Where Immortals Once Walked

He Lingchuan understood at once. He glanced outside the door a few times. No one was there. Even the Tongxin Guard could not be bothered to come over.

Still, he casually set up a barrier, then said, “Speak plainly.”

Fang Canran did not bother with courtesies either. “Did you get the frost pellets?”

“Sort of. I’ve already found someone to appraise them.” He Lingchuan shrugged. “Hopefully, they’ll be usable.”

Fang Canran said “good” several times in a row, then asked, “The Giant Thunderclap Beast’s last egg really wasn’t saved?”

“It shattered too.”

He Lingchuan had already handed the gliding suit to the servants for washing. Once it was dry, he would return it directly to Fushan Yue.

Earlier, when he had flown over the mountain ridge, he had happened to see the Giant Thunderclap Beast leading its clan to the foot of the mountain in a rage. From the look of it, they were going to seek revenge on the nothing beast leader.

At the time, he had suspected that the last beast egg had not survived either.

The reason was simple: if the beast egg were still there, even if only one remained, the Giant Thunderclap Beast would never be able to leave it behind to chase the nothing beasts.

Its strength was genuinely terrifying, but its head was nowhere near as useful as its enemy’s.

After He Lingchuan left the mountains and returned south, he picked up more rinsing beads along the way before regrouping with the Chiyan team near the eye of the storm.

What his teammates had seen with their own eyes confirmed his guess. When the two powerful sides clashed, the nest was caught in the disaster. Beneath an overturned nest, no egg remained whole.

Lord-level duonao beasts had extreme difficulty producing offspring. Who knew how many years the Giant Thunderclap Beast had endured before finally laying those three eggs? Yet all three had been wiped out in one day. It would have been strange if it had not gone mad.

The nothing beast leader had escaped quickly, so the Giant Thunderclap Beast vented its rage on innocent visitors from the mortal realm instead, electrocuting more than a dozen people on the spot.

Once everyone saw it losing control, they fled for their lives.

The Chiyan team had begun withdrawing long before that, so they did not suffer much loss.

Fang Canran looked deeply pained, his regret plain to see.

He Lingchuan asked curiously, “You’re not the Giant Thunderclap Beast. What are you so sad about?”

This fellow’s mouth really is vicious. However, Fang Canran did not really mind. A few days ago, the two of them had still been ready to fight each other to the death. Now that He Lingchuan could say such things, it proved that the distance between them had closed considerably.

“Lord-level duonao beasts have difficulty reproducing, and Giant Thunderclap Beasts treasure their offspring especially dearly. Losing all its eggs this time must have dealt it a heavy blow.”

“So?”

“When these lord-level duonao beasts give birth to offspring, their strength temporarily declines.” Fang Canran rubbed his hands together. “The Giant Thunderclap Beast laid eggs first, then encountered a beast tide and sandstorm afterward. It also fought a great battle against the nothing beast leader. I’m afraid its origin energy has suffered serious damage and cannot recover completely in the short term. For you, that may also be a kind of aid.”

He Lingchuan asked more directly, “What do you want to do to it?”

Even injured, the Giant Thunderclap Beast was still not something humans or monsters dared provoke at this time.

“I heard that two eggs shattered in the nest, while another was stolen by a nothing beast?” Fang Canran stared at him. “Did you... happen to pick up any eggshells?”

“You want the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s eggshells?” He Lingchuan frowned. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Who could have known that something like this would have happened in advance?” Fang Canran gave a bitter smile. “I also only came up with a few new ideas for our plan after hearing that one accident after another had happened in the Fu Realm.”

Before he finished speaking, an egg appeared on the table.

A complete, intact egg.

It was the size of a bucket, and its surface was covered in blue-green snowflake patterns.

Huh?

Fang Canran froze for a moment, then he heard He Lingchuan ask, “What ideas?”

“Wait...” Fang Canran unconsciously reached out to touch the egg. “You, you took it back from the nothing beast?!” So this is the egg of a lord-level duonao beast?

He Lingchuan grunted. “I was even chased down for it.”

Fang Canran instinctively ignored that sentence, murmuring, “In the past three hundred years, only two Grass Sea Hunts have ever brought back the egg of a duonao beast lord, and both fetched sky-high prices at auction!”

It was not that Lingxu City’s teams were not powerful. It was that a duonao beast lord laying eggs was rare to begin with, and the timing also had to coincide with the Storm Gate’s opening cycle. The odds were already tiny.

Is this kid strong, or lucky?

Or both?

He Lingchuan looked at the beast egg and asked, “What miraculous use does this thing have?”

“Usually, none.”

“...” Then how can it still fetch sky-high prices?

“Something valuable isn’t necessarily useful.” Fang Canran’s eyes stayed fixed on the beast egg. “For things like this, rarity is the main selling point.”

He Lingchuan thought of those wealthy nobles in Lingxu City. They liked using unique treasures to dress up their vaults and their public image.

“Come on.” He casually tapped the beast egg, earning a look of pure worry and terror from Fang Canran. “Tell me your new idea.”

Fang Canran squeezed a few words out through gritted teeth, “Don’t crack it!”

“It rolled over rocks dozens of times without breaking. What are you afraid of?”

“Wait, you said someone chased you just now?”

This guy’s only reacting to that now? “Yes. A mercenary named Hu Bin, but I think that may have been a false name and that he may have been wearing a false face.”

Fang Canran had seen plenty of rare treasures, so he did not find that especially strange. “Will it affect our plan?”

“He was chased by the nothing beast leader. He may already be dead.” Still, He Lingchuan felt a faint unease in his heart.

Fang Canran let out a breath. “That’s good.”

He Xiao’s plan was looking more and more feasible, and even Fang Canran was beginning to invest himself fully in it. He did not want He Xiao to be watched by someone at a time like this and have the plan exposed.

He Lingchuan leaned back. “You said this egg can help our plan?”

“I have an idea.” Fang Canran held the giant egg, smiling so widely that his mouth could barely close. “It might be able to do you really, really well.”

“Having a plan is good, but you aren’t planning to do it yourself, are you?” He Lingchuan felt that the smile on his face looked a little sinister.

“What do you mean?”

He Lingchuan bared his teeth. “Your ability to do things personally is really...” just outright awful!

Fang Canran was excellent at handling affairs and drawing up plans, but when it came to acting personally, he was not good at all. One only had to look at their clash at Pleasant Enjoyment Manor as a reference.

“...” Fang Canran’s cheek twitched. “Don’t worry. This is a major matter. I know what I’m doing.”

He Lingchuan smiled without saying anything.

Sure enough, his guess had been right. Fang Canran was not acting alone.

Afterward, the two discussed the use of the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s egg, exchanging opinions in detail and at great depth.

He Lingchuan always felt that this fellow was still holding something back. However, as long as his own plan could be carried through to the end, it did not matter if others had private motives.

If Fang Canran did not have any private motives, then why was he helping him?

Once their discussion ended, Fang Canran carried the egg away.

He had provided He Lingchuan with all sorts of help. The value of the Chains of Oath alone could not be measured in money. Now that Fang Canran wanted this egg, He Lingchuan truly could not find any reason to refuse.

He watched Fang Canran’s back disappear and let out a long breath.

This trip into the Fu Realm had pushed his Mount Xu Plan forward by several major steps all at once.

Hopefully, everything that followed would go smoothly too.

* * *

After returning to Dun Garden, Fang Canran dismissed everyone around him and set up a barrier before stroking the great parrot on its perch. “Uncle Ling, call for a meeting tonight. It’s time for us to make our move too.”

The parrot had been half-squinting, but perked up immediately upon hearing this. “Ah, ah! After preparing for so long, we’ve finally found the right opportunity?”

The moment it grew excited, its feathers puffed up, almost making it look as though one parrot had turned into two.

“That’s right. I finally see a little hope of success!” Fang Canran lowered his head to look at the sea snail signet ring on his hand, then clenched his fist. “We’ve been gathering strength for a long time. When we strike, we must shake heaven and earth. Heh, Lingxu City has enjoyed its good days for far too long. It’s time to let them witness our power!”

The parrot was a little uneasy, and it asked, “Is it safe? The previous operations all failed. Thankfully, you weren’t exposed. But this time...”

This time, He Lingchuan had seen Fang Canran and knew his background.

“He succeeds, and only then do we act. If he fails, our plan is canceled.” Fang Canran said lightly, “He can’t give me away either. Otherwise, why would I have given him the Chains of Oath?”

“Do you know who to contact?” he asked the parrot. “Secrecy comes first.”

The latter cawed with laughter. “Of course.”

After saying that, it flapped its wings and flew away.

* * *

For the next two days, He Lingchuan did not appear to be doing anything serious either. Aside from strolling through the markets, he simply looked to be busy making friends.

This was what Young Master He was best at. Once he set his hand to it, he moved through it like a fish in water.

During this period, the matter he had entrusted to Old Shan for investigation also received a reply: “Young Master, everything is as usual at the Hong residence.”

He Lingchuan’s steps paused. “What about Hong Chenglue?”

“Yesterday, he accepted General Golden Horn’s invitation and went to Dun Garden.”

Hong Chenglue’s still alive?

Does this mean that Hu Bin wasn’t actually Hong Chenglue in disguise?

Or did he actually manage to escape the nothing beast leader’s pursuit?

After all, when He Lingchuan had glided high on his wings, he had seen the Giant Thunderclap Beast already leading its underlings into the mountains to settle the score with the nothing beasts. At that time, Hu Bin had happened to be leading the nothing beast leader outward in his escape. If they had met by chance, he might indeed have had some chance of surviving.

“What about three days ago?” Three days earlier, he and Hu Bin had both been in the Fu Realm.

“General Hong had been out for many days before that. He only returned home yesterday,” Old Shan said. “As for where he went, the servants don’t know either.”

That makes things hard to say. He Lingchuan raised his hand and rewarded Old Shan with an ingot of silver.

Inside Lingxu City, he was not worried that the other party would ambush him again.

Two days later, he met up with Gao Jilin, Du Shan, and the others to drink. Ever since his “real” name had been exposed at Fragrance-Filled House, He Lingchuan stopped pretending and hiding. He called friends and companions together for the full sequence of food, drink, and entertainment.

He was someone with substance in his words. He could often strike straight to the heart of a matter, and his comments won genuine praise from people his own age. After drinking together twice, everyone became as familiar as lifelong friends.

In only a few days, the friends around He Lingchuan had already changed twice; only Jiang Tao, Gao Jilin, and Du Shan remained constant.

This time, two guests from the east were also at the drinking table.

He Lingchuan had specifically asked Jiang Tao to invite them. When the heavenly gods invaded his sea of consciousness, the third question they had asked was whether he had any connection to the State of Mou.

Since the heavenly gods cared so much about this state, He Lingchuan felt it necessary to learn about it.

The two were blood brothers, one called Dou Wenguan and the other Dou Wuxing. Both were in their early twenties, and their appearances had a slight resemblance. However, one was from the State of Mou, while the other came from the Sha River Basin[1] beside the State of Mou.

Only after asking did He Lingchuan learn that Dou Wenguan had followed their father to the State of Mou from childhood, while his younger brother Dou Wuxing had remained in their hometown.

Though they were brothers, their personalities were completely different. Dou Wenguan’s tongue was far sharper than Jiang Tao’s. When he spoke, he was clear and orderly, and he carried an earnest sincerity that made people trust him. His words were naturally persuasive.

1. This place was actually mentioned in Chapter 548; it may be helpful to read through the chapter again. ☜