After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 383: Chapter 382: Emperor’s Liquid Paste

The wind happened to change direction just then, and he waved the bamboo tube in his hand, releasing great clouds of yellow smoke.

This was a special poison smoke developed by Willow, effective for repelling insects, birds, and even people. Hee Lingchuan had obtained the formula long ago and had casually concocted several batches over the past few days.

The purity of his concoction was certainly not as good as the original, but as long as it had seventy percent of its power, enough to paralyze and injure them en masse, it would do.

Once the smoke was released, large swaths of birds and bats wilted onto the nets, unable to move even if they wanted to.

This speed, this efficiency, was far greater than throwing bamboo chopsticks.

Hee Lingchuan and the Three-headed Mountain Demon picked them up one by one and tossed them away.

After another double-hour, the first bucket of Emperor’s Liquid was finally full. Beaming with delight, Hee Lingchuan poured it into a container in his Storage Ring, then emptied the bucket and set it out to collect more.

In the latter half of the night, the flow of the Emperor’s Liquid increased noticeably. Some of the liquid even had faint red threads in it.

Whenever Hee Lingchuan got tired, he just had to take a single lick to feel his energy completely restored.

He was reminded of the Celestial Derivation Sect Tianshengzi’s deduction, and only then did he realize the Mirror had been quiet for a long time. He looked down and saw that the cracks on its surface had mostly vanished, with only one last fine line remaining before it would be as smooth as new.

Even a broken mirror could be made whole again. The efficacy of the Emperor’s Liquid was plain to see.

”I want it!” the Mirror cried out from the depths of its soul. ”I want more!”

Hee Lingchuan couldn’t be bothered with its strange theatrics. In fact, he had been so busy that he’d only just noticed the number of attacking birds and beasts had dwindled. The total population in this area was probably just that size, and ordinary beasts couldn’t get up here, able only to howl at the nets from below.

Tonight, Hee Lingchuan had actually dealt with seventeen or eighteen Bird Demons. These creatures were driven into an abnormal frenzy by the Emperor’s Liquid, their attacks lacking any pattern, which paradoxically made them easier to shoot down.

The eastern sky began to pale, and the Emperor’s Liquid downpour noticeably lessened.

The commotion in the mountain forest had also mostly died down.

After a whole night of chaos, everyone was too exhausted to cause any more trouble.

This crazy, fulfilling, and fruitful night was finally coming to an end.

Hee Lingchuan stretched long and lazily. ”Time to pack up!”

The Mirror asked in surprise, ”The Emperor’s Liquid hasn’t stopped yet, and you’re already taking in the nets?”

’The Spirit Rain hasn’t stopped, only weakened,’ it thought. ’This kid has made a fortune tonight. Is he so bold as to ignore the rest of the rain?’

The total amount from the Emperor’s Liquid event half a year ago might not even match the Spirit Rain that would fall in the next hour.

Hee Lingchuan was very calm. ”If I don’t leave now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave later.”

Cultivators and Demons alike had been collecting Emperor’s Liquid all night. Those who could resist swallowing it intended to take it back for refinement.

If they waited until the Spirit Rain ended, there would surely be a lot of red-eyed robbers. After all, a whole night of hard work collecting might not be as convenient as robbing someone else.

’The Demons I’ve dealt with tonight have all been small fry; no Great Demons have appeared,’ Hee Lingchuan thought, his mind clear. ’The reason is likely that the Great Demons are also busy collecting Spirit Rain on their own turf and don’t have the time to go out plundering.’

But once the Spirit Rain was over, that would be a different story.

The Heart-Protecting Mirror also said, ”In the past, the morning after an Emperor’s Liquid eruption was always the beginning of great battles.”

Hee Lingchuan grunted in agreement and ordered the Mountain Demon and the Eye Spiders to get moving and quickly take down the nets.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too. His harvest tonight had been bountiful, so he shouldn’t be greedy for every last drop of Spirit Rain.

People who think they can earn every last Copper Plate before leaving often end up losing everything they have.

Of course, it would be best to slip away right now, but there were still many dewdrops of Emperor’s Liquid clinging to the webs. He had to collect them in his Storage Ring before the sun came out, or it would all be for nothing.

Hee Lingchuan hadn’t noticed his own progress.

In the past, he wouldn’t have thought this way. To be able to resist all kinds of temptations, including a blessing like Emperor’s Liquid that all living beings coveted, was a sign of a firm Dao Heart.

Knowing when to take and when to give up, when to advance and when to retreat—that was how a person lived a long life.

They had only just taken in half the nets when something suddenly fell from high above, landing on the Cloud-Glow Robe and making the web shake violently.

Hee Lingchuan looked up and saw that it was a whole, natural piece of Emperor’s Liquid Paste, as big as a baby’s fist!

He had been standing guard all night and hadn’t seen anything this huge. Overjoyed, he moved to pick it up.

However, a chaotic sound of something tearing through the air came from directly above.

His opponents had arrived right behind it.

Hee Lingchuan had been fighting on the web all night and had long since gotten the hang of it. He grabbed the nearby Mountain Demon and tossed it upward, then, without even raising his head, pounced on the Emperor’s Liquid Paste like a hungry tiger.

With the Cyan Rabbit Jade Pendant he got from Tuu Zhongli, his Swallow Returning Body Technique was even faster than before, and he used the web’s elasticity to his advantage. The enemies in the sky saw only a flicker of an afterimage before the Emperor’s Liquid Paste was snatched away.

They let out furious caws.

In the midst of the chaos, Hee Lingchuan glanced back and saw it was a large flock of white-fronted crows.

These crows had a white spot in the middle of their foreheads, making it look like a third eye. Three or four of them were clearly two sizes larger than their companions—they were obviously Demons.

As they dove down, they were blocked by the Mountain Demon, so they circled around and continued their attack on Hee Lingchuan. Their outstretched talons had hooks over an inch long, enough to disembowel a person.

Hee Lingchuan’s eyes were sharp, and he could see that the tips of several of the crow demons’ talons were stained with blood; who knew what they had just caught.

But these creatures were natural-born plunderers. The sight of the Emperor’s Liquid made them attack with reckless abandon, and two of them went straight for Hee Lingchuan’s eyes.

At this, Hee Lingchuan laughed in exasperation. With a backhanded slash of his saber, he cut down three of the crows.

The farthest one, still four feet away, was split in two mid-air, its blood splattering across the web.

”Tch.” ’Contaminating the Emperor’s Liquid on the net. It’ll be a hassle to purify it later.’

The deaths of their comrades didn’t scare off the flock. In the blink of an eye, another four or five attacked. They even knew how to coordinate, with some pecking at Hee Lingchuan’s face while others tried to snatch the Ring from his finger.

’These things are pretty smart.’

The wind was just right. Hee Lingchuan casually took out a flask of strong liquor, took a big swig, pulled out a flint, and with a WHOOSH, blew a mouthful of fire at the flock of crows!

Instantly, six or seven crows caught fire and began flapping about in a panic.

Hee Lingchuan calmly cut them down. Amidst a flurry of feathers, the number of crows was reduced to just four or five.

Only then did they come to their senses and quickly fly higher. One of them spoke in human tongue, ”You dare steal my prize and kill my kin! Just you wait, we’ll tear you limb from limb and eat your flesh!”

Hee Lingchuan raised his hand and flung a bamboo chopstick.

The Demon dodged in a hurry, leading the rest of its flock into the sky. They flew away, cawing loudly.

’So even Demons know to shout a few threats before leaving?’ Hee Lingchuan shook his head. But their appearance also proved his thinking correct: this was not a place to linger.

The prize he had just obtained was a pleasant surprise.

This was the first time Hee Lingchuan had seen Emperor’s Liquid in solid form. It had the consistency of jelly and would wobble when shaken, but it was opaque and unevenly colored—a pale yellow with wisps of dark red, like traces of blood.

It also emitted a strange fragrance several times stronger than ordinary Emperor’s Liquid. Hee Lingchuan didn’t dare get too close to smell it, fearing he would lose his senses and swallow it in one gulp.

He didn’t want to test his self-control and quickly put it into his Storage Ring.

...

In a valley ten miles away, a dozen or so people stood guard. The trees here had all been cut down, temporarily clearing a large open space that was covered with palmetto leaves.

These leaves were like folding fans magnified seven or eight times. Placed on the open ground, they could collect the Emperor’s Liquid. When it was time to bottle it, the process was incredibly easy; they just had to fold the leaves, and the liquid would naturally flow into the bottles.

The group stood waiting around the clearing. Their leader was a young man in black, sitting leisurely on a tree branch with one leg stretched out and the other dangling and swinging.

’The Emperor’s Liquid Rain should stop in another hour at most, right?’

He had just stretched lazily when several crows flew past overhead, shrieking as they went:

”There’s still a ton of Emperor’s Liquid at Three-Heart Lake!”

”A huge piece of Emperor’s Liquid Paste appeared at Three-Heart Lake!”

The men’s movements paused. The crows didn’t linger, just shrieked as they flew into the distance.

The young man in black watched their retreating figures and said, ”Looks like those ghastly things ran into trouble at Three-Heart Lake.”

Otherwise, why would the crows be broadcasting the news instead of keeping it for themselves?

Of course, he also noticed that two of them had scorched black wings, as if they had been roasted by fire.

”Young Master, should we go to Three-Heart Lake?”

”What’s the hurry?” The Young Master looked to the east. ”The crows are squawking so loudly, we can’t be the only ones who heard. Let someone else go test the waters first.”

The truth was, they weren’t particularly close to Three-Heart Lake. Even if they rushed over now, someone else might beat them to it. It was better to stay here and safely collect the last drops of Emperor’s Liquid, then head over to join the commotion and see if they could pick up any scraps.

Hearing this, the men relaxed and continued to guard the clearing.

...

Three miles east of Three-Heart Lake, two ferocious tigers were lying on a large rock licking the dewdrops from their fur when they suddenly heard the crows shrieking above.

The two tigers’ ears twitched. They exchanged a glance, then got up, leaped off the rock, and vanished into the jungle in an instant.

As the crows flew farther and farther, more and more humans and Demons received the message.

...

Hee Lingchuan was rolling up the large net when the Heart-Protecting Mirror suddenly said:

”There’s a crow perched on a treetop to the west, and it’s been staring at you this whole time.”

He glanced in that direction and, sure enough, saw a white-fronted crow perched on an old pine tree about 150 feet away. It wasn’t making a sound or a fuss, remaining still as a statue, its gaze fixed squarely on him.

’It’s a lookout.’

He feigned reaching for his bow and arrow, and the creature immediately ducked into the treetop foliage.

”These things are extremely vengeful; they won’t let this go.” Hee Lingchuan was reminded of the flock of village-butchering, man-eating crows the Supporting Army encountered on their way north to Xiazhou. If he wanted to return to Fufeng City safely, he would have to find a way to shake them.

They had just finished packing up the Cloud-Glow Robe net when the cry of a Mountain Demon suddenly echoed from nearby.

The sound was as sharp and piercing as that of ghosts and spirits, still chilling to hear even in broad daylight.

Hee Lingchuan’s heart tightened. ’The Mountain Demon sentry on the perimeter has sounded the alarm. That means something is approaching fast!’

He leaped down from the large tree in a few bounds, mounted his horse, and started to head back. But the crow in the pine tree flapped its wings and took flight, shrieking as it flew:

”He’s here! CAW! CAW! The Emperor’s Liquid is here!”

Its voice was coarse and loud, and it carried far.

Hee Lingchuan really wanted to shoot it down with an arrow.

But the creature was cunning, staying hundreds of feet in the air and always circling behind the treetops, making it a difficult shot.