Chapter 30: More Spiritual Veins
After carefully observing the newly formed Deep Forest Spiritual Vein for some time, Alicia came to a simple conclusion.
It was excellent.
Very excellent, in fact.
Possibly one of the most useful things she had unlocked so far.
The forest had become noticeably more vibrant since the vein's formation.
The trees carried richer vitality.
The beasts had grown more active.
The surrounding Soul Power no longer drifted loosely through the area, but circulated with actual structure.
And perhaps most importantly—
the whole region simply felt… better.
More alive.
More complete.
Alicia quietly observed the changes for a while before thinking:
"…Yeah, no. I'm definitely making more of these."
The hidden pulse beneath the forest still bothered her, of course.
She had not forgotten it.
If anything, it was now sitting in the back of her mind like a suspicious little problem waiting for the right time to become annoying.
But for now, it was stable.
Dormant.
Not actively causing trouble.
And Alicia had more important things to do than spend every moment mentally hovering over underground mysteries like a paranoid cosmic pigeon.
She had a world to build.
And if one Spiritual Vein could create this kind of long-term improvement—
then multiple veins, placed correctly, could change the entire future of her planet.
That realization alone was enough to make Alicia take the matter very seriously.
She opened her planetary interface.
A blue screen appeared before her.
[Primitive Planet Function]
Regional Spiritual Vein Formation
Current Established Veins:
Deep Forest Minor Spiritual Vein
Available Additional Formations:
2 recommended placements detected
1 unstable placement detected
1 unknown compatibility region detected
Alicia paused.
Then immediately focused on the words:
2 recommended placements
Now that was useful.
Far more useful than the system's usual style of "vaguely helpful until disaster happens."
Alicia quickly checked the suggestions.
The first recommended region:
Highlands
The second:
Central River Plains
Alicia went quiet for a moment.
Then slowly thought:
"…That actually makes a lot of sense."
The system was not wrong this time.
That was mildly disturbing.
She began evaluating both areas more carefully.
The Highlands
The highlands were rougher terrain.
Rockier.
Drier.
Less rich in natural plant growth than the forest.
But they had one major advantage:
The region already had a naturally sharp and concentrated Soul Power structure.
Not dense like the forest.
But focused.
The energy there felt harder.
Cleaner.
More aggressive.
If the forest Spiritual Vein was like rich fertile blood flowing through the earth—
then the highlands felt more like bone.
Tough.
Solid.
Unforgiving.
Alicia immediately understood what that meant.
If a Spiritual Vein formed there, it would likely create a very different type of environment.
Less nurturing.
More intense.
More suitable for:
tougher beasts
harsher growth
and future combat-oriented development
That was extremely valuable.
A cultivation world should not be built from only one type of environment.
If every region was gentle, fertile, and spiritually comfortable, then her world would become unbalanced.
And frankly—
a little boring.
Alicia approved of the highlands immediately.
The Central River Plains
This area was very different.
Compared to the forest and the highlands, the central plains were far more open and stable.
The land there was broad and easier to live in.
The freshwater system already supported a healthier environment.
And importantly—
many of the human groups had begun settling around this general area.
That made it strategically important.
If the highlands would become a place of harsher strength—
then the plains could become a place of balanced growth.
A place suitable for:
early human development
stable environmental circulation
future civilization
and long-term population support
That made it equally important.
Alicia stared at both regions for a while.
Then thought:
"…Okay."
"Annoyingly enough, both of these are good ideas."
Which meant she had to decide how to do this properly.
Because the system had already warned her:
Poor placement may destabilize regional balance or cause uneven growth.
So even though she wanted to enthusiastically slap Spiritual Veins across the planet like magical infrastructure upgrades—
that would be a terrible idea.
Alicia, to her credit, had grown enough by now to recognize terrible ideas before doing them.
Usually.
So instead of immediately activating anything, she first began studying the planet's overall energy distribution.
She traced the flow of:
Life Energy
Soul Power
moisture
terrain compatibility
and environmental stability
The deeper she looked, the more Alicia began to understand something important.
A world was not just "land with energy."
It was a connected body.
And Spiritual Veins were like internal channels.
If she placed too many in the wrong way, she could create:
unstable density spikes
regional overcompetition
or poor circulation between major zones
In simpler terms—
she could accidentally give her planet spiritual high blood pressure.
Alicia remained silent for a second.
Then thought:
"…Wow."
"That is an extremely unfortunate but useful comparison."
Still, it helped.
So she adjusted her plan.
Instead of forming both veins at once—
she would do it one at a time.
Observe.
Stabilize.
Then continue.
That was smarter.
And between the two available options—
the one she chose first was:
The Central River Plains
The reason was simple.
The plains were the most structurally important for the current stage of her world.
The humans were there.
The environment was stable.
The water system already supported life well.
And unlike the forest, which naturally favored beasts and plant vitality, the plains had the potential to become the first truly civilization-supporting spiritual region.
That mattered.
A lot.
Alicia focused her awareness beneath the central plains.
The energy there felt smoother than the highlands.
Less wild than the forest.
More open.
More adaptable.
She carefully followed the natural underground currents moving beneath the river-fed soil.
And after some time, she found the right line.
A broad but gentle underground pathway where Life Energy and Soul Power could be guided together without resistance.
Alicia focused.
Then activated the function.
"Regional Spiritual Vein Formation."
The system responded immediately.
Ding!
[Spiritual Vein Formation Initiated]
Region:
Central River Plains
Current Stage:
Minor Spiritual Vein (Forming)
Effects During Formation:
increased environmental harmony
improved freshwater energy circulation
enhanced regional growth stability
The moment the process began, Alicia felt the change.
It was completely different from the forest.
The forest Spiritual Vein had felt rich, rooted, and naturally alive.
But this one—
this one felt smooth.
Balanced.
Wide.
The underground energy channels beneath the plains began slowly aligning, not in dense clusters, but in a broad and steady flow that spread naturally through the soil.
The nearby rivers reacted almost immediately.
Their movement became subtly cleaner.
Their energetic traces spread farther into the surrounding land.
The grasses and low vegetation across the plains seemed to brighten with vitality.
Not dramatically.
Not in some ridiculous magical explosion.
But in a real, believable way.
Alicia watched the process quietly.
Then thought:
"…This one feels very civilized."
She was not entirely sure why that was the word that came to mind.
But it fit.
The Central River Plains Spiritual Vein did not feel wild or intense.
It felt… sustainable.
And for the future of humans, that was probably exactly what she needed.
As the vein continued to stabilize, Alicia began noticing the effects on nearby life.
The smaller animals in the plains became more active.
The plant life grew slightly healthier.
The water-fed zones began holding Life Energy more effectively than before.
And the humans—
the humans reacted too.
Not consciously.
Not yet.
But instinctively.
Some of the nearby human groups began shifting their resting places closer to the better-balanced river zones.
Others became more active around the improved plains region without understanding why.
Alicia immediately noticed this.
"…Huh."
That was useful.
Very useful.
Because it meant that even without directly controlling them, environmental shaping alone could gently influence where future civilizations might grow.
That was a huge realization.
Alicia went very still after that.
Because if Spiritual Veins could do that…
Then in the future, she could naturally guide:
race development
civilization centers
beast territories
resource zones
and even cultivation regions
Without needing to force everything manually.
That was much better.
Much smarter.
And much less exhausting.
Alicia approved strongly.
The system chimed again.
Ding!
A new panel appeared.
[Central River Plains Spiritual Vein Progress]
Minor Spiritual Vein successfully established
Region Effects:
Soul Power density increased by 6%
Life Energy retention increased by 9%
Water-energy compatibility improved
Human settlement compatibility slightly increased
Note:
This region now has a higher chance of becoming a future life-dense civilization zone.
Alicia immediately focused on the last line.
Then she thought:
"…Oh, that is extremely important."
This was bigger than just energy.
This was infrastructure.
The kind that could shape the future of entire races.
Alicia quietly observed the plains again, now seeing them in a completely different way.
The land no longer looked like "empty open space."
Now it looked like possibility.
And that meant the value of Spiritual Veins had gone up even more in her mind.
Then, naturally—
her attention shifted to the next obvious target.
The Highlands.
Alicia looked toward the harsher elevated region in the distance.
Rocky terrain.
Thinner vegetation.
Sharper Soul Power.
A much less forgiving place.
If the forest was rich life, and the plains were balanced growth—
then the highlands would likely become something else entirely.
Something harder.
Something fiercer.
A place for struggle.
A place for pressure.
And in a cultivation world—
those kinds of places were often just as important as peaceful ones.
Alicia went quiet for a while.
Then thought:
"…Okay."
"I definitely need one there too."
But not today.
She had already formed two Spiritual Veins within a relatively short period.
And even if her world seemed stable—
she was not going to get overconfident.
That was how cosmic nonsense happened.
Instead, Alicia decided to let the new veins settle first.
Observe the effects.
Study the differences.
And then proceed.
That was the smarter move.
As she continued watching both the Deep Forest and Central River Plains, Alicia slowly began to realize something else.
Her world was changing faster now.
Not in a chaotic way.
But in a structural way.
The moment true Spiritual Veins appeared, the planet had entered a new phase.
It was no longer just "forming life."
It was beginning to form important places.
Places with identity.
Purpose.
Future.
That mattered more than numbers ever could.
Then, just as Alicia was quietly appreciating this realization—
the system suddenly chimed again.
Ding!
Alicia looked up immediately.
A new notification appeared.
[Planetary Development Notice]
Multiple Spiritual Vein regions detected.
Minor world growth acceleration has begun.
Additional note:
Environmental specialization is now forming naturally.
Alicia stared at the message.
Then slowly thought:
"…Environmental specialization?"
That sounded very important.
And very likely to become another thing she would need to learn before it became a problem.
Still—
for once, this felt like a good kind of problem.
The kind that meant her world was no longer simple.
The kind that meant it was becoming real.
Far below, the forests breathed with dense vitality.
The plains flowed with balanced life.
And somewhere beneath the deeper forest—
the hidden pulse stirred once more.
Softly.
Quietly.
As if acknowledging the planet's continued growth.
Alicia noticed it immediately.
Then narrowed her awareness.
"…You're still there, huh."
The pulse did not answer.
Which was probably for the best.
Because if underground mysteries started replying to her now, Alicia felt that would be an entirely separate problem.
And she already had enough of those.
Still—
as she looked across her slowly evolving world, Alicia could feel it clearly now.
Her planet was no longer just alive.
It was beginning to take shape.
A true shape.
A meaningful one.
And for the first time—
Alicia felt like she was no longer just raising a world.
She was building a future.
Author Note
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