Chapter 2048: Big, Big, Big

Luo Xie was overjoyed: "Elder Liu, Mr. Dong!"

"What happened?"

Luo Xie immediately summarized the recent incident. After a few words, he pointed to the flat, round boulder where He Lingchuan and Nanrong He had stood. "This stone is strange; we flipped it over."

Liu Qingdao recognized it instantly: "The Great Mountain-Moving Array! The Emperor and the others were teleported away. This array can transport people up to fifteen li away."

That's quite a distance! Luo Xie and the others' hearts sank upon hearing this.

Liu Qingdao also felt a strange unease. He Lingchuan was known for being alert, resourceful, and exceptionally cunning, yet he had been successfully ambushed here.

Who could have done it?

Well, who else?

Luo Xie pointed at the surrounded Nanrong soldiers. "These are Nanrong He's men! Can you track the Emperor and Elder Xutuo?"

Liu Qingdao knew Luo Xie hadn't made any mistakes. Why had He Lingchuan stood on that large stone? Because Nanrong He had stood there, and because Nanrong He had placed the captured monster there.

Only the Great Mountain-Moving Array could have transported He Lingchuan away.

"No, I can't. I only know that Junior Brother Xutuo is in great trouble. But as for their exact location—" Liu Qingdao shook his head, "—my connection with Xutuo has been severed. I can only surmise they are in a confined space."

"Confined?" Luo Xie's expression changed. "Could they be in a cage?"

"Or perhaps a barrier, or a small world." In any case, the situation was difficult.

Luo Xie immediately said, "I've already sent out small teams to search in eight directions. Even if something happens to them, I'll receive a report."

No sooner had he spoken than a shadow circled down from the sky, landing on a branch beside Luo Xie.

It was a mountain hawk.

It was a scout brought by Luo Xie, tasked with circling high above to find He Lingchuan.

"Cannot find them," the hawk reported. "I've searched a fifty-li radius, but the forest here is dense."

Liu Qingdao immediately said, "The enemy was prepared; they likely set up a barrier."

"What should we do now?"

Liu Qingdao looked at Dong Rui, who, with a somber expression, also shook his head.

He had no ideas either.

Liu Qingdao said gravely, "Send more people and continue searching for anything unusual within a fifty-li radius. We hope the Emperor will send us a signal soon."

Even the simplest signal would do, as long as it gave them a direction to pursue!

The mountain hawk took flight again, this time flying even farther.

Luo Xie dispatched two more groups to search.

About fifteen minutes later, Liu Qingdao suddenly sensed something and looked directly north.

This feeling...

A short while later, the mountain hawk descended from the sky again, urgently reporting, "Twenty li to the north, two beams of light descended from the sky into the wild forest below!"

Good, a direction! Liu Qingdao transformed into a streak of light, heading due north, leaving only one sentence behind:

"I'll go ahead."

In the Battle of the Upside-Down Sea, the Illusory Sect immortals were almost annihilated. Of more than a dozen fellow disciples, only he and Xutuo remained.

He treasured this last surviving junior brother doubly.

This time, Dong Rui and Ghost Ape followed closely behind.

Dong Rui didn't forget to instruct Luo Xie: "Leave some people here to guide the way; the main force will arrive soon."

North of Falling Phoenix Pond.

Seeing Pan Qing's successful strike, True Monarch Muxiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice to the two great immortals, "Destroy the sapling, quickly!"

Pan Qing swallowed its prey and immediately turned to find the Blood Demon. Under the latter's protection, the small tree was already over three zhang tall, and as if it had found its rhythm, it grew faster and faster!

The Blood Demon watched it charge, then let out a cold, cackling laugh: "You're at death's door, yet you're still gloating!"

Hearing this, Qingyang frowned.

What new trick was this?

Sure enough, as soon as the Blood Demon finished speaking, Pan Qing's charge halted, and its body suddenly curled up, seemingly in great pain.

The crowd was astonished and suspicious: "What's happening?"

Pan Qing's abdomen suddenly began to bulge.

It was already exceptionally thick; it was hard to imagine anything that could expand it further.

Pan Qing endured the pain and opened its mouth, intending to spit it out.

Typically, snakes periodically regurgitate indigestible parts of their prey, such as fur, hooves, or large bones; it's instinct.

However, this snake immortal's stomach acid was potent, making it difficult for anything to remain undigested. Moreover, its abdomen had long since formed a special space, making it impossible for prey to escape once inside.

But this thing expanded with astonishing speed. Even the space within its abdomen couldn't contain it, and it burst directly!

Everyone watched in horror as its abdomen swelled monstrously, the bulging section exceeding three zhang in diameter.

With such an enormous mass, Pan Qing couldn't even regurgitate it.

Inside the Wood King Cauldron, a clear voice echoed from an unknown source:

"Enlarge!"

Immediately followed by a wretched "squawk," Pan Qing's belly burst open on the spot!

Amidst the splashing blood, something rose from the giant snake's flesh—

The Golden-Armored Divine General.

The first thing it did upon standing was to draw its massive hammer and violently smash it toward the snake's head!

Pan Qing's belly was ripped open and its intestines spilled out. Although severely wounded, it was not dead. Given time, it could recover.

He Lingchuan wouldn't give it that chance.

Qingyang was exasperated: Had that fellow hidden in the mirror space again?

At this moment, a man and a woman appeared within the cauldron. The woman pointed two fingers at the Golden-Armored Divine General and sharply commanded:

"Shrink!"

A white light enveloped the Golden-Armored Divine General, causing its size to drastically shrink to about half of its original form.

Its limbs suddenly shortened, causing the hammer blow to miss the giant snake's head and instead strike the ground with a resounding thud, creating a deep indentation.

A divine technique, "Flexible Scaling."

Theoretically, it could make a target either smaller or larger, but the final effect was also influenced by the target's cultivation level and supernatural abilities.

If this technique were used on Xutuo or other immortals, its effect might be negligible. However, despite the Golden-Armored Divine General's sturdy build and immense strength, it had no "cultivation" in the traditional sense, so this divine technique encountered no resistance when applied to it.

Yet, even so, blood immediately streamed from the woman's facial orifices, and vaporized with a hiss upon hitting the ground.

The Golden-Armored Divine General was too massive; shrinking it required an immense amount of divine power, which her small body couldn't withstand.

Seizing this opportunity, Pan Qing, the great serpent, forcefully shifted away.

Meanwhile, Qingyang raised her hand and shook her wooden staff; it transformed into a long bow with two tender leaves growing at its tip.

As she drew the bowstring, a white arrow materialized out of thin air and automatically rested on the bow.

Qingyang didn't need to aim much, as her target was the small tree.

It was just an ordinary arrow, without the sound of wind or thunder, no special effects—just pure speed. The Blood Demon tried to block it amidst its busy actions but failed; the arrow flew past its hand and embedded itself in the tree trunk with a thud.

"Huh?" The Blood Demon was greatly surprised.

Thinking back, the arrow wasn't fast; it was slow!

Its speed was far slower than it appeared, deceiving even a creature like the Blood Demon, which didn't rely on sight.