Holding the lifelike Identity Tablet and murmuring, "Enforcing the law," Chen Jin instantly donned the Qin Soldier Black Armor. Then he rubbed his hands together, transforming his face into an utterly unremarkable one, and stepped into Langya Mountain's heavily guarded perimeter.
One moment, he was a weary foot soldier patrolling the mountain; the next, a messenger delivering orders; then a low-ranking squad leader inspecting a sentry post... His identity and appearance kept changing.
Under the Qin Army's strict system of inspections, his constantly shifting identities and Ren Tu's informational advantage made the checks virtually useless. In this dangerous place, he could almost come and go as he pleased.
Using his various identities and plausible excuses, he searched everywhere, from the rugged cliffs to hidden caves. He had nearly covered every inch of Langya Mountain.
Yet he still hadn't found a single clue to the "aura of the four seasons," which embodied the essence of spring's birth, summer's growth, autumn's harvest, and winter's dormancy.
During his search, he had also investigated the Shrine of the Four Seasons Deity.
At the time, the shrine was bustling with activity. Alchemists hurried back and forth carrying bronze ritual vessels, while servants bundled dried herbs and stacked them in front of the steps. The air was filled with the mingled scents of pine soot and plants.
Blending in with the servants who were helping out, Chen Jin had examined the shrine's brackets and offering tables. He had even secretly touched the jade cong used in the ceremonies, but all he sensed was ordinary incense and worship. There was not the slightest trace of anything unusual about the "turning of the seasons."
As the sun sank in the west, and he had nearly exhausted every possible area, Chen Jin turned his attention to a sheer cliff on one side of the mountain, shrouded in dense fog and seemingly bottomless.
Chen Jin rolled his head and loosened his joints. Metamorphosis.
A thin membrane of flesh grew between his arms and legs. Then he spread out into a shape like the character 太 and leaped into the fog, gliding like a sugar glider.
The mist was damp and bitterly cold, and visibility was near zero. He could just make out the sound of a stream somewhere in the valley, but couldn't see a thing.
He could only feel his way along as he glided.
Down and down he went. He had no idea how long he had been descending. The scenery before him was nothing but dense fog, and he was about to lose all sense of time and space.
Was Langya Mountain really this high?
His senses were being disrupted, his perception of space warped...
"It's an array."
He couldn't keep passively falling!
In midair, Chen Jin abruptly shifted his posture and forced himself to steady his body.
Chen Jin took a deep breath. A faint hum sounded in his throat, and an invisible vortex formed around him.
[Swallow Sun and Moon]
First, the surrounding fog was drawn toward him, streaming into his mouth and nostrils;
Next, the spiritual energy in the earth beneath him—and even the morning dew gathered on distant pine trees—turned into flecks of light and drifted over.
No matter how ingenious an array was, its foundation was always the use of spiritual energy to link the mountains and waters.
And Chen Jin intended to swallow all the spiritual energy here.
A giant whale sucking in water, devouring heaven and earth!
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth mingled with the white fog, converging into streams of milky-white air. Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, they surged into Chen Jin's open mouth.
Chen Jin became the eye of the storm.
He felt vast amounts of chaotic energy flood into his limbs and torso, where [Swallow Sun and Moon] rapidly tempered and purified it, channeling it into his meridians, bones, and muscles.
Boom!
It was as if an invisible glass dome had been smashed to pieces. The surrounding scenery peeled away and vanished, fragment by fragment, like a shattered mirror.
Suddenly, everything came into view!
All the fog disappeared in an instant, and the weightless sensation of falling came to an abrupt halt.
Chen Jin landed lightly on solid ground.
The moment he entered the valley, now clear of fog, Chen Jin sensed that something was different.
The dry earth beneath his feet suddenly turned damp. When he looked down, he saw several green shoots pushing through the cracks in the stone, fresh with the tenderness of spring;
After a few more steps, warmth suddenly crept into the breeze. Little red berries dotted the roadside shrubs, a sight usually seen only in autumn.
His heart stirred, and he quickened his pace deeper into the valley.
In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, the scenery around him truly began to change with the shifting light: at midday, blazing summer flowers filled the roadside, and cicadas sang all around him;
As the sun set, leaves fluttered to the ground, and the air took on autumn's crisp dryness;
When the moon climbed above the mountain, a chill brushed his fingertips. He looked up to see a thin layer of white frost on the branches, the cold of winter.
Chen Jin stopped and gazed at the four seasons endlessly turning before him with the rising moon and setting sun. At last, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally, I've found it."
A huge full moon hung low over the vast sea, pouring its cold light across waves that rippled like black silk.
In this canvas woven from boundless darkness and moonlight, an enormous ship soundlessly plowed through the waves. The two characters "Mirage" engraved on its bow glimmered eerily beneath the moon.
In the waters not far from the ship, a struggling figure fought desperately to reach it.
She was a Shark Person, but nothing remained of the graceful bearing of the legendary Quan Ke.
Her body was covered in wounds deep enough to expose bone, and great patches of her scales had been torn away. Most horrifying of all was the gaping wound in her abdomen and the flesh carved from her cheek by a sharp blade, exposing the stark white cheekbone beneath. It was just possible to recognize her as Cen Qing, the Shark Person princess.
The heavy stench of blood had drawn several sharks. Their dark shapes prowled behind her, their sharp teeth appearing and disappearing beneath the water.
Just then, a child with delicate, doll-like features stood by the railing of the Mirage.
He looked out at the sea and noticed the battered figure.
His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Without calling out, he formed a spell with his slender fingers.
In an instant, the seawater beneath Cen Qing seemed to come alive. It surged upward, irresistible, and became a crystalline lotus of waves. Bearing her battered body, it carried her lightly over the ship's railing and set her down on the deck.
The child lowered his eyes to study Cen Qing, who was barely recognizable as human. His voice was cold. "How did you end up in such a sorry state? Did something go wrong with the mission?"
The moment Cen Qing met the child's gaze, her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
She endured the agony and struggled to prostrate herself on the deck in a posture of utter submission. Her voice was hoarse and urgent as she explained, "I would never dare! Nothing went wrong! I... I fulfilled my mission. The Mohist School's mechanism outposts in Langya City have all been eliminated as planned.
"The Qin soldiers in the city have also all been drenched by the rain summoned through the Rainmaking Art. [Mirage Heart Suggestion] has been planted in every one of them. We only await the order."
She gasped, then added as if presenting a treasure, "Also... I've received word from our agent in Xianyang Palace that General Meng Tian has indeed been ordered to march north and attack the Xiongnu. The Empire's elite troops on the northern frontier have all been deployed..."
The child listened in silence, and the trace of displeasure on his face gradually faded.
He gave a small nod. "Mm, you've done well enough. The Master is in seclusion in his quiet chamber, contemplating the secrets of immortality. Don't disturb him. Come with me and take some pills to treat your wounds."
"Th-thank you for your kindness, Immortal Child!" As if granted a reprieve, Cen Qing endured the piercing pain and crawled after the small figure in abject submission, disappearing into the deep shadows of the Mirage's hull.