Chapter 681: Test Flight

"Yes, from inside the house, we share the snail-toad's vision. Whatever it sees, we see too." Dong Rui patted the window. "These windows allow us to observe in three directions behind us, making it a blind-spot-free, four-sided view."

He Lingchuan found it fascinating. He had been hunting the snail-toad for over two months, but this was his first time entering its "snail-abode." So this is how ancient immortals used their magical artifacts?

"But that doesn't make sense. Didn't the snail-toad swallow a granary full of selfheal plants in Zhantian Village?" He Lingchuan looked around. "This house is too small; it doesn't look like it could hold so much."

"You underestimate the methods of ancient immortals," Dong Rui chuckled. "Who told you the 'snail-abode' was just one small room? There are several more, big and small, behind this one. Xi Yunhe's subordinates used to process their hunted prey in there, making it so dirty and perpetually stinking of blood that I never bothered to go in."

As they spoke, the snail-toad plunged into the ground, beginning its journey for the night.

Today, heavy rain had fallen across Lingxu City, greatly facilitating its movement. While there was only a brief shower near Pianxiang Manor, the central and northern parts of Lingxu City had experienced over half an hour of continuous downpour, thoroughly saturating the ground.

Only with moist earth could the snail-toad travel long distances underground. Otherwise, if it were to carry Dong Rui in an emergency escape, it wouldn't be able to go far, just a few miles at most.

There was nothing to see in the dark underground. All they knew was that the snail-toad moved incredibly fast, far surpassing a swift horse, and it didn't need to zig-zag like it did on the surface, a stark contrast to its slow above-ground movements.

The marvels of ancient immortals' treasures were truly difficult for modern people to imagine or comprehend. He Lingchuan wondered what would happen if spiritual energy became abundant on earth again. Would the good old days of antiquity return? For the past three millennia, cultivators had eagerly awaited such a grand spectacle, but it never arrived. Indeed, how could one expect it to come simply by "waiting"?

He felt as though he hadn't zoned out for long when changes appeared outside the window—the snail-toad had surfaced.

The two left the small house, climbing out of the snail's shell. The clouds were thick that night, and the sky's light was very dim, making the dense forest pitch black. Only the rustling of plants in the wind could be heard, along with the occasional hoot of an owl, now distant, now near.

This was the outer forest of Mount Xu, closer to Tianji Peak. The Heavenly Palace guard camp was stationed at the foot of Tianshu Peak, far from where they were. The mountains were hidden in darkness, revealing only faint outlines. And deep within those mountains lay the most powerful authority under heaven. Even in this wild forest, with only a chilling wind and light rain around them, Dong Rui instinctively lowered his voice: "As you requested, this spot is only eight hundred zhang from Tianji Peak."

Ahead lay the territory of the Mount Xu mountain spirit, which the snail-toad could not approach carelessly. Upon surfacing, it had shrunk. Dong Rui put it into his satchel and slung it over his back.

"Why are you whispering like a thief?" He Lingchuan patted the mirror on his chest. "Zuju, I'm entering from the southern forest of Tianji Peak. Where should we meet?" "The south? Hmm..." Zuju's voice immediately responded, "Find me at the White Cave by the edge of the Spirit Mushroom Forest."

When the Great Reversion Sect was still an immortal sect, countless spiritual herbs grew on the mountain, and the Spirit Mushroom Forest was just one of its designated immortal fields. But after the medieval period, spiritual herbs became scarce, only found at high altitudes. Mount Xu, at its current elevation, could no longer produce spiritual herbs, and the Spirit Mushroom Forest had become a regular tourist photo spot.

He Lingchuan had been to Tianji Peak twice and had a rough idea of where the Spirit Mushroom Forest was. Even if he didn't, the Soul-capturing Mirror on his chest confidently claimed to know the way and could navigate.

The two put on their masks and, under the cover of night, groped their way into the mountains. The masks were specially made by the Prefect of Songyang, designed to block divine sense prying.

A quarter of an hour later, Zuju asked, "Are you there yet?" "Not yet." Another quarter of an hour passed, and Zuju asked again, "Are you there?" "Cough, not yet." Zuju was puzzled. "Why are you so slow? Even a snail would have crawled here by now!"

"I think we took a wrong turn." The first two times they came, they walked along the ridge, but this time they needed to climb through a ravine. Viewing from the mountain and traversing its base were two different things. Moreover, with no moon tonight, all the gullies looked alike, a natural "ghost wall."

Dong Rui was complaining, "I told you to take the left path, but you wouldn't listen!" Zuju: "..."

Just then, He Lingchuan caught a glimpse of a fiery glow drifting across the mountainside. It appeared to be a large fire monster, over three zhang tall. What was remarkable was that despite being engulfed in fierce flames, the surrounding trees didn't catch fire, nor were their leaves even singed. This was the power that protected the mountain forests; as long as it didn't wish to, it wouldn't burn or destroy them.

He Lingchuan quickly said, "One of your avatars just passed the mountainside, right above us." The large fire monster immediately paused, looking left and right like a person, then spotted He Lingchuan. After that, it slid down the mountain wall and stopped in front of the two.

"Follow me," Zuju's annoyed voice emerged from the fiery figure. "You've been circling for ages! This isn't even Mount Xu's territory!" Otherwise, it would have known the moment they entered the mountain.

He Lingchuan shrugged and followed it with Dong Rui.

With the fire monster leading the way, their travel speed increased severalfold. This was an avatar Zuju sent out for nighttime patrols to prevent its senses from occasionally being deceived. Mount Xu was not open to outsiders at night, and one of the local mountain spirit's duties was to drive away or capture intruders. Without its support, it would have been exceedingly difficult for He Lingchuan to secretly ascend the mountain at night.

As they passed several low peaks, the fire monster urged them to proceed cautiously, as Heavenly Palace guards were stationed on the peaks and would routinely look down. Clearly, the Heavenly Palace did not dare fully entrust its defense to Zuju.

After another two quarters of an hour of walking, during which they became covered in dew and their feet muddy with moss, and after turning down a narrow path, the area ahead suddenly opened up—a vast valley. They had arrived at the Spirit Mushroom Forest.

Two thousand years ago, this place was teeming with spiritual mushrooms and various immortal herbs, with ginseng dolls and immortal mushroom horses scurrying everywhere. Now, it was a barren land with nothing but wild grass, wild fungi, and a few crayfish.

At the side of the mountain was a cave, its entrance marked by white rocks. The fire monster withdrew here to patrol elsewhere, while He Lingchuan and Dong Rui continued forward, hugging the wall as they slipped into the cave.

For humans, it was a dead-end cave, reaching its end in at most two hundred steps, but its walls were riddled with countless rock fissures.

As He Lingchuan stepped inside, he saw more than a dozen fiery masses "squeeze" out from the rock fissures. Upon landing, they reassembled into a colossal rock-fire monster. Today, it had assumed a semi-human form, with an upper body like a human's and a fiery mass below the waist.

He Lingchuan turned to Dong Rui and said, "This is Zuju, the mountain spirit of Mount Xu."

In fact, many travelers journeyed through Mount Xu drawn by the legends of the rock-fire monster, but very few were lucky enough to see it. Lord Zuju had no interest in living people who weren't edible.

He Lingchuan found it most amusing that no matter whether there was one guest or two, Zuju always made a grand entrance, intending to overwhelm them with its presence. Even from a distance, Dong Rui felt the air around him grow hot, and the hair on his forehead began to curl.

He Lingchuan introduced, "This is my friend and my helper."

Since they were face to face, Zuju taunted him, "We're about to cooperate, and you still won't show me your true face?" Previously, this fellow had thrown its avatar into the Soul Realm without revealing himself, maintaining long-distance communication; and now, meeting in person, he was still wearing a mask. Truly timid as a mouse. The masks these two wore also had the ability to block divine sense, preventing Zuju from seeing through them.

He Lingchuan chuckled, "It's for mutual protection!"

Zuju snorted, "Have you calculated the location of the formation's core?" "Of course. Isn't that why we're here, for a field test?"

"Follow me," Zuju said, turning to walk further into the cave.

Only by the light radiating from its body did the two discover a large crevice deep within the cave, barely a path, requiring them to use both hands and feet to navigate. Neither of them was particularly stout, which was why they could just barely squeeze through.

Fortunately, once they squeezed through, the rock gaps widened. Both of them possessed cultivation, so they climbed by gripping roots and rocks, ascending over fifty zhang before leaping onto a platform.

From this point upward, there was an existing tourist boardwalk. Of course, Heavenly Palace guards would occasionally patrol, but with the local "snake" covering them, He Lingchuan didn't encounter them even once.

Soon, they abandoned the main path again and climbed to a wild peak opposite Tianji Peak.

To avoid being too conspicuous, Zuju had surprisingly compressed its body to half a human's height, its flames subdued. It now looked like a lit charcoal chunk, with only faint red glows emanating from its joints and neck, while the rest of its body resembled charred rock, pitch black. Hidden among the dense trees and bushes, it would be invisible to the guards on the opposite peak.

Of course, being so sneaky on its own territory was all for the sake of two stowaways. Zuju urged, "Hurry up and start!" This creature had been in the mountains for thousands of years, and now it was suddenly in a hurry? He Lingchuan ignored it and said to Dong Rui, "I'll guide you. If there were stars tonight, it should fly towards the Alkaid star." With that, he pointed and said, "Send the bat puppet up."

Dong Rui recognized the nine stars of the Big Dipper, but with such thick clouds tonight, there was nothing in the sky, so he had to rely on He Lingchuan's sense of direction. Immediately, his shoulder dropped, and the bat demon puppet flapped its wings, taking flight.

He Lingchuan had originally hoped it would maintain such an inconspicuous size and appearance. After the rain, there were already many bats circling low on Mount Xu, and the demon puppet could blend in without drawing attention. However, even with the faint light still in the sky, after the demon puppet flew up ten zhang, even with He Lingchuan's full visual acuity, he couldn't see it anymore. It was too damned small, and it was black!

"Increase its size by one!" Once the demon puppet grew to the size of a dog, He Lingchuan could finally see it in the night sky.

"To the left... up... right, no, left!" "Fly down twenty zhang and see." Dong Rui said, "There's nothing there." Just an empty expanse of sky. "What's the hurry?" He Lingchuan calculated silently in his mind, using the formula Dean Xu Shichu had provided. "A little more to the left, yes, keep going left! Oh no, it's about to hit the peak."

Xu Shichu was indeed trustworthy; two days prior, he had entrusted the formula to Sun Fuling to bring back and deliver to He Lingchuan.