On the Sky Island.
Jiang Xuan finished placing his last stone, then stood up and surveyed his surroundings.
It was still the same platform as before, but it had now expanded considerably.
At the very least, it was already about seven or eight hundred square meters.
Roughly estimated, they should be able to reach 50x50 around 2 PM.
At this time, the platform was no longer an endless expanse of stone.
Not far away were twenty furnaces and six workbenches.
In addition, there were ten large chests, neatly stacked to the side.
These were not the most important things.
Jiang Xuan picked up his pickaxe and walked towards a strange structure beside him.
It was seven meters long and three meters wide.
The middle was hollowed out, making it look like a trough.
Magma flowed on one side, and clear water flowed on the other.
Between the magma and the clear water was a stone block.
This was a simple stone generator.
Because there were no hoppers or anything, it couldn't be made into an automatic stone generator for now.
However, for the current stage, it was sufficient.
In essence, a stone generator utilizes the principle of infinite diffusion of water and magma to continuously generate stone.
It seemed simple, but there were still some tricks to it.
Magma meeting water turns into stone, but water meeting magma turns into obsidian.
Although obsidian was good, Jiang Xuan didn't have a diamond pickaxe yet, and he didn't plan to go to the Nether.
Jiang Xuan pondered, but his hands were mechanically digging stone.
With the stone generator, digging stone was only convenient, but not efficient.
The best situation would be to build two more stone generators.
However...
It would ruin the aesthetics and take up space.
Jiang Xuan had his own plans for the Sky Island area.
He needed an automatic farm, and also needed to reserve space for a monster grinder and an iron farm.
For now, he would just make do. Anyway, there was no rush, and the Sky Island would definitely be initially set up before they returned.
"Jiang Xuan?"
Ganyu's soft voice echoed in his ear. Jiang Xuan turned around and saw Ganyu and the two others behind him.
It seemed they had been there for a while.
"This is..."
Ganyu curiously pointed at the strange device.
Jiang Xuan smiled and handed Ganyu the pickaxe.
"Stone generator, Ganyu, want to try?"
"Mmm! Want to try!"
Ganyu nodded cutely, then gripped the pickaxe with a serious expression.
She tentatively dug away the appearing stone, and magma and water instantly converged.
Before Ganyu's very eyes, it instantly transformed into a stone.
Ganyu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"So magical! Endless stone?"
Jiang Xuan smiled and nodded.
"If the magma and water flows were placed in a different order, obsidian would appear."
"However, obsidian is hard to mine without a diamond pickaxe, so it's best not to make that."
"I'll do it. Ganyu must be tired from this morning's work. Take a break."
"The first row, leftmost chest, has food. If you're hungry, grab something to eat."
Saying this, Jiang Xuan glanced at Ningguang and said softly:
"If you don't like the food, when I've dug up a stack of stone, I'll take you back to Liyue."
Hearing this, Ningguang withdrew her surprised gaze and gently shook her head.
"I'm not that delicate. Since work is progressing smoothly, there's no need to make a fuss."
"Besides, I've tasted the food here. At least those apples taste very good."
Jiang Xuan nodded, smiling:
"It seems you chopped a lot of trees today."
At the mention of this, Ningguang became somewhat interested.
She took out a few saplings and handed them over.
"When chopping trees, the leaves disappeared, and not only apples and sticks fell, but also these saplings..."
"Jiang Xuan, do you have a use for them?"
Saplings?
Jiang Xuan was startled, then shook his head.
"Not for now. Although I have ideas for creating a tree-planting area on the sky platform, the initial planned size of the sky platform is not enough."
"I also need to reserve a plot of land for growing crops. I'll do this when the second phase of the project begins. I have quite a few saplings on my side too; these things aren't worth much."
As he spoke, Jiang Xuan's hands didn't stop moving. He took the pickaxe and continued to dig stone on his own.
"Then can I take these back to Liyue to plant?"
Ningguang asked curiously. Jiang Xuan smiled.
"Of course you can. Didn't they already grow successfully in that private garden? It's just that the growth rate in Teyvat might not be as fast as here."
"It doesn't matter. When we have more bone meal later, you can use it to ripen them. Keqing should have told you about this, right?"
Hearing this, Ningguang shook her head in confusion and turned to Keqing.
Jiang Xuan was a little puzzled.
"Such an important matter, Keqing, would you forget it? Bone meal can ignore the time factor and forcefully ripen all crops and plants!"
At this, Ningguang and Zhongli, who was beside them, were both moved.
As the nation most skilled in farming among the Seven Nations of Teyvat, no one understood better than the people of Liyue what it meant to ripen crops.
Even though Liyue was prosperous, many people still went hungry.
Of course, it was just a matter of not having enough to eat.
Wealth disparity was a universal issue.
"Keqing! Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"
Ningguang frowned slightly, looking at Keqing with some confusion.
Keqing, who always handled matters meticulously and never overlooked anything, had actually forgotten something so important?
Keqing pouted, offering no explanation.
Ganyu, however, came to Keqing's rescue.
"No, Ningguang, it's... bone meal is too special..."
Ganyu hesitated, glanced at Jiang Xuan, and whispered:
"Bone meal... is made from bones, and bones..."
"Are... human bones..."
Hearing this, Ningguang and Zhongli's pupils constricted slightly, and they looked at Jiang Xuan with complex expressions.
No wonder Keqing was unwilling to talk about this.
This is simply...
Too far beyond the bottom line that Teyvat people could accept.
Especially in Liyue, a nation that values "resting in peace" and "respect for the deceased."
Not to mention, if Hu Tao knew about this, she would surely be the first to charge over and cause a huge scene.
Jiang Xuan casually threw away his broken stone pickaxe and smiled wryly, spreading his hands.
"Ganyu's explanation is incorrect. Bones come from monsters, skeleton archers, they just have a human form."
"They're not the same species. There's no need to worry so much. The humans in this world can't even be called humans."
"You should let go of those hesitations. Bone meal has many uses, and we'll definitely need to collect it on a large scale in the future."
Zhongli pursed his lips and said in a low voice:
"But... skeleton archers in human form, in a sense, haven't they gone beyond the essence of humanity?"
Jiang Xuan rolled his eyes.
"Do you insist on viewing them as humans? Just think of them as Slimes... or the Abyss Order, is that not allowed?"
"For now, everything is focused on pioneering and development. In a wild world, we can't afford to talk about etiquette and shame!"
Jiang Xuan gave Zhongli a meaningful glance.
Although the latter was still somewhat reluctant to accept it, he sighed and said no more.
He loved people, but the premise was that he had to love his own people.
The people of Liyue were the humans he was willing to protect with his life.
Reluctantly, Zhongli could overlook the origin of bone meal.
At the very least, bone meal could ensure that his people were all fed, and that was enough.
"It's a little hard to accept..."
Ningguang smiled wryly and rubbed her temples, sighing:
"But Jiang Xuan, you're right. In a wild world, there is no etiquette or shame. These are not humans anymore. We are here only to make Liyue greater."
"We don't need to care about anything else."
"As for collecting bone meal, I will have the vanguard team look into it later."
Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and said:
"What vanguard team! I'm just about to build a monster grinder now. You can get whatever monster materials you want from inside."
Saying this, Jiang Xuan waved his hand:
"Xiao! Please come over and dig some stone. I'm about to start work!"
Seeing Jiang Xuan carrying a stack of stone towards the open space, Ganyu quickly called out to him.
"Wait a moment, Jiang Xuan, there's one more thing we want to say..."
Jiang Xuan was startled, then slapped his head.
"I almost forgot, it's mealtime, isn't it? You go eat something first. You don't need to worry about me; I need to brainstorm about the monster grinder."
"No, it's not that!"
Ganyu's face was a little flushed. She leaned closer to Jiang Xuan's ear and whispered:
"Can... can you rebuild a ladder...?"
Jiang Xuan subconsciously wanted to ask why, but then he saw Ningguang and Keqing's faces flushed with embarrassment.
They awkwardly covered the hems of their skirts.
Jiang Xuan scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Sorry, I forgot about that..."
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