Chapter 1558 - 1096: Evil Whirlwind

Chapter 1558: Chapter 1096: Evil Whirlwind

Thanks to the foundation laid by the Lotus Peak courtyard, Jiang Yuan’s construction work on the new Fuyun Space courtyard went very smoothly.

The gray mist dispersed, and a house that didn’t have the slightest Underworld vibe and instead looked quaint and antique was fully restored. The footprint hadn’t changed; once he went in, he found it was a one-bedroom-one-living-room suite layout.

[Main Quest: Build a Level One Fuyun Space. Reward: Courtyard Guardian Treasure — Stone of Three Lives]

[Quest 4: Main house repair completed. Reward: Courtyard Wall Blueprint +1 issued]

[Quest 5: Repair collapsed sections of the courtyard wall and build new sections to fill in the gaps. Reward: Simple Recipe +1]

[Simple Recipe: Can be used at the main house stove to make simple food for Ghosts to eat.]

Jiang Yuan: ???

I already bought recipes for Ghost Food from the System Mall, I can cook them on that stove right now. Why the hell isn’t this thing universal?

Grumbling was one thing, but the main quest still had to be done.

He circled around the current basic courtyard. Wherever there was a collapsed section that could be repaired, he clicked to consume materials and fix it; for gaps, he crafted courtyard walls at the workstation, then dragged them out of the Storage Bag in the decoration interface and placed them.

[Quest 5: Repair collapsed sections of the courtyard wall and build new sections to fill in the gaps, completed. Reward: Simple Recipe +1]

[Quest 6: Repair collapsed courtyard gate. Reward: Cold Crystal Jade X2000]

"As expected, having a Max Level Lord carry a newbie account is just awesome!" Jiang Yuan felt the early quests were a breeze. He was about to walk to the courtyard gate and fix up that pile of broken bricks and rubble to complete the quest.

Unexpectedly, a "ghost wind" suddenly blew in!

It sounded like countless people were crying and screaming, but if you listened closely it was like they were cackling madly. A huge black whirlwind appeared out of nowhere and swept through in an instant, leaving the whole courtyard in shambles.

[You have been struck by an Evil Spirit Tornado]

[Without intact courtyard walls and a protective barrier to block it, this has caused damage to nineteen plots of farmland; three courtyard wall sections damaged; house roof damaged. Please repair quickly and upgrade the courtyard to withstand Evil Spirit Tornado raids.]

[Note: The more damaged the courtyard is overall, the more easily it will be destroyed when struck by an Evil Spirit Tornado]

Jiang Yuan: ...

Damn it, I was huffing and puffing up front repairing and building, and one gust of wind just wrecks it all!

Looks like he’d better hurry up and finish the Level One courtyard main quest and at least get a basic protective barrier, so he wouldn’t get casually trashed every time.

First he rushed to the courtyard gate and clicked on the ruins to repair;

Then he crafted new courtyard walls, filled in the gaps in the decoration interface, repaired the roof that had been blown off; finally he took a hoe, huffing and puffing as he reclaimed the farmland again, watered it, and planted crops.

[Quest 6: Collapsed courtyard gate repaired. Reward: Cold Crystal Jade X2000]

[Detected: Courtyard fully intact with no damage]

[Main Quest: Build a Level One Fuyun Space completed. Reward: Courtyard Guardian Treasure — Stone of Three Lives issued]

[Stone of Three Lives: Guardian Treasure of the Fuyun Space home. Can cover the entire current courtyard area, ensuring it will not be corroded by sinister energy. The weak protective barrier that rises with a Level One courtyard can block attacks from Low Level Evil Spirits or Ghosts; only provides basic protection. Takes effect after being placed; can be upgraded in the Treasure Forging Workshop by collecting materials.]

[Main Quest: Build a Second Level Fuyun Space. Reward: Area Map +1]

[Quest 1: Build Refining Workshop. Reward: Low Level Magical Treasure Ghost-Catching Net +1]

"Luckily, just like the Divine Mountain Statue and Ocean Star, whether the guardian treasure is upgraded or not has nothing to do with the strength of the courtyard protective barrier. As the courtyard Level goes up, the barrier strengthens accordingly; upgrading the guardian treasure unlocks instances and extra rewards, like a New Home Map Card." Jiang Yuan immediately placed the Stone from his Storage Bag beside the house, clicked save, and a protective barrier emitting a faint glow enveloped the sky above the courtyard.

Almost as soon as the guardian treasure was set down, another Evil Spirit Tornado howling like a Ghostly Wail swept over!

"Wooooo~"

This time, though, the first thing it hit was that thin protective barrier. It wobbled all over from the battering, but its elasticity was pretty good; after a few seconds the tornado couldn’t break through and completely dissipated.

Just a tiny bit more and he would’ve had to spend basic resources and time to repair everything again. Now it was fine—having a protective barrier meant the most basic safety was finally secured.

Letting out a breath of relief, he finally had time to glance at the newly issued quests.

"Area map?" Seeing the reward for the Level Two home, Jiang Yuan opened the map to take a look. Damn! The system was really stingy, even the map had to be earned through quests.

Aside from Fuyun Mountain where the courtyard was located, the surrounding mountains were shrouded in gray mist, labeled with the words "Dangerous area, recommended to obtain map before entering to explore."

[Materials required to build Refining Workshop: Dark Wood X1000; Pine Board X500; Stone X1000; Mother-of-Pearl Soil X30; Black Fire Crystal X1; Cold Crystal Jade X500]

Mother-of-Pearl Soil and Black Fire Crystal were relatively special materials; you had to go dig them near the magma at the foot of the mountain.

He checked the distance, then checked the time. It was already noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Since the Fuyun Courtyard now had a protective barrier and wouldn’t be easily wrecked by Evil Spirit Tornadoes, and he still had a huge pile of aftermath to handle—

Like the forty-two Scratch Cards he’d saved up, which he had to hurry and scratch to claim the prizes; and Conch Island, which had shot straight up to Level 100 via the Wish Shortcut, with a ton of seabed farmland that needed reclaiming and copy-pasting; plus all those unlocked scenic items that needed to be purchased and placed; and he had to find a suitable new plot to fuse with Conch Island and activate stealth mode...

He clicked to return to the small courtyard. Aside from the fiery red lanterns brimming with New Year atmosphere, there wasn’t a trace left of last night’s revelry.

Hu Zhile and the others had long since sorted everything out properly, sending the Mermaid Race back to the Seashell Cave Mansion and seeing off Gongxi Yanchang and the other outside guests one by one; the tables and stools had all been cleared away, and even the Turquoise Pool had returned to its former appearance.