Chapter 591: Doubt and Suspicion over Star-Picking Tower

Chapter 587: Clouds of Suspicion at the Star-Picking Tower

The magma below frequently erupted, spouting several yards high like a fountain, scattering fiery molten gold and creating a spectacular sight.

The magma, like water, ceaselessly surged, its waves constantly shifting position as if a monster below was freely crashing around, happily bathing in the lava.

Seeing this, He Lingchuan understood why Dong Rui had said that hearing about it a hundred times was not as good as seeing it once.

It was widely rumored among the common people that the Sky God kept an incredibly powerful monster on Mount Xu. Given the formidable display from the volcanic crater, this was highly likely to be true.

After finally enduring this volcanic journey, they reached the main hall at the end of the stone bridge.

The Star-Picking Tower should actually be called the Star-Picking Pagoda, with three levels.

Anyone walking in the main hall would hear their footsteps resonate; the floor, paved with three-colored jade, was so smooth one could ice skate on it.

Solemnity and grandeur were the prevailing atmosphere.

However, the hall was unusually empty.

The eyeball spider was about to follow people inside when several guards unexpectedly emerged from the hall, holding their staffs and shouting: "The Star-Picking Tower is closing immediately. All unauthorized personnel, disperse!"

Groans of disappointment echoed across the stone bridge.

The tourists who had painstakingly made it this far, some sincerely hoping to offer a proper worship, were all stopped by a single command from the guards.

Some approached to plead, others to inquire. However, the gold-armored guards stared straight ahead, merely thrusting their long staffs into the ground, causing a cluster of sharp spikes to emerge threateningly from the tips.

Everyone immediately fell silent and reluctantly turned away.

They happened to pass Ke Yanming, who was walking in.

The eyeball spider's last glance back caught Ke Yanming and his companions standing on the stone bridge, their expressions solemn, hands clenched, and heads bowed, as if waiting or performing a ritual.

Soon after, the gate of the Star-Picking Tower closed, and the little spider could no longer see anything inside.

Shortly afterward, this group of visitors descended the white jade steps.

Everyone understood that this meant the Star-Picking Tower was closed indefinitely, with no clear reopening date.

It seemed something was happening inside the hall.

He Lingchuan waited at the bottom of the white jade steps. He first recalled the eyeball spider and then heard a few persistent guests wanting to wait for another half-day.

Old Ge dug in his ear, saying, "Alright, you can wait if you want. We're leaving first."

"Hey, we paid!"

"So only you paid, and the other guests didn't, is that it?" Old Ge said impatiently. "If they want to leave and you want to stay, then you stay."

He turned to He Lingchuan and the others. "It looks like there's no show today; the Star-Picking Tower won't open. Do you still want to wait?"

He Lingchuan decisively shook his head.

Gao Jilin and several other guests also shook their heads. Jiang Tao hesitated for a moment and said nothing.

"Let's go then."

Old Ge led the group back.

Jiang Tao was annoyed. The last stop of their tour today had been very unfavorable. "What exactly is going on?"

"Perhaps the Lamp Keepers are on duty, or maybe the deity has issued an oracle, who knows?" Old Ge shrugged. "These things happen occasionally. Just consider it bad luck."

Because of the Star-Picking Tower's temporary closure, everyone turned to descend the mountain, creating an exceptionally dense crowd. Old Ge and his companions could only go with the flow.

Gao Jilin noticed He Lingchuan looking back several times and couldn't help but ask, "Brother He, what are you looking at?"

"I saw a high-ranking official emerge from there—" He Lingchuan pointed to the tower beside the white jade steps, "—and enter the Star-Picking Tower surrounded by gold-armored guards. It seems he hasn't come out yet."

"The teleportation array is located there," Old Ge said, knowing the purpose of the tower. "Those who can use the array to travel up and down the mountain are not ordinary people. Indeed, when we were leaving earlier, we did see an official leading the way up to the third floor, looking very serious."

Ke Yanming did the opposite of everyone else: while others left, he went in.

He Lingchuan's heart stirred. Was it because Ke Yanming had arrived that everyone else had to leave? What was he doing inside? Was it related to the divine artifact?

Fu Shanyue seemed to have mentioned that the Ke family had found a supreme treasure for the Sky God, which allowed them to enjoy favor for nearly two hundred years.

Was the treasure they found back then the same artifact now enshrined in the reliquary?

Jiang Tao craned his neck to look at the tower, his eyes full of envy. "Brother He, do you know that high-ranking official?"

He Lingchuan shook his head and said to Old Ge, "Since we can't go up, why don't you tell us what the Star-Picking Tower looks like inside?"

The other guests readily agreed; after all, the path down the mountain was so crowded they couldn't walk fast anyway.

Old Ge grumbled, "Everything in there is grand; you have to see it with your own eyes to be awestruck. What can words possibly convey?"

Nevertheless, he spoke: "The third level of the Star-Picking Tower is also very spacious, but in the center, there's a Book of Heaven carved from wondrous jade. The Book of Heaven is blank and has no characters on it normally."

A Book of Heaven? He Lingchuan's eyes flickered upon hearing this. Did such a thing truly exist?

"The Book of Heaven is carved from jade. No one can turn its pages, no one!" Old Ge emphasized twice. "Only when the Sky God issues an oracle will characters appear on it, and its pages will turn on their own!"

Everyone let out a prolonged "Ohhh."

Gao Jilin smiled and asked, "Mr. Ge, have you seen it with your own eyes?"

"Of course—" Old Ge glared, "No!"

"What am I? Could I possibly be present when the Sky God issues an oracle?" he grumbled. "But this is common knowledge, common knowledge! All the old officials and long-time residents of Spirit Void City know this!"

"What else?"

"There's also a tall reliquary, embedded in the stone wall behind it. Its height from the third-floor ground is three zhang, three chi, and three cun." Old Ge sighed, "Symbolizing 'three zhang and three chi from heaven'!"

Jiang Tao asked, "What is enshrined in the reliquary?"

"It's apparently a divine artifact bestowed by the Sky God," Old Ge shook his head. "All visitors can only approach as far as where the Lamp Keepers stand. No one can get close to the Book of Heaven, let alone the reliquary. I've only heard that a divine artifact is enshrined there."

He Lingchuan exhaled. Which did the divine bone necklace covet: the Book of Heaven or the divine artifact? Or perhaps, was there some hidden treasure within?

And hidden dangers.

At this point, a tourist asked Old Ge, "Is the lava pool inside the Star-Picking Tower's gate natural?"

"If it's not natural, do you think it was installed later?" Old Ge glared at him. "Why don't you try installing one?"

Gao Jilin rephrased the question: "Mr. Ge, you're very knowledgeable. Did this lava pool exist during the Great Reversion Sect era, or did it appear after Beijia established the Celestial Palace?"

Old Ge pondered, his already prominent brow ridge seeming to bulge even more. "I don't recall. What's the point of asking such a question? Whether the lava pool appeared earlier or later, what business is it of yours?"

Gao Jilin quickly cupped his hands and smiled. "It's just curiosity, Mr. Ge. Please forgive me."

The group followed the flow of visitors, slowly shuffling their way down the mountain.

By the time they finally reached the foot of the mountain, it was already dark.

Fortunately, a deer carriage quickly arrived, picked up all the guests, and trotted back to their starting point.

The moon rose over the western building; the tour was over.

The tour group paid Old Ge their remaining balance and dispersed like scattered clouds.

The old monkey leaned against the deer's back, diligently counting money.

He Lingchuan seemed to see the Thin Man's shadow in him.

As they were about to part ways, Gao Jilin invited He Lingchuan to go for a drink.

He Lingchuan politely declined: "I still have something to discuss with Mr. Ge."

Time was precious, and he had many matters to attend to.

Old Ge continued counting money on the side: "Ah yes, we still have something to do."

Gao Jilin didn't press. "Then, Brother He, where are you staying? Old Jiang and I both hope we'll meet again soon."

As they traveled through Spirit Void City, they also hoped to find people worth befriending.

He Lingchuan pointed at Old Ge and smiled, "If you find Mr. Ge, you'll find me."

It wasn't that he was being deliberately evasive; it was just that mentioning his residence would reveal too much, as Pan Mountain Manor was not a place ordinary people could live.

Gao Jilin said, "Good, good. Let's meet and chat more later!"

"Indeed, we should."

The two parties bid farewell and returned to their respective destinations.

Jiang Tao walked several dozen yards with Gao Jilin. Only when he could no longer see the gibbon did he flick his sleeve and say, "That man is putting on airs, he won't even leave an address!"

"Perhaps he has some unspoken difficulty?" Gao Jilin mused. "I always feel there's something extraordinary about him. Spirit Void City has too many talents from all directions."

"Your judgment is usually spot on," Jiang Tao sighed. "Maybe even his name is fake!"

Gao Jilin chuckled, "Didn't he still leave a way to contact him?"

Jiang Tao spat on the ground. "That old monkey isn't good either. He thinks just because he's been around Spirit Void City for decades, he can look down on people!"

"Old Ge has some abilities, otherwise how would others recommend him to us? But his attitude towards He Yun also suggests that there's something mysterious about this person." Gao Jilin patted his shoulder. "Alright, don't be angry anymore. Let's go for a drink; it's on me."

Meanwhile, He Lingchuan traveled with Old Ge, getting into the deer carriage again and heading towards the main city. Halfway there, the squirrel rejoined them.

He Lingchuan was the only guest in the carriage, so he took the opportunity to ask, "I heard there's also a prison on Tianshu Peak?"

"Yes, yes, it's behind the Star-Picking Tower, called Yang Palace, but it's restricted to unauthorized personnel," Old Ge said, carefully wrapping every hundred coins into a string with oil paper. "Those who go in don't come out."

"Hmm?" He Lingchuan felt there was a deeper meaning in his words. "What exactly does that mean? Do you know anyone who went in?"

"Not a person I know, but a monkey I knew," Old Ge sighed. "I had a very ambitious nephew whose goal was always to serve in the Celestial Palace, and he actually succeeded in getting in later. Do you know what a great honor it is for people of Spirit Void City to become a divine attendant?"

"Initially, he only guarded Yang Palace. Later, he wouldn't tell me what he was doing, no matter how much I asked. Then one day, he just didn't come home—he had been lodging at my place for years."

He Lingchuan asked, surprised, "Didn't come home, so he disappeared?"

"I waited two days, then asked someone to inquire at the Celestial Palace. The reply I received was that he had died in the line of duty!" Old Ge sighed. "The compensation was quickly issued, but the process of his death..."

Old Ge shrugged. "My friend in the Celestial Palace told me not to inquire further."

He Lingchuan thought this sounded wrong. "If someone is alive, you should see them; if dead, you should see the body. Were you allowed to retrieve its remains?"

"I found a way to get it back," Old Ge shook his head. "Its entire left side was gone, as if something had bitten it off."

"A demon?" He Lingchuan's heart stirred. "A big one or a small one?"

As an experienced hunter himself, he knew one could find many clues from a wound.

The more he understood about Mount Xu and the Star-Picking Tower's secrets, the better.

"It must have been a big one," Old Ge pointed behind him. "When I say big, I don't mean like these two little ones behind me."