I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

Chapter 148: Chapter 116: Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Transformation Array

"I was full of pent-up ambition back then, focused only on elevating the Chen Family. I was determined to execute that plan, no matter what."

"In the end, I did find her, but she went on a hunger strike in protest. As a result, she fell gravely ill and passed away at a young age."

"She was the only woman I ever loved."

"I’ve lost enough over the years. Everything I do is for the sake of strengthening the Jiangbei Chen Family. For that... I can give up anything. As long as he is willing to change his name, or return to the Jiangbei Chen Family, I will abdicate my position."

"Otherwise—"

"I’m not short one son."

The voice gradually faded.

The man in the black robe slowly departed the room.

...

「Day broke.」

By late morning, Nameless Mountain was already bustling with activity.

"Ah, this feels great!"

Lame Monkey walked excitedly out of the cave. He looked up at the sun and gave a long, lazy stretch. ’It feels so much better when it’s not raining.’

"You seem particularly excited today."

Zhou Mo walked over to Lame Monkey’s side, teasing, "Looking forward to that trip to the brothel Wang Mazi promised you?"

"I’m not interested in prostitutes."

Lame Monkey pulled a copper mirror from his robes and carefully inspected his appearance, neatening his clothes. "I’m going to the Jiangbei Chen Family to teach a lesson to the people who used to bully me."

He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

Returning to Jiangbei City.

To reclaim the face his young master had lost.

To reclaim the face *he* had lost.

He would show everyone who had once looked down on him, who had called him a cripple, just what he had become!

"Time to go."

Leaning on his Dragon Head Staff, Chen Fan walked out of the cave. The City Wall at the entrance of cave #2 vanished, and the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage slowly emerged. He turned to look at Wang Kui, and after a moment’s thought, he said with a smile.

"You don’t have to stay and guard the base. Come with us."

"Go see Jiangbei City, pick up some supplies, hire a crew of workers, and relax a bit."

He activated the fully automatic defense mode.

Anyone who trespassed within the perimeter of the Mortal Realm camp would be instantly annihilated by the turrets, no questions asked. If someone really were to break in, well, they’d only have their bad luck to blame.

...

Soon—

The nine Flaming Dragon Horses raised their hooves and neighed in unison, pulling the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage in a straight, swift line toward Jiangbei City!

Their speed was triple that of a Skeleton Horse.

The journey from Nameless Mountain to Jiangbei City was dozens of kilometers long, but at the speed of the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, they arrived in no time.

Lame Monkey sat in the driver’s seat, handling the reins.

...

Seated inside the carriage, Chen Fan lifted the curtain and gazed out. He could already clearly see Jiangbei City standing in the Wilderness not far ahead. The entire city was encircled by a Level 1 City Wall and steeped in a diluted, ink-like blackness.

This was not the City Wall’s original color.

It was the color that had settled after long periods of being soaked by rain and scoured by Ghost Blood. Splattered across this deep black were vast, ghastly green stains—the traces left behind by the Meat Worms’ Ghost Tide.

He held memories of Jiangbei City.

But this was the first time he had ever seen Jiangbei City with his own eyes.

The sight was still somewhat staggering. The city was much larger than the small town at the Pill Sect.

Outside the city walls, many farmers were already tilling the Farmland left fallow during the rainy season, preparing to plant.

He glanced at the Ghost Map.

Dozens of Ghost Fires had appeared outside Jiangbei City. This meant the surrounding villages had become active again.

He chuckled softly, observing it all.

In that moment, the exhaustion of the past several days seemed to melt away. His main goal for the day, besides recruiting some people for the Mortal Realm, was simply to relax. He had been working himself to the bone lately, and he was tired in both body and soul.

Seeing so many people gave the place a lively, human atmosphere.

The Pill Sect had plenty of people, too.

But it lacked this human warmth; the air there was heavy with death.

The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage sped toward the city gate. Farmers and pedestrians all looked up, their eyes filled with envy and admiration as they gazed at the clearly extraordinary carriage and the Mortal Realm Banner fluttering in the wind.

Just as they were about to enter the city.

The Dragon Carriage suddenly stopped.

From the driver’s seat, Lame Monkey leaned into the carriage, his gaze pleading and apprehensive as he looked at Chen Fan. "Young Master, can... can we fly into the city?"

...

Chen Fan’s first instinct was to refuse—after all, it was a pointless waste of Ghost Stones. But seeing the pleading, anxious look in Lame Monkey’s eyes, he couldn’t help but soften. He gave an exasperated laugh. "Alright. We’ll do it your way today."

He knew exactly what Lame Monkey was thinking.

’As the saying goes, what’s the point of making it big if you don’t go home and show it off?’

’And how many people, upon wearing those robes for the first time, would choose to do so in the dark of night?’

"You got it!"

Lame Monkey sat atop the carriage like a Grand General, cracking the reins with spirited gusto. Before the eyes of the crowd, the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage accelerated, took to the air, and soared over the City Wall, flying high above Jiangbei City.

At that moment—

Lame Monkey felt all his pent-up frustration from the past several days simply vanish!

This was the very scene he had fantasized about for days.

’Some people might say I’m just a dog borrowing its master’s might, that this isn’t my own power.’

’But so what if they did?’

He subconsciously glanced toward the Jiangbei Chen Family’s estate, wondering if the people who used to bully him were watching him now.

...

...

Inside the carriage, Chen Fan also smiled, lifting the curtain to look down upon Jiangbei City. ’The view from up here really is something else,’ he thought. While he wasn’t fond of this kind of ostentatious display, it didn’t matter if it was what Lame Monkey wanted.

But soon, the smile on his face slowly froze.

From this high-altitude vantage point, he could see that the whole of Jiangbei City was crisscrossed with lines. At a closer glance, they appeared to be drainage channels, which was normal enough, but... something about the pattern was too strange. They were all interconnected, looking almost like... the lines of an Array.

And all of these lines ultimately converged on a familiar old estate.

The Jiangbei Chen Family.

"Land us."

Chen Fan said softly, his expression serene. Though Lame Monkey didn’t know what was happening, he could hear that something was wrong in Chen Fan’s tone. He quickly maneuvered the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage down into a deserted alley.

...

Chen Fan stepped out of the carriage. Leaning on his staff, he walked over to a channel running along the alley wall. He brushed aside the withered grass and dirt covering it and saw half-dried, sullied blood smeared at the bottom.

He dabbed a little with his fingers and brought it to his nose, sniffing lightly.

’Ghost Blood, without a doubt.’

He drew the Big Saber from Zhou Mo’s side and swung it forcefully at the channel, completely severing a section of it. He then scrubbed away all the Ghost Blood with a clod of dirt before returning the Big Saber to Zhou Mo.

He dusted off his hands and said quietly.

"Before we start our day off, it looks like we have some business to attend to. Someone’s prepared a ’grand gift’ for us."

"Lame Monkey, you’re with me. We’re going to the Jiangbei Chen Family."

"Zhou Mo, you take the others. Search every hidden corner of Jiangbei City, find all the channels smeared with Ghost Blood at the bottom, and destroy them. Try not to draw any attention. When you’re finished, rendezvous in front of the old Chen Family estate in Jiangbei. I want to see just what kind of show this person thinks they’re putting on."

He was no longer the same person who knew nothing of this world.

From the Pill Sect’s Jade Scrolls, he had learned a great deal about this world.

Things like Arrays.

With any Array, if even a single line is broken, the formation will fail.

As it stood, the Array could no longer be completed.

Still, to be on the safe side, he needed to destroy more of the Array’s lines to ensure it was absolutely foolproof.

"Understood!"

Zhou Mo accepted the Big Saber with a grim expression, then led Wang Mazi and the others, quickly vanishing down the alley.

"Let’s go."

Chen Fan returned to the carriage. "Let’s go home and watch the show."

...

News of the Mortal Realm’s arrival in Jiangbei City spread like wildfire. A flying Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, after all, was hard to miss.

The various powers that had come from Jiangnan to Jiangbei—Medicine King Valley, the Sheep Race, One Sword Sect, and others—had all gathered at the teahouse across from the old Jiangbei Chen Family estate, paying exorbitant prices to snag window seats.

Everyone knew.

Chen Fan was the abandoned son of the Jiangbei Chen Family. His visit was sure to be entertaining, and they had just secured the best seats in the house.

The crowd exchanged knowing glances, taking their window seats. Full of anticipation, they ordered a pot of tea and some sweets, ready for the show to begin.