I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

Most importantly, it was cheap.

It only cost 500 Ghost Stones.

He liked anything that was cheap.

Wait!

Just then, he suddenly froze.

This Suspended Basket could be attached to most structures, even latching seamlessly onto the Celestial Pillar. And just a moment ago, a rather audacious idea had suddenly popped into his head.

...

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Fan quickly made his way from the Celestial Pillar to the entrance of the gorge. He stood beside the three-thousand-meter-long Copper Pipe he had laid earlier along the coast. These pipes were buried one meter underground.

He tentatively created another Max Level Suspended Basket, attaching it to the outside of the Copper Pipe.

The basket floated a palm’s width above the ground.

Hovering.

He tentatively got inside and pressed the button within the basket.

The next moment—

Like an arrow loosed from a bow, the basket shot forward, hovering just above the ground as it followed the Copper Pipe toward the sea. The scenery on either side blurred as it rushed backward. In a little over ten seconds, it reached the end of the pipe and came to a smooth, steady stop.

"..."

Chen Fan stepped out of the basket.

He looked at the Port.

He looked at the hovering basket beside him.

He turned and looked back at Nameless Mountain.

After a long moment,

he couldn’t help but exclaim in disbelief.

"Fuck!"

"Isn’t this fucking High-speed Rail?!"

Three thousand meters.

Even on his Skeleton Horse, that distance would take a while to cover, yet this basket had arrived in the blink of an eye. It was even a fraction faster than his Nine-Five Dragon Carriage.

Max Level Suspended Basket + Copper Pipe = A fantasy version of a High-speed Rail.

This was a goddamn revolutionary piece of engineering!

This meant...

For his 170-kilometer Jiangbei Defense Line, everything from transporting combat personnel to resupplying provisions could now be done in an instant. Furthermore, the Mortal Realm’s influence over more distant regions would be much more immediate.

His control would be stronger.

What was the ancient world’s greatest weakness? Poor transportation.

The existence of a High-speed Rail was a completely context-breaking advantage.

Especially since...

Ghost Fire would flow inside the Copper Pipes, creating a long, narrow safe zone at night. As long as it wasn’t the rainy season, Ghost Objects wouldn’t attack the Ghost Fire. This was a High-speed Passage that could be used for rapid travel even at night!

"Hooo..."

Chen Fan took a deep breath. Without the slightest hesitation, he jumped back into the basket and pressed the button.

The basket once again shot off along the Copper Pipe, hugging the ground as it sped toward the Mortal Realm.

’The Architect convention?’

’Great!’

’It’s a great idea!’

’They should hold one every day!’

’Good thing I didn’t refuse the World Pavilion’s request to hold an Architect convention in Mortal City. Isolationism is a bad policy. You have to engage with the outside world.’

Soon, he was back at camp. He strode toward the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage, simultaneously using a Sound Transmission Talisman to contact Lame Monkey.

"Get out here, quick!"

"I’m taking you to build a High-speed Rail!"

...

「Mortal City.」

The Architect convention was still in full swing, and the Mortal City Marketplace was just as bustling. The two groups did not interfere with one another, each minding their own business.

Soon—

people saw the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage speeding from the direction of Nameless Mountain toward the city gates.

Everyone knew it was Domain Lord Chen’s personal carriage.

Seeing the Dragon Carriage meant that Domain Lord Chen himself had arrived.

This time, however, the Dragon Carriage didn’t enter the city.

Instead...

an ethereal, pipe-like architectural blueprint, formed from lines of light, slowly materialized. It quickly solidified, sank into the earth, and vanished. Then another appeared, and a third.

Domain Lord Chen was creating structures.

They couldn’t tell what kind of structure it was.

But his creation speed was astonishing.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of Copper Pipes had sunk into the ground, all connected in a straight line. The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage continued onward, growing more distant until it disappeared from view.

"..."

The Pavilion Master of the World Pavilion, who happened to be standing at the city gate, witnessed the entire scene. A flicker of shock passed through his eyes. ’This Domain Lord Chen is simply too formidable,’ he thought.

’Ordinary Architects must get themselves into a peak mental state before they can even begin construction.’

’But Domain Lord Chen didn’t even get out of his carriage.’

’His creation speed is also terrifyingly fast.’

’It’s like he’s just stacking blocks.’

’He had never seen an Architect with such a terrifying creation speed. Even when creating the most basic Ghost Fire, no one could create so many structures in one go.’

’Most importantly!’

’Those pipes were connected in a perfect line. That level of control over the placement of his structures is utterly frightening.’

’Is that really something a human can do?’

’It’s more like a Ghost Object.’

"What kind of structure is that pipe Domain Lord Chen is creating?"

Tian Qi, standing beside him, asked in confusion.

"I don’t know."

The Pavilion Master of the World Pavilion shook his head. "I’ve never seen a structure of this shape, but it’s likely a way to extend the range of his territory. The cost probably isn’t too high."

He had stayed in Mortal City last night.

When eternal night fell, he had personally witnessed a passage lit by Ghost Fire connecting Mortal City and Nameless Mountain. He had never seen such a method before and was genuinely surprised.

Everyone believed that the Mortal Realm, being newly established, lacked a deep foundation.

But after observing things up close in Mortal City for the past two days, he realized the Mortal Realm’s foundation was not weak at all.

In fact, it could be said to be stronger than the vast majority of powers; they just hadn’t shown it off.

After all, aside from annihilating the Pill Sect, the Wind and Rain Tower, and the Jiangbei Chen Family early on, the Mortal Realm had always acted in a relatively peaceful manner.

They annihilated the Pill Sect because its Young Master came to their door looking for a fight.

They annihilated the Wind and Rain Tower because the tower sent assassins after them.

They annihilated the Jiangbei Chen Family because that family had exiled Chen Fan to the Wilderness right before the rainy season.

The destruction of these few powers was completely justified.

No one could say a word against it.

Other than that, they had never actively oppressed any other power.