Chapter 853: From... the Summons

Some families of Quer Beasts originally lived on the snowy mountains. They possessed the talent for mimicry and camouflage, typically disguising themselves as rocks, waiting for prey to walk into their traps.

When they arrived at Panlong City, after familiarizing themselves with the terrain, they began to disguise themselves as buildings. This tactic, as expected, proved effective time and again.

He Lingchuan froze upon reaching the vicinity of General Hong's Tomb because he had been there during his last visit to the Panlong Secret Realm and remembered it clearly. The area around General Hong's Tomb was empty, with all buildings leveled. There was no way such a tall tower could exist there!

In this Panlong Secret Realm, anything that defies common sense requires extreme caution. This was a valuable lesson he learned from successfully clearing the previous instance. Who knew why such a massive creature insisted on standing there disguised as a tower? What was it guarding? The Grand Square Pot?

The small Goblin-faced Monkey, injured earlier by Zhang Lianhai's Lamp Spirit, scampered onto the Quer Beast Giant's shoulder. It chattered excitedly, then very human-like, pointed at the half-burnt candle in the Heavenly Palace visitor's hand. This stance clearly indicated it was complaining: These dozen or so individuals were the same ones who had injured it and desecrated the grave earlier!

The Quer Beast Giant's ginkgo-like eyes gleamed with cold light, and a cold, frosty white mist snorted from its nostrils. The surrounding temperature immediately dropped several degrees. Everyone finally understood how the fierce blizzard originated. Apparently, this creature's arrival influenced the weather across the entire Panlong Ruins! It is said that clouds follow dragons and winds follow tigers. This creature's ability to control wind and snow meant its power far surpassed that of ordinary monsters.

A single gaze from the monster sent chills down everyone's spines, their bodies trembled, and their backs stiffened, making them unable to move a step. It was the same feeling experienced when worshipping gods descended from the Heavenly Palace! It was the instinctive reaction of living beings confronting immense power and colossal entities.

The Heavenly Palace group hissed, "Grab the pot and go!"

He Lingchuan silently marveled at their loyalty, still prioritizing the Heavenly Palace's mission even now, as he slowly retreated with Qiu Hu. They absolutely could not block the escape route, to avoid being caught in the crossfire. They absolutely could not be drawn into the monster's battle, to avoid being affected.

The Heavenly Palace visitors immediately retreated. The King of Quer Beasts suddenly roared, a thunderclap from flat ground, and a Category 16 whirlwind erupted directly ahead. Ordinary people couldn't even stand steady, let alone run; several were swept directly into the sky. The wind also carried hailstones of various sizes, fast as bullets. When these individuals landed, their bodies were riddled with holes.

The other Heavenly Palace attendants fared no better, stumbling about. Some shouted, "Form a formation! Quickly, form a formation!" However, the King of Quer Beasts was incredibly fast. Tall and long-legged, it bounded back and forth, from one side to another, claiming one or two lives with each leap. Before their formation could be completed, three Heavenly Palace members had already fallen. Judging by its demeanor, it seemed to revel in the chaos.

Nevertheless, the Quer Beasts' attention was drawn to the Heavenly Palace attendants, and the group began to shift outwards. Several flashes of lightning streaked across the night sky, and red light continued to pulsate in the firmament. The Floating Life Blade suddenly materialized from the void, trembling violently in He Lingchuan's palm. He shared a psychic connection with the precious blade and immediately sensed its state: Urgent, urgent, urgent!

What situation could make it so anxious? The last time the blade spontaneously warned him was in front of the Star-Plucking Pavilion, intending to caution him against approaching too closely. What about this time?

He Lingchuan instinctively looked around, then fixed his gaze on the direction of the tomb, frowning. Seeing this, Qiu Hu also peered over, then made a gesture: "What's wrong?"

He Lingchuan whispered, "The tomb is glowing. Did you see it?"

After the King of Quer Beasts appeared, the strong winds and debris made the scene chaotic. From ten zhang away, others couldn't even accurately discern the tomb's location. Yet, He Lingchuan saw a red light emanating from within the tomb, as conspicuous as a lamp in a snowy night.

Qiu Hu was slightly surprised. He peered again, then pulled back, shaking his head at He Lingchuan. "No, I didn't see anything."

"You didn't see the red light in the tomb?"

Qiu Hu's answer was firm: "No, not a single bit."

Only he could see it? He Lingchuan's heart stirred. Was this what the Floating Life Blade had been persistently urging him to notice? Red light... He looked up at the sky. There was also red light flickering above the dome, almost in sync with the light from the tomb. Synchronized above and below.

He Lingchuan felt as if something was summoning him. Was it Panlong City, or something else? Should he risk responding to the call? After all, despite facing so many hardships and dangers in the past, the Floating Life Blade had never misled him.

He made his decision and instructed Qiu Hu, "I'm going over there. We'll communicate with the Eyeball Spiders."

"Go over there?" Qiu Hu was startled but immediately nodded, turned, and retreated. He hadn't seen the red light He Lingchuan mentioned, so there must be something unusual ahead. But with the King of Quer Beasts drawn away by the Heavenly Palace group, temporarily leaving the tomb, now might be the best time to seize the treasure.

He Lingchuan draped the Marquis of Boshan's skin over himself, seizing the moment when the King of Quer Beasts leaped far away, and sprinted forward with all his might! The whirlwind followed the King of Quer Beasts closely, leaving the tomb area unusually calm—a good opportunity. His movement technique was incredibly swift; his toes barely touched the ground three times, and he covered dozens of zhang in an instant. This was akin to the proverb "a swallow skimming water three times"—effortlessly swift.

However, the second He Lingchuan landed, an arrow from a distance whizzed towards him. He had already extended his divine sense, listening in all directions. He twisted and sidestepped, and the arrow grazed the outside of his pant leg. Indeed, there was a third force lurking nearby! With the camouflage of the Marquis of Boshan's skin, others might not have seen him. However, this treasure was not suitable for rapid movement, as it could cause a distortion with the surroundings. Someone must have sensed something amiss and fired an arrow as a test.

He Lingchuan dodged in time, and with another leap, he reached General Hong's Tomb, where he saw the excavated burial mound. The damage was shocking, but the red battle armor was incredibly familiar, and even its seated posture seemed to be General Hong's usual stance. It had been sleeping peacefully here for over 150 years! And in its arms, the inconspicuous small pot. Was this truly the Grand Square Pot's actual form? If it were genuine, He Lingchuan would be greatly surprised. Would the Grand Square Pot reveal its true form and risk itself for him? This contradicted his understanding. Furthermore, the faint red glow was not coming from the small pot, but from General Hong's battle armor! This, too, was unexpected for He Lingchuan. Was General Hong summoning him?

But he had no time to ponder; the King of Quer Beasts, not far away, seemed to sense something and abruptly turned its head to look. He was cloaked in the invisible snake skin, but the King of Quer Beasts' gaze was fixed firmly on him, without the slightest deviation. It saw through his disguise, let out a low growl, and leaped directly towards him!

With a colossal crash, the ground shook three times. Except for General Hong's armor, which remained motionless, nearly everyone else nearby was knocked off their feet by the tremor. The King of Quer Beasts reached directly for He Lingchuan. If it caught him, it would instantly crush him, a satisfying sensation. But He Lingchuan was one step ahead, his fingertips touching General Hong's armor first! In the eyes of the King of Quer Beasts, the man vanished into thin air. Its grab met only empty space. Where was he?

Its palm inevitably struck General Hong's battle armor. The armor remained unyielding, but the King of Quer Beasts quickly retracted its hand, shaking it twice. The movement was akin to someone slapping a hedgehog—one party was bound to suffer excruciating pain. It was clearly stunned for a moment, as if pondering He Lingchuan's whereabouts. But the next second, the King of Quer Beasts erupted in fury, charging towards a large temple thirty zhang away, and began a rampage of smashing and hitting. A petty thief had slipped right under its nose; it was unbearable! Unbearable!

Qiu Hu watched its actions, frowning. This King of Quer Beasts was exceptionally violent, seemingly filled with hatred for all living beings, yet it occasionally demonstrated thought. Did it possess true sentience? This temple, which had withstood over a hundred years of weathering, had outer walls constructed from stone, with each massive block weighing several tons. Yet, this formidable temple was knocked down by an uninvited guest with a single shoulder charge! It wasn't merely ramming for fun or out of pure frustration; it casually grabbed massive stones and hurled them at the Heavenly Palace guards and nearby humans—Yes, there had been another hidden group here, nearly twenty people. Qiu Hu didn't recognize them; he wondered if they were some ragtag army or adventurers from elsewhere. The Panlong Secret Realm was truly a melting pot of various forces at this time; no one could say how many different groups were present. This team had been hiding effectively, determined not to be the first to stick their necks out, but who knew calamity would come knocking at their door. Boulders that a dozen people couldn't lift were like sandbags in its hands, able to be flung in any manner. Faced with such immense power, the humans were pounded and fled in disarray. It picked up a few unfortunate flattened individuals, popped them into its mouth, chewed them with a grisly crunch, and then pursued the Heavenly Palace group.

Qiu Hu watched silently, completely devoid of sympathy. If one feared death, they should have stayed far away. Hiding at the edge of the battlefield merely indicated a desire to exploit a major loophole. This was akin to "a bird dying for food."

The Heavenly Palace attendants had already formed two battle formations, but they were clearly ineffective against such an enormous, chieftain-level monster. The formations were broken quickly, forcing them to retreat while fighting. From this, it was evident that the Heavenly Palace team's combat power and discipline were far superior to other groups; even when retreating from such a monster, they could still maintain order and minimize losses.

Just then, the King of Quer Beasts suddenly halted its attack, leaped into the air, and jumped back to General Hong's Tomb. Watching from afar, Qiu Hu realized He Lingchuan was right; it had been guarding this graveyard all along, refusing to move away. What was this, a grave guardian beast?

It smashed heavily into the air to its left. With a muffled "buzz," five figures unexpectedly appeared there. It turned out that more people had secretly turned invisible, hoping to sneak in and steal the Grand Square Pot while the King of Quer Beasts was distracted. They were caught red-handed. Although exposed, these individuals were not easily thrown aside. The faint glow hovering above their heads reverted to a Lamp Spirit. The Lamp Spirit's golden light illuminated the ashen face of He Jing, the Heavenly Palace's envoy of the capital. The enormous King of Quer Beasts stood face to face with him, only four or five zhang away. It opened its mouth and roared, expelling gory ice shards and freezing winds that were both foul-smelling and pungent. Fortunately, they were blocked by the Lamp Spirit's barrier, or anything they touched would instantly freeze. This creature could actually see through illusions, thwarting their plan to avoid battle and steal their target. It seemed that to obtain the Grand Square Pot, a direct confrontation was the only option.

The moment He Lingchuan touched General Hong's battle armor, a dazzling red light suddenly flared before his eyes. He instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself amidst a vast ocean of warm, light-red seawater.

Chapter 2 is still being revised; today's plot requires significant changes, which is proving difficult. I will continue working on it after lunch. Please check back this afternoon.