Chapter 1866: That day, that moment

He He Lingchuan stood on the Nanchengmen tower. Every brick, every piece of wood, every street, and every alley here had once been so familiar to him.

The entire city crumbled to pieces before his eyes. No one knew the mixed emotions in his heart.

The magnificent Nanchengmen held out until the very end, yet it could not avoid the fate of a golden mountain collapsing and a jade pillar toppling, crashing down with a roar.

The isolated city in his sea of consciousness was gone.

The invisible barrier vanished at the same time. He He Lingchuan jumped onto the back of the vast and chaotic Hun Dun, riding the sliding giant bluestone.

Looking back, he happened to see everything vanish like smoke.

Broken tiles, ruined walls, and corner towers were all scattered into the wind.

In just a few breaths, the majestic city disappeared completely, leaving only a round, crimson precious bead in its place.

Under He He Lingchuan's gaze, the bead spun round and round, the dark patterns on its surface flickering and still glowing.

He naturally knew what this was: the Great Expansion Heavenly Bead.

More than 160 years ago, Zhong Sheng had used it to guard the Nanchengmen. Later, it fell into the hands of the Thousand Illusions True Person, transforming into the isolated city within his sea of consciousness.

It floated quietly on Hun Dun's back, looking harmless to both humans and animals.

He He Lingchuan waited for a moment, hesitated, and then stepped forward to reach out and scoop it up.

This was a relic of Panlongcheng.

The moment his fingertips touched the bead, all the dark patterns on its surface lit up.

He He Lingchuan's breath hitched, his vision blurred, and suddenly the scene changed.

He was in Panlongcheng again.

This time, he did not know where he was standing, yet it felt as if he were everywhere.

He knew every corner of the city, and he could see every event happening within it! This was the first time he had experienced such an omniscient perspective.

Looking west, the setting sun was like blood.

Every ray of light shining into Panlongcheng was also blood-red, desolate, and ominous.

Fires broke out everywhere in the city, with thick smoke billowing.

The Nanchengmen he was familiar with had been breached; the heavy gate panels lay broken in two on the ground, no longer able to protect the people inside.

The army outside the city filled the fields, surging like a tide into the triple city gates, slaughtering their way into the city! The city's troops retreated steadily.

They were covered in blood, their expressions exhausted, their strength failing, and even their weapons were scarce, yet they shouted as they charged forward, using swords, spears, fists, and even their teeth to fight the enemy one last time!

Unfortunately, they were ultimately unable to turn the tide.

A dozen powerful monster beasts from the opposite side rushed out of the city gate, charging back and forth, crushing people into meat paste.

Below the Nandamen, there was roaring and shouting everywhere, blood splashing everywhere... and tragedy everywhere.

This was simply the embodiment of He He Lingchuan's deepest nightmare.

With a buzz in his mind, he suddenly knew what this scene was:

More than 150 years ago, the moment Panlongcheng fell! He had touched the Great Expansion Heavenly Bead and was brought into the final moments before Panlongcheng's destruction.

According to historical records, Panlongcheng was breached by the joint forces of Baling and Xianyou, with Between Beijia only sending one army of monsters to assist.

But at this moment, inside and outside the Nanchengmen, He He Lingchuan clearly saw a vast army of monsters covering the mountains and plains! He also saw several familiar faces, such as Fu Fu Shanyue and Lu Wushuang!

Lu Wushuang was still very young at this time, but He He Lingchuan could still recognize at a glance that she was the Between Beijia Imperial Preceptor Qingyang from more than 150 years later! They were all in the army, waving their hands and directing their subordinates to slaughter the Panlongcheng troops.

He He Lingchuan stared at them for a few moments, then turned to find the most important person in the city—

Commandant Zhong Sheng.

Without any effort, he found Zhong Sheng's figure amidst the smoke and fire.

This Commandant was actually standing in front of the Lady Mitian Temple's Fortune Pool, covered in wounds, his right ear gone, and his head wrapped in bandages.

At this time, the Lady Mitian statue had not yet been dragged out and smashed, and Zhong Sheng was staring blankly at the pool.

To He He Lingchuan, this scene was bizarre no matter how he looked at it.

When a city falls, the city lord either organizes resistance or takes the opportunity to flee; it is a race against time. Why was Zhong Sheng turning a deaf ear to the thunderous shouts of killing behind him and just standing there in a daze? If it were any other city-defending official, He He Lingchuan would have thought he had lost his mind and was panicked.

But Zhong Sheng?

That was impossible.

He He Lingchuan knew Zhong Sheng too well. If there was anyone in this era who dared to point their sword at Between Beijia and fight without hesitation until the last moment of their life, it had to be the man before him.

So, what was he doing?

At this moment, several riders galloped up, and before the horses stopped, the riders jumped off.

The leader was someone He He Lingchuan was also extremely familiar with:

Xiao Captain Xiao Maoliang Maoliang.

Commander Xiao's armor was covered in scars, his breastplate had a large hole, and he had been shot in the back, but it was too close to his heart, so his personal guards dared not pull it out, only cutting off the tail of the arrow.

Due to commanding the battle for a long time, Xiao Captain Xiao Maoliang Maoliang's voice was hoarse, but still full of energy: "Lord Zhong, the West Gate is passable. We still have gliders."

Panlongcheng certainly had more than one main gate. In addition to the Nandamen connecting to the Panlong Wasteland, there were several other gates leading to the Chipa Plateau behind it. It was not easy for the enemy to attack the plateau, but Panlongcheng was equipped with gliders, which could be used in emergencies to glide down from the steep edge of the plateau without free-falling.

Zhong Sheng did not make a sound.

So Xiao Captain Xiao Maoliang Maoliang urged again: "As long as the green hills remain..."

Zhong Sheng suddenly interrupted him: "Zhong Zhong Wuhan died in battle, the Great Wind Army died in battle, and so many good men of Panlongcheng died in battle! If I abandon the city to survive, how would I have the face to see them in the future?"

That was right; before Panlongcheng fell, the Red General had already sacrificed himself.

The history He He Lingchuan had read before was that Panlongcheng fell, and Zhong Sheng, in despair, committed suicide to resign from the world.

But Zhong Sheng's expression now was not dejected, nor did it look like he was in despair; on the contrary, he was unusually calm.

To He He Lingchuan, only someone who had made a decision and had a plan in their heart could be so calm and composed when facing the end of life.

Zhong Sheng must have understood that Panlongcheng could no longer be saved.

What was he thinking?

Just as He He Lingchuan was pondering repeatedly, Zhong Sheng reached out to Xiao Captain Xiao Maoliang Maoliang:

"Where is the bead?"

Xiao Captain Xiao Maoliang Maoliang hurriedly handed a crimson gold precious bead into his hand:

"The Nanchengmen was breached, and the Black Dragon statue was destroyed, so I followed your instructions and snatched it back."

The arrow wound on his back had come from that.

And this precious bead was, of course, the Great Expansion Heavenly Bead.

He He Lingchuan was somewhat surprised; he had originally thought that when the Nanchengmen was breached, the Great Expansion Heavenly Bead had also fallen into the hands of the enemy. But the truth was right before his eyes: Xiao Captain Xiao Maoliang Maoliang had risked his life to snatch the bead back and return it to Zhong Sheng.

He He Lingchuan had a premonition that there were some secrets in this.

And what he was experiencing now might just be the perspective of the Great Expansion Heavenly Bead. The Black Dragon statue at the Nandamen must have been looking down and patrolling Panlongcheng like this all day, right? Zhong Sheng took the Great Expansion Heavenly Bead and threw it back into the Fortune Pool.

With a thud, the precious bead sank to the bottom and rolled twice in the pool.

A dark red shadow in the pool seemed to approach it, as if testing it, but it swam away in the blink of an eye. ===== CHAPTER 1867 =====