Chapter 2039: Wood Host's Means

"What did Qingyang just say?""The Wood King Cauldron.""Did she put the lid back on the cauldron?"

Both guards took out luminous spores, illuminating the space.

Everyone suddenly noticed Nanrong He was still there! He stared at everyone with a bewildered expression, then looked around, as if unsure of what had just happened.

A guard raised his blade at him and angrily shouted, "Die, traitor!"

"What?" Nanrong He exclaimed in shock, then cried out, "Wait, I'm not! I didn't do it!" With his life on the line, his words tumbled out like a machine gun: "I went to Huanxi to visit my sick daughter, but I was ambushed and unintentionally controlled by the entity that possessed her!"

Elder Sutuo grunted twice: "Of all times, why are you awake now?"

Nanrong He quickly explained, "That thing just slipped away, and I—I just regained consciousness!"

He Lingchuan raised a hand to stop the guards: "Wait." If Nanrong He truly was a traitor, why would Qingyang leave him behind alone?

He Lingchuan raised a hand, and a large mirror appeared beside him, its surface warmly bright like a clear autumn pool. It was the Haoyuan Gold Mirror.

Although it was no longer as miraculously versatile as it was in the Upside-Down Sea, enabling free passage, it still had several practical minor functions, such as:

He Lingchuan raised his hand and, from a distance, made two quick gestures at the Haoyuan Gold Mirror. The mirror's surface cycled through images rapidly, too fast for anyone to make out. When it stopped, the screen was surprisingly replaying the events from when He Lingchuan and the others were teleported there until Qingyang's departure. However, its camera angle was unconventional, positioned behind and to the side of Nanrong He. Only the Haoyuan Gold Mirror could achieve such a 360-degree, blind-spot-free recording.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror in He Lingchuan's arms let out a listless hum, clearly displeased.

The Haoyuan Gold Mirror thoughtfully slowed down the playback, allowing everyone to clearly see that just as Elder Sutuo and He Lingchuan attacked Qingyang, a dark red shadow emerged from Nanrong He's left ear, jumped into the ground, and instantly disappeared.

Upon seeing this, everyone finally confirmed that Nanrong He had been telling the truth. He had indeed been possessed earlier. Nanrong He himself let out a huge sigh of relief.

The entity that escaped from him was thin and long, with branches, resembling a stick insect at first glance.

He Lingchuan splayed his five fingers, and the image froze, instantly zooming in. The object, originally only an inch long, was now magnified tenfold, making its localized features even clearer.

"It's not an insect, it's a sapling! A sapling of the Wood Dweller!" Elder Sutuo affirmed. "Do you see these two needle-like leaves? They are for interfacing with the brain."

He Lingchuan was startled: "The True Lord Wood Dweller?" That name was a blast from the past. The last time He Lingchuan heard it was when Yu Zecheng, sent by Imperial Advisor Frostleaf, invaded the Yangshan Archipelago. At that time, Yu Zecheng's subordinates, when capturing Zhu Erniang, borrowed the avatar of the True Lord Wood Dweller, which consisted of a few tree seeds.

Unexpectedly, the True Lord Wood Dweller's saplings could have so many variations. "Is this also an avatar of the True Lord Wood Dweller?"

"Not an avatar!" Elder Sutuo stated seriously. "It's a seedling, directly commanded by Wood Dweller. You can understand it as: any person or demon into whom the seedling is planted will have their every word and action completely controlled by Wood Dweller. However, it cannot go too far from the Wood Dweller's main body, or it will lose its effect!"

He Lingchuan immediately understood. No wonder Yu Zecheng couldn't use this kind of living-person manipulation ability back then; otherwise, it would have caused He Lingchuan much greater trouble.

But the True Lord Wood Dweller is an immortal worshipped by Beijia; how could he appear here? He Lingchuan figured it out in an instant: "It seems Beijia's reinforcements for Qingyang have arrived."

Most of the peak combat power deployed by the Deities and Beijia in the Blazegold Plains had been brought into the Upside-Down Sea and decimated by Miaozhantian. If Qingyang wanted to stand a chance against He Lingchuan, she could only restock from her old patron. Considering the time, more than half a year had passed since the Battle of the Upside-Down Sea, so Beijia's reinforcements had indeed arrived. They arrived quite quickly, considering He Lingchuan's understanding of Beijia. This showed that the Demon Emperor still cared about the Blazegold Plains, and even about Qingyang.

Sutuo snorted loudly: "Don't worry, my senior brother and I have our own method of communication. If we are in danger here, my senior brother will arrive quickly!"

He Lingchuan nodded, but was not optimistic. How long had Qingyang planned this sneak attack, just to catch He Lingchuan alone? If she didn't properly 'welcome' He Lingchuan, she wouldn't be Qingyang.

He grabbed the Dragon-Stabbing Halberd, secretly channeled his true power, and violently hurled it at the wall. When the Dragon-Stabbing Halberd was thrown, it carried a faint sound of wind and thunder. He Lingchuan had conducted experiments; a halberd thrown with his full strength could pierce the arm of a golden-armored divine general! Upon hitting the wall, the halberd's shaft trembled incessantly, each tremor causing a massive vibration in the wall. Even a meticulously crafted rammed earth wall, ten feet thick, would collapse after two such tremors. The original form of this halberd, the trident used by the Nanchao Lake Yaksha King, could unleash tsunamis, so its power was unimaginable. To their surprise, this wall, a mix of earth, stone, and tree roots, looked crude but was astonishingly sturdy. Even though the tremors from the Dragon-Stabbing Halberd shook the entire space, the wall remained unbroken!

Without another word, Sutuo pulled back, gathered strength, lowered its head, and charged towards the wall. When it exerted its full power, its body actually shrank.

Behind the Dragon God Army's main camp was a waterfall, flowing continuously year-round. However, just as Sutuo lowered its head to strike the Wood King Cauldron, the waterfall suddenly paused, as if someone had pressed a pause button. Immediately after, a yellow light shot out, heading straight for the Dragon God Army's main camp.

It made no attempt to conceal its movement; as it flew, there was a rumbling sound of wind and thunder. The camp was instantly alerted. Soldiers guarding the camp, armed and in formation, rushed out and shouted, "Who goes there!"

"It is I." The yellow light stopped, revealing a person. "Where is Sutuo? I need to see the Great Emperor." The soldiers recognized him as the High Immortal Liu Qingdao and dared not be slow. Someone immediately ran back to camp to report.

Soon after, Taoran and Dong Rui rode out of the camp on horseback. "Immortal Liu," Taoran said, "the Great Emperor and Immortal Sutuo went to the Falling Phoenix Pool. Nanrong He is currently capturing a monster that speaks Demonic language. We just received an alert here that the Great Emperor and Immortal Sutuo..."

"Something happened, didn't it?" Liu Qingdao interrupted him. "My junior brother Sutuo also informed me. Where is the Falling Phoenix Pool located?"

Dong Rui immediately said, "I know, I'll take you!" He patted the monkey on his shoulder. The monkey landed, transformed into a giant ape, and then gently placed Dong Rui on its shoulder. Following Dong Rui's directions, it began striding towards the Falling Phoenix Pool at a tremendous pace. It was running and leaping, several times faster than a horse. Dong Rui consciously put on his helmet and face covering, to prevent his face from being numbed by the strong wind.

Liu Qingdao flicked his sleeve and also transformed into a yellow light, following them. In the blink of an eye, the pair had disappeared into the distance.

With these two powerful individuals heading there first, Taoran relaxed a little. Just dozens of breaths ago, the army had also received a message from the Falling Phoenix Pool via a Qianqian Knot, which was essentially a grass knot that had suddenly broken, conveying only one meaning: "Something happened, send immediate reinforcements!"