Chapter 415 - 176: "Interesting.

Chapter 415: Chapter 176: "Interesting.

Chen Fan tucked the Celestial Dao Stone away and sat cheerfully to the side, waiting. He wanted to see what the first Blue Level special resource would be.

’It’s only ten thousand Sacrificial Points, anyway.’

With the efficiency of the processing chambers here, it wouldn’t take long.

Also...

’I need to think carefully about where to use this Celestial Dao Stone. To be honest, I’m tempted to just use it on the Sacrificial Tower, but on second thought, it’s better to use it on the most important building.’

’The Mortal Realm has quite a few Max Level Buildings right now.’

’I’ll have to give it some serious thought.’

...

「The eastern edge of the Guanxi Plain, in a pass through a continuous mountain range.」

The place was now bustling with people.

People came and went.

A distinctly new defense line stood here. This was the newly constructed Yellow Springs Entrance Defense Line. Its main purpose was to hold back the advancing Ghost Tides outside the Yellow Springs Entrance Canyon, should Jiangbei and the Guandong Plain fall.

The rainy season was fast approaching.

Preparations at this defense line were also being expedited.

"..."

The man in charge of the Yellow Springs Entrance Defense Line, a stocky, middle-aged fellow, was currently standing on the City Wall. He gazed out with a complicated expression at the vast Guanxi Plain before him. The land was empty, without a single person in sight, like a place of utter silence.

The rainy season was approaching.

Yet, there was still no sign of the forces from No. 7 Defense Line falling back.

This meant Elder Qi truly intended to defend No. 7 Defense Line to the death.

After a long moment,

he finally let out a soft breath and murmured.

"I hope Elder Qi can make it through this year’s rainy season."

The Eternal Night Hall no longer had the resources to reinforce No. 7 Defense Line. As long as he survived this year, Elder Qi would live for one more.

Of course.

By the next rainy season, Jiangbei would fall, and No. 7 Defense Line would certainly fall along with it. Even if they didn’t die now, death was inevitable then. That would also be the first time their Yellow Springs Entrance Defense Line would face its first true test.

But another year of life was another year of life.

In this day and age, no one could be sure how long they had left to live. Nobody knew.

Just then—

A woman had appeared behind him at some point and said softly, "News came from the Eternal Night Frontline. Frontline No. 3 and Frontline No. 4, which were lost during last year’s rainy season, were retaken last month."

"What’s more,"

"we even captured a Ghost Emperor with considerable standing in the Ghost Race, Three Thousand Emperors. Right now, we’re negotiating with the Ghost Race, hoping to use him to get *that person* back."

"*That person*..."

The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed slightly. It had been years since *that person* had made an appearance, ever since they fell into a Ghost Race trap and were imprisoned. If *that person* were still around, how could Jiangbei have fallen?

"Did the Ghost Race agree?"

"I don’t know. No concrete results have come in yet. But we’ve gotten a lot of information out of that Ghost Emperor, Three Thousand Emperors. One piece of news, in particular, has everyone on the Eternal Night Frontline completely energized."

"Apparently, the reason Frontline No. 3 and Frontline No. 4 fell one after the other during the last rainy season was that the Ghost Race gambled its entire foundation on a single, massive charge. Now that they’ve failed to break through for so long and their losses have been immense, they might not be far from total defeat."

"Really?!"

The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up.

"There’s probably some truth to it, and some lies."

The woman shook her head. "You can’t fully trust the words of a Ghost Object, but one thing is certain: the Ghost Race isn’t having an easy time either. We may be facing a headwind, but so are they."

"Then who has the tailwind?"

"No one. It’s a headwind for everyone. At a time like this, breaking the stalemate depends on sudden, unpredictable factors."

"Like what?"

"Like... hmm, like a part of the Ghost Race’s Ghost Tide suddenly stumbles upon some opportunity that greatly increases their strength. Or maybe several Nodes suddenly shatter, allowing numerous Ghost Tides to land and chip away at the Eternal Night Continent’s territory. Or, on the other hand, the Eternal Night Continent could suddenly discover a massive Ghost Ore mine."

"As it is now, both sides are in a complete stalemate. Only these unexpected factors can decide the outcome of the war."

"I’ve heard..."

"The Ghost Race has already dispatched many Ghost Objects to explore the depths of the ocean. They think they might find some opportunity there that will allow them to better break through the Eternal Night Continent’s frontline."

"Hmph."

The middle-aged man snorted and muttered, "I hope they not only find nothing but die on the way there."

"Let’s hope so."

The woman said no more, just turning her head to gaze into the depths of the Guanxi Plain, remaining silent for a long, long time.

As always, the eternal night swept in swiftly from the horizon, enveloping the entire Guanxi Plain and the mountains along with it. Only the glow of the Ghost Fire from the Yellow Springs Entrance Defense Line formed a pale Yellow corridor of life in the dark night.

...

「Mortal Realm.」

The night was deep and still.

Many Mortal Realm Members had already drifted off to sleep, but Chen Fan had just finished washing up. He sat on the City Wall of Cave No. 1, looking down at the Jade Scroll in his hand.

That’s right.

Normally, at this hour, Wang Kui would have been reporting to him on the Mortal Realm’s daily development. But Wang Kui had gone on a trip for fun, so Chen Fan had to check the Jade Scrolls in the Warehouse himself to look at the day’s inventory logs.

He wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t looked.

But one look...

and he could feel a headache coming on.

-

「Eternal Night Calendar Year 381, August 1, 3:45 AM.」

「Hundred Valleys Pavilion Member Zhang Qi took 230 Ghost Plant Seeds from the Jiezimai Room.」

「Eternal Night Calendar Year 381, August 1, 3:45 AM.」

「Artifact Pavilion Member Li San took ten jin of Earth Gold from the Jiezimai Room.」

「Eternal Night Calendar Year 381...」

-

After flipping through it for a little while, he stopped. He couldn’t read another line. It was all just unorganized information, and looking at it was making his head hurt.

The page was densely packed with entries.

There were hundreds of entries for a single day. Without a summary, it was information overload, especially since most of it was useless noise.

He subconsciously pulled out a Sound Transmission Talisman, wanting to tell Wang Kui that his vacation was over. But after a moment’s thought, he put it back.

’After all, Wang Kui only just left this morning.’

’He probably hasn’t even made it out of Jiangnan, and I’m already ending his vacation? That’s really not right.’

’Forget it. I’ll let Wang Kui enjoy his time off for a few days.’