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Under the sunlight, an exclamation mark lit up above Shi Bao's head.
The youth knelt on the ground: "I thank the divine for their grace. This unique marvel provides a home for the homeless spirits and allows more citizens to learn knowledge and experience from them."
A new marvel was built in Salt City, quickly attracting scattered spirits.
They gathered in small groups and entered the high tower.
As long as they were in the tower, the spirits wouldn't sink into the sea of limbo and could preserve their selves for a long time.
Lu Yao estimated that there were over fifty spirits residing in the 【Spirit Lighthouse】 of Salt City. Inside the lighthouse, the spirits' bodies became less ethereal, and their appearances much clearer. Yet, even so, ordinary people still couldn't see them.
Unlike humans, spirits didn't have much need for physical space, but they had their preferences.
Some liked jars, choosing a pottery vessel as their dwelling.
Some loved books, with a single volume serving as their manor.
Some were fishermen in life, never forgetting their passion for fishing, preferring to attach themselves to fishing rods.
Some were vain, making their home in exquisite robes hanging on racks.
***
A variety of items were moved into the lighthouse.
It looked like a giant second-hand store, displaying an array of goods.
But in reality, these were the dwellings of the spirits.
Lu Yao focused his view on Shi Bao's head.
The young seer entered the high tower, ascending the spiral staircase to the top, where there was a pile of stones arranged as an unlit bonfire.
Facing the stone bonfire, a dialogue box appeared above Shi Bao's head.
"Respected spirits of Sanilo, I am Shi Bao, the seer of Salt City."
"Can you hear my voice?"
Suddenly, green ghostly flames rose from the bonfire.
Several dialogue boxes popped up.
"We hear you, what's up?"
"Eh? A seer? Your voice sounds like a kid. Are you really a seer?"
"Hello? Are you there?"
"We can hear, we can hear. Can you hear us?"
"Make way, make way. Hello, Seer Shi Bao, I am Chapman, the mayor of Sanilo. I've heard you loud and clear. The Spirit Lighthouse is very useful, and we welcome spirits from your side to visit and play here."
An exclamation mark lit up above Shi Bao's head, which then turned into a smiley face.
Thoughts appeared above his head: "It seems there are no issues, the connection is indeed smooth. From now on, contact with Sanilo will be very rapid, and Salt City has taken a step ahead of Yao City this time."
Lu Yao thought to himself that the people of Salt City indeed had an obsession with the lighthouse.
The development of Salt City was truly convoluted.
After many twists and turns, the lighthouse was established and then collapsed. Years later, it became the current Spirit Lighthouse, finding a new direction from the group of spirits.
Visibly, spirits were flocking into the lighthouse to settle down.
It was hard to count how many deceased existed in the pixel world, but undoubtedly, it would be a vast group. After all, every little person has their day to die, and many of the deceased would become spirits.
Lu Yao noticed that in a short time, the population of Salt City had increased by 1,200.
Salt City: 33,881
In the population details, the number of spirits was 1,273.
On the other hand, the population of Yao City was around 35,000.
The populations of the two cities were extremely close.
Following the current trend, it wouldn't be long before Salt City's population surpassed that of Yao City for the first time.
***
The establishment of the 【Spirit Lighthouse】 brought many changes to Salt City.
Firstly, the emergence of a group of spirit merchants.
It must be said that even after death, merchants never forget the pursuit of profit. It was no longer a job but an instinct and desire that controlled them.
And because they were spirits, they didn't need to eat or drink, allowing them to reduce costs and gain more profit.
Previously, without a significant number of spirits, they hadn't appeared, but now with the rapid increase in the number of Salt Pool spirits, they immediately became active.
Unlike the living, spirits didn't need a lot of consumables, but they had their consumption needs.
For example, the most common was changing their dwelling goods. Just like ordinary citizens, if they had the means, spirits also wanted to improve their living conditions with better dwellings.
Additionally, there were rare and special collectibles, such as urns custom-made by dwarves, underground coffins dug out by sandworms, and various corals and giant conches found by fish people in the sea.
The trading methods of spirits differed from those of the living; they were natural sources of information.
Transcendent beings also needed to learn human languages, and spirits were the most suitable teachers. They were not easily harmed by transcendent creatures and often had a wealth of human experience.
Because of their secretive existence, spirits could easily travel to various dangerous places, so they knew and saw much more than ordinary people.
The Spirit Lighthouse became a place similar to a human tavern, where spirits gathered and exchanged information. Their external professions were usually teachers, information brokers, and broadcasters.
Soon, this caused new troubles: the increase in spirits made ordinary citizens feel uneasy.
The citizens' council of Salt City quickly passed a new law called the "Spirit Citizen Conduct Code."
It laid out several restrictions. The first was a strict ban on spirits illegally entering other citizens' homes, harassing, and disrupting city order. If discovered, they would be severely punished and arrested.
As a secular city, Salt City was the first to bring spirit citizens under its jurisdiction.
Thanks to the existence of the 【Spirit Lighthouse】, Salt City maintained close contact with 【Sanilo】. Sanilo had rich experience in managing spirit citizens, and Salt City learned a lot from it.
After a brief period of unease, the people of Salt City quickly accepted the presence of spirits.
After all, they couldn't see them most of the time.
But that wasn't the main reason.
Several bold pixel people grasped 【Spirit Communication】, gaining knowledge and tasks from the spirits and making a fortune. Among them, two scholars gained both fame and fortune, reaping the first wave of benefits.
The people of Salt City were always pragmatic.
The prospect of profit spurred them into immediate action! People often entered the lighthouse on open days, trying to make spirit friends. Even if they couldn't see them, it was good to familiarize themselves and see if they had the luck to communicate with spirits.
Wandering spirits from outside gradually came here, further enlarging the scale of the city's spirits and bringing more opportunities and external information to the entire city.
The popularity of the 【Museum of the Old Days】 was quickly overshadowed by the 【Spirit Lighthouse】, as the latter brought more tangible benefits.
From Lu Yao's godlike perspective, the establishment of the lighthouse marvel brought an important opportunity to the city.
Connection.
Salt City and the distant Sanilo were linked as one.
Simply put, Salt City had built a special network of spirit radios. As long as there were spirit broadcasters, message transmission became instantaneous, crucial for both trade and communication.
Lu Yao turned his attention to Yao City.
Would Yao City join the spirit radio network?
Soon after, a 【Spirit Lighthouse】 was also built in the eastern Yao City.
The seer Yao Shao remained as steady and rational as ever.
Thus, the three cities were further connected and shared resources through the power of spirits.
The source behind this significant change was the young seer, Shi Bao, who had recently emerged.
***
Lu Yao confirmed that the three cities continued to progress steadily, then shifted his gaze to the overseas island.
The overall environment was relatively stable, and it was now the right time to break through the first layer of the abyss.
Lu Yao was very interested in Curse Insects.
He didn't know how strong they were, but it was said they could withstand miraculous damage well.
Lu Yao pinched his fingers.
Let's see how well they resist a faith bombardment of 110,000 magnitude.