Where Immortals Once Walked

He Chunhua pressed his lips together before answering, “Your mother did.”

She had suffered massive postpartum bleeding. Before she died, she had chosen the child’s name, hoping that he would grow up valiant and fearless all his life.

“Then why was my name later changed to He Lingchuan?”

He Chunhua lowered his voice. “Grand Shaman Zhaomandu said this name suited you better and would be more beneficial to you.”

He Lingchuan gave no opinion. “Weren’t you in a hurry to reach the Panlong Ruins, Father? Let’s go.”

He Chunhua had been waiting for those exact words.

Yet when he rose and looked toward the Panlong Ruins, he suddenly let out a long breath.

Had this day finally come?

For some reason, a pang of reluctance suddenly rose in his heart.

He Lingchuan noticed the strange emotion on his face. “What’s wrong, old man?”

“Nothing!” He Chunhua forced a smile. “Let’s go.”

At his command, the Heishui City troops replenished their food and water, then set out toward the Chipa Highland.

* * *

The closer they drew to the Chipa Highland, the more majestic and desolate it appeared.

The moat before Panlong City’s southern gate had originally been nothing more than a deep earthen trench. Now, however, a shallow stream of water flowed through it.

Standing on the broad land bridge, Zhang Lianhai and the others could hear the faint trickle of running water below.

That was a sound that had vanished from the Panlong Desert for more than a century.

Upon reaching this point, their mounts stopped dead. No matter how the riders whipped or urged them forward, they refused to take another step.

Elder Ling Jinbao of the Jianyang Sect rode an azure bo beast. After communicating briefly with his mount, he told the others, “They all sense tremendous danger ahead. They don’t dare go any farther.”

Even the bird monsters in the sky descended to report that turbulent air currents filled the skies above the Panlong Ruins, making it difficult for flying creatures to approach.

They could go no farther.

Seeing this, everyone had no choice but to dismount and cross the bridge on foot.

As for the mounts, they assigned people to lead them beneath some nearby dunes and settle them there.

This minor disturbance put everyone on greater alert, but it did nothing to discourage them from entering.

They had come precisely because of the strange phenomena occurring in Panlong City. If everything here were peaceful and ordinary, what would be the point of exploring it?

The group passed through the enormous gate and slowly entered Panlong City.

Even the envoys of the Heavenly Palace, accustomed as they were to all manner of divine wonders, instinctively held their breath as they passed beneath the gate tower.

This massive, solid fortress, armed nearly to the teeth, bore scars everywhere, and not those merely left by time and weather, but also those carved into it by war.

Anyone passing through this place would find themselves enveloped by the oppressive weight of history and an unmistakable sense of tragedy.

Zhang Lianhai could not help but murmur, “So this is Panlong City.”

Even that soft voice echoed between the two layers of barbicans.

Only after they entered South Gate Square did the howling wind finally pull everyone free of the atmosphere that had gripped them.

Miraculously, the ruined city before them had not been buried beneath the sand. Although traces of arson and burning remained, some buildings had stubbornly survived.

Some clear water had already collected in the ponds and waterways around South Gate Square, though there were still no fish. Flecks of green had begun pushing up through cracks in the ground, gaps between bricks, and the shadows beneath buildings.

There were even scattered red and white wildflowers blooming beside the river.

Spring had come to the fallen city, and the grasses grew deep.

Zhang Lianhai steadied himself.

This city, forgotten by the world, almost seemed to be preparing to awaken from a long sleep.

That was not a compliment. It was unsettling.

The Panlong Ruins were supposed to be bleak, broken, and lifeless. At least, that was how they had remained under the gods’ watch for more than a century.

Ever since the upheaval in Lingxu City, however, the Panlong Ruins had indeed begun changing in response.

Upon reaching this point, the various groups dispersed and began pursuing their own methods.

Ling Jinbao of the Jianyang Sect was also studying the terrain when one of his disciples asked, “Martial Uncle, what do we do now?”

They had supposedly come to “investigate,” but Panlong City was enormous. Where were they supposed to begin?

“One group goes to the temple. Another goes to Zhong Shengguang’s former residence and tomb. A third checks the Red General’s residence. We should also send several people up the southern gate tower.” Mitian, Zhong Shengguang, and the Red General were all connected to the Generous Pot. If Panlong City has changed, those places naturally deserve attention first.

As for the southern gate, the high ground offered a better view.

One disciple reminded him, “Martial Uncle, wouldn’t it be dangerous to spread ourselves too thin?”

This cursed place was strange enough already, and now there were other groups here searching for treasure as well.

Ling Jinbao thought for a moment before saying, “Then split into only two groups for now. One goes to the temple, and the other to Zhong Shengguang’s official residence.”

While he was speaking, voices suddenly came from the alley ahead, “...There’s nothing unusual at the temple either. But the minister of war said the entrance opened there last time...”

“There’s already water inside. We tried it too...”

A group rounded the corner immediately afterward, numbering roughly twenty people.

The two sides came face-to-face without warning. Both sides froze, then instinctively reached for their weapons.

“Who are you?”

The Jianyang Sect members stared at them. “Who are you?”

The leader of the other group snorted.

Everyone had come here for the same purpose, and no one was eager to announce their identity.

The two groups faced each other tensely, blades nearly drawn.

Ling Jinbao was the first to withdraw his saber. He spread both hands and said, “We’re not looking for trouble.”

The atmosphere eased.

The other group gave them several wary looks, then turned to leave.

Ling Jinbao then asked, “May I ask when you entered the city?”

“Why do you want to know?” The other side remained highly suspicious.

“I’ve been here once before. I want to compare clues with you.”

Several members of the other group exchanged glances before one finally answered, “We entered this morning.”

In other words, they had only reached the Chipa Highland and entered Panlong City that morning.

Ling Jinbao nodded. “We came at night last time and encountered an illusion.”

But was it really an illusion? In truth, he did not think so.

The other group studied them for another moment before walking away.

“Martial Uncle, I’ve never seen those people before.” They did not belong to any of the factions that had departed from Heishui City.

“Plenty of people come here searching for danger and treasure. If we can come, so can others,” said Ling Jinbao. “They arrived before us, but from the sound of it, they haven’t found much either.”

“They mentioned ‘minister of war.’ Could they have been referring to Dong Haoming?”

Other states had ministers of war as well, but here in Yuan territory, that title naturally made people think of the rebellion in the northwest. The Jianyang Sect certainly knew who Dong Haoming was.

Another disciple exclaimed, “Could they be the people who killed Senior Brother Wu Di—”

Ling Jinbao immediately hissed, “Shh.” Displeasure crossed his face. “Why gossip about irrelevant matters? Let’s go inspect the temple.”

“Didn’t they just say there was nothing there?”

“So because they searched it, that settles the matter?” Ling Jinbao retorted. “Plenty of people visited the Panlong Ruins in the past. Every building here has been searched before. Why did we bother coming then?”

Before long, they stood before the magnificent ruins of the temple.

Everyone knew that the only god worshiped in Panlong City had been Mitian.

However, after the city fell, the armies of the Baling and Xianyou coalition had paid particular attention to this temple. They had torn it apart, then burned most of what remained. Even the statue had been decapitated and toppled.

“They said there was water.” Ling Jinbao circled the temple inside and out.

The only place containing water was the offering pool in front of the temple. The pool was fairly large. Its edges showed signs of having been broken and repaired before. Probably because of the repeated downpours several days earlier, more than thirty centimeters of water had accumulated inside. The water was clear enough to see straight to the bottom.

One of his disciples moved closer. “Those men under the minister of war said the entrance was at the temple, and they mentioned water. Could they have meant this pool?”

Ling Jinbao took out a copper coin and tossed it in.

The coin was solid and quickly sank to the bottom. Through the clear water, everyone could see it perfectly.

Ling Jinbao then took a long staff and jabbed the bottom of the pool.

Solid.

“The entrance opened at the temple last time?” he murmured. “When was this last time, and how would the minister of war know?”

Did someone successfully find the entrance before?

And then what?

One disciple had climbed to the top of a tower to survey the surroundings. Suddenly, he called down, “The Heavenly Palace people are doing something!”

From his elevated position, he could see exactly what was happening in South Gate Square.

It turned out that the Heavenly Palace lamp guardian had lit the pale white-and-gold candle in the square.

The disciple muttered, “Can he do anything besides light candles?”

“That lamp spirit avatar is essentially their bonded magical artifact. Most of a Heavenly Palace lamp guardian’s abilities are probably performed through it.”

Everyone paused. “Lamp spirit... avatar?”

“The Heavenly Palace possesses eternal lamps that have received divine grace and burned for centuries without going out. They’re extremely powerful magical artifacts. What the lamp guardians carry outside are merely avatars of those lamps.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than everyone saw Zhang Lianhai muttering under his breath before raising the candle high—

The lamp spirit suddenly blazed. It transformed into hundreds of golden streaks that shot in every direction. Each strand of golden light seemed to possess intelligence of its own. They darted into streets, alleys, buildings, and city walls to investigate. They even examined the stone bridges beside the river and the cracks in the flagstones beneath the roads.

Seeing this, Ling Jinbao immediately amended his previous statement. “Even if they’re only avatars, they still possess all sorts of wondrous abilities.”

At least Zhang Lianhai did not have to search manually the way they did. In terms of efficiency, the lamp spirit was probably far superior. Moreover, these glowing things were highly sensitive to divine techniques and secret arts, so they could detect things invisible to the human eye.

In the blink of an eye, one strand of golden light drifted over.

It ignored the Jianyang Sect members entirely, but refused to overlook a single corner or crevice in the temple. It even hovered twice above the offering pool before suddenly plunging straight into the water.

It was nothing but light, with no physical substance.

Yet two rings of ripples spread across the water, followed by a small string of bubbles.

Hm? Ling Jinbao immediately focused his attention.

However, the golden light merely circled beneath the water twice before emerging again empty-handed.

The pool quickly returned to stillness as well. Perhaps those ripples had simply been stirred by the wind.

Watching the light fly away, one disciple perceptively asked, “Martial Uncle, where do we search next?”

Ling Jinbao’s gaze flickered. He turned back toward South Gate Square. “Send two people to keep an eye on the group from the Heavenly Palace. Better yet, let them lead the way for us. The rest of you, follow me back to the square and up the city gate.”

Everyone followed, puzzled. “Why are we climbing the gate?”

“The red light at night rose from somewhere inside the Panlong Ruins. Wherever the light comes from, that’s where the treasure is. Understand?” Halfway through speaking, Ling Jinbao suddenly remembered something and stopped short. “Wait!” He then looked up at the sky before asking, “How long until nightfall?”

“When we reached the oasis outside the city, it was already close to three in the afternoon. We stayed there for an hour before coming here—” The disciple counted on his fingers. “It should be almost sunset, shouldn’t it?”

“Sunset, sunset,” Ling Jinbao muttered to himself. “Right, we came here at night before!” He abruptly changed direction and hurried toward the city gates. “Go, go! Everyone get out first!”