Where Immortals Once Walked

Fortunately, Zhu Erniang’s monster immortal body firmly protected He Lingchuan. Fortunately, too, he was wearing the lightning-warding plaque. Otherwise, he would long since have been ground to dust and scattered to the winds.

Only today did He Lingchuan gain the smallest glimpse of how immortals of the Ancient Era had fought heaven and earth with their own strength.

Against the might of thunder and lightning, the spider immortal’s enormous body forced its way into the defensive array.

Then, it broke through by sheer force!

When Zhu Erniang jumped into the array eye, He Lingchuan let out a long breath as well.

If she had failed to pass this trial, he would have been buried with her.

This array eye also had a fully transparent glass surface, and at its center lay a sacred object as well.

In the old array eye, the sacred object had been the star map on Zhu Erniang’s abdomen. But here, it was actually a turtle shell!

This turtle shell was even larger than the old turtle shell He Lingchuan had seen at the bottom of Immortal Spirit Lake, measuring around nine meters in diameter. It did not appear to have come from a leatherback turtle. Its surface was faintly brown, unusually smooth, and astonishingly enough, it also bore a star map!

“Ah!” He Lingchuan praised, “The Heavenly Palace really did prepare a substitute. Their divine techniques are vast indeed!”

These star maps were naturally formed. Just because Zhu Erniang had one did not mean that no other monster could have one either.

But given how rare these things are, tsk, tsk. Beijia must really have spared no effort to get a backup.

“It’s nothing but a useless counterfeit!” Zhu Erniang sneered. “Even if they use it as the array eye, this grand array won’t last more than two months.”

The star map on this turtle shell was blurry and indistinct. It had no hierarchy, no colors, no brightness. Compared to the map on her abdomen, it was far inferior!

A shabby thing that can’t be presented on a proper stage. Hah, no wonder it can only be a backup.

Moreover, the turtle shell did not have a transparent glass sphere protecting it either. It was merely illuminated by an eternal lamp. Clearly, the quality of the backup’s star map was indeed not equal to that of Zhu Erniang.

The star map flew away from the shell and slowly circled in midair.

Obviously, it was searching for the right angle.

Once it found that angle and aligned itself, the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array might restart.

There was not much time left for He Lingchuan and Zhu Erniang.

At this moment, bird monsters were flying in from all directions. Their reaction could not be called slow, but, unfortunately, due to the turbulence outside the array eye, they were unable to descend here.

Juju ignored the enemies on all sides and continued swinging fireballs at the array eye.

Now it also felt that rushing back so rashly might have been a bit impulsive. But since it had already arrived, it might as well work with its ally, focusing its firepower on the same target.

Between the array eye and Star-Plucking Tower, it had to bring down one of them.

As a backup, this new array eye in the sky had limited strength after all. Every time a fireball struck it, He Lingchuan felt as if he were standing at the epicenter of an earthquake. Under Juju’s uninterrupted, high-intensity barrage, two pieces were smashed off the bottom of the star ring, and a crack split open from the gap.

The spider immortal did not care what Juju was doing. She took a few steps forward and was just about to swing her claws to knock the “counterfeit” away when something suddenly pounced out from in front of the turtle shell, moving so fast it left afterimages.

This thing was originally fused with the glass ground, and at that time, even Zhu Erniang’s twelve eyes had failed to notice it.

When it lay flat, it was only a thin puddle, less than a third of a meter thick. And unlike the perfectly smooth ground of the original array eye, the ground of this one was uneven, causing Zhu Erniang not to have bothered looking at the ground too closely. As a result, the thing bit onto the tip of her left leg and was now relentlessly tearing at it.

It was only a little over three meters tall, making it far smaller than Zhu Erniang, but its movements were astonishingly agile, and its attack frequency could almost match that of a woodpecker.

With the creature clinging to her leg, Zhu Erniang hissed in pain.

The spider immortal’s legs were covered in sharp spines harder than steel needles. The aberrant creature’s mouth was stabbed bloody, but it had still gouged a pit into Zhu Erniang’s leg. She could not help shaking her leg hard, flinging it away.

A monster immortal body was nearly indestructible, so those two attacks from the aberrant creature were no small matter.

He Lingchuan also saw its appearance clearly. When it lay flat, it looked like a crocodile, its body flattened for ambush. But after standing up, it seemed to inflate, its shape instantly changing until it was somewhat humanlike, yet it was still far more flexible than a human.

It had four forelimbs and two tails behind it, one long and one short. Its entire body was covered in pustules like a toad’s, but the sharp nails on its claws were more than a third of a meter long and hooked.

Its appearance was so disharmonious that He Lingchuan immediately thought of Dong Rui’s monster puppets.

But immediately afterward, a word surfaced in his mind: ghost beast.

Back in the Han River military camp, Elder Liang of Cloud-Piercing Pavilion had mentioned that many demons and monsters appeared during the Middle Era, casually devouring commoners and ambushing disciples of immortal sects. Because of this, the immortal sects had fought a massive war against the monster race. But only later did people discover that those aberrant creatures had all been monsters modified by the gods, and these modified monsters were called ghost beasts.

Later, under the joint pursuit by the immortal and monster races, ghost beasts became increasingly scarce until they disappeared.

Dong Rui himself had admitted that his inspiration for modifying monster puppets had come from ghost beasts.

This aberrant creature’s appearance was unnatural, and its strength was formidable, yet it could act only on instinct. It did not resemble a natural creature at all.

Now it seemed that the so-called ghost beasts had not completely vanished from the mortal realm. At the very least, this one had been hidden away by Lingxu. Moreover, Dong Rui had not been entirely right either. This ghost beast could obey the Heavenly Palace’s commands and act accordingly; it was not some muddle-headed thing that could not tell friend from foe, as he had said.

Or maybe the heavenly gods’ research on ghost beasts has just improved over the years?

The ghost beast’s agility was astonishing. Zhu Erniang’s belly was large, making it difficult for her to keep up with its rhythm. After all, the difference in size was there. However, she was a long-famous monster immortal and had her own tactics. And so, she fought in her own way, while the ghost beast fought in its own.

Although this aberrant creature moved quickly, it was not very skilled in divine techniques. That was also a common weakness among monsters. Zhu Erniang’s monster immortal body was too tough, making it difficult for the opponent to break through her defenses. Moreover, Zhu Erniang’s recovery speed was astonishing. Often, when the other side opened a wound on her body, it would recover completely after only twenty-odd breaths.

Zhu Erniang brought out the same old method she had used in Demon Nest Swamp against King Si Wen: releasing spider silk while fighting.

The spider silk drifted with the wind, either landing on the ground or tangling around her opponent.

As a result, the ghost beast quickly began to stumble about. The more spider silk clung to its body, the more tightly it was bound, and the harder it became to move.

Its eyes grew bloodshot and red with rage, and it spat saliva nonstop onto the silk binding its body. Its thick drool was powerfully corrosive. When it dripped down, it even made little pits in the glass floor.

Yet, despite its saliva’s powerful corrosive properties, Zhu Erniang’s spider silk remained unharmed.

The spider silk from her present-era body already possessed the traits of being impervious to blades and spears, resistant to water and fire, and unaffected by acid. How much more so that of its ancient-era monster immortal body?

He Lingchuan kept his eyes fixed on the turtle shell in the array.

Just by watching the star map’s rotation slow more and more, he knew it was about to finish calibration.

Once the array eye began working, Juju would be suppressed again.

This great fire creature was the key to the success or failure of He Lingchuan’s trip. They absolutely could not sit by and ignore this.

“Lady Two, destroy that counterfeit!”

“I know.” It was not as if she had had a free hand just now. Taking advantage of the ghost beast’s slowed speed, Zhu Erniang turned and shot a handful of spider silk toward the array eye, intending to drag it out by force.

If the turtle shell had any other restrictions, she would deal with them as they came.

Yet the spider silk actually passed straight through the turtle shell without any obstruction and stuck to the ground behind it.

“Fuck!” He Lingchuan’s step faltered, and he cursed aloud.

It’s actually an illusion? A perfectly lifelike illusion!

Even a mirage monster would have to admit defeat before this.

So what the hell is the ghost beast protecting?

At this moment, Juju’s roar also shook the heavens. “Smash the array eye! Hurry, hurry!”

The star map was about to finish calibrating. Was the freedom it had finally won really going to be lost again just like this?

He Lingchuan’s face was still as water, his mind working rapidly.

So the turtle shell isn’t on the ground... Could it be submerged beneath the star ring?

Judging by the heavenly gods’ usual habits when setting up arrays, that was very much possible. And while they were at it, they could easily add another invisibility spell or array to ensure intruders could not see it.

This would stall them for as long as possible, allowing the Heavenly Palace to wait for more reinforcements.

What now? What now!

If they failed at the last step, Juju would not be the one to suffer the least. At most, it would be imprisoned again. But He Lingchuan and Zhu Erniang would be ground to dust!

What other way is there to make the array eye fail?

Zhu Erniang asked He Lingchuan, “Are we leaving or not?”

She had already recovered her spider molt and should have left Mount Xu quickly. She had only stayed to help him for his sake.

Of course, this was also the agreement He Lingchuan had reached with the eyeball spider beforehand.

I helped you once, so you should return the favor once, right?

But now it looked as if this favor could not be completed, and she had begun thinking of retreat.

He Lingchuan, however, still wanted to try one more time. He pointed at the star ring and said, “See that crack? Help me widen it! Juju, you help too!”

The array eye had already been bombarded chaotically by Juju earlier, creating a crack about two-thirds of a meter wide. He Lingchuan had already formed a plan, but his own strength was not enough to carry it out.

The giant rock-fire aberrant creature did not waste a word. Several more fireballs came smashing upward, scorching the bottom of the array eye until it glowed red, with stone melting into liquid and dripping down.

Zhu Erniang braced her eight legs against the edge of the crack. Black light flickered across her body as she pushed outward with force.

The ghost beast took the opportunity to attack, and Zhu Erniang gritted her teeth and endured it.

Among monster immortals, she was not known for strength, especially compared to Juju, whose strength was obvious. But her level of power was still there. Muffled cracking sounds rang out without end, and the fissure in the star ring was still being forced wider and wider.

Yet just then, the star map on the turtle shell suddenly froze.

From below came Juju’s grief-stricken roar. “No—!”

The array eye had taken effect. The Grand Spirit-Gathering Array had started.

A shackle reappeared around Juju’s neck.

The guardian spirit of Mount Xu had once again been suppressed.

He Lingchuan struck his right fist into his left palm and let out a long sigh. “I said from the start that you shouldn’t have come back here!”

If Juju had attacked Star-Plucking Tower from beginning to end, perhaps it would already have conquered it by now. In that case, whether the array eye existed or not would no longer matter.

The little fire man on his shoulder roared, “I never should have trusted you!”

It had seen this fellow making solemn vows and planning so meticulously, and had thought this rebellion would definitely succeed. Alas!

It, Juju, had been shrewd for more than six hundred years, yet never expected there would come a day when it chose the wrong person and stood on the wrong side.

He had clearly looked somewhat reliable, but in the end...

* * *

Seeing the Splendid Mountains and Rivers Diagram light up again, everyone inside Star-Plucking Tower let out a long breath.

The Grand Spirit-Gathering Array had successfully restarted. Thank goodness, thank goodness!

Even if the turtle shell star map was only a substitute, it could at least hold on for a while, giving them enough time to capture the spider immortal again and deal with her anew.

Everyone knew that Xiaori, the ghost beast placed inside the array eye, could not defeat the spider immortal either, but it had still managed to delay them a little.

As for the trouble later, they could deal with it later.

“One major threat removed. Good!” The battle inside the array eye was still ongoing. The Chief Cloud Envoy said solemnly, “Xiaori cannot hold the spider immortal for long. We cannot let her escape. We request God Baizhantian[1] to deal with her!”

1. I’m just differentiating between the different forms of address for this heavenly god. Currently, they’ve got three—百战天 (Baizhantian), 百战天尊 (Venerable Baizhantian, and 百战天神 (God Baizhantian). ☜