Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

Liu Nian replied: "Yin Qianyu? Okay, I understand."

Yun Xiangrong asked, "Yin Qianyu is up here. Should I go get him?"

Liu Nian thought for a moment, then shook his head: "You come with me. Let Kal'tsit go pick you up."

He asked Yin Qianyu for the coordinates, opened his friend list, and found Kal'tsit.

"exist?"

Kal'tsit replied instantly: "Yes! Boss, another job?"

Liu Nian: "Another friend of mine has ascended to the heavens. Here are his coordinates. Bring him to the city, and you'll get the same pay as before."

Kal'tsit sent a string of ellipses: "Okay~"

Liu Nian looked at Yun Xiangrong: "Let's go, let's keep going. Let's try to reach Graystone Fortress before dark."

This time, Liu Nian summoned the little fire dragon, which soared into the sky and disappeared into the hazy horizon.

As evening fell, the two successfully arrived at Greystone Fortress.

This is a small fortress built on a hillside, named for its walls made of grayish-white stone bricks. The town is much smaller than Iron Furnace Town, with only one main street and a few dozen households.

Liu Nian had just activated the teleportation array when he received a message from Kal'tsit.

"We've picked them up, and we're back in Ovitan."

Liu Nian replied, "Let me show him around first, and explain the situation here. Then I'll have him wait for me in the tower."

"Okay!"

As evening fell, the little fire dragon landed beside the obelisk outside Graystone Castle.

Liu Nian jumped off the dragon's back, with Yun Xiangrong following closely behind. The two looked up and surveyed the fortress before them.

Greystone Fortress was built on a steep hillside, its walls constructed of greyish-white bricks that gleamed with a cold, austere luster under the dark golden light of the sky. The fortress was not large, but it felt exceptionally sturdy—the walls were thick, watchtowers stood in rows, and soldiers patrolled the walls.

"This place... feels like a military fortress," Yun Xiangrong said.

Liu Nian nodded: "Looking at the location on this map I bought, this place should be used to defend against the monster forces in the eastern wasteland."

Liu Nian sent Xiao Lan to scout out the surrounding area, while he and Yun Xiangrong entered the city gate.

The layout of Graystone Keep is simple—a main street runs from the city gate straight to the lord's mansion on the hilltop, with various functional buildings on both sides. There are far fewer people on the street than in Ironforge Town, but their levels are noticeably higher, generally between level 140 and 150.

The shops lining both sides of the main street are mostly weapon and armor shops, selling equipment that is far superior to that in Ironforge Town. There are also a few apothecaries, with various bottles and jars displayed at their entrances.

"What are the local specialties?" Yun Xiangrong asked curiously.

Liu Nian pointed to a shop on the street corner: "It should be that one."

It was a stone shop, with piles of various cut stone bricks at the entrance—some gleaming with a pale blue light, some with golden veins, and others as black as ink.

The two went over to take a look.

【Blue Lapis Lazuli】: Can be used to construct sturdy buildings and increase magic resistance.

【Gold Vein Stone】: Can be used to construct advanced buildings and increase physical defense.

Obsidian: Can be used to construct special buildings that increase shadow resistance.

[Anti-Magic Stone]: Can be used to construct anti-magic buildings, granting immunity to magic damage.

……

Liu Nian's gaze was fixed on the anti-magic stone.

This thing... is quite valuable here too!

Each brick-sized anti-magic stone is worth 1 unit, and 1 unit is worth 10 crystal coins!

Just thinking about the size of Dragon City... Liu Nian felt his scalp tingle.

The shopkeeper, a dwarf with a full beard, was sitting at the entrance smoking a pipe. Seeing the two approach, he greeted them warmly, "Are you two here to buy stone? The stone from Graystone Keep is the best in the entire Eastern Territory! Looking to build a guild headquarters? We have top-quality blue veined stone here!"

Liu Nian shook his head: "Just taking a look."

The dwarf uncle didn't mind and continued his introduction: "The stone from Graystone Fortress is famously excellent. When Ovitan was built, they used stone from here! Now, the factions in the city all come to Graystone Fortress to buy their houses."

Liu Nian nodded and didn't linger.

Continuing uphill, we arrived at the hotel area halfway up the mountain.

This place is much quieter than Ironforge Town, with only two inns and one tavern. A number of players are standing outside the tavern, forming teams.

"For those farming in the Graystone Mine, level 150 and above are welcome!"

"Anyone want to do the 'Gargoyle Extermination' quest together?"

……

Yun Xiangrong glanced around and whispered, "The people here are indeed of a higher level."

Liu Nian hummed in agreement and continued walking uphill.

At the summit stands a three-story building constructed of gray stone—the Graystone Fortress Lord's Mansion. Two fully armed guards, both level 160 elite NPCs, stand at the entrance.

Next to the lord's mansion is the guild branch, which is larger than the one in Ironforge Town.

After Liu Nian went in and handed in the tasks he had completed along the way, Xiao Lan suddenly sent back a signal.

"Master, we've made a discovery."

Liu Nian perked up: "Speak."

"There is a huge cavity inside the mountain. The cavity looks like some kind of underground structure. Structurally, it should be a pyramid."

pyramid?

Liu Nian was stunned.

This place shouldn't be considered a secret realm or a dungeon; it's more like a small dungeon.

But now there's a problem: Xiao Lan can turn into water and go in, but how can Liu Nian and Yun Xiangrong go in?

Should we dig a hole?

"I almost forgot about Arachne!" Liu Nian found a secluded corner, summoned Arachne, and explained the situation to her.

Arachne said no problem.

She sent her little spider through the gap, and once the little spider reached its position, she could use it to teleport.

About twenty minutes later, a small spider arrived at the cave where the pyramid Xiao Lan had mentioned was located. Arachne activated a mass teleportation, sending Liu Nian and Yun Xiangrong there together.

This is a rather small underground space.

The dome is about 20 meters high, and in the very center of the space is a pyramid-shaped building, which is very similar in style to the one that leads to the Crystal Forest in the competition area.

However, this pyramid is made entirely of black stone bricks, and at each of the four corners there is a statue—a guardian deity with an eagle's head and a human body, holding a spear and looking ahead.

Liu Nian stood in front of the pyramid, looking up at the black building.

Beneath the hundred-meter-high dome, the pyramid stands silently, like a sleeping ancient behemoth. The four eagle-headed human-bodied statues at the corners, holding spears, look down at the intruders, their empty eye sockets seemingly concealing some eerie meaning.

"Where's the entrance?" Yun Xiangrong looked around. "Why can't I see a door?"

Liu Nian also went around in circles.

The pyramids are all flat stone walls, with the stone bricks fitting together so tightly that even a knife blade cannot be inserted.

He tried knocking on it, and the echo was deep and resonant—the stone wall was incredibly thick.

"Up there."

Xiao Lan's voice echoed in Liu Nian's mind. Its translucent body floated atop the pyramid, its tentacles swaying gently.

"There's an opening at the top; it must be the entrance."