The Nine-Colored Peony, under the curious touches of Zhu Yuyan and the other six, blushed with embarrassment.
Fortunately, Zhu Yuyan and the others were merely curious and did not engage in any inappropriate actions. After satisfying their curiosity, they even guided the Nine-Colored Peony to transform the fallen leaves and petals from its apotheosis, struck by heavenly lightning, into clothing.
A white cloud-brocade fitted gauze dress unexpectedly added a touch of elegance to the Nine-Colored Peony, imbuing it with a graceful nobility that even made Zhu Yuyan and the others feel a pang of jealousy.
"Nine-Colored Peony, do you have any inherited memories? Do you have your own name?"
After a period of observation, the seven individuals and one demon sat down. Zhu Yuyan, as the eldest, asked the question.
"Replying to Madam, this humble demon has inherited memories, but not many. Within these memories, there is only a cultivation technique for absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth, one charm spell, two transformation spells, and a secret art for concealing one's aura. As for a name, since this humble demon gained sentience, its master called it Six-Colored Peony, then Seven-Colored Peony, then Eight-Colored Peony, and finally, Nine-Colored Peony."
Upon hearing Zhu Yuyan's question, the Nine-Colored Peony answered honestly.
"Pfft—this is so like husband's style," Song Yuzhi, standing nearby, couldn't help but chuckle first.
Yang Hong's talent for naming was indeed not great; he prioritized simplicity and memorability, disregarding profound meanings, acting with great spontaneity.
"Hehe~~~"
The others also couldn't help but laugh.
"How about this: since you are a peony flower transformed, let's take Mu as your surname. Coincidentally, humans also have the surname 'Mu.' As for your given name, let's call you 'Xiu Hui,' hoping you will be as beautiful as you are wise."
After some discussion, Zhu Yuyan and the others gave the Nine-Colored Peony the name Mu Xiu Hui. The Nine-Colored Peony was also very fond of this name and knelt to thank her Madams.
With a new companion, Zhu Yuyan and the others were overjoyed. They requested Yang Hong to impart the "Great Five Elements True Interpretation" to Mu Xiu Hui, and then the seven of them gained a new playmate.
Or rather, a "toy."
The seven of them, pulling Mu Xiu Hui along, began to impart all sorts of knowledge, indulging their past habit of being teachers. In reality, much of this knowledge could have been conveyed with a single "Spiritual Light Transmission," but they desired to teach through personal instruction. The eight and a half years had simply made them too bored.
Meanwhile, Yang Hong focused his attention on the seal that imprisoned them. After a heavenly tribulation, the area of this seal had indeed expanded, from its previous diameter of two li to a diameter of two li and twenty zhang, encompassing a small portion of the palace he had previously constructed. This meant that this heavenly tribulation had only increased the radius of the seal by ten zhang. The seal's strength had not weakened; not only could people not escape, but even inanimate objects of Tier 1 or higher could not pass through.
However, there was also good news: Yang Hong's divine sense, extended beyond the seal, had grown by one zhang, now reaching one hundred zhang. This finally gave Yang Hong a glimmer of hope for escape. Most importantly, after his inspection, Yang Hong discovered that while the seal had expanded, it had not damaged the formations he had previously laid on the palace. The formations were still functioning, and the palace, constructed from white and blue ice crystals, continued to emit a faint red glow. Both inside and outside the seal, the ice crystals still radiated a gentle warmth. This indicated that the seal's containment could not prevent certain things that already existed from its expansion.
"Although it's troublesome, and I have no idea how long it will take to escape, at least hope is in sight."
This discovery excited Yang Hong, but he quickly calmed himself. He now needed to carefully consider how to quickly leave this sealed space. Suppressing his excitement, he knocked off a floor tile that did not affect the formations or the palace's structure and placed it against the seal. The result...
"As expected, is it like this?"
"Solid objects above Tier 1 cannot pass through the seal."
"So, what can truly pass through the seal should be the formations."
With this initial experiment, Yang Hong had a direction. Next, Yang Hong attempted to disconnect a minor formation that had little impact on the palace and then reconnect it. Contrary to his expectations, the formation, after being disconnected and reconnected, failed again. It seemed this seal was far more powerful than he had imagined. Only by constructing and arranging the formations before the seal expanded could they be effective.
"Perhaps there is a formation that can help me leave."
Despite the seal's power and numerous restrictions, Yang Hong quickly conceived of a few methods for breaking through. He did not immediately arrange formations in the newly expanded eleven zhang space. Instead, he spent his time learning three formations and experimenting within the seal.
"Damn, it's still like this. I wonder if arranging it outside the seal and letting it be covered by the expanding seal would work?"
Yang Hong was quite frustrated after three months of effort and repeated failures. He temporarily set aside his formation experiments and began clearing the accumulated snow outside the seal, within the limit of his divine sense. He refined all the snow and ice into artifact bricks using the divine forging technique from [Divine Forging Artifacts]. He then began attempting to engrave simple formations onto these bricks. Although they were elementary formations, with increasing proficiency, he was confident he could engrave more powerful ones in the future. In fact, this technique was not his own invention; it was the method for refining formation plates. However, despite receiving extensive legacies and memories, Yang Hong had never acquired the technique for refining formation plates. After all, this was a closely guarded, profitable technique for any faction, and very few possessed it. Thus, Yang Hong could only combine formations and artifact refining to slowly explore this path.
"Huh? A seed~ There's actually a seed on this snow mountain? Did it blow here from somewhere?"
One day, as Yang Hong was refining bricks imbued with the basic Three Talents Formation, he unexpectedly detected a seed within his divine sense. It was a tiny, willow-fluff-like seed, smaller than a needle's eye, with a very weak life force.
"Even if it's a seed, it might not survive. Especially now, when I cannot leave and my spells cannot be cast, it's really troublesome."
Holding the seed with his divine sense, Yang Hong furrowed his brow. However, he still wanted to try cultivating it, in case of any pleasant surprises. First, he brought the seed into the palace. The palace, constructed from ice, was covered by Yang Hong's Warm Fire Formation, allowing the temperature inside to be maintained at around minus 50 degrees Celsius. It was important to note that the temperature outside the palace was below minus 200 degrees Celsius.
He then used ice tiles to arrange a combination of three formations for a spiritual field: the Spirit Gathering Formation, the Vitality Formation, and the Water Vitality Formation. Although the current temperature in the palace could not form water, he would build the formations first and then find a way to solve the water problem. In fact, for the next few years, Yang Hong was dedicated to solving the significant problem of water. If he were within the seal, Yang Hong wouldn't even need the [Sweet Rain Technique]; a mere Tier 1 [Rain Gathering Technique] would resolve the water issue. However, with spells unable to leave the seal, he could only rely on formations. But in an environment below minus 200 degrees Celsius, with his divine sense and magical power restricted, after a full eight years of attempts, the only method Yang Hong found to increase the ambient temperature outside the seal was the [Warm Fire Formation]. Furthermore, even this Warm Fire Formation was restricted and suppressed by the rules of this world.
Pu Ji Bodhisattva might not have anticipated Yang Hong using fire to melt ice, but her intention was to limit Yang Hong's actions with low temperatures, hence "fire" was indeed restricted in this world. Yang Hong was naturally unaware of these details, but he persisted in his efforts and experiments.