Chapter 558: The Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast

The scenic area staff weren’t drawing their wages and benefits for nothing. The chaos was quickly brought under control by those employees dressed like Daoists.

The tourists gradually recovered from their panic, and their attention shifted to Fang Ji, who lay motionless on the ground.

Seeing the tourists starting to gather, Fu Xinyi glanced left and right from the corner of her eye, then nudged Lu Yibei with her elbow. “Junior brother, shouldn’t we hurry up and get this guy into the Great Pure Palace?”

“…” Lu Yibei looked at Fang Ji, who could no longer get up, pondered for two seconds, then pointed at the melon stand nearby. “Mm. Wait a moment.”

Fu Xinyi tilted her head in confusion. Then she saw Lu Yibei walk over, crouch in front of the melon stand, carefully weigh every melon, calculate the price in his head, scan the QR code on the stall, pay 217.5, and complete his buyout of the entire stand.

“What are you doing?”

Lu Yibei scratched the back of his head and said with perfect seriousness, “The old man asked me to watch his stall. If I leave now and the watermelons get stolen, that wouldn’t be good. If I buy them all, that problem disappears, doesn’t it?”

Mainly, I’m afraid he’ll use this as an excuse to weasel out and refuse to perform eating raw melon for me.

Anyway, he still owes me eight hundred. Deducting 217.5 first isn’t a loss.

With that thought, Lu Yibei stood and followed Fu Xinyi and the staff member behind her carrying Fang Ji toward the Chain Suspension Bridge.

At the same time as they left, two tourists in the crowd cast probing looks their way, their gazes darting back and forth between Lu Yibei and Fang Ji for a long while.

“Did you feel it just now? The fragrance of the Flower of Miracles blooming!” whispered the slightly chubby middle-aged man with gloomy eyes and a face full of gray-white stubble.

“I felt it, but…” The teenager beside him frowned. “Which one is the Holy Son? The androgynous one, or the one with the cold expression?”

He had dark brown curly hair, yellow skin, black eyes, and deep-set features, a typical Central Asian appearance.

“Most likely the one with the cold expression!” the middle-aged man said. “Didn’t you see the way he cut those two melons? And in all that chaos just now, he managed to remain completely unruffled. I think that suits the Holy Son’s bearing perfectly.”

“But why would the Holy Son go to the Great Pure Palace? That place is basically one of The Midnight Watchers Society’s strongholds,” the teenager said, puzzled.

“…” The middle-aged man pondered for a few seconds, then lifted his eyes toward the direction Lu Yibei had gone, his gaze carrying a hint of devotion. “Perhaps to search for the First Holy Son’s relics?”

The First Holy Son’s remains of the Miracle Order had been passed down from generation to generation after the First Holy Son’s death, and within them had accumulated the unbelievable miracles of more than a dozen Holy Sons. To the Miracle Order, they were undoubtedly a supreme treasure.

But ever since the former Holy Son unexpectedly fell, the First Holy Son’s remains had all been lost. According to reliable intelligence, they had ended up respectively in the hands of The Midnight Watchers Society, the Assassin, and several powerful psychics or hauntings.

On this journey, they had followed the Miracle Holy Son all the way from Persia toward Country Z, passing through multiple countries in search of the First Holy Son’s remains. So far, they had found three relics: the right eye, the heart, and a toe. Only the fingers and brain remained missing.

While passing through Yan City, the Holy Son had clashed with the vicious Plague Taisui over the heart relic. After a fierce battle, he vanished without a trace. From then on, their objective had shifted from searching for the First Holy Son’s remains to searching for the current Holy Son.

After all, if the Miracle Holy Son was gone, they would have to wait another ten days before the Flower of Miracles bloomed again.

“However, it’s also possible the Holy Son has gone to create a miracle!” the middle-aged man added.

As he spoke, he seemed to see the Flower of Miracles blooming across the peaks of Zhenwu Mountain, and the Great Pure Palace, this important stronghold of The Midnight Watchers Society, falling into ruin, never to recover. What a magnificent sight.

“But, Lord Elder…” the teenager asked softly, “the Holy Son has gone into the Great Pure Palace. What should we do now?”

“…” The middle-aged man pondered for a few seconds, then said solemnly, “Wait. The Holy Son will definitely come out. When the time comes, we need only release the fragrance of the Flower of Miracles. He will surely recognize us, and then we can join him and create miracles together.”

As he spoke, a fanatical flame danced in his eyes.

————

The stone steps from the foot of Zhenwu Mountain to its summit were very long, nearly nine thousand in all. Few people could complete the entire climb. When most tourists reached Xuanwu Terrace, they would not continue upward.

From Xuanwu Terrace on, the tourists gradually thinned out, and the surroundings grew quiet. Within that stillness, the fresh scent of grass, plants, and trees drifted through the air.

In the distance stood an ancient building that was not especially grand, with white walls and blue tiles. Its flying eaves and bracket sets had been weathered by time, yet they held a deep, lingering charm.

It did have a touch of immortal air.

Although… that immortal air was fake.

This was still within the scenic area, after all. There were plenty of riddlers here earning eight thousand a month, Lu Yibei thought.

Those scenic area staff followed the fortune-telling templates given by the Great Pure Palace. Although their readings were fairly accurate, they rarely made anything clear.

They prettied it up as, “Heaven’s secrets must not be divulged. Go home and comprehend it yourself.”

However, while chatting idly with Fu Xinyi, Lu Yibei learned that quite a few of those staff members were veterans from special forces units like the Snow Leopard Commando Unit and the Jiaolong Commando Unit. They bore Non-graded or low-grade Spirit Patterns, and their work was similar in scope to that of the special task force.

The sturdy man carrying Fang Ji was one of them.

In other words, these Daoist masters in the Zhenwu Mountain Scenic Area might genuinely smile at you and say, “You have to believe in science,” then leap three or four meters into the air right afterward.

It was precisely because of this that Lu Yibei did not risk getting beaten up by asking the Daoist masters for the jackpot numbers in the next Double Color Ball lottery1.

…

As they went on, Lu Yibei quickly memorized the surrounding terrain, constantly comparing it in his mind against the map Qing Ji had drawn.

That well should be a formation node, so why is there no psychic energy fluctuation coming from it? Has it already been abandoned?

That wall has been renovated. All the incantations have been worn away…

I wonder if the former headmaster’s little dirty book that the Ancestors hid under the main hall statue is still there.

After observing for a while, Lu Yibei found nothing, so he silently began planning an escape route.

Sooner or later, he would have to sneak some things out of the Great Pure Palace. Scouting the place in advance was very necessary.

They circled around the palace buildings at the summit and followed an inconspicuous corridor behind them for a while. Before long, a huge boulder blocked the way. Beside it stood several vigorous pine trees that were clearly quite old.

Hidden by the boulder and the pine branches was a small path. Following it inward, they saw the Chain Suspension Bridge.

The Chain Suspension Bridge hung between two cliffs, extremely treacherous. Its deck was narrow, and it had been eroded by wind and rain year-round, giving it a somewhat dilapidated look. The railings made of iron chains were sparse and low. Below the bridge, jagged cliffs dropped away amid curling clouds and mist, enough to make anyone’s heart pound. It very much had the feel of an “air version of a glass walkway.”

Lu Yibei: “…”

Is this setup really okay?

If a few hotheaded tourists ignored the warning signs and fell off the bridge, wouldn’t the compensation leave them without even their underwear?

According to what Qing Ji had told him, the number of people who had fallen to their deaths from this Chain Suspension Bridge was at least in the triple digits.

“Don’t be afraid. This Chain Suspension Bridge only looks dangerous. In reality, it has spell formation warding. If you fall, you’ll only faint, then be transported to a special place at the foot of the mountain,” Fu Xinyi explained to Lu Yibei.

She knew Lu Yibei was a Class B Psychic, so she did not say too much about the hidden mechanisms on the Chain Suspension Bridge and simply continued forward.

Lu Yibei frowned slightly, then nodded thoughtfully.

Looks like the Great Pure Palace has changed much more than I imagined…

Still, it has been more than a hundred years since the Ancestors last came here. Some changes are only normal.

Country Z has changed with each passing day over the past century. Surely the Great Pure Palace is allowed to innovate too?

As Lu Yibei was thinking, Fu Xinyi’s voice entered his ears.

“After we cross the Chain Suspension Bridge, you’ll see a huge pool. The Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast is there. It might come over to observe you, but don’t be afraid.”

“Wait, your Great Pure Palace keeps hauntings? That’s allowed?” Lu Yibei said.

He had wanted to ask this question for ages.

Mainly, he wanted to know how the Great Pure Palace managed to keep hauntings legally, so that after he went back, he could copy the method and get Wang Yingying a “household registration.”

The child was still young. He couldn’t let them become undocumented!

However, if it was some awful Moonlight Project contract, then forget it.

“What’s so strange about that?” Fu Xinyi rolled her eyes at Lu Yibei. “Hauntings can be good or bad too! Junior brother, don’t become prejudiced against all hauntings just because you’ve spent some time in The Midnight Watchers Society.”

Although that isn’t the answer I wanted, I strongly agree. After all, I myself am a good, law-abiding haunting… Lu Yibei grumbled inwardly. He opened his mouth, just about to express agreement, only to be choked back by Fu Xinyi’s next words.

“Our Great Pure Palace once even planned to open a special Haunting Taming training category in addition to talismans, spell formations, sword technique, and body technique.”

Lu Yibei: “…”

Good thing you never opened that training category.

Otherwise, just imagining myself after a haunting transformation, running into the lunatics of the Great Pure Palace holding collars, lassos, Poké Balls, and the like while shouting that they wanted to tame me, is enough to scare me!

Thinking this, Lu Yibei pressed, “Then why didn’t it open later?”

Fu Xinyi curled her lip. “It’s a bit complicated. Anyway, not everyone in the Great Pure Palace believes hauntings can coexist harmoniously with humans. Some people also think hauntings have wills of their own, and that forcibly taming them isn’t very humane, so the idea was vetoed.”

“Forget it, let’s not talk about that. Let’s get back to business. Where was I? Oh, right, the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast might come over to observe you. But you don’t need to be afraid. The venerable one will only take a look and won’t do anything else.”

“You can think of it as something like the public face of the sect,” Fu Xinyi said with a shrug. “Every year, there are lots of disciples who can’t decide between sects like Taihe Palace, Nanshan Temple, and the Great Pure Palace. When they come visit, they see the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast, and that’s what makes them decide to stay.”

Sure enough, the world has changed. Back in the Ancestors’ day, the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast was extremely mysterious and basically never came out of the Back Mountain. Now even divine beasts have to be forced into business, coming out to serve as an “admissions brochure”… Lu Yibei nodded thoughtfully.

“However, if any haunting of unknown origin tries to barge into the Great Pure Palace, it will also be attacked by the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast, hehe!” Fu Xinyi said, a bright smile appearing on her face.

Lu Yibei: “…” Hello, there is a haunting of unknown origin standing right in front of you.

He had long heard of the Great Pure Palace’s Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast. It was an A+ class haunting, with not only an extremely high psychic energy fluctuation level, but also rather formidable physical strength.

If it were a one-on-one fight, that would still be fine. In his haunting-transformed state, even if he could not beat it, he was confident he could escape. The problem was that this was the Great Pure Palace. Transforming into a haunting here would mean being besieged by thousands upon thousands of psychics.

What was he supposed to do now?

If he were exposed, would they put a collar on him, stuff him into a Poké Ball, and tame him on the spot?

As the pool where the Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast resided drew nearer and nearer, Lu Yibei felt a sudden sense of crisis wash over him.

Footnote:

1. Double Color Ball lottery(双色球): Double Color Ball is a popular Chinese lottery game.