Array Hall

Back at the inn, Chen Fan sipped hot tea while watching the falling snow. This excursion had purely been a leisurely stroll. Securing the White Tiger Cannon vehicle blueprint on a whim had been an unexpected surprise, so he planned to wrap up his journey early, linger for just a few more days, and head straight back. He could hardly wait to see how the White Tiger Cannon performed. Meanwhile, on the other side of things, a minor development had occurred. In the Yellow Springs Mouth area. As was his daily routine, Ghost Emperor Jiuwu had just finished his morning exercise, looping around in the distance before returning after leaving the azure Black Tortoise far behind. Now, his expression turned ugly as he stared at the ghost bone in his hand. When he departed the Eternal Night Western Black Tortoise Front No. 1, he had taken nearly all his forces, but he had still left a few ghost creatures behind. And right now, from the mouths of those few creatures, he learned some disturbing news. An Earth Array had opened back in the Habitat. A massive ghost tide had once again descended upon the waters outside Western Black Tortoise Front No. 1, taking over his former role and preparing to assault the front. What was more... Three Ghost Emperors had arrived with it this time. According to his subordinates, the monstrous ghost qi radiating from the trio was so dense it had almost solidified into physical substance. They were clearly peak Ghost Emperors, far more powerful than him. This was utterly bizarre. He could not wrap his head around it. The Ghost Clan had been waging this war for countless years, and every post was already occupied. Where had these three peak Ghost Emperors and this massive ghost tide come from? Were there still Ghost Clan forces in the Habitat that had yet to descend? Since they had arrived through an Earth Array, they had definitely come from the Habitat. But once one left the Habitat, returning was extraordinarily difficult, which meant this tide and its emperors had almost certainly not been reassigned from other front lines. "Forget it." Jiuwu shook his head and pushed the matter aside. The unfolding situation was beyond his comprehension now anyway. This ghost tide had descended in secret, aiming to mount a surprise attack on the front line. Both its numbers and strength had surged drastically. Coming outside the rainy season and catching them off guard, the front might not even hold. Still, he had no intention of leaking the news to Fan Domain. That would be treason. Once the Ghost Clan ultimately triumphed, he would surely be liquidated for such an act. As for the spies, that was different. He had subverted them himself; they were essentially his personal assets. Since he was never returning to the front, those assets were useless anyway, so abandoning them didn't count as a leak. "Guiyi, after night falls today, dispatch a small detachment of the ghost tide to make a sweep near the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line." "Understood." He had to put on a show. That way, if the front line collapsed and superiors came to inspect, they would see he truly had been attacking the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line. *** Three days later. A flying boat descended near the edge of the Black Tortoise Plain. Several figures stepped off and mounted Skeleton Horses to journey toward Black Tortoise City once more. This time, they had learned to purchase entry tokens beforehand. The group swiftly reached Black Tortoise City and arrived outside the gates of the Tang family compound. "Until next time." Chen Fan cupped his fists with a smile toward Tang Yue and her father, who were standing by the entrance, and introduced the newcomers who had just arrived beside him. "These are members of our chamber of commerce. Going forward, they will handle communications with you. Whenever you acquire blueprints, contact them directly, and they will see to your payment. I won't linger any longer. Thank you for your hospitality over these past few days." "Think nothing of it, think nothing of it!" Old Master Tang hurriedly returned the courtesy, looking exceptionally respectful. After all, the one paying the bills was the real master. Over the past three days, he had purchased a blue-grade architectural blueprint another family had failed to comprehend. He had bought it for eight million ghost stones and flipped it for ten, pocketing a clean two-million profit. For the Tang family, two million ghost stones was a substantial windfall. "We're off, then." Chen Fan said no more, simply waving farewell before climbing into his carriage. It rattled smoothly down the street toward the city gates. Time to head home. Inside the carriage, Chen Fan pulled back the curtain to watch the scenery on either side of the street. Over the past three days in the city, he had sampled plenty of local snacks. The flavor had been quite good, even if he wasn't entirely used to it. Before leaving, he had wanted to see whether he could carry off Black Tortoise City's walls, as he was rather fond of that unique upgrade branch. But after looking into it, it seemed all but impossible. When he tried floating the idea past Old Master Tang, the old man had fallen silent for an eternity. It was the first time Chen Fan had ever seen someone stay silent for so long. The man had looked practically dead on the spot. "Young Master, are we heading straight back?" "Yes." Chen Fan looked down at the blue-grade architectural blueprint in his hand and gave a soft chuckle. "We're returning ahead of schedule. I honestly didn't expect so many pleasant surprises on this trip. It seems Fan Domain needs to expand outward." Before coming to the Black Tortoise Plain, he truly hadn't realized how affluent the interior was—or rather, how effortlessly one could purchase two blue-grade architectural blueprints here. The Black Tortoise Cannon blueprint had only been granted to him because the front line had duplicates. When it came to unique blueprints, they wouldn't part with them under any circumstances. Yet here, all it took was ghost stones to buy them with ease. Acquiring blueprints this way was far more convenient than relying on the front line. The front line may have been where the most blueprints were obtained, but they wouldn't sell no matter how much you paid, so having a lot was utterly useless. Nor did these interior families have any interest in selling to the front line, which offered wretchedly low prices. Nor did the front line have much appetite for buying them anyway. They hadn't even finished deciphering the blue blueprints they already possessed, and with a shortage of architects capable of comprehending them, buying at low prices was tolerable, but paying high prices simply wasn't worth it. Chen Fan felt it was high time Fan Domain extended its reach outward. Weren't all these treasures practically waiting for him? The Skeleton Horses swiftly carried them out of Black Tortoise City and deep into the canyon, where they boarded the flying boat. As the craft lifted off, it set a direct course for the Qiuming Basin, heading home. And so, after another three days of travel, Chen Fan and his entourage finally boarded the Fan Domain high-speed rail and returned to Nameless Mountain. "Ah, nothing beats familiar ground." Chen Fan stood atop the Jiangbei Defense Line, resting his hands against the parapet as he gazed out across the distant sea. The air wasn't nearly as dry as the Black Tortoise Plain's, though after being away, the familiar brine of the sea took a moment to get used to. He had been away for nine days in total. Three days of leisure, and six days spent on the road. "Domain Lord," Wang Kui approached to report, "we have an initial framework for the plan. Fan Domain will dispatch personnel under the guise of a merchant association to infiltrate various regions across the Eternal Night Continent's interior. Their daily duties will center on intelligence gathering, while also purchasing rare natural treasures, architectural blueprints, and the like. We have currently targeted seven primary regions for infiltration. The farthest is the Black Tortoise Plain. By leveraging the Tang family's influence, we can easily establish roots there and expand into the surrounding areas." "Good." Chen Fan gave a slight nod. The Tang family's clout would serve as a natural endorsement, giving their merchant association an innate level of trust among local factions on the plain. Otherwise, a foreign chamber setting up shop there would inevitably face friction. The Tang family had taken his money fair and square, after all. "Let's name this association the Jiangbei Chamber of Commerce. "Also... why use the word 'infiltrate'?" He turned to Wang Kui. "You make it sound like we're planting spies." "Er..." Wang Kui said, slightly embarrassed, "they will be handling some intelligence gathering, after all." "Fine, go on. You're in charge of pushing this forward." "Understood." Once Wang Kui stepped away, Chen Fan took a deep breath and opened his Eternal Night Lord panel, locating the craftable structure "White Tiger Cannon." Spending ten thousand ghost stones, he forged it into existence and immediately began upgrading. *White Tiger Cannon upgraded to Level 2.* *This structure possesses no optional upgrade branches. Each upgrade enhances its destructive power.* *No alternative means exist to acquire upgrade branches.* *Next upgrade requires 30,000 ghost stones.* He continued upgrading. It was only tens of thousands of ghost stones. Before long, he pushed the White Tiger Cannon all the way to its cap—Level 10. While not every structure capped at Level 10, most of his current buildings did. Chen Fan narrowed his eyes as he studied the massive cannon resting beside him. Unlike the Black Tortoise Cannon, which had neither barrel nor turret, instead manifesting as 1,024 archaic stone bricks embedded into the fortress wall—firing synchronized azure beams that converged to materialize a defensive Black Tortoise like a 3D print—the White Tiger Cannon was entirely different. The Black Tortoise Cannon was remarkably understated; anyone unfamiliar with it wouldn't even recognize it as a cannon tower. The White Tiger Cannon was the polar opposite. It was ostentatious to the extreme. Even someone who knew nothing about it would have only one impression upon seeing it: pure ferocity! This was an engine of war that radiated slaughter and violence from its very core! It was several times larger than an ordinary God-Slaying Cannon. Crouched atop the two-hundred-meter-high Jiangbei Defense Line, its body wasn't white, but a dark abyss-blue unique to the deep sea, its surface coursing with silver energy lines that pulsed like a living creature's breath. The barrel stretched twenty meters long, shaped like a colossal tiger coiled and ready to pounce. The muzzle was a roaring tiger's maw rendered with lifelike precision, its interior lined with thirty-six crystal pillars as sharp as saber teeth, resembling stalactites hanging in a cavern. Curved armor plating extended from both flanks, shaped like wings of thunder. "Now that's handsome..." Chen Fan gazed admiringly at the White Tiger Cannon, which dwarfed the God-Slaying Cannons. If he had to describe it, it felt like the "Thunder God" skin from CF—it carried that exact aesthetic. Compared to the Black Tortoise Cannon, this truly looked like a blue-grade defense structure. Crucially, constructing the Black Tortoise Cannon had cost five million ghost stones and several rare natural treasures. The White Tiger Cannon, on the other hand, required zero natural treasures to upgrade, costing only one million ghost stones in total. It was cheaper to build and cost nothing extra to upgrade. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it was a total victory. All that remained was testing its power. Night had not yet fallen, so there were no targets available, but he was already itching to fire a test shot to see what it could do. He checked the prompt floating in his mind. *White Tiger Cannon upgraded to Level 10.* *Maximum level reached. Further upgrades unavailable.* *Acquired max-level effect 'White Tiger Descends': One of the Four Divine Cannons. Crafting all four divine cannons allows fusion into the Heavenly Dao Cannon.* Immediately after, copper pipes materialized out of thin air, connecting the White Tiger Cannon to the main copper pipe. As ghost fire surged inside, Chen Fan issued the command to fire. The next instant, the energy lines etched across the colossal frame flared to life. Dark blue radiance converged rapidly from the breech toward the muzzle, concentrating violently within the thirty-six saber-toothed crystal pillars lining the maw. The stark white pillars began to glow an intense azure. Like a dragon exhaling flame, an absurd concentration of energy coalesced at the muzzle. Even standing a fair distance away, Chen Fan felt an overwhelming sensation of impending doom. He was certain that even with his emerald cane, taking this blast head-on would mean instant death. The charging process took a considerable amount of time. After several dozen breaths, a soul-shattering roar of tiger thunder detonated across the line! A beam of blinding, freezing-white light composed of endless lightning burst from the muzzle, tearing straight into the ocean! In a single instant, all creation faded into obscurity. Standing atop the wall, Chen Fan felt as though the sky had suddenly plunged into pitch darkness, but he knew the light had simply exceeded the limits of what his vision could process. The moment the beam erupted from the muzzle, it expanded to a width of a hundred meters. The searing, bone-chilling white beam persisted for ten full breaths. When ten breaths passed, the White Tiger Cannon fell still, its surface patterns flickering intermittently as though catching its breath. Out on the open water not far off, vast clouds of steam billowed skyward. After a long pause, Chen Fan grinned. "What a cannon." He could confirm it now: the White Tiger Cannon was purely built for slaughter! Its destructive power was not to be underestimated! He couldn't say whether it surpassed a max-level Sky-Piercing Pillar just yet, especially since this wasn't even its final form. Its max-level effect was quest-based, meaning it provided no immediate boost, and it had yet to receive a Heavenly Dao blessing effect, making it somewhat incomplete. Furthermore, while a single shot from the Black Tortoise Cannon cost one million ghost stones, the White Tiger Cannon required only a hundred thousand. Its sole drawback was the charge-up time of several dozen breaths. An enemy would have long since fled in that window. That made him realize the true purpose of the Black Tortoise Cannon: absolute tracking. Once an enemy was locked on, no matter how far they fled across heaven and earth, the hit was guaranteed. "Very nice." Chen Fan smiled broadly. "This makes up for the Fan Domain Defense Line's lack of single-target defensive structures." Standing nearby as his bodyguard, Qi Yue's mouth twitched slightly. The Fan Domain Defense Line lacked many things, but single-target defense structures certainly weren't one of them. The God-Slaying Cannons were textbook single-target defenses; the Domain Lord had simply used them for clearing swarms of lesser fiends. While they were indeed remarkably effective at clearing swarms, that didn't change the fact that they were devastating single-target weapons. Since building a White Tiger Cannon cost only one million ghost stones, Chen Fan spent a hundred million to construct one hundred of them, spacing them along various sectors of the Jiangbei Defense Line. Even if they weren't needed right now, they would be eventually. You didn't wait until you needed weapons to start building them. Next, he turned his attention to the other blueprint he had acquired from the Tang family. *Anomalous Treasure: Array Hall.* *Grade: Blue.* *Effect: Architectural blueprint. Requires a formation master in residence to establish grand arrays.* "Grand arrays." Chen Fan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the blueprint. Along his journey, he had encountered quite a few arrays, such as the defensive array guarding the Pill Sect during his initial night raid, or the city-protecting array at the Hantian Sect on the Guanxi Plain. He had studied them specifically afterward, only to abandon the idea. First, they required formation masters, a class of special cultivators akin to alchemists. Second, laying down a grand array consumed an immense number of ghost stones, which made the return on investment seem poor. He wondered if this Array Hall would offer a pleasant surprise. "Hmm..." Chen Fan strolled to the area behind Nameless Mountain. Thinking it over, this seemed to be the only place left to put it. Nameless Mountain itself was out of room, while the rear already housed the ghost creature processing plant, the missile reserve base, the brick kiln, and several other facilities. What had once been a deserted expanse was steadily growing bustling. He found a clearing and confirmed construction. A great hall made of glowing white lines rapidly formed, though it didn't solidify right away, with several lines glowing crimson. "Logistics Pavilion." Chen Fan pulled out a voice transmission talisman. "Send people to level the ground at the rear mountain." Soon, a dozen members of the Logistics Pavilion arrived aboard the high-speed rail, piloting Giant Ghosts to flatten the terrain. Once the ground was fully smoothed out, the building slowly solidified into reality. It was a spacious hall, exuding an ancient, solemn air. Above the entrance hung a plaque inscribed with two characters: *Array Hall*. He decided to upgrade it to Level 2 first to see its functions. *Array Hall upgraded to Level 2.* *This structure possesses no optional upgrade branches. Each upgrade unlocks a new craftable array, with resource costs far lower than an independent formation master's construction.* *Currently craftable arrays:* *1: Concealment Array. Partially conceals presence and aura.* *2: Water Ward Array. Provides a degree of water resistance.* *Requires a formation master in residence to craft arrays. The stronger the formation master, the more potent the crafted arrays.* *Array size is adjustable. Larger areas require greater consumption. Can be compressed into a formation plate for portable use.* *Next upgrade requires 20,000 ghost stones.* "That's surprisingly cheap." Chen Fan nodded. While he didn't know how much crafting an individual array would cost, upgrading the building itself was inexpensive. Formation masters had ranks, and arrays varied in strength. An array crafted by a Level 7 formation master would naturally surpass one made by a Level 3 master. He continued upgrading. At Level 3, he unlocked the Sky Safeguard Array. At Level 4, the Sky Imprisoning Great Array. At Level 5, the Blood Sacrifice Great Array. He pushed it to Level 6. Whether by sheer luck or design, upgrading this structure required no rare natural treasures either. It was only when he reached Level 9 and attempted to push for Level 10 that he hit a wall. A panel popped up before him. *Upgrade to Level 10 requires 100,000 ghost stones and a handful of soil from another continent.* Seeing this requirement, he knew that even if another faction on the Eternal Night Continent built this hall, they would never be able to elevate it to Level 10. Even if they discovered the requirement, obtaining soil from another continent was an almost impossible feat. "Wang Kui," Chen Fan took out his talisman again, "contact the New Continent. Have them send a batch of soil over. Ensure it's sealed for transport and kept distinct." The requirement was harsh in the extreme, but he happened to be able to fulfill it. Several hours later, Chen Fan returned to the rear mountain on the high-speed rail, carrying a porcelain jar in hand. He tossed the jar forward. The next instant, the hall advanced to Level 10, unlocking a new array: Teleportation Array. Chen Fan froze on the spot, rubbing his eyes as he stared at the words *Teleportation Array* in disbelief. A teleportation array? Those three words alone could elevate Fan Domain's overall strength by several tiers. "Xiao Qiu, check the personnel records of Fan Domain. Do we have any formation masters?" "We do," Xiao Qiu's voice promptly came through the talisman. "Eleven in total. The highest-ranked among them is a Level 9 formation master from the Yellow Springs Mouth Defense Line who was incorporated into Fan Domain a short while ago. He's currently assigned to the Logistics Pavilion." "What's his temperament like?" "Quite gentle, with very little personal ambition." "Send him to the rear mountain." Before long, a balding, middle-aged man arrived via the high-speed rail. He jogged up to Chen Fan with an air of nervous apprehension. "Domain Lord, you asked for me?" "Yes." Chen Fan looked him over. The man wasn't tall and had an exceptionally... kindly demeanor. To put it bluntly, he gave the impression of someone entirely incapable of losing his temper. Without excessive explanation, Chen Fan handed him a needle. "A drop of your blood, please." Taking the man's blood, Chen Fan strode into the Array Hall, walked to its core, and let the droplet fall inside. In an instant, the previously dim hall blazed with light. It now registered an active formation master in residence, granting Chen Fan access to detailed array information. *Array: Teleportation Array.* *Effect: Constructing a teleportation array in two locations enables instantaneous travel regardless of distance. Cannot transport excessive cargo; exceeding limits carries a high probability of loss within spatiotemporal turbulence.* *Furthermore, possessing a Teleportation Array formation plate allows an individual to activate the plate from any location to travel to any established Teleportation Array.* *Ghost stone consumption scales with distance. A 100-kilometer jump requires 1,000,000 ghost stones; 1,000 kilometers requires 20,000,000 ghost stones. Greater distances consume proportionally more.* *Level 1 formation plate: Teleports to an array up to 10 kilometers away.* *Level 2 formation plate: Teleports to an array up to 50 kilometers away.* *Level 3 formation plate: Teleports to an array up to 100 kilometers away.* *Level 4...* "Phew..." Chen Fan exhaled deeply and slowly closed his eyes. This journey to the Black Tortoise Plain had made him realize that the interior of the Eternal Night Continent was filled with vast opportunities lying uncollected. It was like a world full of disheveled maidens surrounded entirely by celibate monks—just waiting for Fan Domain to come claim them. Fan Domain had to expand into the interior. The Teleportation Array couldn't move bulk cargo, so logistical supplies would still rely on the high-speed rail and flying boats. But for deploying key personnel—such as Shadow Pavilion operatives, dispatched merchant agents, or providing emergency escapes when field agents ran into danger—the formation plates would prove unfathomably useful. He glanced around the hall's interior. It was utterly cavernous, empty save for Bagua relief carvings etched into the ceiling and the floor. He also recognized the Array Hall's true advantage. An ordinary formation master required an array of tedious materials to lay down a grand formation, but here, it consumed nothing but ghost stones. And the stone expenditure was dramatically reduced. Without hesitation, he pulled out his talisman to contact Xiao Qiu once more. "Bring me the detailed dossiers for the remaining ten formation masters in Fan Domain." He wanted the Array Hall fully operational as quickly as possible. This was an epoch-making undertaking. In an age where everyone still traveled on horseback, he was pulling teleportation arrays out of his sleeve. Tian Yi's joking words had come true.