Chapter 2043: 加码

The ground-level vines suddenly stirred, coiling around him like snakes. If he hadn't reacted quickly, his feet would have been ensnared.

After Nanrong He and the others entered the mirror world, Xutuo became uninhibited, moving with newfound agility and narrowly dodging the entangling vines multiple times.

However, the cauldron contained countless vines, and as they all began to move, He Lingchuan and Xutuo felt as if they had entered a kingdom of giant snakes, where every second was perilous.

Nanrong He and the others watched from the mirror, horrified. This kind of battle was far beyond their capabilities.

At that moment, the wall suddenly began to crumble, shedding dirt, and then a swarm of shadows flew out.

At first glance, these objects resembled flying insects, blackening the sky, but everyone knew it was unlikely for insects to appear in a high-temperature furnace.

As the swarm flew past the mirror, Nanrong He and the others realized they weren't living creatures at all, but tiny, thumb-sized flying wheels made of fine sand and stone, spinning rapidly as they moved.

They first charged towards He Lingchuan, narrowly missing the Golden Armored General. The general threw a heavy punch, but the swarm of flying wheels scattered, bypassed the fist, and continued their pursuit of He Lingchuan.

As they grazed the Golden Armored General, a series of sharp, grating sounds echoed, causing Nanrong He and the others to instinctively cover their ears.

A large patch of abrasion marks immediately appeared on the Golden Armored General's arm.

He Lingchuan cursed, then exclaimed, "Grinding wheels!"

Weren't these just abrasive grinding wheels? The Golden Armored General itself was a product meticulously refined and tempered countless times, yet it could still be worn down. If these wheels ground against a person...

To describe it as being cut into a thousand pieces would be an understatement.

He Lingchuan quickly recalled the Golden Armored General. Repairing it would cost a fortune.

The swarm of grinding wheels split in mid-air; one group rushed towards He Lingchuan, while the other targeted Xutuo.

Xutuo remained unhurried. Only when the wheels approached did it open its mouth and spray a large amount of yellow liquid.

This was a furnace; ordinary water would have vaporized before hitting the ground. But Xutuo's liquid was unusual; it was not only heat-resistant but also extremely viscous.

Dragons have dragon's saliva, and feeling competitive, Xutuo had refined its own "bovine saliva."

The flying wheels hit the yellow liquid and instantly dropped to the ground, as if caught on flypaper. They couldn't fly, and their rotation ceased immediately.

The remaining hundred-plus flying wheels immediately dispersed, attacking its head and face.

Xutuo rolled on the ground, coating itself in its own saliva and the surrounding dirt.

When it got back up, its body was covered in a thick, muddy shell. Though not pretty, it was highly effective; the flying wheels sparked against it, but couldn't break through its defense for the moment.

Seeing the swarm of flying wheels heading his way, He Lingchuan immediately cast out a spider web.

In the Dragoncoil World, he had fished on the great lake of Chiba Plateau more than seventeen or eighteen times, and his net-throwing and retrieval techniques were perfectly standard. Over ninety percent of the flying wheels were caught in a single cast.

However, these objects pooled their strength, threatening to pull He Lingchuan off his feet.

Startled, he rooted his stance and pulled back forcefully.

Xutuo also rushed over to help, biting onto the spider web and dragging it back several meters.

Who could withstand its immense strength?

But He Lingchuan also heard a strange grinding sound: the spider silk couldn't hold, being abraded and snapped by the flying wheels!

The Spider Queen of the Lair's web was famously sturdy, and this was the first time it had snapped so cleanly. The Wood King Cauldron truly lived up to its name as a divine artifact; even a single divine ability within it was incredibly potent.

In fact, both of these divine abilities were originally designed by the cauldron to grind alchemy ingredients; their use against people was merely incidental.

Fortunately, this particular spider web was composed of four interwoven layers, so it hadn't been completely ground through yet. He Lingchuan gestured with his hand and simultaneously told Xutuo, "Let go."

Xutuo suddenly released its grip, and the swarm of flying wheels naturally surged forward with the web, unable to stop.

Just then, a round mirror unfurled directly in front of them.

The flying wheels, unable to check their speed, flew directly into the mirror.

This was not the Soul-Capturing Mirror, but the Haoyuan Golden Mirror. Both mirrors had the ability to temporarily contain objects, but the Haoyuan Golden Mirror could not permanently house living beings within its internal space.

The flying wheels were not living beings, so once they entered the mirror's internal space, the Wood King Cauldron lost control over them.

They instantly scattered, flying around like headless flies, unable to coordinate their power.

They could no longer cut through the spider web.

Outside the cauldron, everyone who witnessed this scene looked displeased. It was one thing for the Ox Immortal to handle two divine abilities, but He Xiao's composure was truly a blow to True Monarch Muxiu's dignity.

Qingyang coughed, "With the aid of a demon immortal, He Xiao is indeed difficult to deal with."

She offered a perfunctory defense for True Monarch Muxiu's reputation, then quickly continued speaking, giving True Monarch Muxiu no chance to interrupt:

"Immortal Lord Panqing and Daoist Xiaoyang, please lend your assistance!"

Several figures immediately stepped forward behind her, clearly having grown impatient.

To enter the cauldron, they naturally needed True Monarch Muxiu's permission. The True Monarch's features were impassive, showing no expression, but their aura was remarkably rigid, making it clear to everyone that they were in a foul mood.

Nevertheless, True Monarch Muxiu extended a hand and remotely brushed over the individuals.

A cauldron-shaped sigil, like a tattoo, appeared on each of them.

This was an immunity mark granted by True Monarch Muxiu, allowing them to move freely within the cauldron without being harmed by its divine abilities.

After these individuals entered, Qingyang looked at a man and a woman standing behind her, hesitating to speak.

These two were divine descent bodies sent by Beijia. She had originally intended to send them into the cauldron, but a divine descent created too much commotion, potentially attracting unnecessary attention. After all, He Xiao's army was only a few dozen miles away, and there were likely many powerful figures stationed there.

Furthermore, the power of a god's avatar was clearly inferior to that of an immortal acting in person.

So, after a brief hesitation, she decided not to deploy them for now.

Inside the cauldron, as He Lingchuan leaped aside, his divine bone necklace suddenly pulsed.

He had possessed this treasure for so long, and it turned out it did more than just generate heat?

The sensation was peculiar, as if an consciousness within it wanted to communicate with him, though not through dialogue.

He Lingchuan's first thought was, had the Great Square Pot developed consciousness?

But he immediately dismissed the idea; it didn't seem plausible.

Then, the Haoyuan Golden Mirror suddenly appeared out of thin air beside him, round and gleaming.

It appeared unsummoned; what was going on?

Xutuo turned its head and saw its reflection in the mirror, tilting its head in confusion.

What was this for?

However, to He Lingchuan, there was no reflection of anyone in the mirror. Instead, it displayed a completely different scene:

Grand and imposing city walls, a vast and bustling plaza, a constant flow of people, clean cobblestone streets, a clear sky...

And towering beside the plaza, a massive tree that seemed to blot out the sun!

This was a scene he knew all too well:

Dragoncoil City.

In the midst of such an intense battle, seeing the Dragoncoil World so suddenly startled He Lingchuan. However, the city residents were moving about normally, with no one sparing a glance in his direction, evidently unable to see him.

What was the divine bone necklace, or rather, the Great Square Pot, trying to do?