Chapter 252: Impression of Immortals

She chewed the Poria cake slowly and methodically. "Don't tell me you want to be a thief? Let's agree beforehand: I don't know you. Whatever you've said or done, I know nothing of it!" "So heartless?" She was still eating the pastry he had paid for.

"Committing a crime in Panlongcheng requires considerable courage."

"For the sake of a few books, is it worth it?" He Lingchuan said honestly. "I've been lingering in the Wenxuan Pavilion these past few days and found that the collection of books inside isn't as rich as I imagined; even books like travelogues and gazetteers are few in number."

Sun Fuling kicked a small stone away on the ground. "Although the Chipa Plateau is rich in products and suitable for human habitation, Panlongcheng was formerly just one of the many cities on the Panlong Wasteland. Although many merchants and travelers passed through, few stayed. Moreover, the folk customs here are fierce, and everyone values martial arts. How many people do you think would take the initiative to read?" With few people who could read and write, how could the collection be rich? He Lingchuan thought about it, and it seemed to make sense.

Was his expectation too high?

"Commander Zhong took over Panlongcheng only fifteen years ago. Even if he taught people to compile books and set up folk schools, the inventory of the Wenxuan Pavilion wouldn't go up in a short time. As for the travelogues and gazetteers you mentioned, I have heard that merchants and travelers used to bring them to Panlongcheng specifically for sale, and they sold very well, often being snapped up as soon as they were placed on the shelves." She said slowly, "Later, Panlongcheng prohibited the circulation of such books."

He Lingchuan was very surprised. "Why?"

"You learn from these books that the outside world is too big and too interesting. Do you want to go and see it?"

He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment and nodded. He knew what Sun Fuling wanted to say.

"But you can't go." Sun Fuling seemed to smile bitterly. "When people yearn too much for things far beyond their ability, it becomes an obsession."

"There are too many such people, which is not what Panlongcheng wishes." She sighed in a low voice, as if talking to herself. "Sometimes, ignorance is a kind of happiness."

The Panlong Wasteland is an enclave of the Western Luo Nation, isolated outside the border, surrounded on all sides by unfriendly nations.

This geographical environment destined the people of Panlongcheng to be trapped, unable to go anywhere. The more they were attracted by the colorfulness of the outside world, the easier it was for them to fall into the quagmire of wanting but not being able to obtain.

He Lingchuan had heard an old saying: "The more you know, the more painful it is." He was silent for a while before asking her, "Have you read these travelogues? What are your thoughts?"

"I just want to see the ocean. I heard it's a thousand times, ten thousand times larger than a lake, and has tides that never stop." Sun Fuling's voice was full of longing. "And then taste the seawater to see if it's as salty and bitter as the legends say."

The word "yes" hovered on He Lingchuan's tongue for a long time but didn't come out. What right did he have to say yes? His identity here was also a resident of the Panlong Wasteland, and it was equally impossible for him to see the sea.

"There will be a chance." He said this with little confidence. Even though everyone else was ignorant, he knew very well the final fate of Panlongcheng.

Everyone here wouldn't live past twenty years!

Including this girl with bright eyes and beautiful teeth before him.

Not only in life, but even after death, they would be trapped in the wasteland by the Great Fang Hu, endlessly.

Sun Fuling's apricot eyes curved into crescents again. "I'll take your word for it."

"Also..." He Lingchuan followed up. "Have you seen any divination works in the Wenxuan Pavilion?"

Sun Fuling thought for a while before saying, "Which type of divination?"

"Divining good and bad luck, deducing the future."

"There won't be any."

He Lingchuan was startled; this "won't be" was used very cleverly. "Why?"

Sun Fuling said lightly, "Knowing too much only adds to the trouble. Going with the flow is what suits most people."

He Lingchuan was completely speechless.

There was another saying: the more sober you are, the more painful it is.

Sun Fuling looked at him. "Why are you curious about this?"

He Lingchuan scratched his head. "Someone said I'm plagued by disaster and will soon die an unnatural death."

"Do you believe it?"

"His divination has a quite high success rate." He Lingchuan smiled bitterly. "He also guessed my past affairs correctly."

"Sounds like the rhetoric of a wandering quack." Sun Fuling clearly didn't believe it.

But she immediately added, "Although there are no such books in the Wenxuan Pavilion, Commander Zhong has a strategist named Wen Daolun who seems to be well-versed in this principle. He has come to the Shumin Academy to lecture twice and also mentioned a word or two about calculation principles. I heard Commander Zhong relies on him very much."

He Lingchuan immediately became spirited. "Will he come a third time?"

"That I don't know." Sun Fuling smiled. "Such a busy figure is too far away from us. If you're counting on him to come to the Shumin Academy again, you might as well go to the government office to seek advice."

He Lingchuan's eyeballs rolled. "Where does he live?" How about going directly to block his door? "That I don't know; you'll have to find out for yourself." Sun Fuling changed the subject. "By the way, there are many hand-copied manuscripts of Immortal language in the Wenxuan Pavilion. Have you found them to read?"

She had taught He Lingchuan how to utilize the Wenxuan Pavilion last time; there were actually many books written in Immortal language inside.

"Uh, not yet." He Lingchuan scratched his head. "As a beginner, it's too strenuous to read."

After all, he had only been learning for a few days. He could recognize individual ancient words, but seeing them connected in a dense patch made him feel flustered and short of breath.

"Forget it." Sun Fuling shook her head. "I read a lot of books; you can ask me first."

"Where did those hand-copied manuscripts come from?" He Lingchuan didn't stand on ceremony. "Are they really written by Immortals?"

"It should be said, written by Immortals and their sect disciples." Sun Fuling said, "These copies are all transcribed from ancient books. And ancient books... are either kept and circulated by Daoist sects or unearthed from Immortal caves and ruins. Didn't you also take rubbings from an Immortal cave?"

"Circulated by Daoist sects?" He Lingchuan recalled something. "I heard that Immortal sects are the predecessors of Daoist sects."

"Indeed." Sun Fuling nodded. "This is a recognized fact. After the Immortals disappeared from the world, the 'Immortal' in Immortal sects could no longer be maintained, so they finally lowered their rank and had to change their name to Daoist sects."

"Reading books in the Wenxuan Pavilion these past few days, I found that some books praise the Immortals for their high integrity, saying they did their best to educate the remaining mortals after the great cataclysm of heaven and earth, helping them resist monster attacks and preserving the fire of civilization, which prevented later generations from falling back into ignorance."

"However, many other books use fierce language, cursing the Immortals for enslaving mortals, accusing them of treating commoners like ants, killing or sparing them at will." He Lingchuan shrugged. "Both types of books can provide a large amount of evidence, such as Immortals testing drugs for the sake of the people or subduing demons, or Immortal sect disciples slaughtering ten thousand people just to take their souls to refine banners."

"If you read the ancient scrolls left by Immortals and disciples, you will know that both of these claims are correct, yet both are one-sided." The two left the long street and walked towards the wooden house, and the flow of people on the road began to decrease. "After that great disaster that changed everything happened, the spiritual energy of the world declined rapidly, but the abilities of the Immortals didn't disappear immediately. You understand why, right?"

He Lingchuan thought for a while. "They themselves still had cultivation, and there were still profound crystals in the world?"

"Yes, it's like walking in the desert; although the environment is dry and hot and you can't find water, your water bag is basically still full, so you can persist for a longer time." Sun Fuling said slowly, "Based on the Immortal notes I've read, at least for two or three hundred years after the cataclysm, Immortals still had the ability to ascend to heaven and enter the earth."

"But this is water without a source and cannot last long." He Lingchuan recalled the original body of Zhu Xiuer he had seen in the cave spider's nest. "That mother spider in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest is also an ancient monster; it constantly casts off its heavy old shells and changes into smaller, weaker skins to survive until today."

To maintain the body of an Immortal or an Immortal monster, the consumption of spiritual energy is too great. After the cataclysm, this was like a giant whale stranded on the beach; if it couldn't wait for the tide, it would surely die.

"Immortals and other monster immortals couldn't 'cut their feet to fit the shoes' like the spider monster; after the spiritual energy they stored was exhausted, they had no choice but to perish." Sun Fuling said, "Immortals were also born from mortals, and humanity has always valued inheritance. They knew their time was running out, so it's not strange at all that they educated commoners and passed on the fire, right? Look at the Shumin Academy, look at me—aren't we all doing this now?"

"As for what you read in the books about Immortal sects enslaving mortals and doing all kinds of evil—" She sighed. "This certainly existed and was recorded. But think about it: when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth declined to the point where it was difficult for Immortals to survive, what would Immortal sects do to fight for the last bit of limited resources?"

He Lingchuan didn't hesitate. "If it were me, I would use every possible means."

"Yes." Sun Fuling smiled slightly. "Immortals were originally of immortal style and bone, only because they had no desires. When they also had to use all their strength just to survive, what difference was there between them and us mortals?"

He Lingchuan also sighed.

When the high Immortals fell from the clouds, the darkness of human nature couldn't be hidden.

In the end, all living beings suffer.

"I have one more thing I don't understand."

"Go ahead." Sun Fuling didn't show any impatience.

"Where exactly does Yuan power come from?" He Lingchuan had flipped through many books but didn't understand. "I saw some people say it was taught to humans by Immortals to resist monsters; others record that it was a method taught to humans by gods to resist the oppression of Immortals, and of course, monsters."

"The earliest records of Yuan power seem to be more than two thousand years ago. If there is no earlier evidence unearthed, it is very likely a power discovered only after the cataclysm." Sun Fuling shrugged. "Regarding the true source of Yuan power, there is still no conclusion to this day. The old men of the Shumin Academy, Panlongcheng, and Wuxiantai argue every day, and there is no consensus."

"Setting others aside, what does Miss Sun think?"

"Me?" Sun Fuling tilted her head and thought for a while. "I am more inclined to believe it is a method taught to humans by gods."

He Lingchuan's heart stirred; this thought coincided with his. "Why?"

"Yuan power can only be aggregated by the concerted efforts of thousands of mortals. If this was taught to humans by Immortals, that would be lifting a rock to drop it on their own feet, thinking of a way for mortals to resist themselves."

A few days ago, when writing about the "Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm," you all said in unison that it was Tang San.

What do you want me to say? Something with such great power is, of course, the original creation of the ancestor of refreshing novels, Mr. Gu Long.

"The Legend of Chu Liuxiang": The Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm were manufactured by Zhou Shiming, the son of the "Twin Swords of South Lake," who found the most famous craftsmen in the world at the time and spent three years to complete them. The twenty-seven silver nails were fierce and powerful, which could be called the best in the world; every time they were shot, they would definitely see blood.

Time of writing: the 1960s and 1970s of the last century.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 253 =====