Chapter 8: The Seven Lantern Repository
Dawn came to Broken Bridge on a dry wind that swept across the ancient riverbed, lifting small clouds of dust into the air.
Han Feng left his shelter before the first merchants opened their shops. He carried only what he needed for a short journey, a few spirit stones, and the stone tablet wrapped carefully in insulating cloth. The remainder of his resources had been hidden in separate locations, a precaution he considered essential in a world where even an inn could become a trap.
During the night, the Celestial Diagram had shown no further reaction. The two lines that had pointed in different directions had returned to their usual positions, as though the brief occurrence had been nothing more than an illusion.
Han Feng did not believe that.
But neither did he intend to interpret every change as a message meant specifically for him. An unfamiliar object did not become trustworthy merely because it appeared to recognize his presence.
The Seven Lantern Repository stood approximately twenty kilometers from Broken Bridge, occupying an old transport station built before the Convergence.
Originally, the facility had stored spiritual materials, mining equipment, and supplies collected along the commercial routes. After the collision between the two worlds, the Regional Council had converted it into a sorting and containment center for objects recovered from unstable regions.
Its location was convenient. The station stood near an ancient caravan route and a zone where the laws of space had been altered. It was precisely the kind of place where unusual objects might appear frequently enough to justify a permanent installation.
It was also the kind of place where a single mistake could kill dozens of people.
Han Feng reached a rocky rise shortly before noon. From there, he could observe the entire compound.
A wall of dark stone surrounded the repository, reinforced by metallic pillars. Four watchtowers guarded its corners, while a defensive formation covered the gates and central buildings.
Seven bronze lanterns were distributed along the inner wall. Each emitted a pale light even beneath the midday sun.
They were the source of the facility's name.
Han Feng examined them with his spiritual perception.
They were not ordinary sources of illumination. Each lantern contained a small detection formation, connected to the others by energy channels running through the wall. The system identified abnormal fluctuations and transmitted alerts to the central building.
The inscriptions combined techniques from both cultivation systems. Unlike the crude hybrid markings he had seen among the Gray Claw Gang, however, these demonstrated careful planning and considerable refinement.
The Regional Council was learning.
That made infiltration more difficult, but it also revealed something important: someone had considered the anomalies near the repository dangerous enough to justify specialized defenses.
Han Feng spent nearly an hour observing the patrols.
Two groups circulated around the perimeter at regular intervals. The guards at the main gates changed shifts every two hours, and small transport vehicles entered the facility under the escort of armed cultivators.
Despite the official prohibition against access, the repository was clearly still operating.
Shortly afterward, a covered transport vehicle entered through the northern gate. Before it crossed the wall, its occupants were ordered to dismount and remain in an isolated inspection area while the guards examined the cargo.
One of the containers produced a brief energy fluctuation.
Three cultivators immediately activated containment seals and surrounded the vehicle.
The inspection continued for several minutes.
Only after the disturbance had subsided did the guards allow the transport to proceed.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
The formation had detected the fluctuation, but it had apparently been unable to determine its source. The cultivators had needed to intervene manually.
The detection system had limitations.
He memorized the procedure and withdrew from the rocky rise.
Entering during the day would be foolish. Too many people were moving through the facility, and any irregularity would be noticed quickly.
Besides, he had no idea what the Council kept inside the central buildings. A facility dealing with materials from convergence zones might contain automatic containment mechanisms, spatial traps, or objects capable of reacting to the Celestial Diagram.
He would wait until night.
But before leaving, he needed to confirm one thing.
Han Feng chose a location several hundred meters from the wall and took an ordinary stone from his pouch. He placed it on the ground, stepped away, and released a minute quantity of primordial essence.
The resulting fluctuation was barely perceptible.
The reaction was immediate.
One of the bronze lanterns flickered.
Several seconds later, two guards appeared on a nearby platform and examined the surrounding area with their perception techniques.
They found nothing and eventually returned to their positions.
Han Feng withdrew his essence.
The formation could detect fluctuations over a considerable distance. Attempting to force his way inside would be absurd.
He needed to find a weakness in the system.
And, as was often the case, the most promising weakness might not be in the formation itself.
It might be in the people responsible for operating it.
By late afternoon, Han Feng returned to the main road and waited near a small stone bridge.
Merchants frequently used the crossing to transport goods between the repository and nearby settlements. After some time, a cargo cart pulled by two gray-furred beasts appeared on the road.
The driver was a thin man with a short beard and a worn cloth hat. When he noticed Han Feng standing beside the bridge, he slowed down.
"Waiting for someone?" he asked.
"Looking for work."
The driver gave a tired laugh.
"Then you're late. These days, even people with work are trying to get rid of it."
"I need to reach the area around the repository."
The man's smile disappeared.
"I don't transport people there."
Han Feng took out two spirit stones and showed them discreetly.
The driver glanced at the stones, then at the traveler.
"I can leave you near the crossroads. Beyond that, I don't know you."
"That will be enough."
The man accepted the payment and indicated the rear bench.
During the journey, he introduced himself as Gao Ren. He transported materials for small merchants authorized to trade with the Regional Council.
Most of his cargo consisted of tools, storage vessels, and dried food. Occasionally, he received sealed crates whose contents he was forbidden to inspect.
"The latest shipments have been a nightmare," Gao Ren complained. "The Council demands new seals, inspections, and registration records. They claim they're preventing accidents, but half the materials arrive damaged before they're even unloaded."
"What kind of materials?"
"I don't know. Some containers become unbearably cold. Others make noises from inside, even when they're empty. Last week, a crate started absorbing the light from the lanterns."
Han Feng turned his attention toward him.
"What happened to it?"
"They took it to the central building. Never saw it again."
Han Feng remained silent.
Gao Ren seemed pleased to have found someone willing to listen to his complaints, and continued talking.
"The worst part is that the guards can't agree on anything. Some say the repository is full of treasures. Others believe the Council is hiding the losses caused by the Convergence."
He spat over the side of the cart.
"All I know is that when a shipment disappears, the transporters are the ones who pay."
The cart reached the crossroads shortly before nightfall. Gao Ren stopped, and Han Feng climbed down without asking any further questions.
"If you're looking for work, head south," the driver advised. "Caravans still need escorts. Near the repository, there's nothing but trouble."
Han Feng thanked him and waited until the cart had disappeared down the road.
Then he followed a narrow trail that circled the western side of the wall.
Night fell quickly.
The seven lanterns grew brighter, and the detection formation began emitting a steady pulse.
Han Feng observed the compound from within a natural depression between the rocks. With each cycle, the energy channels carried power around the wall before returning it to the central building.
There was a small difference between the daytime and nighttime configurations.
During the day, the lanterns relied primarily on the energy stored within their cores. At night, part of the formation absorbed scattered energy from the surroundings to compensate for its losses.
It was an efficient solution, but the transition created a brief weakness.
For three breaths, the intensity of all seven lanterns diminished before returning to normal.
Han Feng waited for the cycle to repeat.
Once.
Twice.
On the third cycle, he moved.
He did not attempt to cross the wall directly. Instead, he used a depression in the terrain to reach an old drainage channel running beneath the western side of the compound.
The channel was partially blocked by stones and roots, but its structure remained intact.
Han Feng examined the entrance.
Fresh marks disturbed the dust.
Someone had used this passage recently.
He disliked the discovery, but continued.
The channel narrowed as he advanced. Several meters from the exit, he encountered a metal grate protected by a simple formation connected to an alarm seal.
Han Feng studied the mechanism without touching it.
The seal contained very little energy. Its purpose was merely to record any attempt to open the grate.
An ordinary cultivator could break it easily, but doing so would immediately trigger the alarm.
Han Feng removed a thin metal needle and placed its tip against one of the inscriptions.
Rather than interrupting the formation's circulation, he subtly altered the direction of one energy channel, creating a temporary diversion.
The seal continued operating.
However, its signal began returning to its own source.
The mechanism had been deceived, not destroyed.
It was not a permanent solution.
He had only a few minutes.
The grate opened without a sound.
Han Feng slipped through and carefully restored the mechanism before continuing.
On the other side, he found a maintenance corridor leading to a small tool storage room. Empty crates lined the walls, and a thin layer of dust covered the floor.
He waited, examining the surroundings.
No nearby presences.
He left the storage room and reached an exterior corridor, concealing himself behind a stack of containers.
From there, he could observe the central building and two smaller structures used to store confiscated materials.
The complex was larger inside than it appeared from the outside. Guards circulated between the buildings, and small containment formations had been installed at nearly every entrance.
Han Feng had no intention of searching every room.
He needed only to find the records concerning the incident in which the monitoring instruments had disappeared.
According to Mei Qiu, every instrument had registered a complete absence of energy for three seconds before vanishing.
If the records still existed, they were probably stored in the central building.
Han Feng advanced along a side corridor, waiting for a patrol to pass.
When he reached the entrance to an archive, he found two guards conversing beside the door.
"Tomorrow's team has been reduced," one said. "The commander doesn't want anyone in the underground wing."
"After what happened yesterday, I don't blame him. The containment formation failed twice."
"Failed, or was switched off?"
The second guard glanced around before answering.
"I don't know. But the report was changed. The first version said there was a power failure. The second claimed one of the containers had reacted unexpectedly."
"And which version is true?"
"The truth is that three people disappeared, and nobody wants to explain how."
Silence followed.
Han Feng memorized the information.
The repository was not merely storing dangerous materials. Something had happened recently in the underground wing, and the Council appeared divided over the cause.
When the guards finally moved away, Han Feng entered the archive.
The room was almost dark.
Wooden shelves covered the walls, while small luminous crystals illuminated the central tables. Han Feng searched through the records without disturbing unrelated documents, looking for reports concerning convergence objects, containment failures, and disappearances.
He found the first relevant record in less than ten minutes.
It described a shipment recovered from an ancient commercial route. Among its contents were mineral fragments, corroded tools, and a black stone container without visible inscriptions.
The container had been transferred to the underground wing after the identification instruments failed to produce reliable readings.
The report ended with a brief observation:
The object exhibits no detectable energy circulation. Spiritual perception cannot identify an interior, contents, or internal structure. Permanent isolation is recommended.
Han Feng felt a faint sense of unease.
The description resembled the object mentioned by Lord Luo. However, the report made no reference to the vertical line observed on the container associated with the gray-mantled man.
He continued searching.
The second document concerned the disappearance of the monitoring instruments. Its date matched the period Mei Qiu had described.
During a routine test, the devices had registered a complete absence of energy for exactly three seconds.
When normal readings resumed, the instruments were no longer on the table.
There were no signs of destruction.
No evidence of conventional spatial transportation.
The investigation team had classified the incident as a containment failure, but a later annotation recommended reviewing that conclusion.
The third page contained a list of personnel involved in the operation.
Three names had been crossed out.
Beside them, someone had written a handwritten note:
Transferred for special evaluation. No departure records available.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
The three missing people mentioned by the guards might be the same individuals.
If so, the incident had involved more than instruments and materials. People had been removed from the facility without any official record of their departure.
He continued examining the documents.
At the bottom of a drawer, he discovered a map of the underground wing. It showed four containment rooms, a maintenance corridor, and a central chamber marked with a warning symbol.
Beside the chamber, someone had written a short instruction:
Do not bring materials recovered from the old road near the container.
Han Feng became completely still.
The old road near Salt Rest.
The missing caravans.
The black stone container.
For the first time, these clues were not merely similar.
They were connected by a written order inside the repository itself.
Han Feng memorized the map's layout and the location of the chamber.
He would not take physical documents that might be traced back to him, but he needed to preserve the information.
A sound came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Han Feng closed the drawer and extinguished the small light on the nearest table. He withdrew behind a shelf just as the door opened.
Two men entered.
One wore the clothing of a Council researcher.
The other wore a gray mantle.
Han Feng immediately recognized his silhouette.
It was the man who had watched the old road near Salt Rest.
"The container is reacting again," the researcher said. "The containment formation won't withstand it if the frequency continues to rise."
"Then don't increase the formation's power," the gray-mantled man replied.
"If we reduce the containment, the Council will notice."
"If you maintain the current configuration, there may be no one left to notice anything."
The researcher hesitated.
"You said the object would remain inert until we found the other piece."
"I said it shouldn't react before then."
"And now?"
The gray-mantled man approached the table and placed a black fragment upon it.
Its surface absorbed the light from the crystals.
Han Feng remained motionless.
The researcher went pale.
"You think someone brought the other piece here?"
"No. I think someone who already possessed it has entered the region."
Han Feng carefully controlled his breathing.
The conversation confirmed that the gray-mantled man was connected to the repository, but it did not reveal whether he belonged to the Threshold Society or was acting independently.
More importantly, the container seemed to be reacting to something that was not physically inside the facility.
The gray-mantled man turned toward the door.
"Prepare the chamber. I'll inspect the containment personally."
"What if the object responds?"
The man stopped.
"Then don't try to interrupt it."
They left.
Han Feng waited until their footsteps had completely disappeared before leaving the archive and moving along the side corridor, staying outside the reach of the interior lanterns.
His investigation had already produced enough information to justify withdrawing.
He knew that a black stone container existed in the underground wing, that the Council was concealing disappearances, and that the gray-mantled man intended to investigate a recent reaction.
Continuing was possible, but the risk had increased considerably.
Even so, Han Feng wanted to observe the central chamber before leaving. Not to touch the container or attempt to activate it, but to confirm whether the object possessed the characteristics described in the records.
The difference between a useful investigation and fatal curiosity lay in knowing how far to proceed.
He chose the maintenance corridor leading to the underground wing.
The stairs ended before a reinforced door protected by three seals.
Two guards stood beside the entrance, but both were focused on the chamber beyond it. The containment formation emitted a low vibration, almost imperceptible, that passed through the walls.
Han Feng did not attempt to enter through the door.
Instead, he examined the inscriptions in the floor and found a narrow gap between two lines of the formation.
It was too small for a person to pass through, but large enough for his spiritual perception to reach part of the chamber.
He extended his perception cautiously.
The interior was circular. Four pillars supported a containment formation, and a black stone pedestal stood at the center.
A cylindrical container rested upon it.
A single vertical line crossed its surface.
It was the same object Lord Luo had described.
The line remained closed, but a dark pulse occasionally traveled along its length.
It was not spiritual energy.
Nor was it primordial essence.
Han Feng could not identify its nature. He could only perceive that the two forms of energy present in the chamber seemed to bend away from the container, like water flowing around a stone.
The gray-mantled man stood inside the chamber.
He held the black fragment he had brought to the archive, keeping it at a cautious distance from the container.
"The response is getting stronger," the researcher said, studying the instruments. "We need to move the fragment away."
"Not yet."
"If the containment collapses—"
"Move away from the pedestal."
The researcher obeyed.
The gray-mantled man brought the fragment several centimeters closer.
The container's vertical line opened slightly.
Not enough to reveal an interior, but enough for a deeper darkness to appear between its edges.
For an instant, Han Feng lost spiritual contact with the chamber.
The walls, pillars, and cultivators vanished from his perception.
Only emptiness remained.
Then the world returned.
One of the repository's lanterns went dark.
The instruments began sounding alarms, and all three containment seals illuminated simultaneously. The researcher stumbled backward while the gray-mantled man quickly concealed the fragment, his movements far more urgent than his earlier composure had suggested.
"What was that?" the researcher shouted.
The man did not answer immediately.
He stared at the vertical line.
For the first time, he appeared genuinely frightened.
"It wasn't supposed to open," he murmured.
The line closed again.
The alarms ceased one by one, and the containment formation gradually stabilized. The container remained on the pedestal, apparently unchanged.
Han Feng withdrew from the narrow gap in the floor.
He had seen neither a portal nor a landscape on the other side. He had heard no voices and detected no clearly identifiable presence.
Nevertheless, during that brief instant, he had experienced something deeply unsettling.
It was as though the chamber had ceased to exist within the known world.
This was not an ordinary fissure.
And the gray-mantled man did not control the object as well as he pretended.
Han Feng began retreating.
Before he reached the stairs, the Celestial Diagram reacted.
Two lines illuminated simultaneously within his consciousness.
One pointed toward the container.
The other extended beyond it, searching for something at a distance that could not be measured.
Han Feng felt a sharp pressure in his chest.
It was not pain. Rather, it felt as though a portion of his perception had been pulled toward a distant point.
He immediately interrupted the flow of essence and reinforced the Celestial Veil.
The pressure disappeared.
Inside the chamber, the gray-mantled man turned his head.
"Someone is here."
The researcher glanced toward the door.
"The guards haven't detected anyone."
"Then the guards are wrong."
Han Feng did not wait to discover whether the man could locate him.
He hurried along the maintenance corridor, crossed the tool storage room, and reached the drainage channel. The alarm seal remained functional, and he did not interfere with it again.
He slipped through the opening and disappeared among the rocks before the guards could organize a search.
Only after reaching a distant hill did he allow his breathing to return to normal.
The repository remained behind him, illuminated by its seven bronze lanterns.
One of them was still dark.
Han Feng did not know what lay beyond the vertical line, nor why the container had reacted to the fragment.
But he now possessed one decisive piece of information.
Someone had attempted to bring two similar objects together and had nearly caused a containment collapse.
The tablet he carried might be connected to the same phenomenon.
He did not take it out of his storage.
There was no reason to risk another reaction.
In the distance, an alarm began sounding inside the repository. Shortly afterward, the lights atop the watchtowers intensified, and groups of cultivators emerged from the buildings to surround the facility.
Han Feng continued walking.
He had no intention of remaining in the area to witness the consequences.
Behind him, the black stone container remained closed. The researchers would likely conclude that the containment had held, and those responsible for the repository would attempt to record the incident as a controlled fluctuation.
But at the center of the container, a thin line remained open by a fraction of a millimeter.
And for the first time, something without a recognizable form seemed to notice that, beyond the black fragment, another piece existed somewhere in the world.
A piece that had not yet been found.
A piece that, without knowing it, had just answered.