After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 382: Chapter 381: A Night of Struggle

As Hee Lingchuan walked, he discovered that the more densely forested the mountain terrain, the more of a hot commodity it was for others to occupy. The thick leaves and branches could catch more Emperor’s Liquid, giving Cultivators the time and opportunity to collect it.

If the Emperor’s Liquid fell directly onto the surface of the water or the muddy ground, it would seep in immediately, and no one would be able to dig it back out.

That was why even the common wilderness demons couldn’t be bothered to claim the spot where he now stood.

Leaving the city this time, he had set a goal for himself:

Keep a low profile.

And collect as much Emperor’s Liquid as possible, discreetly.

He had now climbed the tallest tree nearby, and standing on its highest branch, he surveyed his surroundings.

”This is perfect.”

The dawn redwood was twenty-two *zhang* tall, a head taller than the low hill behind it.

From its highest branch, Hee Lingchuan could overlook the entire small lake.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the right mountain wind.

After a short while, the hem of his clothes began to flutter up and down.

’The wind is right.’

Hee Lingchuan took two Eye Spiders from his robes and tossed them high into the air with a swing of his arm, one to the north and the other to the northeast.

”Go.”

The two little creatures were as light as a feather and were instantly carried away by the strong wind.

But they left two strands of Spider Silk behind them, which were wound around a thick branch behind Hee Lingchuan.

Second Madam Zhu’s silk was as fine as human hair but tougher than refined steel.

Hee Lingchuan wasn’t in a hurry. He sat down and waited.

About a quarter of an hour later, one of the strands twitched.

This vibration was completely different from the trembling caused by the wind. Having spent a long time with the Eye Spiders, Hee Lingchuan had learned a thing or two. He knew this was one of the Eye Spiders signaling that it had reached its destination by plucking the silk.

Soon, the other strand twitched as well.

This step went unexpectedly smoothly; both Eye Spiders had done their job.

Carried by the wind, they had drifted across the lake and reached the large trees on the other side.

After adjusting their positions, they secured the Spider Silk.

Next, Hee Lingchuan reeled them back in, then chose a few more directions and repeated the process.

About a double-hour later, the basic grid of a giant web was complete, spanning the four-acre body of water. The mesh was still coarse and wide.

This was the most the Eye Spiders could do. They were too small to produce any more Spider Silk.

So, Hee Lingchuan took the Cloud-Glow Brocade gifted by Second Madam Zhu from his Storage Ring, unfolded it, and laid it over the grid he had just made.

He had extorted ten bolts of the Cloud Brocade from Second Madam Zhu back then. He hadn’t expected to put them to use so quickly.

Ordinary cotton and linen fabrics were at most one or two layers thick, but Second Madam Zhu’s Cloud-Glow Robes were different. The Ancient Great Demon had always been very thorough; each bolt was woven from at least seven layers, maybe even ten when she was in a good mood.

After refining the supplementary medicine at the inn, Hee Lingchuan had hired a dozen or so weavers to help him separate the brocade, taking apart all the multi-layered fabric into single layers and then stitching them together. Since he was in a hurry, he didn’t care if the needlework was pretty, only that it was strong enough.

If Second Madam Zhu saw her painstakingly woven creation treated so crudely, she would probably go berserk on the spot.

Even so, the ten bolts of Cloud Brocade, when taken apart and stitched together, couldn’t cover the entire surface of the lake, only most of the central area.

But Hee Lingchuan was already very satisfied.

For the first time, a giant spider web like this was suspended over Three-Heart Lake.

He leaped onto the newly constructed, giant Cloud Brocade Net and climbed to the center to stand firm.

The entire net sagged naturally, forming a gentle curve. The lowest point was where he stood.

The Heart-Protecting Mirror had been observing his actions and now exclaimed, ”Whoa! Kid, you’re playing a big game.”

It had figured out what Hee Lingchuan was planning to do.

After all that work, the two Eye Spiders were exhausted. They lay on the net, sucking on a freshly caught wild pheasant as a snack.

Hee Lingchuan leaned back, half-sitting and half-lying, as if resting in a giant hammock. It looked incredibly comfortable.

But his hands were not idle. He took out handful after handful of bamboo chopsticks and sharpened them with a small knife.

He had bought these for a few big coins from two eateries next to his inn. The shopkeepers hadn’t expected anyone to want such used goods.

By the time Hee Lingchuan finished sharpening all the bamboo chopsticks, the western sky was streaked with the brilliant colors of sunset.

He lay half-reclined on the great net over the lake, enjoying the beautiful sunset while eating his dinner.

Next to the inn where the Stone Gate Merchant Team was staying, there was a thirty-year-old shop famous for its smoked and braised meats. Its signature dish was the smoked and braised pig’s trotter he now held in his hand. Tearing away the dark skin revealed the snowy white meat inside. It was rich but not greasy, crisp but not mushy, with just the right touch of smoky flavor and a particularly satisfying chewiness.

The main course was two large bowls of brown sugar rice cakes, accompanied by half a pot of sweet and sour plum wine.

Hee Lingchuan ate until he was content, then patted his belly and stretched lazily.

He had to be on high alert tonight, so he needed to eat his fill.

Seeing the sky darken, he said to the Heart-Protecting Mirror, ”Let me borrow your Evil Ghosts.”

”Fine.” How could it refuse?

Hee Lingchuan flicked the Mirror, and three wisps of black smoke shot out from its surface, heading for the nearby woods.

After the sun set, three black figures darted out of the woods and leaped onto the net, following the Spider Silk strands.

They were three large, blue-faced monkeys with greasy fur. Standing upright, they were almost as tall as an adult man. The mountain folk also called them Mountain Demons.

Hee Lingchuan didn’t get up to stop them. He could clearly see that the three Evil Ghosts released from the Soul-Catching Mirror were possessing the Mountain Demons.

He tossed his leftover food, along with the pig bone, over to them.

The Mountain Demons caught it and began to gnaw on it with relish, CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

With them standing guard, Hee Lingchuan rested his hands behind his head and closed his eyes to rest.

The web was very light, swaying gently with the night breeze like a cradle, and he soon fell into a light doze.

Time passed slowly. The mountain lake was bathed in bright moonlight. The forest birds occasionally squabbled, but soon fell silent again.

The wind rose, then died down.

An unknown amount of time passed before the surroundings suddenly fell silent, like the calm before a storm.

Hee Lingchuan felt something and suddenly opened his eyes, sitting up.

’It’s here.’

It began to rain, first a few sparse drops, then the threads of rain grew denser.

Hee Lingchuan held out his hand, and a raindrop landed right in his palm. It was pale green, slightly viscous, and carried an unusual fragrance that penetrated the soul and stirred a fervent desire.

This time, the forecast from Lingxu City had been perfectly accurate—

The Emperor’s Liquid had arrived!

Hee Lingchuan pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, focusing his senses inward. He tried hard to suppress the greed in his heart as he extended his Divine Thought, remaining on high alert.

Just like last time, the creatures in the forest grew frenzied, and even the surface of the lake below began to churn.

This time, the Emperor’s Liquid Rain was heavier, and the fragrance was naturally more intense, enough to drive creatures without developed intellect into a state of madness, their Divine Souls thrown into chaos.

They were scrambling everywhere to collect the Emperor’s Liquid, but Hee Lingchuan didn’t need to be as busy as them. He just had to stand still.

The Emperor’s Liquid Rain was a liquid. When it dripped onto the Cloud Brocade, it naturally flowed down along the Spider Silk, converging from all directions toward the lowest point—

—which was right beneath Hee Lingchuan’s feet.

He had hung a bucket there, which was steadily collecting the liquid.

Having experienced an Emperor’s Liquid downpour once in reality and once in the Dream Realm, Hee Lingchuan had more or less figured things out. To get more of the Emperor’s Liquid, there were only two principles:

Maximum area, minimum time.

That’s why the major powers of Fuxin City, and the officials of Panlong City in the Dream Realm, had to occupy the mountains and fields in the suburbs. That was all about claiming area.

They also had to collect the rain in the shortest possible time.

After all, the moment this stuff hit the ground, it burrowed into the earth and vanished.

And by dawn, it would also evaporate and disappear.

By weaving such a large net, Hee Lingchuan had essentially claimed the Emperor’s Liquid from over half the lake’s surface, and he didn’t even have to collect it himself. Although the area he covered was smaller than that of the Nobility from Fufeng City, his method was superior in efficiency and practicality.

This was how spiders normally collected clean dew. He had observed them often in the Demon Nest Swamp and, a few days ago, had a flash of inspiration, coming up with this funnel-shaped automatic collector.

The Heart-Protecting Mirror sighed with envy. ”It’s a shame I don’t have hands or feet. I can’t even get a piece of the pie.”

Hee Lingchuan saw right through its pretense. ”If you act as a good Protector for me, there might be something in it for you.”

The Mirror vibrated. ”Really?”

”Have I ever lied to you?”

’Haven’t you?’ The Mirror didn’t have time to think about it, because Hee Lingchuan said in a low voice, ”Watch out. The robbers are here.” With that, he casually took out a Nuo Opera Mask and put it on.

Right now, he just wanted to remain anonymous.

In fact, the fish in the lake were also lured by the Emperor’s Liquid on the web, leaping out of the water one after another. Unfortunately, none of them had what it took to leap the dragon gate. Hee Lingchuan only now realized that the fish in this lake were quite large. The longest one was over seven *chi* long, its scales black with a golden sheen, and two long whiskers grew from the corners of its mouth.

The ones in the water couldn’t get up here, which was easy to handle, but the robbers from the sky were also being drawn over.

In the forest, all sorts of birds and beasts were already fighting fiercely, but the unusual fragrance from the great net over the lake was causing them to change their target.

The first to arrive were dozens of Flying Birds. They dove at the net regardless of how good their vision was, trying to lick the Emperor’s Liquid from the Spider Silk. ℴ

Hee Lingchuan had spent over a double-hour sharpening bamboo chopsticks, and now he used them as Flying Blades, shooting them out one by one.

His aim was already quite good, and these creatures had little ability to dodge. Every throw was a hit.

The three Mountain Demons controlled by the Evil Ghosts also joined the fight, pulling out the bamboo chopsticks and returning them to Hee Lingchuan for reuse.

Hee Lingchuan ordered them to throw the bird carcasses into the nearby woods or onto the ground. Their feathers were tainted with a bit of Emperor’s Liquid, and they quickly became new targets for other birds and beasts to fight over, diverting pressure from the web.

As for the other moths, butterflies, and ants, they were too small. Hee Lingchuan could only turn a blind eye; it was impossible for things to be perfect.

It was a good thing Second Madam Zhu had removed the stickiness from the Cloud-Glow Robe. Otherwise, every single one of these creatures would have been caught, with no chance of escape.

The bucket hanging under the web was soon half full.

The harvest from this single double-hour was already five or six times the total from the entire night last time. Even though the Emperor’s Liquid Rain was heavier today, the key was that his collection method was effective.

Some Flying Birds tried to snatch the bucket, but he gave them special attention, and they fell into the lake with screeches.

He was even extravagant enough to dip his finger in some Emperor’s Liquid and smear it directly onto the cracks on the Heart-Protecting Mirror.

’This is what you call sharing the wealth.’

The Mirror let out a strange cry filled with joy.

The Emperor’s Liquid in the bucket was very thick. The crack on the Mirror’s surface, which had been left by the Floating Life Blade, now began to close slowly, at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Hee Lingchuan didn’t have time to watch it for long. He was terribly busy himself; there were too many robbers, and two fists were no match for four hands.