Where Immortals Once Walked

Sensing the rebuke in his tone, Sun Fuping hurried to explain, “The intended sacrifices escaped. I had no choice but to activate the backup array outside and summon the venerable from there. Has something happened beyond the city? Are you feeling unwell?”

Sun Fuping had originally planned to sacrifice He Lingchuan and Mao Tao, but the two slipped away at the critical moment. With no other option, he resorted to his backup plan, which was using He Chunhua and the others as substitutes. After that, he employed another method to channel the summoned god’s descent into the battlefield here.

The convoluted way that everything had gone was definitely not ideal, but it was all he could do under the circumstances.

Nian Songyu’s face remained stony as he said, “There was a mishap outside, which weakened me. This black flood dragon keeps regenerating. This is clearly not its true form. I need you to find the essence of its being, its lifeline.”

With that, he raised a hand and traced two circles over Sun Fuping’s head, then made a flicking motion as if sprinkling water.

From between his fingers, glimmers of light showered down. These glimmers of light were light and delicate, like drifting flower petals or fine snow, as they covered Sun Fuping.

To the onlookers, it seemed as though the god had just dusted Sun Fuping with a generous layer of sparkling powder. But only Sun Fuping himself knew what had truly happened. It felt like spring rain soaking into his soul, clearing his mind and lungs, and even soothing his battered body. His wounds, both inside and out, were nearly healed.

He had endured two full volleys of artillery fire from He Lingchuan and the others atop the battlements—no ordinary mortal could have survived that. Sun Fuping had already used every life-saving trump card he had, and even with Nian Songyu’s full protection, he had barely held on. His injuries were critical, especially internally.

But with a casual flick of the venerable’s fingers, the pain wracking his entire body vanished. This was far beyond what ordinary humans could achieve.

Sun Fuping was naturally left in awe.

“Please, Venerable, bestow your wisdom and knowledge upon me!”

What he did not realize was that the venerable was anything but pleased. A divine descent was an extremely perilous process, especially before the divine will had fully entered a suitable vessel. If disrupted, the god’s divine will could suffer serious damage.

By failing to safeguard that process, Sun Fuping had already committed a grave sin.

However, such secrets were too dangerous to be shared. The success rate of divine descents was minimal, and even if Sun Fuping tore through every text in the land, he would never find the full truth.

Fortunately for him, the venerable still needed his help to resolve matters, and so had spared him a drop of divine energy to restore him.

“If the black flood dragon has a lifeline, then it must be something unchanged from beginning to end, something even the great blaze you had set off earlier could not destroy. Hm, it doesn’t seem to be the Generous Pot. Since you managed to make it this far, I trust you have some insight.”

The venerable left him with that hint. As for the rest, that was up to Sun Fuping to deduce.

Sun Fuping nodded earnestly, then quickly asked, “Venerable, what will happen to my position as state preceptor?”

Nian Songyu gave him a dark smile. “If you can get out of here alive, then you’ll get whatever your heart desires.”

The heavy stone weighing on Sun Fuping’s heart finally lifted. He turned and ran into the ruins before the Gale Army could launch another charge.

* * *

The venerable’s hint might have been brief, but it sent Sun Fuping into deep contemplation. And soon after, a wave of realization hit him.

The essence of the black flood dragon’s being was, in plainer terms, its lifeline. But this was not just about learning that the dragon’s true body was not present on the battlefield.

With his experience and insight, Sun Fuping had already suspected that the creature’s immortality came from hiding its vital weakness in advance and relying on the Generous Pot to recover again and again.

When faced with such a monster, how could one expect it to die when its heart was not even in play?

However, the venerable’s words held something deeper, something far more terrifying.

Until now, Sun Fuping had believed the black flood dragon was the artifact spirit spawned from the Generous Pot. But if that were truly the case, then would the Generous Pot not be its lifeline?

Yet the venerable had clearly denied that possibility.

So, what exactly was the black flood dragon then?

Sun Fuping sprinted a ways through the rubble, then came to a sudden halt, standing amidst the ruins with a dazed expression as a flicker of inspiration finally struck him.

Could it be...?

Without hesitation, he changed direction and headed due north.

The ruins sprawled out before him. This was the true state of Panlong Ancient City after the coalition army had withdrawn. That earlier vision of peace and prosperity had been no more than an illusion, a mirage.

But between the before and after, there had to be things that remained unchanged.

Before long, Sun Fuping passed by the once-imposing Zhong or Chen Residence, a stately compound with high gates and spacious courtyards. It had originally belonged to the Chen Family before eventually being purchased and renovated by Zhong Shengguang. In the end, even the name plaque had been replaced.

But Sun Fuping did not stop. This was not the place he sought.

He continued on, weaving through the ruins of the government complex, leaping over a great dry trench, until he finally reached the official residences.

Or at least what remained of them.

Before their destruction, they had housed the city’s officials. The layout had changed significantly since peacetime, but Sun Fuping quickly found the one he was looking for.

It was a nondescript little home, containing just two rooms and a small courtyard.

In the courtyard was a burial mound.

Sun Fuping ignored the grave. Instead, he turned to the two fire-charred rooms and began a frantic search.

A large bed, a dressing table, a crib...

He even pried open the secret compartment in the dressing table, but whatever had been inside was long since reduced to blackened sludge, scorched beyond recognition.

He was sure that none of these was the black flood dragon’s core.

But the place was small, and the items few. Could his deduction have been wrong?

Sweat dripped from Sun Fuping’s brow.

At this moment, time was life. The venerable was out there, battling the monster born of the Generous Pot with everything he had. If Sun Fuping could not find the key to turning the tide, he would not just lose his dreams of future glory; he might not even live to see tomorrow.

He circled the house three times, pacing back and forth like a caged beast.

Perhaps it was anxiety clouding his vision, but it was not until his third round that he suddenly stopped short, spun around, and bolted back into the main room.

The bed was scorched down to its frame. Only half a wall remained, its surface blackened with soot.

However, on that half-wall was a strange patch—a lighter, grayish shape.

It was the original color of the wall.

It looked as if something had once hung there, shielding that part of the wall from the flames.

That shape...

Sun Fuping muttered to himself, “The saber. I recall there being a treasured saber hanging above the headboard.”

Yes, that was exactly it. This had been Zhong Shengguang’s residence before he became the city’s commander. Sun Fuping had visited this place once already, during the search for the Baling expedition team’s graves.

While waiting for Nian Songyu that day, he had taken a thorough tour of the house. Its furnishings were so simple and sparse that one could not help but remember them.

The wall was still there, and so was the bed, but the saber that had once hung on that wall was gone.

The soot-free mark on the wall proved it had remained through the great blaze, just as the venerable had said: “Something unchanged from beginning to end, something even the great blaze you had set off earlier could not destroy.”

In other words, his deduction was not wrong. Somebody had simply gotten to the saber before he could.

Sun Fuping straightened up and, through clenched teeth, squeezed out a name, muttering each syllable with blood practically spilling out from his mouth, “He Lingchuan! You damn bastard!”

The ever-composed and calculating State Preceptor Sun had finally lost his temper.

Back when the four of them had first discovered this place, they had split up to investigate after some discussion. The only ones who had examined the residence in detail were himself and He Lingchuan.