Just How Long... Would It Take... to Dig... Dig... Dig... Dig All This?!

Max-level Heaven-Piercing Pillars, power unknown—he had forged fifteen of them. Level 6 Heaven-Piercing Pillars, power unknown—he had forged one hundred of them. Altogether, they had consumed over twenty million ghost stones. Chen Fan clicked his tongue slightly as he calculated the reserves of ghost stones in the warehouse. Mining progress on the New Continent was rapid. Fifty thousand auxiliary members of Fan Domain had been dispatched there by him, continually excavating massive quantities of ghost bones and ghost stones to transport back to Fan Domain through the undersea tunnel. However... They couldn't keep up with his even faster consumption rate. Because of the construction of the Rainy Season Defense Line, the warehouse had emptied considerably. Over the past few days, the New Continent had been steadily shipping in ghost stones, easing the strain, but after crafting this batch of Heaven-Piercing Pillars, his purse strings tightened once more. He felt as if his warehouse was like a river mussel—swelling up one moment, deflating the next. Now, Fan Domain's warehouse held only several million ghost stones in reserve. Yet obtaining everything before his eyes in exchange was entirely worth it. No loss at all. With a satisfied expression, he gazed at the pillars standing before him like the statues of Easter Island. It was an exceptionally magnificent sight at a glance. More than a hundred pillars, each hundreds of meters tall, towered along the Jiangbei coastline, presenting a grandeur that was truly difficult to put into words. Three years from now... That would be the day this batch of Heaven-Piercing Pillars activated. Foundation required time to ferment. And for this batch of Heaven-Piercing Pillars, the fermentation period was three years. The greatest strength of the Heaven-Piercing Pillar lay not merely in its destructive power, but in its unfathomable mode of attack and its ultra-long-range strike capability. Once upgraded to max level, its range expanded drastically. "Here is Jiangbei, that is Jiangnan, and this should be the Guanxi Plain. Behind the Guanxi Plain is... uh..." "No idea." A translucent map hovered before his eyes. On it, he could clearly see the desert of the Jiangbei Wasteland, Jiangnan, the Great River that severed the two regions, and the Guanxi Plain further to the south. Prominent landmarks such as the Great River and the desert were clearly displayed on the map. Wherever he wished to bombard, he could strike. The firing range was extraordinarily vast. He could even see the coastline located far, far to the south of the Guanxi Plain. Of course. He could not see the entirety of the Eternal Night Continent; the range was not quite that massive yet. Even so, as long as he wished it, a max-level Heaven-Piercing Pillar could strike directly toward the Guanxi Plain, and even further south. This vastly expanded Fan Domain's sphere of influence. "Not bad." Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction and grinned. He was very fond of this structure. But "Heaven-Piercing Pillar" felt a bit unfitting. Resting his chin on one hand, he mused, "Hmm... what would be a good name for it?" "Uh," Wang Kui beside him asked tentatively, "Domain Lord, doesn't it already have a name? The Heaven-Piercing Pillar." Chen Fan glanced sideways at Wang Kui, quickly made up his mind, and nodded with satisfaction. "Let's call it the Fan Domain Cruise Missile." "A splendid name!" With a solemn, admiring expression, Wang Kui gave a thumbs-up. "Fitting, domineering, and full of class!" Cruise missile? He could vaguely grasp the first word, but the second was beyond his comprehension. Yet that did not matter. Whatever the Domain Lord said, went. Just like in the beginning, when no one understood why Fan Domain High-Speed Rail was called high-speed rail—tall iron? But later on, everyone across the four regions of Jiangbei gradually grew accustomed to the name. Having finished all this, Chen Fan built another Level 1 Heaven-Piercing Pillar nearby, intending to run an experiment to see if it would be hindered by the flight ban. In addition... Fan Domain's current development was largely on track. Once the rainy season ended, it would be time to head south to the Guanxi Plain. He had already gathered up most of the ghost stones across the four regions of Jiangbei, and it would take time for the common folk to replenish their surplus. Fortunately, the entire ghost-stone recycling cycle was now fully established. For instance, while Fan Domain members received high monthly stipends, beyond saving a little, they also needed to spend. Buying things like luzhu poured money right back into Fan Domain's pockets—a perfect economic cycle. Although the ghost stone output of the New Continent was considerable, the New Continent would not produce a single extra ghost stone out of thin air. However many ghost stones existed there was fixed and unalterable; once mined out, they were gone. He could not just sit and eat until everything was depleted. The Guanxi Plain was a place he definitely had to visit. Right at that moment— The voice transmission talisman in Chen Fan's robes grew hot, and Quehou's somewhat flustered voice came through. "Young Master, Wang Mazi's condition has mostly stabilized, but he looks terrified, like he's seen a ghost!" "He says he must report to you in person!" "He's demanding to take the high-speed rail back to Fan Domain right now!" "None of us can stop him! I told him to tell me first or contact you directly with a voice transmission talisman, but he refused! He insists on reporting to your face!" Chen Fan's brows furrowed slightly. It sounded as though something massive had occurred. Glancing once more at the array of Heaven-Piercing Pillars he had erected, he strode toward the port. "Wang Kui, stay behind and guard Fan Domain." "I'm going to the New Continent." He recalled that Wang Mazi had gone to explore an unknown crater and lost contact for three days. After returning three days later, he had ended up in this state. Reasonably speaking, that completely uninhabited New Continent shouldn't hold any extraordinary perils. How could he have run into a ghost? And even if he did, so long as it possessed a physical form, the firepower grade of Wang Mazi's flying boat was by no means low. *** The Guanxi Plain. It was currently the rainy season. Located south of Jiangnan, this was one of the largest plains on the Eternal Night Continent. Crops planted here, whether ghost plants or medicinal herbs, naturally grew faster and lusher. The same held true for livestock such as cattle and sheep. On top of that, "ghost mines" were uncovered from time to time on the Guanxi Plain, making it exceedingly wealthy—far wealthier than Jiangnan. As for Jiangbei... Hardly anyone on the Guanxi Plain even knew a place called Jiangbei existed. Most common folk cared only about their own three-tenths of an acre. Incessant heavy rain blanketed the entire Guanxi Plain like gray mist, ushering in a biting chill. "Winter is approaching again, huh." "Whenever it gets cold, my feet always sweat." A middle-aged man sat upon a carved rosewood chair. Attended by two maidservants, he slipped off his socks and placed his feet into a tub of hot water. Steam drifted into the air. His feet quickly flushed bright red. The middle-aged man leaned back against the chair in deep contentment, closing his eyes in sheer bliss as he murmured, "When the weather turns cold, soaking your feet in hot water really is comfortable... Ah, wonderful..." Beside him, two veiled maidservants stood on his left and right, continually leaning forward to rub their chests against him. Frictional warmth. This was his favored method of keeping warm in winter. After a long while, he waved a hand and said casually, "Bring me a serving of that luzhu." Soon, a servant carrying a silver tray walked in. Upon the tray rested many small silver dishes, each holding a minuscule portion of luzhu. The middle-aged man leaned back with his mouth open, and a maidservant used chopsticks to lift a braised kelp knot and place it into his mouth. "Not bad." The middle-aged man chuckled as he chewed. "What delicacy in this world has this old man not tasted? Yet this luzhu is indeed extraordinary. Where did the seller say this luzhu came from again?" "Jiangbei's Fan Domain," the subordinate beside him reported in a low voice. "Jiangbei?" The middle-aged man's brows knitted slightly, lost in thought. "Jiangbei seems to have made quite a bit of progress in culinary arts over the years. Though who knows if it's clean." "Still—" "Could this Fan Domain be the strongest faction in Jiangbei?" "To reach directly across Jiangnan and do business all the way in the Guanxi Plain... their reach is certainly not short." "It isn't Fan Domain's business," the subordinate hurried to explain. "It belongs to Jiangnan's West Lake Tower. They procure the goods from Fan Domain and transport them to the Guanxi Plain for sale." "Jiangnan's West Lake Tower?" The middle-aged man was taken aback. He looked down at the familiar insignia on the silver dish; indeed, it was the emblem of West Lake Tower. "Didn't West Lake Tower deal in skeleton horses? When did they stoop to such petty trade?" Compared to a strategic resource like skeleton horses, selling luzhu could no longer even be called a petty trade. It was practically a total downfall. The Guanxi Plain was landlocked on all sides, free from the pressure of massive ghost tides making landfall. Consequently, conflicts between factions across the Guanxi Plain were frequent, creating high demand for skeleton horses—a stable and lucrative business. "They pivoted," the subordinate promptly answered. Such matters were merely gossip that had nothing to do with his master, and usually his master paid no heed to them. But the servant cared. Subordinates like him loved nothing more than gossiping about which faction had risen and which had declined. "Starting before the rainy season, a steady stream of skeleton horses flooded into the Guanxi Plain at very low prices, coming from several Jiangnan factions. Their prices were significantly lower than West Lake Tower's." "So West Lake Tower pivoted." "They began specializing in selling this luzhu. Currently, business is booming, and the prices are far from cheap. Many prominent figures across the Guanxi Plain frequently place orders for their luzhu." The middle-aged man nodded thoughtfully. Picking up a pair of silver chopsticks, he popped another bite of luzhu into his mouth to savor it carefully. The flavor remained exquisite. It didn't feel reheated countless times, nor was there the slightest hint of foul odor or decay. Transporting something like luzhu all the way from Jiangbei to the Guanxi Plain was no short journey; it required several days of travel. West Lake Tower didn't know how to prepare this luzhu and instead bought it from Jiangbei's Fan Domain. What kind of preservation method could they possibly be using? He suddenly felt a flicker of curiosity toward this Fan Domain of Jiangbei. After a long pause, he laid down his silver chopsticks, waved his hand to dismiss the remaining dishes, dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief, and spoke with satisfaction. "If West Lake Tower can do this business, there's no reason our Sun Moon Workshop cannot." "Once the rainy season ends," "take some men on skeleton horses to Jiangbei personally. Find out who makes this luzhu in Fan Domain, and bring the person back." "Offer him an extravagant monthly salary." "He'll obediently come along with you. If he truly refuses, kidnap him." "Understood, Master." After his subordinate departed, the middle-aged man continued savoring the lingering taste of the luzhu. He had eaten delicious luzhu before; for instance, the Guanxi Luzhu Master from the former Divine Artifact Sect made fine luzhu. Yet eating that had never felt quite as satisfying as this. That felt somewhat like food for the poor. It lacked a sense of gratification. Moreover, though the flavors bore some resemblance, it ultimately wasn't as delicious as this one. It was only a pity. The rainy season had arrived, and the last portion purchased before the rains had just been finished. He would have to wait until after the season to buy more. *** Jiangnan. West Lake Tower. This faction, which once relied on selling skeleton horses as its primary source of revenue, had resolutely decided to pivot after Fan Domain's low-priced skeleton horses completely seized the market. He had established trade routes and numerous familiar factions in the Guanxi Plain. Had he chosen to purchase skeleton horses from Fan Domain and resell them to the Guanxi Plain, he would have had an advantage over the other Jiangnan factions doing the same. Yet he abandoned that path. Instead, he chose to pivot toward selling "Jiangbei Fan Domain Luzhu." Right now, the rainy season was underway. West Lake Tower's business had temporarily paused. The Master of West Lake Tower was currently looking down at the gathered members of his faction with a dead-serious expression: "Everyone, for us, the rainy season is not a rest, but a time to gather strength, preparing to greet even greater glory once the season ends!" Business had been stellar this past year. Relying on his old connections with factions on the Guanxi Plain, he had quickly spread the popularity of luzhu. Yet precisely because business was thriving, many details had been left unpolished. The rainy season was the perfect opportunity for rigorous training. "What is Fan Domain?" "It is the greatest power across the four regions of Jiangbei, a power that has wrought countless miracles, a power destined to march south into the Guanxi Plain!" "What we are selling is not merely delicious luzhu." "It is luzhu imbued with the spirit of Fan Domain!" "Next—" The Master of West Lake Tower no longer wore the despair he had felt when first hearing the news of Fan Domain's skeleton horses. Instead, he was brimming with drive, his face flushed with vitality. Back then, the Guanxi Luzhu Master's food was also delicious, so why was it unappreciated on the Guanxi Plain? First was reputation. The Divine Artifact Pavilion itself looked down upon its own artifact refiner, considering it a disgrace when word reached the outside world. Second was price. The Guanxi Luzhu Master priced it too low. These factors combined made eating luzhu an unseemly, undignified affair. An undignified affair, no matter how wonderful its essence, would only be met with silence out of embarrassment. Therefore, what he needed to do was make it dignified. The first step: reduce the portions. A single serving of luzhu purchased from Fan Domain contained numerous pieces, but they specifically forged vast quantities of silver dishes, silver trays, and silver forks, reducing the portions to an extreme minimum. A massive plate holding nothing but a single kelp knot. Buy the luzhu, and it comes with silver tableware. The tableware cost more than the food itself. The price he charged was hundreds of times higher than Fan Domain's luzhu. He didn't sell to commoners, only to the powerful and wealthy. Under this packaging, no one felt eating luzhu was beneath them. Or rather, eating ordinary luzhu was indeed uncouth, but eating the Jiangbei Fan Domain Luzhu sold by West Lake Tower was an act of high prestige. When he pivoted, he had actually deliberated whether to brand it as "Jiangbei Fan Domain Luzhu" or "Jiangnan West Lake Tower Luzhu." In the end, he chose the former. He was paving the way. He was paving the way for Jiangbei's Fan Domain to march south into the Guanxi Plain. It didn't matter that many people had never heard of Jiangbei's Fan Domain yet. The moment Fan Domain pushed south, he believed that given Domain Lord Chen's style of conduct, it wouldn't take long before Fan Domain's name thundered across the Guanxi Plain. And when that time came, his Jiangbei Fan Domain Luzhu would ride the winds to soar alongside it! Soon, after completing the training, the Master of West Lake Tower walked up to the nearby Level 3 wall. Gazing out past the ghost fire into the Eternal Night, he remained lost in melancholy for a long time before suddenly chuckling. This year, he had weathered many setbacks. The instant Fan Domain's skeleton horses hit the market, he had nearly suffered a total breakdown. Forced to pivot, in the end— he had carved out a path to survival. He felt he was quite impressive. With such a massive enterprise, where all resources were tied to the skeleton horse trade, he had still managed to find a way out of a dead end. As the head of a family, he had to maintain a composed demeanor; even if overjoyed, he could not show too much mirth, lest his subordinates find him frivolous. Yet in truth, at this very moment, he really wished he had a flatterer among his subordinates. That way, he could maintain an impassive exterior while inwardly relishing every word of praise. After a long time, he stood on the wall and turned to look back inside. The Vehicle Workshop had long fallen into disuse. Beside it, an old man was vigorously swinging a hammer, pounding out silver plates and silver dishes one after another. No building blueprint. Just pure hammer strikes. This old man was West Lake Tower's former Level 7 architect. When West Lake Tower pivoted, he no longer had to craft skeleton horses. He had started swinging a hammer to pound out silver dishes. He was growing more and more proficient. Furthermore... With his layout in place, he wasn't worried about anyone stealing his business. The Master of West Lake Tower smiled and turned back toward the Eternal Night. For some reason, he felt the Eternal Night during this rainy season wasn't especially dark. After enduring months of despair and decline, he had finally caught sight of the dawn belonging to Jiangnan's West Lake Tower. Fan Domain had destroyed his old business, yet forced him to pivot, granting him a far more profitable luzhu business. He knew that whether destroying him or blessing him, neither had been Fan Domain's conscious intent. Fan Domain was merely developing on its own. And in the course of its growth, like an imperial dragon carriage barreling across the plains, factions like theirs were mere blades of grass. Some were crushed to death; others died and revived, becoming dry grass caught on the wheels, hurtling toward the unknown future at an even greater speed. *** The New Continent. Ever since the rainy season loomed, Chen Fan had not visited the New Continent for a long time. Stepping onto it once more, he found it drastically transformed from when he had left. At a glance, busy Fan Domain members were everywhere. Recruiting fifty thousand auxiliary members had been his own order, yet he had never laid eyes on all fifty thousand of them at once, so he had possessed little real concept of it. Seeing them today, he couldn't help but click his tongue. So many people...? Fan Domain could actually feed this many mouths. Compared to the last rainy season, the progress was night and day. There were simply too many people. Near New Continent Base 1, on the ground close to Defense Line 1, prominent excavation marks were visible. The ground had been dug down three feet deep; across a vast area, not a single ghost stone or ghost bone could be found. Utterly spotless. Like a swarm of locusts, these fifty thousand auxiliary members were sweeping through this ancient battlefield with meticulous order. After Chen Fan stepped off the high-speed rail, it was already afternoon. He didn't seek out Wang Mazi immediately. Instead, he stood atop the wall of New Continent Base 1, surveying the surroundings. After taking in the view, he turned to Quehou beside him. "Let's go find Wang Mazi." This was New Continent Base 1, and also the foundation Chen Fan had conquered. Soon, Quehou led the way to a water well, then glanced helplessly at Wang Mazi's visibly abnormal mental state before taking his leave, giving Wang Mazi and the Young Master privacy. Chen Fan looked at Wang Mazi, who was sprawled over the edge of the well peering down to the bottom. Chen Fan's brows furrowed slightly. Wang Mazi's condition was indeed off. When Chen Fan last left the New Continent, he had built quite a few water wells to replenish freshwater. Right now, Wang Mazi was simply leaning over the well, staring at the water below. As if possessed. Leaning on his emerald cane with one hand, Chen Fan walked over to a nearby table, picked up a teapot to pour a bowl of tea for himself, poured another cup, and brought it to Wang Mazi. Standing beside him, Chen Fan spoke softly. "Wang Mazi, I'm here." "Whatever it is, take your time and speak the truth. You're losing your composure." As soon as the words fell, Wang Mazi, whose body was visibly still weak, suddenly spun around toward Chen Fan. His hands trembled as he accepted the tea bowl, tears glistening in his eyes as he stammered, "Domain Lord..." "I... I... I became the Heavenly Dao!" *Pfft!* The mouthful of tea Chen Fan had just taken sprayed straight onto Wang Mazi's face. Several breaths passed. Only then did Chen Fan take a deep breath, set the tea bowl aside, slowly sit by the well, and remain silent for a long time before asking softly, "Did you encounter a ghost creature capable of casting illusions?" "Tell me everything that happened, from start to finish." The Heavenly Dao? Utter nonsense. Eight out of ten chances, he was possessed. "Yes!" Perhaps because of the tea sprayed across his face, Wang Mazi appeared considerably calmer now, sinking into memory. "Three days ago." "Following Domain Lord's orders, I led members of the Commerce Pavilion deep into the New Continent to explore. We discovered a colossal crater. We flew for an entire day before descending to the center of the pit." "The ground inside the crater possessed a glazed sheen like obsidian." "It looked as though it had formed from a tremendous impact." "After landing," "I ordered the Commerce Pavilion members to pair up in teams of two to search the area." "Right at that moment—" "I suddenly felt a powerful suction pulling from beneath the earth. In the next instant, a fissure abruptly tore open in the center of the crater's floor, sucking me inside." "When I opened my eyes again," "I found myself inside a cavern deep underground within the rock face. There were no fissures around, yet strangely, my breathing was completely normal, and I felt nothing amiss." "Upon waking, the first thing I tried was using a voice transmission talisman to contact the Commerce Pavilion members above, but it wouldn't work. Not because of the distance, but because it couldn't be activated at all." "The cavern within the rock face wasn't large." "There was nothing inside, completely empty." "Right then, I saw a line of carved text on the wall. It wasn't any script we recognize, looking like a child's scribbles, haphazardly drawn." "Yet the moment I saw that line of text, I immediately entered what might have been an illusion. My consciousness floated into the sky, drifting higher and higher until I was looking down upon the entire New Continent." Wang Mazi paused, his body trembling once again as he spoke in a quavering voice. "That must have been thousands of years ago." "Where we are now, seven defense lines stretching thousands of kilometers stood along the coastline like natural chasms. Behind the walls were countless people, continually transporting all sorts of supplies." "Beyond the defense lines," "a sky-blotting sea of ghost creatures." "So many... so, so many..." "At the same time, I saw every region of the New Continent being assaulted simultaneously by massive ghost tides. I don't know how long I watched, but I saw the New Continent fall, piece by piece." "Ghost fires extinguished one after another." "The Eternal Night gradually swallowed the entire New Continent." "Until..." "Only one final region remained, with a handful of humans hiding behind the walls making their last stand." "I saw a ghost appear within the ghost tide." "That ghost was dozens of meters tall, with three heads and six arms, each hand clutching a massive hammer. That colossal ghost creature looked up toward me, its voice booming so loud it echoed through heaven and earth." "He asked me..." "Whether I was willing to become the Heavenly Dao of their Ghost Clan." "I could even clearly see his gaze fixed upon me. Only then did I realize that my perspective—overlooking the entire continent—was the perspective of the Heavenly Dao." "My mouth opened and closed as I tried to speak," "yet I couldn't utter a single word." "My body moved as if beyond my control. I cast one last look at the New Continent being slowly swallowed by the Eternal Night, suddenly burst into laughter, and then..." "It detonated." "A tremendous explosion." "Bone-chilling agony tore through my body. The last thing I saw before blacking out from the pain was that colossal blast carving a massive crater into the plain. At the same time, a torrent of rainbow light surged outward from the center of the blast toward the New Continent." "That three-headed, six-armed ghost instantly turned into blood mist." "Every ghost creature touched by the rainbow light turned into blood mist." "Along with the remaining humans, who also turned into blood mist." "The ghost creatures further from the New Continent that had not yet made landfall fled in terror toward the distant Thunderstorm Sea. When the rainbow light touched the Thunderstorm Sea, it instantly dissipated, allowing only a small fraction of the ghost creatures to escape into the sea alive." "When I woke up again, I was already aboard the flying boat." "The Commerce Pavilion members told me they had searched for three days, eventually finding me at the spot where I had vanished—the center of the crater. They were carrying me back, and the moment I came to, I wanted nothing more than to report this to you, Domain Lord." Perhaps because he had finally gotten it all off his chest, the previously terrified Wang Mazi seemed considerably relieved. The Heavenly Dao. To a native of Jiangbei like Wang Mazi, the word was practically synonymous with the gods. Merely hearing it inspired dread, let alone stepping into the perspective of the Heavenly Dao itself. Chen Fan stood silently on the spot, expressionless, remaining quiet for a long time. He understood. Wang Mazi hadn't become the Heavenly Dao; rather, he had entered the perspective of the New Continent's Heavenly Dao and observed the scene of the New Continent's final battle up close. Just as Chen Fan had acquired the jade slip of the Undying Heavenly Master and witnessed the final battle of ancient Jiangbei. This was a very common method.