Chapter 1198: "Their" Revenge

The water was very clear, but He Lingchuan dared not put his hand in. He glanced around, picked up a pebble from the ground, and threw it into the pond. It landed with a splash, creating ripples that spread outwards.

The other wandering souls didn't react, but from a torn opening in the armor, another black shadow suddenly darted out. It darted back and forth in the pond, seemingly searching for the source of the pebble.

This shadow was a dense, dark mass, shapeless, but roughly ten times the size of the other dark figures. The moment it emerged, the surrounding water darkened.

The other dark figures scattered and fled upon seeing it, like a school of fish evading a predatory catfish.

What exactly was this thing?

Under He Lingchuan's intense gaze, the black shadow pursued the fleeing dark figures, devouring them one by one.

With each one it swallowed, its size expanded slightly.

After consuming just three or four wandering souls, the black shadow had become as thick as sludge, almost unable to dissolve in the water.

Seeing that the remaining wandering souls were about to become its prey, He Lingchuan grabbed a branch and swiftly stirred the water.

The pond water immediately became murky, stirring up clouds of black mud and sand.

The numerous wandering souls seized the chaos to escape, quickly moving away from the turbid water.

He Lingchuan withdrew his hand at the opportune moment.

As the ripples subsided and the pond surface returned to calm, the black shadow surprisingly shed its bloated outer layer, revealing its true form!

He Lingchuan let out an exclamation of surprise. This boss-like black shadow was actually a wandering soul, and a familiar face at that—

Pang Yuan, the founding emperor of the Glimmering Gold Empire!

This was truly unexpected.

But on second thought, it seemed to make sense.

When He Lingchuan stirred the water, its eyes blazed with fury at him. It slammed against the water surface several times but couldn't break through this seemingly thin barrier.

It had noticed him.

He Lingchuan could clearly feel its malevolence and its rage.

When Pang Yuan realized it couldn't break out or punish He Lingchuan, it suddenly spoke: "You, boy! Give me the Heart Scale, and I will grant your wish!"

"My wish?" He Lingchuan hadn't expected it to speak. He raised an eyebrow. "What wish of mine?"

"What mortals seek is nothing more than glory, wealth, or revenge. I can easily help you achieve them!"

He Lingchuan let out a long "Oh" and paused.

"No interest."

He could achieve those things by his own abilities; as for what he truly sought in his heart, even a hundred more Pang Yuans might not be able to accomplish it.

"..." It had always been others seeking the armor's aid. This was the first time it had ever made a request to an outsider, and it had actually been rejected. Pang Yuan choked for a moment, on the verge of erupting in fury, when it heard He Lingchuan continue: "But I have a few questions I'd like you to answer. Your last descendant also wore the armor into battle, so why did he suffer such a crushing defeat?"

"He was too weak, too incompetent! The armor, empowered by me, is invincible, but it cannot cure incompetence!" Pang Yuan's eyes flashed with fierce light. "I left them a powerful empire, and they couldn't even hold onto it!"

He Lingchuan casually pointed to another despondent wandering soul, which seemed to be peering at Pang Yuan incessantly. "What about him? Why did he also fail even after wearing the armor?"

"Him?" Pang Yuan scoffed. "When he sincerely begged for my help, I thought he truly had ambition. Who knew that after the enemy killed just two of his sons, he became utterly distraught? How could such a coward be fit to be a hegemon?"

Another wandering soul slowly swam closer, its expression strange, staring intently at Pang Yuan.

Its gaze was far from friendly.

"And him?"

"He wore me through a few battles, then said he didn't need me anymore, even trying to seal me away!" Pang Yuan sneered coldly. "How could I spare such an ungrateful wretch?"

"Alright, then I have another question," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Why did Pang Yuan himself try to seal you in his later years?"

Yes, he could tell that although this entity wore Pang Yuan's face, it was not the founding emperor of the Glimmering Gold Empire himself.

At least, not entirely.

"Pang Yuan's" expression changed. It said coldly, "He grew old and forgot the vows and ambitions of his youth. He even decided to sever our connection, so I took one of his souls and one of his spirits as punishment!"

Pang Yuan himself built the Geshan Underground Palace and personally sealed the founding armor. Was this considered betrayal by the armor?

He Lingchuan stared at it. "What exactly are you?"

This answer was the unsolved mystery that had given rise to countless tragedies.

"Pang Yuan" declared proudly, "I am conviction, the most valiant and unyielding conviction! Those who lose their conviction are not worthy to wear this treasured armor!"

At that point, it would emerge and seek a new master.

"You claim to be 'conviction,' so why do you use fear to control your hosts?" He Lingchuan found it amusing. "Shouldn't conviction inspire and encourage people?"

"That was merely the trial I bestowed upon them!" "Pang Yuan" declared loudly. "Only those who successfully pass the trial of fear can prove their valiance and unyielding spirit."

"No, that's wrong." He Lingchuan shook his index finger. "Applying high pressure and terror to people will only result in resistance; you yourself have failed countless times, so what right do you have to test others?"

He moved closer to the water's surface, as if trying to see through "Pang Yuan." "You are not conviction at all; you are just a pitiful obsession, perhaps Pang Yuan's, perhaps others', but tainted with too much karma."

"Nonsense!" "Pang Yuan" flew into a rage. "What does a young brat like you know? Anyone who wishes to achieve unparalleled greatness in the Glimmering Gold Plains needs me, needs a powerful and grand conviction!"

"What you desire is unparalleled greatness, or the restoration of the empire's former glory?"

"Pang Yuan" stated proudly, "There is no difference between the two!"

"How can there be no difference?" He Lingchuan shook his head. "So many desperate people in later generations sought your help, yet you only used them to restore the Glimmering Gold Empire. No wonder you couldn't succeed."

"Pang Yuan" was about to argue fiercely, but He Lingchuan pointed into the distance. "Karma is catching up to you now. You once trapped so many people, controlled so many people. Now they're coming to settle the score."

Perhaps because He Lingchuan had dispelled the large mass of shadow clinging to "Pang Yuan," revealing its true form, the wandering souls that had scattered and fled earlier had, at some unknown point, gathered again, glaring fiercely at "Pang Yuan."

In life, they had worn the armor; in death, they had been trapped by it.

The death of their physical bodies was merely the beginning; the suffering of being trapped by the armor was endless.

Now that the balance of power had finally shifted, they had a myriad of grievances and entanglements to settle with this wicked armor.

This scene inexplicably reminded He Lingchuan of the battle between the White Bear King and the wolf pack.

Although the White Bear King was fierce, its last bit of vitality and life force had been utterly drained by the wolf pack; otherwise, it wouldn't have died so resentfully in the mountain cave of the Golden Essence.

Before He Lingchuan could finish speaking, the despondent wandering soul led the charge towards "Pang Yuan," fearless and resolute.

He Lingchuan was somewhat surprised that the first to attack was actually the most benevolent one.

It was no match for "Pang Yuan" and was quickly pinned down, tearing apart with black smoke drifting everywhere. However, encouraged by its charge, dozens of other wandering souls swarmed forward, tangling with "Pang Yuan" in a relentless, fight-to-the-death manner.

This time, He Lingchuan didn't need to stir; the pond water instantly turned murky, like an entire tank of black ink.

He Lingchuan knew that this inky blackness was the shattered bodies of the wandering souls.

He also heard the furious roars between "Pang Yuan" and its adversaries.

This entity was accustomed to controlling others with fear, and now it was finally tasting fear itself.

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds in the pond ceased, and the inky blackness gradually faded.

He Lingchuan saw that "Pang Yuan" was gone, and only two or three wandering souls remained in the light red pond water.

They were more transparent, appearing on the verge of fading away. Yet, they struggled to swim closer to the surface and bowed solemnly to He Lingchuan.

This was an expression of gratitude; He Lingchuan had created an opportunity for them to exact their revenge.

Otherwise, they would have remained trapped in the armor, forever submerged in their past pain, anger, and fear, without end.

One wandering soul even shed tears, which turned into a wisp of black smoke.

He Lingchuan recognized these faces. In life, they had all been powerful and outstanding figures, once stirring up storms and defeating enemies with ease. Now...

Alas, all was in the past.

He Lingchuan cupped his hands in return and said softly:

"You are free now."

The wandering souls, relieved, closed their eyes and let out a long sigh.

This expression immediately reminded He Lingchuan of Fu Tianlin.

The forms of the wandering souls began to blur.

After just a few breaths, they vanished without a trace.

The pond water rippled, indistinguishable from before, as if these wandering souls had never existed.

He Lingchuan suddenly remembered the armor, but when he gazed down, the pond was surprisingly bottomless. Where was the precious armor's shadow now?

Where was the armor?

Now he knew what "Pang Yuan," attached to the armor, truly was:

Obsession and karma.

These wandering souls, the former masters of the armor, had torn apart the obsession and karma that had clung to them for centuries, thereby truly gaining their freedom.

Evil karma, obsessive power, and the former masters had all dispersed. Where had the Grand Cauldron taken the armor now?

The deep water was murky, and something seemed to be moving within, swimming closer and growing clearer.

It was round like a cannonball, with a mouth but no fins, and countless long, whisker-like tendrils undulating with the current.

Only when it swam closer did He Lingchuan realize that this creature was none other than Hundun!

Those so-called whiskers were actually the chains it carried with it.

"It seems you've taken the armor," He Lingchuan said with a wry smile, standing up. "I went to all that trouble; you could at least leave me a couple of scales, couldn't you?"

He now understood that this pond was the boundary between the Red Ocean and the World in the Cauldron. Both the Naraka Celestial clone from last time and the armor's obsession this time had been trapped in the ocean by the Grand Cauldron, which explained why they couldn't touch He Lingchuan.

Hundun swam around in front of him, seemingly oblivious and quite content.

As always.

This fellow had also become cunning, using the least effort to cleanse and devour the armor.

He had no recourse against this venerable being, so he merely stretched and yawned:

"Are things settled now? It's time to send me back to reality. Or, returning to Dragon City would be fine too."

He had originally planned to go shopping and eat with Master Sun that evening but had been forcibly dragged into these two dreamscapes by the Grand Cauldron.