“This should be a small independent space, or a parallel dimension, sealed off from the mundane world by ancient greats using colossal formations. For instance, the Peach Blossom Spring described in the Record of the Peach Blossom Spring—where a Wuling fisherman stumbled upon that idyllic realm—was likely a small-scale Immortal Ruins site…”
Jiang Tian nodded slightly at this.
After all, out in the starry skies beyond this realm, many Immortal Emperors and Immortal Venerables had crafted their own miniature worlds. That was nothing special—some even went on to become Primal Chaos Deities and could create entire universes if they wished.
Huo Qingtian, Zhao Yuankun, and Wei Feilong exchanged glances, all showing a hint of surprise.
In fact, they had all heard various rumors about the Immortal Ruins before, but the details were always vague and elusive. They hadn’t expected this archaeology professor to actually know more than they did.
“Later on, I came across many obscure ancient texts that recorded various deities and spirit beasts entering our world—some to spread teachings and gather followers, others to commit slaughter and run rampant… I suspect they came from the Immortal Ruins. Such accounts don’t just exist in Chinese classics—Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, ancient Indian texts, and Old Hebrew writings all contain similar legends…”
“As for the Immortal Ruins, there have long been claims that several fragmentary map scrolls were left behind in the mortal realm. But no one knows exactly how many maps there are, or what they actually look like. However, there is one consensus: whoever finds those map fragments will find a way into the Immortal Ruins…”
“The Ming dynasty notebooks Miscellaneous Talks from the West of the Capital and Notes by the Dim Window both clearly record that a divine ape once tore through the void and came to our world. In a single step, it crossed the ocean, arrived at the Himalayas, plucked a miraculous herb, and saved its dying younger brother… In ancient Indian scriptures, this ape is called Hanuman, and it was said that it and its kin once cultivated and lived on Mount Everest…”
“These two records are highly credible—I discovered them in the ancient tombs of two martial artists I excavated. The author of Miscellaneous Talks from the West of the Capital was a senior eunuch in the Ming imperial palace, rumored to have been a grandmaster-level figure. The author of Notes by the Dim Window was also a martial arts grandmaster.”
“According to the records, this ape had fiery golden eyes, could transform its form, possessed immense strength, and could level mountains with a single swing of its iron staff…”
“Heh, that sounds a lot like the Monkey King from Journey to the West…” Jiang Tian interjected.
But at that moment, something stirred in his mind. Back when he was in the outer starry realms, investigating information about the Soaring Empress and the Empress Flower, he had uncovered a colossal secret.
The Empress Flower had a guardian spirit beast called the Golden-Eyed Battle Ape.
The Golden-Eyed Battle Ape clan needed to absorb the supreme yang energy from the Empress Flower, while the Empress Flower, in turn, thrived on the dung of the golden-eyed fire monkeys.
Could this so-called divine ape actually be connected to the Golden-Eyed Battle Apes of the cultivation world beyond the stars?
It was highly possible!
“Perhaps Wu Cheng’en heard or read about the legends of this ape and used them as inspiration for his literary creation,” Gu Boxian said, not taking Jiang Tian’s remark as a joke. He nodded and continued:
“After extensive research, we came to believe that it once lived on Mount Everest, and may even have died there. So we came here to search many times. Finally, Qingcheng and I discovered a cave containing the skeleton of an ape. But we never found the legendary fragmentary map of the Immortal Ruins…”
“Because of my research, I’ve visited many cultivators and extraordinary individuals. Over time, Wu Yingxiong caught wind of it. He captured me, tortured me for information about the Immortal Ruins, and made me lead them to that cave…”
Gu Boxian sighed.
“But strangely enough, we climbed Everest five more times after that, and never managed to find that cave again. This is our sixth attempt…”
“There’s probably a concealment formation in place…”
Jiang Tian had a faint sense of understanding.
For a spirit beast like that, which had already awakened its intelligence and rivaled human cultivators at the Divine Realm or Dao Body stage—how could its sacred ground be so easily discovered?
“Mr. Jiang, if you want to find that cave, I’ll guide you there!” Gu Boxian volunteered.
“Just tell me which peak it’s on,” Jiang Tian said calmly.
“That one—Lhotse Peak. It’s slightly lower than Everest, but still the world’s fourth-highest peak at 8,516 meters,” Gu Boxian said.
“No need for a guide. This won’t be difficult for me,” Jiang Tian replied indifferently.
At over eight thousand meters—about sixteen Chinese miles—once he reached the base of the mountain, Jiang Tian’s divine sense could almost instantly cover the entire peak.
Even if a single sweep wasn’t enough, climbing partway up would allow him to envelop it completely.
And since the cave was hidden by a concealment formation, Gu Boxian would have a hard time finding it anyway. It was better for Jiang Tian to search alone.
At that moment, something else occurred to him, and he asked, “By the way, Professor Gu, since you’re a leading figure in archaeology, you must be well-versed in ancient scripts, right?”
“I wouldn’t dare call myself a leading figure, but to be honest—I can recognize quite a bit of ancient writing from various dynasties: bone-carved script, oracle bone script, bronze inscriptions, stone-drum script, and so on.”
Though Gu Boxian spoke modestly, a faint trace of pride crept into his eyes and brows.
“Good. When you have time, I’d like to consult you on a few things,” Jiang Tian said.
He had just remembered the facsimile of the Immortal Ruins fragmentary scroll he’d seen at his grandfather’s place, which was why he’d asked.
He wondered whether Gu Boxian could recognize the strange script on that fragment.
But he’d come in a hurry and hadn’t brought it with him.
He thought to himself—if only he had a portable storage artifact. Whether it was a storage ring, a treasure pouch, or a spirit-gourd vessel, it would make carrying things so much more convenient.
“Professor Gu, given your condition, you should head back first.”
Jiang Tian paused for a moment, then smiled when he noticed Gu Boxian and his daughter still looking at him expectantly.
“Thank you, Mr. Jiang!”
Gu Boxian expressed his gratitude, but a hint of reluctance flickered across his face—he seemed to want to say something more.
Jiang Tian understood immediately and said calmly, “Brother Zhao, escort Gu Boxian back to the capital. If anyone dares harm so much as a single hair on his head—show no mercy.”
“Yes!” Zhao Yuankun rose and acknowledged the order.
“Brother Wei, send word to Wu Yingxiong. If he harasses Professor Gu again, I’ll wipe out his entire clan,” Jiang Tian said flatly.
Wei Feilong quickly replied, “No problem!”
“Thank you, Mr. Jiang… You are truly my savior!” Gu Boxian grasped Jiang Tian’s hand, tears welling in his eyes.
Jiang Tian had gone above and beyond—he’d not only saved his life but was now shielding him from the Wu family’s reach. What extraordinary kindness this was!
“Oh, one more thing!”
Jiang Tian asked, “Do you have any fruit here? Preferably peaches. And some yak meat as well.”
“As it happens, we do have some peaches. What do you need them for?”
Gu Qingcheng looked puzzled, then suddenly realized: “Oh, right—you didn’t bring any provisions, did you? We’re about to leave anyway, so we’ll leave all this for you…”
After handing over the supplies, Gu Boxian and his daughter said their goodbyes and prepared to head back.
Jiang Tian suddenly turned to Gu Qingcheng and smiled. “By the way, how is Yilin doing?”
“Yilin is still studying at Peking University—she’s one of my father’s students! She’s doing well, though she often misses you…”
Gu Qingcheng gazed at Jiang Tian reluctantly, then mustered her courage and said, “Jiang Tian, you must come to the capital when you have time—to see Yilin, and… and me.”
“The capital… I will definitely go there.”
Jiang Tian noticed the reluctant fondness in her eyes, but didn’t think much of it.
It was probably just the natural curiosity and admiration a young girl her age might feel after witnessing his abilities.
Gu Qingcheng packed her belongings and soon boarded the off-road vehicle, heading back with her father and Zhao Yuankun.
After the vehicle had driven some distance, she glanced back at Jiang Tian.
He was still standing there. For some reason, she sensed an air of loneliness and desolation around him—a feeling that made her lose herself in thought for a moment.
“I’ve heard from Zhang Yilin that Jiang Tian went mad after being rejected by some big family in the capital… He must carry so much pain inside…”
Turning back, Gu Qingcheng felt a pang of bitterness. But then she scoffed softly to herself:
“Still… Jiang Tian has suddenly become so powerful. I wonder if that blind young lady will cry with regret when she finds out?”
Meanwhile, after watching them disappear into the distance, Jiang Tian immediately said to Huo Qingtian and the others, “Let’s go. First, we’ll check on the condition of the Empress Flower.”
“Yes! Grandmaster Jiang, let’s head up!”
Before Huo Qingtian even finished speaking, he shot toward Everest like an arrow.
Leaping high and low across the snowy peaks, he moved like a skylark—agile and graceful.
“Excellent footwork, Elder Huo!”
Jiang Tian, carrying a pressure cooker, charcoal, an alcohol stove, peaches, yak meat, and other supplies, moved with a deceptive rhythm—one step carrying him a hundred meters, quickly catching up with Huo Qingtian.
For ordinary people, Everest was an impassable precipice. But for Jiang Tian, it was like strolling through a courtyard—as flat as solid ground. If he hadn’t deliberately kept his speed down, neither Huo Qingtian nor Wei Feilong could have kept up.
By the time Jiang Tian led them to the mountainside, it was already deep into the night. Suddenly, a wondrous spectacle appeared above Everest’s summit.
Streams of multicolored radiance streaked across the sky, like the aurora borealis—colorful ribbons floating through the night.
“A celestial phenomenon! Something significant must be emerging—the Empress Flower is about to ripen!”
Jiang Tian narrowed his eyes, unleashing a surging wave of divine sense that climbed ever higher, sweeping across thousands of meters to scan the summit of Everest.
Whenever a crucial treasure or a heaven-defying spiritual fruit or great medicine appeared, celestial phenomena would always accompany it. The Empress Flower was the first thing that came to Jiang Tian’s mind.
“The Empress Flower is ripe? Then shouldn’t we hurry to pick it?” Huo Qingtian and Wei Feilong urged anxiously.
Jiang Tian didn’t answer. He turned around, his expression turning stern, and sent another vast wave of divine sense sweeping toward Lhotse Peak.
“No. First, we go to Lhotse Peak, find an ape, catch one, brew some peach meat soup—and we also need to find a bronze gong down the mountain.”
After a moment, Jiang Tian withdrew his divine sense and spoke with an air of leisurely ease.
“Catch an ape? Brew peach meat soup? That’s… strange…”
Huo Qingtian and the others were baffled, completely at a loss.
“Shouldn’t we be going after the Empress Flower first? I’ve heard along the way that powerful figures are already moving to seize it!”
“Don’t worry. They won’t be able to take it.”
Jiang Tian said calmly, “Gu Boxian’s research was correct—those records weren’t legends or myths, but history. There really was a Golden-Eyed Battle Ape that once tore through the void and came to this world from the Immortal Ruins…”
His gaze grew distant as he sighed. “And we’ve underestimated that legendary Golden-Eyed Battle Ape—it actually became an immortal demon, and at the Earth Immortal level at that! Around the Empress Flower, it has laid down a sealing formation. Forget us—even a half-step Divine Realm cultivator would be beaten to death.”
