Chapter 1945

Indeed! Fang Canran raised his eyebrows: "You have a close connection with the Great Square Vase—can you make it also produce Punishment Dragon Pillars?"

He Lingchuan replied readily: "Yes, as long as the materials are sufficient."

"He Lingchuan originally entrusted me to sell the profound crystals on his behalf; now, this task may have to be given to someone else." Fang Canran took a deep breath: "What I intend to spread is not the profound crystals."

"Are you going to retrace Elder Shao's old path?" He Lingchuan was moved, shaking his head repeatedly: "Too dangerous, absolutely not!"

"If Shao Jianeng can walk, then I naturally can too." Fang Canran said solemnly: "I do not possess He Lingchuan's great talent, nor the opportunity to astonish ancient and modern times, but I can contribute my modest effort, so that He Lingchuan does not fight alone!"

He smiled: "Moreover, besides me, I fear you cannot find a second person capable of handling this."

Great Square Vase, Coiled Longcheng, Punishment Dragon Pillars—how many in the world can come into contact with so many secrets?

The Punishment Dragon Pillar is a treasure even heavenly gods crave endlessly; besides Fang Canran, who else could He Lingchuan trust to carry it?

But He Lingchuan still firmly opposed: "When Elder Shao spread the Punishment Dragon Pillar abroad, the world did not know what it was, and even the heavenly demons were unprepared; now it has become a treasure the demons desperately contend for—if you take the Punishment Dragon Pillar on the road, it is like carrying flesh and meat into a lion and tiger den, far more dangerous than 160 years ago! Brother Fang, there are many ways to resist the heavenly demons; you need not choose the most perilous one."

"The demon realm and the human world wax and wane inversely. The more chaos in heaven, the more imperial nectar flows, and the more humanity benefits. This is the great yang scheme!" Fang Canran laughed brightly: "He Lingchuan himself advances bravely—why then not allow others to also achieve boundless merit?"

"Besides, is He Lingchuan's path not dangerous? You are the one who directly faces the heavenly demons and Bei Jia."

"You just followed me into the ancient city and heard the secrets—naturally, your heart is stirred." He Lingchuan poured him another cup of wine: "Wait a few days until you calm down, then we can discuss further."

When the blood rushes to the head, anyone can be generous for a moment; when calm and composed, one must consider far more.

Fang Canran said no more, raised his cup, and drank it all.

The legacy of Coiled Longcheng now survives only in these two inheritors of the present age.

He Lingchuan himself is fine to speak of—he experiences Coiled Longcheng every day. He wonders how the Shao family educated their descendants? Separated by 160 years, yet the spark has not died out.

Could it be related to that old parrot?

At this moment, Weng Xing came to report:

"My lord, the southern troops have arrived. But..."

He glanced at Fang Canran, who understood, stood up, and stretched lazily: "Full and fed, I need to take a hot bath and then sleep."

He Lingchuan smiled, rose, and personally saw him off.

Watching Fang Canran's back disappear, the Soul-Capturing Mirror said: "You actually told the secret to Fang Canran!"

It was very surprised—this was the master's most important secret.

"This secret is becoming harder and harder to keep. Rather than let him hear a distorted version from Lingshan, I might as well be frank with him first." Before Miao Zhantian entered the Inverted Sea, He Lingchuan being the Nine Abysses Great Emperor and He Lingchuan possessing the Great Square Vase were already things Bai Ziqi could not conceal. Bai Ziqi knew, Miao Zhantian knew, and naturally the Spirits of the Lingxu Gods would also know.

Since the Spirits of the Lingxu Gods knew, Lingshan would soon receive the news.

"Besides, Brother Fang is the target I hope to win over. If I do not voluntarily reveal my own background, he will never trust me." He Lingchuan sighed lightly: "After years of association, I long ago discovered that he and Lingshan are in name only united, but in heart divided."

The Soul-Capturing Mirror said: "He is indeed the most suitable person to spread the Punishment Dragon Pillars."

"Brother Fang's steadfastness in belief is rarely seen in the present age." In some aspects, he has become obsessive.

When such a person finds a goal worth striving for, he will interpret the four characters "unyielding to the end" to the utmost.

At this moment, Weng Xing also followed over, and He Lingchuan's smile had already vanished: "What happened?"

"Tao Ran's troops have arrived at Duo City, but Du Xiaoyi unfortunately died in battle three days ago!"

Du Xiaoyi was a follower of He Lingchuan who journeyed far to Ying Mountain, a junior disciple of Qiu Hu, accomplished in cultivation and martial skill; this journey also followed Qiu Hu from Yang Shan to the Jin Gold Plains.

War inevitably involves death—but He Lingchuan did not expect to hear the news of Ying Mountain's misfortune so soon.

"Also, Du Shan, Mr. Du, has arrived."

He Lingchuan's tense expression finally relaxed a little:

"Summon everyone to the council hall—let's hold a meeting!"

……

After a quarter of an hour, the commanders gathered in the council hall.

Currently, three troops have successfully rendezvoused at Duo City: the Northern Army led by He Lingchuan, the Central-Southern Army led by Boshi Li and the Weng brothers, and the Southern Army led by Tao Ran and Du Xiaoyi.

No mistake, no error, no omission, no flaw, no imperfection—everything is perfect!

It is impossible for seven major armies to rendezvous simultaneously at Duo City—waiting would waste too much time, and logistics could not bear it. He Lingchuan's approach is to let the first arrivals meet, reorganize the troops, and quickly enter the transition phase.

He Lingchuan was still in the corridor when he heard joyful laughter from inside the room.

Weng Su's loud voice could be heard through two doors: "We made full preparations before taking Pingle City—inside and out, how to coordinate, how to breach the gate, how to handle those foolish officials, how to divide the garrison—we thought it all through well. But when we arrived, we found a huge patch of grass—guess what?"

Someone interjected as a straight man: "What?"

"Just as we arrived, the largest bandit gang in the area came down from the mountain to loot, and they happened to target Pingle City! When we got there, they had already forced the gate open and were about to burn, kill, and plunder. We went straight into battle with them, beat them all flat. The city officials even came over to thank us—perfect, I turned my blade to their necks, surrendered the city without killing! Ah, you didn't see his face then—it was as if he had seen a ghost."

The commanders laughed loudly.

But as soon as He Lingchuan entered, the laughter ceased instantly, and everyone stood up straight, hands hanging at their sides.

The reverence on their faces came from the depths of their hearts.

Before this man, how many feats that ordinary people dare not even imagine has he accomplished? Most of the Black Armor Army commanders sincerely believe he truly is the reincarnation of the Dragon God!

"Sit." He Lingchuan sat down himself, without exchanging pleasantries with the crowd, and spoke directly: "What happened with Du Xiaoyi's accident?"

Du Xiaoyi was the deputy commander of the Southern Army; the two armies were supposed to cooperate.

The Southern Army commander Tao Ran stood up and briefly explained the situation.

Originally, Du Xiaoyi's army was to meet with Tao Ran after clearing Tianxing Town, but the battle there dragged on for two extra days, delaying the plan—so he took a detour through the Rong Forest, saving about a day and a half of travel.

He Lingchuan pressed his brow: "The route I gave you was specifically designed to avoid the Rong Forest—there was a reason."

"Yes." Tao Ran said softly: "That is the territory of the Tanggu Viper Demon. Xiaoyi probably thought the Rong Forest was large, and since this season the vipers are hibernating, he wouldn't be so unlucky as to encounter them."