Where Immortals Once Walked

“What is this?” Dong Rui accepted them and examined them closely. The things were larger than goose eggs and rounder than goose eggs too. They were pale red and mottled.

“The eggs of some kind of duonao beast,” He Lingchuan said. “I picked them up in the Fu Realm. Originally, I was planning to have someone auction them off.”

Dong Rui was delighted. “This is good. This is good!”

With new toys in hand, his sleepiness vanished. He immediately cradled the duonao beast eggs, took out a full set of tools, and crouched off to the side to study them.

Zhu Daniang thoughtfully lay down by the cave entrance, curled up in the shadows. “You two rest. I’ll keep watch.”

After tonight’s battle, He Lingchuan had already discovered that the two spider monsters had very different temperaments. If it had been Zhu Erniang, she would most likely have run without looking back. Once out of danger, she would never have gone back to give Baizhantian trouble again.

Now Lady One[1] had volunteered to stand guard, and He Lingchuan had no objection. He extinguished the campfire, sat down on the other side, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

The moment he sat, exhaustion came over him like a tidal wave.

Last night’s adventure had lasted only a short while, but the entire process had been so thrilling that every second had felt like a year.

Thankfully, they escaped whole and alive.

But they still had not gotten far enough. He Lingchuan still felt the crisis had not fully passed, so he did not dare relax or sleep.

Outside the cave, autumn insects murmured, and occasionally birds fluttered their wings. The quiet here formed a sharp contrast with the clamor of Lingxu City over fifty kilometers away.

How many people had been unable to sleep through the past night and day?

* * *

Heavenly Palace, Mount Xu.

Divine attendants and guards went in and out, as busy as worker ants.

Every person wore a heavy expression as they hurried to and fro.

The cleanup after the disaster had far too many threads to untangle. After being baptized by volcanic eruption and splattering lava, the once-lush Tianshu Peak, where immortal groves had once appeared faintly through the green, was now bald.

Everywhere were broken walls, snapped trees, charred remains, and rubble. All the while, black smoke curled upward.

Some mountain peaks had even been shaved down by a dozen or so meters.

When devout believers saw the current state of Tianshu Peak, they felt as though the sky had collapsed. Some wept bitterly on the spot, while others simply fainted.

Even more believers knelt on the surviving white jade stairs, beating their chests in grief. They prostrated themselves and kowtowed in hopes that the heavenly gods would calm their anger, cursing the invader through tears and wishing them a miserable death.

How peaceful the present world was.

How lofty the gods were.

How mighty Beijia was.

All living beings in the mortal realm should praise it, extol it, and protect it!

How could there be someone—how could there actually be someone—who dared shake it, damage it?

Such traitors were enemies of Beijia, enemies of all under heaven, enemies of all living beings!

They should all have their bones crushed and their ashes scattered.

They should all die without burial!

The immense force of prayer shot straight into the sky, so much so that at sunrise, two magnificent rainbow bridges actually hung beside Tianshu Peak.

Star-Plucking Tower had been destroyed, the personnel of the Heavenly Palace had temporarily moved to Zhimi Peak behind it to discuss matters, and even the Heavenly Tome had been brought there.

As a gift to ease relations, the Splendid Mountains and Rivers Diagram had also been fished out by Juju from the depths of the earthfire and returned intact.

An immortal treasure was truly resilient. It had been soaked in magma for the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, yet had only been damaged a tiny bit and could still be used.

Zhimi Peak was very quiet. At this time, only several important ministers of the Heavenly Palace and the imperial court were present. The wails and sobs from Tianshu Peak could not reach this place.

Bai Ziqi had just returned from Tianshu Peak. After seeing collapsed towers and palaces of jade, along with smoking, charred trees and ruins, no one’s expression looked good.

The atmosphere on Zhimi Peak was grave. The generals and guards responsible for standing watch on Mount Xu last night had already been ordered executed by the heavenly gods. Everyone else kept their necks drawn in, terrified that the anger of the heavenly gods and the Lord Emperor might fall upon them.

Last night’s incident was truly an enormous humiliation for the Heavenly Palace.

Bai Ziqi did not even dare imagine what reaction the people of Beijia would have once news of Star-Plucking Tower’s destruction spread, or what reaction the thirteen vassal monster kingdoms would have.

Of course, those were matters for the Chief Cloud Envoy and the Lord Emperor to worry about. The first priority at present was still to capture the invader as soon as possible.

The Monster Emperor had already arrived, and consultations regarding the capture of the invader had gone through round after round.

Bai Ziqi could see that he was also forcibly suppressing his anger.

The unrest in Lingxu City had not yet been fully quelled. The elements that had created the chaos were still fleeing throughout the city. The Monster Emperor should have been sitting in Heaven-Reaching Palace, issuing orders to suppress the terror and violence.

However, such an enormous incident had occurred in the Heavenly Palace, so he had no choice but to come to Mount Xu first and consult with the gods.

Everything had its order of priority.

The Monster Emperor could not split itself in two. It would have been strange if he were not angry.

Based on the current analysis, the one who invaded Mount Xu was not actually top-tier in strength, and they had been alone. It was simply that the angle of their surprise attack had been exceptionally tricky. They had somehow managed to awaken the long-dormant spider immortal molt, thereby freeing Juju and putting it to use for themselves.

Their objectives had actually been only three:

First, to destroy the stable foundation of the Heavenly Palace, namely the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array;

Second, to seize the divine object amid the chaos and cut off the heavenly gods’ means of tracking the Generous Pot.

Third, to unleash calamity in Lingxu City and leave the city’s people in constant terror.

Every single one of these was an unforgivable crime.

Therefore, the writing that appeared on the Heavenly Tome was as striking as blood.

Clearly, the heavenly gods were also in a towering rage. They would have to capture all these rats and sacrifice them in blood before they could vent the anger in their hearts.

The Monster Emperor was saying, “I remember that this spider monster once carried out a massacre in Lingxu City, then fled after being placed on the Ranking of Earth wanted list?”

Minister of Finance Yao Mao immediately answered, “Lord Emperor has an excellent memory. This monster has lived in seclusion for many years in Demon Nest Swamp in the southern region of the State of Baoshu. That is an uninhabited region deep in the mountains and marshes. However, the spider monster has always had business dealings with humans. Even the glowspores Lingxu City uses as street lamps are a specialty product of the burrow spider nest.”

The Monster Emperor pondered. “Send people to Demon Nest Swamp and investigate.”

“Yes.”

“Also, since it spent decades behaving quietly in Demon Nest Swamp, why did it suddenly come to Lingxu City to seize the immortal molt? How did the invader persuade it? This must also be investigated clearly.”

The Minister of Finance acknowledged the order.

“As for Juju...” The Monster Emperor gave a deep sigh and looked up toward the opposite peak.

From Zhimi Peak, one could see the missing corner of Tianshu Peak opposite them, where the lava pool was still churning. The smug aura of the rock-fire aberrant creature was practically spilling all the way over here.

The negotiations between the Heavenly Palace and Juju had already gone through three rounds. They could not reach an agreement.

The rock-fire aberrant creature had held in more than ten years of anger. Now that it had regained its freedom, it opened its maw like a lion and demanded such a price that even the wealthy Heavenly Palace felt breathless.

But even if the Heavenly Palace could beat Juju down once again, it would not be without suffering enormous losses of its own. Chenyuan, the giant beast specifically used to deal with Juju, had already returned beneath Zhimi Peak to recover from its wounds and could not be used again in the short term.

Moreover, any life-and-death battle would first affect all of Lingxu City.

The source of the earth veins across this plain lay in Mount Xu. If they acted forcefully against the very spirit of Mount Xu, the resulting upheaval would definitely make the great Lingxu City earthquake from more than ten years ago pale in comparison.

Putting aside the possibility of both sides suffering, now that Juju had broken free from the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array’s restraints, even if it could not defeat the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City, it could burrow underground at any time. And at that time, there would be no catching it!

That alone placed it in an unbeatable position.

Not to mention, Juju had even threatened to move the positions of main peaks such as Tianshu Peak and Tianquan Peak.

Back then, it had cooperated with them in moving these main peaks to accommodate the grand array. Now, it could naturally move the peaks again if it so wished. It would merely take some effort and a bit more time, perhaps two or three months.

As long as the mountain peaks on the ground no longer corresponded to the stars of the Big Dipper, then even if the Heavenly Palace somehow found another star map, it would still be unable to recreate the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array.

Having such a disgusting neighbor was enough to make one sick to death!

Moreover, after last night’s unprecedented upheaval, both the Heavenly Palace and the Monster Emperor now wished to settle matters as quickly as possible.

The Heavenly Palace had been attacked, earthfire had erupted, Star-Plucking Tower had been destroyed, and Lingxu City had been trampled. No one knew how much effort Beijia would need to spend in order to erase the negative impact caused by this unprecedented series of vile incidents.

The Heavenly Palace’s jade towers could be rebuilt, but a shaken people’s heart was not so easily calmed.

The Chief Cloud Envoy said, “I will speak with Juju again.”

One had to attend to the duties of one’s position. In the end, he still had to gnaw on this hard bone.

The Chief Cloud Envoy’s face was pale, not only because the Heavenly Palace had suffered damage, but mainly because controlling the ghost beast Chenyuan last night had greatly exhausted his soul and spirit. At this moment, he should have secluded himself to rest for ten days to half a month. Unfortunately, with upheaval in the Heavenly Palace and chaos in Lingxu City, he still had to come out and oversee the overall situation.

No matter how arrogant and difficult the rock-fire aberrant creature was, it was still an internal Lingxu matter. As long as they were willing to pay the price, it could ultimately be resolved.

Capturing the invader and restoring public confidence were the urgent priorities right now.

The Monster Emperor shook his head. “What exactly attracted the Giant Thunderclap Beast and caused it to attack Lingxu City? Has this reason been investigated clearly?”

Everyone looked at one another. It was Bai Ziqi who answered. “No physical evidence has been found. But the Giant Thunderclap Beast has always lived in seclusion in the Fu Realm. The bait capable of enraging it to madness and making it disregard life and death must, in this subordinate’s deduction, have something to do with its offspring.”

Although the Giant Thunderclap Beast had already been brought to justice, they had left only ruin and mud behind them. No useful clues could be found.

The Monster Emperor made a sound of agreement. “I think the same. The Giant Thunderclap Beast lays eggs only once every several hundred years and regards them as its lifeblood.”

Coincidentally, the bloodline of Beijia’s Monster Emperor was maintained with similar difficulty, producing only one or two descendants every several hundred years. Therefore, he could understand the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s deep love for its offspring.

A Heavenly Palace general then reported, “According to feedback from the Fu Realm hunting teams, the Giant Thunderclap Beast laid three eggs, and all three were destroyed by the nothing beast leader several days ago.”

The Monster Emperor’s gaze deepened. “Then it should have sought revenge against the nothing beast. Why did it run to the mortal realm and trample Lingxu City?”

No one could answer that question.

At this moment, an attendant beside them said timidly, “Lord Emperor, the Mountains and Rivers Diagram! The people in the Mountains and Rivers Diagram have stopped moving! They seem to have come to a halt!”

Everyone was slightly surprised and moved over beside the Splendid Mountains and Rivers Diagram.

Sure enough, there was a point of golden light in the diagram, motionless.

“Before God Baizhantian returned to the divine realm, it secretly placed a karmic thread on the spider immortal. What appears in the diagram is the spider immortal’s location,” the Chief Cloud Envoy said solemnly. “Originally, it had been moving the whole time, extremely quickly. Only now has it stopped.”

The Monster Emperor asked, “Where is this?”

“It is an uninhabited and obscure mountain range called Mount Pei.”

Star-Plucking Tower had been destroyed, Lingxu City had been attacked, and so many incidents had occurred last night. Yet the Heavenly Palace had remained calm, unafraid that the invader might flee a thousand li[2] away. This was largely because of the karmic thread Baizhantian had quietly laid.

Six hours later, just after midnight, the karmic thread took shape.

The spider immortal bound by it appeared on the Mountains and Rivers Diagram.

1. This is just Zhu Daniang, by the way. ☜

2. I doubt this is to be taken literally, but if so, then this is 500 km. ☜