I built a safe house in the eerie night.

Seeing Yu Niu's excited, gesticulating manner, Jiang Ning also accepted the gift with a smile.

It was a small, smooth, milky-white pebble.

The stone felt warm to the touch and resembled the pebbles commonly found on riverbanks, yet it seemed out of place in this shady mountain area.

"How could there be such a stone in the deep mountains and forests?"

Jiang Ning's heart skipped a beat, and his face lit up with even more joy.

Is it possible that Yu Niu has always been lucky?

Did they really find a special treasure?

He looked up at Yu Niu.

The boy was staring at him expectantly, his dark face full of anticipation, including the elation of "Praise me!"

Jiang Ning smiled, not rushing to a conclusion, and brought up the interface.

However... it was completely blank.

Jiang Ning's lips twitched slightly.

"Young Master, how is it? Isn't it my precious little darling?"

Yu Niu didn't notice Jiang Ning's subtle expression; he still looked expectant, his eyes sparkling as he asked.

Seeing his honest and straightforward appearance, Jiang Ning really couldn't bear to dampen his enthusiasm.

The villagers are wholeheartedly devoted to the village, and their enthusiasm and sincerity are truly precious.

His face was still full of smiles as he held the pebble in his palm and patted Yu Niu's strong arm:

"Hmm, it's alright. It's a... rather special stone. It might come in very useful in the future. I'll keep it for now."

"real?!"

Yu Niu only understood the affirmation in the first half of the sentence, automatically ignoring the subtlety in the second half. He immediately cheered again, as happy as a child, raising his hands high and shouting with a wide grin:

"Alright! Young master, I'll go back into the woods and gather some more!"

After saying that, without waiting for Jiang Ning's response, he turned around and ran back to the barren forest that was still being cut down.

His enthusiasm was as if mountains of gold and silver were waiting for him.

Jiang Ning watched the boy's retreating figure, blinked, and was speechless for a moment.

He turned his head and looked at Erhu, who had been standing silently beside him like a wooden doll.

"Your brother!"

Erhu paused for a moment, then raised his large palm-leaf fan, scratched the back of his head with a憨厚 (honest and simple) manner, and muttered in a deep voice:

"Yeah...right, my brother!"

As he spoke, a silly grin appeared on his face.

Jiang Ning blinked again.

These two have a bit of the Zhuge Liang and the Phoenix Chick vibe!

"Young master, let's go help too."

Seeing this, Xiong Meng and the other two men also decided not to stand idly by. After asking Jiang Ning for instructions, they picked up their tools and joined the clearing and logging team in the dead forest.

Erhu, equally bewildered, swayed as he followed.

Jiang Ning stood at the entrance of the village, looking at the scene under the twilight.

The setting sun casts its last rays upon the desolate mountains and forests, where villagers bustle about.

The sounds of felling trees, shouts, and panting from carrying heavy loads mingled in the forest, spreading over the village.

Everyone had sweat and fatigue on their faces, but their eyes were bright and their movements were energetic, as if they were tireless.

Jiang Ning's smile softened even more.

He casually stuffed the useless little white stone into the depths of his pocket.

"Let's just let things get better slowly."

He muttered something to himself, then turned and walked toward the two crematoriums that were still in operation.

The eerie green flames inside the furnace burned silently, casting flickering light on the face of the slender figure standing before it.

Zhou Lei, like a tireless, withered statue, stood there straight, his eyes fixed on the furnace opening.

He only snapped out of his daze when Jiang Ning's footsteps drew closer, and hurriedly wiped the sweat from his face with his dirty sleeve.

Then he tried to stand up straighter, his tone respectful and slightly nervous:

"Young Master, you're back."

"Hmm." Jiang Ning nodded, looking at the furnace and Zhou Lei.

"How's it going? This job isn't easy, is it? Should we assign someone else to keep watch over it in shifts?"

"No, I'm not tired, young master, not at all!"

Zhou Lei quickly shook his head, speaking rapidly.

"I can manage on my own. Sometimes, when Brother Yu Niu and the others are cutting down trees, they even help me carry the corpses over. It's no trouble at all!"

He seemed afraid that Jiang Ning would think he couldn't handle it, so he quickly turned to the side and pointed:

"Young master, look, these are the things the furnace spewed out after it finished burning."

Following his pointing finger, Jiang Ning saw several old, chipped pottery jars carefully placed on a flat stone.

Zhou Lei rubbed his hands a little embarrassedly: "There aren't many things to store in the village, so I just found these old broken jars that used to hold water and grain, washed them clean, and used them... Young Master, is this... alright?"

Seeing his cautious demeanor, as if afraid of making a mistake, Jiang Ning felt somewhat helpless, but spoke with certainty:

"Of course, there's no need to be particular about these things, just make sure there are no leaks."

Upon receiving affirmation, Zhou Lei visibly relaxed, a small, satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Then, he picked up one of the relatively intact jars and handed it to Jiang Ning with both hands.

Jiang Ning took it; the mouth of the jar was sealed with a piece of coarse cloth.

He lifted the cloth and looked inside. Inside was a full jar of grayish-white ashes, with a texture as fine as powder.

It is the product of the crematorium transforming bizarre corpses.

Unlike the previous method of directly piling up bones, this powder form is smaller, easier to transport and measure, and the energy is more concentrated.

Jiang Ning focused his attention, and the interface information appeared:

[A Jar of Mysterious Ashes]

[Description: High-density energy powder obtained from the incineration and purification of low-level, bizarre corpses in a crematorium.]

[Purpose: Can efficiently charge specific buildings such as "Bone Arrow Towers". Current unit can charge approximately 500 arrows.]

[Note: It can also be used for other buildings and special devices that require bizarre skeletal energy to operate.]

"One jar contains 500 bone arrows?"

Jiang Ning was pleasantly surprised to see this.

If each arrow tower could be equipped with a canister, then there would be no need to worry about ammunition for the entire night.

Moreover, judging from the efficiency of the two crematoriums working continuously, they can probably still produce one or two more jars of ashes before dark.

More importantly, cremated remains are multi-purpose.

If other buildings need it in the future, it can be used directly, saving the trouble of collecting and disposing of the original skeletons.

"Very good, excellent!"

Jiang Ning praised him repeatedly and then gently patted Zhou Lei's thin shoulder.

"Well done, Lei Zi! You're now the village's ammunition reserve captain, a great responsibility!"

"Reserve captain?"

Zhou Lei was a little confused by the new title, but when he heard the words "great responsibility" from Jiang Ning, his chest puffed out a little more, and his face flushed with excitement as he nodded emphatically.

"Don't worry, young master, I will definitely...do my best to complete it!"

"Okay, sure!"

Jiang Ning smiled and offered a word of encouragement, then said nothing more.

Some things are best left unsaid; trust itself is the best motivation.

He picked up the three urns already filled with ashes and turned to walk towards the bone arrow tower array at the village entrance.

The setting sun cast its last rays upon the arrow tower, making the skull atop it appear even more somber in the interplay of light and shadow.

Jiang Ning walked to the base of the central arrow tower and opened an inconspicuous hidden compartment at the tower's base.

The three urns of ashes were then placed into the three filling slots of the three towers.

"Buzz..."

The moment the ashes fell in, the arrow tower trembled slightly, and the previously eerie purplish-black light in the empty eye sockets of the skull suddenly shone brightly.

A chilling aura emanated from the tower, and the arrow launchers gleamed with a cold light.

Bone Arrow Tower (Charge: 500/500)

"That's it?!"

Jiang Ning felt much more at ease.

Each arrow tower has a stockpile of 500 arrows, making its firepower incredibly fierce when facing low-level monster tides.

"Tonight, we can really kill as many of those monstrous things as they come!"

Jiang Ning surveyed the three arrow towers, poised to be deployed, with satisfaction.

Then his gaze shifted to the other side, looking at the five Devouring Flowers that had completely closed their thick petals during the day.

At this moment, it looks just like an ordinary gray plant with a strange shape, and the strange odor that attracted it has disappeared.

Clearly, the Devouring Flower only blooms at night to hunt.

Jiang Ning specifically brought up the Devouring Flower's information panel to check the upgrade path:

[Tier 1 "Devouring Flower" (Status: In Good Condition)]

[Upgradeable. Upgrading adds a petal to the petal, increasing impact resistance and chewing/digestion speed, enhancing the intensity of the emitted odor, and having a chance to cause nearby eerie entities to enter a brief "obsessive" state.]

Upgrade Requirements: 200 Black Tai Sui, 20 Yin Wood, 1 Ghost Eye Crystal

"Don't rush to upgrade this."

Jiang Ning shook his head.

The Devouring Flower is more of a support and trap, while the core of defense is still the Arrow Tower.

He then looked at the bone fence barricade that had performed a great service the previous night.

These bone-spiky fences gleamed with a stark white luster, bearing numerous tiny cracks from the impacts of the previous night, yet remained sturdy overall.

[Level 1 "Bone Barricade" (Status: Minor Damage)]

[Upgradeable. Upgrades increase size, sharpen bone spikes, significantly improve penetration damage against low-level monsters, and slightly enhance overall impact resistance.]

[Upgrade Requirements: 200 Black Tai Sui, 5 Complete Skeletons, 50 Yin Wood/Black Stone, 1 Ghost Eye Crystal]

"The individual upgrade request isn't too outrageous..."

"But a 15-meter-long defensive line requires 15 barricades, and upgrading the entire line would consume a huge amount of resources."

"Forget it, the current cost-effectiveness isn't high. Let's prioritize upgrading the arrow towers."

Jiangning retrieved information about the upgrade of the Bone Arrow Tower.

[Requirements for upgrading to Tier 2 "Bone Arrow Tower": 1000 Black Tai Sui, 100 Yin Wood, 1 Ghost Eye Crystal]

"A thousand catties of black fungus..."

Jiang Ning felt his heart pounding and bleeding.

Now, with new tools, the villagers are working at full capacity, and at most they can harvest a little over 100 to 200 jin of black sea buckthorn a day.

How long will it take to save this up?

But there's no other way; defense is the lifeline.

If an upgrade is necessary, then we must grit our teeth and upgrade; the resources we earn are for survival.

Jiang Ning adjusted his mindset and took out the three resource gift bags he had specially saved for today, to see how many surprises they might hold.

He rubbed his hands together, and without hesitation, silently chanted to activate both simultaneously.

Swish, swish!

Two familiar purple lights flashed by in succession.

[Successfully opened two low-level material lucky bags, obtaining a total of: 2000 Black Tai Sui, 300 Yin Wood, and 300 Black Stones]

Jiang Ning's lips twitched slightly again.

"Purple again, both of them are purple..."

He didn't know whether to say he was lucky or to complain that there were no big surprises.

"It's still better than getting a blue one yesterday; at least the basic resources have been greatly replenished."

There's one lucky bag left.

"May good luck come your way."

Jiang Ning silently prayed, concentrated, and gave the order to open the last lucky bag.

This time, the light was no longer purple.

Instead, it was a dazzling and noble gold.

Holy crap!

Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed subconsciously from the dazzling golden light.

[Successfully opened the Low-Grade Material Lucky Bag, received: 2000 Black Tai Sui, 500 (Yin Wood, Black Stone), 50 Low-Grade Spirit Stones]

"It's out!"

Jiang Ning stared wide-eyed at the message.

One golden lucky bag is almost more than the sum of the previous two purple lucky bags.

2000 catties of black Tai Sui, 500 each of Yin wood and black stone.

Crucially, it also yielded 50 low-grade spirit stones.

Spirit stones are the currency in circulation. They are essential for cultivation and trade outside the mountain, and may be indispensable for some subsequent buildings and devices.

Moreover, Jiang Ning clearly remembered that upgrading the altar required 100 low-grade spirit stones.

These 50 coins only solve half the problem.

With the 50 coins I've accumulated so far, I've taken another step forward.

"Awesome!"

Jiang Ning couldn't help but punch him hard.

As expected, luck plays a significant role in the success of lucky bags.

But people are always greedy, and after the initial surprise, Jiang Ning couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

Could there be something even more amazing on top of the gold?

Is there a red one? Or a rainbow one?

Jiang Ning shook his head, dismissing the unrealistic idea.

"Be content with what you have and focus on the present."

With the resources in place, Jiang Ning didn't delay any longer and chose the Bone Arrow Tower in the very center to invest the resources needed for its upgrade.

With a focused mind, the upgrade command was issued.

The pile of Tai Sui, which was almost overflowing in the temporary warehouse behind the village, suddenly emitted plumes of thick black smoke.

At the same time, a specified number of Yin Wood and Black Stones, including a strange eye crystal taken out by Jiang Ning, all turned into streams of energy, merged into the world, and turned into black smoke.

Immediately, black smoke gathered at the first-tier bone arrow tower in front of it, completely enveloping it from head to toe.

The tower began to undergo dramatic changes visible to the naked eye.

The base was expanded and reinforced first, and the wood grain became dense and glossy.

The tower body also grew thicker and taller, and its rough surface became smooth and tough, with a faint dark light flashing by.

The grotesque skull atop the tower grew ever larger, its bones becoming more angular, and the eerie light in its eye sockets transformed into a deeper, richer purple aura, emanating an invisible, chilling pressure.

In just over ten breaths, the entire arrow tower rose nearly half a meter in height, becoming even more imposing and massive.

Standing silently, without moving, it exudes a chilling sense of solemnity and an aura of natural stability.

[Bone Arrow Tower successfully upgraded to Tier 2]

[Effect: Significantly improved in all aspects, and each shot has a 30% chance to trigger the "double shot" effect.]

[Upgrade to Tier 3 Preview requires: 5000 Black Tai Sui, 1000 (Yin Wood, Black Stone), 10 Ghost Eye Crystals, and 1 Ghost Hand Withered Vine]

[Note: Upgrading a building to Tier 3 will unlock and grant it a unique "Building Trait," which can be selected from the options provided after the upgrade. This trait will significantly alter or enhance a specific core ability of the building. A detailed list of traits will be displayed upon upgrade.]