Fan Domain... Has Gone Mad

Chen Fan looked toward the ghost fire that had long been prepared and installed on the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, and lit it. Sick Monkey sat in the coachman's seat. No one spoke much. "Hyah!" Monkey snapped the reins. The nine Blazing Flame Dragon Horses moved in perfect unison, silent as a singular entity, and charged into the Eternal Night within the canyon! With every hoofbeat, a rippling wave of searing heat spread across the ground, scorching away the darkness in their path. Their speed was incredible! They plunged headlong into the Eternal Night! Sitting inside the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, Chen Fan looked at the ghost-skin map in his hands. He could clearly see a point of ghost fire moving at rapid speed, swiftly closing in on Jiangbei City from Nameless Mountain. At the thought, he could not help but smile. If anyone happened to still be awake at this hour and chanced to look at a ghost-skin map, they would surely be astounded by this sight. Just then— *Roar!* The rising and falling howls of ghost creatures faintly echoed in his ears. Parting the carriage curtain to look outside, he saw countless ghost creatures lunging out from the dark toward the carriage. Yet all of them caught only empty air, entirely unable to keep pace with the carriage's speed. "The rainy season is already over. Are there still this many ghost creatures in the Eternal Night?" he murmured in thought. Though no ghost tide had formed, their numbers were truly not small. *Boom!* A ghastly pale, chilling claw gripped the windowsill. He caught sight of a pair of terrifying, white-pupiled eyes as a remarkably swift ghost creature snagged the edge of the window, hanging onto the carriage's exterior. In the next instant! A flash of moon-white blade light sliced through the air. Howling in pain, the creature released its grip and vanished into the dark night. Zhou Mo gave a light cough and silently sheathed his saber. His mastery of the Water-Severing Saber Technique was growing sharper by the day. Those inside were safe enough, but the most vulnerable was Sick Monkey, who sat outside on the coachman's bench without the carriage cabin's protection, exposed to the open air. After dispatching the creature, Zhou Mo quickly stepped out of the cabin, blade in hand, and stood guard beside Sick Monkey. He did not need to slay the ghost creatures outright. All he had to do was strike the charging creatures with force, knocking them off course. There were not all that many that managed to reach them anyway; far more were trampled directly beneath the hooves of the Blazing Flame Dragon Horses. Dawn arrived. The moment day broke, Chen Fan had already crossed the river. The bridges spanning the river were held by several major factions, who levied tolls on passing caravans and carriages. To remain as covert as possible, Chen Fan chose not to take a bridge; he flew directly through the air, leaping over the Great River into Jiangnan, and extinguished the ghost fire so as not to be detected by the Dan Sect. "So this is Jiangnan..." The moment they crossed the Great River, Sick Monkey, sitting in the driver's seat, felt a wave of shock ripple through his eyes. This was his first time in Jiangnan. Vast plains stretched everywhere rather than barren wasteland, looking extraordinarily rich and fertile. The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage galloped across the plain, heading straight for the Dan Sect. Approaching at full speed. Finally— Midmorning arrived, and the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage reached the vicinity of the Dan Sect's settlement. The area was bustling with passing caravans. Numerous travelers stared at the unprecedented carriage, frozen in shock as they wildly speculated which faction it belonged to. Chen Fan had always believed in one principle: Every plan had flaws. No matter how flawless a scheme appeared, it could never be entirely devoid of vulnerabilities. Yet so long as one was fast enough, even if many flaws remained, it meant the enemy would be exposed to far more vulnerabilities. "We're here." Chen Fan drew back the curtain and looked at the small settlement surrounded by Level 3 walls not far off. Carved into the wall were the two characters "Dan Sect," their patterns varied rather than uniform. Meanwhile, the nearby merchant caravans were making for another neighboring walled town with open gates. This small settlement's gates were tightly shut, giving off an aloof and forbidding air. In the next instant! Under the gaze of every merchant caravan and passerby, a flag bearing the characters "Fan Domain" unfurled from the rear of the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. The carriage lifted into the air and ascended directly above the Dan Sect's stronghold. Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage hovering above the Dan Sect's stronghold began shifting rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it unfolded into the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, looming over the Dan Sect like a massive lid, casting an immense shadow across the entire settlement. Immediately following that— *Boom!!* A Level 5 cannon tower at one of the chessboard's nodes roared to life. A blazing white beam of light struck a stone house within the Dan Sect like lightning, sending shattered masonry flying in every direction. No declarations. No warnings. That blazing white beam of light was merely the herald of an impending storm. Hundreds of dazzling white beams tore through the sky, crashing down from above like divine retribution, commencing an indiscriminate wave of devastating bombardment across every structure inside the Dan Sect. *Boom! Boom! Boom!!* The ground shook violently. Outside the walls, countless horses panicked and bolted in terror. The slaughter began without the slightest warning, unfolding from an eerie calm. This seemingly indiscriminate barrage was, in truth, calculated down to the detail, prioritizing targets that appeared to be high-level structures within the settlement. Faint shrieks rose from within the Dan Sect, sounding utterly insignificant amidst the ceaseless bombardment. Only then did a glow belatedly rise to envelop the entire Dan Sect—the city-protecting defensive formation, which absorbed the onslaught of the light beams. An elderly voice, frantic and laced with panic, rang out from within the walls, echoing all around: "Who goes there?!" "Why do you attack the Dan Sect without cause?!" Inside the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, Chen Fan rummaged through his pockets, retrieved an exotic treasure presented by Patriarch Wang, and projected his voice across the sky above the Dan Sect: "Chen Fan of Fan Domain." "Yesterday, you said you wanted to take your time playing with me. Forgotten already? I've come—to play with you." "Fan Domain?! Could it be Fan Gate?!" "Indeed. We've changed our name." "Good, good, very good!" The elder's voice grew even more exasperated and furious. "You dare take the initiative to provoke the Dan Sect! Impressive methods, I admit! But operating such means must consume a staggering number of ghost stones. How long can you possibly keep this up?!" The next instant— The seven Level 6 cannon towers on the Heaven and Earth Chessboard unleashed their might in unison. Brownish-black beams blasted into the protective formation. With just a single synchronized volley, the barrier was already teetering; after three volleys, it shattered completely. Hundreds of light beams, like gods and demons bringing about the apocalypse, once again began scouring every corner of the Dan Sect in an indiscriminate carpet bombing. At the same time, Chen Fan's light chuckle echoed from above. "It does consume quite a few ghost stones. But didn't your Dan Sect's young master send me 10,100 ghost stones yesterday as a congratulatory gift? It's more than enough." "Damn you! Damn you!!" The elder's voice howled in fury from within the city, but the fear laced within it grew increasingly apparent. They had no countermeasure whatsoever and could only take the beating. Even the protective formation was pulverized. Their sole hope had been to wait until the attacker ran out of ghost stones, but as of now, the assault showed not the slightest sign of flagging. "We surrender!!" Hiding inside an inner hall, the Dan Sect elder looked at the collapsing buildings and disciples blown to dust with eyes brimming with blood. Forcing down the rage in his chest, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "We are willing to submit to Fan Gate—no, Fan Domain! Halt your attack, and let us sit down to negotiate!" "The ghost stones are burning up quickly," Wang Mazi urged from aboard the carriage. "Should we feign accepting their surrender, demand some ghost stones from them, and then resume?" "No need." Chen Fan glanced at the rapidly diminishing ghost stones in the corner of the cabin, of which only around seven thousand remained. Almost without hesitation, he shook his head. "We cannot give them room to catch their breath. These ghost stones are enough." "Besides—" "In the future, we will certainly need to accept surrenders. If we fake acceptance only to resume attacking, no one will ever surrender to us again. Every enemy we encounter would fight to the bitter end. We must leave future factions with the possibility of yielding." Above the nine heavens, no response came. Only the merciless beams of light rained down relentlessly like divine punishment, pulverizing the entire Dan Sect stronghold. "Damn it!" A flicker of despair crossed the Dan Sect elder's eyes. He knew all too well that he had fallen here today. His opponent wielded a method he could not fathom in the slightest. Why could that thing fly in the sky? How could it fly?! For the first time, he bitterly regretted dismissing the Third Elder's advice. An escape tunnel should have been built. It was only because he had believed the Dan Sect would never fall that he had considered constructing one a complete waste of resources. The next instant! A brownish-black beam of light blasted straight through the inner hall. His abdomen pierced through, he collapsed into the distant rubble. With great struggle, he fished a feigned death pill from his breast and swallowed it. Soon, all breath left his body. So long as he stayed alive, he... he still had a chance to rise again. The bombardment lasted for an entire incense stick of time. The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage descended from the sky, its supply of ghost stones nearly depleted. A breach had been blown through a section of the wall, and the carriage touched down right beside it. Chen Fan hopped down from the carriage and tossed the Emerald Thumb Ring into Zhou Mo's hands. "This exotic treasure allows you to sense killing intent. I will remain outside the city waiting for you. Take our men inside and bring out everything of value." "Understood." Zhou Mo nodded solemnly. Slipping the ring onto his thumb, he led Monkey and the others as they charged into the ruins of the Dan Sect. Looking across the expanse, not a single intact building was in sight. They had bombarded the place for a full incense stick of time. Not long after the bombardment started, the elder's voice had already ceased, yet to be safe, they had practically expended every last ghost stone they brought. After all, their individual cultivation bases were relatively weak. If someone had survived and ambushed them from the shadows while they searched the rubble, things could easily go wrong. Under these circumstances, even if someone had survived, they would be half-dead at best. Witnessing this scene, members of various merchant caravans around the Dan Sect were frozen where they stood. It was not until the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage touched the ground and the flag representing Fan Domain fluttered before the ruins that they snapped out of their daze, retrieving voice transmission talismans to frantically send the news out. "Fan Domain... has gone mad." "What faction is Fan Domain?" "It's Fan Gate from yesterday! They've gone even more insane—they've slaughtered the entire Dan Sect!" "What do you mean by slaughtered?" "Literally wiped out!" If slaying the ghost king had alerted the factions in Jiangnan monitoring Jiangbei to the rise of a new force during the rainy season... And killing the young master of the Dan Sect had revealed to most of Jiangnan that a brazen faction had appeared in Jiangbei... Then today's annihilation of the Dan Sect proved to nearly every faction across Jiangnan that a power both utterly ruthless and terrifyingly strong had risen in Jiangbei. "Watch out!" Inside the ruins of the Dan Sect, Zhou Mo held his broadsword with a vigilant expression. Dragging a corpse out from beneath the rubble, he chopped it into eighteen pieces before saying in a raspy voice, "The Domain Lord learned from the young master of Medicine King Valley that the Dan Sect has a medicine called the feigned death pill." "Consuming it puts one into a state of suspended animation, and they revive once the medicinal efficacy passes." "Every corpse we see must be hacked into eighteen pieces. Even if he swallowed an earthworm pill, make sure he can never come back to life." The group advanced through the ruins toward the structures that looked important. "This is..." Zhou Mo looked at a plaque amidst the rubble, a gleam in his eye. "The treasure vault. Follow me inside. There might be mechanisms—I'll take the lead." He pulled a small pill bottle from his pocket and held it in his mouth; inside was the altar's holy water he had brought before leaving. "There's an old man's corpse here, his chest pierced through." Monkey cautiously flipped it over with his God-Slaying Spear to inspect it, then stabbed another dozen holes into it. Still uneasy, he thrust dozens of times into the neck, severing the head completely from the torso. He refused to believe anyone could survive this. "This old man's robes aren't ordinary. He might have good stuff on him." "Hey, a Sect Master Token!" "The items around his neck and on his fingers look like treasures too. They feel like exotic treasures. Take them, take them all!" "There's an herb garden over there!" Just then, Da Yu, who was searching outside the vault, pointed toward a stretch of ruins. "There are lots of medicinal herbs planted inside, and maybe even heavenly materials and earthly treasures!" "Take them, take them!" Zhou Mo said excitedly. "Pack up every single one!" "Uh... don't these herbs each need different storage environments? If we yank them out recklessly, won't they die instantly?" "Wait here, I'll go ask the Domain Lord." Chen Fan steered the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage down into the Dan Sect's ruins and strode over to the herb garden, his brows furrowing slightly. As for ghost plants and heavenly materials and earthly treasures, he could see their system panels and knew how to transplant them. However, these medicinal herbs were beyond his comprehension. No matter, though. He had friends who understood them. Immediately, he fished out the voice transmission talisman left by the young master of Medicine King Valley. The talisman routed through Medicine King Valley's relay station to connect with him. The moment the connection was established, Chen Fan spoke without wasting a second. "Young Master Qi, I need your help with something. There's a plant here that looks like foxtail grass, but it's on the reddish side. Do you know what herb that is?" "Are the leaves blood-red?" "Indeed." "That's weeping blood grass, the primary ingredient for Cultivation Pills. Did you find a wild one on Nameless Mountain? It's worth quite a few ghost stones." "How do I transplant it?" "Just pull it up by the roots, but you must seal the stem with one of its leaves to prevent the medicinal properties from leaking out." "There's another one that looks like a tree root, and you can faintly hear a heartbeat." "An earth vein spiritual root. To transplant it, wrap the roots in the surrounding soil. It must be soil from right nearby; soil from elsewhere won't do. That one is extremely valuable." "And another—a fern-like plant with a drop of liquid gathered at the tip of the leaves that won't easily shake off." "That's star tears. Whatever you do, do not shake that drop off! If you shake it off, it's worthless. When transplanting, dig up the root carefully. Its root system is very long, so you need to dig up the soil within three feet around it. That's also very valuable." "There's also—" "Wait." On the other end of the voice transmission talisman, Qi Feng interrupted him. After what seemed like a prolonged silence, his bewildered voice came through: "Could you tell me... are you still on Nameless Mountain?" "No." "Then where are you right now?" "In the Dan Sect's herb garden."