I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

With that, Chen Fan strode toward the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage.

A new panel had already popped up before him.

He planned to return to the Mortal Realm, sit on the City Wall, change his clothes, burn some incense, and then claim his rewards.

-

[You have successfully upgraded the ’Earth Spike’ building to Max Level, obtaining the Max Level Effect (Self-Imprisonment).]

[You have successfully upgraded the ’Farmland’ building to Max Level, obtaining the Max Level Effect (Vigorous Growth, Bursting with Life).]

[The ’Earth Spike’ and ’Farmland’ entries in the Building Atlas have been unlocked.]

[Five Max Level Buildings have been unlocked in the Building Atlas. You have received one Yellow Level Celestial Dao Stone.]

[Unlock ten Max Level Buildings to receive an even more valuable reward.]

-

A Celestial Dao Stone.

’What’s a Celestial Dao Stone?’

He didn’t know.

But he did know about the Enhancement Stone. The Wang Clan had given it to him as compensation during the auction. Its effect was to guarantee a 100% chance of getting an "Ordinary" Upgrade Direction on a building’s next upgrade.

He had used a combination of a Yun Shao and an Enhancement Stone to get a Legendary Mutation.

’Just from the name, a Celestial Dao Stone has to be even more badass.’

He didn’t look at its effect. He planned to wait until he was back in the Mortal Realm and had everything in order. He would change, bathe, burn incense, and only then look at it. It had to be done with a little ceremony; that would make it more satisfying.

"..."

Before leaving, he glanced at the vast expanse of Farmland, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch. ’To get all the Farmland in this city to Max Level... just how many Exotic Beasts would have to die?’

’Where am I supposed to get that many Exotic Beasts?’

"Domain Lord!"

Qi Chong, only just now snapping back to reality, saw Chen Fan about to board the Dragon Carriage and hurriedly jogged over. "You upgraded this patch of Farmland to Level 10," he said urgently. "Is there some important Ghost Plant you intend to grow? Are there any preparations I need to make?"

"Nope, just upgraded it for fun. If you want, you can go roll around in it."

Chen Fan waved his hand dismissively and boarded the Dragon Carriage.

"Back to camp."

The nine Flaming Dragon Horses pawed the ground and neighed, turning the carriage around and heading for the city gates.

...

"..."

Left behind, Qi Chong stared blankly at the departing Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. He then turned his head to look at the patch of Level 10 Farmland, which stood out jarringly from the rest. The soil itself seemed to faintly shimmer with color, a bit like the marbling on a piece of beef.

It was iridescent.

’Level 10 Farmland...’

’He upgraded it... just for fun?’

’Has the Mortal Realm really developed to such an extent?’

"Boss."

Just then, Ah Le came running from a distance, reeking and panting for breath. "Where’s the Domain Lord? Didn’t you say he was here? I wanted to report my recent work progress to him."

"Stay away from me."

The moment Ah Le got close, the stench of pigs washed over Qi Chong. He couldn’t help but say with a hint of resignation, "You stink. Aren’t you afraid of offending the Domain Lord? Besides, what is there to report? You think the Domain Lord doesn’t know what you’ve been doing?"

"That’s where you’re wrong."

Ah Le said with a serious expression, "Work that isn’t reported is work that wasn’t done."

"..."

Qi Chong fell silent, his face blank. He really wanted to say, ’Hey, that’s my line,’ but he held his tongue. Instead, he sighed. "You’re coming back with me to the Mortal Realm camp tonight. No need to stay in Xiyang City. I’ll take you to report your recent work progress to the Domain Lord."

"Alright, then I’ll go take a bath later."

Ah Le seemed a little excited.

Xiyang City was responsible for the Mortal Realm’s large-scale planting and animal husbandry. Qi Chong was in charge of the planting, while Ah Le was in charge of the husbandry.

...

「Soon.」

Chen Fan returned to the Mortal Realm camp and strode into the cave, intending to go to his room to bathe and change. However, he found a large group of people gathered near the Yunling Pavilion, talking amongst themselves.

"What’s wrong? Why is everyone gathered here?" he asked with a smile as he walked over.

’Looks like they’ve already noticed that their Cultivation Speed is much faster than usual. This is a Max Level Yunling Pavilion, after all. It’s no joke.’

The people in the group looked familiar; they were all from the Dark Pavilion.

"Domain Lord."

"Domain Lord."

Seeing Chen Fan approach, the group hastily parted. One of the young men stammered, "Pavilion Master... Pavilion Master Qiu is undergoing Ten Thousand Poisons Body Devouring. He’s preparing for Tenfold Body Tempering to break through to Martial King."

"Domain Lord."

At that moment, Qi Yue also exited her Cultivation. She walked to Chen Fan’s side with a solemn expression and said in a hoarse voice, "Pavilion Master Qiu is using Ten Thousand Poisons Body Devouring to prepare for Tenfold Body Tempering and break through to Martial King. I admit I misjudged him."

"He always seems so cheerful and goofy, with a pale face like he’s malnourished, but he’s actually been holding this fire in his heart all along."

"Since ancient times, almost no Assassin has ever achieved Tenfold Body Tempering when breaking through to Martial King."

"After all, Assassins don’t need to engage in direct confrontation, so the requirements for Body Tempering aren’t as high for them."

"But if he can survive this, his future achievements will be limitless."

"Enduring for the time it takes a stick of incense to burn will achieve ninefold Body Tempering. Enduring for one hour will achieve 9.9-fold Body Tempering. Only by enduring for three hours can one achieve Tenfold Body Tempering!"

Qi Yue herself was a rather cold and aloof person.

The fact that she was saying so much at once was proof enough that from the moment Shao Qiu began using the Ten Thousand Poisons Body Devouring method for his Tenfold Body Tempering breakthrough to Martial King, she had come to approve of him from the bottom of her heart.

A person who is ruthless enough with themselves, as long as their luck isn’t too terrible, is bound to achieve great things in the future.

"..."

Chen Fan stood there, his face devoid of expression, and looked at Shao Qiu, who was submerged, naked, in a large vat. The vat was filled with a brownish-yellow liquid, in which countless venomous creatures writhed.

There were snakes, scorpions, centipedes, toads, geckos, and many more poisonous creatures he didn’t recognize.

Just then, perhaps because he could no longer hold on, a bloodcurdling scream erupted from Shao Qiu inside the Yunling Pavilion.

The sheer agony in the sound made the scalps of the onlookers at the Yunling Pavilion’s entrance tingle and cold sweat bead on their backs.