"..."
Expressionless, Chen Fan's lip twitched. In that instant, an old saying popped into his mind:
A dog is bold when its master is at hand.
He suddenly understood why the crocodile was so excited—it had a very powerful friend who could protect it from now on.
This guy...
Does it really not know that it isn't weak at all...
...
In the abyss pit.
Chen Fan stood beside the giant octopus, examining it closely. He soon spotted two pieces of Eerie hide, identical to the one he had found on Qian Hou—somewhat rough to the touch, with words written on them.
The content on the first Eerie hide was:
"Qian Fu, heed the order."
"You are to lead your subordinates across the 'Dead Sea,' bringing the Eerie Stones accumulated this year. Head south to the 'Rivernorth Wasteland,' and search for the 'Mountain Embryo Corpse' at 'Nameless Mountain.' If you cannot find it, proceed to the wasteland and rendezvous with Qian Xi, awaiting my arrival."
"So, it is indeed one of the four bosses under the wing of the Eerie King."
"Qian Fu..."
Chen Fan repeated the name inwardly, then took a deep breath. Heading south to the Rivernorth Wasteland—what was north of the wasteland? Only the sea. This Eerie Tide had truly crossed the sea.
And for the first time, he heard of the name of this sea:
The Dead Sea.
It sounded inauspicious.
Moreover, judging by the appearance of these Eerie Creatures, there must be Eerie Creatures in the sea, and in large numbers.
The message contained a wealth of information.
"Search for the Mountain Embryo Corpse at 'Nameless Mountain.'"
He swept a glance over the cliffs around the abyss pit. It seemed the "Mountain Embryo Corpse" he had seized from Qian Hou was significant to the Eerie King. After losing it, the Eerie King was seeking another. Was there a Mountain Embryo Corpse at Nameless Mountain?
The Eerie King's other subordinate, Qian Xi, was already expecting Qian Fu in the wasteland.
"Was this message so hard to memorize?"
Chen Fan muttered to himself, then tucked the Eerie hide into his robes. After receiving the order and memorizing it, this Eerie hide could have been destroyed. Otherwise, if an enemy picked it up, wouldn't the information be exposed?
He then looked at the other Eerie hide.
"180 years have passed. You-know-who will not return."
"Go."
"Cross the Dead Sea and land at Nameless Mountain. As long as you find a Mountain Embryo Corpse, I won't forget what you have done for me. Once I advance to Eerie King, I will surely give you as much support as I can."
"..."
Chen Fan stood there silently, expressionless. It seemed the Eerie King was somewhat wary of Nameless Mountain. If not for the urgent need for the Mountain Embryo Corpse, he might not have come here. 180 years...
A long time ago, did a great figure live here?
That meant this abyss pit and canyon, which looked like the result of a hammer strike, might actually have been created by someone with a hammer?
How powerful that guy must have been.
But there was also good news.
The Eerie King clearly had no idea Chen Fan was hiding here, nor did he know who had killed Qian Hou and Qiu Kui. He was utterly unaware of Chen Fan's existence. Thus, when the Eerie King learned of Qian Fu's death, he might attribute it to traps left by the great figure before departure and avoid the area.
That would be for the best.
"Is the Mountain Embryo Corpse really that valuable...?"
He scratched his head and looked toward the camp.
A Mountain Embryo Corpse was currently placed in the Eerie Fire. Its main function was to stabilize the cave and prevent tunnel collapses within the camp's range. He had not expected it to be so valuable that even the Eerie King found it difficult to obtain another.
But soon, he put this thought behind him.
Because he saw something he liked.
Faint Eerie Energy drifted from the octopus corpse, morphing into two Extraordinary Treasures.
"Your friend Qian Hou dropped three items. Your mistress Qiu Kui dropped something as good as the Altar blueprint. How come you only dropped two?"
"Really disappointing."
He picked up the two Extraordinary Treasures and examined them carefully. Their shapes were somewhat peculiar.
One was a round, miniature incense holder with three brownish-red incense sticks inserted into it.
"Extraordinary Treasure Name": Heaven-Inquiring Incense.
"Extraordinary Treasure Grade": Green.
"Extraordinary Treasure Effect": Light one incense stick to ask a question. After offering a certain number of Eerie Stones, an absolutely correct answer will be obtained. If the question cannot be answered or the Eerie Stones offered are insufficient, the incense stick will shatter.
"Good item."
Chen Fan softly marveled.
Intelligence-related Extraordinary Treasures were of great use to him now. Stranded in the rainy season wasteland, he could gather resources himself but had no connection to the outside world.
He lacked much information.
He did not even know if "Rivernorth City" and "Ping City" had been breached.
However, this Extraordinary Treasure had to be used prudently.
Asking overly simple questions was not worthwhile—sheer waste.
There were only three chances.
But asking overly difficult questions that might be unanswerable would cause the incense stick to shatter, wasting it entirely.
He had a rough idea what constituted an unanswerable question.
Since the premise was that the incense would provide an absolutely correct answer, questions without such answers were unanswerable.
For example...
Whether he would survive the rainy season?
When would the Perpetual Night end?
Or 'whether she genuinely loves me or not'?
etc.
He did not use the Extraordinary Treasure immediately, saving it for a later time. Now, he had to see what the other Extraordinary Treasure was.
"Extraordinary Treasure Name": White Jade Pendant.
"Extraordinary Treasure Grade": Green.
"Extraordinary Treasure Effect": When worn by an Architect, slightly reduces Eerie Stone consumption when constructing buildings.
"..."
Chen Fan stood there silently, expressionless.
A green-grade Extraordinary Treasure?
For an Architect, it was tantamount to a yellow-grade Extraordinary Treasure.
The longer one lived,
the more he could reap from this Extraordinary Treasure.
It provided sustained value.
But...
It was utterly useless to him.
He was no Architect. Still, he draped it around his neck. If nothing else... the rectangular, flat, plain white jade pendant looked quite nice.
Later, when his marketplace was in place, he would need a grand opening to attract the attention of neighboring forces.
This Extraordinary Treasure would be perfect as the centerpiece.
It would definitely draw quite a few Architects to compete for it.
...
Chen Fan glanced at Crippled Monkey and the others as they bustled about. Tonight would be a backbreaking night—cleaning up this battlefield was no easy task. Also, sorting out all the gains would take some time.
He had already decided what questions to ask.
Back inside the camp.
He bathed and changed clothes.
After putting on fresh clothes, a refreshed Chen Fan resumed his seat in the rocking chair on the battlement, ready to light the incense.
He liked sitting up there.
As he overlooked the camp he had built from scratch, even doing nothing, he still enjoyed a sense of fulfillment. Every bit of the camp came from his deliberate design.
This was his home.
His foothold in this world.