I built a safe house in the eerie night.

A world of trenches!!

Jiang Ning covered his ears, his teeth almost grinding to powder.

He forced himself to close his eyes, trying not to think about the tragedy unfolding outside.

The sounds of flesh being gnawed at, the fading echoes of desperate cries, were incredibly clear in the darkness.

Which door wasn't closed properly?

It still couldn't withstand the strange disturbance and revealed a flaw?

The screams finally ceased completely, and the eerie commotion subsided, as if the massacre had been nothing more than a trivial interlude.

The entire village returned to deathly silence.

Jiang Ning released his hands from his ears, his eyes turning cold in the darkness, like tempered iron.

Human life is as worthless as grass, and can be harvested at will.

this is the truth!

But all emotions must be suppressed.

Jiang Ning now had only one thought: he needed a strong enough defense and the power to fight against the strange forces.

Otherwise, the next night, the one being talked about by the eerie creature might be yourself!

Amidst heartache and numbness, the boundless darkness began to fade.

Finally, dawn broke again.

Jiang Ning pushed open the thick, heavy wooden door.

The altar's glow was dimmer than yesterday, almost transparent.

"Remaining time to complete extinguishing: 4 days"

Jiang Ning looked in the direction from which the commotion had come from last night.

The makeshift shack had completely collapsed, with splinters of wood and thatch scattered about, mixed with dark red and black bloodstains. A few pieces of clothing hung on the wreckage, but otherwise, there was nothing there.

A family of three or four, once vibrant and alive, vanished completely that night, leaving not even bones behind.

Jiang Ning watched silently, his chest churning with nameless rage that had nowhere to go, but his face remained largely expressionless.

He seemed to have accepted it, or rather, had no choice but to accept it given the state of the world.

He lowered his head and began to silently clean up the mess from last night.

The Devouring Flower outside the door had become a charred and rotten branch, with two strange piles of remains next to it.

Jiang Ning searched carefully, picked up the strange bead, and held it tightly in his palm, feeling the energy fluctuations within it.

Wang Fu also stepped out of the house, looked at the tragic scene at the other end of the village, and couldn't help but sigh softly, his voice hoarse:

"Young master... the city is the safest place..."

His tone revealed a sense of bewilderment.

Having witnessed firsthand the horrific scene of lives being swallowed up, it's hard not to feel a sense of fear and dread.

Jiang Ning did not answer.

Because he knew there was no way out!

They knew better than anyone else that with the altar about to go out and the way out of Changyin Mountain blocked, the so-called retreat often led to deeper despair.

He simply and silently cleared away the remains of the Devouring Flower and the eerie corpse.

Seeing this, Wang Fu said nothing more and simply helped with the tidying up.

The morning mist blanketed the mountains and fields, and the village was deathly silent in the fog, like a dead village.

The other villagers were too frightened by the tragedy of the previous night to open their doors.

For a long time, the only sounds in the village were the faint noises of Jiang Ning and Wang Fu cleaning things.

It wasn't until the hazy sun on the horizon cast its first dim rays that some doors were rustled open.

One by one, faces still shaken peeked out, their eyes filled with a despair that lingered even deeper than the relief of surviving a catastrophe.

They all gathered in the open space in the center of the village, their gazes turning towards Jiang Ning with mixed feelings.

The oppressive silence continued until finally, someone in the crowd spoke softly.

"If... if the holy blood hadn't been lost, and the altar had been properly maintained, those things would never have been able to enter the village... and Old Wang's family wouldn't have had to die..."

When these words were spoken, some people in the crowd nodded secretly, while others avoided eye contact.

Many more people channeled their pent-up fear and discontent into silent questions directed at Jiangning.

Xiong Meng was also in the crowd.

He wanted to say something to defend Jiang Ning, but the Wang family had been right next door to him last night, and their agonizing screams and nauseating gnawing sounds had terrified him.

He spent the entire night holding his distraught wife and daughter, desperately waiting for dawn in the darkness.

The protection of the altar must never be lost!

But where is the hope?

He looked up blankly, only to see that Jiang Ning had finally moved.

Unlike his usual frail self, this young master from the city straightened his back slowly for the first time in front of everyone.

He offered no explanation, his face showed little emotion, only calmness, his eyes like a deep, still pool.

His gaze swept over the faces that were filled with despair, resentment, or numbness. His voice was clear and steady, not loud, but loud enough for everyone to hear: "Things have come to this point. Whether you stay or leave is up to you."

He paused, but offered no further comfort or promises.

"Believe me, those who are willing to stay can continue to stay in the village and conspire with me; those who do not believe me and feel that staying is a dead end can pack their things and leave now to seek refuge in other villages in the mountains that still have stable altars, or find their own way out of the mountains."

Jiang Ning's words caused a stir among the crowd.

The whispers grew louder, and doubt, fear, and wavering... all sorts of emotions spread.

Someone made a choice immediately.

Several men, who had long harbored resentment towards Jiangning or had long been overwhelmed by fear, lowered their heads and silently squeezed out of the crowd. Without looking back, they headed towards their own shacks and began packing their meager belongings.

Staying in this hopeless village is tantamount to waiting to die.

Seeking refuge in other villages and working like slaves, or venturing back to the perilous mountain refugee communities, both seemed to offer a sliver of hope than staying here.

Once someone takes the lead, more and more people will waver.

One, two, five, ten... people turned and left one after another.

They didn't even dare to look at Jiangning again when they left, their steps hurried, as if they were fleeing not a village, but a sinking island.

Jiang Ning remained silent throughout, not uttering a single word.

He respects the fate of others and has no inclination to help others, especially when he himself is struggling to survive.

After most of the people who wanted to leave had left, the remaining crowd sparsely scattered, hesitant and undecided.

Jiang Ning saw the dark-skinned boy, Yu Niu.

He clenched his fists and raised them, his face showing no trace of the bewilderment of those people, but rather a bright, desperate determination.

"I...I want to follow Young Master Jiang!" Yu Niu suddenly shouted, his voice filled with the courage of a young man who was naive and inexperienced.

"Young Master Jiang is definitely capable! He can protect everyone!"

He was the first to explicitly state that he would stay.

The second one is Xiong Meng.

He took a deep breath, glanced again at the obviously eerie ruins in front of Jiang Ning's house, and at the solid house that could be seen with the naked eye, and finally made up his mind.

Then, he took his pale-faced wife and bewildered daughter, stepped forward, and stood not far from Jiang Ning.

Xiong Meng, he gambled!

One by one, some more people chose to stay.

In the end, nearly half of the village, which originally had sixty or seventy people, left. About thirty people silently carried their bags and left Baiye Village without looking back in the morning mist, disappearing at the end of the mountain road.

Jiang Ning saw Yu Niu in the crowd, holding the arm of a middle-aged man, who seemed to be one of his relatives, while the boy pleaded and whispered something.

But the man just shook his head repeatedly, sighed heavily, forcefully broke free from Yu Niu's hand, and followed the departing crowd without looking back, disappearing into the mist.

Yu Niu stood still, looking in the direction his loved ones had gone. He wiped his eyes hard, then turned around, straightened his somewhat thin back, and looked firmly toward Jiang Ning.

The remaining villagers include Jiang Ning, Wang Fu, Xiong Meng and his family, Yu Niu, and more than 30 others.

Those who chose to stay mostly remained silent, their faces still showing unease, but their eyes held a hint of determination.

Those who choose to leave embark on an unknown path that they believe is the right one.

Looking at those who had chosen to stay, Jiang Ning didn't give a passionate speech, but simply stated:

"Since you've stayed, do as I say. Today, we need to make more preparations."

Jiang Ning's gaze swept over the crowd, and his tone became slightly more forceful.

"We haven't reached a dead end yet; there are still ways to survive. But the prerequisite is that everyone must follow the arrangements and cooperate fully. If anyone is unwilling to cooperate or has doubts, leave now. I will not say another word."

The crowd fell silent, no one uttering a sound, which was taken as tacit agreement with his words.

Jiang Ning was fairly satisfied with this response.

Those who left have already lost their focus; those who remain are merely an invisible threat.

These people, whether out of desperation or genuine belief in themselves, are at least willing to follow in action. This is the foundation for building the village's defenses and struggling for survival, and will be the core force in the future.

Jiang Ning wasted no time and immediately began assigning tasks.

"Xiong Meng." Jiang Ning looked at the relatively composed man.

"You will lead a team of ten people into the mountains. Firstly, you will cut down as much 'yin wood' as possible. You should have seen that kind of wood with black patterns."

"Secondly, keep an eye out for a strange black stone with a hard texture in the mountains. If you find it, try to mine some and bring it back."

Xiong Meng nodded emphatically: "Understood, Young Master Jiang!"

"Uncle Fu," Jiang Ning turned to Wang Fu, "the remaining elderly, weak, and children are your responsibility. You don't need to go deep into the mountains; just go to the caves near the village to harvest the 'Black Tai Sui' and store them in the warehouse."

Wang Fu nodded in agreement. Looking at the sallow-faced, emaciated elderly people and children, he sighed inwardly, but knew that this was the only contribution they could make at the moment.

Finally, Jiang Ning looked at Yu Niu and the few remaining relatively young and robust men in the crowd.

"Ah Niu, take a few people with you. Your mission is the most dangerous and the most important. Go to the outskirts of the village and collect any remaining strange remains."

He emphasized: "Only operate during the day, never venture deep into the woods, and retreat immediately if you discover anything amiss."

Yu Niu nodded emphatically, his eyes showing no fear, but rather a gleam of excitement, and patted his chest vigorously:

"Don't worry, young master! Leave it to me!"

The tasks were clearly defined, and each person had their own assigned task.

The threat of death was imminent, but Jiang Ning's clear and decisive instructions gave them a sense of direction. The remaining people had no objections and quickly began to act according to their assignments.

Everyone knows that every bit of effort they put in increases the village's chances of survival and gives them a better chance of living.

After arranging everything, Jiang Ning finally had a moment of free time.

He went back inside and took out the rare bead.

Last night, the two "Devouring Flowers" devoured three monsters, but unfortunately only dropped one resource. The probability was still okay.

Jiang Ning rubbed his hands together, bowed haphazardly to the beads, and prayed for the blessings of all the gods and immortals.

Then, concentrate and silently repeat: "Activate."

The bead flashed with light and then dissipated into specks of light.

At the same time, a stream of information flooded into my mind and appeared on the [Heavenly Craftsman] interface:

[Obtained: Building blueprint "Bone Arrow Tower"]

Bone Arrow Tower (Tier 1)

[Description: A basic defensive structure. Once installed, it can automatically identify and attack low-level monsters that enter its range, firing bone arrows powered by resentment. It is an effective means of protecting initial territory.]

[Construction requires: 200 catties of Black Tai Sui, 20 kg of Yin Wood]

[Note: Arrow towers require bone materials to be charged before they can fire bone arrows and deal effective damage. Without charging, they are merely decorative structures.]

Bone Arrow Tower!

Jiang Ning's eyes lit up.

This is exactly what we need!

Although the construction requirements are not low, and additional skeletons are needed to store energy, this is only the beginning of moving towards active defense.