Chapter 590: The Strange Scene Behind the Gate

Chapter 586: The Wonders Behind the Grand Gate

The two people and two apes returned to Mount Tian Shu via the small path to rejoin the team.

The subsequent Heavenly Palace buildings were not as extravagant as the Hall of Adoration. While still luxurious in design, their interiors were no longer entirely gilded. Each of these buildings served a specific function, and Old Ge introduced them one by one.

They were likely approaching the Star-Plucking Tower. He Lingchuan deliberately lagged behind, gazing around at the scenery, but in reality, he summoned his Eyeball Spider and whispered to it, "Are you certain the item is on Mount Xu?"

The spider chirped a few times, indicating that Madam Zhu Er's remains were definitely here, within the boundaries of Mount Xu, but their exact location was unknown. Its senses were blocked by an extremely powerful barrier.

This statement was consistent with Dong Rui's.

Good, very good.

Confirming that Madam Zhu Er's remains were on Mount Xu meant half of his mission for the day was complete.

Only once this was confirmed could he proceed with his subsequent plans.

"A barrier?" That there would be barriers in the Heavenly Palace was expected. He Lingchuan murmured, "Xiang Yan clearly said that when Mount Xu was renovated over a decade ago, no magic artifacts or relics were hidden here. Hmm, unless what we're looking for isn't a collection item."

"With so many formations and barriers here, the number of magic artifacts and spiritual objects needed must be considerable." He Lingchuan looked around, wary of anyone approaching, and added, "Old Zhu's treasure seems quite fitting for use here, doesn't it?"

"That makes sense," the mirror exclaimed. "How do we find its location?"

"The reconstruction of Mount Xu was a massive undertaking, with an astonishing number of laborers and artisans involved. Furthermore, it was completed less than twenty years ago, so many of those people are still alive."

The mirror scoffed, "What could mere laborers know?"

"No matter how extensive the formations are, they still require human effort." The formations on Mount Xu couldn't have been set up by simply placing a few bricks or clumps of grass; they must have been a proper engineering project. "Don't underestimate them; the key is to find the right person."

He Lingchuan continued, "Old Xiang mentioned that the grand formation on Mount Xu corresponds to the stars in the sky, and that a rare treasure placed in its core activates it. At that time, I suspected this item was Madam Zhu Er's treasure."

He sighed at this point. The only thing harder than sneaking into the Spirit Void City treasury to steal was probably excavating Madam Zhu Er's remains from the Mount Xu magic array, wasn't it?

Why did all the difficult tasks fall to him?

The mirror directly asked, "How do you plan to find it?"

"First, I need to confirm if my conjecture is correct." He Lingchuan had to be cautious. "If I'm wrong, my life will end here."

"Also, where is the core of that formation?" He continued to ponder. "The formation is said to have been devised jointly by the Celestial God and the Emperor, but leaders generally only state requirements, at most providing guidance on direction. The specific details—how the formation was built and how it's protected—must have been handled by subordinates."

So, what he needed to do was to find someone with inside knowledge, a participant.

He had asked Xiang Yan about this back in Baisha Qu, but the old man was very tight-lipped and refused to say anything. However, after Cen Boqing was arrested, the officials of Chiyan in Baisha Qu felt a great sense of relief and satisfaction, and their goodwill towards He Lingchuan greatly increased. Later, when he chatted with Xiang Yan several times, the latter finally let down his guard. On one occasion, he accidentally let slip that he had made several friends while supervising a project in Spirit Void City.

He didn't give specific names, but one of them had the double-character surname 'Zaifu.'

This surname was particularly rare.

Like Xiang Yan, this Lord Zaifu had already retired, but he seemed to still reside in Spirit Void City.

"The formations created for Mount Xu are top secret, do you have confidence in getting that information?" The mirror reminded him, "Be careful not to alert the enemy."

He Lingchuan smiled, "Who said I'd ask him directly?"

In Spirit Void City, self-preservation was the top priority.

Soon, Old Ge led the team to a long white jade staircase.

The long staircase was wide and straight, with eighty-one steps in total. Standing at the bottom, everyone looked up. The building above was sturdy and towering, entirely snow-white, but its roof was a soft moonlight-white.

"That is the Star-Plucking Tower."

That was the Star-Plucking Tower, said to be the terrestrial abode of the Celestial God, a place even the Demon Emperor of Beijia came to respectfully worship.

Perched high on the mountaintop, it was almost indistinguishable from the clouds and mist. Bathed in the setting sun, it glowed golden-red. All visitors, including He Lingchuan, upon seeing it, felt a profound reverence, an urge to kneel and worship.

Indeed, on this white jade staircase, many people were taking a step and then prostrating themselves, so devout that they seemed oblivious to their surroundings.

He Lingchuan also intended to ascend the steps, but after only two steps, his God Bone necklace suddenly became very hot!

Or rather, scorching hot.

A slightly higher temperature could have burned a hole through his clothes.

The meaning was clear:

It wanted it, wanted it, desperately wanted it!

This sudden change startled He Lingchuan, and he halted. The God Bone necklace liked to consume rare treasures, but it had never before shown such eagerness.

There was a treasure in the Star-Plucking Tower, and it absolutely had to have it!

A clear, undeniable possessiveness.

But what kind of place was this?

He Lingchuan was already harboring ulterior motives and was extremely wary of the so-called 'Celestial God's abode.' Now, with this strange development, the step he had taken instinctively recoiled.

At the same time, something suddenly appeared in his right palm.

He subconsciously raised his wrist to look:

Fading Life had appeared on its own.

This blade was integrated with him, and was only summoned by him when facing an enemy.

Yet at this moment, it had come without being summoned, its blade faintly trembling and its hilt chillingly cold.

He Lingchuan felt the sword intent rippling in layers, as if an unspeakable terror was hidden at the end of the white jade staircase, within the Star-Plucking Tower before him!

"Hey, are you going or not?" A tourist behind him complained. "If you're not moving, don't block the path. You're like a stone."

The white jade staircase was crowded, and everyone was being pushed upwards by the flow of people. He Lingchuan's sudden stop blocked the way for those behind him.

When he moved to the side, the person was startled. "You even pulled out a knife, what do you mean by that!"

He Lingchuan flashed a smile at him, "My apologies."

The man, struck by the lingering blade aura, shivered involuntarily.

Just then, several palace guards rushed out of a nearby tower, holding spears and blocking the path of the crowd. "Heavenly Palace urgent matters, no passage for now!"

"Huh?" The crowd complained loudly. The Star-Plucking Tower was right ahead, so why were they suddenly not allowed in? This was the highlight of their trip, and no visitor wanted to miss it.

Jiang Tao also complained while asking Old Ge, "Does the Star-Plucking Tower close frequently?"

Old Ge, being squeezed, cried out, "You're asking me? Why don't you ask the Star-Plucking Tower itself!"

Gao Jilin, meanwhile, asked the palace guard, "Officer, how long will the Star-Plucking Tower be closed?"

The palace guard looked straight ahead, not even glancing at him, and said, "Unknown."

Amidst the complaints of the crowd, He Lingchuan also looked up at the Star-Plucking Tower. This grand hall was magnificent, seeming to stand above all living beings. The vast, majestic aura it exuded made any verbal description seem pale in comparison.

What was it that the God Bone so coveted?

And what was it that caused Fading Life to repeatedly issue warnings?

The Celestial God's secrets, perhaps along with the Demon Emperor's secrets and Beijia's secrets, were all contained within.

Unfortunately, he couldn't go up himself.

What could be gleaned by indirectly asking others could not compare to seeing it with one's own eyes... Eh?

He Lingchuan suddenly slapped his forehead. How could he have been so foolish?

He couldn't go up, but the Eyeball Spider could!

In a place everyone could visit for worship, who would notice this tiny spy?

Taking advantage of the palace guards' distraction, he flicked a finger, sending the little spy onto the back of a tourist, giving it a ride.

This particular guest had already ascended the white jade staircase before the guards blocked the way, and was therefore fortunately not stopped, allowing them to continue to the Star-Plucking Tower.

Just then, from a two-story tower beside the white jade staircase, more than ten people suddenly emerged.

The official-clad man leading them looked somewhat familiar. The two people following him were likely his attendants, and the rest, clad in golden armor, were all Heavenly Palace guards.

These more than ten people quickly ascended the steps.

With Heavenly Palace guards clearing the way, everyone made way for the man.

Soon, they disappeared at the top of the white jade staircase, entering the Star-Plucking Tower.

Only then did He Lingchuan withdraw his gaze.

Not long ago, this very person had made a grand appearance at the Dunyuan auction. He Lingchuan had a deep impression of him because he had bought the severed sword tip of the First Shore True Immortal for the astronomical price of eight hundred seventy thousand taels of silver.

He might have been acting on behalf of the Ke family, who were 'sitting on a gold mine.' No one knew whether they would extract the Boundless Gold from the sword tip or simply keep it as a precious collectible.

He Lingchuan recalled what Fu Shanyue had said: the Celestial God regularly summoned the Ke family. This meant that the Ke family ascended the mountain regularly by divine decree.

Today, he just happened to encounter Ke Yanming ascending the mountain?

The tourists blocked by the palace guards asked, "Can't we go up yet?"

The palace guard remained expressionless.

This implied they couldn't. Old Ge then said, "Standing here indefinitely won't do. Let's rest in the pavilion for a while and see what happens!"

So, the tour group slowly retreated, settling into the long pavilion beside the white jade staircase.

Perhaps knowing that good things come to those who wait, the God Bone necklace also calmed down, no longer scalding hot.

He Lingchuan sat down facing the Star-Plucking Tower, and activated the Eyeball Spider's vision.

The guest it was riding was young, nimble-footed and ascended the steps quickly, seemingly there purely for sightseeing, unlike others who prostrated themselves with every step.

He Lingchuan shared the Eyeball Spider's vision, and saw that they quickly ascended the white jade staircase, passed through the magnificent gate over three *zhang* high, and entered the Star-Plucking Tower.

Outside the tower, a cold wind whistled and white snow covered the ground, but inside, it was as warm as spring, with a gentle breeze caressing the face.

Looking down, everyone was greatly astonished:

Inside the Star-Plucking Tower's grand gate, there was actually a colossal lava pool!

It was a hundred *zhang* in diameter, with lava churning, stirring up waves of golden-red light.

No wonder it was so warm in here.

It seemed that even if formations were set up behind the gate, they were meant to prevent heat or toxic fumes from overwhelming people.

From the gate to the opposite side, a stone beam connected the two points. It was ten *zhang* wide, and its surface was flat. As long as one didn't intentionally seek death, they typically wouldn't fall.

Typically.

Actually, He Lingchuan had heard Old Ge say on the way that tourists would fall here every month.

The experience of walking within an active volcano was too unique, rarely encountered by ordinary people. Tourists often leaned over the edge of the stone beam to peer down, or children would bounce around, running back and forth.

Of course, those who fell were simply gone. At most, there would be a hiss and a puff of white steam.

Who would dare claim compensation from the Heavenly Palace?

Anyway, there were no handrails here.

The 'ride' the Eyeball Spider had taken — no, this person was very bold, also walking along the edge to look at the lava pool, making the Eyeball Spider a little worried.