"This is called throwing one punch to keep a hundred more from coming."

The news spread like wildfire, continuously through Message Talisman in both Jiangbei and Jiangnan regions after nightfall.

Night fell.

The Rainy Season is over.

The persistent, even somewhat annoying, rain finally stopped, and the last strand of rain, carrying a corrosive scent, vanished completely into the inky sky.

The entire Nameless Mountain exudes a refreshing scent.

It was as if they had just undergone a baptism.

The patter of rain finally stopped, and I could faintly hear birdsong and insect sounds.

Chen Fan sat alone on a chair on the City Wall, playing with the Jade Slip left by Medicine King Valley before he left, while looking out at the weathered Canyon on both sides outside the Cave.

Staring blankly.

There weren't many forms of entertainment in this world, but he seemed to have taken to daydreaming, staying in his own territory—a territory he could control and was absolutely safe in—and living a peaceful life.

That's good.

Only...

Someone didn't want him to be so comfortable.

Just then, a voice called out, "Young Master."

The Crippled Monkey walked up to the City Wall, draped a coat over Chen Fan's shoulders, and whispered, "Are you still thinking about what happened today? The Pill Sect really went too far. No wonder you're so angry today, Young Master."

Chen Fan paused for a moment before shaking his head with a smile and saying, "What's there to be angry about? Actually, I don't feel much anger at all. He's just a bully who takes advantage of his power. There are all kinds of people in this world, and naturally, there's no shortage of people like him."

"But how should I put it, many times when others think you're going to get angry, you need to express your anger appropriately."

Otherwise, others will think you are weak.

"That means you'll face many inconveniences in the future."

"Is that so?" The Crippled Monkey hadn't expected to hear this answer from the Young Master. After thinking for a while, he hesitated and said, "Back when I was in the North River Chen Family, the other students at the Private School mocked me for being sick. I wasn't really angry at the time, because I really was sick."

"But if the first person says something to me, I'll rush up and fight them."

"Will fewer people bully me then?"

"That's right."

Chen Fan put his arm around the Crippled Monkey's shoulder and said with emotion, "Even if you can't beat them, it doesn't matter. Even if they knock out all your teeth, as long as you gouge out one of their eyes, no one will dare to bully you anymore."

"This is called striking once to ward off a hundred blows."

"When you come into a circle."

"If someone is the first to bully you."

"Remember."

"You must gouge out one of their eyes at all costs, otherwise you'll continue to be bullied."

What you perceive as refinement may be seen as weakness by others.

"You have to act crazy first, and then act refined, so that others will think it's genuine refinement."

"But..." the Crippled Monkey hesitated, "What if I'm not strong enough to gouge out their eyes, and can only break their skin? Should we still fight?"

"Fight, fight as long as you're sure you won't get killed."

"If I only scratch the skin so lightly, will others be afraid of me?"

"No, but they won't bully you too much either, because even a minor scratch like a cut on the skin is something no one wants to have their skin cut for no reason."

"I see!"

The monkey suddenly realized and said, "So, according to your plan, Young Master's trip to the Pill Sect tomorrow is actually just to peel off a layer of skin from the Pill Sect? Not to really destroy the Pill Sect?"

Chen Fan glanced at the Crippled Monkey and sighed helplessly, "We're not that weak after all."

"I read the Jade Slip left by the young master of Medicine King Valley, which contains general information about most of the forces in Jiangnan besides Medicine King Valley."

"The defenses of the Pill Sect's Headquarters are not particularly strong, even weaker than those of the Gongyang Clan."

"A large part of the Pill Sect's strength comes from its network of connections. Many forces are subject to their control over Pills and dare not oppose them. Under pressure from the Pill Sect, they will naturally give us opportunities to make small moves."

"For example--"

"When the Jiangnan Rainy Season ended and our Trade Association was preparing to travel Jiangnan business, we were stopped by one force today, who said the Station was under repair and we couldn't stop there; tomorrow we were stopped by another force, who said we couldn't pass through there, and so on—all sorts of ridiculous tricks."

"Although the impact is small, it's still quite disgusting."

For example...

"The most famous Pills the Pill Sect is the 'Cultivation Pill,' which can rapidly enhance Cultivation. As a result, the Pill Sect is also the force with the most advanced Cultivator and is extremely adept at assassination."

"Someone will try to assassinate me tomorrow, and someone will try to assassinate me the day after tomorrow."

"It's very troublesome."

"The Pill Sect's greatest strengths lie in two areas: connections and assassination. What we need to do is strike first, before the enemy has a chance to utilize these two strengths."

"As long as we act quickly enough, before the other side can react, how much stronger can the Pill Sect, having lost these two foundations, be than the North River Chen Family?"

"Just you wait and see."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, gazing at the darkness shrouding the Sinkhole above him, and said softly, "Everyone is talking about this right now, precisely at this time when the Jiangbei Rainy Season is ending and the Jiangnan Rainy Season is about to begin."

"Everyone is probably wondering how the Pill Sect will deal with us after the Jiangnan Rainy Season ends."

"The Pill Sect is also eager to use this opportunity to demonstrate its strength to the outside world and once again solidify its position in Jiangnan."

"That's all we need to do."

"Strike first, strike hard."

"A dead person's connections don't count as connections."

Chen Fan didn't speak again, but leaned back in his chair and fell silent. If this matter wasn't handled well, his future path would be much more difficult.

Mortal Domain is about to sit down for dinner.

In this situation, he intentionally cultivated an image of youthful exuberance to the outside world, and the fact that Slaying the Pill Sect Young Master on the same day and then stormed the Pill Sect the next day perfectly matched this persona.

No way.

He has a shallow foundation; if one person provokes him today and another tomorrow, his foundation will be quickly exhausted. But if he creates a madman who dares to provoke him, someone he would rather fight to the death than let go, fewer people will dare to mess with him.

Just like a Night Watcher 'Night Watcher that has been activated is certainly more intimidating than one that hasn't been activated.

This battle must be fought.

Moreover, it has to be fought beautifully, making people fear the Mortal Domain.

After a long while.

He then said softly, "Have everyone take stock of the resources tonight, and then go to bed early."

"Yes.

It was late at night.

The Crippled Monkey had all fallen asleep, but Wang Kui was still busy in the Warehouse, conducting the final inventory.

Chen Fan looked at the long sword in his hand.

The Wraith King attacked, dropping many Eerie Stones and Exotic Treasure.

But the most valuable of these is the Exotic Treasure.

These are the three Wraith Kings that he dropped, and the remaining seven that he sorted out.

Name of the Exotic Treasure: The Eerie Eye.

"Exotic Treasure Grade": Green Grade.

"Exotic Treasure Effect": An essential upgrade material for upgrading Arrow Tower to Level-6 Cannon Tower. Holding the exotic treasure grants a 10-meter visibility in darkness after the Exotic Treasure Eternal Nightfall.

The strongest Cannon Tower in the Camp right now is level 5.

Both Level-6 Cannon Tower were completely destroyed by the Wraith King, one of which even possessed a "Rare Qualitative Transformation upgrade path".

It's a real shame that the Level-6 Eerie Eye Cannon Tower is so weak.

Fortunately.

Seven Eerie Eye dropped, enough to build seven more Level-6 Cannon Tower.

He planned to equip the entire vehicle with the "Nine-Five Dragon Chariot".

This will result in some waste.

But the reality wasn't as optimistic as he'd made it out to the monkey. How could a powerful force that'd developed for so long be without any trump cards? Just to be on the safe side, he was going to bring all his belongings this time.

As long as Trade Route are open.

After the Jiangnan Rainy Season ends, thanks to his ability to directly see the panel, he can continuously purchase large quantities of materials for the Eerie Eye or Level-6 Cannon Tower.

The remaining three Exotic Treasure were all dropped by the Wraith King.

"Name of the Exotic Treasure": Harbor.

"Exotic Treasure Grade": Green Grade.

"Exotic Treasure Effect": Building Blueprint that allows you to construct Harbor on the Seaside for ships to dock.

This is not needed for the time being.

But it can be used in the future, perhaps to trade with forces on the other side of the sea. So far, he hasn't seen any force with ships.

If there are forces on the other side of the sea.

However, he was still unsure how the ship would cope with the darkness; it sounded like feeding the sea Strange Entities.

"Name of the Exotic Treasure": Heavenly Derivation Sand Table.

"Exotic Treasure Grade": Green Grade.

"Exotic Treasure Effect": Can devour multiple Ghosthide Map to obtain all the effects that Ghosthide Map should have, and can display the life and death status of the members holding the faction Token in real time. Can be connected to other buildings.

This is a large Map.

A larger Map than the Ghosthide Map.

The Ghosthide Map of Jiangbei loses its effectiveness upon entering the Jiangnan region, becoming shrouded in a misty fog; the same applies when the Ghosthide Map of Jiangnan enters Jiangbei.

Being in Jiangnan, one cannot view the changes in the Jiangbei Ghosthide Map.

But with this "Heavenly Derivation Sand Table," he could sit in Jiangbei and view the Ghosthide Map of Jiangnan in real time—a truly remarkable Exotic Treasure.

In addition, a "Shadow-Viewing Formation" can also be connected to the Heavenly Derivation Sand Table.

This means he no longer needs to use the "Endless Night Lord Panel" Depths of the Soul to view creatures that have entered the range of his Shadow-Viewing Formation.

The image of the Shadow-Viewing Formation will be directly displayed on the Heavenly Derivation Sand Table.

He doesn't need to constantly monitor the Endless Night Lord Panel.

He looked at the miniature Sand Table in his hand, and could vaguely see several white dots, which were the range of the "Shadow-Viewing Formation". The size of the Sand Table was just right.

If enough Shadow-Viewing Formation are created, and someone is left to monitor Shadow-Viewing Formation at all times, it will be very difficult for Assassin to infiltrate his territory.

This is a huge project.

Currently, the Camp is mainly focused on building City Defenses structures during the Rainy Season, with almost no infrastructure projects for daily life. After this matter is resolved, he will need to find a group of workers to build his own Rear Base.

There's a lot to do next.

But...

Whether the Pill Sect perishes or not determines whether he can do these things with peace of mind.

The last rare Exotic Treasure is...

Name of the Exotic Treasure: Starwatching Platform.

"Exotic Treasure Grade": Yellow Grade.

"Exotic Treasure Effect": Building Blueprint. It must be built at a high point to observe the movements of the Strange Tide over a large area. A Wraith King must Slaying within the territory to meet the creation requirements.

This was the first architectural wonder he acquired.

It was also the first time he had ever heard of the concept of "spectacular architecture."

Just then -

Wang Kui walked out of the Warehouse and looked up at Chen Fan sitting on the City Wall: "Domain Lord, all the resources have been counted."

Inside Warehouse No. 1.

Wang Kui presented the report, holding Bamboo Slip he had taken from the Archive Room.

A total of 17 forces came to offer their congratulations; most of them were well-known and powerful forces.

"Um."

Chen Fan nodded slightly. This was normal. The Station in the Wasteland hadn't been rebuilt yet, and no force without some strength could make a round trip in a day.

You need Skeleton Horse) to do it.

"A total of 92,700 Eerie Stone were found. Including those obtained from Slaying the Wraith King, the current total number of Eerie Stone in the Camp is 112,300."

Ten thousand.

"Among them, Medicine King Valley gave away the most Eerie Stone, with 10,000 Eerie Stones."

"The second-ranked family is the Qiuhe Wang Family, who donated 9,832 Eerie Stone."

"Ranked third..."

"Say the fewest."

"The Northbank Merchant Association sent the least, 3,000 Eerie Stone, and nothing else."

"Call..."

Chen Fan let out a soft breath, his expression calm as he remained silent. The number was indeed considerable, but he was somewhat surprised by the presence of the Qiuhe Wang Family.

"The Qiuhe Wang Family sent out 9832 Eerie Stone?"

"Yes, that's not all. Besides the Eerie Stone, we also received 17 Unopened White Exotic Treasure, 11 opened White Exotic Treasure, 2 Unopened Green Exotic Treasure, 1 opened Green Exotic Treasure, and 2 Building Blueprint, all of which have been put into storage."

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "So decisive?"

He had seen plenty of people cut off their tails to survive.

His departure from the Old Camp was also a desperate attempt to survive.

But this was the first time he had ever seen such a clean break. This was basically all the Qiuhe Wang Family. To put it bluntly, the Wang Family Head's wife and children would instantly fall from a life of the rich to that of ordinary people.

This also illustrates, to some extent, the Wang Family Head's influence within the Family.

"Bring out all those Exotic Treasure so I can take a look."

Aside from the Qiuhe Wang Family, the Exotic Treasure sent out by these powerful families were mostly Unopened.

The value of an Unopened Exotic Treasure is difficult to assess, but its appearance does reveal its worth.

According to the unspoken custom in the martial arts world, the value, from highest to lowest, is. "Blueprint> Token> Formation Disc> Weapon > Seed > Other".

Even without opening the Blueprint, it's highly likely to be Building Blueprint, and it's certainly valuable.

Token- type Exotic Treasure, following a pattern, tend to yield good items, such as the "Clearwind Formation" inserted into the Eerie Fire.

Seed-type Exotic Treasure are easy to identify; if a thin membrane contains a bunch of seeds, it's unlikely to be anything of value.

As for other categories...

This is the category whose value is the most difficult to determine. For example, "tower-shaped" or "fan-shaped" items come in all sorts of strange shapes, and 99% of them are junk. The remaining 0.1% are large-volume items.

This is also the best-selling item in the Market.

Many Rogue Cultivator are willing to take a gamble.

If you succeed, it's like turning a bicycle into a motorcycle.

In addition to Eerie Stone, some factions also Congratulatory Gift Exotic Treasure as gifts, but it was unclear whether it was pre-arranged, as they all sent seed-type Exotic Treasure. He checked the panel one by one, but none of them were particularly outstanding.

Among seed-type Exotic Treasure, it is also difficult to find any that are particularly outstanding.

Moreover, one can roughly guess what kind of Seed-Type Exotic Treasure it is based on its color and seed variety. The seeds given to him by these people were also carefully selected ordinary seed-type rare Exotic Treasure.