"What's this?" Dong Rui took it and scrutinized it closely. The object was larger and rounder than a goose egg, light red, and speckled with spots.
"An egg from some kind of Donao beast," He Lingchuan said. "I picked it up in the Fu Realm and originally planned to have someone auction it off."
Dong Rui was overjoyed. "This is great! This is fantastic!"
With a new toy in hand, all his drowsiness vanished. He immediately cradled the Donao beast egg, fished out a full set of tools, and squatted off to the side to study it.
Zhu Daniang considerately crawled over to the cave entrance and curled up in the shadows. "Get some rest, you two. I'll keep watch."
Through tonight's battle, He Lingchuan had already realized that the two spider demons possessed vastly different temperaments. Had it been Zhu Erniang, she most likely would have fled without looking back, and once out of danger, she never would have gone back to make trouble for Baizhantian.
Now that Zhu Daniang had volunteered, He Lingchuan raised no objections. He extinguished the campfire, sat down on the other side, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
The moment he sat down, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashed over him.
Last night's venture had been brief, but it had been hair-raising from start to finish, stretching every passing second into what felt like years.
Fortunately, they had escaped with their lives—intact and in one piece.
Yet they had not fled far, and He Lingchuan still felt the danger had not entirely passed, keeping him from sleeping soundly.
Outside the cave, autumn insects chirped and night birds occasionally rustled in the foliage. The tranquility here stood in stark contrast to the tumult in Lingxu City more than a hundred li away.
Over the past day and night, how many people had been left sleepless?
***
Mount Xu, the Heavenly Palace.
Divine attendants and guards bustled in and out like worker ants.
Every face was solemn, every step hurried.
The post-disaster cleanup was an overwhelming tangle of tasks. After being battered by volcanic eruptions and splattering magma, Tianshu Peak—once lush, green, and shrouded in immortal groves—was now stripped completely bare.
Everywhere lay ruined walls, severed timber, charred rubble, and curling wisps of black smoke.
Some ridges had even been sheared down by dozens of feet.
When the devout believers saw the current state of Tianshu Peak, they felt as though the very heavens had fallen. Some broke down in tears on the spot, while others fainted dead away.
Even more knelt upon the surviving white jade steps in bitter anguish, prostrating themselves and knocking their foreheads against the stone to plead for the celestial god's wrath to abate, all while weeping tears of rage and cursing the intruders to a miserable death.
How peaceful this mortal world was.
How exalted the celestial gods were.
How mighty Beijia was.
All living creatures under heaven ought to praise it, extol it, and defend it!
How could anyone—how dared anyone—seek to shake it and tear it down?
Such traitors were the enemies of Beijia, the enemies of the whole world, the enemies of all living beings!
Their bones should be crushed and their ashes scattered to the winds!
They deserved to die without a grave!
This vast wellspring of faith soared straight into the heavens, so powerful that at sunrise, two magnificent rainbow bridges arched beside Tianshu Peak.
With Zhaixing Tower destroyed, the personnel of the Heavenly Palace temporarily relocated to Zhimi Peak in the rear to conduct their affairs, bringing along that Celestial Book as well.
As a peace offering to ease tensions, Juju had also dredged the Splendid Picture of Mountains and Rivers from the depths of the subterranean fires and returned it intact.
Immortals' treasures were extraordinarily resilient; after soaking in the magma for half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, it had suffered only minor surface damage, leaving its function unimpaired.
Zhimi Peak was quiet, occupied only by a handful of high officials from the Heavenly Palace and the imperial court. The wails and weeping from Tianshu Peak could not reach this place.
Bai Ziqi had just rushed back from Tianshu Peak. After beholding the collapsed jade pavilions and the smoking, charred ruins, no one could maintain a pleasant expression.
The atmosphere atop Zhimi Peak was stiflingly grave. The commanders and guards responsible for guarding Mount Xu last night had already been put to death by order of the celestial god; everyone kept their heads down, terrified that the wrath of the celestial god and the Emperor would sweep over them.
Last night's upheaval was truly a monumental disgrace for the Heavenly Palace.
Bai Ziqi hardly dared imagine how the citizens of Beijia would react once news spread that Zhaixing Tower had been destroyed, nor how the thirteen vassal demon kingdoms would respond.
Of course, those were headaches for Chief Duyun Emissary and the Emperor. The foremost priority right now was to capture the intruders as quickly as possible.
The Demon Emperor had already arrived, and consultations regarding the hunt for the culprits had proceeded through round after round.
Bai Ziqi could tell that the Emperor was also barely keeping its temper in check.
The unrest in Lingxu City was far from quelled, with instigators still fleeing across the streets. The Demon Emperor should have been holding court at Lingxiao Palace, issuing orders to suppress the terror and riots.
Yet with such a catastrophic upheaval at the Heavenly Palace, it had no choice but to come to Mount Xu first to confer with the celestial god.
First things first.
Unable to be in two places at once, it was only natural for the Demon Emperor to feel irritated.
According to their current analysis, the invaders of Mount Xu were not exceptionally powerful, and their numbers were remarkably few. However, their angle of attack had been fiendishly cunning: they had actually managed to awaken an immortal molt that had lain dormant for ages, thereby liberating Juju to serve their ends.
In truth, they had only three objectives:
First, to dismantle the foundation securing the Heavenly Palace—namely, the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation;
Second, to seize the divine artifact amid the chaos and sever the celestial god's tracking of the Dafang Pot;
Third, to sow mayhem throughout Lingxu City and plunge its citizens into panic and despair.
Every single point was an unpardonable atrocity.
Consequently, the characters manifesting upon the Celestial Book were a jarring, blood-red hue.
Clearly, the celestial god was also in a towering fury and would settle for nothing less than dragging these vermin back for a blood sacrifice to vent its wrath.
The Demon Emperor was saying, "If I recall correctly, that spider demon once went on a killing spree in Lingxu City and fled after being placed on the Earth Ranking wanted list?"
Minister of Agriculture Yao Mao chimed in at once, "Your Majesty has an excellent memory. That demon has long lived in seclusion within the Demon Nest Swamp in the south of the Jeweled Tree Kingdom, an uninhabited expanse of deep mountains and vast marshes. However, the spider demon has always maintained trade with humans. Even the fluorescent spores used as street lamps in Lingxu City are a specialty of the burrow spider nests."
The Demon Emperor pondered for a moment. "Send someone to the Demon Nest Swamp to investigate."
"Understood."
"Furthermore, if it remained quiet in the Demon Nest Swamp for decades, why did it suddenly come to Lingxu City to seize the immortal molt? How did the intruders persuade it? That must also be uncovered."
The Minister of Agriculture complied.
"As for Juju..." The Demon Emperor sighed deeply and looked toward the opposite peak.
From Zhimi Peak, one could see the sheared corner of Tianshu Peak across the way, where the pool of magma was still churning. The smug aura of that rock-fire monster practically overflowed all the way here.
The Heavenly Palace had negotiated with Juju three times now, all to no avail.
Having bottled up its rage for over a decade, the rock-fire monster had demanded an exorbitant price upon regaining its freedom—a ransom so steep that even the immensely wealthy Heavenly Palace felt short of breath upon hearing it.
Yet even if the Heavenly Palace could beat Juju down once more, it would be a pyrrhic victory. The Chenyuan behemoth specially deployed to counter Juju had already retreated beneath Zhimi Peak to nurse its injuries and could not be mobilized again anytime soon.
Moreover, a fight to the death would first and foremost devastate all of Lingxu City.
The source of the plain's earth veins lay right within Mount Xu. If they forcibly moved against the master of Mount Xu, the resulting tremors would undoubtedly dwarf the great earthquake that struck Lingxu City over a decade ago.
To say nothing of mutual destruction, now that Juju had shaken off the bindings of the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation, it could burrow deep underground at any moment, even if it could not defeat the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City outright. Hah—they simply wouldn't be able to catch it!
That alone put it in an unassailable position.
Not to mention, Juju had also threatened to shift the positions of major peaks like Tianshu Peak and Tianquan Peak.
Back then, it had cooperated with the grand formation to move these peaks; now, it could do so again at its own whim. It would merely take a bit more effort and time—perhaps two or three months.
So long as the peaks on earth failed to align with the stars of the Northern Dipper, even if the Heavenly Palace managed to locate another star chart, they would never be able to recreate the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation.
Having such a foul neighbor was enough to sicken anyone to death!
Besides, after weathering last night's unprecedented catastrophe, the Heavenly Palace and the Demon Emperor were all the more eager to settle matters quickly.
The attack on the Heavenly Palace, the eruption of subterranean fires, the destruction of Zhaixing Tower, the trampling of Lingxu City... it remained to be seen how much effort Beijia would have to expend to dispel the fallout from this chain of unprecedented disasters.
The jade pavilions of the Heavenly Palace could be rebuilt, but the shaken faith of the people would not be so easily set right.
Chief Duyun Emissary spoke up. "I will speak with Juju once more."
A man in his post had to fulfill his duties; this tough bone would ultimately fall to him to gnaw through.
The chief emissary looked pale, not only because of the damage to the Heavenly Palace, but primarily because steering the ji beast Chenyuan last night had severely taxed his soul. By rights, he ought to have entered secluded cultivation to recuperate for ten days to half a month, but with the Heavenly Palace shaken and Lingxu City in chaos, he had no choice but to remain and take charge.
No matter how arrogant and difficult the rock-fire monster was, it remained an internal affair of Lingxu. So long as they were willing to pay the price, it could eventually be resolved.
Capturing the intruders to set the record straight was the most pressing task at hand.
The Demon Emperor shook its head. "What drew the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth to attack Lingxu City in the first place? Has the cause been determined?"
The officials looked at one another until Bai Ziqi spoke up: "No physical object has been recovered. However, the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth has always lived in deep seclusion within the Fu Realm. For bait to drive it into such a berserk, suicidal frenzy, your subordinate surmises it must be tied to its offspring."
Though the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth had been slain, they had left behind only ruins and mud in their wake; no useful clues could be found.
The Demon Emperor grunted in agreement. "I reached the same deduction. The Thunder-Wielding Behemoth lays eggs only once every few centuries and values them above its own life."
Coincidentally, maintaining the imperial demon bloodline of Beijia was just as difficult, producing only an heir or two every few centuries. Thus, it fully understood the behemoth's fierce devotion to its young.
A Heavenly Palace commander immediately reported, "According to reports from the hunting parties in the Fu Realm, the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth laid three eggs, all of which were destroyed several days ago by the Wu beast leader."
The Demon Emperor's gaze turned penetrating. "Then it should have sought vengeance against the Wu beasts. Why run into the mortal realm to trample Lingxu City?"
No one could answer that question.
At that moment, an attendant off to the side said timidly, "Your Majesty, the... the person inside the picture has stopped moving! They seem to have halted!"
Surprised, the crowd moved over to the Splendid Picture of Mountains and Rivers.
Sure enough, a point of golden light within the painting remained entirely motionless.
"Before Celestial God Baizhan returned to the divine realm, he covertly planted a karmic thread upon the spider immortal. That mark in the painting reflects the spider immortal's location," Chief Duyun Emissary said solemnly. "It had been moving constantly at extreme speed until now, when it finally stopped."
The Demon Emperor asked, "Where is this?"
"It is a deserted, obscure mountain range called Mount Pei."
Zhaixing Tower had been destroyed and Lingxu City attacked; yet after all that had transpired last night, the Heavenly Palace remained calm and unruffled, unafraid that the intruders might vanish thousands of li away. This was largely thanks to the karmic thread quietly laid down by Baizhan.
After six hours—just past midnight—the karmic thread had set firmly into place.
And the spider immortal bound to it was now laid bare upon the picture of mountains and rivers.
Chapter 709