Chapter 00168: The Arrival of Spiritual Rain in the Panlong Wasteland
# The Arrival of Spiritual Rain in the Panlong Wasteland
Chapter 168
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 168: The Arrival of Spiritual Rain in the Panlong Wasteland
The County Magistrate of Kuzhu immediately represented the Kite King Court to bestow upon it the title of Hongchuan Water Spirit.
He took out the official document and waved it, allowing it to be sealed with a large, thick fish lip.
He then retrieved the Kite Money and the official seal to stamp it.
Once the stamp was applied, a flash of azure light flickered across the body of the black fish, marking the completion of the process and the birth of the new Water Spirit.
Only then did the soldiers push the last fat pig into the water.
The County Magistrate of Kuzhu felt somewhat fatigued and came over to express his gratitude to He Chunhua.
Without the support of the assisting army, he would not have been able to put on such a grand display.
With the new Water Spirit in place, Hongchuan became much more peaceful.
Thus, the Fengling Ferry could resume operations, and the merchants waiting on the side joyfully boarded their ships.
Taking advantage of a bit of free time, He Lingchuan wandered around the Fengling Ferry and discovered an exceptionally conspicuous old locust tree growing on a sandbank over three hundred zhang away from the ferry.
There were many locust trees here, but He Lingchuan's gaze was immediately drawn to this one, simply because it was indeed special: it was a Thunderstruck Wood.
This old locust tree was already quite robust, with a trunk that required four people to encircle.
It was unclear how many years it had grown, but it had been struck by lightning several times, causing all the branches at the top to fall off, leaving the entire tree nearly charred to carbon.
However, life is remarkably resilient.
On the blackened, lifeless trunk of the old locust, new buds surprisingly sprouted, growing into new branches...
The new branches were much smaller than those of the mother tree, but from start to finish, they were flourishing and full of vitality.
He Lingchuan finally understood what the old turtle demon meant by "the rebirth of the old locust tree"; it was indeed apparent at first glance.
Moreover, it grew on the sandbank, far from idle people.
He walked around the tree a few times but did not find a tree hole, which did not discourage him.
If the tree hole were so easily discovered by him, it would have been similarly found by other birds and beasts.
He Lingchuan felt around the charred trunk, found the indentation at the roots, and took out a broken knife to start digging in the sand.
The sand was soft and moderately loose, and He Lingchuan dug deeper and deeper.
Soon, he discovered that there was indeed a large hole beneath the tree roots, but it was usually buried under the sand, with only a few crabs napping inside.
He tossed the crabs out, took out the turtle egg, placed it inside, thought for a moment, and then covered the turtle egg with some water plants.
After that, he placed a small bottle of elixir beside it.
He was determined to do good to the end.
Then, he refilled the sand, completely covering the tree hole.
The water flow would take over the work below, smoothing it out completely, just like before, leaving no trace of the tree hole's existence.
Having done this, he had fulfilled the turtle demon's commission.
"Farewell for now."
He brushed the sand off his hands and understood why the turtle egg had to choose this place to hatch: this old locust could experience a revival from dead wood, and its vitality must be exceptionally strong, which was also the power the turtle demon needed for its second hatching.
Perhaps the turtle demon had grown up here.
After all, the locust tree was much older than it.
At this moment, He Yue called from a distance, "Brother, the boat is setting off!"
"We shall meet again if fate allows. I hope by then you have found the broad path of cultivation."
He Lingchuan patted the charred wood and got up to leave.
The assisting army also boarded the ship at Fengling Ferry, riding the rolling river waters towards Shihuan City.
He Lingchuan stretched lazily and sat up from his bed.
Still feeling a bit dazed, someone outside shouted, "Street—Corner—Announcement—"
Such a familiar tune.
He almost forgot to retract his outstretched hand.
Looking out the window, he saw that it was getting dark, and the water in the jar was full.
A jar?
He remembered falling asleep on the boat, the last sounds he heard were the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull, not the noisy streets.
In other words, he had entered Panlong City again, and—
He Lingchuan hurried to the door, standing at the center of the street, and indeed heard the announcement that the Emperor's Flowing Sap was approaching, and that Panlong City would be under curfew for three days starting tonight.
This meant he had received the continuation of the previous dream?
Incredible, four days had already passed in reality, yet in the dream, less than an hour had gone by in Panlong City!
The time flow discrepancy between the two was truly whimsical.
The sun had already set, and he could not go anywhere, but there was a tavern nearby.
He rushed in to buy a few jars of liquor, returned home, poured out the liquor to clean the jars, and prepared to fill them with the Emperor's Flowing Sap.
He also emptied the water jar and took out all the pots, bowls, and utensils, laying them out in the courtyard.
He remembered Hu Min's instructions to saw off two large branches from the tree in the courtyard to prevent them from reaching into the neighbor's territory.
Just as he finished these tasks, a commotion arose outside, as if countless people were cheering.
He Lingchuan stepped out of the house and saw that it was raining—green rain.
Having experienced it once, he recognized that this was the Emperor's Flowing Sap.
The forecast for Panlong City was remarkably accurate, even managing to predict such an unusual celestial phenomenon.
What surprised He Lingchuan even more was that this time the Emperor's Flowing Sap that fell was still fragrant and sweet, but far more viscous and darker in color, truly deserving of the term "sap."
In reality, the Emperor's Flowing Sap was a fine drizzle, falling randomly on whoever was beneath it; but here, it had reached a light to moderate rain level.
He Lingchuan extended his palm and soon caught several drops of green rain.
He couldn't help but taste it; it was truly delicious!
The greed buried deep within him erupted all at once.
But He Lingchuan, being experienced and prepared, forcibly suppressed his impulse and jumped onto the roof.
He flipped the tiles on the roof over, temporarily forming several grooves.
The Emperor's Flowing Sap accumulated more and more, slowly flowing down the grooves, which he caught in the liquor jars.
Though it was only a trickle, a large amount would be worth a fortune!
The neighbors also brought two jars, climbed onto their own roofs to collect the Emperor's Flowing Sap, and seeing his actions, were greatly inspired, quickly copying his method and adjusting their tiles.
He Lingchuan then noticed that he covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, reducing the inhalation of the unique fragrance of the Emperor's Flowing Sap, which was very helpful in suppressing the latent beastly instincts, and quickly followed suit.
Everyone's faces turned red and their necks thickened, yet they restrained the impulse to greedily take more.
The Emperor's Flowing Sap had come several times within three years, and most people had experience dealing with it, knowing that as long as they endured for a moment, there would be rich rewards later.
He Lingchuan even heard children wailing; looking down from above, he saw that two families had already tied their children to the table, forbidding them from running around and disrupting the situation.
At this moment, heavy footsteps passed by He Lingchuan's door, accompanied by a low growl.
He looked down and saw a mechanical beast leisurely advancing along the street.
This creature resembled a tiger or leopard in shape and size, with green light glowing from its eyes, which was somewhat unsettling at first glance.
It seemed to be focused on walking, but whenever it sensed a potential fight or argument in any household, the mechanical beast would approach, using its forelimbs to claw at the wall and scratch at the door, letting out two angry roars to intimidate the residents.
After this mechanical beast left, about the time it took to burn a stick of incense, another mechanical beast patrolled over.
And so it alternated.
If he weren't struggling against his own greed, He Lingchuan would have wanted to give a thumbs up for the "thoughtfulness."
This mechanical beast was undoubtedly released by the authorities of Panlong City to patrol as security.
For them, the most untrustworthy thing was human nature, while the most reliable was force.
At this moment, living beings could hardly resist the allure of the Emperor's Flowing Sap; only the mechanical beasts, being lifeless, remained unaffected, continuing to carry out their original tasks.
The ability to patrol, locate, and intimidate autonomously was surely the work of some great power.
Indeed, He Lingchuan soon heard the sounds of jars breaking and people shouting nearby.
Someone couldn't withstand the extreme desire for the Emperor's Flowing Sap and got into a fight with others.
Human nature truly cannot be left unchecked.
With a roar from the mechanical beast, He Lingchuan heard its heavy footsteps quickly retreating.
In that direction, several screams soon followed, but then silence fell, suggesting that those who had fought had faced punishment.
This scene also served as a good warning to the surrounding residents.
As the entire city endured the repeated torment, time slowly passed.
This time, the Emperor's Flowing Sap that fell lasted longer than He Lingchuan's previous experience, finally stopping at dawn.
He Lingchuan scraped all the Emperor's Flowing Sap from the trees, gathered all the jars and bottles used for collecting rain, and poured them into one another, ultimately filling a wine jar with the Emperor's Flowing Sap.
He sealed the lid tightly; the fragrance disappeared, and its allure to people vanished.
He Lingchuan let out a long sigh, wiping the thin sweat from his forehead.
The difficult night had passed, and everyone began to enjoy the fruits of their victory.
Looking at the wine jar in his hands, He Lingchuan felt a bit troubled.
The Emperor's Flowing Sap obtained from the dream should not have any enhancing effect on his real body, after all, everything was illusory.
Thus, the most rational course of action would be to hand over what he had obtained that night and exchange it for merits at the Merit Department.
Hu Min had said that merits were hard to come by, but they could be exchanged for the most precious things.
This rain of Emperor's Flowing Sap was indeed an unexpected gain for him.
Of course, this all needed to be verified.
He Lingchuan thought for a moment and set out with the wine jar.
After dawn, the curfew ended, but very few residents ventured out; most remained at home counting their spoils.
He found a diligent donkey cart to take him to Hu Min's residence.
Along the way, he saw several houses that had been burned or smashed, and the city guards were carrying people out or clearing the scene.
It seemed that even with mechanical beasts patrolling, even with Panlong City's strict orders, even with severe punishments in place, and even though the residents of Panlong City had learned to obey orders during years of war, human greed would still find a breakthrough.
Hu Min lived in a tin house; although it was also a residence, it was four levels higher than He Lingchuan's.
The roads here were wide, the streets clean and tidy, with green trees and red flowers everywhere.
Every household had a small courtyard, at least four times the area of He Lingchuan's wooden house, with an environment that could easily outshine his.
However, the specifications were very uniform, all with black doors, black tiles, and red walls, with dimensions that were hardly different, as if they were all carved from the same mold.
It seemed that no illegal constructions were allowed here.
Every street looked the same, and He Lingchuan spent a long time finding Hu Min's house.
This person had just refined the Emperor's Flowing Powder and, upon opening the door to see He Lingchuan, asked curiously, "So early? Aren't you refining medicine?"
"I want to exchange a bit of refined medicine with you for the Emperor's Flowing Sap. How about just a small taste?"
(End of Chapter)