Where Immortals Once Walked

In truth, the first step of the so-called Grass Sea event was the connection of two realms.

When a small world opened, the place where the two worlds overlapped would suffer a disordering of laws. Sometimes this resulted in mountains collapsing and the earth splitting. However, the barrier between the two realms at the Grass Sea had always been gentle. As long as the Storm Gate was kept under control, the remaining anomalies were mostly limited to strange sights such as water flowing uphill.

Although He Lingchuan had long since heard Fushan Yue explain the principle behind it, witnessing a small world open like this with his own eyes still left him deeply shaken.

Two worlds that have nothing to do with each other can be connected just like that?

Lingxu City did have its reasons for calling this small world “Fu Realm.” Seated in the very front row of the sandbar, where the view was excellent, He Lingchuan was fortunate enough to see that within the center of the giant cyclone lay another wondrous sight.[1]

Outside, the winds rolled and the clouds gathered, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring. But at the heart of the supercell was an enormous hollow. He Lingchuan saw only a beautiful blue-violet backdrop. The other world inside the hollow seemed very dim, like the light of the mortal realm after sunset, just before night fully fell.

He even saw that this world also had stars, though they were not very bright.

He Lingchuan asked Fushan Yue, “Does the Fu Realm have day and night?”

Fushan Yue shook his head. “I’ve gone in three times. The shortest was two days, the longest ten. That place has only stars, no sun. The light is like this at every moment. It never grows darker or brighter.”

So the Fu Realm doesn’t have four seasons nor a distinction between day and night.

Then, He Lingchuan saw several bolts of lightning streak across that world.

Hm? There aren’t any clouds, so where’s the lightning coming from?

At this point, after the two state preceptors’ reinforcement, the entrance to the small world had stabilized.

The Heavenly Palace envoy struck the bell chime once more and announced in a loud voice, “The Fu Realm has opened. All teams, line up and enter. Do be mindful of your own safety.”

At once, teams began to step forward one after another. Each team had ten people, and from the look of them, they were all outstanding cultivators or monsters with formidable combat ability.

The method of entering the Fu Realm was also simple and crude. They stood in the eye of the storm, and with a whoosh, they were sucked upward.

He Lingchuan counted. In total, more than sixty teams entered.

“The vassal monster states usually send teams to participate.” That alone made thirteen teams. The rest were teams organized by the various families of Lingxu City. “Lingxu City doesn’t limit the number of teams that can enter. It only restricts each family to one team within the first five days, with ten members per team, so that the competition remains fair.”

The State of Chiyan had naturally also sent a team. Fushan Yue had brought nearly a hundred guards to Lingxu City, and among them were the candidates participating in this Grass Sea event.

As the teams entered the Storm Gate in orderly fashion, the commoners on this side also threw themselves enthusiastically into an activity He Lingchuan knew very well: gambling.

While the officials and nobles organized teams to cross realms for their private enjoyment, the common folk opened betting pools for everyone’s enjoyment.

With more than sixty participating teams, there were enough entries to open all kinds of betting markets. People could bet big or small, odd or even, and even wager on all kinds of dazzling combinations.

It was said that in the beginning, the authorities had not encouraged it either, believing that large-scale gambling would corrupt public morals.

But very soon, some official proposed that they could open official betting pools instead, taking commissions while also collecting tax silver, eating the same fish twice.

The commoners had their fun, Lingxu City made money, and everyone was happy. What else was there to say?

And so this became a long-standing tradition that had continued for over five hundred years. The official betting house exclusively operated a wide variety of wagers, and every winner who collected their prize money had to pay an exorbitant five percent tax.

Although people complained every year that the tax was too expensive, the venue was always bustling and prosperous.

He Lingchuan casually asked around and learned that this year’s greatest favorite to take first place was the Tongxin Guard.

At every Grass Sea event, Lingxu City heavily rewarded the top five teams, and the rankings were determined by the number of floating stones each team brought back from the Fu Realm.

He Lingchuan had been too busy with various matters lately to spare attention for anything else. Only before the competition began did he learn that the seven floating islands of Upper Lingxu City could hang high in the sky thanks to the floating stones taken from the Fu Realm.

The secret that kept the floating islands suspended in the air was suspended dipper stones, and floating stones could recharge suspended dipper stones, just as a horse had to eat its fill of fodder before it could run. If the supply was not replenished in time, once the suspended dipper stones’ energy ran out, then the floating islands would...

Just imagining it was enough to know that it would be a catastrophe for Lingxu City.

Fortunately, such a terrifying scene had never occurred in six hundred years, because Lingxu City sent powerful fighters into the Fu Realm every two years to hunt for floating stones.

This strange kind of stone was actually the otolith[2] produced by a monster known as the “duonao beast,” growing inside its skull.

Duonao beasts were native inhabitants of the Fu Realm. They came in wide varieties, with differing levels of power, and the energy contained in their otoliths also varied in strength. A floating stone produced by a powerful duonao beast might be worth several dozen, several hundred, or even a thousand of those produced by its weaker kin.

Fushan Yue mentioned that thirty years ago, an official team had surrounded and slain a gigantic duonao beast in the Fu Realm. The floating stone they harvested from it was worth six hundred ordinary floating stones.

Every 680 days, the Fu Realm intersected with the mortal realm and remained open for 30 days. Lingxu City had to seize the opportunity to hunt and stockpile as many floating stones as possible.

Of course, it collected the floating stones in the teams’ hands by purchasing them. To motivate everyone, it also gave heavy rewards to the top five teams that hunted the most stones.

After all, whether those high officials could continue to dwell above the heads of common folk depended on these teams.

Competition between the various teams had therefore formed the basic foundation for gambling.

Looking at it this way, the biennial Grass Sea event was of extraordinary significance. It satisfied Upper Lingxu City’s need for floating stones, while the officials earned overflowing profits through betting. It satisfied the social needs of the great clans and aristocratic families, while peddlers and common laborers made money here as well.

As for the ordinary people, they naturally got their fill of spectacle.

There were three winners all around. Only the Fu Realm’s duonao beasts suffered.

Fushan Yue, of course, placed a bet on his own team, then asked He Lingchuan, “Which team have you taken a fancy to?”

“No idea.” He did not even know which teams or which people were competing, so would throwing money in not just be tossing it into the water?

To ensure the Mount Xu Plan went smoothly, he also wanted to enter the Fu Realm, but not now.

At a time like this, with all eyes on the event, if he rashly entered, he might invite fatal trouble upon himself.

“Look over there. The Heavenly Palace is leaving.”

Fushan Yue looked in the direction he pointed and indeed saw the Heavenly Palace group withdrawing. Figures such as the Chief Cloud Envoy and Bai Ziqi were being escorted out by the crowd, while the rest were breaking camp. From the look of it, only a few tents would be left on site.

“The opening ceremony is over, so they’re heading back. It’s like this every time.”

“This year is different.” He Lingchuan saw Bai Ziqi’s expression. At first glance, he seemed no different from usual, but his bearing had risen with vigor.

He knew that this Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai had finally received a new lead and was certainly eager to act.

He asked Fushan Yue, “Pull up the radish, and the mud comes with it. Do you think the elixir of youth case can be investigated to the end?”

“That depends on what the heavenly gods think, and what the Lord Emperor thinks.” Fushan Yue tilted his head and lowered his voice. “Since this concerns the elixir of youth, the heavenly gods definitely want it investigated to the end and punished severely. But if the final spearhead points toward State Preceptor Qing Yang, the Lord Emperor might plead on her behalf.”

“You mean the Lord Emperor might try to smooth things over?”

“Among the four state preceptors, State Preceptor Qing Yang has had the deepest relationship with the past two Lord Emperors. She has supported every one of the Lord Emperor’s policies.”

He Lingchuan gave a long oh.

A standard imperial loyalist, then.

“What about State Preceptor Shuang Ye?”

Fushan Yue lifted a hand and pointed toward the sky.

State Preceptor Shuang Ye belonged to the heavenly gods’ faction.

He Lingchuan nodded. No wonder the Lord Emperor disliked State Preceptor Shuang Ye. The man had never been of one mind with him to begin with.

Now that State Preceptor Shuang Ye wanted to deal with State Preceptor Qing Yang, it was equivalent to cutting off one of the Lord Emperor’s strongest arms, yet the Lord Emperor had no way to stop him.

And that was simply because State Preceptor Qing Yang may well have truly committed the crime.

“This matter is tricky. It doesn’t only involve State Preceptor Qing Yang, but also numerous buyers,” added Fushan Yue. “If buying and selling are treated as equal crimes, the imperial court will inevitably be shaken. During the last elixir of youth case, blood flowed like a river. But if they raise the blade high only to bring it down gently, handing out minor punishments and light warnings, then it will damage the authority of the heavenly gods and the Lord Emperor. How would they make an example of anyone then? How would they awe the officials?”

He Lingchuan silently added something inwardly:

Well, there are definitely heavenly gods behind State Preceptor Qing Yang as well.

Otherwise, where would the formula and the divine blood needed to make the elixir of youth have even come from?

That’s probably one of the key points that the Heavenly Palace wanted to investigate as well.

Just as Mitian had said, the gods were not all united in harmony either.

So the most difficult part of this case was still to come.

Fortunately, now that the case had progressed to this point, the later developments had nothing to do with He Lingchuan. Even Fushan Yue could not interfere. They only needed to sit back and watch the show.

The only question was whether he could remain until the final curtain fell.

Just then, two monsters suddenly leaped out from the eye of the storm, drawing a wave of low cries from the spectators on the sandbar.

The two aberrant creatures looked a little like gorillas. They were very large, seemingly at least 180 kilograms, with hunched bodies leaning forward and thick, powerful limbs. But they had no fur. Long tusks jutted from their lower jaws, their bodies were purple-black, and their skin was as rough as rock. Some parts were even covered with stony lichen.

Having just arrived in the mortal realm, the monsters seemed rather dazed. Mortal warriors could go over, so the Fu Realm’s aberrant creatures could naturally come through as well.

They spun in place twice before letting out a great roar and fleeing outward.

Heavy troops had long since been posted around the Storm Gate. At once, they stepped forward to intercept them.

“Those must be duonao beasts, right?” He Lingchuan had finally seen the Fu Realm’s monsters.

“Yes, but those ones are very weak. At most, they’ll contribute two small floating stones.” Fushan Yue spoke casually. “In fact, guards will soon be stationed on the other side of the Storm Gate as well. However, if they judge that the monsters don’t pose much of a threat to the mortal realm, they may deliberately let them through. That way, temporary betting pools can be opened, and the commoners get another spectacle to watch, so they won’t grow bored waiting here.”

In plain terms, entertainment value was very important for large-scale events like this.

As they spoke, the two monsters were slaughtered in a dazzling fashion, and thunderous applause broke out across the venue.

This truly was an auspicious opening victory.

He Lingchuan watched with a slight heaviness in his heart. It was not that he sympathized with the monsters, but that the elite soldiers guarding the Storm Gate struck decisively and possessed formidable combat strength. Their cooperation was also remarkably seamless.

He had been in Lingxu City for so long and had mostly seen indulgence, luxury, and pleasure, so much so that he had nearly forgotten how solid Lingxu City’s foundations truly were.

“Those two monsters looked a little abnormal.” When they first arrived, their movements had been extraordinarily agile and ferocious, entirely at odds with their appearance. Even a wild boar monster would have had to bow its head before them. Even so, the guards had withstood their attack.

The two aberrant creatures bled profusely all over. After fifteen minutes, their movements grew slower and slower, and very soon, they were stabbed full of holes.

1. If you’re wondering, then the Fu in Fu Realm is 弗, and it doesn’t really mean anything. I mainly see it when authors are transliterating names, or to mean “no” in literary contexts. If anything, I think it’s just being used as a pictogram of sorts for the phenomenon. ☜

2. This is a calcium carbonate structure located in the inner ear of vertebrates. ☜