He Only Wanted to Farm, Not Kill

"Tsk." Chen Fan suddenly shook his head and laughed. These people truly tailored their gifts to who was receiving them. But upon further thought, it made sense. If he were the one sending gifts, he wouldn't offer anything particularly extraordinary to an outside faction either. He certainly wouldn't give away his Ghost Eyes. By contrast, the Qiuhe Wang family had held nothing back. Among the unlocked exotic treasures, he had indeed picked out a few decent items. Namely, the two building blueprints. Though they were merely for ordinary structures—one for an arrow tower and one for a wall—and utterly useless to him, he knew that to a faction like the Qiuhe Wang family, such blueprints were their absolute lifelines. "Hmm..." Lost in thought, he mused that once this ordeal was over, he would need to have a proper chat with Patriarch Wang. After inspecting the rest of the haul, Chen Fan waved his hand. "Store all these unopened exotic treasures away. We'll sell them later. Get some rest early." With the warehouse inventoried, Chen Fan walked out of the cave alone. He arrived at Cave No. 2, concealed the wall at the entrance, and gazed toward the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage standing quietly inside. This was a vehicle he had forged from the corpse of the ghost king. He was confident that across all of Jiangnan, not a single faction possessed anything like it. It was an exceedingly rare vehicle. Even with a Vehicle Workshop, crafting such a carriage would normally be impossible. It was drawn by nine Blazing Flame Dragon Horses. The skeletal frames of these dragon horses were even larger than those of Skeleton Horses, yet they were not living beasts either. They resembled the remnants of some ancient exotic beast, their flesh formed not of muscle fibers, but outlined by churning, solidifying dark red lava. Through their translucent hide, golden liquid could be clearly seen coursing like blood through their veins. In a word— Fierce. The horses' heads were clad in thick, obsidian-like bone, their eyes two eternally burning spheres of incandescent white flame without pupils—pure light and heat that defied a direct gaze. Their speed naturally far outstripped that of Skeleton Horses. Roughly three times as fast. Most importantly— The dragon carriage hitched behind the nine Blazing Flame Dragon Horses had a chassis cast entirely from an unknown dark gold. The carriage box was crafted from a fusion of ancient wood and bone, supported by nine golden pillars carved with coiling dragons. Irregular bone plates were densely inlaid across the carriage's sideboards like dragon scales. The entire vehicle was dominated by a palette of mysterious black, dark gold, and crimson. Based on appearance alone, it was worth fifty thousand ghost stones. Even without a single special effect, Chen Fan believed Jiangnan factions would gladly buy it. It was far more than a plaything for profligate young masters—it was the very symbol of a faction's might. Yet, it was impossible for it to have no effects. "Rise." Standing in place, Chen Fan looked at the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage resting in the cave and gave a low shout. The nine Blazing Flame Dragon Horses surged into a gallop, hoisting the carriage into midair in the blink of an eye to hover directly above his head. Indeed. The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage was capable of short-term flight, lasting up to the burn time of an incense stick, consuming one ghost stone for every breath it remained aloft. It was not a true flying vehicle, so even though it could achieve brief flight, the ghost stones consumed in doing so were no small sum. In just those few moments, several ghost stones had already been expended. With no time to waste, he gave another low shout. "Manifest!" The next instant— The sound of internal mechanisms clicking open instantly echoed from the airborne Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. The chassis and carriage box rapidly disassembled, transforming and expanding outward. In the blink of an eye, the carriage box unfurled into a Heaven and Earth Chessboard. A colossal chessboard that nearly blanketed the entire sinkhole. Looking up, neither the Blazing Flame Dragon Horses nor the carriage could be seen anymore. There was only an intersecting grid of black and white lines spanning 361 intersections, each capable of mounting a cannon tower. Cannon towers mounted upon the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage could break free of camp boundary restrictions and attack at will, though at the cost of vastly increased ghost stone consumption. Chen Fan did not pause for a second. This was no time to hesitate. Ghost stones were rapidly burning away, as remaining in flight drained them far too quickly. Like flowing water, 89,760 ghost stones swiftly shattered within the warehouse, melting into liquid that surged into the hovering Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. Alongside them, 187 white mourning lanterns flew inside. In an instant, 187 Level 5 cannon towers were mounted upon the grid's intersections. Their muzzles pointed toward the ground. Beyond that— Another fourteen thousand ghost stones shattered, followed by the seven newly acquired Ghost Eyes. A Level 6 cannon tower appeared at the very center of the board, at the Tianyuan point, while the remaining six Level 6 cannon towers materialized in sequence around it. Only after completing all of this did he let out a soft breath and murmur, "Retract." To the sound of clattering gears, the Heaven and Earth Chessboard folded back up, reforming into the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage and descending from the sky to the ground. At last! This devastating war machine had been fully completed. It was equipped with 187 Level 5 cannon towers and seven Level 6 cannon towers. In theory, its firepower was even fiercer than his Meat Grinder. Not only were there more towers, but they were also far more concentrated, unlike the Meat Grinder spread along both cliff faces of the thousand-meter canyon. Night was as dark as ink, and the camp was utterly silent. Everyone was asleep. Only Chen Fan stood alone in the sinkhole, gazing at the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage before him. This was his wild card! It was also the origin of the carriage's name. A king required safety when traveling abroad. The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage was meant to provide shelter for a sovereign's journey. The camp still had 8,300 ghost stones. He would leave three hundred behind to maintain camp operations and take all remaining eight thousand with him to fuel the cannon towers and cover travel expenses. Truly, this would be a battle where Fan Domain committed its entire foundation. All that remained was to let Sick Monkey and the others rest a short while before departing. With ghost fire installed on the carriage, they would travel through the night. The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage's sole combat form was the Heaven and Earth Chessboard; it could not attack while traveling over land. However, it possessed the defense of a Level 2 wall, and its speed was three times that of a Skeleton Horse. Ordinary ghost creatures in the Eternal Night could never catch it. With the rainy season receding, massive ghost tides were unlikely to form. Food should be eaten while hot; killing should be done without delay. Chen Fan did not return to the cave. Instead, unable to sleep, he lay back in the driver's seat of the carriage, looking up at the night sky cloaking the sinkhole and murmuring, "It's been so long since I last saw the stars..." He had only wanted to stay in one place and live out the rest of his days in safety. Why did people always have to force his hand? He only wanted to farm in peace, not kill. Chen Fan was not the only one unable to sleep tonight. In the Dan Sect—a sect built not atop a mountain peak, but as a small walled city upon the plains, inhabited solely by its disciples, with a larger adjacent city reserved for traveling merchants. Inside a room within that small city, an elder held a voice transmission talisman, his face dark as he barked out a succession of orders. "Now that the rainy season in Jiangnan has ended, the Shadow Hall must send personnel to Jiangbei at all costs to execute a top-priority assassination against Fan Gate's master, Chen Fan! The subordinates at his side are on the hit list as well." "Commerce Hall, hear my command: pressure the Jiangbei Chamber of Commerce to reject every exotic treasure originating from Fan Gate. I want every single harvest Fan Gate reaped during the rainy season to rot in their warehouse without a single sale." "Alchemy Hall, hear my command: transmit messages to all factions allied with the Dan Sect. Once the rainy season concludes, if Fan Gate dares set foot in Jiangnan, they must be barred at the border." "External Relations Hall, hear my command: put out the word that any faction that allies or trades with Fan Gate is a mortal enemy of the Dan Sect." "Formation Hall, hear my command..." After issuing more than a dozen orders in a single breath, the elder leaned back against his chair. Glancing at the ghost-skin map on the table, a flicker of vicious pleasure flashed in his eyes as he muttered under his breath, "You want to play with me? A mere Jiangbei faction that barely rose during the rainy season dares cross the Dan Sect? I will make sure you don't even know how you died." He would force Chen Fan to come to the Dan Sect in utter despair to kowtow and beg for forgiveness. Then, he would invite various factions to bear witness as he executed Chen Fan on the spot. He would let everyone see the fate of anyone who dared offend the Dan Sect! Jiangbei City was exceptionally lively tonight. After returning from Nameless Mountain, many factions lodged in Jiangbei City, preparing to scavenge corpses in Pingcheng tomorrow. They had also received orders from their respective headquarters. Almost all of them carried the same message: Wait and see. Do not interfere. The name "Dan Sect" still carried immense weight. "Father," Qi Feng gripped his voice transmission talisman, speaking with urgency. "Are we truly not going to intervene? With Fan Gate's strength combined with our Medicine King Valley, we could surely destroy the Dan Sect." "Fan Gate's strength?" A raspy voice came through the talisman. "What strength does Fan Gate have? Within his own territory, he certainly has power, but what about once he steps outside? Before he could even touch the Dan Sect, they would toy him to death. "The might of a faction is not measured merely by how strong it is on its home turf. "It depends far more on how far its reach extends. "Fan Gate is still too young; it lacks the ability to project its power. Unless..." "Unless what?" "Unless Master Chen can display true resolve and send his Nightwatchers to launch suicide attacks against the Dan Sect. In that case, Medicine King Valley would certainly be willing to join Fan Gate in opposing them. He must strike first before we can assist him; otherwise, we would merely be taking the fall for Fan Gate." "Father." Qi Feng took a deep breath, his expression turning solemn. "I spoke extensively with Master Chen today. He definitely has that kind of resolve. If we declare our support for him now instead of waiting until he strikes, wouldn't the return for Medicine King Valley be far greater? "Didn't you also say we should befriend Fan Gate?" A long silence stretched on the other end of the talisman before the tired voice of the elder answered. "Qi Feng. "You must remember that for a faction to endure, the goal is not to maximize returns, but to secure steady gains while minimizing risk. As long as a faction survives long enough, it will eventually prosper. "In short, remember this! "If Fan Gate does not act, Medicine King Valley will make no gesture whatsoever. Only when Fan Gate dares to risk everything will Medicine King Valley raise its banner in his support." With that, the talisman cut off. Qi Feng sat silently by the inn's window, saying no more. Born of noble blood, he had never suffered bullying at the hands of the Dan Sect young master. He had often heard that the young master enjoyed tormenting the weak, but had never felt much about it. Only after witnessing it today did he truly understand. Placing himself in Chen Fan's shoes, just imagining it felt suffocating. Rising amidst countless crises throughout the rainy season to establish Fan Gate, celebrated by ten thousand sects—that glory should have been the reward for enduring a month of struggle, the day to stand tall and proud. Yet the Dan Sect young master had come to trample over his head. Swallowing that insult would mean never being able to hold his head high again. Flaring up brought momentary satisfaction, yes. Yet how was he to handle the impending crisis from the Dan Sect afterward? He didn't know. It was precisely that feeling that made him yearn to help Chen Fan. "Young Master." Just then, the elder who had been accompanying him gently pushed the door open, stepped up behind Qi Feng, and spoke softly: "The Valley Master sent me to counsel you. Since childhood, your greatest flaw has been your tendency to empathize too easily. "The Valley Master kept you from leaving the valley precisely because he feared you couldn't stomach the ways of this world. But you will inherit Medicine King Valley one day; your heart must harden. "There is no need to put yourself in Chen Fan's position. "You will never suffer such humiliation in your lifetime. "To each their own fate. "Everyone has their destiny. Meddling too deeply in the karma of others will not save them—it will only harm yourself." "Elder Xu." Qi Feng turned to look at the elder behind him. "If the situation truly becomes dire, could you step in to save Chen Fan?" "I cannot." The elder shook his head. "It is not a matter of willingness, but of capability. The Dan Sect's retaliation will not be what you imagine. It will be like boiling a frog in warm water; Chen Fan will be slowly simmered to death. His only way out, in truth, is to launch a suicide strike against the Dan Sect now that the Jiangnan rainy season has ended, before they have completed their preparations. "Otherwise, he can only be toyed to death. "By the time he realizes it, he will be powerless to resist. "Get some sleep." Qi Feng remained silent for a long time, offering no reply as he stood by the window. He wondered why someone like the Dan Sect young master existed in this world, why people insisted on tormenting others when there was no conflict of interest between them. "Qi Yue." Inside another Jiangbei City inn, Gongyang Yue leaned against Old Demon Jiangbei and whispered, "Can Fan Gate withstand the retaliation from the Dan Sect?" "Hard to say." The blue-robed man shook his head slightly, murmuring, "It would be difficult for the Dan Sect to breach Fan Gate by force, but I fear they will resort to underhanded schemes." "Then can you save him? He respects you very much. Out of so many people, you were the only one he addressed as Senior." She liked anyone who showed respect to Old Demon Jiangbei. "I could save him." The blue-robed man paused before nodding. "As long as he is willing to leave this place with me tomorrow and establish roots elsewhere, he could escape this calamity. But..." "But what?" "He probably wouldn't want to. After working so hard to build a foundation, no one would be willing to simply throw it away." Time ticked away, second by second. Four hours soon passed. It was the dead of night. Sick Monkey and the others woke one after another, gathering at the cave entrance, ready to depart. Chen Fan leapt down from the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage and looked at Wang Kui. "You will remain behind alone to guard the base. This command token grants temporary authority over nearly all of Fan Gate's structures. Allow no one to trespass upon Fan Domain's territory. Kill any intruders on sight." "The rest of you, follow me." Without lingering for a single second. Zhou Mo and the others filed into the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage one by one. The interior space was vast, equivalent to half the area of the sinkhole—more than enough to accommodate them all.