Where Immortals Once Walked

The two men and two primates made their way back along the narrow path to Tianshu Peak and rejoined the tour group.

The Heavenly Palace buildings farther on were no longer as extravagantly overwhelming as the Hall of Worship. Their forms were still grand, but their interiors were no longer plated completely in gold. These structures each served distinct functions, and Old Ge introduced them one by one as they passed.

We should be nearing Star-Plucking Tower by now. He Lingchuan deliberately lagged behind, turning his head this way and that as if admiring the scenery, but in truth, he had called out the eyeball spider and was asking it in a low voice, “You’re certain the thing is on Mount Xu?”

The spider gave several sharp little chirrs, meaning: Zhu Erniang’s remains were definitely here, definitely somewhere within the bounds of Mount Xu, but the exact location was unknown. Its perception was being blocked by an extremely powerful barrier.

That matched Dong Rui’s account exactly.

Good, very good.

If he could confirm that Zhu Erniang’s molted shell was indeed on Mount Xu, then half the purpose of today’s ascent would be accomplished.

Only once that was settled could he begin laying plans for what came next.

“A barrier?” The presence of barriers within the Heavenly Palace was entirely to be expected. He Lingchuan muttered to himself, “And yet Xiang Yan clearly said that when Mount Xu was renovated more than ten years ago, no magical artifact or immortal relic was hidden here. Hm, unless what we’re looking for isn’t a stored treasure at all.”

“There are so many arrays and barriers here. The magical artifacts and spiritual objects used to power them can’t possibly be few in number.” He Lingchuan glanced right and left, careful not to be overheard before saying softly, “Old Zhu’s[1] treasure would fit in here awfully well, wouldn’t it?”

“It would,” replied the mirror. “So how do you plan to locate it?”

“The renovation of Mount Xu was an enormous undertaking. The number of laborers and craftsmen involved must have been staggering, and the work was completed less than twenty years ago. Most of those people should still be alive.”

The mirror sounded dismissive. “And what would common laborers know?”

“No matter how grand an array is, it still has to be built by human hands.” The arrays atop Mount Xu could hardly have been completed by simply tossing down a few bricks and arranging a few flowerbeds. They must have been full-fledged engineering works. “Don’t underestimate them. The key is finding the right people.”

He Lingchuan continued, “Old Xiang once said that the grand array on Mount Xu corresponds to the stars above, and that some extraordinary treasure was placed in its core to activate it. The moment I heard that, I suspected the thing in question was Zhu Erniang’s treasure.”

As he said that, he let out a sigh.

The only thing harder than breaking into Lingxu City’s treasure vault and stealing from it is probably digging Zhu Erniang’s remains out of the core of Mount Xu’s grand array.

Why does every truly impossible task in the world seem to just fall right into my hands?

The mirror asked directly, “So how do you intend to look for it?”

“First, I need to confirm whether my guess is even correct.” He Lingchuan had no choice but to be cautious. “If I get it wrong, then I’ll be leaving my life here.”

“And then there’s the question of where the core of the array is.” He continued thinking it through. “The array is said to have been devised jointly by the gods and the Lord Emperor, but leaders generally only set the requirements and perhaps indicate the broad direction. The real details—the actual design, construction, and protections of the array—must have been carried out by the people below.”

In ther words, his task was to locate people who had known of it, or worked on it.

Back in Baishajue, he had asked Xiang Yan about precisely this, but the old man had kept his mouth shut no matter what. Later, after Cen Boqing was arrested, however, the Chiyan officials in Baishajue all felt greatly relieved and delighted, and their regard for He Lingchuan rose sharply. Over several more chats, Xiang Yan gradually let his guard down, and on one occasion, he finally let slip that when he supervised construction work in Lingxu City, he had made friends with several men there.

He had not given any specific names, but one of them had borne the compound surname Zaifu.

That was an unusually rare surname.

Like Xiang Yan himself, this Lord Zaifu had already retired, but from the sound of it, he still lived somewhere in Lingxu City.

The mirror reminded him, “The array on Mount Xu would be among the most tightly guarded secrets imaginable. You really think you can get people to talk? Be careful not to kick the grass and frighten the snake.”

He Lingchuan smiled faintly. “Who said I was going to ask them face-to-face?”

In Lingxu City, preserving himself remained the highest priority.

Before long, Old Ge led the group to the foot of a long flight of white jade steps.

The staircase was broad and straight, with eighty-one steps in all. Standing below and looking up, everyone saw a great building above them, thick and towering, all in white, with a moon-pale roof.

“That,” said Old Ge, “is Star-Plucking Tower.”

So that’s the famed Star-Plucking Tower. The earthly seat of the gods, a place even the Monster Emperor of Beijia must come to in reverence.

It sat high above the summit, almost indistinguishable from the clouds and mist around it, its whole body now dyed gold-red by the slanting evening sun. All who beheld it, He Lingchuan included, felt as though they were looking up at a sacred mountain itself, and a near-irresistible urge to kneel and worship rose in their hearts.

Indeed, many on those white jade steps were already doing exactly that, bowing and knocking their heads to the ground one step at a time, pious to the point of seeing no one else around them.

He Lingchuan had just meant to ascend the stairs as well, when, after only two steps, the divine bone amulet suddenly flared hot!

No, not merely hot but scalding.

Any hotter, and it might have burned a hole right through his robe.

Its meaning could not have been clearer: I want it. I want it, want it, want it! I want it desperately!

The abruptness of that reaction startled even He Lingchuan, and he stopped where he stood. The divine bone amulet loved devouring rare treasures, but never before had it shown such urgency.

There was a treasure in Star-Plucking Tower that it absolutely had to have.

Its possessiveness was unmistakable.

But what kind of place was this?

He Lingchuan already harbored dark intentions of his own and had been maintaining 120% vigilance toward this so-called “residence of the heavenly gods.” Now that this new change had occurred, the next step he had started to take instead drew back.

At the same moment, something suddenly appeared in his right palm.

He reflexively lifted his wrist and looked.

Fleeting Life had appeared on its own.

This saber had become one with him, and normally only appeared when he deliberately summoned it in battle.

Yet now it had emerged without being called, its blade trembling faintly, its hilt icy enough that its chill reached the bones.

He Lingchuan could feel the saber intent rippling outward in waves, as though at the far end of the white jade staircase, within Star-Plucking Tower itself, some unspeakable terror was hidden!

“Hey, are you moving or not?” one of the tourists behind him complained. “If you’re not going up, then stop blocking the way. Don’t just stand there like a rock.”

There were many people on the white jade steps, and everyone was being pushed along by the crowd behind. The moment He Lingchuan stopped, he became an obstacle.

He stepped aside, and the speaker was startled at what he saw. “Hey, why have you drawn your blade?!”

He Lingchuan flashed him a grin. “Ah, sorry.”

The man was brushed by the aura emanating from the saber and shivered from head to toe.

At that moment, several palace guards suddenly ran out from a two-story watchtower by the side of the staircase and blocked the way with their dagger-axes.[/ref]I think this is basically a kind of polearm, but feel free to just read up on dagger-axes on Wikipedia.[/ref]. “Urgent business in the Heavenly Palace! No passage for the time being!”

“Eh?” Complaints rose at once. Star-Plucking Tower was right there in front of them, yet it had suddenly closed. This was the centerpiece of the route. There was not a single tourist who did not want to go inside.

Jiang Tao also complained while asking Old Ge, “Is Star-Plucking Tower often closed?”

Old Ge, jostled from all sides, shrieked in irritation. “You’re asking me? Why not ask Star-Plucking Tower itself?!”

Gao Jilin, meanwhile, asked one of the palace guards, “Sir, how long will Star-Plucking Tower be closed?”

The guard did not even turn his eyes toward him as he replied, “Unknown.”

Amid the chorus of complaints, He Lingchuan also raised his head and looked again toward Star-Plucking Tower. The building was magnificent in its grandeur, standing as if high above all living beings. The majesty of it was so overwhelming that any description felt pale.

What’s inside that’s caused the divine bone amulet to go crazy with desire?

And what’s making Fleeting Life be on edge?

The secrets of the heavenly gods, perhaps even the secrets of the Monster Emperor and Beijia, all of them may be lying right inside.

Unfortunately, he could not personally go in.

Whatever he could learn by circling around through other people, how could that compare to seeing it with his own eyes.

Eh? Wait... He Lingchuan suddenly smacked his own forehead. Am I stupid? I’ve still got the eyeball spider!

He could not go up, but the eyeball spider certainly could.

In a place where anyone could go and worship, who would pay attention to a tiny little spy?

Taking advantage of a moment when the palace guards were not looking, he flicked the little creature onto the back of a tourist, letting it hitch a ride.

This particular tourist had already started climbing the white jade steps before the guards blocked the path, and so was fortunate enough not to be stopped. He could continue on into Star-Plucking Tower.

At that very moment, a group of more than ten people emerged from a tower by the side of the staircase.

The official in the lead looked somewhat familiar. Two of those behind him were likely his attendants, and the rest, clad in golden armor, were all guards of the Heavenly Palace.

The whole party hurried up the steps.

With the palace guards clearing the way, everyone made room for that official.

Soon enough, they vanished from sight at the top of the staircase and entered Star-Plucking Tower.

Only then did He Lingchuan withdraw his gaze.

Not long ago, that very man had made quite a stir at the Dun Garden auction. He Lingchuan remembered him distinctly because he had bought the half-broken sword tip of True Immortal Shou’an for the staggering sum of 870,000 taels.

Perhaps he had bid on behalf of the Ke Family. No one knew whether they intended to extract the boundless gold from the sword tip or simply keep it as an incredibly valuable collectible.

He Lingchuan recalled what Fushan Yue had said: the gods summoned the Ke Family periodically. In other words, members of the Ke Family climbed the mountain to obey divine commands on a regular schedule.

That was also the source of their unbounded favor.

And today, by pure chance, he had just run into Ke Yanming going up the mountain.

The tourists blocked by the guards continued asking, “We still can’t go up?”

The palace guards remained expressionless.

That was an answer in and of itself. Since they clearly were not getting through, Old Ge said, “Well, there’s no point standing here. Let’s go rest in that pavilion for now and wait to see what happens!”

And so, the tour group slowly retreated and settled in the pavilion by the staircase.

Perhaps because it knew there was no need to rush, the divine bone amulet gradually calmed as well and stopped burning.

He Lingchuan sat down facing Star-Plucking Tower and opened the perspective of the eyeball spider.

The tourist it had hitched onto was young and nimble and climbed the stairs quickly. He seemed to be here more for sightseeing than devotion, unlike the others who went one step, one bow, one knock of the head.

Sharing the spider’s vision, He Lingchuan saw him swiftly ascend the white jade stairs, pass through the grand doorway more than thirty meters tall, and enter Star-Plucking Tower.

Outside, the mountain wind was sharp, and snow lay over the ground.

Inside, however, it was warm as spring, with a soft breeze brushing across the face.

Then the tourists who entered looked down and were struck dumb with shock.

Within the grand doors of Star-Plucking Tower, there was actually a vast pool of molten rock.

It was a full hundred meters across, the lava rolling and churning, casting waves of gold-red light.

So that’s why it’s warm.

Even if there was some sort of array just inside the entrance, it must have been there to prevent the heat, as well as the poisonous fumes, from overwhelming visitors.

From the doorway to the far side stretched a stone causeway across the lava pool, straight and level, over thirty meters wide. Unless one deliberately tried to die, one ordinarily would not fall.

Of course, that was ordinarily.

Old Ge had mentioned on the way that a tourist fell here every month.

The experience of walking through an active volcano was simply too unusual. Visitors often edged toward the sides of the stone causeway to peer down into the lava, and children in particular were forever skipping and darting about.

Of course, anyone who fell in was simply gone. At most, there would be a sharp hiss and a plume of white steam.

Who would dare demand compensation from the Heavenly Palace?

In any case, there were no railings.

The “vehicle” carrying the eyeball spider—or rather, the tourist himself—was a bold one. He, too, had moved to the edge, leaning out to look down into the lava pool, which made the eyeball spider distinctly uneasy.

1. Note that he’s referring to Zhu Erniang here. ☜