Thanks to the abundance of special clay and stones in the manor, along with plenty of steel bars, these brick-mover brutes possessed immense strength, making building houses as easy as eating and drinking.
The entire ground was dug into mounds, constructing their team's monster-fighting base.
There were maze-like enclosed courtyard traps.
There were guillotine-style trigger traps; once a bird flew through, it activated a lever that dropped a blade.
Even by dusk, as the grand construction work progressed, some saw a business opportunity and started selling semi-finished building products:
"Selling dirt blocks, My World style, to make building your fortress easier!"
"Here's selling iron doors with shooting slots, a safe entrance and exit door is crucial!"
...
But no one emerged to compete for territory or build tower defenses, given that a mere hundred-person construction zone would not cover much space.
The blacksmith shop was bustling, with all sorts of oddly shaped weapons continuously emerging.
Some even went out to learn ancient military trap designs, making up for what they missed with a crash course!
Indeed, enthusiasm is the best teacher!
Online, there's a group of armchair strategists offering advice, various design blueprints gradually appearing, helping them create a miracle of defeating tens of thousands of flying units with a hundred-child loli army!
The manor was too lively!
Heave-ho!
Heave-ho!
A group of people pounding stakes into the foundation, shouting, faces flushed and ears red, working in euphoria, even found eating dirt more energizing, stuffing mouthfuls with gusto!
During this time, Jiucai Rong was even busier, barely touching the ground.
Steel plates filled with spikes became the most practical fundamental trap components.
As for the Blade Forging Master Daojiu, he was tasked with crafting more high-quality magical artifact embryos.
By the time the war starts, obtaining the crows, they could directly start crafting official magical artifacts, which might help with the war situation.
Su Yuniang also began training with the bow and arrow.
However, though her level was far above ordinary people, her accuracy in shooting fast-moving long-range targets was disastrous.
Even trained modern shooters might not hit flying birds.
Could only ambush while they landed and preened their feathers?
The effect was evidently not good.
...
Ning Zheng finished lunch at noon.
He planned to see what was happening in the manor; was everything lawless once he left? Did they usually act up in front of him? He felt a strong sense of curiosity, wanting to peek secretly.
Of course, not going personally, weren't there audience members "queueing to log in"?
Ning Zheng forcefully logged in as one of them, choosing a very simple online name "Blossoming Wealth," after all, opening the Three Flowers, becoming a cultivator, naturally attracts wealth! Blossoming Wealth carries a beautiful meaning in this world.
When he logged in, seeing these things from each perspective, he was dumbfounded.
At that time.
People were also chatting about some content.
"Wow, I really want to play; this is too challenging!"
"How did that fool build the traps? Blocking the crows, sneaking behind to poke people? He's using this to ambush the crow drops, holding so much grudge! (laugh)"
"Envious, so envious, sob, sob, sob, when can we also log in from the queue (pitiful.jpg)."
"Before leaving, the old manager talked about the manor master's appearance, is this a new NPC appearing, won't he come out when unable to beat the crows and wipe them all with a wave?"
"Wait, isn't it said to be in retreat, unable to come out?"
"Wouldn't allow the manor master to create an avatar, coming out to kill them all?"
"That would be too cool!"
...
Ning Zheng looked like an old grandpa looking at a phone.
This middle-aged youth lagged behind the times, just found this perspective-switching chatty place quite interesting.
This way, he could monitor the whole manor situation.
He hadn't chatted online with people for ages, remembering sneaking to internet cafes to play, meeting always began with asking if they were MM or GG, very nostalgic.
So, he typed out a message.
[Blossoming Wealth]:"Hello everyone, nice to meet you all."
"Rich lady, please keep me."
Ning Zheng:"???"
Rich lady? What rich lady, where from.
He glanced at Ning Jiaojiao beside him, who was eating with a bulging mouth, seemed more fitting.
Someone messaged him: "Sis, do you know what steel wool symbolizes?"
Ning Zheng couldn't resist his curiosity.
[Blossoming Wealth]:"What does it symbolize?"
"Patience and Blossoming Wealth."
?
Completely incomprehensible.
Ning Zheng felt like he was from a different generation than them, though found it interesting but didn't say much, just quietly switched perspectives.
Observing from one angle to another, revealing a vague dark expression probably: secretly watching.jpg.
Time passed as fast as a breath for two days.
In the next two days, Ning Zheng almost completely ignored outside affairs, only occasionally taking a moment to see what bizarre constructions the manor was up to, while focusing on breakthroughs.
After all, they were so diligently preparing for battle.
Ning Zheng, the manor's only combat power, had to strive too.
He was inspired by their fervor and passion.
Incidentally.
Ning Zheng was about to breakthrough to the next realm in the coming days to increase combat power.
If the crow leader appears, breaking through could increase the success rate of a sneak attack.
At this moment.
He had reached the final moment, with magic coins piled up all around the room.
The stored strands of spiritual Qi were being constantly drawn out.
A large amount of spiritual Qi poured in from the Bridge of Heaven and Earth above his head, traveling along the spine dragon and meridians, gradually filling his left hand.
Five-Body Realm.
The head and four limbs are collectively called the Five-Body.
When each body part is completed, it becomes undying and regenerative.
The first of the Five-Body must be the head, because the "head" is the beginning of the Immortal Path. Opening the Three Flowers on the top, unblocking the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, drawing Qi into the body, thus called Five-Body.
Now, Ning Zheng aimed to form the second body.
"I'm afraid the breakthrough won't be stable, better use some Qi Fortune Value to assist, with good luck, it won't easily go wrong."
He collected his thoughts, sat cross-legged, adding another 300 Qi Fortune Value to ensure safety, making his Qi fortune soar to 800 at the moment, his mind completely clear, and began to attempt the breakthrough.
Swish~
The spiritual Qi surged in the air, converging at the top of his head, then entering the brain, slowly pouring into the left arm along the spine, unblocking the meridians, merging into the flesh and bones, which were being reconstructed.
Half a two-hour period later, Ning Zheng slowly opened his eyes.
"It's done."
He picked up the sword, with a flash of cold light.
His left hand responded by falling.
The severed arm bounced lively on the ground.
"Come back."
Thin strands of spiritual Qi threads seeped out from the severed end, slowly pulling the severed hand back onto the arm.
He clenched his left hand, satisfied.
The breakthrough, dangerous for others, was a ripple-free event for him.
Once completing the Five-Body, head, limbs, the body's exterior would form a donut, cyclically regenerating.
At this point, the weakness would be the chest, the center of the donut: the belly.
Cultivators of the same tier always aimed at their enemy's belly.
This part is fragile mortal flesh, untempered, lacking any defensive power.
Even a mere injury could cause organ loss, an incomplete physique, rendering further progress to the next realm impossible.
Then one could only seek legendary Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to reshape the complete body, but how difficult is that?
After the Five-Body Realm comes the Four Viscera Realm, to remedy this deficiency.
Therefore, some people collectively refer to the Five-Body and Four Viscera as the Ninth Grade of the Body.
"Not bad, another hand can live for eight hundred years." Ning Zheng clenched his fist, knowing that a hundred years later when the body decays, he wouldn't just have a head left, but an extra hand too.
This makes a big difference.
At least with an extra hand, he could jump around by pounding the ground with one hand.
"Time to practice archery."
Ning Zheng took a deep breath, pulling out a copper bow and a few bundles of wooden arrows from under the bed.
His only attack method at the moment was drawing the bow and shooting arrows!
This is the awkwardness of lacking heritage and accompanying cultivation techniques.
Others in the Five-Body Realm have various spells, resembling true cultivators, while he had nothing, clumsy like a mortal.
The wooden arrows were made by Ning Jiaojiao when she was idle in the courtyard.
The material was wooden strips with only the arrowhead made of magic copper, very coarse in texture, not even capable of piercing the hide of slightly thicker-skinned beasts.
Ning Zheng certainly wasn't relying on the arrowhead's power. His mana could inflict mental damage, parasitizing and splitting the opponent's soul to create his own clones.
Each parasitic clone consumed the opponent's soul abilities, Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
As the clone splits more, the opponent's soul weakens and resists less.
Thus it's called a mental poison, spreading without a cure in sight!
After all, the Five-Body Realm doesn't cultivate the soul, only the body, making the soul aspect very weak, and Ning Zheng's soul-attach a natural superiority during the early period!
This was his confidence in launching an attack.
Whoosh!
An arrow was shot.
"Retrieve it."
"Okay."
"Retrieve it."
"Got it."
After practicing archery till noon, Ning Zheng was slightly panting.
The wooden arrows on the ground were disposable, breaking after just one shot, while Ning Jiaojiao was beside making new arrows again.
By noon, the sky suddenly turned gloomy.
The thick clouds were rolling and bounding, spreading from all directions.
"Caw caw!!"
A flock of crows flew towards the mountain, emitting sharp cawing cries, filled with endless anger.
"Have they already provoked the crows? How so soon?"
Ning Zheng put down the bow in his hand, looked up at the swarming crows flying toward the manor's direction:
"It seems they are ready and about to start fighting...why not prepare for a bit longer, it's too reckless."
Once this fight starts, it's to the death.
Ning Zheng quickly devised a battle plan.
He absolutely must not engage in close combat, it's best to hide in a small corner at the foot of the mountain, looking for opportunities to shoot cold arrows, sneaking assistance.
He was confident in his tactic of ambushing from the mountain's foot, previously having defeated the Demon Man this way, a well-timed sneaky shot might take down the crow leader when he appears.