84: Chapter 85 Gray Eyes Advancement

"Post Station rear beam, Second Sub-nest Site, set the board!"

As soon as Wu Fu's nest command fell, a low hum suddenly came from the Priest Well, climbing up the well walls in circles, as if someone were tapping the fire patterns at the bottom, muffled and urgent!

Grey Pupil snapped his head up, his gaze instantly locking onto the Priest Well, not even glancing at Wu Fu—the mass of black fire at the wellhead, once steady as a rock, had somehow developed three layers of fine grey patterns. Mixed with the purified air of the Royal Court fire ash, the heat of the Post Station's recognition fire, and a sliver of sinister whispering, it was pushing up along the well rim!

"It came so fast!" Grey Pupil's eyes sank to the extreme, his knuckles gripping the sacrificial staff tightly, and he said coldly.

Lu Jin's figure stiffened, and he asked in a deep voice: "What has come?"

"The sacrificial opening is pursuing!" Grey Pupil's tone was blunt, every word exposing the crux, "The nest line has been raised, the Brood Nursery Court has been established; if the Priest Court only guards the well and transmits orders, these three fires will sooner or later bite each other, and the whispering will take the opportunity to exploit the loopholes!"

Wu Fu had just taken two steps, but upon hearing this, she stopped abruptly, her expression ugly: "Why choose this time to cause trouble?"

Grey Pupil glanced at her sideways, his tone cold and thin: "You just lit the Second Sub-nest Site; how could the sacrificial opening pretend not to see it?"

Having said that, he crouched down, his fingertips grazing the grey patterns on the well rim. As soon as his finger pads touched the innermost layer, he suddenly retracted them, scalded—a wisp of black energy instantly rose up, crazily spiraling up his finger bones!

Grey Pupil flipped his wrist rapidly, the Sacrificial Fire suddenly pressing down, and the black energy was instantly burned into fly ash, but the Priest Well shook violently, and the sound of whispering became a few points clearer.

"The whispering is looking for an opening." Grey Pupil stood up, his tone unquestionable, "The sacrifice must be opened tonight, otherwise the fire cannot be suppressed, and the whispering will follow the three nest points and drill all the way into the Main Nest!"

Lu Jin didn't ask if it could be opened, only throwing out three words: "What is missing?"

Grey Pupil's speaking speed was shockingly fast, without even a half-second pause: "I need all the Royal Court fire ash purified last night! I need all the recognition flag ash from the Post Station's First Banner! Scrape a layer of old fire scale from the bottom of the Fire Well! I need all the battle-damaged bone-armor shards, charred Night Beast bones, and Sun Gold dregs from the front lines—anything that can recognize the scent of battle! And all the military battle faith from these past two days, bring it all over at once!"

Wu Fu frowned tightly upon hearing the third item, and when she heard the last sentence, the tip of her tail went straight, her tone sharp: "Why don't you just move half the fortress to the Priest Court!"

Grey Pupil didn't argue with her, only staring intently at the Priest Well, his voice pressed extremely low: "If I cannot rise, the Priest Court will forever be a roadside stall by the well; that Second Sub-nest Site of yours will just be another mouth that eats supplies, unable to support the entire nest line!"

Wu Fu pursed her lips, unable to refute—she had just ascended to Brood Mother Overseer and knew better than anyone that the difference between having an extra cavity and a complete system was exactly this threshold of the Priest Court!

"I'll give it to you." Lu Jin made the decision immediately, his eyes sharp, "But you must make it clear how to protect this game of chess!"

Grey Pupil finally withdrew his gaze, his tone carrying a nearly paranoid seriousness: "You guard the outer ring, blocking the scum testing the line from the front; Wu Fu, hold the rear line and replenish troops. Tonight, if the Post Station or Fire Well supply is cut, I will only hold you accountable. Inside the Priest Court, I will suppress it myself. Whoever messes up a step, I will personally cut off that step!"

Once this was said, Wu Fu completely lost her playful demeanor—in Grey Pupil's coldness, there was a desperate determination, without a hint of a joke.

Half an hour later, the Priest Court went completely dark.

The well-rim fire, lighting fire, and pattern-copying lamps were all extinguished, leaving only the black fire in the center of the Priest Well, sinking into the heart of the well like a cold eye pressed tightly, exuding an eerie stillness.

The entire Priest Court staff was in place: five Red-Eyed Rats guarded the inner ring, three pattern-copying Work Rats squatted on the grey steps repairing old patterns, and two Bone-Armor Furnace Guards stood at the courtyard gate, blocking all noise from the outside, not even a wisp of wind could leak in.

Wu Fu personally delivered the sacrificial materials, three trays of them arranged neatly—Royal Court fire ash, recognition flag ash, and a tray mixed with battle-damaged materials like bone-armor shards and charred Night Beast bones, the corners still stained with undried blood.

After putting down the last tray, she ground her teeth in heartache: "This tray is enough for me to open three small eggs!"

Grey Pupil didn't even raise his eyelids, his tone cold: "Even if you open three small eggs, you still couldn't support a Priest Court tonight."

Wu Fu was so angry she wanted to scold him, but the words were swallowed back—Grey Pupil had already begun arranging the sacrificial materials, his movements extremely slow but terrifyingly precise.

Which shard of cracked armor to place in the corner of the outer ring, which piece of charred bone to press into the gap of an old pattern, even which step the flag ash fell on and the thickness of it—he smoothed it all out by hand, not allowing a single error.

A Red-Eyed Rat came in carrying fire scale, but it placed it half an inch off. Grey Pupil raised his sacrificial staff and tapped heavily beside its claws, shouting coldly: "Do it again!"

The Red-Eyed Rat, pressed down by the aura, had its ears flattened against its head. Not daring to delay, it picked up the fire scale and retreated, inching its way to the correct position, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Wu Fu watched, her mouth twitching: "Are you raising sacrificial rats or prisoners?"

"If the sacrificial materials are off by half a point, the fire sequence will bite people." Grey Pupil finally replied, his hands never stopping.

Lu Jin stood in the outer ring, seeing it clearly—Grey Pupil was gathering all the scattered forces into his own hands: the fire of the Fire Well, the accounts of the Post Station, the scent of battle from the front line, and the sheer grit of everyone holding on. He wanted to press all of this into a sacrificial array capable of suppressing the whispering and governing the nest line!

The last pinch of flag ash fell, and the old grey steps beside the Priest Well suddenly lit up. A dark light, iron-like within the black, spread in circles along the grey steps, instantly enveloping the entire courtyard!

Grey Pupil stepped into the center of the array, knelt on the ground, and placed his sacrificial staff horizontally across his knees. His knuckles pressed against the staff inch by inch, as if awakening every old pattern on it.

He spoke, his voice extremely low, as if conversing with the fire: "The well fire is here."

The Priest Well roared in response, the black fire leaping up half a foot!

"The battle ash is here."

The tray of battle-damaged materials in the outer ring instantly heated up, the blood aura and fire intent intertwining, dispersing some of the chill!

"The order is here."

As the last three words fell, the entire Priest Court shook violently. The grey steps, wellhead, and outer walls all lit up simultaneously, the old patterns crawling along the ground as if they had come alive!

Lu Jin's eyes suddenly darkened—the whispering had come!

They were pushing out crazily from the dirt of the sacrificial materials, the gaps in the old patterns, and the unwashed ash! The charred Night Beast bones emitted a piercing hum, the Sun Gold dregs exuded black energy, and even in the Royal Court fire ash, a tiny black thread emerged!

Outside the courtyard gate, the Night Wing chirped urgently, and Wen Zhao's signal line instantly pressed into the Sea of Consciousness: "Someone is testing the line at the bridge belly again, the momentum is fiercer than the last wave!"

Wu Fu turned around immediately, her tone crisp: "I'm going to the Post Station to replenish troops!"

"Go." Lu Jin nodded, "The replenishment of troops cannot be cut off, don't let this side distract you!"

Once Wu Fu left, the Priest Court became even quieter, leaving only Grey Pupil's breathing and the hissing of the whispering.

Grey Pupil, however, seemed completely unaware, his eyes fixed only on that black fire. He raised his sacrificial staff, pressing down stroke by stroke along the old patterns on the ground—with every press, the sacrificial materials brightened a point and sank a point. The scent of battle was forced out, the fierce aura was suppressed, and the recognition fire was drawn into thin threads, tightly entwining those black energies!

But the whispering became increasingly ferocious. On the back of Grey Pupil's hand, a layer of fine black patterns gradually emerged, identical to the patterns on the wellhead, crawling up along his wrist bones, as if to drag him into the well and swallow him completely!

Lu Jin took half a step forward, wanting to reach out to help, but was sternly stopped by Grey Pupil: "Don't touch the center of the array! Guard the outer ring!"

The sternness in that voice was a determination never seen before. Lu Jin stopped dead—he could see clearly that Grey Pupil was wrestling with the whispering, inch by inch, refusing to give way!

As the sacrificial staff pressed down an inch, the black patterns retreated half an inch; they retreated and then surged again, surged and were pressed down again. In the repeated tug-of-war, Grey Pupil's face became paler and paler, but the light in his eyes became brighter and brighter, like a fire held back for half a lifetime, finally about to break through the shackles!

"Ash returns to ash." He chanted in a low voice, and the sacrificial staff pressed down again.

"Blood returns to blood." The black patterns retreated again, and the scent of battle became more intense.

"Battle damage returns to the furnace." The sacrificial materials all lit up, and the black energy was burned until it hissed.

"The fire sequence returns to me!"

The moment the last four words fell, the Priest Well exploded with a boom, the black fire shooting up half a fathom, straight to the roof! The Red-Eyed Rats outside the courtyard all prostrated on the ground, and the pattern-copying Work Rats were pushed by a force, their front claws crazily repairing the patterns, their claw tips worn until they bled, yet they refused to stop!

Lu Jin's eyelids twitched wildly—this fire was not just burning the sacrificial materials, it was burning Grey Pupil himself, using his own body as a furnace to refine all the impurities!

Just then, Qiao Ye's roar came through the Sea of Consciousness, shaking one's eardrums until they hurt: "Damn it! A giant Night Beast has crashed into the rear beam of the Post Station, it's taller than the door, my shield is about to crack!"

Wu Fu's voice followed immediately, carrying anxiety: "The Second Sub-nest Site hasn't been hung steadily yet, give me half an incense stick of time!"

Grey Pupil snapped his head up, his eyes already stained with an unnatural red, and roared at Lu Jin: "Press all the military battle faith in!"

Lu Jin didn't hesitate for a moment, raising his hand to press the black fire fiercely into the outer ring grey steps—in the Sea of Consciousness, all the scattered forces were instantly awakened: the stability of holding the Post Station, the toughness of opening the Fire Well, the weight of the First Banner falling, and the pent-up grit of everyone—he poured it all into the Priest Court in one breath!

Grey Pupil's body shook violently, a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth, but he let out a low laugh: "Enough... this is a sacrifice!"

The sacrificial staff fell again; this time, the fire sequence completely returned to its place! The black fire at the well heart pressed the central axis, the flag ash guarded the outer ring, the battle-damaged materials sank to the sides, and the old fire scale from the Fire Well pressed at the very bottom, tightly suppressing all whispering, with no more movement!

On both sides of the courtyard wall, the originally blurred old sacrificial racks emerged one by one; behind the grey steps, the phantom of a long corridor solidified, wide enough for three Red-Eyed Rats to walk side by side; on the open ground behind the well, the fire patterns closed, and a true sacrificial altar slowly rose!

Grey Pupil stood in front of the altar, his whole person looking as if he had been re-tempered by fire—the black patterns on the back of his hand had not dissipated, but had been pressed by the fire sequence into a regular old seal, tucked into his cuff, with no more intention of causing trouble.

He slowly exhaled, held the sacrificial staff upright, and slammed the staff tail heavily onto the ground, his voice resounding throughout the entire Priest Court: "Priest Court, established!"

One word, shaking the whispering into immediate collapse, as if it had hit an invisible wall! The well fire no longer just guarded; it began to discern ash, divide fire, and set sequences on its own; the scattered fire lines in the Sea of Consciousness returned to their slots on their own for the first time, no longer needing Grey Pupil to point them out one by one!

Grey Pupil raised his eyes, and in the depths of his Grey Pupils, a line of extremely steady dark red pressed in, his tone as deep as thunder: "Deacon-level Hero—Furnace Priest!"

The fire in Lu Jin's eyes finally settled completely—Grey Pupil had ascended. The Priest Court was no longer just a well and a staff, but a core capable of receiving sacrificial materials, setting fire sequences, suppressing whispering, and managing battle damage, truly supporting the entire nest line!

Outside, Qiao Ye's roar suddenly changed its tone, carrying wild joy: "It's here! The fire replenishment has arrived! This shield can hold!"

Wen Zhao's voice also came, carrying stability: "The line is reconnected, the outer ring is held."

Wu Fu's aura also relaxed a few points: "The Second Sub-nest Site is stable, the troop replenishment has caught up!"

Everything was moving in a good direction, but Grey Pupil still stood in front of the altar, motionless, as if waiting for something.

Just as Lu Jin was about to speak, a crisp sound suddenly came from the center of the altar—as if fire had burned through the layer of ash, something hard was cracking open.

The next instant, the sacrificial array began to withdraw the fire: the flag ash in the outer ring dimmed first, the battle-damaged materials sank along with it, and the black fire at the well heart gathered bit by bit toward the center of the altar.

In the gathered fire ash, a point of light red emerged first. From the size of a rice grain, it grew to an inch wide, and finally, before the eyes of Lu Jin, Grey Pupil, and Wu Fu who had just stepped back into the courtyard gate, it forcibly condensed into a light red fragment, glowing with a warm and heavy light!