Chapter 850

With little time left, He Lingchuan addressed He Chunhua gravely: “Father, this is the last time I will call you Father! I am He Lingchuan, unequivocally me, not some Zhong Shengguang, not some specter from Panlong City! I saved you from the ghost ape, I saved you by Xianling Lake, and I saved you in the rapids of the Han River! No wandering spirit would risk their life to save you, only your true son!”

Every word pierced him to the core.

He Chunhua was speechless, but He Lingchuan gave him no chance to speak. His expression changed, and he suddenly roared:

“Yet you offered me as a sacrifice to the gods! You knew full well that humans cannot withstand the descent of a deity, yet you sacrificed your own son without batting an eye! Even a venomous tiger doesn’t eat its cubs; you are worse than an animal! I must have accumulated bad luck for eight lifetimes to have a father like you—hypocritical, cold-blooded, selfish, and cruel!”

The resentment buried in his heart burst forth. He didn’t need to search for words; his heartfelt accusations flowed out relentlessly.

In that moment, he felt as though he were channeling the fury of the body’s original owner.

He pointed at He Chunhua, his face contorted with rage: “I only regret being so blind as not to see your true colors sooner. This is also the last time I will help or save you; consider it repayment for raising me! From this day forward, our ties are severed. If we meet again, do not blame me if my blade shows no mercy!”

Ah, that felt good!

The outburst left him feeling utterly refreshed.

The original body’s hatred was appeased, and he felt a weight lift.

He Lingchuan’s righteous and stern tirade caused He Chunhua’s heart to pound, his blood to rush, and his face to burn with heat. His throat felt constricted, making it impossible to utter a single word in his defense.

He was right; who but a true son would risk his life to save his father in such a manner?

He Chunhua also recalled his son’s unwavering resolve in shielding him time and again, and the deep gratitude he felt upon being saved. Could it be… could it truly be his eldest son, and not a vengeful spirit possessing him?

But…

He took a couple of ragged breaths, just about to speak, when the ground began to tremble, and a rumble echoed from the opposite bank. The monsters near the river trench, alerted by the explosion Tao Ran had triggered, were now stampeding westward.

This stone enclosure was directly in their path.

“My Lord, look out!” Zhao Qinghe grabbed the dazed He Chunhua and pulled him away, rounding two or three corners before they finally eluded the monster horde.

As the monsters’ thundering hooves shook the street, neither of them dared to breathe.

If caught, they would surely meet a gruesome end.

It wasn't until several groups of monsters had passed that they finally crossed the trench. By then, He Lingchuan and the other person were nowhere in sight.

“My Lord!” Seeing He Chunhua still dispirited and lifeless, Zhao Qinghe grew frantic. “This is a perilous place; please compose yourself!”

Dangers lurked everywhere; if he couldn’t focus, they would surely perish.

He Chunhua’s mind was a tangled mess, as if two voices were shouting at each other in his head.

Another chilly gust of wind swept by, making him shiver. It seemed to jolt him back to his senses, and he suddenly slapped himself twice across the face.

Slap, slap.

Zhao Qinghe stared in astonishment, thinking his master had gone mad.

He Chunhua rubbed his eyelids. “Let’s go, quickly to the east!”

What’s done is done!

He couldn’t turn back now.

What was the point of further hesitation, doubt, or regret? He could only press forward with resolve.

With the monsters now diverted, this was the perfect opportunity to seize the Grand Square Cauldron!

Seizing the Grand Square Cauldron was his only way out.

Only by securing the Grand Square Cauldron could he appease Naraka’s wrath once he left the secret realm. No, it was more than that; he was thinking even further ahead!

As long as he reclaimed the Grand Square Cauldron, he could turn the entire situation around.

He Lingchuan would undoubtedly be heading there too; they needed to accelerate.

Tao Ran and his companions were hidden in the thick interlayers of the South Gate wall, observing through small openings.

The arrow had an excellent effect; within their sight, at least two hundred monsters were rushing westward, their roars echoing continuously along the way.

A soldier from Blackwater City chuckled, “Le Zhengqing is going to be furious this time.” Half the city’s monsters had been drawn to him.

Tao Ran raised a finger and softly shushed them. “Don’t attract the monsters’ attention.”

Some of those monsters had extremely keen hearing.

Under these circumstances, the humans on the South City Gate also needed to be extra careful, as Liren Street wasn’t too far from their position.

They were there to watch the chaos, not to get dragged into it themselves.

Just then, someone whispered, “There are people approaching South Gate Plaza!”

Everyone thought he must be mistaken.

With monsters running rampant, anyone sensible would be hiding. What kind of group would deliberately come to the empty South Gate Plaza just to die?

But when they looked down again, they too were shocked:

“Wh-who are these fools?”

“Haven’t seen them before, have we?”

Tao Ran sighed helplessly. “Can you please keep your voices down?”

The four or five people who had suddenly appeared in South Gate Plaza were indeed all new faces.

Had they just entered the city from outside?

Everyone was already frustrated and depressed about being unable to leave Panlong City. Now, seeing others practically rushing in to their doom, they couldn’t help but feel a twinge of schadenfreude.

After appearing, these individuals paused and glanced back at the South City Gate. A hint of surprise crossed their faces at the gate’s silent closure, but they did not appear as panicked as He Chunhua’s and He Lingchuan’s subordinates had been.

Those inside the wall quickly crouched down to avoid detection.

From his elevated position, Tao Ran provided a live report: “They’ve moved on, heading east.”

“East? Isn’t that a death wish?” Groups of monsters were currently stampeding westward from the east. Were these people deliberately running into danger?

“Mind your words! The Steward and his son are also heading east!”

As an expert archer, Tao Ran’s eyesight was superior. He now told his companions, “I saw faint light again, possibly lantern spirits. These are likely people from the Heavenly Palace as well.”

Everyone was greatly curious and crowded to the wall openings to look east. Although they couldn’t see the newcomers, a very faint light did indeed flicker above the alleyway.

“Are those lantern spirits too?” Someone expressed disbelief. “The light is too dim, isn’t it? Zhang Lianhai’s lantern spirits are very bright.”

The Heavenly Palace’s lantern spirits were truly impressive, but they were a bit too conspicuous in the dark.

“Perhaps these newcomers are smarter than him, don’t want to attract too much attention, and are more skilled at controlling their lantern spirits.” The Rongshan disciples exchanged glances. “No wonder the Young Master discovered there were over thirty Heavenly Palace guests in Blackwater City, yet Zhang Lianhai claimed he only brought about ten subordinates. So they divided into two groups.”

“Then there are only four or five people below.”

“Or perhaps they split into even more groups.”

“What’s the point of splitting into more groups?” a Blackwater City soldier grumbled. “They’re still just coming here to die, aren’t they?”

Crude words, but sound reasoning, even the Rongshan disciples thought so.

Yin Ran grunted, “Just in time, seven or eight monsters are approaching, about to collide with them head-on!”

Someone couldn’t help but worry, “If they retreat to the city wall and come up to the gate tower, what then?”

Should their side let them in or not? With the He father and son absent, who could make the decision?

Tao Ran suddenly exclaimed, “They’re gone!”

Another Rongshan disciple leaned out. “What do you mean, gone?”

“It means these four or five people simply vanished from their spot! And those monsters came over but didn’t detect them.”

“Invisibility spell?”

“It appears so.” Tao Ran mused, “I heard invisibility spells were lost long ago. I didn’t expect them to be proficient in it.”

In a ruin teeming with monsters, an invisibility spell was indeed the optimal solution, allowing them to advance without alerting the creatures.

As soon as He Jing and his group passed through the South City Gate, they felt something was amiss.

An explosion from the west resonated, imposing even amidst the howling cold wind.

He Jing turned, only to discover that more than half of his companions were gone, with only his disciple and two confidants remaining by his side.

His disciple, Fu Liang, exclaimed in alarm, “My Lord Envoy!”

“Calm down.” Having just entered Panlong City and encountering an unexpected event, He Jing was momentarily startled but quickly waved his hand. “They’ve been teleported elsewhere!”

“Elsewhere?”

Indeed, a hidden force was at work, seeking to divide and conquer them.

Could it be the Grand Square Cauldron that had such power over outsiders?

“Head east,” He Jing said decisively. “The attendants also know our objective; they will most likely rendezvous with us at General Hong’s Tomb.”

At that moment, Fu Liang glanced back occasionally and couldn’t help but exclaim, “My Lord Envoy, the gate has closed!”

The two heavy doors of the South City Gate were shut tight, leaving no visible crack.

He Jing was not surprised. “As I said, this is already a secret realm!”

A secret realm has its own set of rules. Did you think it would allow free entry and exit?

“To the east, quickly.” Their sole objective in entering the Panlong Secret Realm was to seize the Grand Square Cauldron as swiftly as possible; not a moment should be wasted along the way.

The colossal shadow in the sky also captured the attention of He Jing and his group.

He occasionally looked up at the sky, silently contemplating.

Fu Liang, awed by his master’s insight, quietly inquired, “My Lord Envoy, what is that?”

He Jing remained silent.

He didn’t know either.

The Grand Square Cauldron’s self-contained secret realm wasn’t something one could fathom at a glance. However, the oppressive feeling emanating from the object in the sky was overwhelmingly powerful.

Were there originally living creatures inside the Grand Square Cauldron? Excluding the Que Beasts.

The other guards exchanged glances, all wondering about the divine avatar that had just entered – where had it gone?

For now, that question remained unanswered.

Several wisps of faint light swept past the four of them, heading east.

He Jing reached out and swiped, but the faint light simply flowed through his fingers, impossible to intercept.

He took out a small white jade bottle and aimed it at another wisp of faint light.

The bottle possessed the ability to collect spiritual objects, but the faint light remained unaffected, still slipping away from the bottle’s opening.

Fu Liang quietly asked, “What exactly is this?”

He Jing shook his head; he couldn’t explain it either. Something that even a jade bottle couldn’t collect was truly formless and insubstantial.

The four ran for dozens of yards through the alleyway when they suddenly heard a rumble ahead, indicating something was approaching in a group.

Monsters?

“It’s best not to engage them,” He Jing said. He had witnessed the predicament of Zhang Lianhai and his group. While these monsters might not overpower them individually, they were adept at calling for reinforcements and employing swarm tactics. Outnumbered, once discovered and entangled, it would be difficult to escape. “Fu Liang, activate the Invisibility Spell.”

Fu Liang replied, “Yes,” summoned his lantern spirit, and blew on it. The lantern spirit immediately flew above the four of them, enveloping them in its light.

Fu Liang recited a few incantations, and the figures of the four people, bathed in the lantern spirit’s glow, suddenly vanished.

A few breaths later, the lantern spirit no longer shone brightly but transformed into the subtle, faint light seen everywhere, floating unobtrusively in mid-air.