Chapter 150: Core Plot
Aridowei City, Upper City District, had not been cleaned since Gu Xi took it over and quickly went to the Central District to participate in the battle.
The ground was covered with spoils of war transformed into negative energy crystals.
"Let's have someone clean this up later. With this much negative energy, we won't be short of money for a while, whether for deploying troops or constructing buildings."
"Yes, thinking back, we saved up negative energy for so long to build the Dragonbone Laboratory. Had we known, we would've fought this battle sooner."
Luna nodded in agreement.
"The upcoming battles won't be as easy. Luna, keep an eye on the passage in the Magic Plant District to prevent foreign enemies from invading.
Also, pay more attention to Aridowei Tower. We don't know much about other places, nor do we know where the newly replicated cities are.
Aridowei Tower is likely our next target.
Capturing it might allow Aridowei City to advance to level 4.
So, regardless of what we build next, keep an eye on the situation at Aridowei Tower."
"Alright."
Luna agreed, and as they spoke, Gu Xi and his group arrived at the inner part of the Upper City.
This Upper City was modeled after the original Upper City of Victoria City.
All the buildings matched the style of Aridowei City's main district, but they were small estates with gardens.
It was clear that the people who lived here were wealthy and had status.
So, the houses were relatively large and had servant and maid quarters.
But Gu Xi wasn't here to look at these. Eventually, some of the useless buildings would be demolished to make way for new ones, whether they were master or servant quarters.
Gu Xi came to find a particular house.
He wanted to see why a plot of land was specifically designated as a core plot for building a magic tower.
Following the map, Gu Xi and his group arrived at an empty lot on the edge of the Upper City.
According to the map, this was the core plot for constructing the magic tower.
As soon as they arrived, Gu Xi saw an unremarkable short staff stuck in the center of the empty lot.
The short staff seemed to have been there for many years, almost fused with the ground. If it weren't for the lack of anything else but weeds nearby, it might not have been noticed.
"Is this... another sacred artifact?"
A thought crossed Gu Xi's mind, and he turned to look at Luna behind him.
Luna was also puzzled. She had seen the replicated sacred artifact before, but it wasn't this short staff. That artifact was in a small palace in the center of the Upper City.
Luna had planned to take Gu Xi to see it after handling matters here to decide how to deal with it.
She didn't know about this short staff.
Seeing Luna's confusion, Gu Xi stepped forward to pull out the short staff.
At that moment, a ding sound suddenly rang in Gu Xi's ear.
[Do you wish to pull out the Staff of Nature? If pulled out, this plot will revert to an ordinary large plot.]
"Staff of Nature?"
Gu Xi thought for a while but couldn't recall anything about it. However, from the information, it seemed to be related to nature.
It had no direct connection to the undead. He decided to leave it there and ask around later to see if anyone knew about it.
Pulling it out would turn the plot into an ordinary large plot, which wasn't what he needed.
He needed it to build the magic tower.
"Alright, this is something called the Staff of Nature. Because of it, this place became a magic plot. Pulling it out would disperse the magic, making it unsuitable for building a magic tower. We don't need to worry about it, Luna. Let's go find the sacred artifact."
Hearing the name Staff of Nature, Luna fell into deep thought.
"Luna, Luna, what's wrong, Luna?"
Seeing Luna unresponsive, Gu Xi called her a few more times.
Luna snapped out of it, "My lord, did you call me?"
"Yes, let's go find the sacred artifact. But what happened? Do you know what the Staff of Nature is?"
"Yes, I might not have remembered without you mentioning it, but now I do."
Curious, Gu Xi asked her.
"Tell me about it."
"According to legend, the Staff of Nature is a tradition of Britannia. Every Britannian lord, upon leaving home, would receive a short staff made from a branch from their elder.
They would walk holding the staff until it stuck in the ground and couldn't be pulled out.
They believed the magically infused staff indicated the best place to build a city.
As long as the staff couldn't be pulled out, the city would remain on that land."
Listening to Luna, Gu Xi understood. The Staff of Nature was essentially a Britannian version of Feng Shui.
Though it sounded unreliable, Gu Xi realized it might explain why the staff had been left untouched for years.
Regardless of its truth, Gu Xi benefited from the Staff of Nature, gaining a core plot for a magic tower.
That was enough for him.
"Ah, so that's what the Staff of Nature means. Luna, you really know cities well. We won't touch it. Whether it stays here or in the magic tower will depend.
Let's go find the sacred artifact. After that, I need to return to the Dispersed Immortal Garden to find more building designs. We can't waste any time."
"Yes, my lord, this way."
Luna led Gu Xi towards the center of the Upper City.
Luna clearly remembered seeing the sacred artifact there before. Despite the time that had passed and the changes in the Upper City, Luna believed it was still there.
Because the sacred artifact was so large, ordinary people couldn't steal it.