Mugwort is always a plant that gets to work quickly.

She said she wanted to build a pillar to support the sky for Nuwa, and she quickly put it on the agenda.

The women skilled in building structures were also gathered together. They discussed for several days and actually came up with a feasible plan.

—Use the tree trunk as the core, and wrap it with several layers of bark; spread a paste mixed with rice paste and gravel on the outer layer, and then wrap it with leaves on the outermost layer.

Ai Cao went to ask Nuwa about the pillar, whether it could truly support the sky.

Nuwa did not change the design of the pillar, but only increased its height and width by three times.

In addition, Nuwa also took on the follow-up work.

Otherwise, Ai Cao really didn't know how they would have managed to erect a giant pillar.

Nuwa added, "If you find any colorful stones, you can bring them to me as well." She casually pulled out a pot—a pot that was dozens of people tall and dozens of people wide, with colorful mist rising from its open mouth.

She was surrounded by uneven rocks, so she had no choice but to place the pot on the sea.

The pot made a loud hissing sound as soon as it touched the smooth sea surface. White steam rose and then dissipated, leaving the pot resting peacefully on the sea.

Nuwa said, "I've been refining stones for mending the sky for a long time, but one piece is still missing." She added with a smile, "I don't even remember where it fell."

Artemisia took on the task as well.

The women under her rule were like tightly fitted gears in a machine.

They worked together seamlessly, transporting the materials needed to build the pillars from all over the world to the ends of the earth.

The craftsmen also gathered here. They split the tall trees, tied the trunks together section by section, and made a long core for the pillar.

They first tied the basic length together, then cut the hemp rope used for temporary binding.

They need to be widened section by section.

Each section of the tree trunk was given to women of different tribes by the artemisia. The women excitedly accepted the task, using paint to draw their tribal patterns and surnames on the tree trunks.

After processing the tree trunk, a new trunk was wrapped around it. The women wrapped the trunk until it was as thick as four people could hug, and only then was the first step of the pillar's core truly complete.

Next, they would wrap it with bark. There was plenty of bark left over from cutting down trees earlier, so the women simply used the bark they had cut down.

They attached the fine pieces of bark and inner core to the tree trunk. This was a delicate task, and unlike before, it wasn't just women who did it.

Some men also got involved.

They didn't care whether their delicate hands would get cut; they were only focused on sticking the bark to the tree with fervor.

Even though their hands were scratched and bleeding from the rough tree bark, they did not stop.

The men quietly left only after the overlapping bark completely covered the tree trunk.

The women once again took control of the situation.

The next step is to make a paste from crushed stones and rice paste.

The women dug a pit, threw stones in, and then ground them with harder stones. Since the stones brought from various places weren't enough, the women simply used what was available, pushing the stones near Nuwa into the pit to grind them up.

Rice cereal is a bit more difficult.

Not to mention that rice paste is troublesome to make, you also have to consider a series of factors such as temperature and consistency.

Ai Cao simply asked Nuwa if they could borrow her pot.

Nuwa's pot was big and round, and it looked like it could hold a lot of rice paste.

Nuwa smiled and agreed.

She flipped her hand, and several bags of rice flew into the large pot. Nuwa raised her hand again, and seawater poured into the pot.

Nuwa directly helped them make rice porridge.

With a mixture of awe and anticipation, the women applied the mixture to the outside of the tree bark. The rice paste seeped into the bark, and gravel filled the gaps.

No human can destroy this pillar now.

But that's still not enough.

The outer layer is then wrapped with leaves. The leaves are palm leaves; the women smooth out the forks of the palm leaves and then paste them one by one onto the gravel. Where some leaves don't stick well, they tie them with hemp rope.

After a month of working at such a rapid pace, all the pillar sections were completed.

Today, each section of the pillar is as thick as eight people could hug. The outer layers are all different, each bearing the small customs of the women of different ethnic groups. For example, the Jiang people are used to binding the palm leaves tightly; while the Bi people are used to binding the palm leaves layer upon layer, wrapping them like a rice dumpling.

The women happily brought the mugwort.

What used to be a place full of scattered stones has now become a flat area.

The pillars lay quietly on the flat ground.

The mugwort looked up and asked Nuwa, "Please put them together."

Nuwa lowered her eyes. She only hesitated for a moment, and the little ants actually created the prototype of the pillar.

She smiled and extended her hand.

The first section of the pillar flew up from the ground like a falling leaf. It landed beside Nuwa—the earth trembled, making a dull sound.

Then came the second section, the third section...

Until the last section of the pillar was firmly in place.

Nuwa pointed to her large cauldron on the sea. A stream of multicolored liquid leaped from the cauldron and gently poured onto the top of the pillar.

Nuwa glanced at the slowly flowing liquid and asked Ai Cao, "Have you found any colorful stones?"

The mugwort shook its head.

She had asked all over the continent, but no one had ever seen such colorful stones.

She could indeed draw a five-colored stone, but she guessed that Nuwa wanted more than just a five-colored stone.

Nuwa sighed regretfully.

The pendant on Ai Cao's chest felt slightly warm.

Nuwa narrowed her eyes and said, "Give me your pendant."

Ai Cao shook her head: "This is a gift from someone else."

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