Chapter 838: Who Let No One In

The disciples of Jianyang Sect, still not satisfied, eagerly pressed, "What happened next?"

"After that, I left the inn intending to look around, but unexpectedly, it started pouring rain again," Ling Jinbao said wearily. "I just raised my hand to wipe the water from my face, and as soon as I lowered it, I found myself back in the ruins of Panlong City. The inn, the ancient road, the forest—everything was gone."

"What was going on?"

"It's hard to say," Ling Jinbao replied, shaking his head. "I can only assume I accidentally fell into a mirage created by the Great Square Pot. Those illusions... they might be recreations of past events. This kind of thing is actually quite common in major ancient ruins."

The Jianyang Sect disciples chuckled, "We'd like to 'accidentally' stumble into one too."

"In a place like this, you shouldn't speak carelessly," Ling Jinbao said gravely. "Remember those who accidentally entered the Ghost City Night Market and died after eating something? This is ancient Panlong City; even the illusions here are full of danger."

"Now you understand why I didn't want to spend the night in the ancient city, right?" He sighed. "That place is unpredictable, even for gods and spirits."

The Jianyang Sect contingent left without looking back, while the Blackwater City army heightened their vigilance.

The ruins were so lively; had even the Grand Marshal sent people to get involved?

However, as father and son He pondered, wasn't the beginning of this series of events two years ago when Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu killed an entire den of leopard demons, and the Grand Marshal's subordinates entered Blackwater City to investigate the escaped Sand Leopard, only to be caught by He Lingchuan?

It was clear that Dong Haoming had long coveted the Great Square Pot. The war in the northwest was difficult, and the Crane Army was not the only one stuck in a quagmire. If the Grand Marshal could acquire the Great Square Pot, perhaps he could turn the tide of the war and march on the Crane Capital.

Suddenly, a beam of red light shot skyward in front of them, piercing the clouds!

The anomaly in Panlong City had begun again.

They had seen this red light several times before, but observing it at such close range was still incredibly astonishing.

"Hurry, the red light is coming from the temple!"

He Chunhua gave a brief command, and everyone accelerated forward.

Faster than the Blackwater City army were the Lamp Spirits; streaks of golden light darted past them, rushing towards the source of the red light.

The other groups were not blind either; at this moment, they all turned and ran towards the temple.

The Jianyang Sect members standing in the desert also saw the red light and stopped to gaze at it. Ling Jinbao murmured, "As expected, it's still at the temple."

All the teams had previously searched this location, never overlooking it. But when the Great Square Pot wasn't acting up, searching there was futile.

"Uncle-Master, should we rush back now?" one asked. "Won't someone get there first if we're late?"

"No need," Ling Jinbao replied, shaking his head. "There's no rush. I don't think this treasure will be easy to get."

Inside the city, the mirror in He Lingchuan's arms shrieked, "The crucial moment! It's here!"

It was even more agitated than he was.

He Lingchuan lightly patted his chest twice, reminding it to compose itself. This wretched mirror had once caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace with him and escaped unscathed, yet it still hadn't learned any restraint?

The Blackwater City contingent arrived in the city latest. By the time they reached the temple, they indeed saw the soaring red light originating from a pool. The Heavenly Palace team had likely arrived first; Zhang Lianhai and others guarded the pool's edge, weapons in hand, Lamp Spirits swirling, preventing anyone from approaching.

A young attendant beside him was clutching his left eye tightly, his face contorted in pain. He Lingchuan thought the fellow had been injured, but the Soul-Devouring Mirror exclaimed, "What a powerful energy fluctuation!"

Fluctuation?

The young attendant lowered his hand, and his left eye transformed.

A normal human eye had become a protruding vertical pupil, like that of an alligator, its edges laced with green patterns and blood vessels.

The pupil shifted slightly, focused on the well, and then widened dramatically!

He Lingchuan seemed somewhat familiar with this eerie sensation.

He had felt this same discomfort when he was subjected to divine judgment on Mount Xu and when he was stared at by the Dharmic Eye!

Damn it, was this attendant a vessel or a follower of Miaozhantian?

Fortunately, the attendant was completely focused on observing the well and paid no attention to He Lingchuan.

Almost everyone saw the well's red light reflected vividly in the attendant's vertical pupil.

After just two or three breaths, he clutched his eye and stumbled backward, unable to stand steadily.

A companion quickly steadied him. The young attendant was covered in cold sweat, his face pale, appearing almost on the verge of collapse.

Using such a divine ability undoubtedly exacted a heavy toll on him.

Zhang Lianhai urgently asked, "Well?"

"It's... it's here," the attendant said weakly. "What the Dharmic Eye sees is that this is the entrance!"

When he opened his eye again, his left eye had returned to normal.

The crowd stirred.

The Heavenly Palace envoy had personally verified that this was the entrance between reality and illusion; to seize the Great Square Pot, one had to enter here.

Zhang Lianhai then pointed to three individuals and briefly ordered, "You three, go in."

Each of the three swallowed a pill, and soon, three faint flames ignited on their shoulders and the tops of their heads.

This scene also felt familiar to He Lingchuan. He hadn't expected the Heavenly Palace to use methods similar to Sun Fuping's in the past, igniting the life flames of their subordinates.

The three left a wisp of their life flame with Zhang Lianhai, then jumped into the well, disappearing into the red light.

"It seems they've entered the small world within Panlong Ruins," remarked Bao Guanjie, deputy general of Qilin Army from Baling Kingdom, who had been watching the life flames in Zhang Lianhai's hand.

The three wisps of life flame continued to burn, indicating that the three individuals who entered the small world to scout were still alive.

After waiting for over ten breaths, he tilted his head towards his subordinates and ordered, "You go in too!"

As the Baling men prepared to advance, Zhang Lianhai's brow twitched, and Lamp Spirits immediately darted forward to block their path:

"Halt!"

The Heavenly Palace team also fanned out, completely surrounding the well.

Bao Guanjie was enraged, but still tried to reason with them:

"Master Zhang, even if you go in, you might not immediately obtain the treasure. Instead, you might encounter strange phenomena. More people mean more collective strength!"

If any other team dared to monopolize the well, others wouldn't bother arguing. A gentleman acts, not speaks; they'd simply kill them.

How many good people would dare venture into Panlong City?

But the Heavenly Palace was different.

Everyone was wary of teams dispatched by the Heavenly Palace. They preferred to reason, and would only resort to force as a last resort.

Even though this was not within Beijia's territory.

Such was the might of a powerful nation.

"No one else may pass. This is for your own good," Zhang Lianhai said coldly. "It's too dangerous inside; it's not a place for mortals to be involved!"

Bao Guanjie frowned. "Does the Heavenly Palace know what's inside?"

While they argued, Zhao Qinghe led his people into the temple, thoroughly searching it inside and out.

Zhang Lianhai stopped explaining, simply pointed a finger, and the Lamp Spirits immediately transformed into several fierce beasts, glaring menacingly at everyone.

Anyone who dared approach would be instantly pounced upon and devoured.

Bao Guanjie tried to argue further, but Zhang Lianhai remained unyielding. Furthermore, the Heavenly Palace attendants behind him began setting up a formation on the ground, clearly intending to create a barrier, which greatly displeased the Baling people.

They had cooperated wholeheartedly when fighting the Andong people outside Blackwater City. Yet, in less than twenty hours, they had turned on each other.

He Chunhua did not step forward, merely observing from the side.

Bao Guanjie's gaze shifted to him. "General He is the host here," he suddenly said. "No matter how domineering the Heavenly Palace is, there's no reason to bar the local master from entering, is there?"

This vast expanse of Panlong Desert and Red Cliff Road were Crane Kingdom territories. As the highest commander of Blackwater City, He Chunhua could certainly be called the host. Of course, no one had paid attention to that title before; Bao Guanjie merely wanted to unite with him to oppose the Heavenly Palace.

Let's not forget that He Chunhua had brought the most people. Zhang Lianhai and his group were weaker in vital energy here. If it came to a fight, they might not gain any advantage against the combined force of the Blackwater City army and the Baling Kingdom's over three hundred men.

Zhang Lianhai glanced at He Chunhua and said flatly, "But what's inside belongs to the Heavenly Palace!"

He declared to everyone that the Great Square Pot belonged to the Heavenly Palace.

At that moment, Zhao Qinghe emerged from the temple and shook his head at He Chunhua.

Just as He Chunhua was about to speak, the red thread on his wrist suddenly felt faintly warm.

This was a treasure bestowed upon him by Naraka, designed to automatically warn him if He Chunhua faced danger.

Thanks to this red thread, he had evaded an ambush and a hidden dart in Longchuan.

But back then, the red thread had been scalding; now, it was only a faint warmth, so quick that he wondered if it was a mere illusion.

He Chunhua slightly flicked his wrist, but the red thread gave no further warning.

What did this mean?

Was it warning him of danger within the red light, or of powerful enemies approaching?

Or was it unable to determine the source or severity of the danger?

Since Naraka had gifted him the red thread, this was the first time it had malfunctioned.

In other words, was Panlong Ruins so strange that even it couldn't make sense of it?

His expression was indecisive. Bao Guanjie, still waiting for him to speak, finally raised his voice and asked, "General He?"

Meanwhile, the Soul-Devouring Mirror also spoke to He Lingchuan: "A magical artifact on your father has quietly activated!"

What artifact?

He Lingchuan couldn't openly ask, but having been with him for a long time, the Soul-Devouring Mirror finally understood his thoughts and continued, "I sense traces of divine or magical art activating, but I'm not sure what it is!"

Divine art? He Lingchuan's brow twitched. Was this a case of what you fear most comes true? He immediately pointed to a nearby alleyway: "Dad, look over there!"

He needed to quickly distract He Chunhua.

It was a pitch-black area, but as He Lingchuan pointed, everyone saw over a dozen figures emerge from the alley, heading directly for the temple.

Their faces were unfamiliar; they certainly weren't from Blackwater City.

The leader was a burly man, radiating a fierce, bloodthirsty aura, carrying a gold-inlaid saber.

He Chunhua's gaze fell on the gold-inlaid saber, and he immediately recalled Ling Jinbao's warning, his heart tightening.

Were these the Grand Marshal's subordinates?

A Heavenly Palace attendant promptly shouted, "The Heavenly Palace is conducting business! Halt, or face death!"

The Grand Marshal's team stopped, their gaze sweeping over the various factions, lingering longest on the Heavenly Palace and He Chunhua's group.

The Heavenly Palace's reputation was the most prominent, and their Lamp Spirits were the most conspicuous, while He Chunhua had brought the most personnel.

The red light pillar in Panlong Desert had only appeared recently. The fact that he could bring so many people indicated what?

Proximity.

Therefore, He Chunhua's faction was likely a local power.

The burly man's gaze towards He Chunhua became cautious. They hadn't gone to Blackwater City and didn't know about the sudden attack by the Andong people, nor about Commander Hu's death and He Chunhua's assumption of power. But he sensed that this person was not to be underestimated.