95: Chapter 97 Multinest Upgrade

"Don't move the Fire Platform!" Wu Fu's roar exploded instantly. Before the words had even faded, the nest tendons of the Second Branch Nest were already taut like steel strings. In the distance, the seventeen old steles of the Grey Stele Post hummed in unison, and the well fire of the Outer Fire Well actually backflowed against the current, nearly severing the newly laid city relocation line.

The Line-Marking Nails in Wen Zhao's hands all lit up, his face changing drastically: "Three nodes are tearing at each other! It's not an enemy attack; it's your Divine Domain, it can't support this many frontline openings!"

Lu Jin closed his eyes, and the panoramic view of his Sea of Consciousness instantly unfolded—the Furnace Cave Fortress still sat steadily in the center of the Divine Domain, with core facilities like the main furnace, earth caves, and Brood Nursery Court operating according to the old structure. However, the periphery was already filled with dense, new nodes: the Grey Stele Post pinned the front end, the Outer Fire Well pulled out supply fire veins, the Second Branch Nest bore the low lines, the Priest Court commanded the fire sequences, and on top of that were the newly positioned Frontline Fire Hall, the Worker Nest Egg Tray, the prototype of the earth-rumbling ram, and the Night Wing fire-stealing lines. Every point was extending outward, like countless claws, frantically draining his divinity.

Previously, he could suppress it with his own strength, but once the Outer God Probe interfered, all nodes were forced to exert power autonomously. A small Furnace Cave Fortress could no longer contain this surging power.

In the Priest Court, Grey Pupil's staff pressed firmly against the edge of the well, his voice as deep as an ancient bell: "The upgrade window has arrived."

"Upgrade my ass! It's about to fall apart!" Wu Fu cursed, but she couldn't refute it—she knew better than anyone that the Second Branch Nest was no longer a temporary attachment, and the Frontline Fire Hall was no longer a temporary fire platform. These things were all demanding status; if not given, they would fight over fire and nests, eventually dragging down the divinity Lu Jin had just stabilized.

The iron fire order transmitted the thick, iron-like voice of Instructor Han Tiecheng: "Lu Jin, report your status!"

Lu Jin opened his eyes, black fire swirling in his pupils, his tone without a hint of panic: "The internal pressure of the Divine Domain is skyrocketing. The main furnace can hold for half a moment. The main core pieces and authority fragments are all responding. The Frontline Fire Hall must absolutely not be withdrawn—if withdrawn, the three fire investigation slips and the Grey Fire Well thin sheet will all break, and the clues to the old case will be completely lost."

The other end of the iron fire order was silent for a breath, then Instructor Han Tiecheng's voice carried a desperate, decisive tone: "Can you upgrade?"

"Yes." One word, resounding and firm.

"Absolutely not!" Pei Chengxu spoke up immediately, his dark gold sealing lines tightening slightly, "The West Anchor of the Main Stele is still under collaborative sealing investigation. Upgrading the Divine Domain at this time carries completely uncontrollable risks!"

The Temple Inspector also stepped forward, his tone cold: "The Outer God Probe has just retreated, and the contamination samples have not yet been verified. If you upgrade now and bring the residual energy into the depths of your Divine Domain, who will bear the consequences?"

"Bear what!" Wu Fu sneered while clutching the cracked cleaning spore shell, "When the Outer God was pressing down just now, why didn't you come out to bear it? Now you're picking up the benefits and acting like good people, without even looking at whose life was risked to defend the ground you're standing on!"

Grey Pupil also said coldly: "Whether you upgrade or not, the Frontline Fire Hall will absorb fire—if you don't upgrade, it will absorb chaotically, and the Divine Domain will surely collapse; if you upgrade, it will fall into place, which is the only way to stabilize it. You choose."

Instructor Han Tiecheng made the final decision, his voice like a hammer striking an anvil: "Upgrade!"

"Instructor Han!" The Temple Inspector's face changed drastically.

"Shut up!" Instructor Han Tiecheng scolded, "The Outer God Probe is right under your nose. If the Frontline Fire Platform disperses, the black gold thin bone, the Grey Fire Well thin sheet, and the three fire investigation slips will all go haywire. Can you take responsibility for that? If you want to seal it, wait until he finishes upgrading; if you want to verify it, start recording from now—the Military Court recognizes this upgrade as a wartime measure!"

The whole scene was dead silent. Everyone understood—Lu Jin was not returning to his Divine Domain for a closed-door upgrade, but was elevating his Divine Domain on the spot in the desperate situation of the Main Stele front field, Pei family sealing, Temple verification, and the unscattered residual energy of the Outer God! If he wins, the Frontline Fire Hall will be firmly established, and his Divine Domain will reach the next level; if he loses, half the fortress will collapse, and he himself will be backlashed by his own divinity!

Lu Jin couldn't be bothered with nonsense, pushing the black gold thin bone grey box to the Temple verification deacon, his tone cold: "Seal it in the outer layer. The upgrade won't consume it; it's only for verification—my path has never been built on the bones of Outer Gods."

The Temple Inspector's eyes flickered, but in the end, he didn't stop him. The grey box was pressed down by white gold sealing patterns, and the other side was pressed with the Military Court's black iron war record box, double-sealed to prevent contamination leakage. Pei Chengxu also raised his hand, letting the dark gold sealing lines retreat by half a foot—he wasn't helping, he just didn't want to be dragged into the vortex of the Divine Domain's collapse if the upgrade failed.

Lu Jin stood in front of the Frontline Fire Platform, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his orders crisp and decisive: "Wu Fu, open the Main Nest."

"Present!" Wu Fu immediately convergence her playful demeanor, handing the three injured Night Wings to the Work Rats, and her figure flashed into the Brood Nursery Court in her Sea of Consciousness. Deep within the Main Nest, several incubation pools dimmed simultaneously—not from extinguishing fire, but from fully collecting materials—backup nest slurry, cleaning ash materials, broken shells of the Worker Nest Egg Tray, and wartime empty eggs were all pushed by her toward the old shadow of the Nest King Platform.

That old shadow had existed since Chapter 83; it had shone and hummed, but had never truly been solidified. At this moment, with the Frontline Fire Hall and the Second Branch Nest pulling simultaneously, the old shadow of the Nest King Platform finally descended from the void, gradually solidifying.

Wu Fu stood in front of the platform, her grey-gold pupils shining astonishingly: "Let's get this straight first: after the upgrade, the Nest King Platform belongs to me to manage!"

"The Nest King Platform manages the nest, not the fire. I manage the fire sequence," Grey Pupil responded indifferently from the Priest Court.

"Managing the nest is enough!" Wu Fu gritted her teeth, "Fire belongs to you, the nest belongs to me, and the life belongs to Lu Jin. No one else touch it!"

"Not touching it," Lu Jin's voice came, calm and powerful.

Wu Fu didn't hesitate any longer, raising her hand and shouting: "Main Nest, open the gate!"

Deep within the Furnace Cave Fortress, the ground around the Brood Nursery Court cracked open with a roar. Countless nest tendons burst from the soil, first wrapping around the main furnace, then locking the troop slots, and subsequently spreading to the Grey Stele Post, the Second Branch Nest, and the Frontline Fire Hall. With each place wrapped, the pressure on Lu Jin increased by a point, his divine fire was pulled down violently, the main core piece hummed in the center of the war map, the authority fragments locked onto the outer ring, and light red patterns lit up inch by inch.

"Priest Court, open the fire sequence!" Grey Pupil tapped his staff, and the black fire in the Priest Well suddenly diverted, seven thin streams of fire falling precisely—suppressing the main furnace, the grey stele, the Fire Well, the branch nest, the fire hall, and the worker nest. The last stream pressed firmly onto the cleaning spore shell fragment disk, not for feeding, but for vigilance.

"Contamination shall not enter the central axis."

Hearing this, the Temple Inspector's eyes finally moved, and the verification deacon immediately picked up his pen to record, not daring to have the slightest slack.

On Wu Fu's side, the tray was already set, breaking the Worker Nest Egg Tray into three layers: the first layer hung on the Main Nest to replenish Work Rats; the second layer hung on the Frontline Fire Hall to repair fire slots; the third layer hung on the Second Branch Nest for wartime injury sealing. The egg tray, which used to only be able to temporarily patch lines, now transformed into a small workshop, incorporating the Work Rats, fire slots, nest slurry, and wounded soldiers into the nest network.

The cost came extremely quickly. The three incubation pools behind Wu Fu dimmed by half a circle simultaneously, and her face turned pale instantly, yet she still remained stubborn: "Don't look at me, I know it's a loss!"

"Put it on the tab," Lu Jin said indifferently.

Wu Fu's eyes lit up: "Ten times!"

"Three times."

"Eight times!"

"Five times."

Wu Fu gritted her teeth: "Deal!"

"Discussing accounts during an upgrade, your mind is too cluttered," Grey Pupil's tone was flat, but it was hard to hide a trace of helplessness.

"If I don't talk accounts, my mind is even more cluttered!" Wu Fu retorted, the tense atmosphere relaxing for a brief moment—but the next second, the area below the West Anchor of the Main Stele trembled violently, and the black gold turbid energy left by the Outer God Probe actually seeped out a sliver from the edge of the Grey Fire Well thin sheet, following the upgrade window.

"Suppress it!" Grey Pupil's staff slammed down, and the Sacrificial Fire instantly wrapped around the thin sheet.

This time, the Temple Inspector didn't wait for Lu Jin to speak, raising his hand and casting a white gold sealing pattern, which landed on the outer grey box: "Side-sealing the Outer God's residual energy!"

Pei Chengxu also pressed down his dark gold short ruler, saying coldly: "Outer layer sealing lines, lock!"

"You're quite fast this time," Qiao Ye said, stepping forward with his shield and smashing a Main Stele shadow beast that had crawled out of the grey soil into pieces with one blow.

"I don't want to become a contamination sample with you all," Pei Chengxu's tone was cold, yet it was hard to hide a trace of wariness—he knew very well that if Lu Jin fell, no one here could stop the Outer God's residual energy.

"The truth is much easier on the ears," Qiao Ye sneered, continuing to guard the surroundings.

At this moment, Wen Zhao pressed all six Line-Marking Nails into the ground, saying in a deep voice: "The outer layer is stabilized. Lu Jin, pull the upgrade fire inward, don't let it scatter outward, to avoid being contaminated by the residual energy!"

Lu Jin nodded, raising his hand to forcibly press the power of the Vanguard Command, main core piece, and authority fragments into the same fire vein. The main furnace of the Furnace Cave Fortress lit up first, but instead of spraying fire everywhere as usual, it slowly sank into the depths of the earth caves—the earth caves opened layer by layer, with the Main Nest and troop slots at the top, the Brood Nursery Court and Priest Court in the middle layer, and the storage caves, workshops, and Worker Nest Egg Tray in the bottom layer. Further out, the grey steles, Fire Wells, branch nests, and fire halls were arranged sporadically.

The nodes that were once hard-tied together by black fire now autonomously tiered and fell into place: the Main Nest sat in the center to set the core, the Priest Court commanded the fire sequence, the Brood Nursery Court supplied troop sources, the Worker Nest Egg Tray completed the battle line, the Grey Stele Post recorded battle intelligence, the Outer Fire Well transported fire veins, the Frontline Fire Hall connected to the Main Stele, and the Night Wing sky-sweeping nest shadows hung above the Divine Domain for the first time.

The three injured Night Wings looked up and chirped briefly. Although their injuries were not yet healed, a black line was reflected in their pupils—that was the mark of the sky-sweeping nest shadow. From now on, they were no longer just scouts, but had an aerial stronghold where they could return to the nest with peace of mind.

Lu Jin felt a tightness in his chest, and the boundary of the Divine Domain cracked open with a roar—not collapsing, but expanding! The four characters "Furnace Cave Fortress" emerged above the main furnace, only to be covered and devoured by layers of nest patterns.

"The old name gives way," Grey Pupil whispered.

Wu Fu stared fixedly at the Nest King Platform. That semi-virtual, semi-solid high platform finally rose from the depths of the Main Nest. It was not high but wide, with seven nest tendons respectively connecting the seven major nodes. The center of the platform was empty, clearly waiting for the main divine fire to fall into place.

Lu Jin did not hesitate, slamming his own divine fire down, and the black fire crashed into the center of the Nest King Platform—the entire Divine Domain expanded outward by a circle. The black fire under Lu Jin's feet was no longer thin fire patterns, but fire veins rooted in the ground, connecting all directions, and pulling the fortress. A Rat-man war Divine Domain, whose full appearance could not be seen, projected its multi-layered skeleton clearly onto the West Anchor of the Main Stele for the first time.

In the group behind, someone gasped: "It, it succeeded?"

There was no answer—the upgrade had not yet ended. A huge force from the depths of the Main Stele pressed down suddenly, and the West Anchor, Frontline Fire Hall, and Grey Fire Well thin sheet all heated up simultaneously, as if the Main Stele were questioning: By what right does this new Divine Domain of yours set roots in my front field?

Lu Jin didn't retreat but advanced, pressing the three fire investigation slips into the inner side of the fire platform, with the short message "Do not trust the upper-level order" pressed on top, the Seal Inspection A-7 buckle in the middle, and the Grey Fire Well thin sheet at the bottom—old case, frontline, and Divine Domain, the three combined, pressed onto the outer ring of the Nest King Platform.

"By the fact that I fought my way here," Lu Jin's voice was not loud, but carried a power that pierced through everything, "And also by the fact that this place owes me a blood debt!"

The Main Stele emitted a deep hum, shaking the outer fire lines in unison. Grey Pupil opened the full fire sequence, Wu Fu tightened all nest tendons, Wen Zhao pinned the Line-Marking Nails, Qiao Ye held his shield to clear out shadow beasts, Ning Yanqiu's cold mirror fragment disk hung high, and Master Crow led the assistant ravens to stabilize the counter-wind vent—the vanguard group each performed their duties, without a single extra word, and forcibly carried through the most dangerous stage of the upgrade.

The old name of the Furnace Cave Fortress completely sank, and the new name slowly emerged from the center of the Nest King Platform, shining with brilliant golden light: [Multi-Nest Layer Divine Domain]

The moment the five characters lit up, the seven layers of nest lines simultaneously backfired and were all activated—the Main Nest layer active, Priest layer active, Worker Nest layer active, Sky-sweeping layer active, Post Station war map layer active, Outer Fire Well layer active, and Frontline Branch Nest layer active!

The battlefield before Lu Jin's eyes had completely changed. He was no longer simply controlling nodes, but could clearly perceive the needs of each layer: the Main Nest needed stability, the Priest Court needed order, the Worker Nest needed materials, the Sky-sweeping layer needed wind, the Post Station needed accounts, the Fire Well needed veins, and the Frontline needed paths—this was not a simple expansion of the Divine Domain, but a transformation from a city into a war system capable of tiered operation and efficient combat!

A taste of blood was suppressed in his throat; the cost of the upgrade arrived as expected—too much divine fire had been diverted. For a short time, he could no longer casually pull all nodes to full intensity. The main divine fire had to sit firmly on the central axis; if it moved, the whole situation would descend into chaos.

"Don't patch every line by hand anymore," Grey Pupil reminded him in time.

"Let them do it themselves. If you take it all on, this nest upgrade of mine will have been for nothing!" Wu Fu also said urgently.

Lu Jin exhaled slowly, the black fire in his eyes remaining steady: "I know."

The other end of the iron fire order was silent for a long while, then Instructor Han Tiecheng's voice came through, rough but joyous: "You actually pulled it off, kid!"

The Temple Inspector stared at the sealing patterns and records on the outer layer, his expression complex—he had to admit that Lu Jin had won this gamble. Pei Chengxu stared at the layered fire patterns under Lu Jin's feet, his expression gloomy: what the Sealing Adjudication department feared most was never a powerful fighter, but a ruthless character who could instantly turn conquered land into their own "organs" and advance steadily. And Lu Jin happened to have done exactly that.

Just then, a heavy bone clacker sound came from the center of the Nest King Platform. Wu Fu turned her head instantly, her eyes shining frighteningly: "There's something else underneath!"

"You just finished upgrading, don't touch anything!" Grey Pupil frowned, trying to stop her.

"I'm just looking!" Wu Fu promised, but her gaze was locked onto the surface of the Nest King Platform—the surface slowly cracked open, and a thick black bone beam burst from the soil. Following that, a second, then a third... Between the bone beams hung empty bone rings, and below were incomplete wheel slots. There was no leather armor, no fire slots, only a rough yet majestic skeleton.

The moment the skeleton rose, the prototype of the earth-rumbling ram suddenly emitted a tremor, like a young beast responding to a call. Wu Fu's breathing grew light, her voice trembling: "It's an empty bone carriage frame! If we equip it with fire slots, nest wheels, and a battering ram, it can drag the entire frontline nest hall and charge directly into the depths of the Main Stele!"

Grey Pupil stared at the skeleton, flames also igniting in his eyes: "It's not an ordinary ram; it's a core bone weapon of the Divine Domain."

Lu Jin gazed at the empty bone carriage frame in the center of the Nest King Platform, his fingertips twitching slightly—it was not a finished product, but it was the first heavy war weapon gifted to him by the Multi-Nest Layer Divine Domain. It could push cities, suppress land, and break formations. The day it took shape would be his confidence to knock open the depths of the Main Stele and investigate the old case!

The empty bone carriage frame lay steadily in the center of the Nest King Platform, its empty bone rings, empty wheel slots, and empty battering ram like a war beast that had yet to awaken, quietly waiting to be fed and take shape, and also waiting for the day it would tear through the mist of the Main Stele.