Has the Remnant Spirit of Heavenly Dao Recovered

Zhong Yi’s Palworld.

Silent Island, Base No. 3.

The base was divided into three floors, with five breeding ranches on each floor.

Every day, Zhong Yi ran back and forth between the three levels of the base.

“Old Zhong, I don’t think we need that much refined metal anymore...”

Zhou Yue had just arrived at Base No. 3. With a speechless look on his face, he watched Zhong Yi cheerfully send an Astegon onto the Pal Disassembly Conveyor.

The Astegon lying on the conveyor belt was also smiling cheerfully at Zhong Yi.

“What do you know? This is called preparing for a rainy day!”

Zhong Yi said solemnly.

Ever since he discovered that ordinary Astegon could drop finished refined metal, the Astegon population in this world had seen both its birth rate and death rate rise sharply.

From then on, Zhong Yi and the others never lacked refined metal again.

Not only did everyone have a set of golden cold-resistant refined-metal armor, but they could also throw Ultimate Pal Spheres at Pals as freely as water.

Even so, Zhong Yi had never shut down the Astegon reincarnation line.

Most base-building players in Palworld were like this. They always suffered from some inexplicable anxiety over production capacity.

To improve the efficiency of refined-metal production, Zhong Yi began gradually optimizing the existing production line.

He used vegetable cakes as feed, allowing each Astegon to lay two eggs at once.

When collecting eggs, he brought along a Cattiva, so that there was a chance for the Pal Eggs he picked up to be doubled.

He had even crossbred Pals over multiple generations to produce a mother Astegon with the innate trait [Philanthropist]. From then on, the average refined-metal output of all Astegon offspring increased by fifty percent...

Now, he only hated how long Pal Eggs took to incubate. It severely hindered Astegon output.

Even after exchanging every Ancient Civilization Core he had for Large Pal Egg Incubators, he still felt it was nowhere near enough.

If he knew that players in another world could hatch Pal Eggs instantly, he would probably die of envy.

“So? Did you beat Frostallion?”

As Zhong Yi placed a newly hatched Astegon onto the conveyor belt, he asked without looking up.

“Don’t even mention it. We lost again...”

Zhou Yue shook his head helplessly, his face miserable.

“Even a three-star Blazamut couldn’t beat it?”

Zhong Yi paused, slightly taken aback.

After all, people on the forums had already posted about capturing Frostallion. It was a top-tier divine beast with the innate traits [Legend] and [Ice Emperor], combining beauty with immense power.

Setting Zhou Yue’s luck aside, his strength in the various trial realms was obvious to everyone.

And yet even with a three-star Blazamut personally bred by Zhong Yi, he still could not defeat a Frostallion that others had already overcome?

“If three stars aren’t enough, then make it four... Four stars for each of us! Otherwise, people will think our Lingxiao Sect can’t afford to capture a Frostallion!”

Without hesitation, Zhong Yi replaced every ranch on the second floor with Blazamut.

The Pal condensation and rank-up system required feeding Pals of the same species to a target Pal to increase its star rating. The higher the rating, the more Pals it required.

At first, everyone had felt that feeding living Pals to another one for upgrades sounded far too demonic.

But once they grew accustomed to sending Pals onto the Disassembly Conveyor in exchange for resources and items, it all became much easier to accept.

“I don’t think we’re the problem... This Frostallion is just too bizarre! Its damage is absurdly high, and it even seems to have battle intelligence!”

Zhou Yue frowned as he complained.

Whenever he thought of Frostallion using the dash from its Ice Crystal Wings to burst out of the area covered by the Hellfire jointly cast by three Blazamut, he became convinced that this Frostallion was anything but ordinary.

“Oh? A special divine beast?”

Zhong Yi raised an eyebrow, and genuine interest appeared in his gaze.

Ever since he had buried himself in researching breeding combinations, he had not shown much interest in the outside world.

Even when the other three challenged Frostallion, he had merely provided logistical support.

But now that he had heard Frostallion possessed such intelligence, his curiosity was immediately piqued.

Unlike in the original game, aside from rare Pals with special traits, there was another kind of special Pal. Their stats were not particularly outstanding, yet one could tell at a glance that they were extraordinary.

These Pals possessed a degree of intelligence and distinct personalities. They were perfect candidates to be raised as battle Pals.

As long as it was not like the cowardly, troublemaking Cattiva Zhou Yue had caught at the beginning.

“Looks like even a four-star Blazamut won’t be enough... It’s time for me to step in. Come on—I’ll go with you this time!”

Zhong Yi smiled mysteriously.

“No... Wouldn’t bringing you along only make it more likely for the whole party to get wiped out?”

“Shut up!”

...

...

Palworld’s main server world.

Deep within the world, inside the sealed chamber.

Lu Ze’s figure suddenly appeared. With amused interest, he looked at the Withered Star Dragon sprawled on the ground, exhausted like a dog.

“This fellow’s eyes have gotten a lot clearer... Hahaha.”

Lu Ze could not help laughing.

He had only suspected it before, but seeing the players truly drive a Corrupted Soul that had been tangled in resentment for tens of thousands of years to such a state still greatly amused him.

Zhong Yi must have contributed a great deal.

Not long ago, the post titled “A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving Refined Metal Freedom” had directly turned the Disassembly Conveyor into an essential household fixture at every base.

“This trial realm... is not bad.”

The remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao had rarely resumed its true form. The golden radiance around it appeared several degrees brighter than before.

“To hear something like that from you is really—hm?”

Lu Ze suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Squinting, he examined the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao closely.

The circles of incomplete runes surrounding it were now slowly repairing themselves at a pace visible to the naked eye.

“Because of... it?”

Lu Ze pointed uncertainly at the Withered Star Dragon lying on the ground, questioning its entire existence.

“Yes.”

The remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao nodded.

Its incompleteness was the result of being compelled by the Heavenly Mystery Sect to forcibly reverse the situation, thereby bearing the karma of the ancient war between the righteous and demonic paths.

The karma of humans and the karma of beasts were both contained within it.

Though the karma of spirit beasts made up only a small portion, it truly existed.

Had the Heavenly Mystery Sect not forced its hand, the righteous path would have had no chance to catch its breath. The demonic path would not have resorted to such a despicable scheme against the Beast-Taming Sect, leading to the collective decline of the once-prosperous spirit beasts for ten thousand years...

The Corrupted Soul itself was one of the karmic consequences born from the Heavenly Dao remnant’s intervention in that war between the righteous and demonic paths.

And now, the Corrupted Soul was about to be purified.

This was a genuine cancellation of karma.

It brought the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao a massive and visibly apparent recovery all at once!

“Since that is the case, this Heavenly Dao shall leave behind some opportunities in this trial realm.”