Chapter 684: Tight Schedule

He Lingchuan’s main objective for this operation was the divine artifact in the Star-Plucking Tower. Zu Ju couldn’t be allowed to lose too quickly.

“Hindsight!” Zu Ju was annoyed just looking at him. “The past is the past; now is now!”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!” it said confidently. “Last time, True Lord Tongming descended but couldn’t defeat me, so that old villain Lingxu had to intervene! Heh heh, otherwise, how many of his so-called ‘righteous gods’ could stand against me after descending?”

Dong Rui was moved. “So last time, there were actually two consecutive divine descents?”

As outsiders, they had only heard rumors that the Heavenly God had intervened to suppress the culprit behind the great earthquake in Lingxu City, but they didn’t know the full story.

It turned out that even the legendary Saint Lingxu had personally intervened?

Lingxu City was named after his venerable title, indicating his high status in the divine realm.

However, considering it now, Zu Ju was a behemoth that the Great Rejuvenation Sect and Lingxu City had spent a fortune to cultivate, feeding it with handfuls of mystic crystals and rare ores. Its combat power was on a completely different level from many of the great demons merely clinging to life today.

More fundamentally, Zu Ju was the spirit of Ruined Mountain, capable of drawing power directly from the endless subterranean flames. When it came to a battle of attrition or endurance, it was naturally invincible.

It was truly blessed by nature.

On its own territory, very few things could defeat it.

Most demon immortals who had survived since ancient times probably lived a humble existence, much like Second Lady Zhu. Only this one, right before them, was a unique exception.

So, the Heavenly Palace’s act of shooting itself in the foot must have been particularly painful, right?

On a related note, he had previously heard from Sun Fuping that there had only been five historically recorded divine descents. It seemed the true number was far greater; at least two consecutive descents occurred over a decade ago to suppress Zu Ju.

Indeed, the truth was hard to come by.

“Exactly!” Zu Ju chuckled. “As far as I know, Old Villain Lingxu overexerted himself last time and ruined his vessel. All these years have passed, and he still hasn’t found a new replacement.”

“Oh?” He Lingchuan was surprised. “Is it hard to find?”

With the capabilities of a major empire like Beijia, they hadn’t been able to find a suitable avatar for a Heavenly God in over a decade?

“Nonsense!” Zu Ju snorted. “Ordinary humans cannot withstand a divine descent; some even collapse the moment the god manifests. The more powerful the Heavenly God, the higher the requirements for the vessel, and some even have special demands... Hmm, I heard that the best vessels need to be booked far in advance, not something you can just cobble together in a hurry!”

Is that so? Do the best vessels need to be custom-ordered in advance?

He Lingchuan immediately thought of Zhong Shengguang’s beloved daughter.

The more secrets he learned, the more questions arose in his mind. The fact that General Hong could perfectly bear Mitian’s power, did that prove Zhong Shengguang’s offering to the gods was not a sudden impulse, but a long-planned endeavor?

He Lingchuan even thought of himself. When his sea of consciousness was invaded by divine beings, they mentioned that the glowing mark belonged to another Heavenly God, “Naraku-ten.”

When was this mark planted? If it was a long time ago, did that suggest his original body also...?

His train of thought was interrupted by Zu Ju. The rock-fire behemoth was already impatient. “Everything that needed to be said has been said. Aren’t you two leaving soon?” Standing at the bottom of the dark valley, chatting idly, did they think this was some night stroll on Ruined Mountain?

“Oh, right.” He Lingchuan took out the Shaoling Ore from his storage ring and poured it all into Zu Ju’s palm. “Your late-night snack.”

He had purchased a total of three hundred catties of Shaoling Ore from Fang Canran. Last time, the puppet used less than a hundred catties to lure Zu Ju out. Even for a smooth collaboration, he gave it the rest.

“My thanks to you,” it said sarcastically. How stingy! Among all the clandestine forces it had dealt with, this kid was the most tight-fisted! Zu Ju grabbed the ore and swallowed it in one gulp.

“See you in a couple of days.” He Lingchuan waved to it and strode out of the Ruined Mountain territory. This time, there were no more unexpected twists.

While the ground still felt damp, he and Dong Rui walked out of the mountains and once again rode the Snail Toad back to Fluttering Thoughts Villa.

He Lingchuan had been careful; Zu Ju hadn’t seen the Snail Toad at all.

The next day, during the daytime, there was lightning and thunder.

The entire world seemed to fall silent, with only the patter of heavy rain between heaven and earth.

Even the little squirrel that came to deliver a message to He Lingchuan had water droplets all over its forehead.

He Lingchuan quickly took it to warm by the fire. The little creature chittered, demanding overtime pay for running errands in the rain.

It wasn’t just itself delivering messages; there was an entire team behind it.

He Lingchuan had no choice but to be generous, shelling out an additional ten taels of silver and five catties of golden pine nuts.

These golden pine nuts came from the unique golden pine trees found on the northern coast. Their yield was small, and they had a particularly fragrant flavor, making them popular not only among humans in Lingxu City but also highly favored by rodent-type demons. Their only drawback was their expense; the money to buy five bags of regular pine nuts would only buy half a catty of golden pine nuts.

The little squirrel ran to the fire, shook its fur, and started gnawing on the nuts while warming itself.

“What’s the message?” This little creature was becoming increasingly demanding.

“Oh, he said everything has been arranged.”

He Lingchuan confirmed again: “The quantity is correct?”

“The quantity is correct, and there’s an extra three hundred catties.”

He Lingchuan finally showed a satisfied smile. “Excellent, Steward Fang is indeed reliable.”

To accomplish this in such a short time frame proved that the chief steward of Dunyuan had considerable influence.

Two more hours passed, and the heavy rain that had fallen across Lingxu City finally stopped.

Shopkeepers in the marketplace emerged one after another to drum up business, eager to get a few more sales before nightfall. Land in Lingxu City was extremely valuable, shop rents were horrifyingly expensive, and having lost most of the day to the downpour, they couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Wu’s Pastry Shop in Nanxin Village was run by a husband and wife. Water had seeped into the shop, so the wife bent down to scoop it out while the husband was busy arranging freshly baked pastries at the stall front.

Their home, a residential house along the street, had been converted into a shop. Its wooden windows, when laid flat outwards, formed a table that didn’t touch the ground. Nanxin Village had a rule against occupying public walkways for business, with severe penalties for violators. Stalls that extended outwards in this suspended manner were not considered occupying the path, so every shop did this, which ironically became a major local characteristic.

“Freshly baked pastries! Custard filling, candied winter melon and salted meat filling, rose malt sugar filling—”

The steaming pastries were neatly arranged on the stall, their fragrance wafting for two miles.

Without genuine skill and the approval of their neighbors, how could Wu’s Pastries survive in the fiercely competitive Lingxu City?

Pedestrians on the street gradually increased, but for some reason, no one seemed to want to buy pastries. Many people passed by the shop, but not a single one stopped.

Old Wu had no choice but to send his wife out to hawk their goods.

His wife carried a plate with sliced pastries for customers to sample.

Four or five children came running from across the street, chattering excitedly.

The wife invited them to have two pieces of pastry. The children readily accepted, eating and arguing non-stop.

One of the plump children said, “A really big snail, so big!”

“What snail? That’s a slug!”

The plump child retorted, “But its shell is as big as a house, can’t you see? My dad says if it has a shell, it’s a snail!”

The wife was surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s a giant snail over there, bigger than a small house!” The child pointed towards the White Pine Trading Post across the street, gesturing excitedly. “We saw it through the crack in the door!”

“Slug!”

The plump child’s eyes darted around, then he looked earnestly at the woman. “Sister Liu, I’ll buy three malted pastries. Come with us and see for yourself, then tell us who’s right!”

A snail bigger than a house? Sister Liu agreed without much thought; it was just a couple of steps, after all.

She turned back to tell her husband and then followed the children.

Wu’s Pastries had been in Nanxin Village for eighteen years, watching the trading post across the street change owners four times. Warehouses and trading posts were just places for goods, typically only housing a few caretakers, and didn’t require elaborate maintenance. A wooden board in the yard by the alley entrance had been broken for four or five days and hadn’t been repaired; now only half of it remained. People passing by could glimpse the activity inside the trading post with a casual look.

As the children reached this spot, their voices grew quieter. They often shushed each other, fearful of disturbing whatever was inside.

Reaching the edge of the broken board, the plump child whispered, “Sister Liu, look!”

Sister Liu peered in. At first, she didn’t see any snail and was feeling surprised, when suddenly she noticed the ‘house’ move.

Huh!!

That wasn’t a house; it was a snail shell!

Brown, like paint-peeled wood.

The owner of this shell seemed to be a massive mollusk. She couldn’t see its hind legs, but two robust, muscular forelegs extended from it, as it lay sprawled in a warehouse!

A constant rustling sound filled the air; it seemed to be eating something.

Unlike the fearless children, Sister Liu was not so ignorant. She immediately recalled several recent rumors circulating in Lingxu City: the White Sand Snake of Chiyan, the elixir of immortality, the Azure Palace...

Feeling nervous, she instinctively pressed harder on the wooden board. With a loud thud, the board suddenly fell inward.

This alley entrance wasn’t quiet, but the board hitting the stone was still very loud.

The monster’s movements paused, and it suddenly turned its head.

It seemed to have no neck, yet also a very long neck that could twist 180 degrees.

From Sister Liu to the children, no one could clearly describe that bizarre sensation.

But the most disturbing thing was the monster’s face—

Its face was frighteningly large, with two antennae-like feelers, and a mouth that stretched back to its ears when it grinned. It looked neither like a toad nor a snail. The thought that flashed through Sister Liu’s mind was:

None of the children were right.

This was neither a snail nor a slug!

What the heck was this... what was it called?!

She had argued about this with Old Wu just the night before last!

Of course, her body’s instinctive reaction was faster than her rational thought. She took two steps back and shrieked—

“Monster!”

The children were first startled by the monster turning its head, then startled again by Sister Liu. They froze for a moment, then joined her in screaming and running backward.

By now, the street traffic had increased. This group of one adult and several children screaming and running immediately drew a lot of attention.

Those who had approached out of curiosity to watch also covered their mouths, backed away, and quickly ran off.

Thus, more and more people gathered.

The monster, however, remained calm and collected, as if it knew that the people and demons coming and going were merely ordinary beings, and paid them no mind. It simply turned back to its original activity.