Chapter 1866: Virtual and Real Interwoven

Hatred is a powerful motivator, but what always spurred He Lingchuan forward was not hatred. The conviction he needed transcended hatred itself.

Bai Ziqi frowned. He truly couldn't comprehend such a statement.

"Intolerant?" he asked. "Is it because of the Great Pot?"

That the gods couldn't tolerate He Xiao was understandable, just as they couldn't tolerate Yuangou or Panlong City.

"But you, He Xiao, can't tolerate the gods? Where did that idea come from?" Even Bai Ziqi felt this young man was too arrogant. What right did he have?

He Lingchuan drained the wine in his cup.

Over the years, the journey of his heart had become difficult to fully explain to outsiders. Initially, he had indeed been wary of Beijia because of the Great Pot and the danger of possessing such a treasure; he had focused on strengthening himself out of necessity. However, as time passed and his experience grew, his mindset had long since shifted.

He understood more and more that he had taken over the torch from Zhong Shengguang.

But he couldn't yet express this realization to Bai Ziqi, or to anyone.

Seeing him smile without speaking, Bai Ziqi sighed, "I'm truly curious, what power does the Great Pot possess that can make figures like you and Zhong Shengguang so devoted?"

"Brother Bai, why don't you see for yourself?"

The moment He Lingchuan set down his cup, the surrounding scenery changed.

They suddenly found themselves on another small, barren hill. But instead of a lake, Bai Ziqi now faced the towering outer wall of a city.

The city wall was two *zhang* high. From Bai Ziqi's perspective, the wall seemed a bit thin, and its defenses unimpressive. The top of the wall was crowded with soldiers, either holding swords and spears or nocking arrows and drawing bows, their expressions exceptionally tense as they looked beyond the city.

Beyond the city?

He turned to look and felt his scalp tighten. Opposite the city, what should have been an endless green grassland was now an endless forest of spears and halberds! There stood an army, their armor shining brightly, their faces stern. Sharp weapons still gleamed with a chilling light in the setting sun!

Bai Ziqi himself had led troops in battle, and from their spirit and bearing, he knew these were rare elite soldiers and fierce generals. The vast army, like a drawn divine weapon, stood so still that even the horses beneath the warriors didn't stir.

The warriors in the front row wore dark red armor. It was slightly faded, but also bore the harshness of wind and frost.

"Where is this?" The two were between the two armies, less than ten *zhang* apart. Bai Ziqi could feel the chilling killing intent of a clashing army.

Yet, they seemed not to notice Bai Ziqi and He Lingchuan, not even glancing their way.

This must be an illusion, right?

"Luanzipo City," He Lingchuan said. The table and chairs between them had vanished at some point, and Bai Ziqi found himself sitting on a large rock. "It's about seventy *li* from the former capital of Xianyou Kingdom."

Xianyou Kingdom? A realm that had vanished into history? Bai Ziqi quickly pinpointed its location in his mind, roughly north of the newly established Shen Kingdom.

But why would He Xiao specifically mention Xianyou Kingdom?

No sooner had this thought arisen than someone on the city wall shouted, "General Hong! General Hong, please come out and answer!"

Below, the ranks parted, and a single rider slowly strode forth. A black horse, red armor, and a cape fluttering in the wind behind her. Although this person wore a dragon-head mask and heavy armor, Bai Ziqi recognized at a glance that this must be a female general! Her neck was remarkably slender. Of course, his keen observation was also due to the official on the city wall shouting out her title. The famous General Hong, long consigned to the dust of history!

As a Ducal Envoy of the Heavenly Palace, Bai Ziqi had seen sealed documents within the Palace and naturally knew what kind of figure this was.

But why would she lead a large army and appear here?

"The King of Xianyou has fled, leaving you, a mere official, to die in his stead," General Hong said, her voice resounding in the hearts of everyone on and below the city wall. "Open the gates and surrender. I'm a bit tired of killing after this morning in the capital."

If anyone else had said this, it would have been showing off; but coming from General Hong, the soldiers on the wall felt their scalps tingle and gulped, for she was not exaggerating in the slightest.

Bai Ziqi was moved.

She killed people in the Xianyou capital, and the King of Xianyou fled? Connecting these key sentences, could it be... the fall of Xianyou Kingdom? General Hong broke through the Xianyou capital this morning, the King of Xianyou abandoned the city and fled, and then Panlong City's army pursued them all the way here?

"This isn't right, is it?" Bai Ziqi immediately spotted the discrepancy. "Historically, Panlong City was jointly breached by Xianyou and Baling. How could this reverse attack appear?"

Now, instead, it was General Hong of Panlong City who had breached the Xianyou capital, forcing the King of Xianyou to flee!

He Lingchuan said lightly, "Perhaps this is the new history."

An official on the city wall, full of righteous indignation, shouted, "How dare you lead an army to invade! Beijia will surely not spare Panlong City! Just wait, soon Baling Kingdom will..."

An arrow flew up from below the city and embedded itself in the battlements beside him. The official jumped in fright and recoiled.

"Rotten wood cannot be carved," General Hong seemed to sigh, then raised her hand and waved. "Kill!"

Luanzipo was merely an ordinary city, without impregnable defenses. The Panlong army didn't even need to deploy specialized siege beasts. Before long, the city gates were breached.

As the vast army surged forward like a tide, Bai Ziqi's foot kicked a small stone, which rattled down the small hill. General Hong, in the midst of the chaotic battle, suddenly turned her head and glanced this way. Although she wore a mask, Bai Ziqi immediately felt her gaze lock onto him.

She saw them?

"Oh, dear." He Lingchuan quickly waved his hand.

Bai Ziqi's vision blurred, and the scenery changed again.

They were once again seated at a table, a square one made of boxwood, its painted surface having been patched up several times, still looking somewhat old. They were no longer outdoors, but inside a tavern.

The tavern had a small facade; out of six or seven tables, three were occupied by guests drinking and chatting, showing no signs of anything unusual. Bai Ziqi glanced outside the door, his brows furrowed. This tavern also faced a city wall, but compared to Luanzipo just now, this one was astonishingly high, and the walkways along the top of its walls were neatly constructed.

"Why does it look like the high wall of a prison?"

He Lingchuan poured himself a cup of wine. "I heard Lingxu City has also built walls. How high are they?"

Bai Ziqi immediately closed his mouth. Very high, at least not shorter than this section before them.

Then, he saw a jiao-dragon slither across the wall.

"Is that... a city guardian beast?"

Bai Ziqi was startled at first, but then realized it wasn't a real jiao-dragon. Given the jiao-dragon, combined with the Luanzipo City and General Hong he had just seen, he understood after a moment's thought:

"This wouldn't happen to be Panlong City, would it?"

"Authentic, no doubt about it," He Lingchuan said, lifting the pot with his middle finger and shaking it. "Empty. Waiter, more wine!"

The one who came, however, was a four or five-year-old child, carrying a pot of wine, barely able to set it on the table. "Father says this wine is for General Huyi to drink, no charge!"

He Lingchuan took the wine pot and ruffled the child's head. "Good, thank him."

"General Huyi?" Bai Ziqi's gaze was as astonished as Qianhuan's had been earlier. "You're also from Panlong City?"

"Yes, authentic, no doubt about it."

"No, that's not right, you're alive," Bai Ziqi murmured. "What's going on?"

The patrons nearby suddenly burst into laughter, chatting about amusing battlefield anecdotes. Outside, people flowed like weaving threads; a peddler passed by, shaking a rattle drum; the scent of wine, meat, and cooked food wafted through the hall... Dusk was approaching.

Bai Ziqi raised his cup and took a light sip. This wine had the aroma of pears, different from what he had drunk before.

"Are we inside the Great Pot?"

"No. You're merely witnessing scenes from within the Great Pot," He Lingchuan clarified. "The Great Pot wouldn't accept you. This is simply me synchronizing the scenes of the Panlong world using the Great Evolution Heavenly Pearl."

"Then where are you?" Bai Ziqi pressed. "In reality or inside the Pot? Why are these people able to converse with you?"

"Both," He Lingchuan replied with a faint smile. "I exist between illusion and reality."

Where was the boundary between illusion and reality? His journey through the Inverted Sea had given him new insights.

Though his mind was a tangled mess, Bai Ziqi still observed, "This Panlong City isn't the Panlong City of history anymore, is it?"

He Lingchuan merely said, "Panlong City has never disappeared."

He waved his hand again, and Bai Ziqi's vision blurred once more.

They were back by the lakeside, the surroundings desolate and chilly, a half-empty pot of wine on the table. This was reality.

He Lingchuan said calmly, "It was never that I was wholeheartedly devoted to the Great Pot, but rather that Panlong City shaped me into the person I am."

Bai Ziqi fell silent. The two scenes they had just witnessed answered his questions about He Xiao, yet many more questions spontaneously arose. What exactly was the background of this fellow before him?

He Lingchuan, however, didn't give him more time to think. "I'm also curious," he said, "what magic does the Heavenly Palace possess that can make someone as exceptionally talented as Brother Bai betray his origins and stance, and devotedly serve the gods?"

Bai Ziqi narrowed his eyes, his tone filled with surprise. "Betray my origins and stance?" It was the first time anyone had ever used the word "betrayal" to describe him.

"You are a Ducal Envoy of the Heavenly Palace; you know perfectly well how the Heavenly Demons control Beijia, how they instigate chaos to seize the world's dream essence, unlike those ignorant believers." He Lingchuan looked him directly in the eye. "But you are human first and foremost. Why are you so determined to be a dog for the Heavenly Demons?"

"Human?" Bai Ziqi's gaze met his, fearless. "Do you know what the human world was like before Beijia appeared?"

"Back then, I heard plenty of sermons at Lingxu Imperial Academy," He Lingchuan leaned back in his chair. "The world was desolate like an eternal night, and commoners lived like pigs or dogs, until Beijia emerged, becoming the ideal kingdom for demons. Right?"

"Back then, Lingxu City didn't even have walls. Myriad nations came to pay tribute, and academic life was vibrant. Of course, Lingxu City would carefully revise Beijia's history, embellishing it beautifully." He Lingchuan had read books and attended lectures in Lingxu City that specifically explained pre-national history, filled with countless moving and inspiring deeds of past sages. And he could feel that not only foreign scholars believed it, but also the people of Lingxu City, and Beijia citizens from other regions. Everyone believed it implicitly.

What reason was there not to believe? It was a complete theory, a history passed down in an orderly fashion. And so many powerful figures had specifically written books and commentaries. Could it all be false?