Where Immortals Once Walked-Chapter 353: Zhu Erniangs Gifts

“Nine holes, only one blow.” Zhu Erniang warned him. “This matter is of great consequence. Don’t mess around with it.”

The xun looked neither quite like it was made of metal nor clay. Its surface was a dark brown-black, utterly plain, without the faintest pattern. He Lingchuan raised a finger and tapped it lightly. “What is it made of?”

“It was refined from my elder sister’s eye socket,” Zhu Erniang said in a gloomy, distant tone. “In the Ancient Era, her magical energy was stronger than mine.”

He Lingchuan’s hand froze mid-fidget. “Huh? Your elder sister?” Zhu Erniang’s elder sister, so... “Was she called Zhu Daniang[1]? Or Lady One, I suppose.”

“Naturally.”

Their mother really hadn’t bothered with naming, had she? That raises an obvious follow-up question. “Lady Two, how many siblings did you have?”

“At birth, there were 765 of us.”

“...” How incredibly prolific. “And how many are still alive today?”

Zhu Erniang fell silent, then smoothly changed the subject. “You leave tomorrow. I need at least one night of rest before I can pass you a divine technique.”

No one objected. And so, they spent the night at the Jiana Tribe ruins.

Steward Zhao understood perfectly that his only hope of leaving the swamp rested on He Lingchuan. He treated both He Lingchuan and Dong Rui with the utmost respect. He Lingchuan took the chance to ask him about the world outside, specifically about its customs, places, and people.

After all, everything beyond the Demon Nest Swamp had become a strange, brand-new world to him.

Not long after, Zhu Erniang came again. She hauled over a snakeskin pouch, strode into the open space, and dumped it out.

Everyone jumped in fright.

What spilled onto the ground was an entire giant python!

It was Mountain Monarch Bo.

Even as a corpse, its massive body radiated a suffocating pressure that made people’s throats tighten.

Zhu Erniang had already drained out the toxins. Now she ordered the caravan to process it—separating the skin, meat, gall, and other parts into proper portions. Human hands were nimble, and free labor was free labor.

Steward Zhao did not dare refuse. The caravan’s porters and hands had spent their lives traveling and trading; catching a boar, a snake, a rabbit for extra food was nothing unusual for them. The only difference this time was that the snake was a little big at roughly twenty-five meters long.

Prey killed by Zhu Erniang rarely showed obvious wounds on the surface. He Lingchuan drew Fleeting Life and opened the python’s belly first. Otherwise, ordinary blades could not even pierce Mountain Monarch Bo’s hide.

While everyone was busy, Steward Zhao came to He Lingchuan. “Young Master He, may we go look for the other bandits’ bodies? Before we entered the swamp, they stripped us of our valuables.”

Tu Zhongli was dead. Naturally, they wanted their belongings back.

He Lingchuan had no objection. He took a few spider guards who had fought in the battle as guides and led the caravan people into Mountain Monarch Bo’s former territory.

It was a classic swamp landscape as well, but only about half the size of Zhu Erniang’s domain. Capybaras, deer, rabbits, and pretty much all prey in general were visibly scarcer here than in Zhu Erniang’s lands. It was thus no wonder that Mountain Monarch Bo constantly wanted to cross the boundary, even teaming up with King Si Wen to raid the burrow spiders’ nest.

If the raid succeeded, they would have molted shells to study and leverage to force Zhu Erniang to yield territory.

However, who would have thought that it would all end like this?

Before long, they reached the battlefield where spiders and snakes had clashed.

There were traces of massive bodies crushing through the ground, but overall, the damage was not severe, and only seven or eight trees had fallen. The fight between those two giant monsters had not produced some spectacular, world-shattering scene as many might expect.

However, snake corpses of all sizes were scattered everywhere.

The spiders that had died had already been carried away by their own kind. What remained here were enemy bodies.

As they moved forward, the spider guards suddenly raised their upper bodies and emitted sharp, chittering warning sounds. The grass rustled, and several wild boars burst out and fled in a blur.

So the Boar King really has been trying to expand its territory into here.

The humans and spider guards immediately tightened their vigilance, half-expecting that giant boar monster to come charging out from somewhere.

However, the surroundings stayed quiet. Until they left the battlefield, nothing happened.

Perhaps Mountain Monarch Bo’s death had made King Si Wen fear Zhu Erniang’s strength so much that, for the time being, it did not dare stir up trouble.

Under the guidance of spider guards, He Lingchuan and the members of the merchant caravan gathered the bandits’ bodies.

The bandits had scattered in flight; their corpses lay scattered where spiders had caught and killed them.

Now it was the members of the caravan’s turn to search them. This was what some might refer to as things coming full circle.

It did not take long before someone shouted in joy after actually finding two gold beans.

He Lingchuan was not idle either.

After leaving the Yuan army and his father behind, he was not “Young Master He” anymore. From now on, he had to provide for himself.

There were too many places where money would be needed.

Once they had finished looting, they returned to the ruins. Surprisingly, the spiders came forward and handed Tu Zhongli’s body over to He Lingchuan as well.

The unlucky bastard was wrapped tight in spider silk like a rice dumpling, his bulging eyes full of resentment and unwillingness.

Steward Zhao rummaged through him and, sure enough, turned up plenty of valuables.

He did not dare be greedy. After taking a few items for the caravan, he said to He Lingchuan, “Young Master He, these are all your spoils.”

He Lingchuan could tell Steward Zhao was clever. The old steward had left the largest silver ingots and the most valuable pieces for him.

He did not inspect closely. He swept the lot into his storage ring. But among them was a square azure jade pendant carved into the shape of a rabbit. The moment he held it, his steps felt lighter, as if his weight had suddenly dropped by dozens of kilograms.

Tu Zhongli actually had a magical artifact like this?

Well, what a pleasant surprise.

He casually hung it at his waist. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

With this enhancement paired with the Swallow’s Return movement technique, his speed would climb another tier. Sometimes you could grind and grind with no progress at all until you borrowed the power of a good tool.

Behind them, the spider swarm began spilling in, preparing to occupy Mountain Monarch Bo’s former territory.

The tyrant of this stretch of land was dead, so Zhu Erniang would obviously seize the chance to secure and expand her territory.

Back when she had nested and built power in the Panlong Wasteland’s Guizhen Stone Forest, how glorious she had been. Every major force on the wasteland had scrambled to curry favor with her. Now her descendants were less than a fifth of what they had once been, and her overall strength had fallen by more than a full tier.

* * *

Before dawn the next day, everyone rose and packed.

Zhu Erniang had spent the night digesting Mountain Monarch Bo’s blood-and-flesh essence. Her movements were far smoother now, and her three damaged legs could touch the ground and bear weight again.

She handed He Lingchuan three pieces of amber, each sealing a single drop of red blood.

“This is blood-and-flesh essence extracted from Mountain Monarch Bo, blended with my own blood essence,” Zhu Erniang said solemnly. “It has two uses. First, if you are gravely injured, you may drink one drop directly to heal. Even a severed limb can regrow within two hours after you drink it, but you may only drink one drop within a two-day period, and you can only drink it when you are seriously wounded. Otherwise, your body will burst, and you will die. It contains the vitality of two monster kings. Even for high-tier human martial artists, it is too violent.”

He Lingchuan received them carefully. Zhu Erniang had promised a life-saving divine technique, and she had not gone back on her word. “And the second use?”

“Crush the amber and silently recite the words ‘Bloodfang Guard.’ You will then summon three bloodfang guards—one specializing in offense, one in defense, one in healing.” Zhu Erniang summoned a giant spider the size of a small cow to allow him to visualize things better. “A bloodfang guard is larger than this spider by a full size. They’re thicker, tougher, fiercer, and each of them has its own divine technique. They’ll be powerful helpers in battle. Since the Middle Era, spirit qi has weakened. I no longer produce offspring like that. But by borrowing my power and Mountain Monarch Bo’s, you can temporarily summon them into the mortal realm for at most two about thirty minutes.”

It truly was excellent. He Lingchuan put them away with great care.

Finally, Zhu Erniang produced a cloud-brocade flag and, right in front of the Gan Caravan’s eyes, handed it to He Lingchuan. “This is a specially made travel token. With it, you can leave the swamp. When you pass through the mirage fog, do not laugh loudly or shout or make a racket. If you wake the mirage monster, this flag may not be able to protect you.”

Then she turned to Steward Zhao and said, “The Gan Family must send him to Lingxu City with sincerity. Whatever he wants, you give. Whatever he tells you to do, you do. Otherwise, you will never set foot in the Demon Nest Swamp again!”

Steward Zhao and the others hurriedly agreed.

By then, the spiders had already reloaded the caravan’s goods onto their wagons. The group oriented itself and slowly departed Zhu Erniang’s domain.

A little farther on, pale white fog unfurled from deep within the forest. Visibility dropped to less than thirty meters, and frog calls and insect chirps seemed to drift near and far, impossible to pin down.

Ordinary creatures who entered would lose their way and remain trapped in the dense fog forever.

Steward Zhao had experience from multiple trips. He had already ordered the wagons tied together with ropes, one after another, and now he asked He Lingchuan to plant the flag on the lead cart.

The flag emitted a green glow. Within about 167 meters, the fog abruptly parted and rolled away, revealing the real landscape, and even the compasses they had began working normally.

The caravan did not dare speak. They moved in silence, passing many dead beasts collapsed by the roadside—animals that had wandered into the mirage fog and been trapped until they died.

Steward Zhao whispered to He Lingchuan that both the swamp’s inhabitants and outsiders generally feared the fog and stayed far away. Only newborn creatures or clueless outsiders charged in like fools.

Within the fog, He Lingchuan thought he saw a vague silhouette, like that of a rabbit or a fox, but enormous, with a tail gently swaying behind it.

No matter how hard he strained his eyes, it remained indistinct.

He could not even tell how far it was from the caravan.

He glanced at Steward Zhao. Steward Zhao waved his hands rapidly, signaling that it was fine.

Not long after, the figure vanished.

The rest of the journey passed without incident. After over two hours, the caravan finally emerged from the mirage fog’s boundary and left the Demon Nest Swamp behind.

When the fog dispersed and the world snapped into clarity, everyone burst into cheers.

They had survived.

They were finally back in the familiar human world.

“Are we in the State of Fu now?”

“Not yet, not yet, this is still the stateless zone.” Steward Zhao’s smile was genuine. “About seven and a half kilometers ahead, Fu will welcome you both as guests.”

Dong Rui had remained silent the entire way. Now he suddenly said, “Alright, four months from now, we’ll meet again in Beijia’s capital. I’m leaving.”

Two spider puppets immediately walked up to his side.

He Lingchuan smiled and said, “Not coming with us?” So this guy really did hold back earlier. He only admitted to making one spider puppet, but it turns out that he really had two. It looks like since he still has business to handle for her, Zhu Erniang hasn’t reclaimed them.

Dong Rui snorted. “I have things to do. Until we meet again.” After saying that, he leaped onto one of his monster puppets, and it kicked into motion on eight legs, vanishing behind the trees in a blur.

The two had been enemies once, yet they had maintained a tense, superficial truce for more than ten days. Now that Zhu Erniang’s pressure was gone, Dong Rui returned to his usual self and fled at the first opportunity.

1. Daniang (大娘) would typically translate to Eldest Lady, though I’ll probably translate it to Lady One on its own just for consistency with Lady Two. ☜