Chương 20: Ganshou Village (Part I)

Lucian stared at the distant mountain range while Wang Chen and Bai Xiaomeng sorted through the goods. Wang Chen even used his bare hands to dig a massive hole to bury the box containing the remaining gold, books, jewels, and weapons. Far away, the five mountains rose like fingers piercing the cloudless sky, their peaks visible from this distance, though blurred by the haze. It should be an illusion. Otherwise, it shouldn't be possible for me to see them, Lucian thought, trying to find a rational explanation.

Or perhaps I am inside an artificial world. Yes, this could be created by the Human Sage, that punk! Even after inventing an explanation to calm the strange feeling in his mind, Lucian kept staring at the mountains. But if he were powerful enough to create a world with such colossal mountains, he would not have hidden his race inside a merged domain. Arthur would have cleansed the domains infested by other creatures, I'm sure of it.

It was only when Wang Chen and Bai Xiaomeng approached that Lucian finally shifted his gaze away from the five distant peaks. Seeing that Wang Chen was now properly dressed and carrying a large cloth bag over his back, Lucian nodded and said, "Lead the way." Bai Xiaomeng opened the map and walked ahead. Wang Chen hurried to her side, while Lucian followed three steps behind.

"Before I forget," Lucian said as they crossed a small stretch of grassland.

"Those mountains seem very peculiar. I would like to know more about them." Startled by the statement, Wang Chen visibly recoiled and shot an incredulous glance at Bai Xiaomeng. She, however, frowned in confusion and stopped walking, prompting the other two to halt as well.

"Grand Cultivator, I beg your pardon, but are you referring to the Heaven-Grasping Five Peaks?" she asked, pointing toward the enormous mountain range far in the distance. Lucian nodded calmly, committing the name to memory. Following up, Wang Chen could not contain himself.

"You're joking, right?" he blurted, his gray eyes giving Lucian a mocking glance. Bai Xiaomeng felt something strange in Wang Chen's reaction, but could not quite identify what it was.

"Tell me what you know about it," Lucian said, ignoring Wang Chen's outburst.

"This must be a joke," Wang Chen sneered. Bai Xiaomeng chose to answer, suppressing her disbelief and giving Wang Chen a glare.

"We are only mortals, Grand Cultivator. What we know is just common tales. In the center of those five peaks lies the Golden Capital, where Emperor Kun Wu reigns supreme. There are also stories about great cultivators living on the peaks, but we cannot be certain." Lucian hummed thoughtfully and said,"You must mean the Golden Peng Capital."

"No, just Golden Capital," she said after a brief pause. Interesting, Lucian thought. Then, he glanced at Wang Chen. Seeing that the large man had nothing to add, he reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll. Opening it beside Bai Xiaomeng, he revealed a map of the Golden Peng Empire. Searching for the middle of the empire, Lucian pointed to a crudely drawn, unnamed castle at the center of the map. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"This should be the Golden Capital."

"I suppose so," Bai Xiaomeng said, nodding as she looked at the map. Then Lucian pointed at the rest of the scroll, where cartoonish mountain shapes were drawn across many regions of the empire. Finally, he tapped the space at the center.

"Nonetheless, I see no mountain range surrounding it."

"You really don't know?" Wang Chen interrupted, his eyes wide with disbelief. Lucian glanced at him, then returned his gaze to Bai Xiaomeng, waiting for her answer. Realizing he expected her to speak, Bai Xiaomeng cleared her throat.

"Grand Cultivator, it is forbidden for mortals to draw places that contain the word Heaven in their name. If someone is discovered doing so, the perpetrator and their direct family are executed. At the same time, the remaining relatives up to nine generations are branded as prisoners and sold to the nearby Kingdoms."

"Such a barbaric method," Lucian remarked.

"However, suppose cultivators are allowed to draw places with Heaven in the name."

"I would not know, Grand Cultivator," Bai Xiaomeng replied. Then, biting her lip, she added cautiously, "I'm sorry to ask, but… is this a test?" Lucian waved his hand dismissively and stepped back.

"Keep walking." Focusing only on language-related knowledge was a mistake, he thought, remembering how he had used the Rune of Gluttony to devour part of the memories of the three bandits. This artificial world created by the Human Sage is far more complex than I anticipated. I must discover his purpose and how long I have been in slumber. As he followed Wang Chen and Bai Xiaomeng, Lucian reexamined the map with renewed attention.

After absorbing the bandits' memories, he now recognized several additional characters on the parchment. Unfortunately, he had not accounted for how illiterate the bandits were. Compared to Bai Xiaomeng and Wang Chen, their knowledge had been pitifully limited. As a result, Lucian was still unable to read the entire map. Better than nothing, he concluded. Night eventually fell, and darkness spread across the green forest they had entered. Yet Lucian continued studying the map without looking up.

Wang Chen, mostly out of consideration for Bai Xiaomeng, took one of the prepared torches from their supplies and lit it. They knew they were only a few hours away from the village. They planned to rest briefly, skip proper sleep, and push forward to reach it before dawn. When they finally stopped to prepare a small camp, Lucian lifted his head. The sky above them was clear. At first, he only glanced upward, inwardly assuming that his artificial world would have nothing more than a black canvas for a sky.

Then he froze, muttering, "Not possible." Bai Xiaomeng and Wang Chen heard him speak. Turning toward Lucian, they saw him remove the robe and face covering he had worn until now and stare fixedly at the star-filled sky. Wang Chen frowned. His eyes, which now saw better in darkness than Bai Xiaomeng's, studied Lucian more closely.

"He looks different," Wang Chen whispered.

"I guess he used one of those cultivator techniques to change his face. Little Meng—""Shhh." Bai Xiaomeng nudged him sharply, signaling him to stop.

"Let us prepare the food. We can talk later." As they organized the supplies and began heating their meal, Lucian felt his heart begin to race. This can't be real, he thought, his expression even more shocked than when he had seen the mountain range. Lucian summoned his Blood Essence and condensed a rune in his mind, with strange sigils forming around a central image of four fingers grasping a neck. Devilish Arts: Boon of Lust – Out of Touch.

Once the rune formed, he directed it to reinforce his mind against illusions. Yet no Blood Essence was consumed. Lucian slowly lowered his trembling gaze. Either this illusion is far beyond my ability to detect, or this is real. With that realization, a smile slowly blossomed across his lips. It was the widest smile he had shown in centuries. Oh, Arthur, he thought of the blond, blue-eyed Human Sage, one of the five most powerful beings in existence, at least according to Lucian's understanding.

How did you become so powerful? Lucian gnashed his teeth, his muscles tightening as blood surged through his veins. You show me all of this… Lock me here… Strip me of my power… He placed his right hand over his pounding heart, the heavy thumps echoing in his chest. His face twisted into something resembling a wailing specter. Are you not afraid that I will uncover your secrets and kill you for such humiliation? Still with the Rune of Lust, his eyes glinted with a red hue. I'll make you regret this!