Chapter 852: Trap

"I have fulfilled everything I promised you," he silently told the lingering spirit of his original self in his heart. "It's your turn."

A faint sigh seemed to resonate deep in his mind.

He Lingchuan felt a rare sense of peace:

Finally, released.

Then, those tangled emotions, like small snow fragments under the scorching sun, evaporated completely the moment they were exposed, leaving nothing behind.

He Lingchuan suddenly felt an unprecedented lightness.

It was the lightness of his heart shedding its burden, the lightness of his body being completely under his control, and the lightness of many restless thoughts being severed at their source.

It turned out that he had always been moving forward, burdened by the inner demons of his original self.

Now, with the original self released and gone, it had finally relinquished complete control.

The consciousness of the original self completely dissipated, and this body, this sea of consciousness, now wholly belonged to him.

On his path of cultivation, an invisible boulder had been removed.

At this very moment, He Lingchuan's six senses sharpened and his spiritual perception became clear, as if a storm had erupted in his mind.

Qiu Hu sensed something and was startled when he turned to look. He Lingchuan's eyes blazed with intense light, an aura accumulated around him, the small pebbles nearby trembled incessantly, and a few grains of sand even floated up into the air.

"Young Master!" Qiu Hu's palm brushed He Lingchuan's shoulder, and he felt a powerful rebound.

Is this an advancement?

An advancement in cultivation was a great thing, but... here?

He quickly withdrew his hand and reminded in a low voice, "Absolutely not!"

Now was not a good time.

He Lingchuan also knew this and waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

Surging true qi emerged from his sea of consciousness, rising like a dragon, and without any warning to him, it charged towards his glabella point!

The cultivation method he practiced required opening three Dantian points: the Upper Dantian at the glabella, the Middle Dantian at Shanzhong, and the Lower Dantian at Qihai. Previously, both the Middle and Lower Dantian points had been opened, and the true qi had successfully liquefied, almost filling both of them.

Only the Upper Dantian at the glabella point, He Lingchuan had been hesitant to touch.

If this area wasn't opened properly, it could damage his brain.

After the chaos in the Heavenly Palace, his mental state and cultivation had made significant progress, but He Lingchuan instinctively knew it wasn't time yet.

He was always just one step away from the next realm.

Forcing the process would be harmful and useless, so he dared not act rashly.

Unexpectedly, after the consciousness of the original self faded, that subtle mental barrier dissolved.

In ancient times, when cultivators officially embarked on the supreme immortal path, there was an important hurdle called "Slaying the Three Corpses," which meant wielding the sword of wisdom to sever all evil thoughts, delusions, and all unclear or unilluminated thoughts such as greed, anger, delusion, and resentment.

To put it plainly, it simply meant "letting go."

If the Three Corpses were not eliminated, they would eventually sink deep into the consciousness, turning into inner demons that hindered cultivation. Many individuals with excellent foundations and brilliant talent ultimately succumbed to the backlash of inner demons.

Only oneself could resolve one's own issues.

Only oneself could comfort oneself.

Therefore, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

He Lingchuan peacefully sent off the last trace of the original self's consciousness, resolving karmic entanglements. Unintentionally, this aligned with the true meaning of wielding the sword of wisdom to slay inner demons, and the obstacle that had blocked his path for a long time vanished without a trace.

But the timing was wrong; He Lingchuan dared not advance here!

Last time, when he opened his Middle Dantian in the forest of the Baoshu Kingdom, it took him two or three days of complete self-forgetfulness, and he only barely succeeded at the cost of blowing up a mountain lake.

The current Coiling Dragon Secret Realm was full of dangers; dared he close his eyes, block his ears, and break through on his own?

Moreover, after witnessing the anomalies in the sky, his confidence in the Great Square Pot's promise was somewhat shaken.

He still needed to keep a close eye on his own life.

Therefore, no matter how eager his true qi was to break through, he had to painstakingly use gentle words to persuade it to retreat, hoping it would return to the Middle and Lower Dantian and attempt the breakthrough another day.

Anyway, it was within reach, no need to rush.

The true qi was very unwilling.

After all, they were naturally inclined to expand and open up new territories, and the opportunity to break through was rare and hard to come by.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan's control over his body and true qi was far superior to before. No matter how much the latter stirred, he eventually guided it back onto the right path, pressing it back into the Dantian, bit by bit.

This process was convoluted and lengthy. He Lingchuan was completely focused, not daring to even sweat, suffering terribly.

What's more, the surrounding environment had begun to change:

A faint movement came from the front left. If Qiu Hu's hearing and spiritual perception hadn't been exceptional, he wouldn't have even sensed the other party's presence.

Was it He Chunhua? No.

A golden light suddenly flew out from behind a low wall, unhurriedly circling Red General's Tomb twice.

A lamp spirit?

He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu exchanged glances. Had Zhang Lianhai arrived?

Lamp spirits were too useful; whether leading the charge or scouting for enemies, they were standard tactics for the Heavenly Palace.

After it finished scouting, it found no anomalies and stopped moving.

A little while later, ten people emerged from behind the low wall directly opposite He Lingchuan, hurrying towards Red General's Tomb.

Huh? They were all unfamiliar faces, and not Zhang Lianhai and his group. But judging by their gait and demeanor, they were far superior to Zhang Lianhai's subordinates.

He Lingchuan was momentarily stunned, then realized:

This was the Heavenly Palace's other hidden team? No wonder Zhang Lianhai only brought a dozen people in; they were just the vanguard, probing for information.

As soon as they heard about the anomaly in the Coiling Dragon Desert, other teams came with the intention of finding treasure and gaining advantages; but the Heavenly Palace had suffered a great loss at He Lingchuan's hands, and not only did they want to uncover the mysteries of the Great Square Pot, they also wanted to settle accounts with the treasure thief.

They didn't put all their dispatched forces on display, but chose to use some as bait and keep others hidden, waiting for an opportunity, which was a very suitable strategy.

However, who was the leader of this group? He Lingchuan couldn't tell at a glance.

If even Zhang Lianhai, the Lamp Guardian, was just bait, then the experts sent by the Heavenly Palace must have a status and rank higher than Zhang Lianhai.

This group hurried towards the tomb, and one of them suddenly pointed to the ground and exclaimed, "Our candle!"

There was a half-burned white candle with gold flakes in the excavated grave soil, only discoverable upon close inspection. The person picked it up, looked at the bottom of the candle, and said, "It's Lamp Guardian Zhang's candle!"

"There are bloodstains here too!"

Zhang Lianhai's candle fell into Red General's Tomb? He Lingchuan's heart stirred. If he couldn't even protect his own lamp spirit, what kind of Lamp Guardian was he?

So, the residual candle and bloodstains confirmed that Zhang Lianhai had met with misfortune.

Oh, so they were the unlucky ones who had met with disaster earlier!

These Heavenly Palace visitors in front were similarly excited and uneasy: "Look at Red General's armor! Is that the Great Square Pot?"

"Quick, get it, get it! Quickly rendezvous with Director He!"

He Lingchuan and Qiu Hu exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes.

From their angle, they couldn't see the actual situation inside the tomb. Was the Great Square Pot really inside Red General's Tomb?

Also, this group had clearly been separated from their leader in the Coiling Dragon Ruins. Their leader's surname was He, and he was also a Director?

Hmm, a Director surnamed He?

The names of the Star-Plucking Tower's heads had long spread throughout Lingxu City. He Lingchuan didn't even need to inquire; Elder Ge, the gibbon, had already provided them with this common knowledge when he acted as their guide to Xu Mountain.

There were four Directors, and only one surnamed He, named He Jing!

In terms of seniority, this person was even above Bai Ziqi. But He Lingchuan had also heard the students of the Imperial Academy casually discussing that Bai Ziqi had gained significant prominence in recent years, overshadowing the other Directors, and it was rumored that even the Chief Director was considering him as a successor.

Now, the Heavenly Palace had actually sent He Jing, one of the four Directors, to the Coiling Dragon Desert to take charge, showing their emphasis on the Great Square Pot and the treasure thief.

But He Lingchuan actually felt a sense of relief in his heart.

He had witnessed Bai Ziqi's abilities, and the other Directors were probably not far behind. If this Director He Jing had not entered Coiling Dragon City at all, but was merely remote-controlling or monitoring from the desert, He Lingchuan would have felt a chill down his spine, finding it particularly troublesome.

But judging by these people's tones, He Jing had also entered.

Then... this was the territory of the Great Square Pot, and also He Lingchuan's home ground.

If He Lingchuan ultimately faced Director He, his greatest reliance would be that He Jing knew very little about the marvels of the Great Square Pot—

Even He Lingchuan wasn't sure what the pot was doing, so how could He Jing know?

The Heavenly Palace visitors were about to retrieve the Great Square Pot from the tomb, when unexpectedly, the building behind the stone tablet suddenly moved!

This had originally been a tall tower, with a whole row of houses behind it, all appearing desolate and dilapidated, no different from other buildings in Coiling Dragon City.

But as they moved, they immediately changed color and shape. In less than two breaths, they transformed into a different appearance!

The "tower" was actually an enormous white-furred Que Beast; even in a sitting posture, it was five *zhang* tall!

If it stood up, its height would likely surpass most buildings in the Coiling Dragon Ruins.

The guard behind He Jing gasped, "A yeti?"

Such a colossal creature actually stood erect like a human, with a straight back! Monsters like the Ghost-faced Monkeys always hunched over, rarely standing straight.

But this monster's body-to-leg ratio was almost identical to a human's, only its overall length, width, and height were astonishing.

Anything magnified looked terrifying. The face of the Ghost-faced Monkey was already unsettling enough, but the horror of this white-furred giant's face was magnified tenfold.

Its cheeks even had red, blue, and black colors, like camouflage painted on before a battle.

But it also had seven or eight wounds on its body; blood flowed down from the base of its neck, soaking its pure white fur, and most severely, there was a large gash at its waist, through which its internal organs were faintly visible.

No one had time to wonder how it got injured, because the moment this behemoth appeared, it slapped away the lamp spirit hovering in the air, like swatting a firefly.

It was unknown how it managed to do it; although the lamp spirit was said to be bodiless and formless, its light dimmed significantly after being struck, and its movements also slowed, clearly indicating it was severely injured by this blow.

The Heavenly Palace members' expressions changed dramatically.

Although they each possessed divine powers, the lamp spirit was still their greatest reliance. And today, this sudden monster simply reached out and actually injured the lamp spirit?

Then the giant monster reached out again and grabbed the person attempting to take the Great Square Pot.

Its agility was in stark contrast to its bulky size; the person couldn't dodge and was directly crushed with a *splat*!

The buildings next to the giant beast also transformed into a dozen monsters resembling it, only several sizes smaller.