Chapter 362: New Moon's Full Moon

This pagoda, with its black tiles and gray walls, appeared very solemn. The large characters "Qiongze" were prominently displayed on the main entrance of its first floor. At the base of the pagoda stood a stone tablet, on which the names of donors were inscribed in red.

He Lingchuan first looked at the pagoda's name, then at the inscription, and clapped his hands, exclaiming, "So that's it!"

Wu Jinsong also looked but didn't understand. "What is it?" he asked.

He Lingchuan smiled without speaking, to prevent the mastermind from monitoring their every move.

The characters on both the pagoda's name and the inscription were upright, unlike those in Wuzhe County. So, the Wuzhe County he was just in was a mirrored reflection, but this battlefield wasn't? Stepping back, the mirrored Wuzhe County was the easiest scene for the mastermind to control, which is why He Lingchuan appeared there first? Later, when the mastermind realized they couldn't seize his soul, they threw him into this battlefield, hoping to use the power of war to kill him? At this thought, the apprehension in his heart eased. If the mastermind couldn't control this battlefield, then he and Wu Jinsong were relatively safer.

The only course of action now was to find a way out. Where could the exit be?

He switched back to the eyeball spider's perspective, but unexpectedly, everything went dark. He heard Gan Sanye's muffled voice, seemingly from a great distance: "You have this kind of surveillance method? I'll just seal off your senses and see what you can do!"

Oh, so quickly, the eyeball spider was discovered? He Lingchuan felt a bad premonition. Behind Wu Jinsong, the guard Xu Dongdong suddenly said, "It seems to be the new moon today."

"So?"

Xu Dongdong looked up at the moon. "The new moon, or dark moon, yet the moon in the sky is still so full and round!"

Everyone looked up and indeed saw a full moon hanging high in the sky, large, round, and bright.

He Lingchuan remembered that Wuzhe County had also been bathed in the light of such a full moon. But when he had brought Gan Sanye to the side of Mochou Lake to find the shamaness, it had clearly been raining. Indeed, this was the stark anomaly, which he had overlooked earlier while searching everywhere, though it hung conspicuously in the sky!

He channeled his True Energy into his eyes, and the sesame-sized shadow in the full moon became clearer and clearer, looking like— It seemed to be the furnishings inside a small building. He could vaguely make out Gan Sanye sitting in front of a mirror, staring intently at him. However, the distance between them was too vast; even if there were shadows on the moon, he wouldn't have bothered to look up.

He Lingchuan immediately leaned in and whispered into Wu Jinsong's ear, "I think I have a way out." He covered his mouth with his hand as he spoke, to prevent Gan Sanye from hearing or seeing.

Wu Jinsong nodded after hearing the plan. "Alright, we'll cooperate."

Gan Sanye, in front of the mirror, indeed tried to listen, but their voices were too low. Enraged, he slammed the table. "Damn it!"

The four turned back and quietly approached the center of the city. As they passed a burning house, the stone tiger in front of the gate suddenly spoke, "He Lingchuan."

Wu Jinsong and the others were stunned. He Lingchuan's eyes flickered. "Gan Sanye?" He recognized Gan Sanye's voice, and also saw a small imp crouching behind the stone tiger, which was actually producing the human voice. Since He Lingchuan could see this creature, the stone tiger's speaking didn't seem mysterious at all; it was rather amusing.

He Lingchuan's heart stirred. Without a change in expression, he took off the divine bone necklace and threw it to the ground. The next instant, the small imp vanished from his sight. Ha, so that's how it is. Since when had the divine bone necklace allowed him to see malevolent spirits? Had this change occurred because he had recently fed the divine bone the remains of Zhu Erniang?

The stone tiger didn't know what he was doing but didn't care. "Hand over the pass token, and I'll let you out."

"To whom?" He Lingchuan shook the small brocade flag, while simultaneously handing a small bottle to Wu Jinsong. "One pill each, take them."

Wu Jinsong and the others didn't suspect anything. They poured out the small red pills from the bottle and swallowed them. As soon as the pills were swallowed, they felt their eyes burning, noses stuffy, mouths sour, and bodies chilling... as if they had caught a cold. However, the three of them immediately changed color and took two steps back. They too saw the imp crouching on the stone tiger.

These pills were Soul-Obscuring Powder. Taking them allowed one to see unclean spirits for a short time and temporarily shield one's life-fire from emitting the aura of a living person, but this effect would cease once combat began.

By then, the stone tiger had opened its mouth wide. "Just put the pass token in here."

"How do I know you'll keep your promise?" He Lingchuan smiled. "Let us out first."

"You're trapped here. Even if you're not killed, you'll eventually die of hunger and thirst." There was no human food here.

"That's a nice thought, but your experience warns me not to make any deals with a shamaness." After saying this, He Lingchuan's blade swept past the stone tiger's back, slaying the small imp.

He then fed the Soul-Obscuring Powder to the three horses, and also took one himself. He shivered. After the medicine took effect, he whispered, "Follow me, and remember not to look back, no matter what you hear or see!" Otherwise, the shielding effect of their life-fire would weaken.

Four people and three horses returned to the battlefield. The necklace, of course, automatically returned to He Lingchuan's neck and remained there.

Wu Jinsong and the others gripped their weapons, ready to fight at a moment's notice. To their surprise, as they passed civilians, soldiers, and demons, none of them so much as turned their heads. Those fighting continued to fight, and those fleeing and screaming continued to flee and scream, not sparing them even a glance. This was the effect of the Soul-Obscuring Powder. In a world full of evil spirits, as long as they didn't carelessly look back, they were essentially invisible. Only after confirming that the evil spirits in this war were fully immersed in combat and would not obey Gan Sanye's commands, did He Lingchuan feel confident enough to do this.

He Lingchuan suddenly said, "These don't seem to be evil spirits, but rather resentful souls." They were solitary souls who had died with resentment.

Across from them, more civilians came fleeing, with pursuers right behind them. The four carefully dodged, afraid of being bumped into and having their disguise revealed. At the same time, they had to avoid explosions from burning buildings and falling beams...

As they approached the city center, He Lingchuan muttered, "I think it landed somewhere near here." The group eventually found a small training ground, adjacent to a river. The layout here was somewhat similar to the Military Review Hall in Panlong City, likely a place for soldiers to train and compete. Now, it was heavily guarded by General You's elite troops, and the enemy was attacking fiercely, making it the most intense battleground in the area.

He Lingchuan and the others dared not rush forward, fearing being caught in the chaotic supernatural abilities. So, they resorted to their old trick, climbing a large tree several yards away to observe. Coincidentally, this location was also favored by archers, so they stealthily killed a few of them to secure the best vantage point.

From a high vantage point, Qingxu and several other mages stood at the four corners of the training ground, each holding a bronze mirror to control the crimson bird. This demonic bird's size had sharply decreased to one-fifth of its original, now only two *zhang* long. It was unclear if this was its true form or the result of the mirrors. The mirrors in the hands of these individuals looked somewhat familiar to He Lingchuan. Upon closer thought, weren't the bronze mirrors he saw on the shamaness's table when he first entered the bamboo building of this very design?

The golden light from the mirrors shone on the crimson bird, rendering its struggles futile. Furthermore, He Lingchuan noticed that the feathered arrow was still lodged in the great bird's wing root. It tried repeatedly to lower its head and pluck it out, but the mirrors' immobilizing power was too strong, preventing it from even lowering its head. The feathered arrow emitted a purple glow, clearly indicating that elemental power also had a suppressive effect on it. It was the mirrors and the feathered arrow combined that controlled the crimson bird here.

He Lingchuan also noted that sometimes when the crimson bird struggled violently, it would cause the mages holding the mirrors to stumble. Evidently, they were also under great strain. This kind of standoff consumed the most True Energy; it was hard to say who would ultimately win. He Lingchuan did see two mages take out dark crystals and quietly refine them to replenish their energy. Those were deep red dark crystals, and they looked so covetable. Fortunately, he understood that everything here was illusory and could not be taken away; otherwise, He Lingchuan would truly have wanted to get a few pieces before leaving.

The endless enemy attacks were clearly aimed at freeing the crimson bird and bringing it back into the fight. Archers also fired from nearby trees, but a layer of green light flickered around the training ground, blocking all arrows. Indeed, a battle formation had been set up here. This crimson bird was He Lingchuan's target, but it was trapped by Qingxu and the others. He Lingchuan didn't think impulsively jumping down was a good idea; that formation was no joke. Fortunately, this situation was already within his expectations. The best approach now was probably to wait for someone else to break the deadlock.

Soon, the "other's stone" arrived. He Lingchuan and the others had passed by it earlier while traveling, but without alerting anyone. A colossal creature appeared at the end of the street: a massive ox covered in heavy armor, standing over three *zhang* (ten meters) tall. Its horns were small, but its forehead was round and bulging, as if a large drum were covering its brow.

He Lingchuan sighed in relief. "The Swell-headed Ox is finally here." He had guessed that this creature was coming to crash General You's party. So many exotic beasts appeared in the mirrored illusion; even the long-extinct Swell-headed Ox had shown up. Of course, this was a nickname given by later generations; its proper name was "Rising Light."

The long street was perfect for a running start. When it accelerated into a full charge, Wu Jinsong and the others understood how it got its true name: Its highly swollen forehead actually began to glow, and the faster it ran, the brighter the light became. At full speed, "Rising Light" was like a locomotive; no one dared to stand in its way. General You's subordinates tried desperately to stop it, but they were either sent flying or trampled into paste, and the colossal ox's speed did not diminish in the slightest.

The training ground's main gate was originally heavily guarded, but seeing the ground-shaking approach of the ox, everyone's face changed color, and they jumped out of the way at the last second. With a thunderous crash, the massive ox slammed into the gate, sending light bursting forth. The blinding light was dazzling. He Lingchuan and the others in the tree immediately turned their heads away, fearing damage to their eyesight. This intense light was also a means of attack; enemies who dared to collide with the massive ox were easily blinded by it. When used in a siege, the enemy troops' efforts to close their eyes also bought the ox valuable time to turn around.

The green light flickered and wavered, the defensive formation shaking violently from the impact. This creature was even more formidable than a battering ram, possessing the ability to turn around and launch secondary attacks. This city's main gate had been breached by it; now the enemy dragged it to assault a mere small gate of a training ground. What reason was there for it not to smash through?