Below the stage, the audience sat in silence, each of them imagining just how immense a power would belong to a monster a hundred zhang tall.
He Lingchuan, however, remembered the Wind Demon of the Piaomiao Sect. That, too, had once been an immortal sect's mountain-guarding spirit beast, yet several centuries ago it had fallen to the Jeweled Tree King.
"For natural elements like this to be favored by fortune and grow into sapient monsters was one in hundreds of millions even during the ancient era. Otherwise, with so many cool breezes, so many volcanoes, and so many rivers, lakes, and marshes in the world, why would the number of mighty monsters ever born of them be so few?"
He Lingchuan immediately thought of the crater of Tianshu Peak and the magma that roiled without ceasing.
It seemed his earlier suspicion had been correct: a colossal beast was lurking within.
Had Fusheng's warning been aimed at it?
Fortunately, he hadn't taken a single step farther back then.
Someone below immediately asked, "Why would such a powerful monster submit to Beijia?"
Serving as someone's mountain-guarding spirit beast—to put it bluntly, a glorified doorkeeper—if that wasn't submission, what was?
"For the very same reason it once submitted to the Dahuan Sect," Xu Shichu replied slowly. "The opponent was simply stronger."
He continued, "According to historical records, after the Dahuan Sect fell, this monster of rock and fire was subdued by the celestial gods and the Demon Emperor. It continued to serve as the mountain spirit of Mount Shou'an—which is to say Mount Xu—and attended its new masters. However, as for how the northern demon kingdom defeated the Dahuan Sect and how Juju was brought to heel, the accounts are vague on the details."
"Mount Xu is entirely Juju's domain," He Lingchuan spoke up suddenly, posing a question. "Could the northern demon kingdom really defeat the master of the house on his own ground?"
A lesser Wind Demon that had slumbered for years had returned to Wind Demon Mountain, and after drawing on the Meridian Divine Wind for merely a few days, it had inflicted heavy casualties on the Jeweled Tree Kingdom's seed-guarding convoy. Such was the home advantage. The entirety of Mount Xu was Juju's home ground—or rather, the whole mountain was virtually one with it. Just how had the Demon Emperor defeated it?
Besides, the Dahuan Sect had been no pushover either. If their mountain-guarding spirit beast was under attack, could they have simply stood by and watched?
"Many factors determine victory on the battlefield; it isn't a simple matter of comparing raw strength," Xu Shichu said solemnly. "Furthermore, while Juju has survived from antiquity to the present without its mind being eroded, its power was likewise diminished. It was no longer the colossal demon it had been three millennia ago."
"Being a creature of this realm, it rises and falls together with the mortal world. To attempt to stay detached, or to profit oneself at the common expense, is to defy Heaven itself," Xu Shichu continued slowly. "In the end, it will never come to any good."
He Lingchuan felt there was a deeper meaning behind his words.
Moreover, deities stood behind Beijia—that was the demon kingdom's bedrock and hidden trump card.
When the northern demon kingdom attacked the Dahuan Sect, it had not yet reached the peak of its power. Although the Dahuan Sect might have been riddled with long-accumulated decline and already deeply weakened, for the demon kingdom to conquer it, they had likely needed the aid of celestial gods.
Xu Shichu was speaking subtly, leaving this unsaid.
He Lingchuan asked outright, "Does this giant monster have any weaknesses of its own?"
If all went as expected, he would eventually have to make his way up Zhaixing Tower to search for that divine object. If he wanted to scale the mountain, would he first have to get past the mountain-guarding spirit beast?
The people nearby chuckled. "What, you thinking of going a few rounds with it?"
"Broken Saber, we know you're formidable, but do you really want to take it on one-on-one?"
He Lingchuan laughed along. "Always prepare for the worst. If we know the fire monster's weaknesses, it might not be hard to deduce Beijia's methods and capabilities. Don't we need valuable intelligence like that?"
The laughter around him died down at once.
Xu Shichu nodded. "Well said, well said. Every scrap of intelligence, every correct inference, could prove to be the key to overcoming an enemy. When the northern demon kingdom prepared to launch its surprise assault on the Dahuan Sect back then, they surely did their homework exhaustively. It was rather the Dahuan Sect's complacency and arrogance that brought such calamity upon them."
His expression turned serious. "According to the historical facts I verified, Juju was not gravely injured during that battle of ten days and ten nights. For after the northern demon kingdom took Mount Shou'an, it followed its new masters' demands and shifted two mountain peaks."
The creature could move mountains? The crowd stirred.
Seeing their expressions, Xu Shichu knew what they were thinking. "Juju was born of subterranean fire, a son of the Earth Mother, and serves as the mountain spirit. Shifting a peak or two there is hardly surprising. Have you heard of the Piaomiao Sect's mountain-protecting spirit beast, the Wind Demon?"
The crowd shook their heads; only He Lingchuan nodded.
"That Wind Demon was born within the Meridian Divine Wind. In the Piaomiao Immortal Sect's heyday, the Wind Demon could even sculpt mountain profiles, carving terraced fields and channels into precipitous ridges, or carrying loads of hundreds of thousands of jin up the peaks without needing any mortal labor. Altering terrain is even more of Juju's signature specialty."
He Lingchuan exhaled softly.
No wonder Beijia had been able to reconfigure the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation, aligning the primary peaks on earth with the celestial constellations so closely in shape and position—they had the help of this mountain spirit!
"Still, back then it only relocated two small hilltops, which took more than half a year. Presumably, such work consumed vast amounts of energy and time," Xu Shichu said, returning to the subject. "According to the records of the Dahuan Sect that I studied, Juju possesses great intellect, no lesser than a human's, and it even bargained with the Dahuan Sect. In this regard, it differs entirely from ordinary elemental monsters of wind, earth, fire, or water."
"If the immortal sect could not meet its demands, Juju would slack off or cut corners. Because of this, the Dahuan Sect had to designate specific people to appease it and even negotiate with it. You could say that Juju was an anomaly in itself."
"After the world's spiritual energy declined, Juju continued to demand an ample supply of spiritual energy. In the early Medieval Era, the Dahuan Sect could still grit its teeth and manage, but as time passed, providing it became harder and harder." Xu Shichu took a sip from his cup. "On one hand, Juju demanded too much, consuming nearly twenty percent of all the spiritual energy the Dahuan Sect gathered. On the other hand, the sect's old rivals had all vanished in the Great Cataclysm, and no new force capable of threatening them had yet arisen. Spending immense effort to sustain Juju was simply no longer worthwhile."
Silence fell over the crowd.
Juju had too massive an appetite; once the immortal sect went into decline, naturally they could no longer afford to feed it.
"Later, the friction between Juju and the Dahuan Sect grew sharper and sharper. It threw frequent temper tantrums, at times even triggering volcanic eruptions." Xu Shichu sighed. "Seeing that the conditions on the mountain were no longer fit for habitation, the Dahuan Sect simply moved most of its people back down to level ground. As one might imagine, from then on, relations between the sect and the fire monster likely grew even colder."
Neither needed the other anymore—so they had simply grown sick of the sight of each other?
"Taken together with what was said earlier, that battle in which the northern demon kingdom annihilated the Dahuan Sect lasted ten days and ten nights, with both sides suffering heavy casualties, yet Juju emerged largely unscathed." Xu Shichu finally offered his deduction. "Evidently, it was not deeply involved in the fighting and didn't exert itself to the death for the Dahuan Sect. Perhaps..."
He did not finish, merely letting out a sigh.
Lacking sufficient proof, he could say no more, but anyone clever understood his implication: Juju might even have been turned by the northern demon kingdom, turning on its original master at the crucial moment!
When both combatants were at the end of their ropes, whoever gained fresh reinforcements would see their odds of victory skyrocket.
He Lingchuan's brow furrowed tightly.
Juju certainly was a fire monster with plenty of personality, but what use were these secrets to him?
Without a doubt, the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation completed in Lingxu City over a decade ago had involved Juju, the master of the land. In other words, whether he sought to obtain Zhu Erniang's shed husk or the divine object atop Zhaixing Tower, he most likely could not bypass this massive titan.
It was the master of Mount Xu, and its senses regarding his intrusion might be keener than even those of the celestial gods or the Demon Emperor.
Would he have to turn Juju all over again?
Between Beijia and him alone, just how foolish would Juju have to be to pick him?
"In the late Medieval Era, monsters like Juju were continuously nourished by subterranean fire, which kept them from perishing like the other demon immortals. But by the same token, obtaining spiritual energy grew increasingly difficult for it; otherwise, it wouldn't have fallen into slumbers lasting a century at a time. The smarter it was, the more it understood the need to preserve its strength and avoid injury as much as possible," Xu Shichu continued from the stage. "In any case, the fact that Juju possesses intellect is a good thing."
Someone couldn't help asking, "Can having intelligence count as a weakness?"
If that were true, wouldn't everyone present be full of weaknesses?
"With intelligence, one can converse, unlike other elemental forces that brook no approach. If one can converse and communicate, there exists the possibility of persuasion, subversion, or even negotiation," Xu Shichu smiled. "Six hundred years ago, that is very likely what the northern demon kingdom did, setting an example for us."
He Lingchuan rubbed his chin.
So gathering intelligence on Juju's current situation was an essential task on his agenda, then?
The fire monster's appetite was so monstrous that even its former masters could no longer afford it. Would feeding it be any easier for Beijia?
In reality, at least a decade or so ago, Juju was still laboring for Beijia, expending effort on the new Spirit Gathering Grand Formation. In this day and age, far from growing stronger, such a monster could count itself blessed if its power didn't dwindle.
The friction between Lingxu City and Juju was probably not small either. If all had been peaceful and harmonious, why would they have needed a grand formation to suppress it?
It took three full days of cleaning before the sprawling Pianxiang Villa was barely fit for occupation.
Old dust inside the buildings and overgrown courtyards outside all needed clearing, while guards bustled in and out, purchasing all kinds of daily necessities.
So when He Lingchuan returned to Pianxiang Villa three days later, he found the place completely transformed.
The weeds along the outer walls and spiderwebs in the corners were gone; even the wildflowers in the garden had been ruthlessly cleared away, leaving only bougainvillea cascading like a waterfall down the gable walls, blooming more exuberantly in autumn than in spring. Aside from that, only several hundred ancient trees remained in the estate, including golden osmanthus, wutong, and camphor, all at least two hundred years old, their branches and leaves swaying gracefully.
Pianxiang Villa had once been famous for its potted plants and bonsai. After the Chunyu clan fell into disgrace, those in the know had hauled the pots away, leaving only seven or eight near the weasels' den. This time, after being pruned, they were lined along both sides of the entrance to welcome guests. New flora could only be acquired the coming spring.
Though late autumn had set in, the estate radiated fresh vitality once more.
Even the back hills had gained new residents:
A hive of contracted bees.
What noble's rear garden didn't keep a few beehives? Sweet, fragrant pastries required the freshest, first-hand ingredients.
"I'm telling you, this place really isn't bad!" Fu Shanyue dragged him behind the beehive, parted a few bushes, and said, "Look."
Chapter 599