Chapter 1552: More Important Clues

Is there any connection or conflict between the Great Emperor Jiuyou and Nailuotian?

Ordinary humans don't concern themselves with the divine realm, just as ants on the ground wouldn't fret over what the emperor in the imperial court is eating today.

"How would I know?" God Puyen scoffed. "Perhaps Nailuotian was having trouble during that time. I can't tell you the specifics."

"Oh, right," it remembered something else. "He also asked if the gods were very displeased with both Beijia and Yaoguo."

Does that even need saying?

"Can you perceive anything unusual about him?"

"In my perception?" God Puyen said slowly. "He is like a black hole; my divine sense yielded no feedback when it swept over him. Perhaps there's something unique about his black armor. However, the wolf-faced mask next to him is definitely a person. I directed my gaze upon him, but my sight was cut off after only several hundred zhang."

"They can detect divine sight and eliminate it?"

"Likely," God Puyen said. "I can feel that the Great Emperor Jiuyou harbors deep malice towards us."

"Has anyone else in this city had contact with him?"

"My temple attendant once heard Yang Meng's personal attendant mention that he told Yang Meng to take control of Liuping and to persevere for at least a year or two."

Bai Ziqi's eyes glinted. "A year or two? What then?"

What does the Great Emperor Jiuyou intend to do during this period?

"That's unknown."

Bai Ziqi said, "The Shali order is spread throughout the Blingold Plain. Haven't they managed to obtain more information about the Great Emperor Jiuyou?"

"Except for Shizhoukou, the places they frequent have no temples and no followers."

The places frequented by the Great Emperor Jiuyou are indeed carefully selected.

After asking these few questions, Bai Ziqi wanted to leave, but God Puyen coughed. "I have another clue here, a clue more important than the Great Emperor Jiuyou, if you're interested."

More important than the Great Emperor Jiuyou? Bai Ziqi stopped in his tracks. "Please tell me."

"It's about True Immortal Qianhuan."

As soon as this name was mentioned, Bai Ziqi paused, then turned his steps and looked back at the offering table.

"Over the years, there have been hundreds of clues about True Immortal Qianhuan. I alone have dealt with dozens of them, and all were fake." The Heavenly Palace had grown numb to receiving such news.

God Puyen smiled. "He is a Mirage Immortal, so his information is naturally hard to distinguish between true and false."

"Is your information authentic?" Bai Ziqi asked. "How can it be verified?"

"Once you get there, you'll naturally understand." God Puyen blew on the candle. "Don't try to trade with these cheap things again. Give me five Execution Dragon Pillars, and I'll give you the 'real' clue about True Immortal Qianhuan, guaranteed you won't make a wasted trip!"

Bai Ziqi pondered in silence.

His current mission was to investigate the Great Emperor Jiuyou.

Bai Ziqi usually focuses single-mindedly on his cases and avoids getting sidetracked, but the clue God Puyen offered truly tempted him.

True Immortal Qianhuan!

This was a venerable ancient immortal, one of the pillars of Spirit Mountain, who had long contended with the Divine Realm and the Heavenly Palace. Even with the Heavenly Palace's vast information network, it only knew that he had been in secluded cultivation for over a hundred years.

The Heavenly Palace wanted to investigate him, but his location was uncertain.

These ancient old monsters were easiest to deal with when they were in seclusion. Once they reappeared in the world, Bai Ziqi would definitely not approach them.

If the clue God Puyen gave was true, and Bai Ziqi could follow it to True Immortal Qianhuan, that would be an unparalleled achievement.

As he hesitated, God Puyen pressed on, "Aren't you going to seize this heaven-sent opportunity? Are you still a Grand Envoy of the Heavenly Palace?"

It chuckled with ill intent. "If you miss True Immortal Qianhuan, what punishment will you receive if the Heavenly Palace finds out later?"

Any mission involving the name "True Immortal Qianhuan" either led to great merit or severe punishment.

Bai Ziqi secretly sighed, then pulled two Execution Dragon Pillars from his robe and placed them on the table. "This is a deposit. Once I verify it, I will send someone to deliver the remaining three."

God Puyen smiled contentedly, then manipulated the lamp spirit to conjure a hand and snatched the items from the table.

The two Execution Dragon Pillars vanished.

"If the Chief Grand Envoy of the Heavenly Palace were to make a deal with me, all five Execution Dragon Pillars would have to come first; that old geezer has a bad reputation. As for you, your reputation is quite good, so I'll trust you this once."

"Once this secret is revealed, you'll know that my price of five Execution Dragon Pillars is far too cheap. So, how much do you know about the grotto-heavens where immortals undergo secluded cultivation?"

God Puyen had taken his deposit and should have answered his questions, but why was it asking questions instead? Still, Bai Ziqi remained good-natured. "The grotto-heavens that are still functional today are where immortals extend their lives."

After the great cataclysm, spiritual energy gradually weakened, and many ancient immortals retreated into grotto-heavens for secluded cultivation to pass through the long period of depletion.

It's like drastic changes in the ocean environment, which are no longer suitable for giant whales to survive in, but they can still live if they enter an aquarium, provided that oxygen, food, water quality, and temperature are all carefully regulated.

If some tanks cannot sustain them, the whales inside will die. This is what has happened in most grotto-heavens over thousands of years.

That's why Bai Ziqi said that grotto-heavens still capable of sustaining immortals to this day are exceptionally precious.

"Immortals consume an enormous amount of spiritual energy, so how do grotto-heavens supply it?" God Puyen chuckled. "Even if vast amounts of profound crystals were stored, they couldn't sustain for thousands of years."

"Spirit-gathering formations." Given Bai Ziqi's rank, he was certainly privy to many secrets. "Spirit Mountain uses spirit-gathering formations to draw spiritual energy into the grotto-heavens, allowing their great immortals to undergo secluded cultivation peacefully, without worrying about interrupted supply."

To cite a close example, the Ruins Mountain Great Formation in Lingxu City is an oversized spirit-gathering formation specifically designed to gather spiritual energy and supply the great demons and cultivators within the city.

And the Ruins Mountain Great Formation itself was rebuilt on the foundation of the ancient formations of the Grand Return Sect.

So, yes, immortal sects and immortals have always built great spirit-gathering formations since ancient times. It's just that after the great cataclysm, new laws emerged, making great spirit-gathering formations increasingly difficult to construct.

God Puyen said mysteriously, "That's right, the clue I'm offering you is the location of True Immortal Qianhuan's spirit-gathering formation!"

Bai Ziqi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "It's not True Immortal Qianhuan's hiding place?"

God Puyen burst into laughter. "A hiding place? True Immortal Qianhuan's hiding place? If there really was such a valuable clue, do you think five Execution Dragon Pillars would be enough to buy it?"

"You've been active in Blingold for so long, my master thought you would have found some clues by now."

"True Immortal Qianhuan is hiding in the Upside-Down Sea, who doesn't know that?" The candle sputtered. "The problem is, where exactly is the Upside-Down Sea?"

"Alright, let's get back to the clue." God Puyen wanted to maintain its trustworthy image. "Your Heavenly Palace has also raided quite a few grotto-heavens, so the great immortals of Spirit Mountain no longer place spirit-gathering formations near their secluded cultivation sites."

To avoid being tracked down by the Heavenly Palace.

Bai Ziqi said, "Spirit-gathering formations cannot be built just anywhere. The Heavenly Palace finding grotto-heavens near spirit-gathering formations twice was purely due to luck."

"True Immortal Qianhuan's spirit-gathering formation is located in Baimao Mountain!" God Puyen also grew serious. "It's within the borders of Penguo."

Bai Ziqi frowned. Penguo?

Hadn't he just come from Penguo? True Immortal Qianhuan's spirit-gathering formation was actually in the western part of the Blingold Plain?

"Penguo has been established for less than a year; its predecessor was Boguo," God Puyen continued. "Beijia already knows who exactly overthrew Boguo, right?"

"That coup was supported by Mouguo from behind the scenes." Lingxu City had received the news long ago.

"Now you understand why. However, Baimao Mountain seems to have undergone recent changes, causing True Immortal Qianhuan's spirit-gathering formation to become unsustainable."

Bai Ziqi's eyes flickered slightly. "What happened?"

"That great spirit-gathering formation has stopped functioning," God Puyen said. "I infer that the array core is probably experiencing issues."

"What is that array core? Ley lines? A divine artifact? A spiritual treasure of heaven and earth?"

After the Immortal-Demon War, the laws of heaven and earth shifted dramatically, and the original spirit-gathering formations gradually became ineffective. However, humanity slowly discovered new rules.

It's very complex, and the most crucial point among them is that setting up the array core is no longer simple.

For Lingxu City to build the Ruins Mountain Great Formation, it not only had to invite the great fire spirit Zu Ju to move mountains, but also had to find a specific treasure, like the remains of Old Woman Zhu, to serve as the array core; only then could the formation successfully take effect.

The strict requirements for constructing great spirit-gathering formations are evident from this.

"I don't know."

God Puyen answered so self-assuredly that it made Bai Ziqi fall silent.

However, God Puyen immediately continued, "Baimao Mountain is no ordinary mountain range. You've come from afar, so you wouldn't know its history. A long time ago, Baimao Mountain was also known as Dragon Head Mountain. Legend has it that it is the site of the Black Dragon God Venerable's demise!"

Even Bai Ziqi found this legend to be significant. "The Dragon God met his end there?"

"The Dragon God's demise location is disputed, with one theory being Dragon Head Mountain," God Puyen continued. "There is also a rumor that the Dragon God's scales fell onto Dragon Head Mountain and were collected by the Yuyang Sect to make a black treasured armor, which is said to be able to absorb karmic power for one's own use."

"Karmic power!" Bai Ziqi was moved. "You just said that the Great Emperor Jiuyou's battle armor has karmic flames rising from it!"

"Whether it's the same one, I don't know," God Puyen said coolly. "There's no such thing as such a coincidence, right? Just tell me, is the Dragon God's demise location qualified enough to build a spirit-gathering formation?"

Bai Ziqi nodded.

"True Immortal Qianhuan's spirit-gathering formation, I don't know when it was built, but for it to be visible now, it has most likely ceased functioning."

"What recent changes have occurred on the mountain?"

God Puyen chuckled. "That's unclear. I can't leave, but if you have time, you can investigate it thoroughly."

That night, Bai Ziqi rested in a large courtyard in Shizhoukou.

After nightfall, the divine attendants sent out earlier returned.

Seeing that they had matters to discuss, Guide Liu cleverly stepped out.

"Lord Grand Envoy, the information on Shizhoukou and Liuping has been collected."

"Mm, tell me about it."

"Local people say that the cannibal Zhao Guangzhi attacked Shizhoukou over half a year ago. City Guard Liu abandoned the city and fled, but Garrison Commander Yang took over the city and resisted fiercely..."

The attendant recounted in detail the entire process of the battles of Shizhoukou and Liuping.

Bai Ziqi listened with great attention, often interrupting with questions.