Chapter 402 - 174: "I would rather call it... the Decree of the Celestial Mandate.

Chapter 402: Chapter 174: "I would rather call it... the Decree of the Celestial Mandate.

"Domain Lord Chen, I’m already on the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail and about to arrive at the Jiangbei Wilderness. Is now a good time for you?"

"That soon?"

Chen Fan was taken aback. ’It’s barely dawn. Does this mean Elder Qi came along with the second batch of Ghost Corpses? Did he leave last night?’

’Is there really nothing happening at the No. 7 Defense Line now that the rainy season is over?’

But he quickly understood. Elder Qi probably couldn’t sleep last night. He must have been tossing and turning, needing to see the Jiangbei Defense Line with his own eyes to finally put his mind at ease.

As the saying goes, seeing is believing.

He immediately laughed.

"Of course it’s convenient. Just tell the conductor to go to the Mortal Realm Port. I’ll wait for you at the Port."

...

Soon, Elder Qi disembarked from the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail with two of his trusted men, stepping onto the Port platform.

The moment he stepped off the High-speed Rail, Elder Qi froze in place.

The scene before him was utterly unfamiliar; he felt as if he had entered another world, one completely different from the No. 7 Defense Line.

On the sea beside the Port, numerous Sea Ships traveled back and forth. Occasionally, a special type of vessel could be seen, repeatedly submerging and surfacing on the water.

The ground was crisscrossed with Mortal Realm railway tracks, stained crimson by some scarlet liquid, upon which numerous Mortal Realm High-speed Rails constantly shuttled back and forth.

People dressed in Mortal Realm attire bustled about.

It was an exceptionally bustling scene.

In the distance, hundreds of enormous pillars stood between heaven and earth, creating a truly staggering sight.

At a glance, one could see two massive cities in the distance, and behind them, guarding the Jiangbei Coastline, stood the Jiangbei Defense Line.

It stretched out of sight.

It was a full 20 meters tall—a Level 5 City Wall.

"HUFF... HUFF..."

Elder Qi’s breathing grew ragged. Everything here was completely different from the Jiangbei he remembered. For a fleeting moment, he even thought he had traveled to another world.

If the Guandong Plain was an expanse of deathly stillness...

Then this place was bursting with vitality.

Simply by standing here, he could sense the Mortal Realm developing at an astonishing rate. Even though he hadn’t seen much, he could feel that vibrant energy.

"Gentlemen."

"Welcome to the Mortal Realm."

Leaning on his Jade Staff, Chen Fan approached with a cheerful smile. "This way. The Jiangbei Defense Line is just behind us. I’d be grateful for your expert opinion, Elder Qi."

"We in the Mortal Realm are all theory and no practice; we’ve never faced a real Ghost Tide. When it comes to this, you’re the seasoned veteran."

He spoke from the heart.

He was still a bit uneasy about the Jiangbei Defense Line, feeling that it wasn’t strong enough.

"Yes, let’s go..."

Only then was Elder Qi jolted from his daze. He took a deep breath and followed Chen Fan toward the Jiangbei Defense Line.

...

As they drew closer to the Jiangbei Defense Line, Elder Qi had only one thought in his mind: ’New.’ The Jiangbei Defense Line showed almost no signs of battle, unlike the No. 7 Defense Line, which was stained crimson with Ghost Blood.

But when he got close enough, he saw the vast stretches of Ghost Blood Patterns on the Jiangbei Defense Line. He froze, looking from side to side. When he realized the Ghost Blood Patterns stretched as far as the eye could see, a look of horror flashed in his eyes.

"D-Domain Lord Chen, the Jiangbei Defense Line isn’t... entirely covered in Ghost Blood Patterns, is it?"

"Of course."

Chen Fan smiled as he walked toward the Jiangbei Defense Line. "I find the Ghost Blood Patterns to be very effective. The more they fight, the stronger they get."

’Who would ever think Ghost Blood Patterns aren’t useful?’

Elder Qi squeezed out a strained smile. ’Everyone and their damn mother knows Ghost Blood Patterns are useful. But to create a uniform wall of them for 170 kilometers... just how many Ghost Stones would that cost...’

’If you randomly get the wrong pattern, you tear it down and rebuild.’

’Repeating this process over and over.’

’After pouring in a massive amount of Ghost Stones and manpower, you can get a uniform layer of Ghost Blood Patterns.’

’It’s not difficult.’

’Just expensive.’

’When something is expensive, its only drawback is the price.’

He then noticed the Soul-Devouring Sculptures at the base of the City Wall. This made sense. If the Mortal Realm could supply their defense line with so many, it was only natural they’d have them for themselves.

Once on top of the City Wall, Elder Qi surveyed the Godslaying Cannons and Anti-Aircraft Cannons arranged along it. His brow furrowed slightly as he spoke in a gravelly voice.

"Domain Lord Chen."

"The Undersea Ghost Tide the Jiangbei Defense Line faces isn’t as massive as the Ghost Tides at the No. 7 Defense Line."

"But it’s still substantial."

"This firearm configuration... it’s a bit off."

"What is this cannon called?"

"Godslaying Cannon."

"Right."

Elder Qi took a deep breath. He first snuck a glance at Chen Fan to gauge his reaction. Seeing that the Domain Lord wasn’t offended, he began to explain.

’He truly wanted to help make the Jiangbei Defense Line better.’

’But he was also worried about angering Chen Fan in the process.’

’After all, no one likes to hear others criticize their child. He already treated the No. 7 Defense Line as his own. For someone like Chen Fan, who had personally overseen the construction of this defense line piece by piece for the Mortal Realm, that feeling would be even stronger.’

"First, the Jiangbei Defense Line consists entirely of Level 5 City Walls and Ghost Blood Patterns. Defensively, that’s more than sufficient. After all, back in the Ancient Era, the Jiangbei Defense Line was merely a Level 4 City Wall."

"But its firepower is somewhat lacking."

"For a cannon like the Godslaying Cannon, which is meant to clear out the Ghost Tide, placing one every twenty meters is too sparse. The firepower is too weak. You need one at least every fifteen meters, at a minimum."

"The turret we use at the No. 7 Defense Line to clear the Ghost Tide, the Sword Rain Tower, is placed every ten meters. The No. 7 Defense Line has a total of 9,700 Sword Rain Towers."

"One every twenty meters won’t be enough to handle a Ghost Tide."

"Secondly."

"The Jiangbei Defense Line doesn’t have any turrets for dealing with Great Ghosts."

"The No. 7 Defense Line has a Dark Tower every thousand meters, used to deal with the Great Ghosts within a Ghost Tide. Their power against a single target is immense."