fences with stone walls three meters high and one meter thick. The two-meter-high wire mesh couldn't withstand the impact of animals; if he didn't replace it, it wouldn't last more than a few years. Of course, he didn't replace the part near the main gate, as there were still people from the housekeeping company in the villa. Even so, he only used about thirty thousand cubic meters of Lava Stone. Had he known, he wouldn't have turned it all into Lava Stone; he had no place to use it and nowhere to store it. This stone, forcibly sintered from soil, was not dense and had an ugly color, lacking any commercial value. It couldn't even be used for paving roads, as it would crumble before long. It was truly a "chicken rib"—useless but a pity to discard—but he could only leave it for now and find a place to dump it later.

He was exhausted today; even his calves ached while driving. He didn't plan to stay and clear the woodland tonight. Although he could do it quickly himself, it was troublesome to handle and, crucially, hard to explain. It was better to spend some money to hire people. At most, hiring a hundred workers plus machinery could finish it in a month, and it wouldn't cost much. He didn't need to worry about the lake either; it would be good if it filled with water within a month.

Before he could return to the villa, the housekeeping company called. The villa cleaning was complete. Driving back, he saw it was indeed brand new. The plants in the garden, including the flowers and trees planted by the previous owner, had all been cleared and piled up outside the gate. Entering the villa, he saw that even the furniture and appliances were almost finished. He paid the balance to the housekeeping company and gave each person an additional two-hundred-yuan bonus. After seeing them off, he asked the appliance installation technician and learned that after the two businesses came to see the site, they immediately sent the appropriate furniture and appliances. They also brought plenty of help and even assisted the housekeeping company for free. Once the villa was clean, they began installing and arranging the appliances, finishing ahead of the scheduled tomorrow. It would all be done in just a bit.

All the facilities were complete; with some daily necessities, he could even stay here tonight. Cao Xiao was very grateful to the two businesses. Setting aside their service attitude, their speed and diligence alone deserved a ninety. After waiting for them to finish, he gave each of the workers a large five-hundred-yuan red envelope on the spot, making them incredibly happy. They hadn't expected the owner to be so generous, and it made their hard work worthwhile. Finally, he asked them to bring a wild boar leg to each of the two bosses and immediately paid the remaining balance for both companies.

He saw the workers out the main gate and watched as their vehicles drove away, the sky turning dark. He also drove out to close the gate and replaced that section of wire fencing along the way.