The two humans and two apes followed the narrow trail back to Tianshu Peak and rejoined the tour group.
The Heavenly Palace buildings beyond were not as ostentatious as Chongyang Hall. Although their architecture remained lavish, the interiors were no longer entirely gilded in gold. Each building served its own function, and Old Ge introduced them one by one as they passed.
They were likely nearing Zhaixing Tower. He Lingchuan deliberately lagged behind, pretending to gaze around at the scenery, but in truth he summoned an eyeball spider and whispered to it, "Are you certain the item is on Mount Xu?"
The spider squeaked a few times, conveying that Zhu Erniang's shed husk was definitely here, certainly within the boundaries of Mount Xu, but its precise location was unknown; the connection was cut off by an extraordinarily powerful barrier.
This matched what Dong Rui had said.
Good, very good.
Confirming that Zhu Erniang's shed husk was indeed on Mount Xu meant half of his mission on the mountain today was accomplished.
Only with this settled could he proceed with the rest of his plans.
"A barrier?" A barrier in the Heavenly Palace was only to be expected. He Lingchuan muttered under his breath, "Xiang Yan explicitly stated that when Mount Xu was renovated over a decade ago, no magic artifacts or relics were stored here. Hm, unless what we're looking for isn't an exhibit or collection."
"There are so many formations and barriers here; the magic artifacts and spiritual objects required must be plenty." He Lingchuan glanced left and right, watching for passersby. "Old Zhu's treasure would seem rather fitting for use here, wouldn't it?"
"Makes sense," the mirror piped up. "How do you plan to find its location?"
"The renovation of Mount Xu was a colossal undertaking. The number of laborers and artisans involved was staggering, and since it was completed less than twenty years ago, many of those people are still alive."
The mirror scoffed, "What would mere laborers know?"
"No matter how vast and intricate the formation, people still had to build it." The formations on Mount Xu could hardly be finished just by casually tossing down a few bricks or arranging clumps of flowers; it had to be a proper, full-scale construction project. "Don't underestimate them. The key is finding the right person."
He Lingchuan added, "Old Xiang mentioned that Mount Xu's grand formation corresponds to the stars in the heavens, and that a rare treasure was placed within the core to activate it. Even back then, I suspected that item might be Zhu Erniang's treasure."
At this point, he sighed. The only thing harder than sneaking into Lingxu City's treasury to steal something was probably digging Zhu Erniang's shed husk out of Mount Xu's array.
Why did every wonderful job end up falling into his lap?
The mirror asked bluntly, "How do you plan to search for it?"
"First, verify whether my hypothesis is correct." He Lingchuan had to be cautious. "If I'm wrong, my life ends right here."
"Also, where is the formation core?" He pondered further. "Supposedly, the formation was devised through consultations between the celestial gods and the Demon Emperor. But superiors usually just hand down demands and point out general directions at best. The specific blueprints and details—how the formation was built, how it was secured—had to have been carried out by the subordinates."
So what he needed to do was find someone in the know—someone who had participated.
Back in Baishaqu, he had asked Xiang Yan, but the old man had kept his lips sealed tight, refusing to say a word. However, after Cen Boqing was arrested, the Chiyan officials in Baishaqu felt thoroughly vindicated and relieved, and their regard for He Lingchuan skyrocketed. Later, He Lingchuan sought Xiang Yan out for chats several times, and the old man let down his guard. Finally, in a slip of the tongue, he mentioned that while supervising construction projects in Lingxu City, he had made a few close friends.
He hadn't given specific names, but one of them bore the compound surname "Zaifu."
That surname was exceptionally rare.
Like Xiang Yan, Lord Zaifu had already retired from office, but he seemed to still live in Lingxu City.
"The formation built for Mount Xu is a secret among secrets. Are you sure you can get anything out of him?" the mirror warned. "Be careful not to startle the snake in the grass."
He Lingchuan smiled faintly. "Who said I was going to ask him to his face?"
In Lingxu City, self-preservation was paramount.
Soon, Old Ge led the group to a long flight of white jade stairs.
The wide, straight staircase had eighty-one steps in total. Standing at the base and looking up, the travelers saw a massive, towering structure, snow-white throughout, capped by a moon-white roof.
"That is Zhaixing Tower."
That was the supposed earthly residence of the celestial gods, the Zhaixing Tower where even the Demon Emperor of Beijia came to pay humble homage.
Perched high atop the mountain peak, it blended seamlessly with the swirling clouds and mists, bathed in gold and crimson by the setting sun. All the visitors, including He Lingchuan, felt a reverent awe looking up at it, seized by an urge to fall to their knees in worship.
Indeed, many people were climbing the white jade steps prostrating with every step, so devout they paid no mind to anyone else.
He Lingchuan intended to ascend the steps as well, but after only two paces, the divine bone necklace suddenly flared with intense heat!
Or rather, a scalding burn.
Any hotter, and it would burn a hole right through his lapel.
The message was unmistakable:
*Want it. Want it, want it, want it, want it so badly!*
This reaction startled He Lingchuan into stopping in his tracks. The divine bone necklace loved feeding on rare treasures, but it had never shown such desperate urgency before.
There was a treasure in Zhaixing Tower, and it had to have it!
An overt, undisguised possessiveness.
Yet what kind of place was this?
He Lingchuan already harbored ulterior motives and was on the utmost alert regarding this so-called "residence of the celestial gods." With this strange development, the next step he was about to take was instead pulled back.
At the same time, something suddenly appeared in his right palm.
He looked down at his wrist instinctively:
Fusheng had materialized on its own.
The saber had merged as one with him and was usually summoned only when facing an enemy.
Yet at this moment, it had appeared uncalled. Its blade trembled slightly, and its hilt was bone-chillingly cold.
He Lingchuan sensed its intent rippling in waves, as though at the top of the white jade steps, within the Zhaixing Tower before him, lurked an unspeakable, immense horror!
"Hey, are you moving or not?" a tourist behind him grumbled in annoyance. "If you're not walking, don't block the way like a boulder."
The white jade staircase was crowded, with everyone being pushed upward by the flow of people. He Lingchuan's sudden stop blocked the path behind him.
As he turned aside, the man flinched in fright. "Pulling a blade out—what's the meaning of this?!"
He Lingchuan flashed a grin at him. "My apologies."
Brushed by the lingering saber qi that hadn't yet faded, the man shuddered violently.
Just then, several palace guards dashed out of an adjacent tower, leveling their polearms before the crowd. "Palace emergency! Passage is temporarily suspended!"
"Huh?" Murmurs of discontent erupted from the crowd. With Zhaixing Tower right before their eyes, why were they suddenly barred from entering? This was the highlight of the entire trip; not a single visitor wanted to miss it.
Jiang Tao complained as well, asking Old Ge, "Does Zhaixing Tower close often?"
Old Ge, squawking as he was jostled in the crush, yelled, "You're asking me? Why don't you ask Zhaixing Tower itself!"
Gao Jilin turned to a palace guard and asked, "Officer, how long will Zhaixing Tower be closed?"
The guard kept his eyes fixed forward, not sparing him even a glance. "Unknown."
Amid the crowd's grumbling, He Lingchuan also looked up at Zhaixing Tower. The grand edifice possessed a majestic presence, standing as though high above all living beings; any verbal description of such vast solemnity felt pale and inadequate.
What was the item the divine bone coveted so intensely?
And what was causing the Fusheng Saber to issue such urgent warnings?
The celestial god's secrets—perhaps together with the Demon Emperor's secrets, and Beijia's secrets—were all up there.
Pity he couldn't go up in person.
Prying information out of others could never compare to seeing it with his own eyes... Wait.
He Lingchuan suddenly tapped his own head. Why had he gone so dull?
He couldn't go up, but an eyeball spider could!
In a place open to anyone paying respects, who would pay attention to such a tiny spy?
Taking advantage of the guards' inattention, he flicked his finger, sending the little scout onto the back of a tourist to hitch a free ride.
That visitor had already stepped onto the white jade stairs before the guards blocked the way, so he had luckily escaped the cordon and could continue toward Zhaixing Tower.
Right then, more than ten people suddenly emerged from a two-story tower flanking the white jade steps.
The man in official robes leading the group looked somewhat familiar. The two trailing him appeared to be his attendants, while the rest were golden-armored Heavenly Palace guards.
The dozen or so hurried up the stairs.
With Heavenly Palace guards clearing the way, everyone parted to let the man through.
Before long, they disappeared over the top of the white jade staircase and entered Zhaixing Tower.
Only then did He Lingchuan retract his gaze.
Not long ago, this very man had stolen the spotlight at the Dun Garden auction. He Lingchuan remembered him vividly, because he had purchased the broken sword tip of True Immortal Shou'an for the astronomical sum of eight hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver.
He had likely bid on behalf of the Ke family, who literally owned mines. No one knew whether they intended to extract the boundless gold from the sword tip or simply keep it as a precious heirloom.
He Lingchuan recalled what Fu Shanyue had said: the celestial god periodically summoned the Ke family, which meant the Kes ascended the mountain at fixed intervals pursuant to divine decrees.
This was also the wellspring of their family's boundless favor and prestige.
Had he just happened upon Ke Yanming ascending the mountain today?
The tourists blocked by the guards asked, "Can we still not go up?"
The guards remained expressionless.
Which clearly meant no. Old Ge therefore chimed in, "Standing around here won't do any good. Let's rest our feet in the pavilion first and see what happens in a bit!"
And so the tour group backed away slowly, settling down in a long pavilion beside the white jade staircase.
Perhaps realizing that good food was worth the wait, the divine bone necklace settled down, no longer scalding.
He Lingchuan sat facing Zhaixing Tower and opened the eyeball spider's vision.
The traveler it hitched a ride on was quite young, nimble-footed, and ascended rapidly. He seemed to have come purely for the sights, without prostrating at every step like the others.
Sharing vision with the eyeball spider, He Lingchuan saw that the youth soon reached the top of the white jade staircase, crossed beneath the grand gates over thirty feet high, and entered Zhaixing Tower.
Outside the tower, the chilling wind howled and snow blanketed the ground, but inside, it was warm as spring, with a gentle breeze caressing the skin.
Looking down, the onlookers recoiled in shock:
Inside the great gates of Zhaixing Tower lay a colossal pool of molten lava!
Spanning a thousand feet in diameter, churning magma rolled and roiled, casting off waves of golden-red light.
No wonder it was so warm in here.
Evidently, even if a formation had been placed behind the doors, its purpose was merely to keep the oppressive heat or toxic fumes at bay.
A stone causeway, a hundred feet wide with a flat, even surface, stretched from behind the entrance to the far side; so long as one didn't actively court death, one would generally not fall off.
Generally.
In fact, on their way here, He Lingchuan had heard Old Ge mention that every month tourists lost their footing here.
The experience of walking through an active volcano was far too extraordinary, something ordinary folk rarely encountered. Tourists often craned their necks over the edge of the stone causeway to peer down, or children bounced and dashed recklessly back and forth.
Naturally, anyone who fell was simply gone—at most leaving behind a hiss and a puff of white vapor.
Who would dare seek compensation from the Heavenly Palace?
In any case, no railings were installed here.
The "ride" the eyeball spider had caught—or rather, this particular person—was quite daring, walking right along the edge to peer down into the magma pool, leaving the eyeball spider more than a little worried.
Chapter 580