While the family heads from Lantao City were being immersed in the culture of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, Lu Cheng was in a state of intense excitement before the Bone Altar.
His eyes were bloodshot as he gripped a charcoal pencil, frantically sketching and revising a blueprint.
"No, that’s not right. The spirit veins should flow like this."
"The mortise and tenon structure here needs to change. It must use the Nine Palaces Flying Stars layout to support the aura of that Great One."
"The Lord gave me a new life; I must build an eternal foundation for him!"
He wanted to construct a pavilion unlike any seen before, one that would completely gather all the auspicious aura and the spiritual rhythm of the entire city.
He even boldly modified the blueprints, deciding to build the Gathering Fortune Pavilion directly beside the unaging pine and linking the foundation's array core to the tree’s root system.
The unaging pine was initially somewhat reluctant, but upon sensing the spiritual rhythm gathered by the pavilion, it immediately quieted down. It even took the initiative to stretch its roots, integrating more tightly with the array.
The resources of the entire City of the Wrongfully Dead began to tilt toward the construction of this pavilion.
Soon, the Gathering Fortune Pavilion was fully completed.
The pavilion was ancient and grand, featuring three floors and nine eaves, with dragon-shaped guardian beasts perched on every upturned corner.
The foundation of the pavilion merged perfectly with the roots of the unaging pine, making the two indistinguishable. The canopy of the unaging pine became the pavilion’s natural parasol.
The Wanshou Tortoise was moved by Lu Cheng from the Blood-Prison Pool and settled into the newly established Pool of Fortune and Longevity on the ground floor. The Dragon Carp from the Blood-Prison Pool were also invited over to keep the Wanshou Tortoise company in the new pool.
Meanwhile, Jiu'er was forcibly pinned down by the Plague Rat on the top floor of the pavilion, with a mountain of food placed before him.
"You live here from now on. Sleep when you’re done eating, and eat again when you wake up."
Jiu'er looked at the mountain of food and nodded speechlessly.
Unaging pine + Wanshou Tortoise + Dragon Carp + Auspicious Noble.
This combination, which could be called a fortune nuke, was completely detonated by the Gathering Fortune Pavilion's arrays.
At that moment, everyone in the City of the Wrongfully Dead felt a sense of relief, as if the haze weighing on their hearts had been swept away.
On the top floor of the Gathering Fortune Pavilion, a spring that had previously been dry began to flow with water shimmering with a seven-colored light. The Fortune Spring Water was ready.
Lu Cheng was so moved that he wept. He knelt on the spot and cried out, "Long live the Bone God! May the holy city prosper forever!"
Immediately, Chen Zhou had Zhang Cuigu take some of the spring water to irrigate the purifying world blood bodhi, which was in the process of ascending to the 7th rank.
The second beneficiary of the Fortune Spring Water was the pink nightmare. The little pink pig was doused from head to toe by the spring water and gave a shiver. It didn't seem to get any smarter; instead, it let out a yawn, rolled over, and fell into an even deeper sleep.
But the impact of the Gathering Fortune Pavilion went far beyond that.
A sudden wave of enlightenment swept through the entire City of the Wrongfully Dead.
With the boost from the pavilion's fortune, the already dense spiritual rhythm of the city became even more vibrant. The citizens who had originally practiced the techniques of the Corpse Soul Sect felt the previously obscure and difficult cultivation points suddenly become clear.
"I... I did it! A malevolent ghost! I’ve condensed a malevolent ghost!"
"Me too! Heavens, am I a genius? I’ve been practicing for less than a month and I can already summon a malevolent ghost! Hahaha!"
Flashes of breakthrough light flickered throughout the city. In a single day, as many as several thousand citizens successfully condensed malevolent ghosts.
Naturally, the core members with special traits benefited the most from this wave of enlightenment.
"Hah!"
Shitou let out a loud shout as his blood surged. A faint golden battle qi emerged on the surface of his skin.
Stimulated by the fortune of the Gathering Fortune Pavilion, his Kui Gang Destiny allowed him to comprehend a brand-new combat technique during the surge: Tiangang Battle Qi. It was a perfect match for his previous blade technique.
Feeling the surging power within him, Shitou was overcome with joy. His first thought was to find Hong Ling and show off. He was terrifyingly strong now!
He would definitely be the most capable and effective Patrol Envoy under the Lord’s command! He wanted Hong Ling to know who was truly the most hardworking!
He rushed into the Administrative Hall like a whirlwind.
"Hong Ling! Look!" Shitou was glowing gold all over like a giant lightbulb. "Tiangang Battle Qi! I’ve mastered it!"
He held his head high, waiting for Hong Ling’s expression of surprise, envy, or even frustration. However, Hong Ling only looked up from a mountain of documents.
She was currently busy directing paper people to register the population migrating from Lantao City, working non-stop.
"Oh, that's impressive."
Hong Ling gave him a sincere but calm and perfunctory smile.
"That’s great. Congratulations, keep it up."
She offered a word of praise and then lowered her head to continue annotating the documents. "By the way, the three thousand households that just moved into the East District are all from the prominent families of Lantao City. Arrange their patrol work. Also, the protective gear requested by the mining area should be distributed. Sign off on this."
"..."
The golden light on Shitou’s body dimmed visibly.
"You... you aren't curious?"
"Curious about what?" Hong Ling didn't even look up.
"Curious about how I mastered it! Why aren't you competing with me anymore?" Shitou asked, voicing his confusion.
Hong Ling stopped writing and looked up at Shitou seriously. The moment the Gathering Fortune Pavilion was completed, she had also benefited immensely.
Her Linglong Heart allowed her efficiency in handling complex administrative affairs to increase tenfold, and she could even faintly sense the flow of fortune in the city over the coming days.
She smiled. "I’m very busy. There are many things to do."
"The Lord entrusted the City of the Wrongfully Dead to us, not for us to waste energy on internal competition."
"You... you..."
Shitou was bewildered. Watching Hong Ling dive back into her endless work, a ridiculous thought suddenly occurred to him.
'She’s not competing with me... She’s actually not competing with me anymore!'
'Does Hong Ling not believe in the Lord anymore?!'
Shitou was so frightened by his own thought that he shivered. He felt the situation was grave and that he had to report it to the Lord!
In another corner of the city, inside the newly completed Hall of Talent Cultivation.
The Ugly Hag, the newly appointed teacher, was wearing a pair of reading glasses custom-made by Lu Cheng. She was patiently teaching a group of little rascals.
"This character is pronounced 'jia'—home..."
Gouer, Erya, and several other little beggars brought back from Lantao City were all present. They were no longer beggars; they wore clean clothes and sat upright, learning to write stroke by stroke.
Outside the door, Piao leaned against the doorframe, watching silently. She saw her mother gently stroking Erya's head and correcting her grip on the brush. A sudden pang of sourness rose in her heart.
It felt like her mother’s love was being shared.
In the past, her mother had also taught her characters hand-in-hand like that. Piao silently took out her own little notebook, which was already filled with many words.
She flipped to a blank page, walked to the Ugly Hag’s side, and silently handed the notebook over.
The Ugly Hag was stunned for a moment, then smiled. She took the notebook and wrote a new character on the fresh page.
"Silly girl, mother will teach you too."
"This character is pronounced 'an'—peace."
The Ugly Hag gently patted Piao’s hand. "Silly child, mother teaches them to read because I hope they can become useful people for the city and the Bone God in the future."
"But you are my daughter; that will never change. When I teach you to read and understand principles, my heart is filled with joy. That unique joy is reserved only for my silly girl."
Piao looked at the character and carefully tucked the notebook away.
Having comforted her jealous daughter, the Ugly Hag looked at Piao’s still-bloated belly and said softly, "Go on, silly girl. You’ve eaten too much and need to digest it properly. Mother will be right here waiting for you."
Piao nodded heavily. She needed to find a place to go into seclusion quickly.
She was truly too full. She felt like a balloon about to burst and desperately needed to digest everything.
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