Chapter 1940: Immortal and Shining Gold

"There's a bit of bamboo rice mixed in here too," He Lingchuan said as he personally handed him a bamboo tube. "This is rare, so try it quickly."

Another bowl, glistening red, contained braised fat bamboo rat with osmanthus. The bamboo rat had been braised with its favorite bamboo shoots, and Ling Guang had even contributed her homemade osmanthus honey, made from the wild osmanthus trees nearby.

Fang Canran picked up a piece of meat. It was soft and quivered, still with the skin on, and bounced when he shook it.

The soup was even simpler: a rich, milky, fragrant stew of assorted river fish and tofu. A few sips in autumn would warm you from head to toe.

"In the Goldflame Plains, this is already a culinary delight. What is there to complain about?" Fang Canran sighed. "Following your merchant guild from Giant Deer Port to the central region this trip, I saw starving people everywhere—a truly shocking sight. Children, five or six years old, were so thin they looked like skinned skeletons, their heads wider than their shoulders. They would fight until their heads bled over a gnawed bone."

"At least they are alive and visible to you; those who were discarded, eaten, or died at birth, you never even see," He Lingchuan said calmly, eating his bamboo rice, describing the chilling reality. "This is after Yang Shan has been doing business in the Goldflame Plains for several years, breaking through countless barriers. The central and western Goldflame Plains are already more vibrant than before. A year and a half ago, it would have been almost impossible to safely cross the entire Goldflame Plains."

"I know," Fang Canran nodded. "Many years ago, I visited the Carefree Sect on official business, and I disembarked at Giant Deer Port."

He vividly remembered what Giant Deer Port was like before Yang Shan settled there.

Poverty, despair, chaos, and apathy were the bitter fruits borne by that land.

All these bitter fruits ultimately gave rise to the flower of evil. "Brother He, bringing the Yang Shan Merchant Guild to the Goldflame Plains is an immeasurable act of merit."

He Lingchuan noted that Fang Canran spoke of the "Yang Shan Merchant Guild" rather than He Lingchuan's current actions.

"The Goldflame Plains are rich in resources—minerals, fine horses, medicinal herbs, and various rare treasures. It would take days and nights to list them all. Take Duocheng as an example: the copper ore from the mines outside the city contains over eight times more copper than that from the State of Yuan. The scale is large, and the deposits are shallow," He Lingchuan said, stamping his foot on the ground. "After repeatedly refining the copper ore here, four or five times, the remaining slag still has a copper content comparable to the ore from the State of Yuan."

When he was a scion of an official family in Blackwater City, he knew there were mines outside the city. Their copper reserves were small and of poor quality, but they were still significant enough for He Chunhua to pay attention, requiring annual reports on the mining situation.

"Yet the people of Goldflame live like this, holding a golden rice bowl but unable to get food," He Lingchuan asked Fang Canran, "Brother Fang, do you know why?"

"Warlordism, chaos, disorder?"

"You're right about all of them; these are the inherent misfortunes of the Goldflame Plains," He Lingchuan said, taking a sip of soup. "Fundamentally, the Sky Gods quell disturbances here to extract Nightmare Qi, while the immortals—"

He looked at Fang Canran and slowly said, "The immortals have set up Spirit Gathering Arrays here, vigorously draining the spiritual energy."

Fang Canran was moved. "Spirit Gathering Arrays?"

Recalling the task he had assigned He Lingchuan, he easily made the connection: "Are you referring to True Immortal Qianhuan?"

"True Immortal Qianhuan's Reversing Heavenly Gang Array is incredibly potent and has been draining the Goldflame Plains for over 150 years. Otherwise, how could a True Immortal like him, with fifteen other immortals and an entire sect under his command, sustain such a massive consumption of spiritual energy? Their ancient reserves alone wouldn't be enough."

Fang Canran secretly thought, "So that's how it is." Since the decline of spiritual energy in the world, immortals had been retreating into seclusion; some had passed away, while others lived quite comfortably. Although he maintained a connection with Mount Ling, he had never given it much thought, assuming that True Immortals possessed extraordinary means and perhaps incredibly abundant prehistoric reserves.

Now, hearing He Lingchuan, he realized that conservation was far from enough; the high immortals also needed new sources of spiritual energy to act with such impunity.

He Lingchuan gave a sarcastic smile. "When so-called gods and immortals are so desperate, treating the Goldflame Plains as their personal warehouse, taking whatever they please, what chance do the common people of Goldflame have to survive?"

Fang Canran was silent for a moment, suppressing many questions in his mind, and first brought up the purpose of his current visit: "Brother He, I have a question to ask on behalf of Mount Ling: Has True Immortal Qianhuan left the Upside-Down Sea? What is his current situation?"

Rumors of the Dragon God killing Heavenly Sovereign Miaozhantian had long circulated in the Goldflame Plains, yet Mount Ling was anxious to inquire about Qianhuan's situation. Unable to get answers in Giant Deer Port, Fang Canran had followed the merchant caravan to Duocheng to find the first eyewitness.

Besides He Lingchuan, how many people in the Goldflame Plains knew the truth?

"No," He Lingchuan gave the clearest answer. "He has passed away."

Fang Canran's eyes widened, and he was speechless for a long time.

When the Upside-Down Sea's open period ended, True Immortal Qianhuan remained missing, but He Lingchuan, who had been sent to find him, was active in the Goldflame Plains. Fang Canran knew then that there was trouble.

But this young man in front of him was saying that the Great True Immortal had fallen?

While he was in a daze, He Lingchuan happily picked up dishes, ate meat, and drank soup.

Two osmanthus petals drifted down from the old tree and landed in the soup bowl. He Lingchuan tapped the rim of the bowl with his chopsticks. "Brother Fang, if you don't eat soon, it'll be gone."

Today's soup was truly delicious.

"Oh, and a few large clams were also boiled in this soup, but they took up too much space, so I threw them out, shell and all," he gestured to Fang Canran. "Those clam shells were bigger than plates, and they made the soup incredibly fresh and savory!"

"What exactly happened, then?" Fang Canran finally found his voice.

That was True Immortal Qianhuan!

The previous head of Mount Ling, one of the Six Venerable Immortals of Mount Ling!

"Heavenly Sovereign Miaozhantian, along with over a dozen fiend celestials and Celestial Palace troops, also entered the Upside-Down Sea."

Seeing Fang Canran's shocked expression, He Lingchuan spat out a bone. "Didn't Mount Ling tell you?"

Fang Canran remained silent. Of course not.

Mount Ling only obtained information from him, rarely sharing internal affairs or new intelligence.

"How do you know Mount Ling already...?" Mid-sentence, he uttered an "oh" and understood.

He Lingchuan's channels for obtaining information from Mount Ling were no longer limited to Fang Canran.

This man's influence and intelligence network were growing daily.

"I also know that you have grasped many insider details and intelligence about the Yang Shan Archipelago but haven't informed Mount Ling," He Lingchuan smiled. "Thank you, Brother Fang."

Fang Canran gave a self-deprecating smile.

He had originally been sent by Mount Ling to supervise He Lingchuan, but over the past few years, he had acquired much information that he withheld. It was no wonder Mount Ling was dissatisfied with him; he had clearly taken the wrong side.

He Xiao was sincere, powerful, charismatic, and skilled at controlling situations. After prolonged interaction with such a person, it was difficult not to be swayed.

"Back to the main point! Heavenly Sovereign Miaozhantian was too powerful; he even invaded True Immortal Qianhuan's sea of consciousness, intending to destroy True Immortal Qianhuan's spirit and seize the Mirage Immortal's body."