The new railgun had a problem. The cooling effect of the deep sea copper made the gun able to conduct a much stronger charge before it shorted itself. This lead to the projectiles melting from the increased magnetic charge. The gun he created was effectively a shotgun and not a rifle.
The three spirits were impressed by the weapon. The conversion of energy wasn’t something they were familiar with. How could lowering the temperature lead to the projectile melting? How could lightning run through wires and be turned to deadly force? Ben’s explanation of a colder conductor holding a higher charge took some time to sink in.
“Didn’t you say you would give me something too?” Huoyun asked him.
“Yes. I promise that, barring war, I will pour my every effort into making your gift.” Ben assured her. “I need some materials from outside for this.”
“Really? We have the resources from a whole world available to us.” Brother He pointed out.
“I need my electrical generator and other special tools. I also need to craft a plasma chamber. Those are things that you don’t have.” Ben responded.
“Very well then. Will you be coming back soon?” Brother He asked.
“No, my current generator needs to be upgraded before it will be able to help Huoyun and I don’t have a tithe of the resources I used to, it will be difficult to find the dozens of craftsmen I need. I’m going to need a basic laboratory and a factory.” Ben told the spirits.
“Where will you be building it?” Brother Jian asked.
“I don’t know yet.” Ben said.
“Why not here?” Sister Huoyun suggested.
“It will need to be in the wider world to be able to directly interact with it. Can wiring and piping be connected through the gateway here?” Ben wondered.
“I don’t think so, that's disappointing. We get a lot out of watching you work.” Brother He noted.
“I’m sorry about that as well. I enjoy your company.”
---
Ben was more than a little stunned when he exited the Sacred Ground. A man holding a mountain in one hand was not something he had ever seen before.
“Nicely done. Go ahead and set it down right here, that must be tiring.” Ben said in a mild tone.
The man set the small mountain on the place where the gate array led to the Sacred Ground.
“Not at all. I take it you are the honorary elder I’ve heard about?” The man asked. He watched Ben with a critical eye.
“Probably. May I know who you are? I am called Ben, my name is Benjamin, from of clan Branford. I make things.” Ben modeled himself after the cultivators and introduced himself.
“I am the Grandmaster of Saint Devil Sect. We are the parent sect of Plague Devil Sect. My name is Shenghuo Zhouqi, you may call me Master Zhouqi.”
“The top man? I may as well give this to you, then.” He handed the old railgun to Master Zhouqi.
“This is the apocalyptic weapon the whole continent is talking about? It doesn’t look like much.” Master Zhouqi noted.
Ben burst into laughter.
“Not at all. This is a peashooter compared to the real weapons. I already made a more powerful one. Look at it this way, these are just slingshots when compared to the real weaponry.” Ben told Master Zhouqi.
“I’d like to see it used.” The master replied.
“Do you have any target in mind?” Ben asked.
“You could fire it at me.” Master Zhouqi said.
“Are you sure? The weaker version almost killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator in a single shot.” Ben warned.
“I have just connected my first divine meridian and broken through to the Heavenly Connection realm. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I am among of the dozen powerful beings on this continent.” Grandmaster Zhouqi bragged.
“Very well. There will be a half second delay after I pull the trigger and the attack will be a spray of molten metal. Are you ready?” Ben brought out the new railgun and slotted a electric stone into the formation embedded into it.
“Go ahead.” The grandmaster said.
Ben powered up the railgun. He dropped a blank steel slug into the cradle and pulled the trigger.
There was an enormous recoil that pushed Ben backwards. The air in front of him exploded into sound and fury. The projectile exited the barrel as a cloud of molten steel traveling faster than the speed of sound.
Master Zhouqi was startled by the explosive force and speed of the attack. He wanted to parry and move to avoid the shot but he knew he wouldn’t have the time.
He was only barely able to rip apart the void in front of the flying steel. His cultivation was pushed to the limits in his desperate defense. The air shuddered and a dark tear appeared in the fabric of reality.
The mass of red hot metal flew into the dark space and disappeared there.
Master Zhouqi’s eyes were wide as he stared at Ben.
“I thought the report was exaggerating. If I was still in the Nascent Soul realm that would have crippled me. How is this not a cataclysmic weapon?” Grandmaster Zhouqi asked.
“This is still the handheld version. I could make it larger and a mortal would be able to fire it.” Ben admitted.
“What?” The others listening in were astonished.
“My thoughts exactly. And there are still more destructive weapons I can create. There are bombs that could reduce this whole world to a wasteland.” Ben said.
“Should I kill you right now?” Grandmaster Zhouqi wondered.
“Why would I let the world become a wasteland? I may be crazy, but I’m not insane.” Ben shrugged in a carefree way.
“Someone should be keeping an eye on you at all times. Watching you is like watching a Supreme Being restrain his power and drink too much.” Lilith added.
“Ah, thanks for reminding me. There are some people I need to recruit. I’m going to need brewers, glassblowers, alchemists, blacksmiths and dozens of other professions.” Ben faced the two grandmasters.
“That’s not what she meant.” Grandmaster Zhouqi said.
“I could also use your help for something. That void ability of yours could be very useful for creating a partial vacuum.” Ben told the sect leader.
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad that I found you first. Will you be able to make something that can increase the Qi in an area? The ambient Qi in this area is pretty sparse.” Master Zhouqi said.
“I can work on that soon, but first I need a proper lab, I can build it myself but that would take a long time.” Ben told him.
“Give me weapons like those and we have a deal.” Grandmaster Zhouqi said.
“Guarantee my safety and support.” Ben retorted.
Grandmaster Zhouqi sighed. He looked over to the Grandmaster of Plague Devil Sect.
“Get him what he needs. I seem to recall there is a small city nearby called Atwood? Go bring everyone here, don’t give them a choice. Also bring the main body of Plague Devil Sect here. I will send word to my elders to begin moving my forces into the area.” The Grandmaster capitulated.
“Good. Now let me get back to work. It’s time to develop some of my peak inventions. It should be much easier to make a fusion reactor with formations and these magical metals.”
---
Multitudes of artisans and cultivators were brought before Ben. He treated them like he had the thousands of students he had ordered around before, like idiots. There were the high ranking elders of Saint Devil Sect, the hundreds of alchemists from Plague Devil Sect and the crowds from nearby Atwood.
The elders from Saint Devil Sect and Plague Devil Sect didn’t like being talked down to, they were Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul cultivators who reigned over large organizations spanning the entire Setting Lands. But the elders swallowed their pride when they saw their own grandmasters standing behind the man listening to what he had to say about the nature of matter, operation of the universe and basic laws thereof. They found that their own understanding was advancing by leaps and bounds when they heard what he had to say about some men they had never heard of named Einstein and Newton. Some of them were able to take what they had learned and use it to breakthrough then and there.
The alchemists were astounded by the explanations of basic and advanced chemistry. Although they had known most of these facts, they felt like a fog had been lifted on their minds and they could see clearly the terrain before them. Their way was clear and their paths free of obstruction.
The artisans from Atwood missed most of the information, but bits and pieces were being scavenged like beggars snatching gold. Most of them had never had a thorough education like this from a master teacher. The little they did understand gave them insights to their own crafts and their resentment from being kidnapped lessened.
The fields of microbiology, physics, psychology, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, engineering, genetics, statistics and others had only barely been scratched in this realm. Such concise of each topic stunned the onlookers.
Using his new Heart Core he lectured in a booming baritone voice, Ben covered the basics from each course from the sciences as quickly as he could. In a course of twelve hours he spoke non stop to crowds of people thousands strong. He gave only a brief explanation of each subject before progressing to the utmost depths of a field in a matter of minutes, then moved onto the next course without asking for input or caring if anyone understood him. He knew that even if they didn’t understand him, they would remember his words.
Entire subjects of understanding were overturned and souls were seared to the core with scathing commentary on morality, religion, psychology, spirituality, and reason. His arguments left his listeners without a leg to stand on them beat them while they were down. They were simultaneously shown how wonderful existence was and how minuscule they were in comparison. How infinite was their capacity yet how little they knew now.
The effect of seeing the two grandmasters standing behind the man listening intently cemented his authority in the eyes of those present. He now held such a great position in the eyes of all those watching that neared religious fervor.
When he had covered the basic sciences and gave a little motivational speech about how such and such can always lead to so and so. Never this and always that, except when there is moss on the south side of the tree. He then gave an announcement.
“Now, I need your best alchemists, blacksmiths and craftsmen. I also need the rest of you to help those people. Our first project will be the mass production of electric and airgun weaponry. We need to create a series of chambers to harvest and compress gases from the air. We also need large furnaces to cast the pieces for a fusion reactor. Next we will need to find any viable sources of fuel for said fusion reactor.
“The blacksmiths will have three divisions, creating the housing for the larger devices, manufacturing the fine parts for specific machines and mass production of weaponry. The glassblowers will make themselves available to the alchemists and they will work together to find suitable gasses to use for the plasma chamber.
“Work on these tasks will take twenty four hours at most. After which time you will be dismissed until tomorrow morning. I suggest that even if you don’t normally sleep, you do so tonight, sleeping can be cultivation for the mind. Tomorrow we will make a series of weapons for the armies use. I don’t care what army but I understand that someone wants to do something to me and I don’t like that. If I give you weapons you guys can defend yourselves as you keep working for me.”
Ben had given the the group a basic understanding of the sciences as a initial gift so the people would work all the harder. Next he gave instructions for the fusion reactor and blueprints for the mass production of weapons. The less talented smiths would start making the airguns and railguns, the experts would help Ben with the reactor.
The blacksmiths would forge large electromagnetic coils and banks of capacitors with formations laid into them that would use Qi and electricity to start the chain reaction and enhance the overall performance of the device. The fusion would then provide enough energy for the mass use of energy weapons like the railgun, plasma cannon and war laser.
More complex weapons like inertial missiles, nuclear bombs, and nanotech swarms would take a little longer to develop. It was better to make a strong energy source first, then develop past that.
Back on Earth there were limits to these technologies. Wiring could only hold so much charge before melting, materials would fall apart quickly when placed under strain. Formations could also add additional strength to given effects.
The fusion power plants back on Earth were massive complexes of capacitors, laser banks and targeted electromagnets that literally spread over miles. Here he could make a much smaller one with better quality materials and supporting formations.
Now that Ben had given instructions, the masses of people all started milling about with their various tasks. The senior elders made groups and grabbed up people for their projects. Gold and copper were mixed with other more valuable metals given to Ben by Brother He. Superconductive wire was produced on a massive level and the more skilled smiths forged the cart sized electromagnets and capacitors.
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One task was blowing a series of gaseous refining flasks. These were made from stone sky glass, a rare grade glass. Specialists in the Dao of the Wind manipulated gases with the assistance of mechanical pumps and basic elements were refined from air.
The larger projects were forging the various parts of the reactor. The central containment sphere was the most difficult. It required an alloy that Ben had just theorized could be made. Large amounts of the rarest metals this world had ever seen were smelted together the make a alloy that could use qi to temper itself over time. In short, it was a living metal that could cultivate much like a human, beast, or herb.
This core was the center of the fusion reactor and opening it would require the whole complex machine to be shut down and taken completely apart, a task on the same level as assembling from scratch. This was a big issue because a fusion reactor relied on a continuous reaction, some reactors back on Earth ran for months without stopping for maintenance and repair.
The core was surrounded by the inner cradle. This formed a skeleton that held the core in place and sealed the four apertures.
Ben then attached the atmospheric control valves. One would let in gases like argon or the fuel developed by the alchemists, the other valve would be a pump to draw out air and other unwanted gases.
Attached to the inner core were the key electromagnets. They were golden colored spools of wire the size of a typical bedroom.These would compress the magnetic material inside the core, raising its heat.
In nearby rooms, new capacitors with complex formations carved into them looked like massive corkscrews immersed in fish tanks. These surrounded the main chamber room. There was at least an acre of capacitor banks.
Large sections of the mountain were carved out to make space for the various supporting systems needed. Huge rooms were made with plenty of room for expansion for new systems. Pieces were made with simple parts for easy improvement. Hubs and connectors were forged to be replaced with more advanced pieces as need required.
Construction took six hours altogether. Having the assistance from hundreds of people who could each individually destroy earth sped the project up.
When the final prototype skeleton of the fusion reactor was ready, Ben ran a test at a hundredth of a percent of total power.
The interior chamber fired up in a azure display that lit up the mountain as the crowds watched. The setting sun outlined the pillar of blue light that rose to the sky.
“This will be a small gift to my friend. She is also the key we need to kick start the fusion reactor. Everyone keep doing what you’re doing and I’ll deal with her. We still need dozens of super electromagnets and capacitor banks.”
“We’ll be joining you.” A small crowd of people was standing behind him.
Juliana and Lilith were there, the yet unnamed Grandmaster of Plague Devil Sect and the three elders Dain, Throm and Song. Grandmaster Zhouqi and elders of Saint Devil Sect were there as well, all watching him.
“That’s fine, just don’t bother the spirits. I have important tests to run on each of them. The flame spirit will end up the heart of the fusion generator, the sword spirit can be remade from his very core and the river spirit will handle the safety of everyone here.”
The buzz of the people that heard of the three spirits rose in volume at the mention of each. Fire spirits were rare treasures that whole sects fought and died over. Sword spirits were only heard of in rumor and legend. Only Grandmaster Zhouqi had ever heard of a river spirit.
Ben led the group into the Sacred Ground.
“Little Sister Huoyun, it’s time to give you your present. It’s waiting just outside. These men helped me make it for you.”
---
The group was led to the top of the hill. There at the summit was a hollow with crude steps carved into its side, making a small amphitheatre. At the center of a depression was a ring of ancient stones that seemed to be coated in the passing of a million years. There at the center of the pit was a flame that floated in mid air.
A fire burned around a core of liquid flame. The air around the flame bent reality slightly and led onlookers to believe that something was there without it needing to be. Anyone who peered into the red depths would be entranced by the dancing flames, this was a primordial fascination that stayed with man for all of his evolution from a simple ape.
The flame body of Huoyun was taken from the firepit and carefully transferred into the fusion reactor. She left her spirit standing beside the core with a worried expression.
“Is this going to hurt?” She asked with trepidation.
“Yes, it will. Try to hold your breath, Huoyun. Brother Zhouqi here will try his best to make the pain as brief as possible. Master Zhouqi, we want there to be as short a gap between sealing the chamber and starting the reaction. Use your void ability to clear out as much of the atmosphere as you can.” Ben ordered.
“Alchemists, prepare the gas mixture. Formation masters, watch the safety indicators. The capacitors are fully charged. Master Zhouqi, evacuate the chamber.”
While the chamber was fully sealed with the main flame body inside, Master Zhouqi opened a small tear in space inside the glass vessel. Standing beside Ben, Huoyun started screaming as she collapsed to the ground and held her head with straining fingers.
“Burn, Sister Huoyun. Hold on as long as you can. This will only take a second. Fire the electromagnets and begin ionization.”
Huoyuns spirit body faded from view and the flame inside the vessel shrank in size until all that was left was a fist sized ball of dull liquid fire. This was her true body, her heart, her tangible glowing soul.
Inside the chamber pure gases were injected into the vacuum and a current ran through the cathode and anode at the top and bottom of the chamber. Electrons from the gasses broke free from their atomic nuclei and the whole mixture transformed from a gas to a plasma.
There was a eerie feminine scream that came from the reactor that morphed into a howl of demented delight when the magnets fired, forcing the plasma together in a concentrated point together with Huoyuns flame core, her very essence of being. The core mass of flame shrunk down to the size of a needle.
Huoyuns body was compacted into a tiny space and changed at the molecular level. It was the most painful thing she had ever experienced, but also a incredibly pleasurable one as well. Inside her dense matter was burning together releasing a high amount of energy that was siphoned back off to power the electromagnets that allowed the device to maintain reaction.
A maniacal laugh forced itself from Ben and he added his voice to the awful sound coming from the reactor.
“We have fusion. That was a lot easier than I expected. How are you feeling, Little Sister Huoyun?” Ben announced.
Wild laughter rang through his head. It was much like the kind that he had made when he first made his breakthroughs in creating Alice.
“She sounds good. We can move onto weapons development using the power Huoyun is providing. More magnets will be added and lasers built to increase reactor power. The lasers can double as base defense and the power will make mass production of energy weapons possible.
“Here are the blueprints for the industrial factory, railguns, lasers and plasma cannon. I'm going to leave the mass production to the blacksmiths and formation masters. I'm going to start building the lab and factory.” Ben gave orders to the legions of craftsmen now at his command.
“What did you do to sister Huoyun? Is she right in the head?” The sword spirit Brother Jian asked nervously.
“She's fine, she's just going through a period of adjustment. What I did to her was basically the same as a Qi Condensation cultivator forming a core for the first time, but to a ridiculous degree. It's like I gave a divine spark to a mortal.” Ben admitted.
“What do you plan on doing for me?” Brother Jian asked.
“A new weapon body. Your atoms are connected in a vaguely random pattern right now. With a good enough lab I can rearrange you from the basest level possible. How does that sound? That's one of the things I need to research further. I suspect your sword Qi will increase exponentially after the transformation. You may even be able to combine it with new energies in various ways. If you don't like it we can always reforge you like before.”
“Let's do it then. It will mean I'll be stuck here looking after Sister Huoyun?” Jian asked. “What do we do first?”
“It’s time for our next major weapon. To get the temperatures needed for crafting we need a laser. We need to build a device similar to the fusion reactor, but based on different principles.”
A small crowd of craftsmen and elders followed Ben over to the glass blowers. There a tube was created unlike anything that had never been seen before.
The head glass blower was in an ecstatic mood. His trade had never seen such preeminence. The task of creating a earth rank glass treasure was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sands taken from beaches of fire and seas of liquid ice were mixed with other treasures and fired into molten vats. Formation Masters laid down sigils as the tube took form under many master hands.
The whole vessel had three purposes. The first was to insulate the inside from exterior pressures, the second was to allow for four apertures that exchange gases and allow the flow of electricity. The last purpose was to dissipate heat from the lasers passage through the two ends.
The glass chamber was brought back to the fusion generator. A vacuum generator was attached to one valve and another valve was prepared as a injection site for the alchemists. A anode and cathode were attached to the other two sites. A mirror was placed on one side and a newly created filter was put on the other.
Both positive and negative wires were connected with the massive capacitor bank built next to Huoyun. The laser was pointed at the reaction chamber and fired for the first time.
Electrons flowed through the alloyed metals that made up the wiring system of the generator and capacitor bank. They entered the lasers vacuum chamber and ran through a gas prepared by the alchemists. The arc created ignited a chain reaction that turned the gas to plasma and photons freely flowed through the mixture. Photons bounced between the two mirrors and picked up more photons traveling the same direction.
The flow of photons grew until an enormous amount of energy was flowing between the two mirrors. One of these mirrors was partially translucent and a beam of light the size of a fist poured out onto the fusion chamber. The effect was little to begin with, but a laser had been created.
Newly forged electromagnets were going to be used to compress the plasma inside the chamber. The gases the alchemists had been producing were magnetic when in their plasma state. A field would compress the plasma to a fine thread and the laser would be focused to a needle point.
Unfortunately the vessel shattered under the pressure. While it was the finest glass vacuum chamber ever created up until that moment, it was still a prototype. Hot glass shards flew around the area and ionized plasma dissipated into the surrounding air.
Ben, unperturbed, sent out another design pattern to the masses of craftsmen. He directed them to build small laser systems that could be combined together to make one super laser. It wouldn't be a mobile weapon, but would be used for the fusion reactor, forging and base defence.
While Ben was working on project after project, the expected blow from the righteous sects finally came.
It started on the outskirts of the sects territories. Plague Devil Sect and Saint Devil Sect had withdrawn from their various branches and gathered their strength in the area around the new Sacred Ground. The only places with any forces left were the hearts of the sects where dangerous guardian animals lay dormant. These were sleeping fierce beasts and dormant spirits that couldn’t be controlled for warfare. They could only be woken up when the very nucleus of a sect was threatened.
The outlying territories normally under the thumb of the sects had been abandoned and neighbouring powers moved into the area. The assaults met only token defense. There were just a few scouts and old caretakers left to make the area look alive. When the allied sects forces moved in they met only air and empty buildings.
Word now came back to Grandmaster Zhouqi of the incoming invasion. There would be hundreds of small sects and four sects as strong as Saint Devil Sect.
He had mass produced air rifles and handed them out to the disciples. Dozens of railguns had been built and handed out to elders. Grandmaster Zhouqi had the advanced railgun and had learned to use it.
The conflict would come soon. Sparks had ignited the flames of war and the land was beginning to burn.