After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 400: Chapter 399: The Vanished Divine Wind

Once they entered, cliffs on either side cut off the mountain wind, and its force dropped abruptly.

Shi the Second finally caught his breath. ”Outside... that platform outside is the channel for the Divine Wind. It’s not so bad right now. Every midnight and noon, the Gang Wind is worse than a bone-scraping steel blade. It’ll take your life in an instant.”

Hee Lingchuan found this odd. ”But I saw stone foundations on that platform. They must be the remains of a building.”

To erect buildings at such a height, one must first lay down a foundation for support. Hee Lingchuan hadn’t had time for a closer look, but he could tell the stone bases were massive, suggesting the former structures had been magnificent.

”Wasn’t the Wind Demon a demon they raised?” Shi the Second explained. ”With the Wind Demon’s help, what’s so special about them building here? I came here years ago when the winds were weaker, and there were still several steles standing on that platform. Unfortunately, the inscriptions were worn smooth by the wind and snow, so you couldn’t read them. Oh, right, there were also two sculptures of Wind Lion Lords. Those were carved directly into the Stone Mountain, so they couldn’t be blown away.”

’When the wind is weak, standing on that platform and gazing out over the snowy domain must give you the heroic feeling of seeing all other mountains as small.’

’Other people look at the sunlit golden peaks, but you’re standing right on one.’

As Hee Lingchuan followed Shi the Second onto the mountain path, he discovered that the immense cliff face blocked all the wind and snow. Behind it, only a light breeze caressed his face, a gentle touch compared to the furious, biting gales outside.

When they reached this point, Hee Lingchuan couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

This Wind Demon Mountain should be renamed Lotus Peak. The summit was shaped just like a lotus bud, with a dozen enormous rock faces like petals sheltering a hollow mountain core. Even few snowflakes managed to drift down from above.

This massive mountain core might have originally been hollow, but the Ancient Immortals had clearly worked on it. They carved with the natural contours and dug down more than two hundred zhang, creating what looked like layer upon layer of terraced fields.

’Hmm, maybe they really did create terraced fields here,’ Hee Lingchuan thought, because he could also see the traces of winding waterways—man-made ditches and canals.

Back in the day, this place might have been a landscape of tender green, with clear springs meandering through the fields.

The mountain path snaked along bizarre rock formations and steep cliffs, dotted everywhere with the foundations of bygone structures. Hee Lingchuan saw the largest, a White Jade Beam that was seven zhang (twenty-one meters) long. It was too thick for several people to link arms around. It was impossible to know where it had fallen from, but it was now wedged firmly on the rocks of a ravine.

It must have once been part of the roof of some grand hall. But with today’s manpower, it would be impossible to haul it up such a dangerously steep mountain.

You could tell that buildings had once been constructed along the mountain’s contours, some perched high on cliffs over ravines, others nestled among the fields. Their artful arrangement was clearly not the work of mortals.

In their heyday, they might have truly been jade palaces and castles in the air.

But now, not a single piece of wood was left.

Hee Lingchuan stroked the mountain wall and said suddenly, ”Plants used to grow here. It must have been a warm and humid place.”

Areas where moss had grown for years would leave faint white and green speckled marks that were difficult to remove unless the rock was scraped flat. This cliff face had such marks.

The Heart-Protecting Mirror added, ”This place definitely had a Barrier!”

Even if the Piaomiao Sect tamed the Wind Demon for its own use, it would have needed a Barrier to fend off the bitter cold, wind, and snow. They would have had to create a kind of greenhouse to allow plants to grow freely here. Who doesn’t yearn for warmth? Even an Immortal wouldn’t want to live in a place that’s bitterly cold all year round.

With mountains, water, houses, and fields, it was a paradise within the mountain’s core, isolated from the rest of the world.

To conquer nature with human effort was something only achievable in the glorious Ancient Era of the Immortals. Standing here today, one could only imagine the grandeur of that Immortal Family and lament how drastically the world has changed.

Shi the Second shrugged. ”After the Spiritual Qi declined, the Sect moved down to the plains. Someone who came to inspect the site said these are all ruins from before the Mid-Middle Ages.”

There’s a price to pay for living a life beyond the mundane.

When you can no longer afford it, you have no choice but to move out.

Hee Lingchuan couldn’t help but ask, ”Why would they live in such a remote, elevated place, enduring the wind, snow, and bitter cold?”

”See those terraced fields? You think they planted wheat and beans like mortals?” the Heart-Protecting Mirror said, eager to lecture. ”They were cultivating Spirit Fields, and what grew there were Celestial and Earthly Treasures! During the Ancient Times, most Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands were located on high mountains. The denser and purer the Spiritual Qi, the better the Spirit Medicine they could grow.”

”I see.” The tradition of living off the land hadn’t changed since ancient times. ”So, aren’t Immortal Descendants just high-level farmers?”

’Farmers plant crops, Immortals till Spirit Fields. What’s the difference?’

For a moment, the Mirror was unable to retort. ”Fine. You win.”

Hee Lingchuan’s foot bumped into something. He squatted down to look. ”Another sculpture.”

It was a sculpture, about four feet tall, that had rolled down from who knows where. Its base was broken. Hee Lingchuan turned it over and cleared away the snow and grit.

The sculpture had the head of a lion and the body of a man, but it was standing, not crouching.

Its body was a simple cylinder from top to bottom, with its two hands placed neatly at its sides. It actually looked a bit cute.

”That’s a Wind Lion Lord, a custom passed down from the Piaomiao Sect. Even today, towns and villages on the Gale Tundra often display them to ward off wind and suppress evil,” Shi the Second said, pointing at the terraces. ”Take a look. You see them often around the fields and buildings.”

It was true. Near the fields and the foundations of buildings, there were always sculptures of Wind Lion Lords. Some were standing upright, others were squatting. Some were clearly meant to be placed on the ground, while others must have originally sat on rooftops.

Moreover, they usually appeared in pairs, one large and one small.

”After the Piaomiao Sect vanished, people would make special trips here to steal the Wind Lion Lords to display back home. Sometimes they could even be sold for a high price. I saw one at the market once, it was only as big as my palm.” Shi the Second patted the snow off his hat. ”Sigh. All the small ones have been carried off. The only ones left are the big ones that are too heavy to move.”

Hee Lingchuan turned his attention to a large hole in the mountain’s core. As mentioned before, the mountain had natural hollows within it. A huge crevice seemed to run from the core all the way down to the mountain’s base. At its widest, the opening was about a zhang across—like the gaping maw of a monster, wide enough to stuff several Hee Lingchuans inside.

”Watch this.” Shi the Second picked up a rock larger than his fist and tossed it into the crevice.

CLATTER CLATTER... The stone tumbled into the fissure and then went silent.

There wasn’t even an echo of it landing, which showed how deep the crevice was.

”Huh?” Shi the Second was surprised. He tossed another rock down, with the same result. ”What’s going on?”

”What kind of show are you putting on?”

”Normally, a rock should stop falling just above the mouth of the crevice. The wind blowing up from below would hold it aloft, making it tumble in place.”

He pointed at the fissure. ”This is the source of the Meridian Divine Wind. Every double-hour, the wind from the fissure intensifies, reaching its peak at midnight and noon. It then flows through vents and channels in the rock walls to the outside, not lingering in the mountain’s core.”

”I don’t know why there’s no wind this time. I’ve thrown rocks in twice before, and there was definitely a draft then.”

Hee Lingchuan looked up at the entire peak. It seemed the wind channels had been part of the original design.

”Legend says the founding ancestor of Misty Peak established the Sect here only after taming the Wind Demon. With the Wind Demon as a guardian, it was very difficult for outsiders to attack.”

Hee Lingchuan nodded. ”The King of Treasure Tree had to defeat the Wind Demon to conquer the entire tundra.”

He felt a pang of disappointment. ’Looks like these ruins have weathered the wind and snow for centuries and been picked over by countless visitors. There’s probably nothing useful left.’

The thought had barely formed when a wave of warmth spread across his chest.

He was overjoyed.

’The Divine Bone Necklace found a treasure here after all?’

Hee Lingchuan began to wander through the ruins, using the necklace’s heat to pinpoint the location of this so-called ”Supreme Treasure.”

From Shi the Second’s perspective, he was just wandering about aimlessly. Most first-time visitors to the Piaomiao Sect ruins did the same.

However, Hee Lingchuan’s expression grew increasingly grim. He had discovered that the closer he got to the wide crevice, the cooler the necklace became.

By the time he was standing at the edge of the fissure, the Divine Bone’s temperature had returned to normal.

’Is this some kind of joke?’

Hee Lingchuan kicked a few more pebbles into the fissure. Again, he heard no echo even after a long wait.

’It’s bottomless.’

’And the Divine Bone Necklace wants me to just jump in?’

’Does this thing want a new owner?’

Seeing him peering over the edge of the fissure, Shi the Second quickly warned, ”Brother Hee, be careful! If you fall in, there won’t be a single bone left of you.”

Hee Lingchuan waved his hand over the fissure a few times, then said suddenly, ”You said there’s usually a draft here?”

”There is.” Shi the Second grunted. ”The closer it gets to midnight or noon, the stronger the wind. See, it’s almost noon now. This entire ruin, the whole mountain core, should be filled with a strong gale.” Not like now, where there was only a gentle breeze.

But Hee Lingchuan couldn’t feel the slightest draft coming from the fissure.

The air inside seemed to have solidified.

Where had the ceaseless wind gone?

Something was very wrong. Even without any Meridian Divine Wind, a normal fissure should have a draft due to temperature differences.

Even an underground cavern would have a constant cool breeze, making it a perfect escape from the summer heat.

He’d just been suspecting that someone planned to ambush the Guard Team here, and now the source of the Meridian Divine Wind was acting strangely?

Was it just a coincidence? Or did it prove the old saying?

’Where there’s an anomaly, there’s a... demon?’

He had originally thought that if the mastermind were to attack the Guard Team, they might try to trigger a rockslide on the Official Road. After all, it was the most effective way for a small force to defeat a larger one, and they had already used that tactic once at Pingshan. They ought to be quite proficient at it by now.

As for Wind Demon Mountain, Hee Lingchuan had assumed it was merely an observation post.

After all, this treacherous peak wasn’t connected to the Mountain-Circling Official Road on the other side. A bottomless abyss separated them; the mastermind shouldn’t be able to launch an attack from here.

But after seeing the strange phenomenon at the fissure, he felt his calculations might be off.

The unnaturally calm fissure, the vanished wind, the former lair of the Wind Demon, the heating Divine Bone...

An impossible answer surfaced in Hee Lingchuan’s mind.

’Could there be something down there that’s sucking away all the wind?’

He ignored the heat from the Divine Bone Necklace and suddenly said to Shi the Second, ”Get on the sheep!”

”Huh? Oh.” Shi the Second had just started to move when Hee Lingchuan hauled him up onto the back of the Rock Sheep. The creature immediately took off, galloping toward higher ground.