After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 375: Chapter 374: The Source of Emperor’s Liquid

’Heh, he wished. But alas, the Ghost City—no, the Grand Square Pot—was a hundred times more stuck-up than this Mirror. It never made a peep, leaving him to guess its every whim.’

The Mirror often conversed with him, so Hee Lingchuan, now used to its sudden interjections, voiced his question.

Hearing this, the Mirror became quite haughty. ”Shouldn’t you just ask me about things like this?”

”Oh?” ’This thing actually has an answer? What a pleasant surprise!’ Hee Lingchuan took the Mirror out, holding it up to his face. ”Then tell me.”

”To be honest, I don’t have a definitive answer.”

Hee Lingchuan’s enthusiasm instantly evaporated. ”Cut the crap.”

”This is called being thorough! Thorough!” The reflection of Hee Lingchuan in the Mirror looked a little miffed. ”Forget me—even the seniors of the Celestial Derivation Sect only had theories.”

”It’s better than nothing. Let’s hear one.”

”The prevailing theory is that the Emperor’s Liquid is a massive, occasional eruption of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, like a volcano or earthquake that suddenly hits after a long buildup. But in the Early Middle Ages, eruptions of Emperor’s Liquid occurred one after another. The shortest interval was a few days, the longest a few months. The most absurd record was three times in three days.”

”Three eruptions in three days?” Hee Lingchuan sucked in a sharp breath, so envious his back teeth ached.

’HISS... just how much Cultivation could that be converted into!’

”The original explanation was ’inertial eruption,’” the Mirror continued. ”After a major volcanic or seismic event, there are often a series of follow-up eruptions and aftershocks. But there was a senior from the Celestial Derivation Sect named Tianshengzi. He spent over a century studying the patterns of the Emperor’s Liquid and proposed a bold hypothesis—”

”—he believed the appearance of the Emperor’s Liquid was likely related to a Deity’s fall.”

”A Deity’s fall?” Hee Lingchuan had seldom heard the term. ”A Deity... perishing? But didn’t the Deities leave our world after the Great Calamity, before the Middle Ages even began?”

’There are no gods left in this world, so how could one fall?’

”Those Deities had to come from somewhere. The Great Calamity merely drove the survivors back to their own worlds. But some were too gravely injured and died after they returned,” the Mirror continued. ”So, in the Early Middle Ages, Tianshengzi went to great lengths to find out the times of these Deities’ deaths. He then compared them with the eruption times of the Emperor’s Liquid, and, hey!”

Hee Lingchuan flicked the Mirror’s surface. ”Stop building suspense! Where’d you pick up such a bad habit?”

’He didn’t bother asking how Tianshengzi obtained the death times of Deities from another world. It must have been incredibly difficult.’

The Mirror spun around on the table. ”He discovered that every eruption of the Emperor’s Liquid happened within two to three months of a Deity’s fall.”

”How many falls did he cross-reference?”

”Twelve,” the Mirror snickered. ”And get this: three of those Deities fell in succession, all within ten double-hours! Now, you tell me, what are the odds of that?”

The shortest interval between Emperor’s Liquid eruptions was three in three days. And just two to three months prior, three Deities had fallen in succession within ten double-hours.

The Mirror was right; it was too much of a coincidence.

”But Tianshengzi’s calculations had a margin of error of a month,” Hee Lingchuan pointed out the flaw. ”Look at Lingxu City’s predictions. Their margin of error is no more than five days.”

”Hey, more than two thousand years have passed! You’d expect his successors to have learned a thing or two and made some progress, right?” the Mirror retorted. ”When Tianshengzi published his hypothesis, few people accepted it. Even most of the seniors in the Celestial Derivation Sect considered it absurd, since he couldn’t offer a single shred of proof.”

Hee Lingchuan nodded at this. ’Indeed, for something so ethereal, where could Tianshengzi possibly have gotten evidence? The Celestial Derivation Sect’s assessment wasn’t unreasonable.’

”But,” the Mirror said, ”who’s to say that someone in a later age didn’t adopt his theory?”

”If Tianshengzi’s theory is correct, why would the fall of a Deity in the heavens cause an Emperor’s Liquid eruption in this realm?” ’These are major events happening in different worlds.’

”How should I know?” the Mirror said listlessly. ”This is all just hearsay for me. Tianshengzi had already passed on long before I was created.”

Hee Lingchuan recalled the last eruption of Emperor’s Liquid. At the time, he and his father, along with the Supporting Army, had just reached Fengling Ferry.

Everyone had complained that there was too little Emperor’s Liquid, and the amount per person was negligible.

’If Tianshengzi’s theory holds, then a Deity must have fallen two to three months before that eruption.’

’So, what happened two to three months prior?’

A thought suddenly struck Hee Lingchuan, and he dredged up an inconspicuous old memory.

Before the rebel leader at Woling Pass, Lui Yao, was killed, he had swallowed a black Talisman. It was supposed to be his final, life-saving gambit, but nothing happened, and Lui Yao was beheaded.

Hee Lingchuan had shown the black Talisman he’d collected to Marquis Songyang. After peeling off the disguise on the Talisman Paper, she had identified it as a ”Sacrificial God Curse”—a type of Talisman used to summon a Deity into one’s own body as a vessel.

As for why the Talisman failed, it was because the Deity hadn’t responded to Lui Yao. Marquis Songyang had speculated at the time that the Deity had either abandoned Lui Yao or was too preoccupied to descend—in short, it had stood him up.

But after hearing what the Mirror said today, another theory began to form in Hee Lingchuan’s mind:

’Could it be that the Deity connected to that ”Sacrificial God Curse” had already fallen?’

’With its great patron already dead, it would have been a miracle if Lui Yao could still summon it.’

Three months before the Emperor’s Liquid eruption, a major event had indeed shaken the entire Yuan Kingdom:

The rebel leader, Hong Xiangqian, was defeated at Woling Pass!

The rebel army had originally advanced north with unstoppable momentum, reaching its peak after conquering Woling Pass. The Official Army had failed to defeat them in multiple sieges, and even Shihuan and the National Capital were seriously threatened.

Lui Yao’s ”Sacrificial God Curse” had clearly come from Hong Xiangqian, meaning the ”Jiayuan Saint Master” also had a Deity he worshipped.

’In that case, could his string of great victories and his ultimate defeat have been related to this Deity?’

’Could it be that the Deity backing him suddenly fell, causing Hong Xiangqian to lose his support? Could that have been a major reason—or at least, one of them—for the rebellion’s failure?’

’At least, the timeline for this series of events lined up perfectly.’

’Then that raised the next question: who killed the Deity backing Hong Xiangqian?’

’The heavens and the Mortal World are already separate. The only being capable of godslaying would be another god, right?’

’So, it turns out even Deities aren’t safe.’

”Hey, why’re you zoning out again?” The Mirror flashed a beam of light at him from its surface.

”If more Emperor’s Liquid appears in three days, which Deity has fallen this time?”

’Looks like the Divine Realm isn’t so peaceful, either,’ Hee Lingchuan thought, gloating. ’If a few more Deities were to fall, and the Mortal World got a few more rounds of Emperor’s Liquid, wouldn’t my Cultivation just skyrocket?’

”The Demon Emperor definitely knows; the news came from Lingxu City,” the Mirror said snidely. ”You should go ask it.”

”I just might get the chance in the future,” Hee Lingchuan shrugged. ”Who’s to say?”

He’d been up for half the night; if he didn’t get to sleep, it would be dawn. Hee Lingchuan undressed for bed and was out the second his head hit the pillow.

The Mirror: ”...”

’Was this guy born in the year of the pig or something?’

***

Given how well they knew each other, Hee Lingchuan started pounding on the door. BANG! BANG! BANG! ”Aluo!”

He shouted the name a few more times before the door finally creaked open. Aluo, looking disheveled and ready to curse out the intruder, saw that his visitor was Hee Lingchuan, and his voice immediately dropped:

”What do you want!”

’If this had been Hu Min, he’d have gotten an earful.’

Hee Lingchuan was currently the talk of Panlong City, and besides, Aluo had won a fair bit of money betting on him.

’Who could stay mad at their personal cash cow?’

Hee Lingchuan glanced up at the sky. ’Isn’t it late morning already?’

”The sun’s already warming your butt. How can a guy your age still be in bed...?” Before he could finish, Hee Lingchuan saw a figure move in the room behind Aluo. ”Hm? Who’s that?”

”It’s no one.” Aluo shifted to block his line of sight. ”Just tell me what you want.”

”Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Hee Lingchuan chuckled. ”I’m a big fan of your herbal tea.”

Aluo didn’t budge. ”I’m going back to sleep!”

”Sleeping with who?” ’They were all young men, full of vim and vigor; it wasn’t strange to occasionally call for... company. People had needs, and it was a transactional affair. But Aluo’s evasiveness and his attempt to hide the person meant they weren’t from the Red Hall.’

Seeing Aluo’s face darken, Hee Lingchuan cleared his throat and got back to the point. ”The recipe you gave me for the Emperor’s Liquid ointment, can it be improved?”

”Is it not working for you?” Aluo asked, confused. ”I haven’t heard any news about more Emperor’s Liquid coming, though.”

”It feels a bit weak. I’d like to prepare an upgraded formula, just to be safe.” This was Hee Lingchuan’s true motive, though he said aloud, ”I’ve improved a bit recently, so the recipe probably needs an adjustment.”

Aluo reached out and felt his pulse. After a moment of thought, he said, ”Your Cultivation has indeed progressed rapidly, and the blockages in your meridians are much clearer. You can certainly handle a more potent formula.”

’Stronger individuals naturally require more potent formulas with more domineering effects. The ointment the Red General uses, for instance, must be completely different from what an ordinary person would use... assuming she uses one at all.’

”So?”

”So I need some time to think. Come back this evening!”

Aluo stepped back and slammed the door shut. SLAM. If Hee Lingchuan hadn’t retreated quickly, his nose would’ve been flattened.

’He probably doesn’t need time to think,’ Hee Lingchuan mused, hearing soft footsteps inside the room—softer and lighter than Aluo’s.

Just as he turned to leave, Hu Min came running over from across the street:

”Broken Blade, what are you doing here? We’ve got a mission!”

Hee Lingchuan’s spirits lifted. ’My first mission since joining the Great Wind Army... is it finally here?’

He pressed a hand against Aluo’s door and raised his voice, ”Should we get Aluo?”

”It’s a non-combat mission; we won’t need him.” Hu Min glanced at the wooden door. ”He’s home?”

Aluo’s muffled voice drifted out from inside: ”I’m not!”

Before his patience ran out and he yelled the word ”Scram!”, Hee Lingchuan and Hu Min wisely took their leave.

Hu Min imparted some wisdom as a veteran. ”The first mission after joining the Great Wind Army is usually a tough one. It’s tradition.”

’Give the rookies a taste of what’s to come to put them in their place. An old army trick.’

”But isn’t it a non-combat mission?”

”I don’t know the details. The higher-ups assigned it specifically to the three of you new recruits—you, Willow, and Door Panel,” Hu Min chuckled. ”The rest of us are off the hook.”

The Red General had given a special order for Hee Lingchuan to form his own squad. For a new recruit who had just joined the Great Wind Army, this was an exceptional honor.

In times of war, military merit and capability were all that mattered.