Chapter 399 - 174: "I Prefer to Call It... Celestial Mandate.

Chapter 399: Chapter 174: "I Prefer to Call It... Celestial Mandate.

Chen Fan, who already had one foot on the High-speed Rail, suddenly pulled it back. He thought for a moment, then looked at Elder Qi and said with a smile, "Alright, then. Let’s have a meal before I go."

"Uh..."

Although Elder Qi was a bit stunned, he quickly gestured. "Domain Lord Chen, this way, please."

...

The meal was very pleasant.

They were filled with fish.

Chen Fan was very satisfied. They had a unique flavor; dumplings from every region tasted different, and as long as they weren’t sweet, he enjoyed them all.

The rainy season had just ended, heralding the arrival of winter.

The temperature plummeted.

Finishing a bowl of scalding hot dumplings while shivering in the cold wind was truly comforting.

After the meal, Chen Fan didn’t linger. He immediately boarded the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail and began his journey back under the cover of night.

"..."

Elder Qi stood in the Wilderness, gazing at the Ghost Fire Passage that pierced deep into the Eternal Night and the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail speeding through it. With a somewhat dazed expression, he turned his head to look at Shao Qiu beside him.

"Can you tell me about the Jiangbei Mortal Realm?"

"Hmm..."

Shao Qiu propped his chin on one hand, pondering for a long time before smiling. "Let me see, where should I begin? I wasn’t among the first group to join the Mortal Realm."

"In other words,"

"I was forced to join the Mortal Realm. I joined to save my own skin back then."

"And by the time I joined, the Mortal Realm had already grown to a considerable size."

"The Mortal Realm first rose up in the Jiangbei Wilderness."

"It happened during the rainy season three years ago. Back then, Domain Lord Chen was targeted and ostracized by the Jiangbei Chen Family, exiled to the Jiangbei Wilderness. As it happened, the Jiangbei rainy season arrived early that year."

"During that rainy season, Domain Lord Chen awakened as an Architect. Together with his Personal Attendant, Lame Monkey, he built a camp, bit by bit. In the process, they also took in many outposts that were trapped in the Wilderness."

"And just like that,"

"the prototype of the Mortal Realm was formed."

"From the destruction of the old camp to the move to Nameless Mountain."

"From barely surviving on Nameless Mountain to marching south to Guanxi."

"The Mortal Realm was founded during the rainy season three years ago. In less than three years, it has grown to its current scale. I think if there’s one miracle to be found on the Eternal Night Continent, the Mortal Realm is it."

"During that rainy season..."

Shao Qiu began to recount the story of the Mortal Realm’s origins, piece by piece.

He hadn’t experienced that rainy season himself.

But he was very familiar with it. After all, not only had he been monitoring Chen Fan’s Ghost Fire from Jiangbei City throughout that entire rainy season, but the few people who had survived it with the Domain Lord were also incredibly fond of bringing it up.

It was always, "Back in that rainy season..." this and "Back in that rainy season..." that.

It had become their favorite topic of conversation.

Whenever they spoke of it, their pride was practically overflowing.

"..."

Elder Qi stood frozen in place, listening intently as Shao Qiu recounted the Mortal Realm’s history. He gradually became engrossed. He couldn’t help but frown with worry when Shao Qiu told of the Mourning Ghost’s invasion of the old camp, and then heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing they had successfully survived the rainy season.

As he listened, he also came to understand why the Mortal Realm was unwilling to reveal its identity.

And why it was unwilling to have contact with the Eternal Night Hall.

A faction that had risen so quickly, one that also possessed some unfathomable methods, could indeed influence the front-line battles after a few more years of development. But... the Eternal Night Hall was riddled with spies.

If those spies learned of this and leaked the information to the Ghost Race...

...then the Mortal Realm, which had not yet fully matured, would face a cataclysmic disaster.

The fact that the Mortal Realm was willing to tell him this... ℴ

...also spoke to their trust in him. At the very least, it meant the Mortal Realm didn’t think he was a spy and believed he would keep his promise.

...

The night was deep and quiet.

In the Mortal Realm, aside from the members on night watch, most had already gone to sleep.

A Mortal Realm High-speed Rail glided into Mortal City under the cover of night.

When the High-speed Rail came to a steady stop,

Chen Fan strode out of the High-speed Rail, tossed the Celestial Dao Stone in his hand into the air, and scanned his surroundings with a grin. Then, he snapped his fingers, and the phantom image of a section of Copper Pipe abruptly appeared and quickly solidified.

He had already decided on the way here.

This Celestial Dao Stone would be used on the Copper Pipe.

Although the Copper Pipe was just an "architectural module"—not even a complete structure—its status in the Mortal Realm was anything but low. From the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail and the Jiangbei Defense Line to the construction projects near the Undersea Tunnel and the New Continent, nothing could be built without the Copper Pipe.

To put it bluntly,

the Mortal Realm could do without the Godslaying Cannon—they could make do with turrets for a while, at worst.

But if they lost the Copper Pipe, the Mortal Realm would be seventy percent crippled.

Without the slightest hesitation,

he slapped the Celestial Dao Stone in his hand onto the Copper Pipe, and a panel quickly materialized before him.

-

[You have used a "Celestial Dao Stone" on the Copper Pipe and obtained three Celestial Dao Blessing Effect options. Please choose one within a hundred breaths.]

[A structure can only have one Celestial Dao Blessing Effect.]

[1: Celestial Dao Blessing Effect (Borrowed Might): The Copper Pipe will emit the aura of a Great Ghost, effectively deterring most Ghost Objects.]

[2: Celestial Dao Blessing Effect (Absolute Illusion): Deployed Copper Pipes can switch between an illusory and non-illusory state. While in the illusory state, they ignore all attacks.]

[3: Celestial Dao Blessing Effect (Unearned Rewards): Reduces the crafting cost of the Copper Pipe by ninety percent.]

-

"..."

Chen Fan stood there in stunned silence. He looked up at the darkness that hung over Nameless Mountain like a curtain and murmured.

"Dumb luck?"

"No."

"I’d rather call it... Celestial Mandate."

With almost no hesitation,

he chose the second Celestial Dao Blessing Effect: "Absolute Illusion."

The moment he confirmed his choice,

a panel popped up in front of him, asking if he wanted to set all previously crafted Copper Pipes to the "illusory state," with the option to switch back and forth freely.