[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-watching-the-immortals-fall":3,"chapter-watching-the-immortals-fall-watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-358":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Watching the Immortals Fall",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2260231,4410,"Chapter 358: Are You Not Afraid of Death?!","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-358",358,"\u003Cp>“Still being returned; it’s been a full day already.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Judging by the quantity, most of what was previously taken has now been sent back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard it’s not just Shengjing—every other county is the same.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On both sides of Yongsheng Street, the teahouses and taverns still buzzed with chatter, but the volume had grown far more restrained than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the refugees ceased entering the city, carriages from clans across the regions had flooded into their respective towns, returning vast quantities of grain to Wu Lu Trading House, and this had continued for a full day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, standing high above, one could see countless swollen grain sacks lined up in orderly rows along the streets, blocking entire roadways completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Wu Lu Trading House had not moved the grain back; it was left lying untouched on the streets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this critical time of grain shortage, such a vast amount of food lay openly on the streets—yet no one dared touch it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the magical artifacts brought along with the carts remained under countless watchful eyes, yet no one dared approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire atmosphere had frozen solid, immovable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet despite the surface calm, they could still sense two invisible hands manipulating the situation behind the scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of those hands was, of course, Ji You’s; the other, the united force of thousands of clans across Qingyun Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most cultivators had merely watched the spectacle, unaware of what truly transpired—but now that the stolen grain had been returned, they could draw one conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You had not apologized, but the clans of the realm had surrendered first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This outcome was sharply jarring the nerves of everyone, leaving them deeply uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For in the thousand years since humanity’s rise, only immortal sects had ever forced the clans to yield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet now, one man, alone, seated silently in the northeast, had made every clan bow their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the teahouses, countless people sat with cups in hand, lost in thought, expressions complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless of how the process unfolded, they felt this invisible struggle would end with Ji You’s victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in truth, the matter was far from over; instead, it had reached a critical juncture that left all sides trembling with tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has Ji You replied?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Holiness, there has been not a single word in response from Fengzhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Council Pavilion behind the mist-shrouded cliffs before the five main peaks of the Heavenly Book Academy, Lü Fengchuan frowned deeply upon hearing his disciple’s report, and his reply stirred murmurs among the Elders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is he going to carry this to the end?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Ge muttered, a flicker of fear in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a thousand years, he had never heard of anyone attempting to strip the immortal sects and clans of their tax tributes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving aside combat power and status, even now, in this moment’s situation, he realized that the student who had entered the Academy five years ago, long dismissed as a rustic self-cultivator, had grown terrifyingly powerful in confronting the realm’s affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve lived nearly a century—this is the first time I’ve seen someone confront the sects so directly, and yet the immortal sects chose restraint over immediate suppression.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Peng, seated beside Elder Ge, couldn’t help murmuring to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Ge snapped back to attention, pondered for a moment, then looked at Elder Peng: “Another man would have been crushed by siege already—but Ji You is unique. He tore open the Heavenly Sacrifice and slew Chu Xian; theoretically, he has repaid a debt to the Six Immortal Sects. The sects find it hard to act against him openly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Debts mean nothing to the sects. I’m sure many don’t even consider that an act of gratitude.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s true. Cutting the Heavenly Sacrifice was merely the least visible part. The crucial point is the stance of the other sects—including our own Heavenly Book Academy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Elder Ge spoke, he lifted his gaze toward Zuo Qiuyang, the Acting Headmaster seated at the center of the council hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Peng frowned: “Everyone knows Ji You is not favored by the Heavenly Book Academy. How can he be certain we’ll stand with him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our stance is uncertain—but he’s certain someone else stands with him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the words faded, the two exchanged glances, recalling Lingjian Mountain’s silence on this matter, just like the Heavenly Book Academy’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had both gone to Dongping Mountains; Elder Ge had nearly died there, and he had heard that saying too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After the calamity, the Six Immortal Sects were severely weakened. The Xuan Yuan Headmaster died; Chen Shixian’s patriarch has not shown his face since; our own Headmaster has passed. With barbarians and demons watching, everyone is avoiding internal strife that might give outsiders an opening.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Ge murmured: “From the moment he awoke until he left, barely half a month—I saw him wander the mountains many times, yet never imagined he had already calculated the entire realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Peng stroked his beard: “Perhaps our people’s hesitation in facing the barbarian and demon invasions made him certain the sects most dread war while weakened—and that’s why this current undercurrent stirs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He thought of all this while in a wheelchair?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No—he’s always thought of this, since the beginning. Not immortality, not dominion over the world—only this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, both recalled how he had revealed his cultivation to save a little girl, entered the Academy, then been dispatched to the Snowlands, slain the Warlord with his sword, and upon entering the Inner Academy after defeating Chu He, immediately returned to Fengzhou to establish the Immortal Village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Habit leads one to believe Ji You has been climbing higher, shedding his rustic identity—but over time, one realizes his goals have always differed from everyone else’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His enlightenment has never advanced. He’s been at Tongxuan Realm for four years, yet made no progress. Many say he harbors a demonic obsession.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You mean his obsession lies here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Ge pondered, then spoke: “Obsession manifests in action, but its true nature remains unknown. Still, regarding tax tributes, I still believe Ji You cannot succeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Peng lifted his gaze: “Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You’s standards are too high; his weaknesses are too obvious. A man with such high standards can never defeat someone with much lower ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southeast of Yuzhou, Wanchuan County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Heavenly Book Academy deliberated, beneath the thick night of the wilderness, a group of private cultivators from Fengzhou, clad in the immortal robes of Shanhai Pavilion, moved silently through the endless wild ridges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their movements were exceptionally cautious; they blocked all vibrations and air currents with spiritual energy, leaving no sound in their passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ascending along the ridgelines, they probed constantly with spiritual sense, surveying vast fields and countless wells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they watched, they fixed on a direction along a dirt path between the fields, then surged forward as one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the private cultivators landed in the cold wind, arriving at the dirt path—and their eyes tightened sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, in the center of the road, thirteen wagons from Wu Lu Trading House stood motionless; the horses pulling them lay decapitated, blood pooling across the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the silent night, the scene was profoundly eerie, sending a chill through the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where are the people?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In hushed whispers, someone stepped toward the wagons, to where the horses had fallen, and touched the blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In winter’s cold, blood congeals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From its congealed and spread state, the horses had been dead for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the Fengzhou private cultivators in Shanhai Pavilion robes fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordering the clans to return the grain and replacing them in aiding the common folk was the courteous approach—but courtesy is always followed by force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long silence, the private cultivators looked up toward the northeast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, a grand and majestic mountain range, shrouded in immortal light and mist, was the Immortal Domain of Wenda Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Iron Cold Prison has held those who shattered the Dao, even those who answered Heaven’s Call. You private cultivators of the lower realms have no right to be locked here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To witness an immortal sect’s heavenly prison is a blessing from your ancestors, you rustic peasants.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the stone prison beneath the black cliffs on the western side of Wenda Mountain, roaring flames bathed the cell in a dim yellow glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Executive Elder, Shang Ye, stared into the cell with a grotesque expression, his words dripping with coldness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his line of sight, twenty-six shopkeepers and over three hundred clerks were bound hand and foot, kneeling with their faces pressed to the ground, their faces pale with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were responsible for land leases in Yuzhou; having received news from Fengzhou, they were returning with the last batch of fish-scale ledgers when they were captured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing their silence, Shang Ye lightly stroked his long beard: “Write to your master. Tell him you wish to live. Tell him if you return the fish-scale ledgers, I’ll spare you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spit!” Yu the Shopkeeper forced his head up and spat in his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Die!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shang Ye raised his hand, gathering countless spiritual energies in his palm, killing intent bursting instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before his hand could strike, he remembered the scene of his cousin Shang Que’s corpse being carried back from Danshan—and he slammed his hand down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aren’t you afraid of death?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know why I became a private cultivator?” Yu the Shopkeeper straightened his back. “Twenty years ago, during a great drought, you seized our tax tribute and drove my parents to death. Since then, I’ve had nothing left to fear.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shang Ye narrowed his eyes: “Do you know Wenda Sect has a thousand ways to make you beg for death?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu the Shopkeeper clenched his fists: “Have you ever been to Fengzhou?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why would I go to that backwater?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then you don’t know that after Fengzhou’s reconstruction, our proprietor loved writing slogans on walls. One of them is my favorite.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Arise, those who refuse to be slaves! Cast our flesh and blood into our new Great Wall!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bound by ropes across the shoulders, forced into a kneeling, face-down posture, this position was excruciating—half an hour could exhaust a man completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice, though weary, was unyielding, thick with hatred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of fury crossed Shang Ye’s eyes—he was about to speak again when footsteps sounded behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to see Deputy Headmaster Shang Xingkong, accompanied by several Elders, entering the prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the sight, Shang Ye immediately bowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shang Xingkong stood still, surveyed the scene, then spoke slowly: “Remove their identity tags, collect them, and send them to Fengzhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shang Ye immediately signaled to the disciples around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the twenty-six shopkeepers and three hundred clerks were stamped to the ground, their iron tags ripped from their waists and tossed into a wooden chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this process, some began trembling violently; others wept softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a thousand years, since humans began offering tax tributes to cultivators, fear of immortals had been carved into their bones. Even glancing upward made them shudder—how much more so when trampled beneath feet?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Recall the people of the prefecture. Secretly monitor every Wu Lu Trading House in the city. If the fish-scale ledgers are not delivered within three days after the tags arrive, send him one head per day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Shang Xingkong turned and swept his robe aside, leaving the dungeon, ascending the mountain path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early winter’s chill had spread across Wenda Mountain; the view stretched bleak and desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>",1911,"2026-06-19T15:28:41.422Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d9f692973f2ac71c7e18b86777cbdf4585e35577dc9e9dde80df28c6fae39a38","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-359","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-357",430,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwatching-the-immortals-fall-cover.jpg"]