Chapter 75: My Knife, You Can Keep It

Blood trickled from between his teeth, and he made a very obvious swallowing motion.

He Lingchuan finally understood why his group had never been able to find Tao Bo, the leader of the Ba Ling exploration team and the grand-disciple of Patriarch Zhu Gen. He probably met the same fate as Nian Songyu.

Among those holding Mao Tao, a sand bandit sorcerer suddenly gasped, "What is this?"

He tore open Mao Tao's collar and ripped a yellow paper figure covered in talismans from his back.

The moment the yellow paper was torn off, Mao Tao's frenzy abruptly ceased. His hand loosened, and the precious blade fell.

In the midst of the chaos, no one moved to catch the blade.

He Lingchuan wiggled his fingertips, but ultimately did not reach out.

With a clink, the blade struck the ground spine-down, hitting the hard paving stones. Under everyone's gaze, it broke into two pieces.

Everyone's movements seemed to freeze as if a pause button had been pressed. Their gazes were fixed intently on the broken blade on the ground, then they furtively glanced at the black dragon.

It broke! The blade broke!

Nian Songyu's last words before he died—what were they again?

Only He Lingchuan knew that the precious blade already had deep cracks. The controlled Mao Tao had further damaged it by smashing its back against the wall, adding to its existing injuries. It was already remarkably resilient not to have broken on the spot.

This fall to the ground was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Several thoughts flashed through He Lingchuan's mind:

How did the so-called "Heavenly God" know that this precious blade was the black dragon's weak point?

How did it know the blade was on He Lingchuan?

How did it know Mao Tao could break this blade?

Perhaps it noticed He Lingchuan returning alone from the South City on a demon bird, while Sun Fuping's whereabouts were unknown, and thus concluded that the treasure had fallen into He Lingchuan's hands.

What about the other two questions?

He Lingchuan knew that there were likely more complex secrets involved, but as the white light was devoured, the answers vanished.

Furthermore, the white light that had possessed Nian Songyu had miscalculated; its fate was to be swallowed whole by the black dragon. Had the blade broken a few moments earlier, the situation would have been entirely different.

Above and below the city, there was a deathly silence.

Then, the illusionary creatures like the demonic apes and demon birds suddenly collapsed, turning into dust.

The black dragon, however, swam towards the city wall.

Everyone instinctively recoiled. He Lingchuan coughed, and bit the bullet to ask, "Is our previous agreement still valid?"

Although the demonic creatures were gone, the black dragon's own combat power had escalated. Moreover, the many Great Wind Army spirits in the city also obeyed its commands. If it wanted them dead, not a single person here would ever see the sun again.

The black dragon looked at the broken blade on the ground, then at him, and suddenly smiled. "You are very clever. You may keep my blade."

Uh, what was he supposed to say? "Thank you?"

He Lingchuan picked up the broken blade from the stone surface and returned it to its sheath.

"No, it is I who should thank you," the black dragon shook its head, its voice surprisingly peaceful. "In all these years, you are the first person who, without disturbing my grave, offered me three toasts."

Three toasts? He Lingchuan wasn't surprised. Instead, he exhaled, "It is you, Zhong Shengguang, after all."

This was a name that resonated like thunder in Blackwater City, yet had been silent for a hundred years.

Upon hearing this, the others were all incredulous.

Situ Han stammered, "H-he's Zhong Shengguang?"

Zhong Shengguang was a renowned general, but first and foremost, he was a human. How could this black dragon be Zhong Shengguang?

The black dragon ignored the others. Instead, it lowered its head and addressed the Great Wind Army: "Escort them out of the Coiled Dragon Wasteland."

Several Great Wind Army leaders on horseback bowed and clasped their fists, showing utmost respect.

Indeed, unless it was Zhong Shengguang himself, who else could command such unwavering loyalty from the proud Iron Army?

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the south of the city: "Where is the Great Square Pot?"

It was He Chunhua, who had rushed back with his subordinates.

As soon as he reached the South Gate, he saw that the battle was over, Nian Songyu was nowhere to be found, and the black dragon was talking to his son on the city wall. The situation did not appear tense.

He immediately concluded that the Heavenly God had lost.

That meant his side had won, but the objective of this expedition was far from achieved.

So many men had been lost, all for the Great Square Pot.

"You cannot take it," the black dragon glanced at him. "The Great Square Pot is Coiled Dragon City, and Coiled Dragon City is the Great Square Pot; they merged long ago. Even deities cannot take it, let alone humans, or it would not be here anymore."

"You, on the other hand," it turned to He Lingchuan, "your wish might just be granted."

He Lingchuan was bewildered. He pointed to his nose and asked, "My wish for what?"

The black dragon did not answer. Instead, it faced the South City and sighed faintly, "My mission is finally complete." Its voice held weariness, but also surprisingly, joy, and many other emotions He Lingchuan could not comprehend.

Its dark and gleaming body rapidly became covered in a layer of grey frost.

In just a dozen breaths, the colossal dragon crashed to the ground from the city wall, accompanied by a tremendous tremor, shattering into countless fragments.

A renowned general of his time once again turned into the dust of history.

Endless dust and smoke surged towards them.

Everyone instinctively closed their eyes, covered their noses, and held their breath.

Therefore, no one noticed that at the same moment the light in the black dragon's eyes faded, a red light shot skyward from the ruins of the South City!

***

When the dust settled and everyone opened their eyes, they found themselves standing before the temple of the desolate Coiled Dragon City.

Nian Songyu had indeed been right; only with the black dragon's disappearance could they escape the illusion alive.

He Lingchuan spread his arms wide and embraced He Chunhua. "Dad," he exclaimed, "I thought you'd been sacrificed!"

He and He Chunhua were not usually this close, but he was simply following his instinct.

He Chunhua patted his back, then pulled away, unaccustomed to such intimacy with his eldest son. "Taking out the broken comb made the Great Wind Army stop attacking, giving us time to escape the formation. You spoke with the black dragon the most; did you find any clues about the Great Square Pot?"

He Lingchuan asked, surprised, "Didn't it say that the Great Square Pot and Coiled Dragon City had merged and couldn't be taken out? Besides, we've already left the illusion."

"He's not a spirit of the artifact at all," He Chunhua said, displeased, "but a vengeful spirit who died over a hundred years ago. How do you know anything it said was true? We made enormous sacrifices; how can we return empty-handed?"

Previously, everyone had only thought of escaping with their lives. Now that they were safe, they realized they were empty-handed, without a single piece of loot.

The gains from this adventure did not justify the costs.

No, it was a complete loss.

Zeng Feixiong also asked, "Without the Great Square Pot, what about the war at Woling Pass?"

Situ Han couldn't help but retort, "You're all regular soldiers; can't you fight without a Heavenly God's treasure?"

He Lingchuan pulled out the long blade from his waist to check; it was still there, not gone.

This was probably the only real object in the illusion.

"What are your plans, Dad?"

He Chunhua pondered for a moment. "Send more men in to have a look."

The rest of the group unanimously stepped back two paces. No one wanted to go back into that cursed place.

He Lingchuan casually picked up a stone and threw it into the pool-well.

*Plop.*

Although the pool water was reddish, everyone could still clearly see the stone sink to the bottom.