Where Immortals Once Walked

He Lingchuan smiled faintly as a pale red glow slowly rose around him.

“Origin energy?” Zhu Erniang was even more astonished. “How do you have origin energy now?”

She knew this fellow was actually from Yuan, but even if he held an official post back home, he was far from Yuan now. How could he still stir up such dense origin energy?

“Yes, I’m surprised too. I don’t understand why either.” After retrieving the divine object from Mount Xu, he had discovered that he could actually use origin energy now, and it was even the kind most familiar to him—

The Gale Army’s origin energy!

However much he could use in Panlong City, he could use just as much in reality.

The shock and wild joy of that moment could hardly be put into words.

It was as though one small question had suddenly answered itself, only for even more mysteries to rise in its place.

For example, the real Panlong City had already fallen. What he experienced in the world of the Generous Pot should have been Panlong City’s history.

But how could a history that no longer existed grant him real origin energy?

He Lingchuan could not make sense of it.

No matter what, the fact that he could bring Panlong City’s origin energy into reality had to be a new function unlocked after the Generous Pot was made whole again.

To him, this meant a major increase in combat strength, as well as a rise in the level of battles he could take part in. In Beijia, in Lingxu City, he had already suffered more than enough from having no origin energy to use.

High risk brought high reward. He had helped the Generous Pot recover its lid, and sure enough, the return had been generous.

Of course, none of these reasons could be shared with Zhu Erniang.

Fortunately, the greater monster did not press him for answers. A being who had lived as long as she had naturally knew that everyone had little secrets they could not speak of.

He Lingchuan asked again, “What about King Si Wen?”

That wild boar monster had also left a deep impression on him. If released into Beijia, he could at least have earned the rank of a field officer.

Zhu Erniang had no kind words for King Si Wen. She gave a cold laugh. “That stupid pig refused to move no matter what. Let him wait for death in the Demon Nest.”

* * *

Xunyang Sandbar lay where the Xunyang River met another great river.

During the dry season, it was a broad, flat expanse of sandbars and open ground. Once flood season arrived, the water rose rapidly, and the sandbars vanished beneath the river, turning the whole place into a scattering of little islands. The residents had to pole boats from island to island.

Now the sandbar lay covered in ice and snow. The water level was at its lowest, and the islands could be reached on foot without boats.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui crossed one small island after another.

It was just the two of them. The Zhu sisters had stayed behind in the den to work on the spider molt and had not come along.

“This is Thunder God Island!”

Thunder God Island was one of Xunyang Sandbar’s main islands. It did not look much different from the other islands they had passed earlier, except that it was larger and had more residents.

After leaving the dock and heading inland, He Lingchuan saw that the roads did not run straight. Instead, they twisted like pythons winding through the jungle. The buildings along the roadside were strange in every possible way, both in material and shape. Stone, wood, brick, clam shells, sweet flag, broad-leafed palms, and even hides stripped from who knew what sort of animal could all be used to build houses here.

Dong Rui even introduced a local tree resin to He Lingchuan, saying it made an excellent building adhesive. Xunyang Sandbar’s specialties also included lacquer and wooden lacquerware, sold to the surrounding states.

After passing through two markets, He Lingchuan felt his horizons had broadened a little. Everything was sold here, from insects to humans, things to eat, things to use, things to play with, and things whose purpose was impossible to guess. All of it was crammed into small markets, dazzling enough to make one’s eyes blur.

He Lingchuan handed Dong Rui a mask. Fang Canran had given it to him, and it could block others from prying with spiritual sense.

Once both of them had put on their masks, Dong Rui led him along a shortcut, slipping into a narrow lane behind the market.

The alleys here turned and twisted endlessly. Sometimes they even cut straight through someone’s home. One family was clearly sitting around a low table eating, yet they paid no attention at all as the two men passed beside them.

In the end, Dong Rui led him into a large house of red brick and black tile.

It was also the largest building nearby.

“We’re here.”

He Lingchuan was still a little confused. “This is it?”

“Yes, this is the place.” Dong Rui rarely grinned. “We came in through the back door. If we’d entered from the front, you’d have seen the plaque for Thunder God Temple.”

There were temples everywhere on Thunder God Island, at least a dozen or more. Among them, Thunder God Temple was the largest, occupying two hectares of land.

Before He Lingchuan even reached the front hall, he smelled the thick scent of incense and heard at least seven or eight believers murmuring prayers.

The temple attendants here all wore orange robes. Their hair was almost completely shaved off, leaving only a single tuft at the center of the forehead, like a rooster’s comb. From a distance, it was especially eye-catching, and that was exactly the point.

Dong Rui found an old temple attendant whose eyes were half closed and half open. He spoke with him softly for a few moments, then slipped him a silver ingot.

The old attendant looked the two of them over and nodded, then led them to a quiet chamber in the rear.

Inside the chamber were only a shrine, an offering table, and two kneeling stools.

“The offering?”

He Lingchuan handed the old temple attendant a wooden tube. The old man took it and examined it carefully for a long while before closing the door behind them.

Then he extended his hand a second time.

Dong Rui nudged He Lingchuan with his elbow. He Lingchuan took out two large silver ingots and handed them to the old man.

The wooden tube was for the god. The silver was for the temple attendant.

Only when the candles on the offering table burned straight upward did the old man take out seven sticks of incense, light them, and plant them in the incense burner. At the same time, he told the two of them, “Do not let the incense break.”

Then he knelt and began murmuring prayers with the devout posture of one presenting a gift.

At first, the old fellow chanted very softly, sounding as though he could barely catch his breath. Before long, however, his voice gradually strengthened and became smoother. In that small, quiet chamber, He Lingchuan even heard echoes.

Or perhaps not echoes, exactly. The lingering sound seemed to coil through the air, as though several people—no, a dozen people—were chanting together.

At the same time, the smoke from the burning incense gathered above the shrine and refused to disperse, condensing into a dark gray mass.

Under the gaze of the two onlookers, the gray mist drifted toward the old temple attendant.

The two watched without blinking, only to see the mist suddenly turn halfway through and drift toward He Lingchuan instead!

Dong Rui was slightly startled. Fleeting Saber appeared in He Lingchuan’s hand, a flicker of saber light extending and withdrawing uncertainly.

Perhaps it was blocked by Fleeting Life’s sharp aura, or perhaps it sensed that this saber could cut the formless. The mist stopped and remained motionless in midair for quite a while.

Only then did it follow its original path and float toward the old temple attendant.

From that movement, He Lingchuan somehow saw reluctance.

The mist entered the attendant’s mouth and nose. The candle on the offering table suddenly flared with a sharp hiss.

The old temple attendant woke as if from a dream.

Originally, the old man’s eyelids had drooped so low there was barely any difference between his eyes being open or shut. Now, however, a gleam shone from them, making him look bright and spirited.

His features had not changed, nor had his bent, elderly appearance. Yet his expression and bearing seemed to belong to someone else entirely, perhaps... a god?

He Lingchuan had already taken back the wooden tube, and he now shook it lightly toward the old man.

The old man carefully studied the wooden tube, some surprise in his voice as he said, “How did the Dragon Punishment Pillar end up looking like this?”

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