After a simple and lively round of thanks, Yang Hong inspected the huge pit dug for the well.
With the help of Old Man Liu and Chen Xiaohu's spells, coupled with the villagers cultivating "Forty Hammer Strikes" and having first-grade spiritual rice as food, the villagers were equivalent to grandmaster martial artists among mortals, possessing immense strength.
Although the pit was a hundred zhang wide and two hundred zhang deep, after more than half a year of excavation, it had basically met the requirements, exceeding two hundred zhang in depth.
Yang Hong decided not to let the villagers dig further because, in about another zhang, they would encounter not soil and gravel, but a hard rock layer.
Yang Hong had investigated this rock layer; it was a hundred zhang thick, with the surface rock hardness comparable to a second-grade magical artifact, and the deeper rock was even harder.
No wonder the Golden Core cultivators of that era couldn't find a water source; even if they did, it would be difficult to excavate.
Of course, Yang Hong would not break the rock in front of the villagers.
After encouraging the villagers who dug the pit, Yang Hong left to continue studying the Hai Ting Feng.
Currently, the Hai Ting Feng was edible, but still quite unpalatable.
Yang Hong found that boiling, stir-frying, stewing, pan-frying, or braising the Hai Ting Feng individually resulted in a very unpleasant taste.
The cooking methods he had found so far were limited to three: Hai Ting Feng braised with rice, Hai Ting Feng porridge, and grinding the Hai Ting Feng into powder like sweet potatoes from his past life to use as a seasoning.
However, this seasoning was not suitable for stir-frying dishes or beast meat; it was only edible when stir-fried with insects like ants.
Truly a magical grain.
However, the very next day, Yang Hong witnessed a remarkable sight.
The adults in the village were each holding a fist-sized Hai Ting Feng, roasted over a fire. They peeled off the scorched outer skin, revealing golden flesh inside.
"Roasted sweet potato?"
"Yes, roasted Hai Ting Feng. It's delicious and invigorating. Boss Yang, would you like some?"
Hearing Yang Hong's question, the chubby boy Liu Fei pulled out a blackened roasted Hai Ting Feng from behind his backside and offered it to Yang Hong.
"Let me try it~ Hmm~ It is indeed invigorating."
What did it feel like?
Yang Hong immediately thought of a notorious internet delicacy from his past life: spicy grilled betel nuts.
And it was the deluxe version.
The taste was indeed invigorating; those who liked it might fall head over heels for it. However, after just one bite, Yang Hong lost the desire to eat any more.
"It seems these guys are too idle and have started researching dark cuisine."
Watching people leaving the village, each with a roasted Hai Ting Feng in hand, Yang Hong shook his head, unable to comprehend it, and decided to find something for them to do.
He returned to his room and used an Earth Evasion spell to pass through over two hundred zhang of mud and sand, and more than twenty zhang of rock, appearing directly in the darkness underground.
This underground river was surprisingly wide. Yang Hong examined it carefully; it was a hundred zhang wide, but it was currently the dry season, and the water level was less than half full.
"This is a bit troublesome. We'll need to modify the waterway to allow the water to flow normally to the surface.
There are no water pumps here, so we can only rely on the pressure of the underground river itself to push the water up."
This was more than two hundred and sixty zhang deep underground, which was over 700 meters below the surface. If he only dug through the underground rock layer, the well he dug would only have water during the flood season.
"I hope the Tesla valve is truly useful; that will save me a lot of effort."
In the rock layer, which was more than thirty zhang thick, Yang Hong directly used the "Divine Refinement Treasure Crafting Technique" to refine a Tesla valve channel that was 180 zhang long and only one zhang wide.
At the inlet of the channel, Yang Hong placed it directly at the bottom of the underground river, and the outlet was directly below the giant pit he had excavated.
After completing this setup, Yang Hong used Earth Evasion to return to his residence, waiting for Chen Xiaohu to bring him good news.
"Boss Yang~ Boss Yang~ Great news~ Great news! We've found water, we've found water."
"Really? Take me to see."
Indeed, in less than an hour, Chen Xiaohu came excitedly to report the good news to him. Yang Hong naturally played along with his joy for a while, while also encouraging the villagers of Chishi Village.
He also asked the villagers to leave, as he needed to quickly use his magic to fortify the well walls before the groundwater surfaced.
"Boss Yang, why don't I stay and help too?"
Hearing that Yang Hong was going to use magic to fortify the well walls, Chen Xiaohu licked his lips and asked cautiously. This was a good opportunity to secretly learn some spells.
"Alright~ You train outside the wellhead and don't let anyone get close. Old Man Liu, your task is also to absolutely prevent anyone from entering."
Yang Hong refused Chen Xiaohu, and on his way down, he casually dropped a few second-grade disposable magical artifact lightning beads.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaohu and Old Man Liu tactfully retreated, watching Yang Hong descend into the giant well with his seven wives.
"Husband, what formation are you going to set up?"
Upon reaching the bottom of the well, they could see the perpetually dry soil, and water droplets were beginning to condense. The groundwater was starting to rise.
"I will set up a few flowing water formations at the bottom of this well. You all cast your spells on the walls, first with 'Rock Solid' and then with 'Earth to Steel,' so that all the well walls can be infused with spells."
"No problem."
Zhu Yuyan and the others naturally agreed. Their actual cultivation was at the sixth-order Soul Division realm.
For a giant well over two hundred zhang deep, if they didn't consider the effectiveness of the spells, they could have finished it with a single spell.
However, since they had nothing else to do, and it was a rare opportunity to exert their full strength, the seven of them cast their spells with all their might, advancing ten zhang at a time.
Yang Hong, on the other hand, took out some water-attribute spiritual materials and set up formations at the bottom of the well.
In just half a day, they completed the fortification of the well. The well, which was originally 100 zhang wide, became 120 zhang wide. This was because using magic to solidify the soil involved compressing it.
"Boss Yang, what have you guys been doing? This pit has actually widened again."
As soon as Yang Hong and the others emerged, Old Man Liu, full of curiosity, squeezed over.
"It's just spell solidification. As for what kind of spell, you shouldn't ask."
Knowing the old man's intentions, Yang Hong directly cut off his question. Old Man Liu retreated with a wry smile, and Chen Xiaohu also looked regretful.
However, neither dared to ask further. In just over two hours, they had condensed the reinforced well walls by another ten zhang. Just thinking about it sent shivers down their spines.
If such a spell were used on them, turning them into a pancake would be a certainty.
If it weren't for their year of acquaintance, the two of them would have certainly bolted for their lives, convinced that Yang Hong and his wives had no ill intentions towards them.
Old Man Liu quickly changed the subject and said,
"Boss Yang, you've dug such a large well, how long will it take to fill up with water?"
"Very quickly."
As Yang Hong spoke, he pointed at the well, and a water-blue light shot down.
*Bang*
As the water-blue magical light disappeared, a white stream of water directly sprayed upwards.
*Gurgling*
A water column one zhang thick shot more than ten zhang above the ground. This was practically a fountain.
Chen Xiaohu and Liu Laotou, who had been born and raised in deserts and wastelands, had their eyeballs pop out.
"Boss~ Boss~ Boss Yang, this~ this is the well we dug?"
"Is there really a water vein beneath our feet? And the water volume is this large?"
"Boss Yang, can I have a drink of this water?"
The two of them appeared so unsophisticated, which was embarrassing but very real.
This was the most common situation for mortals and cultivators in the Junshi Desert.
"Feel free. As long as you don't poison the water again, you can do whatever you want with it.
It's just a well."