I built a safe house in the eerie night.

Subsequently, Jiang Ning methodically planted the twenty seeds in the designated areas.

The crystals are planted on the left, while the withered vines are planted on the right, arranged very neatly and clearly.

Then, the soil is carefully covered and compacted, with meticulous attention to detail throughout the entire process.

"Water it with spring water every day, and after seven days... you can harvest it."

Jiang Ning silently recited the key points of planting.

These special seeds do not require much care; just follow the proper procedures.

After doing all that, the most important step has arrived.

Jiang Ning took out the guardian banner from his bosom, walked to the center of the field, measured the distance to the left and right, and made sure that the banner was exactly on the dividing line between the seeds on both sides.

Jiang Ning is a bit of a perfectionist; she has to look perfect. Even though the conditions are simple, she tries her best to keep things neat and orderly.

Having chosen a good spot, he grasped the short, neither-gold-nor-wood handle at the end of the banner, took a deep breath, and firmly planted it into the soft, moist soil.

"puff."

A soft thud was heard as the earth was being buried.

next moment--

hum!

Centered on the insertion point, an invisible and intangible ripple spread outwards in all directions like water waves. Wherever the ripple passed, the air was slightly distorted for a moment before quickly returning to calm.

At the same time, through the [Heavenly Craftsman] interface, Jiang Ning could clearly see the outline of a faint circular light shield, which perfectly enveloped this acre of land.

It can also be seen that under the cover of this light, wisps of almost transparent earth energy are being drawn and slowly converging towards the "Guardian Banner" from deep underground.

After absorbing this earth energy, the banner swayed slightly, and the dark gold patterns on its edges continued to emit a faint glow, feeding back purer pale gold energy to the land within the light shield like a drizzle.

To the naked eye, this land looks no different from the surrounding area.

But this is precisely the magic of the "Guardian Banner"—its ability to conceal and protect.

In a strange and unusual perception, this land will lose all signs of life, becoming indistinguishable from the surrounding polluted black soil, inconspicuous and unnoticed.

Even if a massive wave of monsters sweeps across the area, crops within the domain will remain in a protected, phantom state, immune to direct attacks.

Unless someone possesses special perception abilities or is a powerful and mysterious being far beyond the level of "Guardian Banner," they cannot see through this false appearance and directly locate and violently destroy the banner itself.

Otherwise, this field would have been able to grow steadily.

Moreover, with the continuous operation of the banners, the soil quality of this land is also changing subtly. Deep-seated pollution will be purified little by little, and barrenness will be nourished, transforming it into "fertile land" more suitable for the growth of spiritual plants.

Jiang Ning patted the dirt off his hands, a satisfied smile spreading across his face:

"Perfect, now we just wait for the harvest!"

The young and middle-aged villagers who were watching from the sidelines had mostly blank and bewildered expressions on their faces.

They know how to dig holes, bury seeds, and water them.

Planting a small flag can make something grow on this black soil that was considered a dead land.

Can it also keep out ghosts from outside?

This was completely beyond their comprehension.

No one dared to question Jiang Ning, but the confusion in their eyes was real and lingering.

Yu Niu was the first to lose his composure. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the small flag standing alone in the ground.

"Young Master, is this really going to work? Just planting a flag..."

"Wrapped!"

Jiang Ning turned around, his face full of confidence. His gaze swept over the crowd and finally landed on the newly turned soil beneath his feet. He could already imagine the scene of a bountiful harvest of exotic fruits in seven days.

Even with the nourishment and acceleration from the "Guardian Banner," it might not even take seven days.

"Alright, stop staring and get back to work!"

Jiang Ning put away her smile and began to arrange the work.

"Leave half the team here today to continue clearing land and cutting down trees, pushing the outer perimeter further into the dead forest to create more space and reduce hidden dangers."

"The other half, take all the tools and go to Xishan to harvest the Tai Sui. Our goal today is to bring back as much as possible!"

After several days of logging, the outer edge of this dead forest outside the village that had been blocking the view has been cleared to some extent, making the view much more open, but continuing to expand inwards is a long-term task.

However, what's more urgent right now is acquiring Black Tai Sui. We had zero harvest last night, and without enough Tai Sui to upgrade our defenses, the village's defenses are stagnating, which is very worrying.

Once the order was given, the team heading to Xishan to collect materials quickly prepared their simple tools and set off in a grand procession, led by Wang Fu and Xiong Meng. Most of the able-bodied men in the village participated.

On this side of the dead forest, only three or five young and strong men remained to continue clearing the land.

Before the team set off, Xiong Meng couldn't help but find Jiang Ning, his face still showing deep worry.

"Young Master, perhaps... I should go to Yao Family Village now and ask around, to confirm things, after all..."

He didn't say it explicitly, but Jiang Ning immediately understood his concern.

Yaojia Village took in the group of people who had previously left Baiye Village.

Xiong Meng was afraid that those disgruntled or jealous refugees would spread rumors and gossip, and if Yao Chengzhou changed his mind and refused to continue to aid the Holy Blood, then things would get complicated.

Jiang Ning paused for a moment, then said in a calm and comforting tone:

"Uncle Meng, don't worry too much. If Yao Family Village is really determined to go back on their word, there's nothing we can do to force them or take it by force. Let's just wait and see. Maybe that Manager Yao will come with the Holy Blood today?"

"......All right."

Looking at Jiang Ning's calm eyes, Xiong Meng knew that the young master had made a decision, and he also understood the considerations behind this decision.

The journey from here to Yaojia Village is a long and arduous mountain road, requiring passage through the dangerous Dongshan Misty Valley. In addition, the road is slippery due to recent rain and the fog has not yet dissipated, making it extremely risky for a solo traveler.

If someone gets lost in the mountains and is delayed until nightfall, the consequences could be disastrous.

The young master is also worried about his safety.

Thinking of this, Xiong Meng felt a mix of emotions. He was grateful for the young master's concern, but he also felt guilty and powerless because he had not been able to help the village much so far.

He always felt he should do more, contribute more tangible effort.

This is the responsibility he should bear.

But since Jiang Ning had already spoken, he naturally stopped trying to be defiant.

"Well... young master, let's set off now."

He nodded slightly, turned around and strode towards the gathering team. Together with Wang Fu, he led the group towards the western mountains, and their figures quickly disappeared into the dissipating mist.

The village suddenly became much quieter.

Several young people were working hard, cutting down trees and digging up roots, sweating profusely at the edge of the dead forest.

Jiang Ning kept Yu Niu and Er Hu by his side, just in case, so they could run errands or lend a hand.

On the other side, beside the crematorium, the village children were no longer as fearful and evasive as they had been at the beginning; instead, they gradually became familiar with Zhou Lei.

They gathered around the stove, keeping a safe distance, watching Zhou Lei work with curiosity, and occasionally offering small help by picking up small pieces of bone that had fallen to the side.

The innocent voices of children talking and the occasional cheerful laughter added a lot of vitality to this small, usually oppressive mountain village.

Jiang Ning felt a warmth in his heart upon seeing this scene.

He then turned and walked into the forging workshop alone.

The workshop still contained traces left by Xing Feng when he forged the bone gun last night, including bone fragments and cooling water stains.

Jiang Ning looked around, picked up a machete he had previously crafted, mainly for mining black jujubes, and weighed it briefly.

"The efficiency is still too low..."

He frowned slightly.

Even with the added benefits of forging in the blacksmith's workshop, the current crude tools can only reliably collect a maximum of about 200 catties of black oysters per day.

This is far from enough for now.

Moreover, even if Yaojia Village delivers the sacred blood as promised today, relighting the altar will only alleviate the most basic pressure.

To truly gain a foothold and grow stronger, one must maximize the acquisition and accumulation of resources within a limited period of security.

"We must find a way to improve collection efficiency and develop more professional tools for harvesting Tai Sui."

Jiang Ning was making plans in his mind.

He tried to do what Xing Feng did: pick up a piece of black oyster and a piece of animal bone, and try to create a more handy pickaxe out of thin air, imitating the shape of the bone pickaxe.

But he soon realized it wouldn't work.

The forging process seems simple: put in the materials and forge them into shape.

But all of this is predicated on having the corresponding "blueprints"!

Without blueprints to guide you, once the materials are put in, it will just be a chaotic mess, making it impossible to shape them into a specific tool.

"The Starforge has a function for batch production, but it requires a master copy..."

Jiang Ning pondered, "If we could find a readily available, more efficient data collection tool as a template and put it into the Star Casting Platform, we could draw up the blueprints. But right now, where can we find such a more advanced tool template?"

Jiang Ning temporarily put aside this idea and instead focused his attention, bringing up the interface of the forging workshop.

As my gaze swept across the page, a new description emerged:

[Forging Workshop (Tier 1 Building)]

[Resources required to upgrade to Tier 2: 5000 Black Tai Sui, 100 Dustwood, 100 Rock Black Stone]

[Description: After upgrading the workshop, the overall structure will be more robust, furnace efficiency will be improved, and the existing "Tool Encyclopedia" will be expanded.]

[Preview of new tools added in Tier 2: 1. "Tai Sui Pickaxe" 2. "Fog Lantern"]

[Expected new Tier 2 vehicles: 1. "Bone Boat" 2. "Bone Chariot"]

[Note: Upgrading the workshop will unlock the "Celestial Platform" auxiliary building (its specific functions will be discovered after upgrading).]

"Holy crap? Upgrades, tools... and vehicles?"

Looking at the workshop's description and upgrade preview, Jiang Ning's eyes widened in ecstasy.

But when he saw that "Sinking Wood" and "Black Rock" had been added to the list of resources needed for the upgrade, Jiang Ning's joy was replaced by solemnity.

The number of 5000 Black Tai Sui is huge, but there are ways to obtain them. Lucky bags will also drop, so you'll eventually collect them all.

However, these two new materials, which had never been seen before, stood like two mountains blocking the way to upgrade.

"Sinking wood, black rock..."

Jiang Ning frowned and whispered, "It sounds like a higher-level form of Yin Wood and Black Stone, and the acquisition method must be even more demanding."

Right now, we're completely in the dark. We only know the name, but we don't know where to find it or how to collect it.

This anxiety of having a goal but no way to achieve it made him quite uncomfortable.

"It would be great if there were a materials guide or a gathering strategy; we don't have to do this ridiculous thing..."

Jiang Ning shook his head with a wry smile, knowing that this was just wishful thinking.

In the present day, knowledge and experience still need to be explored and verified step by step by oneself, risking one's life.

After calming down, he began to make inferences based on the existing information and logic.

Ordinary Yin Wood and Black Stone can be collected from the mountains or obtained from strangely dropped lucky bags.

"Then, the acquisition methods for higher-level Yin Wood and Black Rock are likely similar, either by going deeper into the mountains and collecting them directly in more dangerous specific areas."

Alternatively, defeat higher-level monsters and obtain them from the better quality lucky bags they drop.

The deduction was reasonable, and Jiang Ning felt it was almost certainly true.

They then set their immediate goal: to find a way to obtain the Yin Wood and the Black Rock.

Once you've made a start, it's like opening a source; acquiring and accumulating more later becomes relatively easy.

Just as Jiang Ning was immersed in planning, Yu Niu's loud voice suddenly rang out from outside the workshop, sounding both alert and urgent:

"Young master, young master! Someone else is here!"

Jiang Ning was immediately struck by the thought that the people from Yaojia Village who had delivered the sacred blood had arrived.

He looked forward to walking quickly out of the workshop.

However, the sight that came into view made him tense.

The young men who had been clearing land at the edge of the dead forest, along with Yu Niu and Er Hu, had all retreated back into the village.

Everyone held simple weapons, their expressions tense, their eyes fixed on the direction outside the village, in a state of high alert as if facing a formidable enemy.

This doesn't look like they're welcoming guests.

"Not from Yaojia Village?"

Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed slightly as he followed the gaze of the crowd.

Standing in the open space outside the village was a young man dressed in coarse black clothes, with a slightly muscular build.

The man looked visibly tired and panicked, staring blankly at the village.

Jiang Ning narrowed his eyes and recognized the other person at a glance.

He was one of the two henchmen standing behind Liu Guan when they confronted each other at Xishan that day.

"What's he doing here, someone from Qingniu Village?"

Jiang Ning frowned, his vigilance rising sharply.

Without making a sound, he activated the Bone Arrow Tower through the [Heavenly Craftsman] interface and quietly locked onto the figure that had already stepped into the territory.

Then, Jiang Ning quickly climbed the nearest observation platform and calmly examined his opponent from above.

The young man outside the village seemed to still be in a state of deep shock.

He stared blankly at the bone fence surrounding Baiye Village and the eerie bone tower standing there, his face filled with disbelief and lingering fear.

This was vastly different from the impression he had when Ah Gou reported back to him these past two days!

Seeing it with my own eyes, I felt truly awe-inspiring.

He seemed to have gone through a long internal struggle, finally gritting his teeth, raising his head, and shouting at Jiang Ning on the viewing platform with all his might:

"Young Master Jiang, please... take me in!"

Upon hearing this, not only was Jiang Ning slightly taken aback, but even Yu Niu and the others who were on high alert below were stunned, exchanging puzzled glances.

People from Qingniu Village, please take us in?

Could they be plotting something bad?

The villagers had a very poor impression of Qingniu Village. Instead of letting their guard down, they gripped their weapons tightly and stared at the young man with unfriendly eyes.

After her initial surprise, Jiang Ning's brows relaxed and her face returned to its usual calm.

He neither agreed nor refused, but simply asked in a calm tone:

"Oh, why? Give me a reason?"

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's response, Ah Sheng grasped at a lifeline, his expression contorted with excitement, and he explained rapidly:

"I... I don't want to die. I want to live. In Qingniu Village... I'm doomed!"

"Last night... Last night a lot of ghostly things came, much more than usual. Even with the altar protecting it, those ghostly things were still able to sneak into the village."

"This is terrifying! The altar is weakening and won't protect us for long. Those things will break in sooner or later, and they'll eventually fill up the entire Changyin Mountain and devour everyone inside!"