Chapter 1108: Ming Dengzhan and Zhong Shengguang's Plan

Chapter 1097: The Bright Lamp and Zhong Shengguang's Plan

He Lingchuan wanted to know, "Now that things have come to this, there must be a way to deal with it, right?"

If Mitian truly harbored such intentions, Panglong City would face not only powerful external threats—the pressure from neighboring countries and Beijia's schemes—but also an internal problem, like a ticking time bomb.

"Actually, this whole plan began when I awakened the Grand Flask, and I've gathered some intelligence," Zhong Shengguang said solemnly. "Because the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is recovering rapidly, General Hong needs a little assistance, which is also one of Shao Jian's purposes in going to the Golden Flash Plain."

"He is going to seek a treasure called the 'Bright Lamp'."

He Lingchuan's heart trembled, and it took him great effort to keep his expression natural.

The Bright Lamp?

In reality, wasn't one of the timed missions Fang Canran gave him related to the "Bright Lamp"?

"Do... do you need me to make a trip to the Golden Flash Plain to retrieve this treasure?"

"Precisely. This mission is crucial and highly confidential; I can only trust you to complete it," Zhong Shengguang said, taking a document from the table and handing it to He Lingchuan. "Shao Jian has already ascertained the whereabouts of the Bright Lamp, but it's not convenient for him to retrieve it at the moment. He also bears the responsibility of the Dragon Punishment Pillar mission, so after sending back this information, he continued on his way."

He Lingchuan understood. "Mr. Shao is indeed bearing the most important responsibility in the world."

"If you don't want others to know, don't do it in the first place," Zhong Shengguang said, pacing a couple of steps. "So he should just focus on his own mission, and not interfere with other troubles; we will resolve them."

He Lingchuan asked, "What is the function of the Bright Lamp?"

"The stronger General Hong's cultivation, the greater his capacity to bear, which means Mitian will surely attempt to send down even more powerful avatars," Zhong Shengguang said sternly. "This is not like the minor skirmishes of the past. If it repeatedly attempts this, General Hong's soul may not remain unharmed. This is where the protective power of the Bright Lamp is needed. And yes, Mitian agrees on this point."

He Lingchuan stood at attention and stated solemnly, "I guarantee mission completion."

"In short, the Bright Lamp is crucial to our future plans. Very few people are aware of this—only myself, Shao Jian, and General Hong. Now, you are also privy to it," Zhong Shengguang said with some emotion. "When I traveled through Beijia in the past, I heard that the Golden Flash Plain was a land of chaos, plagued by constant warfare, with an environment far more severe than ours. Later, I learned that these conflicts were a significant source of Nightmare Qi."

The mass deaths of young and middle-aged humans produce the most Nightmare Qi.

"In the past two years, we've finally had a few drops of Imperial Nectar, and the human world desperately needs to recover. We mustn't let Tianluo Star siphon away large amounts of Nightmare Qi again," he said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "But how easy is that? Mr. Lu also mentioned to me that Lingshan had previously attempted to establish a presence in the Golden Flash Plain to stop the loss of Nightmare Qi there, but the results were never ideal. That place is like a gigantic bottomless funnel; anything that goes in there vanishes, including spiritual energy."

"In truth, not just the Golden Flash Plain, but also the dozen or so small nations south of the Panglong Wilderness have been in constant turmoil for years, unable to enjoy a few years of peace."

He Lingchuan also recalled, "I remember you once wanted to expand southward."

As Panglong City gradually prospered and grew strong in recent years, Zhong Shengguang began to harbor other thoughts.

His lifelong aspiration was to expel the Heavenly Gods; how could he achieve that by merely managing the Panglong Wilderness?

To develop a more powerful force, he needed wider territories, a larger population, and more fertile land.

Zhong Shengguang was a man of strong initiative. At that time, he summoned the high-ranking officials of Panglong City for a discussion, and He Lingchuan was also present.

"That place is like a mire; you can't pull them out, and you yourself can easily get trapped," Zhong Shengguang said. Warfare was the source of Nightmare Qi, and Zhong Shengguang had originally intended to start by ensuring peace around Panglong City. However, "Panglong City had intended to expand southward and quell the wars in the south, but our efforts over the past two years have yielded no good results. We spent a lot of time and effort building relationships with several small nation rulers and local leaders, only to find that they were all overthrown this year, either exiled or killed. One day they held high positions, and the next they were like dogs without homes. The most tragic one even had his head hung on the city wall."

Zhong Shengguang shook his head. "Pitiful people often have hateful aspects. The people in these regions are greedy and short-sighted, making it difficult to unite them."

It was rare to hear his superior pour out his grievances, and He Lingchuan remained silent.

He didn't ask Zhong Shengguang why he didn't simply send troops south to expand their territory.

When he first arrived in Panglong City, resources were still rationed, and the city wasn't prosperous; although it now boasted flourishing industries and thriving commerce, Panglong City had only enjoyed good times for a few years, far from being truly wealthy and powerful.

Furthermore, Panglong City had long been fighting against Baling and Xianyou, and also had to contend with Beijia's betrayals. General Hong was also expanding territory to the west, so for a while, there wasn't enough energy to spare for a southern conquest.

But even without war, observation and solicitation were still very necessary.

Panglong City certainly wished to extend its influence into the south and embed its own forces, but currently, progress was proving difficult.

"But compared to the Golden Flash Plain, the southern regions are a mere trifle," Zhong Shengguang said, patting He Lingchuan's shoulder. "On this eastward journey of yours, you can truly witness what constant turmoil and people suffering beyond endurance look like."

"Understood."

The relationship between the human world and the divine realm was one of ebb and flow: if Tianluo Star absorbed too much Nightmare Qi, the human world's spiritual energy would weaken. Zhong Shengguang was committed to ending the Heavenly Gods' harm to the world, so naturally, he hoped for as little conflict as possible in the human realm.

This should have been a concern for Lingshan, not for a local lord like Zhong Shengguang, but Panglong City's strong military and growing influence had prompted Zhong Shengguang to cast his gaze beyond the Panglong Wilderness.

He who does not plan far ahead will find trouble at his doorstep.

Only after giving his instructions did he add, "You've finally returned to Panglong City after so long; rest for a few days, then pick a few capable subordinates to accompany you."

"Yes." He Lingchuan knew the conversation had concluded.

He bid farewell to Zhong Shengguang and turned to leave the official residence.

It was still early, so He Lingchuan wandered aimlessly around the city, needing to properly digest the immense amount of information Zhong Shengguang had imparted.

Zhong Shengguang had just analyzed He Lingchuan's strategic missteps in Yuheng City, but also granted him a reward.

After all, He Lingchuan had worked tirelessly for over a year and ultimately resolved the various issues facing Yuheng City, truly earning merit.

Moreover, the strategic policies he implemented in Yuheng City had long been reported to Zhong Shengguang.

Zhong Shengguang knew about them and did not dismiss them, which meant tacit approval.

And purely from a tactical perspective, He Lingchuan's plan to capture Fu Shanlie was not inherently flawed. When planning a surprise attack in war, how could one avoid taking risks?

Zhong Shengguang and General Hong had fought wars for many years and were well aware of this.

Therefore, on one hand, he punished He Lingchuan for his mistakes to appease the dissatisfaction of other high-ranking officials in Panglong City, and on the other hand, he had to reward He Lingchuan for his contributions, lest He Lingchuan feel resentful.

What kind of compensation would it be?

Zhong Shengguang did not give him a material reward; instead, he bestowed upon him an immense secret—

A secret known only to Zhong Shengguang and General Hong: Mitian's ambition, General Hong's predicament, and the hidden dangers these posed to the world.

Now, He Lingchuan also knew.

From this moment on, he truly became a trusted confidant and direct subordinate of Zhong Shengguang and General Hong.

A superior sharing a little-known secret with a subordinate is the most effective way to strengthen a relationship and dispel resentment; sometimes, it's even more useful than material rewards.

So, even if He Lingchuan could see through Zhong Shengguang's methods, he couldn't resent him; he could only sigh, "What a clever move."

However, this was also a necessary ability for Zhong Shengguang as a superior.

Coordinating relationships between various parties, balancing different forces, and suppressing and resolving disputes were all crucial. Only then could the team work together wholeheartedly and move forward with determination.

He Lingchuan was also pondering the mission Zhong Shengguang had assigned:

Retrieve the Bright Lamp.

Regarding the function of the Bright Lamp, Commander Zhong only mentioned that it could protect General Hong's soul, reducing damage from divine descent.

And he said Mitian also agreed on this point.

But earlier, he had clearly pointed out the threat of Mitian's ambition to this world and stated that he had already begun to lay out a plan.

He Lingchuan still remembered the key point of his last sentence:

The Bright Lamp is crucial to our future plans.

Zhong Shengguang's words seemed contradictory.

This shouldn't be the case. He was the esteemed helmsman of Panglong City, clear-headed.

So, what plan was Zhong Shengguang truly preparing?

Conversely, in this plan, what effect would the Bright Lamp have that Mitian would "not agree with"?

In the evening, He Lingchuan went to pick up Madam Sun after her class and mentioned that he would be going on a long journey soon.

This round trip would take at least half a year. She was a little reluctant but still held his hand and told him, "Have a smooth journey, and return soon."

The next day, during a lull in his work, He Lingchuan picked up Shao Jian's *Eastern Travelogue* and began to read it.

Shao Jian was a talented person; even just as a travelogue, the book was quite good.

However, the Soul-Capturing Mirror noticed that he became engrossed after only a few pages.

He stared at that single page for a full forty-five minutes, without even changing his posture.

What world-shaking secret was on this page? The mirror also looked, scanning it every which way, but couldn't discern any hidden mechanism.

He Lingchuan was pondering everything that had happened yesterday concerning the "Bright Lamp" mission.

Fang Canran had given him a series of missions related to the Golden Flash Plain, one of which concerned the Bright Lamp.

As a result, that very evening he entered the Panglong World, and Zhong Shengguang likewise assigned him to retrieve the Bright Lamp from the Golden Flash Plain.

It was almost a seamless continuation of the daytime mission.

This pointed very clearly to the other world also urging him to go to the Golden Flash Plain.

Why?

What could he gain by going to the Golden Flash Plain? The secret of the Bright Lamp?

He Lingchuan still had one unanswered question: Was this mission given to him by the Grand Flask, or by Panglong City?

Judging by Zhong Shengguang's attitude, Panglong City's plan for southern expansion had been shelved, and Commander Zhong no longer believed that interfering in the southern nations was a good idea.

Correspondingly in reality, the Golden Flash Plain exhibited similar symptoms to the southern nations of the Panglong World. So, would Panglong City think he should make the trip?

If he went to the Golden Flash Plain in the Panglong World, how would the Grand Flask evolve that realm?

It couldn't just conjure it out of thin air, could it?

So, should he go in reality, or not?

(End of Chapter)