Where Immortals Once Walked

Before military councils began in the Hall of War, the spellcasters guarding the entrance would hold up long-handled mirrors and perform a security check on every participant.

Set into each mirror was a large eyeball. It could flick its gaze about and raise an alarm. He Lingchuan had personally seen one detect that a man carried a divine technique used for eavesdropping. It was astonishingly effective.

Later, when he followed the Red General into battle, he heard from her the origin of that eyeball: it had been gouged from a greater monster called Mulian.

That greater monster had dozens of eyes all over its body, each with its own marvelous use. Its most basic divine technique was the “Eye of Truth,” which could not only see through divine techniques but also pierce the human heart. Later, however, it betrayed the mortal realm and defected to the gods, causing immense losses to the immortals.

It was known that the greater monster Mulian had eventually been slain by the Grand Return Sect. Its distinctive eyes were then made into all manner of magical artifacts, some of which still survived to this day.

At the time, He Lingchuan had been curious. “If Mulian could see through divine techniques and read people’s hearts, how could it still have been defeated?”

“The so-called ‘Eye of Truth’ is only a kind of divine technique. What divine technique in this world is eternally unbreakable?” the Red General had told him. “I don’t know the details, but I am certain of one thing: in the end, the Grand Return Sect found a way to blind it.”

It looks like Lady Miaozhantian also has one of Mulian’s eyeballs in her possession and has embedded it into her magical artifact.

Given that Mulian had once gone over to the enemy, it did not seem all that strange that the gods should possess some of its eyes.

In that sense, the statue was remarkably realistic.

Old Ge, who had just lit several sticks of incense himself, said upon hearing this, “What does appearance matter? A heavenly god is a heavenly god. Who’s to say the heavenly gods don’t have countless manifestations?”

He Lingchuan smiled in understanding.

He had seen the corpse of a god in the Palace City of West Ji. The true bodies of the gods did not look like this at all. At best, they could be called vaguely humanoid, but some were not even recognizably human-shaped.

So Old Ge was mistaken. The form the gods took on in the mortal realm—that is, their statues and idols—mattered very much.

Taking on a human appearance made them far easier for ordinary people to accept.

Gao Jilin noticed the smile on He Lingchuan’s face and immediately asked, “Brother He, what are you smiling at?”

He Lingchuan gave him a vague answer, “Nothing.” This man seems awfully attentive to my words and movements.

At that moment, Old Ge said, “Haven’t you noticed? Lady Miaozhantian’s incense offerings are especially plentiful.”

Only after it said so did He Lingchuan realize that the incense burner before Lady Miaozhantian’s statue was the largest, and the incense there the most plentiful. Men and women passing through might skip offering to the other gods, but they would definitely place one stick before Lady Miaozhantian.

It was truly a case of not daring to miss the chance while passing by.

Gao Jilin, ever ready to play straightforward man, asked, “And why is that?”

“Lady Miaozhantian has the power to distinguish truth from falsehood and to judge right from wrong. She also occasionally reveals miracles and never errs.” Old Ge placed a stick of incense before her. “Whenever one of these miracles occurs, the story spreads, and everyone talks about it.”

“Reveals miracles?” He Lingchuan asked curiously. “Here?”

“Yes, right here.” Old Ge did not dare point directly, so it merely jutted its lips toward it. “Through that magical artifact!”

The magical artifact?

Is he referring to the scale in her hands?

Isn’t that just a lump of carved gold? Could it actually be a magical artifact?

He Lingchuan had not felt even the slightest fluctuation of magical energy from it.

Then again, could there really be any true treasure displayed so brazenly in the Hall of Worship without someone trying to snatch it?

Regardless, it did not really matter, as that was none of his concern.

He Lingchuan shook off the thought and turned his attention instead to the murals on the walls.

Every wall of the great hall carried brick carvings[1] or painted murals, all depicting the deeds of the gods: either battles against all kinds of enemies or displays of miracles, such as watering the land in every direction and blessing all living beings under Heaven.

Judging by the workmanship alone, whether carved or painted, they all deserved to be called masterpieces.

He Lingchuan examined the murals one by one, wondering whether he might find an image of Mitian somewhere among them.

As expected, he did not.

But unexpectedly, he did spot the statue of a certain god, namely True Monarch Tongming.

It was neither especially large nor small, about the height of a real person, and stood in the left wing of the hall.

The statue’s features were refined and elegant, with broad robes, a lofty cap, and sleeves flowing in the wind. It depicted the very image of an immortal from antiquity.

The moment He Lingchuan saw it, his feelings became very complicated.

Setting aside the entanglement between True Monarch Tongming and the He Family, the god’s actual form almost certainly did not look like this. Why, then, had his manifestation in human form been made to resemble an immortal?

The Hall of Worship as a whole was dazzling with gold and jade, but once the first shock wore off, He Lingchuan found it increasingly hard on the eyes. The incense smoke was so thick it stung and watered them.

He heard Gao Jilin cough twice as well, and then asked Old Ge, “When can we go back out?”

But the other tourists were in no hurry to leave. Some had grabbed whole bunches of incense and were busy making sure every god received an equal share.

“You won’t stay a little longer and pay your respects?” Old Ge jerked his chin toward the others. “Didn’t they travel so far just to get a divination and burn some incense?”

Gao Jilin smiled. “Our state does not practice the rite of divine recompense.”

“Oh, you don’t know, then. People from places like yours are exactly the ones who worship the fiercest once they get here.” Old Ge gave a scornful little laugh. “The harder it’s banned at home, the more enthusiastically they worship here. Just look at this hall, of every ten people filling it, six or seven are from places that forbid rites of divine recompense.”

When one thought about it, that was true enough. Gao Jilin had no answer and could only sigh.

“They’ll be at it for quite a while.” Old Ge asked He Lingchuan, “Didn’t you want to find Guihua Pagoda? Since there’s time now, I’ll take you!”

He Lingchuan agreed at once.

Old Ge also brought along one mandrill as a guard, and the one man and two primates—or really, three primates[2]—headed out of the hall together.

There was a side path off Tianshu Peak that led directly to Guihua Pagoda.

But once He Lingchuan stepped out of the Hall of Worship, he discovered that Gao Jilin had actually followed them out as well.

“Brother Gao, why have you come out too? Where’s Brother Jiang?”

“He’s still inside, worshipping without end.” Gao Jilin pressed a hand to his forehead. “The smoke in there gives me a headache if I stay too long. May I come along with you?”

To Guihua Pagoda? He Lingchuan naturally had no objection. It was a public scenic spot, after all. Mount Xu did not forbid tourists from visiting it.

The side path was slick, poorly maintained, and covered with a thin sheet of ice, making it unpleasant to walk.

Fortunately, the primates did not care, He Lingchuan did not mind, and Gao Jilin evidently had cultivation of his own, for he walked no slower than the rest.

Curious as ever, he asked, “What exactly is this Guihua Pagoda? It sounds old.”

Instead of taking the path properly, Old Ge preferred scrambling along the stone ledges at the edge of the cliff. “You’re lucky that you’re asking me; most people might not know what the Guihua Pagoda is. It’s a memorial tower belonging to the Grand Return Sect. If disciples died far from home, with neither body nor soul able to return, then sometimes their relatives or old friends would bring keepsakes or belongings here to place in the pagoda and comfort the departed spirit.”

The next thing Gao Jilin said made even He Lingchuan glance over at him: “Then why is it still here?”

Though Lingxu City had opened Mount Xu to the public, most of the Grand Return Sect’s original buildings had likely been destroyed in the war six hundred years ago. Later reconstructions had only selectively restored certain scenic sites. Most of the old ruins were either broken and desolate or no more than shattered tiles and crumbling walls, left to the company of weeds.

Yet, the Guihua Pagoda had not been rebuilt, so why had the northern monster state simply flattened it at the time?

Old Ge shrugged and answered, “I don’t know. It wasn’t exactly conspicuous. Maybe they didn’t think it was worth the trouble.”

Guihua Pagoda stood on a low hill some seven hundred meters away, hidden behind several ridges. If not for Old Ge leading the way, He Lingchuan would never have found it.

There were also remnants of other buildings on the hill. Judging by their foundations, the place must once have been of decent size. But now only a few fragments of walls remained, and even the broken brick and stone scattered in the grass had been weathered into ruin.

By contrast, Guihua Pagoda itself, which was standing atop a stone platform, looked completely intact.

It was a nine-tiered stone pagoda, short and squat, its carving so plain it almost bordered on crude. Compared with the buildings of the Heavenly Palace, or even with the pagodas below, it was thoroughly unimpressive. On several parts of it, the marks of chisels and axes were still plainly visible, without any later polishing. Moreover, it was barely three meters tall. If He Lingchuan stood on tiptoe[3] and stretched out his hand, he might even be able to touch the top.[4]

Now, looking at the base again, he saw it was one solid piece with the stone platform beneath.

It had been carved directly from the natural rock outcropping of the site.

There were no decorative carvings on the tower body, no figures, no images. But it was full of tiny holes, and when the wind blew through them, it produced a strange, hollow wailing.

With such an unkempt, shabby appearance, it was no wonder that the northern monster state had never felt any urgent need to destroy it.

At first glance, it really did resemble the kind of rough cinerary tower or spirit bone tower that some forgotten village might casually throw up outside its bounds.

There was only one opening on the front large enough to admit a human hand, and it was apparently the entrance into the pagoda’s second level.

As Gao Jilin studied the Guihua Pagoda, he asked He Lingchuan, “And why have you come here, Brother He?”

“On another’s behalf, to return a keepsake to the tower.” He Lingchuan took out the turtle-shaped talisman[5] from his storage ring and passed it through the opening into the Guihua Pagoda.

“On another’s behalf?” Gao Jilin was visibly moved. “Could it be some ancient immortal?”

Given the age of this pagoda, who else would have relics needing return?

“Perhaps. I once entered a cave abode. Its former master left behind a letter and a token, entrusting me to bring them back here.” There was no need to hide such a thing. Immortal ruins were discovered from time to time in the mortal realm.

“Brother He is truly a man of fidelity, bringing it all this way to return it.”

“It was on the way. I also wanted to see Lingxu City for myself.” As he said this, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

He had just been about to turn away when something slid out of the Guihua Pagoda: the turtle-shaped talisman.

Why did it come back out?

He picked it up and pushed it into the pagoda again.

Under the gaze of four pairs of eyes, the talisman slid back out once more.

He glanced to the side. Is the pagoda tilted?

Old Ge burst out laughing. “Not returned properly, maybe?”

He Lingchuan scratched the back of his neck, stumped. “The letter only said I should send it back. It didn’t say how to send it back. Is there some rule or method to this too?”

The last sentence was directed at Old Ge.

But the ape looked just as blank. This question was clearly beyond what it knew. “No idea. After I go back down the mountain, I’ll ask around for you and see how others do it.”

The mandrill behind them rumbled in its heavy voice, “Maybe the tower doesn’t want to accept it.”

Gao Jilin could not help but add, “Or perhaps the owner of this turtle-shaped talisman wasn’t especially welcome in the Grand Return Sect, so the pagoda doesn’t want to let it return?”

That seems possible. Perfected Dongli must indeed have had some rift with the Grand Return Sect. Otherwise, why would he have died alone in the wild, away from his sect?

He Lingchuan gave the Guihua Pagoda a slap.

So you simply refuse to take it? The weeds around you are already taller than you, yet you’re still this proud?

“Forget it.” He tucked the turtle-shaped talisman back into his robe. “If you don’t want it, then fine.”

He had brought the thing here. If the Guihua Pagoda refused to accept it, then Perfected Dongli could not exactly blame him, could he?

Ah, poor Perfected Dongli. People always speak of fallen leaves returning to their roots, yet his own sect doesn’t even receive him back.

1. See Chinese brick carving. ☜

2. After all, humans are primates too :) Anyway, I’m just using primates to refer to apes and monkeys since while apes do technically fall under the category of monkeys, people don’t picture them that way. ☜

3. Yes, easily. I am, after all, nearly 190 cm tall. ☜

4. Anyway, if you’re wondering what these stone pagodas might look like, see the note at the end of the chapter, though the image I have there is only three-tiered. ☜

5. This was first mentioned in Chapter 230. ☜