Where Immortals Once Walked

They’ve already caught up? He Lingchuan was startled.

Anyone whom Zhu Erniang, in her monster immortal body, considered a formidable enemy was certainly not someone he could defeat even if he stayed behind. He thanked her and jumped down at once.

However, Zhu Erniang suddenly plucked out one of her own eyeballs. Halfway through the air, it transformed into a jumping spider whose legs were more than four times the length of its body.

He Lingchuan climbed onto its back. The jumping spider sprang straight from Zhu Erniang’s body, covering more than seventy meters in a single bound!

This was way faster than if He Lingchuan had instead just run on his own two legs. Even riding clouds and mist would hardly be more marvelous.

If the spirit rain had not been making the ground sticky, it could have jumped even farther.

Zhu Erniang was not helping He Lingchuan solely out of kindness. They were on the same boat. The means of escaping Beijia was in He Lingchuan’s hands, and only once he obtained the divine object could they leave Mount Xu.

As expected of a greater monster that had lived for countless years, she had grasped the situation completely in an instant.

With the enemy so powerful, if they did not cooperate closely and help one another, this operation would have almost no chance of success.

Even while riding the jumping spider, He Lingchuan had time to look back. Zhu Erniang had already turned to face the way they had come.

A pale, white figure seemed to be approaching, faster than an artillery shell leaving its barrel.

Surprisingly, it was actually a lovely girl of fourteen or fifteen, though her face was as cold as frost.

She looks familiar. After thinking carefully, He Lingchuan realized that she was none other than Lu Shishi, one of the Heavenly Palace’s divine attendants.

The last time the Lord Emperor had issued an order requiring him to follow Fushan Yue up Mount Xu, the little attendant who had received him had been Lu Shishi. Later, after the god Miaozhantian had ambushed him in the Hall of Worship, it was also Lu Shishi who helped him back to rest.

He knew that the girl had some cultivation, but he never would have thought her to be capable of moving so swiftly. She could move a hundred meters with every step, leaving even him willing to concede defeat.

Eh? Wait, she’s alone? He Lingchuan was slightly surprised.

Zhu Erniang was referring to her when she said “a powerful enemy” was coming?

Well, I guess her bearing really is completely different from before.

Lu Shishi’s gaze swept over Zhu Erniang before settling on He Lingchuan.

Her eyes were like light and lightning. The moment their gazes met, pain stabbed into his own eyes, forcing him to turn away at once.

What the hell? How high is her cultivation? Could it be...?

He Lingchuan sucked in a breath and urged the jumping spider to move even faster.

The battle behind him was far too high-level. It was not somewhere he belonged.

At that moment, the jumping spider was only one last leap away from Tianji Peak. Not only was the massive trunk of the Dao-Seeking Tree clearly visible, but even the branches and leaves of its immense canopy could also be seen distinctly.

Lu Shishi recognized He Lingchuan as the invader at a glance. She changed direction and charged after him, moving as fast as a cannonball, but Zhu Erniang intercepted her and spat a mouthful of spider silk straight at her.

Normally, spider silk loses its adhesiveness in water. With spirit rain falling everywhere, its properties should have weakened even further.

But Zhu Erniang, as a monster immortal, naturally had her own abilities. The silk she spat this time was red. Not only was it incredibly sticky, but it was also coated in strong acid. If Lu Shishi carelessly touched it, that beautiful face of hers would be ruined.

Yet Lu Shishi kept her eyes fixed on He Lingchuan. Just as the jumping spider leaped again, she slashed one hand diagonally through the air!

Because State Preceptor Qing Yang had summoned spirit rain, the sky was already filled with dark clouds and lightning. With that motion, Lu Shishi drew a bolt of lightning from the clouds, sending it directly at He Lingchuan!

The violet-red lightning was shaped like an arrow, though it was huge and thick.

If it struck him, he would almost definitely be reduced to ashes.

Yet He Lingchuan was in midair, with nowhere to dodge.

The sky suddenly blazed with light, illuminating his bloodless face.

With a crackle, the lightning struck its target directly, scattering its dazzling light in every direction. For that instant, he was the brightest thing on all Mount Xu.

However, Baizhantian’s expression immediately darkened.

Although the invader had been struck by heavenly lightning, he had not turned into charcoal. He merely shuddered, then continued doing exactly what he had been doing.

The jumping spider beneath him, on the other hand, was instantly blasted away, proving that the lightning’s power remained intact.

Is that fellow innately resistant to lightning, or do they possess some lightning-resistant magical artifact?

Only then did Baizhantian recall that the array eye had also contained a “lightning pool,” yet it had failed to do anything to this man.

A huge figure blocked its view.

“Where are you looking? Your opponent is right here!”

“Oh, Zhu Erniang?” Baizhantian mocked. “We are old acquaintances. Why are you not running away this time?”

Without a word, Zhu Erniang lunged at it.

At the same time, a second bolt of lightning followed—

He Lingchuan happened to be passing beneath the Dao-Seeking Tree. The lightning aimed at him was intercepted by the tree’s crown instead.

After all, the canopy was indeed higher than his position.

Lightning snakes raced through the Dao-Seeking Tree’s body, yet not even a single patch of bark was blackened.

It had endured the cleansing of the world-ending catastrophe. A few lightning strikes were no more than an itch to this ancient tree that towered over the heavens.

As He Lingchuan rushed beneath the Dao-Seeking Tree, he seemed to hear murmuring voices beside his ears. Someone was laughing. Someone was speaking to him. He could even sense the earnest weight of their words and their patient instruction.

Are these the voices of the seniors of the Grand Return Sect from when they were preaching and teaching beneath the tree?

But when he focused and tried to listen, all he heard was the countless rustling sounds of leaves.

He Lingchuan had no time to think. He swung forward using his grappling hook.

With the jumping spider gone, he had released his grappling hook in time. One perfect swing from the Dao-Seeking Tree still carried him over 130 meters through the air!

The voices beneath the tree vanished immediately afterward, though he still heard the last two words clearly: “Spirit Mountain!”

So many voices had been murmuring, and all of them had spoken the same two words to him: Spirit Mountain.

He Lingchuan landed back on the ground.

Since this was his second visit, he knew the route well enough. He swung directly toward the hot spring pool.

This was the entrance through which he had first infiltrated the earth’s core and found Juju.

He Lingchuan took out Perfected Dongli’s turtle-shaped talisman and threw it into the pool.

The water level rapidly fell, revealing the dark passage beneath.

He plunged inside.

The cave abode below was no different from the last time he had come. The Dao-Seeking Tree’s roots extended deep into this place, while the magma lay dormant in the depths underground, neither bubbling nor surging.

But the moment He Lingchuan descended, Juju’s true body rose from the magma.

It was covered in wounds and pitted with holes. He Lingchuan watched it scoop up magma and press it against its injuries.

The magma quickly turned black, while the wounds rapidly shrank.

After seizing the divine object, Juju had also abandoned the battle at Star-Plucking Tower and headed straight here. It had arrived two steps ahead of He Lingchuan.

He Lingchuan did not understand. “Why not hand it over outside?”

Juju glanced at the bright-red magma beneath its feet. “The rain outside is too irritating.”

Each drop that landed on its body felt like sulfuric acid being splashed over it. The pain was unbearable. It had no desire to wait for He Lingchuan outside in the open, getting drenched all the while.

Of course, it did not mention the most important reason: it needed to race against time to heal its injuries. Only by standing in earthfire could it continuously replenish itself.

What did it matter if Chenyuan could ward off fire? At most, it could avoid being burned. It could never seize energy from the earthfire and heal rapidly the way Juju could.

Juju snorted inwardly. Hmph, it can’t compare to me!

“I have brought the thing you wanted.” Juju tossed something out. It landed on the ground with a clang. “Our transaction is complete.”

The object’s surface was covered in crimson magma, which quickly cooled into black rock upon contact with the air.

Unfazed by the heat, He Lingchuan quickly picked it up. He could only make out its round, flattened shape, with what seemed to be a pointed knob on top. It did indeed resemble a pot lid.

Wrapped in magma, it was impossible to make out the details.

Most importantly, the divine bone amulet against his chest was heating wildly, as though it wanted to burn a hole through his body.

With the Generous Pot reacting so intensely, Juju had clearly neither switched the item nor brought him the wrong thing.

Under ordinary circumstances, He Lingchuan would have removed the magma bit by bit and carefully examined what the Generous Pot lid that was stained with the blood of countless lives actually looked like.

But this was not the time. He feared that delay would only bring complications.

He Lingchuan raised the lid to his chest and slapped the back of his hand. It appeared as though he were storing it in his storage ring, but in truth, the divine bone amulet took it away.

Whoosh!

The lid vanished.

He could practically feel the divine bone amulet’s impatience.

The instant the lid disappeared, the divine bone amulet turned cool.

Now what?

He Lingchuan waited for two breaths.

With the divine artifact finally complete once again, shouldn’t there be some wonderful new change?

His carefully prepared plan for Mount Xu had not included any transformation of the Generous Pot, but unexpected assistance would naturally have been more than welcome!

Yet nothing happened.

The divine bone amulet lay quietly against him, as though it had eaten its fill and fallen asleep.

He Lingchuan stared in disbelief.

That’s it? Nothing?

He had gone through countless hardships to seize this damned pot lid and still had not escaped mortal danger, yet this was all the divine bone amulet gave him in return?

It was truly disheartening.

Given the chance, could the Generous Pot not make another effort to perform properly?

Juju had already grown impatient. It shook the enormous bracelet around its wrist, reminding him, “The contract is complete. Undo the chains!”

The Chains of Oath could be removed only after the agreed task was completed or both parties consented.

“No. Our agreement will only be complete once we leave Mount Xu’s territory,” He Lingchuan said, refusing to leave Juju any opening. “We are not out of danger yet.”

Every task he had in Lingxu City had already been completed.

The next matter was escape.

Escaping Mount Xu and Lingxu City alive would not be easy.

Juju gave a cold snort. “Then we leave now.”

“No. The spider immortal is still outside Tianji Peak, holding back the descended god.” He Lingchuan asked, “Do you know which god it is?”

Zhu Erniang had helped him block the pursuers. How could he abandon her and flee alone?

“It’s probably Baizhantian. I do not want to fight it!” Juju held out one hand. “Get on! I can take the spider immortal away, but we need to move fast. If the Lord Emperor appoints that ghost beast as a guardian spirit, it will gain the ability to travel through mountains as well.”

At that point, shaking their pursuers would become far more difficult.

He Lingchuan immediately jumped into Juju’s palm.

He knew the “ghost beast” Juju referred to was Chenyuan. Chenyuan’s strength was terrifying. If it could travel through mountains as Juju did, and with the descended Baizhantian added to the equation, they would be in serious trouble.

Not to mention that they had provoked the fury of all Lingxu City. At a single order from the Lord Emperor, who knew how many greater monsters and skilled experts would be rushing here?

Time would not wait for them. Every additional breath spent on Mount Xu made failure slightly more likely.

The most urgent matter was escape!

Only after escaping could they speak of anything else.

Juju closed its palm and submerged into the magma once more.

It knew Zhu Erniang’s location clearly. One dive and one rise would be enough to find her.

However, as Juju rose toward the surface, He Lingchuan felt it shudder suddenly. It was like a speeding train had been struck and thrown off course, rolling twice underground.

He immediately realized something was wrong.

Have the pursuers caught up?