Fairy, Please Forgive Me, I Never Meant to Impersonate Your Husband

Chapter 35: The Cloud-Scaling Vine

Wu Yuan saw the thick fog and looked up at the sky, where three towering mountains loomed faintly in the distance.

Just as in his dream memories, the Blue Path led directly to Haichen Valley—a hidden mountain basin enclosed by a natural Three Talents Formation.

Most of Haichen Valley’s story belonged to his second dream memory because, in the first memory, he hadn’t even been qualified to set foot in such a place.

Back then, even though he had established a small territory nearby, the area was already crowded with other domains, leaving him no chance to exploit any advantages.

His second memory of Haichen Valley was one of regret—such a prime location, yet no one had managed to establish a lasting territory there.

The reason was simple: Haichen Valley was discovered a hundred years after the opening of the Firefly Dream Cave. Even the powerful lord who had once occupied the Red Leaf Cliff and built a formidable domain had failed to uncover the existence of the Blue Path hidden within the cave.

As for the pack of jackals who later besieged and destroyed that stronghold, they had ransacked the Firefly Dream Cave without a second thought, lacking both the will and the ability to develop the area.

After the jackals withdrew, the place was all but abandoned, its scenery the only remaining attraction for wandering travelers.

It wasn’t until a minor lord, accompanied by an intermediate-level miner, stumbled upon the valley that its true potential was revealed. Noticing the connection between the long-depleted Black Jade Soil and Blue Jade deposits, they eventually discovered the Blue Path, bringing Haichen Valley into the world’s awareness.

But by then, no one could establish a territory there under the watchful eyes of the masses. The early state of Haichen Valley, along with the mystery of its sudden appearance, became widely known.

Many had observed the unfolding events—Wu Yuan among them.

He had studied the chain of events countless times, lamenting that he hadn’t discovered Haichen Valley sooner. If he had, he could have linked the Red Leaf Cliff, the Firefly Dream Cave, the Blue Path’s mineral deposits, and Haichen Valley into a single, unshakable foundation for dominance.

But dreams were just dreams. What had been impossible in them might not be so in reality.

Now, a surge of ambition rose in his heart.

Shrouded by the natural Three Talents Formation, the entire Haichen Valley basin was enveloped in dense mist. Without knowing the precise path, one could wander lost forever.

Wu Yuan, of course, knew the way. So he instructed all the couriers, including Cai Xiaohu, to wait patiently at the Blue Path’s exit while he stepped confidently into the fog.

Left three-three, right nine-nine.
Three-three, nine-nine, then turn around.

This was the basic chant for navigating the Three Talents Formation.

Nine steps left, then eighty-one steps right, turn back for three steps, then nine left, eighty-one right again… repeating the cycle twenty-seven times until the formation’s influence was fully escaped.

It sounded simple—but only because Wu Yuan had the advantage of foresight. Without it, and without knowledge of formations, one could wander forever without breaking through.

In truth, this Three Talents Formation was incomplete. Being naturally formed, it had many flaws, which was why a simple footwork chant could bypass it.

A complete Three Talents Formation would distort time and space. Without sufficient cultivation and mastery of formations, entering—let alone escaping—would be impossible.

Familiar with the path, Wu Yuan emerged from the formation in just half an hour.

Before him stretched a fragrant river valley, its lush green meadows seemingly endless, framed by distant mountains and rivers—a landscape straight out of a painting.

Spotting the nearest towering peak—Hanting Mountain, one of the three great mountains encircling Haichen Valley—he headed straight for it.

The valley was home only to plants and small animals, with no monsters in sight, so Wu Yuan advanced swiftly and without fear.

Hanting Mountain rose a thousand meters high, its slopes sparsely vegetated.

Facing the valley, its summit bore a massive natural boulder resembling a solitary, frost-proud pavilion—hence the name “Hanting” (Cold Pavilion) Mountain.

Of course, the name was a later invention. As the first to arrive now, Wu Yuan took it upon himself to bestow it.

After some time, he reached the mountain and began his search.

Finally, over two hundred meters above the base, nestled between two large rocks, he found what he was looking for—a silvery-white vine bearing a single small green flower.

The vine, no longer than two meters, coiled like a pitiful little silver snake in the crevice.

As Wu Yuan approached, the vine’s tip lifted slightly, its green flower trembling.

His face lit up with joy.

Had the vine shown no reaction, he would have doubted his find.

This was the Cloud-Scaling Vine, a seemingly weak but immensely powerful spiritual plant in its early stages.

If used as a companion spirit when establishing a territory, it would bring tremendous benefits.

Speaking of companion spirits, it was necessary to explain the process of founding a domain in the Tianyuan World.

Typically, obtaining a Village-Founding Stone allowed one to choose a location, bind the stone with a drop of blood, and bury it to establish a village.

Of course, this was the method of the utterly ignorant. Anyone with even a hint of wisdom wouldn’t bury the stone so carelessly.

Villages founded this way had the weakest foundations and the least potential for growth.

Unfortunately, most of his fellow transmigrators from Earth would choose this method.

Not because they were foolish, but because they treated the Tianyuan World like a game for far too long.

Many turned to online game guides or novels for reference—only to fall straight into a pit.

Wu Yuan, however, knew a far better method, refined through countless trials and errors. His dream memories even held some closely guarded secrets of domain founding.

In his first memory, he had stumbled upon one or two. In the second, he had learned ten times more—some of which he had tested personally, with astonishing results.

Now, he took a step back and removed the sealed clay jar from the pack on his back.

This was something he had prepared meticulously ever since establishing the courier station, using the stone milk stored in the jade-clay pill bottle he had brought from Qingqiao Town.

The pill bottle, as expected of a vessel meant for preserving elixirs, had kept the stone milk’s spiritual energy intact despite the millennia.

Shortly after arriving at Red Leaf Cliff, he had transferred the stone milk into the clay jar, then added three stone slabs he had carried with him. After sealing the jar, he had stored it away—for over twenty days now.

Perhaps everyone had already guessed.

Yes!

Those three book-sized stone slabs were the core of the territory establishment—Village-Founding Stones.

With one white and two gray stones in his possession, Wu Yuan had never been in a hurry to search for more.

As for what the colors represented—

It was simple.

Gray stones were inferior, the lowest grade.

White stones were a step higher—flawed but still superior.

Were there even higher-grade Village-Founding Stones?

That would remain a mystery for a long time.