356: Chapter 356 Defensive Arrangements, Layer upon Layer of Fortifications

Chen Wuwang's fingers continued to tap lightly on the console, once, then again, with a steady rhythm that felt like some kind of countdown.

The blue light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanned the last line of data—"Global Monitoring System operating normally"—before he finally withdrew his hand slowly.

The door to the Council Hall was pushed open, letting in a gust of morning breeze.

Ling Zhenzi walked in wearing a gray robe, his cuffs stained with dew and half a withered leaf stuck to the sole of his shoe.

He stood at the doorway without speaking, merely squinting as he studied the massive topographical map on the wall. His gaze lingered on the Northwest Wind-Erosion Valley for three seconds before sliding to the Southeast Ancient Riverbed, finally landing on the abandoned South Mine shaft.

"You've chosen these three locations accurately," he spoke, his voice raspy. "The Wind-Erosion Valley has a fault in its ley lines, the Ancient Riverbed has surging undercurrents, and the mine shaft has remnants of an old Formation beneath it—all of them are vital pressure points."

Chen Wuwang nodded. "That's why we can't rely solely on personnel to guard them. Mecha patrols can fill the blind spots, but they can't stop infiltrators, stealth techniques, or surprise attacks using Realm-Breaking Talismans."

"You want to set up a Spirit Array?" Ling Zhenzi stepped closer, staring at the nine points circled in red on the map.

"It's not that I want to; it's a necessity." Chen Wuwang pulled up a Spiritual Qi flow model and projected it into the air.

"I plan to use the Nine Palaces as a base, nesting seven layers of sub-arrays to form a dynamic sensory closed loop. You'll set up the primary Formation, and I'll use Automated Rune Engraving Machines to synchronize the construction of the secondary nodes."

Ling Zhenzi gave a cold sneer. "You certainly are daring. The Nine Palaces Spirit-Locking Array is an ancient classic Formation; the slightest deviation will cause it to backfire on the user. And you're using machines to engrave runes? Are you trying to fool a three-year-old?"

"I'm not asking you to trust the machines entirely." Chen Wuwang swiped his finger, pulling up a stream of data.

"Look at this—every engineering mecha is equipped with a miniature spirit core, capable of providing real-time feedback on ley line fluctuations.

The rune plates are pre-fabricated, but the timing of their activation is under your control.

You draw the trajectory, the machine makes the stroke, and in places where there's even a hair's breadth of error, you personally fix it."

Ling Zhenzi fell silent for a moment, then reached out to trace an arc in the air.

A faint golden rune manifested out of thin air, winding like a snake before instantly merging into the floor.

The floor tiles of the entire Council Hall vibrated slightly, and several wisps of Spiritual Qi seeped from the cracks, spiraling upward.

"Origin Pathfinding," he whispered. "I can sense the position of every array foundation. Your machines... as long as they don't mess with my nodes, I can agree."

"Deal," Chen Wuwang finalized. "We leave now."

The two walked out of the Council Hall one after the other. Outside, the daylight had broken, but the clouds hung low, and the air was as muggy as if it were about to rain.

Four light reconnaissance mechas were already waiting at the edge of the plaza.

Ling Zhenzi hopped onto one of them, his movements as agile as a young man's.

Chen Wuwang sat in another, started the navigation System, and entered the first set of coordinates: the West Ridge Altar Site.

The mechas took to the air, flying close to the mountain ridge.

Ten minutes later, they landed on the summit of West Ridge.

There was a natural giant rock here, its surface covered in cracks; it was one of the 'Four Symbols Guarding Positions' recorded in ancient texts.

Ling Zhenzi jumped down from the mecha, walked to the center of the rock, removed one glove, and pressed his bare hand to the ground.

"Rise."

As the word fell, his five fingers hooked like claws, tracing the first Origin Rune in the air.

That rune was not static; it rotated and extended continuously, spreading outward as if it were alive.

The ground began to shake, and gravel automatically arranged itself into a circular array, echoing the trajectory of his fingertips.

Twelve engineering mechas flew in from the distance, hovering above the predetermined coordinates.

The bay doors on their underbellies opened, and pre-fabricated rune plates slowly descended, precisely embedding themselves into the ground's grooves.

"Prepare to connect to the spiritual energy navigation network," Chen Wuwang ordered through the communication channel. "Integrate every patrol mecha into the Spirit Array's sensory network, making them mobile early-warning nodes."

"You're trying to make the Formation 'alive'?" Ling Zhenzi didn't look back, still busy engraving the second layer of runes.

"Yes. Traditional Formations are static; once the enemy figures out the pattern, they can bypass it." Chen Wuwang pulled up the control interface. "I've programmed the patrol routes into the array core's code. Once a mecha passes through a certain area, the Formation automatically fine-tunes its frequency, creating a brief illusion of a blind spot—which is actually a trap to lure the enemy in deep."

Ling Zhenzi stopped his movements and glanced back at him. "You call this a 'Cyber Array Core'?"

"Yes."

The old man snorted. "It's quite unorthodox... but interesting."

He continued engraving, though his speed increased slightly.

Two hours later, the primary Formation base in the Northwest Wind-Erosion Valley was complete.

Ling Zhenzi sat cross-legged on the ground, his face slightly pale and beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

He waved away the spiritual spring water offered to him. "Don't disturb me, I'm channeling the ley line resonance."

Chen Wuwang didn't bother him further, instead contacting the rear hub: "Protocol S-9 is ready, begin synchronizing the patrol squads."

"Received. Mechas one through twelve have loaded the new routes. Triangular cycle mode initiated."

He looked up at the sky.

Three heavy mechas were soaring high above in a 'Pin' Formation, scanning the ground for Spiritual Qi fluctuations every thirty seconds.

The layout at the Southeast Ancient Riverbed was even more complex. The underground water Systems there were interlaced and the Spiritual Qi was chaotic, making ordinary Formations extremely prone to collapse.

Ling Zhenzi stood in the middle of the riverbed, eyes closed in concentration. Suddenly, he jerked his hand up and slammed a palm toward the water's surface.

Boom!

The river water exploded, and a pillar of cyan light shot into the sky.

Immediately after, eight runes flew from his fingertips, nailing themselves into the eight directions of the riverbank, forming a Bagua pattern.

"It's done." He panted. "Using the water's momentum to stabilize the base and the Bagua to lock the flow veins—now, even if someone tries to tunnel through the ground, they'll have to get past me first."

Chen Wuwang remotely confirmed the Formation's readings were stable and nodded. "I'll handle the South Mine shaft. You go there and rest."

"No." Ling Zhenzi shook his head. "The abandoned mine shaft has remnants of an old Formation beneath it, and Yin Qi has accumulated there. If I don't personally suppress it, trouble will arise sooner or later."

The two headed south together.

The entrance to the mine shaft was half-collapsed, the dark opening looking like a gaping maw.

As soon as Ling Zhenzi approached, his brow furrowed. "Someone has tampered with the Seal Talisman here."

"There have been no records of outsiders entering in the last three months." Chen Wuwang pulled up the surveillance logs. "Perhaps a wild beast knocked it off."

"No." Ling Zhenzi crouched down, his fingers brushing over a shattered stone tablet. "The angle at which the rune was broken is too clean; it was deliberately severed with spiritual power."

Chen Wuwang's gaze turned cold. "Leave a mark. We'll investigate thoroughly after the battle."

They said no more and quickly set up the Formation. This time, Ling Zhenzi did not question the role of the machines again.

When he saw the twelve engineering mechas synchronously embedding the rune plates, with every node perfectly aligning with the ley lines, he finally whispered:

"Your 'Cyber Array Core' actually has some merit to it."

By noon, the main body of the Nine Palaces Spirit-Locking Array was complete.

Chen Wuwang took a reconnaissance mecha to circle the perimeter.

Looking down from high above, the nine array foundations were hidden within the contours of the mountains and rivers; unless one was looking for them, no abnormalities could be seen.

The patrol mechas moved in a triangular cycle, each carrying a miniature array core module that linked with the primary Formation in real-time.

Back in the command hall, all the blue dots on the tactical sand table flickered steadily.

"Global Defense Protocol S-9 activated," the System prompt sounded.

He stared at the sand table and nodded slowly. "It's done."

Ling Zhenzi sat in a chair in the corner, sipping a bowl of hot soup. He was physically exhausted but mentally invigorated.

He looked at Chen Wuwang's back and suddenly asked, "Do you know why I agreed to cooperate with you?"

Chen Wuwang didn't turn around. "You said it was because of the shared Spirit Array database."

"That was an excuse." The old man smiled. "The real reason is—you don't leave any blind spots in what you do."

Chen Wuwang finally turned to look at him.

"When others set up defenses, they either have blind faith in manpower or rely on Magic Treasures. You're different."

Ling Zhenzi set down his bowl. "You use people, machines, Formations, and data, weaving them all together. It looks chaotic, but in reality, every link is interconnected. This kind of layout... I haven't seen it in decades."

Chen Wuwang didn't respond, merely walking to the console and unconsciously tapping his fingers on the surface.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickered with a scanning light, passing over every surveillance screen.

Everything was normal.

But he knew in his heart that the more perfect a defensive line was, the easier it was for people to let their guard down.

He muttered to himself, "But the more perfect it is... the more it feels like waiting for them to walk into the trap."

Before his voice had even faded, an alert suddenly popped up on the terminal: An energy fluctuation deviation of 0.3% had appeared at the Southeast Ancient Riverbed foundation.

He immediately zoomed in on the image—a mountain civet had accidentally tripped the outer sensory zone and had already been automatically driven away.

A false alarm.

But he didn't close the alert log.

Inside the command hall, the lights were dim, with only the blue dots on the sand table silently flickering.

Ling Zhenzi let out a yawn. "I'm going to rest over by the West Ridge array core for a bit. Call me if anything happens."

Chen Wuwang nodded. "Alright."

The old man walked out, his footsteps fading into the distance.

He stood alone before the console, gazing at the defensive map of the entire territory. His fingers continued to tap on the desk, the rhythm unchanged.

The sound of a patrol mecha's engine came from outside, approaching and then slowly disappearing.

He pressed the communication key, his voice calm. "All watchtowers, maintain silent standby mode. No unauthorized actions."

The response was a series of brief confirmation signals.

He sat down, staring at the screen, motionless.

The wind picked up outside, making the window frames rattle softly.