Where Immortals Once Walked

Once they slipped inside, the sheer cliffs on either side cut off the mountain wind’s path. The wind dropped sharply in terms of power.

Only then did Second Boss Shi dare to breathe again. “Outside, outside that platform is the wind channel for the divine wind. Right now it’s not too bad, but every night at midnight and every day at noon, the gale turns into something fiercer than a bone-scraping steel blade. It harvests lives outright.”

He Lingchuan found that odd. “But I saw stone enclosure foundations left on the platform. Those are remains of buildings, aren’t they?”

If you wanted to build high up, you first had to lay down bases, solid anchor points for supports. He Lingchuan had not had time to examine them closely, but he knew the stone foundations were massive. That suggested the old structures had once been grand indeed.

“Wasn’t the Wind Demon their pet monster?” Second Boss Shi explained. “With the Wind Demon helping them, what’s so hard about building there? When I came years ago, back when the wind wasn’t as vicious, there were still several steles standing on that platform. Too bad the inscriptions had been worn smooth by wind and snow, so you couldn’t make out a thing. Oh, and there were also two statues of Wind Lion Lords. Those were carved directly into the stone mountain, so the wind could not scrape them away.”

When the wind was mild, standing on that platform and looking down over the snowfields must have filled one with that lofty feeling of looking down on all the world from on high.

Other people came to admire the sunlit golden peak, but you would be standing on the golden peak itself.

He Lingchuan followed Second Boss Shi deeper along the mountain path, only to realize that the immense rock walls blocked all the wind and snow. Behind them, there was only a gentle breeze brushing the face, a breeze so soft it felt almost tender compared to the savage chill outside.

By the time he reached this point, He Lingchuan could not help but let out an impressed “Oh, wow.”

Mount Fengmo really ought to be renamed Lotus Peak. The mountain’s crown was not a normal summit at all; it was shaped like a lotus bud. Over a dozen colossal rock walls, like lotus petals, enclosed a hollow interior. Even snow drifting down from above rarely made it inside.

This vast mountain belly might originally have been naturally hollow, but the ancient immortals had clearly altered it. They had carved along the terrain, hollowed it further, and dug downward more than 660 meters until it looked like terraces layered upon terraces.

Or perhaps they truly had cultivated terraces here. He Lingchuan could see the winding traces of watercourses, as well as channels and ditches cut by hand, not nature.

Back then, this place might have been lush and green, with clear springs threading through the fields.

The mountain trail twisted along bizarre stone ridges and sheer faces. Everywhere, there were building foundations left behind. He Lingchuan spotted the largest of them, a white-jade beam about twenty-one meters long. Several people together could not have wrapped their arms around it. Somehow it had fallen and become lodged across a rocky gap.

It must once have sat on the roof of some great hall. But with human strength as it existed today, there was no way anyone could have hoisted something like that onto such a steep, perilous height.

It was obvious that buildings had once been laid into the mountain itself, with some suspended over cliffs and ravines, while others nestled among terraced fields. These buildings must have been staggered in elegant harmony, and they could never have been the dwelling of ordinary mortals.

At their height, perhaps they truly had been jade towers and jeweled halls, proverbial palaces in the air.

And yet now, not even a single scrap of wood remained.

He Lingchuan ran his hand along the rock wall and said suddenly, “There were plants here. This must once have been a moist, temperate place.”

Where moss had grown for many years, it left behind faint, pale-white and pale-green speckled traces that were difficult to remove unless the rock face was shaved down. This wall bore exactly those marks.

The heart-protecting mirror chimed in as well, “There definitely used to be a barrier here!”

Even if the Ethereal Sect had tamed the Wind Demon for their own use, they would still have needed a barrier to ward off the cold and snow, to hold up a pocket of warmth like a greenhouse, so that plants could grow freely within.

Who did not long for warmth? Even immortals would not enjoy living in a place locked in freezing cold all year.

Mountains, water, houses, and fields, it was a hidden peach blossom paradise sealed away inside the mountain’s belly.

To defy the heavens with human hands, only the glorious Ancient Era of immortals could have achieved that. Standing here today, all one could do was imagine the splendor and marvel at how the world had changed.

Second Boss Shi shrugged and said, “After spirit qi weakened, the sect moved down to the plains. People have come to look, and they say that these ruins are from before the middle of the Middle Era.”

If you wanted to live above the mundane, you had to pay the price.

When you could no longer afford it, you moved out.

He Lingchuan could not help but ask, “Why would they choose to live somewhere so isolated and lofty, enduring wind and bitter cold?”

“See those terraces? Do you think they planted wheat and beans like ordinary folk?” the heart-protecting mirror said in a lecturing tone. “They planted spirit fields, the things that grow there are all heavenly treasures! In the Ancient Era, most blessed grotto-heavens and paradises were located on high mountains. The richer and purer the spirit qi, the better the spirit herbs you could cultivate.”

“So that’s how it is,” said He Lingchuan. It seems like the habit of living off the land hasn’t changed from the Ancient Era to now. “Then aren’t immortal disciples just higher-end farmers?”

Farmers grew crops. Immortals cultivated spirit fields. What’s the difference?

For once, the mirror had no ready rebuttal. “Fine, you’re right.”

He Lingchuan’s foot bumped something. He crouched and peered closer. “There’s another statue here.”

It was a sculpture that had rolled down from somewhere. It was a little over a meter tall with its base already broken. He Lingchuan flipped it over and brushed off the sand and snow.

It had a lion’s head and a human body, but it was not in a crouching pose. It stood upright.

From top to bottom, it was basically a single cylindrical pillar. Its arms hung neatly at its sides. The whole thing looked oddly cute, almost chibi-like.

“That’s a Wind Lion Lord. It’s a custom passed down from the Ethereal Sect. Even now, villages across the Gale Tundra often set up Wind Lion Lords to drive away wind and suppress baleful forces.” Second Boss Shi then pointed toward the terraces. “Look, around the fields and the buildings, they show up all the time.”

And it was true. Around the terraces and near the building foundations, Wind Lion Lord statues appeared everywhere. Some were standing, some were squatting, and some were clearly meant to sit on the ground; others must originally have perched on rooftops.

And they usually came in pairs of one big and one small.

“After the Ethereal Sect died out, people still came here specifically to steal Wind Lion Lords and carry them back to set up at home. Sometimes they could sell them for a high price. I’ve seen them at markets before, though only palm-sized ones.” Second Boss Shi patted the snow off his hat. “Haih, the small ones all got carried off. The only ones left are the big ones no one can haul away.”

He Lingchuan’s attention shifted to the massive opening in the mountain’s belly. Earlier, they had noted that the mountain had naturally been hollow in places. One enormous fissure ran like a seam straight through the mountain’s interior toward its base. At its widest, the opening was about three and a half meters long, and it looked like a monster’s gaping mouth. You could shove several He Lingchuans in there without crowding.

“Watch this.” Second Boss Shi grabbed a stone larger than his fist and tossed it into the crack.

Clack, clack, clack.

Then the stone rolled in, and it was swallowed without a sound.

There was not even an echo of it landing. The fissure was absurdly deep.

“Huh?” Second Boss Shi looked startled. He threw another stone, but it produced the exact same result. “What’s going on?”

“What are you trying to do, exactly?”

“Normally, the stone should stop dropping once it reaches the space directly above the opening. The wind blowing up from below should hold it up and make it tumble in place nonstop.” Second Boss Shi pointed a finger downward. “This is where the North-South Divine Wind comes from. Every two hours, the wind coming out of the fissure grows stronger. It peaks at midnight and noon, then gets channeled through grooves and holes in the stone walls and blown outside. It doesn’t linger inside the mountain’s belly. But I don’t know why this time, when I toss stones, there’s no wind at all. I tossed stones in twice before, and there definitely was wind keeping it up there.”

He Lingchuan lifted his head, studying the overall structure of the peak. It seemed the wind channels had been planned from the beginning.

“Legend says the founding ancestor of the Ethereal Sect only established the sect here after taming the Wind Demon,” Second Boss Shi added. “With the Wind Demon guarding them, it was hard for outsiders to attack.”

He Lingchuan nodded. “The King of Baoshu could only seize the entire tundra after defeating the Wind Demon.”

He felt a flicker of disappointment. It seemed these ruins had weathered centuries of storms and welcomed who knew how many visitors, yet nothing of real value remained.

The instant that thought formed, warmth surged through his chest.

His eyes lit up in delight.

Has the divine bone amulet found a treasure here after all?

He Lingchuan began wandering through the ruins, using the amulet’s heat to judge the direction of whatever “supreme treasure” it was reacting to.

To Second Boss Shi, it simply looked like He Lingchuan was aimlessly roaming. First-time visitors to Ethereal Sect ruins often behaved the same way, so he did not think the other party’s movements were strange.

However, He Lingchuan’s expression grew darker and darker. This was because he had discovered that the closer he got to that wide fissure, the cooler the amulet became.

Until he finally stood right at the fissure’s edge, and the divine bone’s warmth returned almost to normal.

Is this thing messing with me?

He Lingchuan kicked a few pebbles into the fissure. Even after a long time, there was still no echo.

Bottomless?

And the divine bone amulet wants me to jump down there?

Is it trying to change owners?

Second Boss Shi saw him leaning over the edge and immediately warned, “Brother He, be careful. If you fall in, there won’t even be bones left to find.”

He Lingchuan waved his hand over the fissure a few times, then said suddenly, “You’re saying there’s usually wind coming up from here?”

“There is.” Second Boss Shi blinked, then nodded. “The closer it gets to midnight and noon, the stronger the wind. Look, it’s almost noon right now. This whole ruin, this entire mountain belly, should have powerful winds by now.” Not just the faint breeze they were feeling.

However, He Lingchuan could not sense even the slightest draft rising from the fissure.

He Lingchuan felt as if the air inside might have condensed or solidified.

He could not help but wonder where the wind that was supposed to blow year after year without end had gone.

Something’s deeply wrong. Even if the so-called North-South Divine Wind were a myth, a normal fissure should still breathe air due to temperature differences.

Even underground caves blow cool air year-round, making them perfect summer retreats.

He had been suspecting someone planned to make a move against the escort troops here. And now, of all things, the very source of the divine wind was behaving abnormally?

Is it really just a coincidence? Or does it fit that old saying:

When something is unnatural, there must be... something behind it?

He had originally assumed that if the hidden plotters attacked the escort troops, they might try to drop rocks from above the official road, causing rockfalls and collapses. It was the most effective way for the few to overwhelm the many. Besides, those people had already used that tactic once at Mount Ping, so doing it again here would be second nature.

As for Mount Fengmo, He Lingchuan had assumed it was merely an observation point.

After all, this perilous peak and the winding road on the opposite mountain were not connected. Between them yawned a bottomless abyss. The plotters should not be able to launch an attack from here.

But after seeing the fissure’s anomaly, he realized his estimate might be off.

An overly quiet fissure, divine wind that had vanished without a trace, the former lair of the Wind Demon, the divine bone growing warm...

A wildly improbable answer surfaced in He Lingchuan’s heart.

What if something down there’s sucking the wind away?

He stopped caring about the divine bone amulet’s treasure prompts. Suddenly, he snapped at Second Boss Shi, “Get on the ram!”

“Ah? Oh.” Second Boss Shi had barely raised his hands when He Lingchuan grabbed him and hauled him up onto the back seat. The cliff ram spread its four hooves and bolted uphill.