Chapter 760: Lingxu Citys Losses

Chapter 760: Lingxu City's Losses

The next morning, He Lingchuan went up the mountain to meet Elder Dao again.

This time, Dong Rui and Zhu Daniang did not follow him. Instead, they went to wander around the towns below the mountain, giving He Lingchuan some space for a private conversation.

Unexpectedly, there was another person here. He looked not yet fifty, with faintly graying temples and beard, and an air that seemed to stand apart from the world.

When Elder Dao stood beside him, he looked far too old by comparison.

“This is our Sect Leader Xue.”

The head of the Rongshan Sect personally came to meet me? He Lingchuan was startled, then stepped forward and performed the courtesy of a junior.

Sect Leader Xue gave an empty supporting gesture and smiled. “No need for such courtesy, truly no need.”

Of course, he had already heard Elder Dao’s account. At this moment, he looked He Lingchuan up and down, not stinting on praise at all. “A hero emerges from youth. Good, good, truly good.”

He and Elder Dao had already discussed and analyzed the matter beforehand. Elder Dao now asked He Lingchuan, “Sect Leader Xue, Songyuan, and I are all people of Spirit Mountain. Does Young Master He know what ‘Spirit Mountain’ means?”

The contact passphrase Fang Canran had given him had mentioned “Spirit Mountain,” and He Lingchuan guessed that this was the name of an organization. Furthermore, when he had been fleeing Baizhantian’s pursuit inside Mount Xu, he had passed beneath the Dao-Seeking Tree and heard the voices of countless leaves.

It had seemed as though countless people were watching him and urging him on, but the two words He Lingchuan had heard most clearly were:

“Spirit Mountain!”

Was it the Dao-Seeking Tree, Venerable Muling, or the other Grand Return Sect elders who had passed away seated beneath the tree that had spoken this name to him?

Later, he had asked Zhu Daniang about it, but the spider monster, though several thousand years old, did not know where “Spirit Mountain” was either.

In the Ancient Era, spirit mountains existed everywhere under heaven. No single mountain would have been specially named that.

And later? She had never heard of it then either.

So He Lingchuan hesitated briefly before saying, “I seem to have heard of it, but I do not know its depth.”

“Spirit Mountain is deeply hidden, unknown to the world. For Young Master He to have heard of it already proves you are no ordinary person.” Sect Leader Xue smiled and said, “Since you have come bearing Songyuan’s token, we will be open and honest with you.”

Since they wanted to do their utmost to draw him in, the first step was to show sincerity.

Besides, the great matter that He Lingchuan and his companions had accomplished was also worthy of the Rongshan Sect’s serious attention.

He Lingchuan said solemnly, “Please enlighten me, Sect Leader Xue.”

That solemnity was respect toward Sect Leader Xue, Elder Dao, and the power behind Fang Canran.

His experiences in Beijia and his actions in Lingxu City had both warned him profoundly that it was difficult to accomplish great things alone.

Without Li Qingge and Fang Canran’s strong cooperation, his Mount Xu Plan could never have succeeded.

While offending Beijia, he had also become more deeply connected to the organization behind Fang Canran. This was no longer something that his own will could shift.

They were very likely to have common goals and common demands.

After leaving Lingxu City, He Lingchuan had thought this over repeatedly. Reason told him that in the face of a colossal entity like Beijia, he could not fight alone.

Likewise, Lingxu City would view the two of them as one entity—both of them were enemies Beijia ought to slap dead.

“Spirit Mountain is not any specific mountain range. It is only a code name. Those like us and Songyuan, who share the same ideals, all call ourselves people of Spirit Mountain.”

He Lingchuan understood. So the organization itself is called “Spirit Mountain.”

“Not a sect or school?”

“Not a sect or school.” Sect Leader Xue said softly, “Some are Daoist hermits, some serve as officials in court, and there are even—” He paused for a few moments before continuing, “even surviving ancient immortals!”

Those last four words were the true bombshell. However, he did not see much surprise on He Lingchuan’s face. The young man only nodded hard. “As expected!”

“As expected?”

“Before we withdrew, we saw a giant azure bird summon tornadoes and wreak havoc through Lingxu City. That had to be at least at the level of a half-immortal.”

From that moment on, He Lingchuan knew that the organization behind Fang Canran was very likely connected to immortals.

To deliberately send out the azure bird at that time was also a proclamation to Lingxu City, to the Heavenly Palace, and to all the world that the immortals had returned.

Elder Dao said in realization, “Oh, that was Lord Dufeng. In the Ancient Era, it once fought against the Heavenly Demon. The greater monster Chifeng was its descendant.”

He Lingchuan remembered that Chifeng had died in Lingxu City. It seemed the azure bird had taken revenge for its offspring.

“In short, our people are spread across the world. If Young Master He’s goals align with ours, then from now on, we can work together in good faith.”

He Lingchuan was direct. “May I ask what Spirit Mountain’s goal is?”

“To resist the Heavenly Demon and revive spirit qi!” Elder Dao said in a deep voice. “So long as the Heavenly Demon continues to bring calamity to the world, neither you nor we will have a way forward.”

He Lingchuan understood that “you nor we” referred to cultivators.

If they did not stop the Heavenly Demon from seizing nightmare qi, then the cultivators of the mortal realm could only draw closer and closer to ordinary mortals, step by step, with no path to heaven remaining to them.

“Then where have the immortals been these past three thousand years?”

This was not only He Lingchuan’s question. It was the question of all living beings in the world.

Elder Dao let out a breath. “I can only say that they were where they ought to have been.”

He Lingchuan hid his true emotions. “And now, they intend to enter the world again?”

“The thoughts of immortals are beyond our understanding.” Sect Leader Xue’s eyes narrowed slightly. “However, the disaster Lingxu City suffered is wonderful news for the people of the world, and also wonderful news for the war in the east.”

Yes. Beijia was still at war with the State of Mou in the east. Once news of Lingxu City’s upheaval reached the front lines, it would certainly affect the morale of the armies on both sides, one rising as the other fell. It might even change the decisions of their generals.

It would also let all under heaven know that Beijia was not, as it boasted, invincible and beyond offense.

“How is Lingxu City now?” Several months had already passed since He Lingchuan wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace. He was very curious how Lingxu City had cleaned up the mess. “And Juju?”

“On the night of the unrest, Lingxu City suffered casualties everywhere. The official death toll they released was nine thousand, but judging by Lingxu City’s usual tendencies, we estimate that the real figure should be more than four times that. In addition, there were more than four thousand missing,” said Elder Dao. “Looking only at Lingxu City, the losses suffered by the authorities and the people were probably around eighty million taels, roughly eighty billion coins.”

Missing meant they could not be found. Perfectly living people had simply vanished into thin air.

He Lingchuan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Only eighty million taels?”

Lingxu City’s permanent population was eight million. For forty or fifty thousand people to die was already terrifying, and this had not even been wartime.

The chaotic scene on the night of the Lingxu unrest remained fresh in He Lingchuan’s memory.

In the firelight, beneath iron hooves, how many commoners had cried out and struggled? How many families had been torn apart?

Yet the amount of money lost by the entire city did not sound quite so frightening.

“Most of those who died were only commoners and merchants, and most of what was destroyed were ordinary residences. The homes of the powerful were basically unharmed, with Tiantong Island as the sole exception. The thunderclap beast herd rushed through Startled Swan Crossing into Tiantong Island and destroyed half the island. The Ke Family suffered the greatest losses.” Elder Dao stroked his long beard. “Of those eighty million in losses, the Ke Family accounted for at least a tenth. More than forty members of the family died as well, including their most highly valued fifth son—Ke Yanjing.”