Luofeng Great Domain, Mingshi Town.
Because the town produced a special type of crystal stone that could be used for lighting, which was sold far and wide to various parts of the Water Color Federation, it got its name.
It was late at night, but Mingshi Town was still brightly lit. This was not due to the town's prosperity, but simply because of the Mingshi mineral veins within it, which constantly emitted a faint glow.
Mingshi Town was merely a poor and weak small oasis, but it was backed by the larger oasis of 'Phosphor City' and located within the Water Color Federation. Although poor, its safety was still guaranteed.
Even though the black sky river had been hanging in the firmament for over a month, the residents of Mingshi Town were not particularly panicked. As dwellers of the uncanny realm, they needed resilience to survive in this world of frequent disasters.
Rumble—
A small horde of uncanny creatures, numbering in the hundreds, was repelled outside the town, leaving behind many ferocious and colossal corpses.
The townspeople merely glanced at them and then paid them no mind. They did not have the extra time or energy to care about such things.
They still had work to do.
Their previous work mostly involved mining, but with the recent onset of disasters, they needed to assist the guard teams in continuously building defensive fortifications, stockpiling food, and transporting supplies… especially preparing for the lodging and board of those "military officers" from Phosphor City, who were notoriously difficult to please.
The already busy lives of Mingshi Town residents became even more arduous.
But no one complained.
This was a terrible era. They heard that the outside world was ravaged, and with this disaster, they wondered how many villages and towns had been wiped out.
Two townspeople grumbled, wiped the sweat from their brows, picked up a palm-sized wooden cup, scooped water from the nearby stream, and drank it down in large gulps.
This was fresh water produced by the oasis itself, safe, non-toxic, and pollution-free, and it was the only water source for Mingshi Town.
One townsperson propped open his drooping eyelids, wiped away a splash of water on his face, and said, "Strange, I've been feeling increasingly drowsy lately."
"You're probably just too tired. So much has happened in the past month. But the town mayor said to hold on, and everything will be fine once the black river disaster passes."
"That's right. I've already found a way to send my brat to a blacksmith shop in Phosphor City as an apprentice. We'll leave after the disaster…"
"Haha, my rascal is now learning swordsmanship from one of the guards. Both our families have a bright future."
Dreaming of the future, the two men, in their thirties and forties but already hunched over, showed genuine smiles on their wrinkled faces.
As they smiled, their eyes gradually became unfocused, and suddenly, with a thud, they collapsed.
Workers in the distance, seeing this, hurried over to check. The two who had just fallen now shakily got to their feet, their pupils like black lakes, carrying an indescribable dead stillness.
"You…"
The figures who got up pounced, like bloodthirsty beasts.
Before long, dismembered middle-aged men shakily rose. Their movements gradually became agile, and their missing limbs seemed to have little impact.
They moved towards other areas, driven by some instinct.
Eerie roars soon echoed in multiple parts of Mingshi Town, followed by endless screams and the clash of weapons. The peaceful night of the town was instantly shattered.
By the time the news of the "Mingshi Town Catastrophe" reached Fang You's ears, it was already a day later.
The entire Mingshi Town was reportedly lost.
This was unavoidable. While the Heartfire Academy had a considerable reputation, it was an undeniable fact that without a foothold in the region and a shortage of personnel, its influence was limited.
The news was learned because some Heartfire students happened to be in Phosphor City. They keenly noticed something was amiss and reported the situation.
Within the academy, Fang You summoned Liu Feng and Wei Bao.
"What do you think?"
The catastrophe in Mingshi Town was named the "Living Dead Disaster." If it were just some ordinary townspeople experiencing problems or mutations, suppressing this disaster would not have been difficult.
Fang You perused the freshly compiled intelligence.
"After becoming living dead, they attack all living beings instinctively, just like uncanny creatures. Moreover, the strength and speed of these living dead are significantly greater than when they were alive."
"And it's not just ordinary townspeople who have become living dead; awakened ones are also affected… Awakened ones do not seem to be much stronger in their resistance compared to ordinary townspeople."
Currently, some Heartfire students had already rushed to Mingshi Town, and a stronger team was rapidly en route.
However, when asking Liu Feng and Wei Bao for their opinions, what he truly wanted to know was… whether similar situations had occurred in the Candela Empire back then.
"Similar disasters, similar disasters… there really were!"
Liu Feng said, recalling some brief reports he had read.
"In the thirty-first year after you fell into slumber, Master, outside the empire, a not-insignificant country called the 'Kingdom of Lati' inexplicably experienced a living dead disaster. It was said that a few years later, this country called the Kingdom of Lati was annihilated."
"Besides that, there were the Blood Moon Disaster, the Lust Disaster, the Illusory Dream Disaster…"
In the Lust Disaster, towns affected, from ordinary people to high-level awakened ones, found it difficult to control their desires. The affected areas instantly became places of [beep beep beep beep—].
In the Illusory Dream Disaster, the entire town's inhabitants fell into boundless dreams, endlessly looping within them until their bodies withered and their souls perished.
And so on.
When counted, the types of evil god calamities were indeed diverse.
Fang You mused, then looked at Wei Bao.
The foolish, over a hundred-year-old child blinked for two seconds and looked at Liu Feng, "Second Senior Brother is right."
Fang You asked again, "Do you have anything to add?"
Wei Bao felt ashamed, scratched his head hard, and thought hard, still shaking his head, "It seems… no."
In his memory, he thought he had seen something similar.
But he hadn't paid attention.
When one's brain was needed, it was naturally handed over to Senior Sister, Second Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, and Second Senior Brother.
Wei Bao had a clear understanding of himself.
Since his intelligence was not as good as Senior Sister's or Second Senior Brother's, as long as he didn't use his brain, this flaw was nonexistent.
Thinking this way, he didn't seem so stupid after all.
Therefore, the intelligent Wei Bao looked to his brain-attachment, Second Senior Brother.
Liu Feng was silent for a moment, "What Junior Brother knows is usually less than what I know."
What could Fang You do? He could only ask them to recall as much as possible and record the details of the intelligence.
Unfortunately, Liu Feng had only been a demigod back then and did not have access to many secrets. Moreover, the evil god calamities tens of thousands of years ago might have differed from today's disasters. These all required slow investigation.
Fang You's thoughts were threefold.
Problem one: What was the cause of the Living Dead Disaster, and were there any solutions?
As for the source, it was likely the "Twisted Black River." Eliminating the problematic "person" would naturally solve the issue, but that was too distant. He would first consider how to deal with the disaster.
Problem two: By inferring from the duration and scope of the disaster scenes, one could deduce the remaining time before the evil god's awakening.
However, by comparing the currently collected information, he found several discrepancies.
This led to problem three: Were the evil god disaster scenes truly calamities unconsciously emanating from the evil gods? Or…
Fang You fell into deep thought.
…
Blue Star, as usual, was calm and peaceful. However, the Falling Star Great Domain was also affected by some evil god disaster scenes.
What appeared here was not the black river but the familiar blood moon. However, this time, perhaps because the blood moon region was far away, the impact on the Falling Star Great Domain was far less severe than two and a half years ago.
Despite this, Bailaizemon was still deeply worried.
Two and a half years ago, when the disaster first appeared, they also thought it was nothing much. Who would have thought that the disaster would escalate, and even the walls of their Star Radiance Fortress would crumble a section because of it.
This was a minor issue.
The disaster had also brought the minions of the evil gods. Their mythical-level evil god servants were still lurking on this land of Falling Star, making him, Bailaizemon, extremely cautious when traveling.
Fortunately, the collaboration with the Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce to deal with these evil god minions had been quite effective.
Through their efforts, two evil god servants and four seven-star uncanny creatures had been discovered and slain. A remarkable achievement!
Thinking of this, Bailaizemon felt slightly at ease and also marveled at their prowess.
…
"Only two evil god servants slain? That's too pathetic!"
Yin Luoxi muttered. "The Yunhui Great Domain might be on the verge of war, and it's still so peaceful here. How boring!"
Beside her, Xitina, uncharacteristically, nodded in agreement.
Three of the four mythical beings openly stationed at the Burning Fire Chamber of Commerce were battle-hardened, leaving Qian Qiu, who considered himself a scholar, to shrink back and unable to join the conversation.
It was true that compared to Xing Jinglei and the other two, Qian Qiu could indeed be called a cultured person.
When he first joined the association, he was illiterate, but that was only because he, a former assassin, had never received systematic cultural education or refinement.
After entering the 'Heartfire Cultural Remedial Class,' Qian Qiu was arguably the only one among this batch of returning 'problem children' who was genuinely putting in the effort to learn.
He graduated with excellent grades and hoped that in the future, there would be no more fighting, and everyone could sit down for a cup of tea.
Thinking this, Qian Qiu swiped his special mobile phone.
He immersed himself in the virtual world.
Yin Luoxi and Xitina were still muttering.
Yin Luoxi really wanted to transfer to the academy. Regardless of combat, the newcomers at the academy seemed quite interesting. She wanted to spread her Witch Sisterhood there, believing she would find many like-minded sisters.
[By the way, the best app for reading and listening to audiobooks currently is, @
a squad broke through and escaped.
The elite awakened ones who broke through were mostly reinforcements who had previously come from Phosphor City.
… This was almost equivalent to the entire town being wiped out.
Phosphor City was now in a state of panic, and no strong individuals were investigating this small town. In fact, they were avoiding it like the plague.
"Hmph! Those trash nobles!"
A young girl said indignantly.
Another person tugged at her sleeve, "Let's speak softer, in case those monsters hear us."
Qian Xiaocao whispered in劝.
She had received ample nutrition and was no longer as gaunt as a dead branch. Her complexion was ruddy, and her hair was lustrous. However, her humble origins meant she couldn't shake off her timid nature.
The two were students who had previously been on a mission in Phosphor City.
Later, they received an urgent mission from the academy and came to the outskirts of Mingshi Town. They had been lingering and observing here for some time.
They had also tried to hunt and capture the living dead, but it was like poking a hornet's nest. The two young girls had to flee into the grey fog for a long time before they could shake off their pursuers.
They had now circled around to another side of the town, hiding in a corner, observing stealthily.
Suddenly,
"Roar—"
A terrifying roar came from behind them.
It was a three-star uncanny creature, not very strong, and was killed by student Miaomiao in two moves.
But more uncanny creatures were rushing from behind. The living dead wandering not far away also turned their heads in unison and began to scurry on all fours.
Running frantically close to the ground, dashing along building walls.
"Ahhh, don't come near me—"
With wolves in front and tigers behind, Qian Xiaocao was terrified, her large eyes welling up with tears.
The enemy was approaching.
Another student, Miaomiao, was already engaged with the uncanny creature.
Qian Xiaocao also had to draw the uncanny weapon sword hidden in its sheath.
*Swish—*
"Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh—"
Her cries drowned out the *swish* of the sword light. When Qian Xiaocao finally came to her senses and gasped for breath, only bodies cut in half remained before her.
The living dead cut by Miaomiao were still twitching, but the ones cut by her were truly dead, motionless.
Qian Xiaocao wiped away her tears, "Too, too terrifying."
Miaomiao glanced at her and nodded like a pecking chicken.
The two changed their hiding place again. They waited anxiously, every second feeling like an eternity, and finally, the academy's reinforcement team arrived.
The team leader was a young lady who looked no older than them but appeared very reliable and mature.
The two girls, their eyes streaming with tears, ran forward.