The Immortal Commoner: Sowing Chaos

Chen Feng stood at the edge of the glowing pond.

It was just sitting there, shimmering softly in the cave light.

He thought, "Well, if I want to find the source, I need to get to the *bottom* of this."

But how exactly does one dig at the bottom of a pond?

Especially when you're pretty sure this isn't just any pond.

"It's a Qi pond," he reminded himself, "probably with weird properties."

He leaned closer, peering into the water. It wasn't clear in the way normal pond water was, murky with unseen depths. No, this water glowed, emanating a soft, internal light that seemed to pulse gently. The cave walls reflected the ethereal luminescence, casting the cavern in a gentle, otherworldly ambiance.

He poked the water with a finger.

Warm, still felt good.

A pleasant tingle spread through his fingertip, a familiar, comforting energy. He'd felt this before, immersing himself completely. Good times. Energetic times. But now wasn't the time for a dip. Now was the time for investigation. For digging. Under water. "Because, naturally, the secrets are always buried," he mumbled to himself.

He chuckled, "Diving in is one thing, but excavating underwater?"

The mental image of him flailing around, trying to scoop mud with his bare hands while holding his breath, wasn't exactly inspiring. Or effective.

This was starting to sound like a terrible idea, even to him.

"Alright, Chen Feng," he muttered to himself, "think."

Digging usually required tools.

And dry land.

Neither of which he currently possessed for this particular digging operation. He glanced down at his hands. No shovel magically appearing. Disappointing.

He looked around the cave.

Crystals, everywhere, of course.

Jagged, gleaming, jutting out at odd angles from every surface. The cave's defining feature, really. Useful for sharp edges. Less useful for, say, garden tools.

"Maybe I can fashion some kind of… underwater shovel?" he thought aloud.

He pictured himself trying to chip away at crystal, somehow shaping it into a shovel-like form, then wielding this unwieldy, probably fragile, thing underwater.

It sounded ridiculous, even as the words left his mouth.

He winced. "Nope. Let's just strike that idea right off the… 'good' idea list." He mentally filed 'crystal shovel' under 'Things that sound good when you're sleep-deprived, but actually no.'

Then there was the breathing situation.

Humans, last he checked, were not exactly known for their gills.

Though, come to think of it, immortality hadn't been on his resume before either, so maybe gills weren't *completely* off the table? He dismissed the thought immediately. Let's stick to slightly more plausible problems for now.

"Right, breathing underwater." He scratched his head. "That's… a slight issue."

Slight, as in, rather large and decidedly wet issue.

Hold breath? Maybe for a little bit.

Thirty seconds, tops, if he really pushed it. Maybe a minute if he channeled all his immortal willpower into lung capacity. Which, again, wasn't really a thing.

Digging, though? That might take a while.

A *long* while if he had to surface every minute for air. "Dig a bit, gasp for air, dig a bit, gasp for air… Patience might be infinite, but air isn't."

"Immortality is great," he mused, "but lung capacity it does not grant."

A fundamental flaw, really, in the whole immortality package. He'd have to write a strongly worded letter to the 'Immortal Being Upgrade Department' later. If such a department even existed. And if they took suggestions.

He paced around the pond edge, thinking.

Back and forth, his footsteps echoing softly in the silent cave. Think, think, think. Brain, do your thing.

"Some kind of… air bubble helmet? Made of crystal?"

He stopped pacing. He gestured around the cave with exasperated arms. "Okay, now I'm just spitballing nonsense."

***

No air bubble helmet would be appearing anytime soon.

Unless he spontaneously developed a previously unknown skill for underwater crystal-tech engineering. Unlikely. Highly unlikely. Borderline impossible, even for an immortal.

Crystal-shovels were also firmly in the 'probably not' category.

Definitely joining the shovel in the 'nonsense' folder in his mental filing system. Right next to 'dragon-riding lessons' and 'winning the lottery (back on Earth)'.

He needed a different approach.

Something less… ludicrous. Less prone to drowning, and less reliant on impromptu crystal-based scuba gear.

"Think smarter, not harder, Chen Feng, that's the key."

He looked at the pond again, then back at the cave walls.

The pond just sat there, stubbornly, full of glowing, tantalizing Qi water. The walls… well, they were walls. Solid. Impenetrable. Except…

"What if… what if I *drain* the pond?"

His eyes widened slightly. Huh. Well now. That's… actually not completely idiotic. Progress!

"Genius? Maybe just slightly less dumb?"

He was going to go with 'less dumb'. Genius was maybe a stretch at this point in his problem-solving career. But definitely a step up from crystal-shovel helmets.

Drain the pond. The idea started to solidify. It actually held… water. So to speak.

Then he could dig. On… well, muddy pond bottom.

Probably quite muddy. Qi-mud? That sounded… interesting. Potentially. Or just plain muddy.

But at least it would be *diggable*.

Definitely easier to dig mud than water, he was reasonably sure of that. Experience, unfortunately, lacking in underwater digging and mud consistency in Qi-enriched environments. But the theory was sound.

And breathable. Definitely breathable.

No need for impromptu gills or crystal diving bells on dry land. Solid plus. Major advantage.

"Alright, Operation Pond Drain is a go," he declared to the silent cave.

The sound echoed slightly, bouncing off the crystal formations. The cave, as usual, remained completely indifferent to his declarations. Still, felt good to announce it officially.

"Step one, find a drain. Or… make one?"

He considered the pond's edge, running a hand along the smooth, slightly damp crystal rim. No obvious drains, naturally. Why would there be? This was a secret Qi pond in the middle of nowhere, not a municipal swimming pool.

He grinned, picking up a sharp crystal. It gleamed in the pond's light, a perfect, natural point. Sharp enough to… well, hopefully sharp enough to make a hole. "Challenge accepted, Qi pond."

And challenge accepted, cave. And challenge accepted, physics in general. He hefted the crystal, feeling a spark of actual enthusiasm. Finally, a plan that didn't involve looking like a complete lunatic. Relatively speaking.

He approached the edge of the pond, crystal point aimed at the base of the wall, just at the water level. Okay, time to put 'Operation Pond Drain', step one, sub-step one – 'making a hole' - into action. "Let's see if this sharp pointy thing does what sharp pointy things are supposed to do," he muttered, positioning the crystal carefully. He took a deep breath. Not for underwater purposes this time. Just for dramatic effect. And with a grunt of effort, he began to chip away at the crystal wall.