Chapter 589: The Six-Hundred-Year-Old Former Site of the Shanmen

"Apart from the Treasure Tree King, no other vassal demon king has ever attracted as much attention upon entering Spirit Void City as the Red Yan Demon King."

Gao Gao Jilin corrected him: "It is the Crown Prince of Red Yan who has come, not the monarch."

"Well, they are father and son anyway; the Crown Prince is here representing the monarch." Jiang Tao straightened his lapels. "They must demand an explanation from the Between Beijia Emperor."

"I heard he has a subordinate, surnamed He, who has also been stealing the spotlight this time." His tone was not without envy. "They say this man's cultivation base is extremely high; even Fan Sheng, the deputy commander of the Concentric Guard, was defeated by him!"

He He Lingchuan blinked: "Oh, is this person very famous?"

"Very!" Jiang Tao sighed. "Whenever the case of the Immortality Elixir is discussed, he is always mentioned. Hey, he shares your surname!"

He He Lingchuan's smile did not fade: "Perhaps we were one family five hundred years ago."

Old Ge on the side rolled his eyes again.

He He Lingchuan, however, realized one thing:

He had a misunderstanding of his own standing.

What kind of place was Spirit Void City? No matter how brilliant you are, arriving at this six-hundred-year-old imperial capital is like a drop of water in the ocean—silent, unnoticed, unable to stir up even a ripple.

To be famous in Spirit Void City meant one was already a figure of some significance.

No wonder Li Li Qingge tried to win him over, no wonder the Grand Steward of Dun Garden, Fang Fang Canran, sent him an invitation, and no wonder the South City government office had always been so respectful toward him.

He had assumed they were doing it for the sake of the Red Yan Crown Prince.

In truth, a strong person naturally demands a status that matches their strength.

The respect of others was exactly what he deserved.

It was just that he had been constantly facing the upper-echelon power brokers of Spirit Void City like Fu Fu Shanyue, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and the Lord Zhongsun family, and constantly facing powerhouses of the caliber of Fan Sheng and Bai Bai Ziqi, so he hadn't realized he had already pulled ahead of ordinary people by countless steps.

It was time to adjust his mindset.

Being overly cautious everywhere, always seeking stability and perfection, seeking to be airtight—how did that fit the "Wave-Slicing" mental cultivation method he practiced? When it was time to face difficulties head-on, he should face them head-on.

When it was time to be bold and decisive, he absolutely could not be timid and hesitant!

Gao Gao Jilin added: "The guesthouse where they are staying also exploded. In all these years, this is the first time I've heard of such a thing."

Jiang Tao grinned: "Could it be that the Red Yan people did it themselves?"

Old Ge on the side looked at He He Lingchuan, then at Jiang Tao, and couldn't help but say: "Do you have proof?"

Jiang Tao chuckled: "If I did, I wouldn't be saying 'could it be'."

"Then why would they blow themselves up for fun?"

"To strike first and gain the advantage?" Jiang Tao said as if it were obvious. "Everyone else wants to deal with them, so if they strike first, how could others still have the nerve to act?"

Old Ge peeked at He He Lingchuan, only to see him looking completely indifferent, as if they weren't talking about him at all.

He He Lingchuan was indeed indifferent. If Jiang Tao could think this way, others certainly could too; Spirit Void City never lacked clever people.

But that was not the point.

The point was that as long as others couldn't find evidence, they absolutely could not accuse the Red Yan people like this. The government office still had to honestly go catch the culprit, and the Emperor still had to find a way to appease Fu Fu Shanyue.

He He Lingchuan closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

However, this action of his was also misunderstood by Gao Gao Jilin, who then said to Jiang Tao: "You've been talking the whole way, give your mouth a rest. Let Mr. Ge introduce things to us."

The other tourists had long since reached their limit and chimed in one after another.

They paid money to see the sights and hear the commentary, not to listen to Jiang Tao blather on.

Finally his turn, Old Ge took a sip of water and stood up: "Everyone look to the left, that small mountain beneath the clouds is called 'Fairy Shanfeng.' Legend has it that in ancient times, a fairy was bathing here but encountered a sneak attack by a demon beast..."

He He Lingchuan couldn't help but say: "Old Ge, your introduction is getting a bit lewd."

"What's lewd?" Old Ge said lazily. "Then let me change the phrasing: a fairy was washing her feet here!"

Jiang Tao shook his head repeatedly: "Vulgar, too vulgar! The atmosphere is gone, 'bathing' is better!"

……

When Old Ge finished his second cup of water to moisten his throat, the deer-drawn carriage finally arrived at the destination of this trip—

Mount Xu.

This was the tallest mountain range in the suburbs of Spirit Void City. As soon as one exited the North City Gate, one could see strange peaks reaching the sky, with white clouds drifting above their summits.

Mount Xu was the former residence of immortals.

Immortals, after all, liked to live on the peaks of high mountains, looking down upon the common people.

However, the terrain near Spirit Void City was unique; the altitude of Mount Xu was far inferior to the Mount Fengmo Mountain on the Gale Tundra, which boasted vast mountain ranges, bone-scraping gales, and white snow that never melted year-round.

But on Mount Xu, only the highest peak could stay white-headed through all four seasons; the other peaks were only four or five hundred meters high and changed into new outfits all year round.

Although the terrain wasn't high, it had green mountains and flowing water, flying birds and secluded ravines—all the standard features a former immortal residence should have.

Because it was close to the ground, the scenery here was very elegant. The scenic paths had been widened, and dangerous sections were equipped with plank roads and iron chains, making it not very difficult to climb.

He He Lingchuan pointed at the mountain path: "The original mountain paths of Mount Xu weren't like this, were they?"

"Of course not," Old Ge explained. "During the Great Return Sect era, the mountain paths were slippery, steep, and narrow. People often fell off, which was very unsafe. Immortals, after all, had the means to fly high and low; why would they bother to build good roads?"

But the immortal sect also needed commoners to go up the mountain to serve them, right? He He Lingchuan thought about it but didn't ask the question.

"What about the Middle Ancient period?" By then, the immortals were gradually losing their ability to fly.

"After the Middle Ancient period, the Great Return Sect also felt that going up and down was very inconvenient, so they moved down to live on the ground, which became the predecessor of the current Spirit Void City," Old Ge said. "That place was originally the spirit fields of the Great Return Sect."

Gao Gao Jilin asked: "I heard that spirit fields are all on high mountains so that medicinal herbs can absorb more spiritual energy."

For example, the Ethereal Sect built its spirit fields directly on the towering Mount Fengmo Mountain.

"That's correct. But Mount Xu has a Spirit-Gathering Array that can endlessly collect the surrounding spiritual energy for its own use, so it isn't restricted by the height of the terrain. Isn't it more convenient to transport medicinal herbs grown on flat ground?"

He He Lingchuan felt a stir in his heart: "During the Great Return Sect era, Mount Xu already used a Spirit-Gathering Array?"

The last time he heard this term was from the retired Red Yan official, Xiang Yan.

"That certainly existed; the methods of ancient immortal families are hard for people today to imagine."

The group took the conventional route, first climbing up from the Rock-Light Shanfeng, strolling as they walked, sometimes crossing suspension bridges, sometimes walking along secluded paths, slowly moving toward other peaks.

Along the way, tourists were as thick as weaving, and every stone bench had someone resting on it. As they walked, they entered the depths of the white clouds.

A mountain need not be high; it is famous if there is an immortal. Mount Xu was indeed the most popular tourist attraction in Spirit Void City.

The mountain gate of the Great Return Sect was very magnificent, carved from white jade. It is said that in the past, when mortals came to worship the immortals, they would kowtow every step of the way from here all the way to the Purple Gold Hall.

He He Lingchuan looked up at the mountain peak; although it wasn't high, wouldn't one be bleeding from the head by the time they reached the top?

Beside the mountain gate stood a giant black stele, detailing the past and present of the sect.

The inscription was not in the language of ancient immortals, as it was erected later by Between Beijia, serving as a guide for all tourists.

He He Lingchuan saw the map of Mount Xu at a glance, which depicted the distribution of peaks and scenic spots, as well as several routes for touring—truly thoughtful.

However, after looking at it for a few moments, he let out an "oh": "These main peaks aren't the main peaks from the Great Return Sect era, are they?"

"They aren't," Old Ge replied. "When the late Emperor was on the throne, he personally oversaw the reconstruction of Mount Xu and re-designated the nine main peaks."

"Heavenly Pivot Shanfeng, Heavenly Splendor Shanfeng... and Cave-Brightness Shanfeng, Hidden-Origin Shanfeng!" Jiang Tao exclaimed. "Isn't this the Big Dipper's nine stars?"

"Exactly," Old Ge nodded. "They correspond to the nine stars in the sky, and even their positions are exactly the same."

The Big Dipper? He He Lingchuan was also looking at the map. This was just as Xiang Yan had said: the mountain peaks on the ground corresponded to the stars in the sky.

Could it be such a coincidence that the arrangement and positions of the mountain peaks on the ground happened to be exactly the same as the Big Dipper in the sky? With this question in mind, He He Lingchuan continued to read the stele.

Because he had some attachment to Mount Xu, he didn't let any clue slip by.

This giant stele recorded that 632 years ago, the Great Return Sect was still the strongest opponent of the Northern Demon Kingdom.

At that time, the Northern Demon Kingdom had already annexed five countries and possessed seven demon kings, becoming the new hegemon of this land.

But the Great Return Sect still didn't take it seriously, believing that the Northern Demon Kingdom wouldn't dare to invade them and would deal with other small countries first.

Yet, the Northern Demon Kingdom insisted on hitting the hard stone instead of the egg; they wanted to take down this tough nut first.

The Great Return Sect was numb and careless, and only when the Northern Demon Kingdom silently arrived at the foot of their mountain gate did they suddenly wake up.

However, it was too late.

That battle lasted for ten days and ten nights, and the sky and earth lost their light.

When the eleventh dawn arrived, the Northern Demon Kingdom finally achieved its final victory.

From then on, Mount Xu changed masters, and Between Beijia had its capital.

From this simple set of inscriptions, He He Lingchuan could see the surging killing intent between the lines.

Given the nature of the Northern Demon Kingdom, the surprise attack on the Great Return Sect must have been a battle of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, breaking the foundation of the immortal sect, only then allowing this arrogant, thousand-year-old sect to collapse overnight and never recover its vitality.

The Great Return Sect of 632 years ago, even without an immortal presiding over it, was far from comparable to a declining Daoist sect like the Ethereal Sect.

And at that time, the Northern Demon Kingdom had not yet reached its peak; in terms of national strength or troops, it was presumably inferior to later generations, which was why the Great Return Sect was certain it wouldn't dare to launch a frontal assault.

Unfortunately, they misjudged the Northern Demon Kingdom.

He He Lingchuan reached out and pressed his hand against the stone stele; the cold chill seeped into his palm.

"The stele doesn't say how many people died in that world-shaking battle?"

"That, I don't know," Old Ge shook his head. "In war, how can there be no deaths?"

He He Lingchuan said seriously: "This was a war of extermination."

To make a grand sect completely collapse within a few days, unable to organize any decent resistance, and to occupy its territory without worrying about its revenge—what was the best way? It was to kill all the disciples of the sect.

It was to dig up its entire lineage.

If the people were gone, where would there be any hope for a revival?

Judging by the methods the Northern Demon Kingdom used against the Yuan Kingdom and Panlong City, this was very likely.

He He Lingchuan looked up at this giant black stele, as if the flashing blades and shadows, the savage laughter and tragic wails all flashed before his eyes, only to be understatedly buried in the deepest part of history.

Gao Gao Jilin said softly: "I have also read a passage about the Battle of Mount Xu in history books."

"And?"

"It was tragic."

(End of chapter)