But simply leaving things as they were was something Hel couldn't quite accept.
After all, if she only intended to harvest a portion of the souls, why would she bother spreading the soul network across the entire continent in the first place?
So she had to find a way to turn the situation around.
"At present, the underground worms are located about a hundred meters below the surface. For ordinary transcendent beings, that depth is still acceptable. But for those with sharp perception—especially those extremely sensitive to soul fluctuations—it's not nearly enough."
At the very least, if she focused carefully, she herself could still sense faint soul fluctuations from beneath the ground.
Yet the placement couldn't be too deep either. If it went too far down, the layers of rock would make it difficult for souls to enter the soul network.
Most importantly, it could not cross the leyline energy—otherwise, the interference from the leyline would cause the soul network to completely lose its ability to communicate with external souls.
"Hmm… no, something's not right." Hel frowned, suddenly realizing something.
Leyline energy was merely a form of elemental energy that settled downward into the earth—a type of energy frequently used by alchemists, more stable than ordinary elemental power. Its composition was similar to that of the Elemental Sea, but far calmer.
Yet didn't the souls of this world pass through the Elemental Sea on their way to Heaven?There was no reason they could be carried by elemental tides into the Elemental Sea, only to be blocked once they reached the leyline.
"So why did I originally think leyline energy would obstruct the soul network?" Hel frowned and retraced her thoughts.
Because leyline energy was so stable, its elemental density was far greater than that of the Elemental Sea.
If the Elemental Sea was gaseous elemental matter, then leyline energy was liquid elemental matter.
As a result, souls could pass easily through the Elemental Sea, but could not penetrate leyline energy.
"The leyline energy is located roughly two hundred meters underground. Alchemists can communicate with it through alchemical arrays, but it's extremely difficult to observe directly .So constructing the soul network by passing through the leyline energy would actually be the optimal solution."
Hel rubbed her chin and muttered softly, while Niv, using her external brain, helped analyze the problem alongside her.
"But leyline energy obstructs the transmission of souls," Niv said.
"So, Master has two options: either place the underground worms on the surface layer of the leyline energy, or modify the structure of the leyline energy itself.
"However, modifying the leyline energy of the entire world is impossible with ordinary alchemy. Even the most advanced alchemy can at best affect an area the size of a single nation. Covering an entire continent is simply out of the question. A feat of that scale could likely only be achieved through divine power.
"Perhaps Master could seek out authority related to leyline energy—such as mana and alchemy, or an even higher authority: magic itself."
"Obtaining authority from the Witch of Magic wouldn't be difficult," Hel said after pondering Niv's suggestion for a moment.
"The real problem is how to use the authority of magic to transform it.
"You know how leyline energy forms—it's the product of accumulated elemental power, a fundamental phenomenon of this world. Even if I were to pay an enormous price to temporarily thin the leyline energy until it resembled the Elemental Sea, there's nothing stopping new leyline energy from accumulating and restoring it to its original state."
"No, in theory it can be maintained long-term," Niv replied.
"As long as Master uses the authority of magic to refine an alchemical artifact and places it within the leyline energy. That way, the leyline energy itself can be used to sustain its altered state.
"Niv has already run the calculations—this method has a seventy percent chance of success. To cover the lands of the three great empires would require five alchemical artifacts imbued with complete magical authority. To cover the entire continent would take at most ten.
"Moreover, converting leyline energy into a gaseous state would also help guide souls, solving the issue of most ordinary souls being unable to penetrate two hundred meters underground."
Only ten…? To create a single alchemical artifact containing magical authority would require at least thirty points of trait energy. Ten artifacts meant—
At that thought, Hel irritably pinched Niv's cheeks, her heart aching at the sheer cost.
"To pull this off, I'd need to save up energy points for at least a year. Seriously, Niv, you really don't factor in costs at all."
"B-but, M-master, this is the optimal solution Niv derived," Niv protested, her words slightly slurred.
"If Master feels the cost is too high, Niv does have another plan.
"Master could hide the underground worms inside the leyline energy,then create a one-centimeter-diameter no-magic zone above their heads. It would be like making a straw, allowing souls to follow that path down to the underground worms."
"How is that any different from just attaching the underground worms to the surface of the leyline energy?" Hel said helplessly, once again kneading Niv's cheeks.
Compared like this, the first plan really did seem more reliable. Aside from being expensive, it had no major drawbacks.
Letting herself go, Hel said flatly, "The whole reason we wanted to hide the underground worms behind the leyline energy in the first placewas because the leyline energy could act as a layer of camouflage. If that weren't the case, I might as well just flood the leyline energy with the Waters of the Yellow Springs. That would be even faster."
"Hmm… that might not be a bad idea either," Niv nodded, her small face serious.
"Niv considered this as well. The Waters of the Yellow Springs possess properties that guide the dead and draw in death spirits. If it were possible to replace the leyline energy entirely with the Waters of the Yellow Springs, Master could place the underground worms on the far side of those waters.
"That way, even if someone discovered the Yellow Springs underground, it would be very difficult for them to locate the underground worms hidden beneath them.
"However, this plan also has some issues. For example, souls that enter the Waters of the Yellow Springs are prone to becoming lost. And the underground worms' attraction to souls is weaker than that of the Yellow Springs, making it highly likely that all souls would simply be swept away by the waters.
"To address these two problems, Niv has thought of a solution—but it's not very mature yet. And the cost of this plan might be even greater than Plan One."
"So… let's hear it," Hel said, an ominous feeling rising in her chest.
Given Niv's personality, any plan she had shelved like this was bound to have serious issues—and fixing them would likely demand an even higher price.
Sure enough, Niv's lips parted, and she spoke slowly:
"Give each underground worm a sacred relic infused with the Authority of Death."