Where Immortals Once Walked

That was right. Lingxu City had many enemies, so why had all previous invasions failed?

Why had Fang Canran, who had been hidden in Lingxu City for decades, been unable to find an opportunity to act during all his time there? Could it be that this was actually the norm?

Why was He Lingchuan the only one who had succeeded in a single strike?

Was his luck simply too good?

Could luck alone cover every aspect of accomplishing such a major undertaking?

After calculating back and forth, all variables ultimately still came down to the “person.”

Although Dong Rui had also been a participant, he could not find an answer. He could only rub his chin and change the subject. “You really aren’t afraid they’ll trace this back to you?”

“I am,” replied He Lingchuan honestly. “But in the short term, they should look in the wrong direction. Mm, in the short term.”

“How so?”

“If you were the Heavenly Palace and the Monster Emperor, would you think the ones who disrupted Mount Xu and the ones who threw Lingxu City into chaos are actually two separate groups?”

Dong Rui shook his head without needing to think.

“The chaos in Lingxu City was obviously the result of meticulous planning. It was the work of an organization.” He Lingchuan still remembered the violent methods of Fang Canran’s organization vividly.

“So Lingxu City’s investigation will also focus on that organization. Weren’t those few monster immortals that stirred up chaos in Lingxu City conspicuous enough? Wouldn’t Lingxu City start with them?” He Lingchuan spread his hands. “I have almost no connection to that organization, aside from Fang Canran. As long as I act carefully, I won’t appear on the Heavenly Palace’s list of suspects for a while.” He smiled brightly and added, “Judging by the result, Fang Canran and the organization behind him are the ones taking the blame for me.”

Fang Canran had used He Lingchuan’s Mount Xu Plan to plunge Lingxu City into disaster.

And He Lingchuan had used them to draw away the Heavenly Palace’s attention and gain a temporary measure of safety.

Both sides had gained something. Neither could be considered to have lost out.

Dong Rui was doubtful. “They really won’t suspect you?”

“No matter how meticulous a plan is, flaws will show during execution. That’s unavoidable.” The Mount Xu Plan had pursued success, and survival had come first during retreat. Inevitably, some secrets would leak. Lingxu City had plenty of talented people. How could they completely fail to grasp any handle on him?

Putting aside everything else, he had already used Zhu Erniang’s blood amber once before during his battle against Fan Sheng in Baishajue. Although the spiders summoned during the two battles differed in size, number, and appearance, there was no guarantee that no one would make the connection.

However, on this trip into the mountain to steal Zhu Erniang’s immortal molt, no matter how he concealed it, the Heavenly Palace would know he had a connection to Zhu Erniang. In that case, it would not be strange if he knew a few spider monster divine techniques.

That said, He Lingchuan still had a great deal of confidence in the gods.

Or rather, he had a great deal of confidence in Miaozhantian’s touchstone deific technique. Since he had passed Miaozhantian’s judgment, he should have cleared himself of suspicion. The gods should already believe he had no connection whatsoever to the Generous Pot.

That way, even if some flaw appeared in the Mount Xu Plan, they might not necessarily decide it was him.

So long as there were other suspects they could pursue, they would not place him at the front of the list.

Dong Rui asked again, “Fine, fine. Since you can calculate everything so well, tell me this: what will happen to that rock-fire aberrant creature, Juju?”

“What will happen?” He Lingchuan said casually. “Right now, it’s holding its head high and breathing free. As long as it doesn’t lose its head or fall into a trap, it should live very comfortably from now on.”

“Huh?” Dong Rui did not believe it. “You’re saying it smashed up the Heavenly Palace, and nothing will happen to it? The gods and the Monster Emperor can forgive it?”

“Well, they’ll certainly hold a grudge, but settling accounts later is a matter for later.” He Lingchuan smiled. “Matters have their order of priority. The most urgent task for the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City right now is to put down the chaos and restore their dignity. At a time like this, the proper thing to do is first stabilize Juju and prevent the volcano from continuing to erupt. After we left Mount Xu’s territory, the volcanic eruption stopped. But once the Giant Thunderclap Beast invaded Lingxu City, Tianshu Peak erupted again. From what I see, negotiations between the Heavenly Palace and Juju must have failed, and Juju was making trouble for them. If Juju didn’t posture then, it wouldn’t be able to bargain for a suitable price.”

Juju had been suppressed by the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array for more than ten years, directly demoted from a dignified mountain spirit into a watchdog, while the Heavenly Palace had even docked its rations. Now that it had finally regained its freedom, how could it not vent its anger fiercely?

Besides, after working with it for so long, he had some understanding of this rock-fire aberrant creature’s personality. Calling it insatiably greedy would not be too much. Otherwise, why would the Heavenly Palace have suppressed it back then? Was it not because its demands knew no limit, and its appetite grew ever greater, until even Lingxu City felt it could no longer afford to support it?

Now that it had regained its freedom, it would naturally ask the Heavenly Palace for the sky.

The Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City could only bargain it down on the spot.

Lingxu City, as it was now, could not withstand another round of turmoil, and both sides understood this very clearly.

So He Lingchuan did not need to be there in person to know that in the end, the Heavenly Palace would most likely give way to Juju and agree to the excessive conditions it demanded.

After all, the Heavenly Palace’s urgent to-do list could stretch very long, and the first item was to placate Juju so it would not make trouble right under their backside. Only then would they have the spare energy to do anything else.

Dong Rui did not understand. “Does the Heavenly Palace’s grand palace have to sit on Mount Xu? The Grand Spirit-Gathering Array has already been broken. Can’t the Heavenly Palace just find another place to build its palace?” Do they really have to sit on top of a volcano?

“The wisest approach would be what you said: move somewhere else and build a new palace.” He Lingchuan smiled. “But if Juju is unhappy, it can still make all of Lingxu City restless. Besides, the Heavenly Palace is located on Mount Xu’s highest peak. That is six hundred years of faith for the people of Beijia. For the sake of keeping that faith from being broken, as long as there’s even the slightest possibility, they won’t want to move.”

Taking a step back, if the Heavenly Palace changed locations because Juju threatened it, that would be a tremendous loss of face. It would be equivalent to admitting through action that they could not stand up to a rock-fire aberrant creature.

So if they could avoid moving, they would not move.

However, He Lingchuan was certain the Heavenly Palace was no benevolent thing either.

It had always stood high above all others, yet this time it would have to swallow its anger. Once this turmoil subsided, it would definitely find a way to make Juju suffer.

Juju was born rebellious. Since it later intended to cooperate with the Heavenly Palace again, it would certainly take out He Lingchuan’s information to repair relations.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan had foreseen this long ago. He had never let Juju’s little fire avatar know his name, where he lived, or what he looked like.

“The feud between Juju and the Heavenly Palace is set in stone now,” He Lingchuan continued. “Putting aside all other losses, the theft of the divine object alone will make the Heavenly Palace hate Juju to the bone.” Let them tug and wrestle with each other. He Lingchuan felt that this was quite good.

Dong Rui laughed. “If Juju causes a few more earthquakes, Lingxu City won’t be able to take it either.”

He Lingchuan shook his head. “I suspect earthquakes aren’t that easy to create. They’re probably very energy-consuming. Juju itself has places where it needs to compromise.”

After traveling another twenty-five kilometers, the sky once again grew densely overcast.

Another fifteen kilometers onward, fine rain began to fall in a steady curtain.

His autumn clothes half-soaked, Dong Rui was not worried but delighted. “So we really are chasing the rain?”

“That’s right. From here westward, it’s all rain belt,” He Lingchuan said with a smile. “As long as we control our speed and follow the rhythm of the rain, we can keep traveling underground. The chances of Beijia discovering Zhu Daniang are extremely small.”

This was also the most important reason he had chosen to head west. A magnificent feat like wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace was already done; he could not afford to fall at the last hurdle over some unremarkable little detail.

He handed Dong Rui a map wrapped in oiled paper. “On the road west, we’ll pass several towns and markets. There may be some self-heal herbs left in the warehouses. I’ve already marked them on the map.”

Dong Rui was overjoyed and snatched it over. “You even managed to get this?” This boy really is thorough. He even accounted for our future troubles.

He Lingchuan simply smiled.

The snail toad needed to eat self-heal herbs regularly. Otherwise, it could not use the enormous shell on its back, the mud palace. This was a problem they had to prioritize during their retreat.

This map was a summary he had made from the intelligence provided by Fang Canran and the gibbon Old Ge.

There would be some deviations, but they should not be large.

After several flashes of lightning and claps of thunder, the drizzling rain suddenly turned into a torrential downpour.

Dong Rui cried out strangely, “Get into the mud palace!”

He Lingchuan took a deep breath of the cold air. The adventure from the day before felt like something from another lifetime. The Generous Pot’s lid had been taken by him, and the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City should no longer be able to sense the Generous Pot’s aura.

The world was vast, and at last he could roam it freely!

From now on, a flood dragon entered the sea; an eagle struck the open sky.

“Where are we going after this?” Dong Rui asked him. “Have you thought it through?”

He Lingchuan looked back at him and Zhu Daniang. He had already made his decision.

“How about coming back to Yuan with me?”

There was still a hidden danger that had to be removed, and some matters should be brought to an end.

——End of The Monsters’ Ideal State II, and the conclusion of the first half of Where Immortals Once Walked.

[END OF EIGHTH ARC]