I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

"..."

Chen Fan gave Zhao Shengping a peculiar look. "Isn’t being able to make such delicious braised meats a very impressive skill? Why would you call it a trivial art?"

"Lame Monkey, do you know how?"

"Nope." Lame Monkey shook his head firmly.

"Zhou Mo, do you know how?"

"I don’t either."

"They both don’t know how. So, does that mean they can’t even master this so-called trivial art?"

"Any path that helps people survive, and helps them live better, is a Great Dao. Your Artifact Refining is the former, and these braised meats are the latter. Put them together, and you have a path that reaches the heavens. Keep up the good work. It’ll be a busy night."

Night fell.

They still had to prepare for the auction tomorrow.

Everyone gradually dispersed.

Hey Hey, still not satisfied, lingered reluctantly. After a moment’s hesitation, it fetched a piece of wood, held it in its mouth like a pacifier, and then presented its backside to Zhao Shengping. The look on its face was clear: ’Just give me one more Beggar’s Chicken, and you can pry this Scale Armor right off. I’ll endure the pain.’

Zhao Shengping, however, completely ignored the scene.

At his age, his eyes were red as he walked into the house, tears streaming down his face. He finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out with a loud WAIL.

’Isn’t being able to make such delicious braised meats a very impressive skill...?’

Those words echoed endlessly in his mind.

Finally...

Finally, someone had acknowledged him like this.

No longer calling his craft a trivial art.

At that very moment, he swore an oath in his heart: even in death, he would belong to the Mortal Realm.

...

「By noon the next day.」

The various factions within Mortal City were stirring, preparing to attend the day’s auction. A growing number of groups were arriving at the city gates; nearly every major power in the vicinity had sent representatives.

This auction had many items they needed.

For example, the Architect’s Order, which could turn an Ordinary person into an Architect.

They also came to purchase the Skeleton Horses and to build connections with the Mortal Realm, a faction that had been rising with astonishing speed.

Before anyone realized it, the Mortal Realm had become the most watched focal point in the surrounding regions.

As the saying goes, people flock to where the action is. The Jiangbei Marketplace was now deserted. Many independent merchants, bringing their own Exotic Treasures, came to the Mortal Realm to set up stalls, causing the city’s popularity to swell.

It was much livelier than on the first day.

And then there was—

To the left of Mortal City stood another city, equal in size, enclosed by four kilometer-long Level 1 walls. This city was situated closer to the canyon entrance, built practically adjacent to Mortal City.

Chen Fan had built this city a few days ago.

Now that they had more Ghost Stones, other construction projects could also get underway.

He didn’t have to save every single one for building the Jiangbei Defense Line. Resources were meant to be used. If you hoard everything and spend nothing, you’ll end up hoarding yourself into an early grave.

This city was named Xiyang City.

Qi Chong had come up with the name.

And this city had only one purpose: farming and animal husbandry.

"..."

Standing atop the battlements, Chen Fan gazed down into the city. Vast, neat expanses of Level 2 Farmland stretched across the ground. With no houses to block the view, his gaze could travel clear to the other side—a truly spectacular sight.

The medicinal herbs, seeds, crops, and Spirit Rice they had transplanted in recent days were all planted here.

In another section, rows of fences enclosed all sorts of livestock.

Cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, and more.

They had recently bought many seeds, piglets, and the like to raise here. This would become the Mortal Realm’s agricultural base. Its scale was already considerable—more than enough to make the Mortal Realm completely self-sufficient.

Qi Chong and Ah Le, in their roles as the Pavilion Master and Vice Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm’s Hundred Valleys Pavilion, had spent their days occupied with these matters in the new city. It was no small undertaking, and with the Hundred Valleys Pavilion being shorthanded, the work was absolutely exhausting.

"Qi Chong, why did you choose this name?"

The city was called Xiyang City.

He had asked Qi Chong to name it.

"Domain Lord."

Qi Chong said with a sigh, "You are usually too busy, Domain Lord. You rarely have time to stop and take a look. In winter, just before the long night descends, you can see the setting sun over the sea, bathing the entire sky and water in an orange-red glow."

"The scene is absolutely magnificent."

"It’s beautiful."

"That’s why I named this city Xiyang City. Standing on the walls here just happens to be the best spot to watch it."

"Not bad."

Chen Fan glanced back at the distant sea, then looked down at the sprawling fields within the city. He rested his hands on the battlements, a faint smile on his face, but said nothing. His dominion in Jiangbei was growing more and more established, and the more established it became, the more it solidified his determination to defend it.

Anyone who dared to invade Jiangbei would face the Mortal Realm’s frenzied retaliation.

"By the way—"

A thought suddenly occurred to Chen Fan. Without turning around, he continued to gaze at the Farmland within the city and asked softly, "You tried the Beggar’s Chicken that Zhao Shengping made yesterday. What did you think?"

Qi Chong was the Mortal Realm’s only cook.

In the past, Qi Chong had prepared all the meals for the Mortal Realm.

"It was excellent."

Qi Chong gave his assessment with a sigh of admiration. "Truly one of a kind."

"Then do you think it’s possible to sell these braised meats as one of the Mortal Realm’s products?"

"Er..."

Qi Chong thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Probably not."

"First, they’re difficult to preserve. The flavor of braised meat diminishes greatly when it gets cold. On top of that, it’s hard to maintain the taste during long-distance transport, and it spoils easily."

"Second, production can’t keep up. Even if Zhao Shengping made braised meats nonstop every day, how many could one person make?"

"Third, the profit margin is low. No matter how delicious it is, it’s still just braised meat. You can’t sell it for a very high price. Compared to the profits from Skeleton Horses, it’s not even worth mentioning."

"..."

Chen Fan looked at Qi Chong in surprise. He had only asked offhandedly and hadn’t expected Qi Chong to actually lay out a systematic, one-two-three analysis. The man truly had his own perspective. Chen Fan couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Well said."

"Those three points are indeed problems."

’That’s not the kind of selling I had in mind, though,’ he thought. He was wondering if they could use it as one of the Mortal Realm’s signature attractions. After all, the taste was truly exceptional—even a guy like Shao Qiu, who only cared about fame and fortune, couldn’t stop praising it.

So he was wondering if, by making the braised delicacies widely known, some experts who tasted them might be tempted to join the Mortal Realm just to get a daily fix.

But having thought it over, he realized it was a bit too optimistic. Practically impossible, in fact.

But... there had to be some way to leverage such delicious food. He was still mulling it over.

Just then—

The Sound Transmission Talisman in his pocket grew warm.

He was slightly taken aback when he heard the voice from the talisman.

It was a message from Shao Qiu.

Shao Qiu, who was at a distant outpost, had relayed a message back through a chain of Sound Transmission Talismans.

「Wind and Rain Tower has been annihilated. All 78 core members, including their three masters, have been eliminated.」

「Confiscated numerous Ghost Stones and Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, including one Sea Embryo.」

「Returning to the Mortal Realm now. Estimated arrival before nightfall.」

"..."

After a long moment, Chen Fan took a deep breath, then raised the Sound Transmission Talisman to contact Lame Monkey. "Postpone the auction. Delay it until just before nightfall tonight. Shao Qiu and his team are on their way back."

The mission he had given Shao Qiu did not include destroying the Wind and Rain Tower.

His orders had been to dismantle all of the Wind and Rain Tower’s fronts, find the location of their main camp if possible, and then wait for them to expose a weakness. Only then would he have personally charged in with the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage to finish them.

But as it turned out, Shao Qiu had exceeded the mission parameters.

He had taken all the members of the Dark Pavilion and wiped out the Wind and Rain Tower directly.

’Is the Mortal Realm Dark Pavilion that strong?’

’Weren’t they just established...?’

His expression was a mixture of wonder and disbelief as he fell silent. ’How is it that all my subordinates are monstrous talents?’ He had always considered the Mortal Realm a relatively modest power. Yet the Dark Pavilion, established for only a month, had just annihilated the veteran Assassin Organization, the Wind and Rain Tower?

He felt that he might need to re-evaluate the Mortal Realm’s actual strength.

Forget about the outside world.

Even he himself hadn’t expected the Dark Pavilion to be so powerful.

It completely exceeded his expectations.