Chapter 00227: The Immortal's Legacy
# The Immortal's Legacy
Chapter 227
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 227: The Immortal's Legacy
"How are the casualties in our army?"
"Not too bad, thankfully. After all, we took the initiative this time."
Que Ying did not specify the exact numbers, continuing, "Later, Zhu Erniang and General Hong negotiated."
"What did they say? Is it convenient to disclose?"
Que Ying hesitated not at all: "Convenient, because I don't know either."
"......"
"We all stayed halfway up the mountain, including the other Earth Cavern Spiders. Only General Hong and Zhu Erniang spoke at the mountain top."
Que Ying continued eating, "We saw Zhu Erniang gesticulating angrily, but General Hong remained calm throughout. In the end, they reached an agreement before returning. As far as I know, the Earth Cavern Spiders will still abide by the original agreement and will no longer attack passing humans. Additionally, a new clause was added: the Earth Cavern Spiders are to assist Panlong City in defending the southern part of the Panlong Wilderness. This means Zhu Erniang will send Spider Demons to patrol the main road in the south regularly, and any unusual occurrences must be reported."
Having local snakes handle such matters is quite fitting.
Previously, the agreement between Panlong City and the Earth Cavern Spiders was relatively loose and respectful, but after Zhu Erniang took action against the army of Panlong City, General Hong was not at all polite with them.
"Considering General Nan Ke's defeat, we've also lost quite a few personnel in the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. Actually, according to General Hong's original plan, it seemed they intended to burn the Ghost Needle Stone Forest to the ground."
He Lingchuan had been to Zhu Erniang's lair and knew very well that it was a large pasture beneath.
Now that the external threat had been temporarily removed, dealing with the Earth Cavern Spiders would not be easy for Panlong City, but it was not impossible.
Zhu Erniang's family was large, and with many descendants, it was difficult to find a second suitable habitat in the vast Panlong Wilderness.
Perhaps that was why she ultimately compromised?
"However, before the arrival of winter, Panlong City must transport five hundred camels, two thousand goats, one hundred roosters, and seven hundred hens to the Earth Cavern Spiders as their winter reserves. In exchange, the Earth Cavern Spiders will produce more Spider Silk for Panlong City every month, which is excellent for refining magical tools. Additionally, they must provide luminous spores, mushroom mats, and aphid dew, which the Earth Cavern Spiders previously refused to give. From now on, these can only be sold to Panlong City and not to other merchants."
"They even specified hens?" He Lingchuan was puzzled, "What do they need hens for? To lay eggs?"
Thinking it over, it didn't seem unreasonable.
Those Earth Cavern Spiders could cultivate moss and raise aphids like ants, and running a large pasture, raising some hens for eggs didn't seem strange at all.
The Earth Cavern Spiders indeed suffered heavy losses in the battle against the Ba Ling people and the Panlong army, with their lairs and pastures suffering from fires.
If they had no other food, they might have resorted to consuming passing humans.
In the future, Panlong City would become the exclusive agent for the Earth Cavern Spiders' specialties.
Zhu Erniang was so furious, perhaps General Hong had driven the price down too harshly?
However, as the defeated party, the price they had to pay must be quite high.
"How would I know? I'm leaving."
Que Ying swallowed the last bite of meat and flapped his wings, "By the way, both General Hong and General Nan Ke admire your bravery. I also heard that General Nan Ke intends to recruit you into the guard. Are you interested?"
He Lingchuan sighed: "So, while General Hong admires me, he doesn't plan to recruit me into the Great Wind Army?"
He had hoped that after achieving great merit, he would be able to open an expedited promotion channel from above.
"To survive and escape from the cave, both cunning and luck are indispensable; but you are still too young and need more experience."
Que Ying tilted his head, "These are General Hong's exact words."
He Lingchuan instinctively straightened his back.
General Hong actually commented on him?
At that moment, a creaking sound of a door opening came from the neighboring courtyard.
Is Sun Fu Ling back?
He Lingchuan called out, "Is it Miss Sun?"
"Mm."
Just one word, and He Lingchuan recognized her voice.
He Lingchuan's job was to patrol, wandering from south to north, so it should be him who often wasn't home.
Yet he felt that this Miss Sun was the one who appeared and disappeared mysteriously.
Since their first meeting, he had dreamt of her three or four times, and the small courtyard next door was always empty.
So he hesitated for a moment and decided to seize this opportunity: "Did you retrieve the stolen pardon?"
"I did."
Sun Fu Ling's voice came through the wall, "The government sent it to me yesterday. Liu Tai from the west of the city has also been captured for interrogation."
"That's good, that's good."
He Lingchuan coughed lightly, "I have something to consult Miss Sun about."
Sun Fu Ling did not respond.
He Lingchuan thought she was impatient and touched his face.
Was it not fair enough? The young ladies and wives in Dunyu City had been throwing him flirtatious glances these past few days.
However, soon there came the sound of creaking as she stepped on something, he couldn't tell if it was wood or bamboo, and then Sun Fu Ling's figure actually appeared on the wall.
Her upper body.
"What is it?" She looked down at He Lingchuan from above, still wearing her face veil.
So she brought a ladder to climb the wall.
"Did you raise a new bird?" She also noticed the Que Ying in the courtyard.
"No, it serves in the Great Wind Army."
After finishing the last of the food, Que Ying flew to the wall, took a few steps in front of Sun Fu Ling, and tilted its head to look at her.
Sun Fu Ling didn't mind that there were still bits of meat stuck to its beak; she reached out to stroke its head.
He Lingchuan was a moment too late to speak, fearing that Que Ying would peck a hole in her hand.
Fortunately, it did not.
She rubbed it a couple of times, and Que Ying even closed its eyes, looking quite content.
"This monster doesn't seem very fierce."
Sun Fu Ling scratched its neck, "What do you want to ask me?"
"Oh, I have something I want you to take a look at."
He Lingchuan took out a piece of paper from his bosom, raised it above his head, and spread it open for Sun Fu Ling to see.
He was tall, and with one stretch, he could reach the top of the wall, indicating that this wall was built to guard against gentlemen, not against rogues.
"Do you recognize this kind of writing?"
He had once obtained a rubbing from the Immortal's Cave, which was one of the two relics left by that unknown "immortal."
The other was, of course, the Heart Core of the cave that was devoured by the Divine Bone.
"This writing is ugly."
He Lingchuan felt embarrassed.
The rubbing was a physical object, and he certainly couldn't bring it into his dreams.
He spent some time memorizing the characters from the rubbing, and after entering the dream, he copied it again.
Given that his spirit had become increasingly solid during his cultivation, memorizing a piece of ancient text he didn't recognize was much easier than before.
"But I recognize it."
Sun Fu Ling's response delighted him, "Hmm, let me see—"
"What subject do you teach at the Shu Min Academy?"
"Arithmetic, National History."
Sun Fu Ling's gaze followed the lines of characters, "Where did you get this?"
"From a cave in the wild."
He Lingchuan did not specify the exact location but described the interior of the Immortal's Cave to her.
"I heard this is the Immortal's Cave, so the remains that sit in it are truly those of an immortal?"
"Not necessarily, but there might be some connection to the ancient immortals, just like there are not only mice in a mouse hole."
Sun Fu Ling explained, "This kind of writing was popular two to three thousand years ago and is also called the Immortal Language. Modern writing actually evolved from it."
"The immortals taught humans?"
"According to legend, the immortals taught humans more than just this."
Sun Fu Ling's eyes were fixed on the text, "Hmm, the owner of this cave is named Dong Li Zhenren, the two hundred twenty-seventh true disciple of the Great Return Sect, who learned from the lineage of the Wood Spirit Supreme. He lived to be seven hundred sixty-seven years old."
"This Dong Li Zhenren, not to mention, lived for over seven hundred years?" He Lingchuan felt genuine envy; he would be satisfied if he could live for two more decades.
"He wrote it himself; who knows if he exaggerated."
Sun Fu Ling remained rational and objective.
"Here it also states that he adhered to the Supreme's instructions, having once been a teacher to mortals, enlightening the ignorant, and ensuring they did not forget their origins. Unfortunately, the trend is irreversible; immortals and mortals are on different paths, growing further apart."
Sun Fu Ling squinted, as if carefully discerning, "Hmm, the key point is here: as the spiritual energy weakened day by day, it became difficult for him to maintain longevity. His face grew pale and wrinkled, his skin loosened, and in pain and despair, he fell into the demonic path, turning to gods and demons in a vain quest for longevity and power, committing many wrongs until he suddenly realized his mistakes before death."
"Turning to gods and demons?" He Lingchuan thought of Sun Fu Ping, Nian Songyu, and then recalled Hong Xiangqian.
These people firmly believed in gods and demons, and Nian Songyu even welcomed divine descent with his own body.
But none of them had a good ending.
Was this an exception or the norm?
He couldn't help but think of General Hong.
It was well-known that Zhong Shengguang worshipped the heavenly gods, and Panlong City held a deep faith in the heavens.
This city, these people, their final outcome would...
Sun Fu Ling's words pulled his attention back: "At that time, he finally comprehended the heart method left by his master and revised the 'Collection of Flowing Water.' This was originally a divination book passed down by the Wood Spirit Supreme, but it deviated in the later generations when spiritual energy faded, often failing to predict accurately. Dong Li Zhenren made adjustments and renamed it, inscribing it in the Golden Book, leaving it for those with fate."
He Lingchuan perked up at the mention of "divination book," but then recalled that he had searched the Immortal's Cave thoroughly and found no third usable item, let alone a Golden Book.
Sun Fu Ling was also asking him: "'Collection of Flowing Water,' have you seen it?"
He Lingchuan shook his head: "It was taken by an old turtle demon. No wonder it was so knowledgeable; it was nothing like an ordinary mountain spirit or wild monster."
So the old turtle had obtained the ancient immortal's treasure.
"Dong Li Zhenren said that time is like flowing water, once gone, it never returns. In today's world where spiritual energy is waning, the seers and the aware are like fish in water, struggling with all their might to occasionally leap up and glimpse the scenery ahead, but it is only a fleeting glance, difficult to see the whole picture."
"...... I see."
He Lingchuan felt disappointed.
If even Dong Li Zhenren, who revised the 'Collection of Flowing Water,' believed this, then his hope of changing the future fate seemed even more remote.
Sun Fu Ling sighed slightly: "Indeed, this is how the immortals ultimately disappeared. Dong Li Zhenren's death was too plain."
"Mm?"
"Whether you call it sitting in meditation or dying of old age, I think he resembles dying of old age—just like a mortal."
"...... So the immortals ultimately died of old age? This ending is truly dreadfully dull."
"No matter how strong a fish is, if it stays out of water for too long, it will still die."
Sun Fu Ling said, "He requested to see the later generations who read this legacy, to send his token to the old site of the Great Return Sect at Shouan Mountain, placing it in the Return to Nature Tower. Although the Great Return Sect no longer exists, he still hopes to return to his roots."
(End of Chapter)