Chapter 2054

"As for her..." Qingyang shook his head. "By all rights, she should have been utterly destroyed—body, sinews, skin, blood all vaporized—by the Heavenly Thunder Absolute Formation. But there are always those, or perhaps certain gods, who believe she might have escaped via the cicada's molt within the formation, that she did not die. This person is too..."

She drew another breath: "But from then on, I never heard another word of the Red General, until you appeared."

He Lingchuan recalled his first entry into the Panlong Phantom Realm, when he went straight to pay respects at the Red General's tomb.

That tomb held no remains—only an empty monument to her clothes and cap.

So that's how it was.

As for Jia Lou Tian, he too is among the Lingxu Gods, extraordinarily powerful and deeply mysterious, the chief deity worshipped by many nations to the north and northwest of Bataling. He Lingchuan only knows that in the mortal realm he bears many divine names and epithets, just as Mitian, worshipped in Panlongcheng, is revered as the "Moon God" in the Demon Nest Marsh.

It seems he will need to investigate Jia Lou Tian's godhood more thoroughly afterward.

"It's... it's my turn to ask." Qingyang grew ever more weary. "Then follow up on your question—please tell me, what exactly is your relationship with the Great Square Vessel?"

The Great Square Vessel still lies in the Panlong Desert, a fact Bekka has already confirmed. But she has also discovered that He Hao and the Great Square Vessel remain closely linked.

How is that possible?

He Lingchuan wanted to speak but hesitated.

Upon reflection, this question seems hard to answer.

What exactly is his relationship with the Great Square Vessel?

Partners?

Mentor and friend?

In any case, it is certainly not the relation of master and magical implement.

He could only say: "Whatever relationship the Great Square Vessel had with its former user, that is what my relationship with it is."

"No, that's not right." Qingyang shook his head. "I know the Great Square Vessel has undergone a very, very great change. Long ago, there was a saying within Ling Mountain that the emergence of elemental power was connected to the Great Square Vessel."

Ling Mountain's secrets sometimes drift to Lingxu, just as Lingxu's internal news can reach Ling Mountain. Bekka's mid- and low-ranking officials may know even less than Ling Mountain does.

He Lingchuan raised his brows: "If Tianluo Star can alter the laws of the mortal realm, why can't the Great Square Vessel?"

"The will of the Great Square Vessel yields to no one." Qingyang spoke softly. "Whether it is the Abyss King or Zhong Shengguang, both have become its vessels, unwillingly enacting its will. You, too, may be the same. Was seizing the Flash Gold your own idea, or did the Great Square Vessel decide it?"

"The Great Square Vessel taught me much, but it never made decisions for me."

"Is that so?" Qingyang gave a cold laugh. "The Abyss King and Zhong Shengguang probably thought the same—yet look where they ended up, on the same path. And you? How are you different from them? Do you still dare claim your thoughts are entirely your own?"

She lifted her gaze to the treetops: "Then look—what is this tree? Nearly all its traits seem aimed at the Wood King Cauldron. That seed could not have formed naturally, nor does it resemble anything in your stores."

"Did the Great Square Vessel produce it?"

He Lingchuan looked at her and nodded.

"If it doesn't save you, you're dead!" she said, word by word, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. "It seems I did not lose to you today."

He Hao's combat prowess, reaction speed, and indomitable will have reached a new level beyond even that before the Overturned Sea, plus some mysterious, unknown-source elemental power. Our side deployed three immortals and two god-descents, yet could do nothing against him and Sutu—this Qingyang did not anticipate.

Before this, she thought He Hao's greatest strength lay in his mind.

But without this strange giant tree, He Hao and Sutu, no matter how stubbornly they resisted, would have been unable to fly, and would ultimately have been pressed to death within the Wood King Cauldron!

"Over a hundred years have passed, and your competitive spirit hasn't changed a bit." He Lingchuan chuckled lightly. He had already won—why not be magnanimous?

Upon hearing this, Qingyang's face changed.

What does this mean? How does He Hao know what her temperament was like over a hundred years ago?

He Lingchuan continued: "My next question is, why must Bekka exterminate Panlongcheng at all costs? Is it only because of the Great Square Vessel?"

To destroy the Red General and the Great Wind Army, even Miao Zhantian personally took action—showing how highly they valued it.

A mere border town, Panlongcheng in true history never truly developed, unlike how it flourishes in the Great Square Vessel's Panlong World.

Many nations and powers in this world despise Bekka and stand against it, yet we see no sign that Bekka must destroy them all.

Why must the heavenly gods and Bekka insist on measuring themselves against Panlongcheng?

Qingyang studied him for two more glances before saying: "You've asked the right person. The Great Square Vessel has always been changing, and the heavenly gods naturally anxiously seek to grasp it in their hands; moreover, Panlongcheng's vital energy is extraordinarily condensed and powerful, even surpassing that of Bekka."

He Lingchuan narrowed his eyes: "Just for the vital energy?"

Qingyang also gave a cold laugh: "Let me speak plainly—Panlongcheng itself has too many shortcomings: small territory, few people, barren resources. Were it not for observing and researching the changes in elemental power, Bekka would have long since wiped out Panlongcheng; it could not have allowed it to cause trouble for decades."

On the Flash Gold Plains, these small states, plus the Xiluo State bordering Panlongcheng, their native poverty, decay, and turmoil are the norm of this world; even if they possess elemental power, its quality is abnormally thin.

Panlongcheng is the exception.

No, there was also the former Abyss Kingdom.

"These two regions that once took the Great Square Vessel— their elemental power is extraordinarily condensed, utterly disproportionate to their own size." Qingyang spoke softly. "The heavenly gods have long coveted the Great Square Vessel, but we are more interested in elemental power."

The focus of the heavenly gods and the demon nations has always differed.

"But by over a hundred and fifty years ago, Imperial Flow Glaze also erupted frequently, the heavenly realm grew ever more tense, and the Lingxu Holy Venerable urgently sought to obtain the Great Square Vessel, repeatedly urging Bekka to send troops to seize it; meanwhile, opposition to Bekka had become a trend, with uprisings sprouting everywhere, relentless despite bans! Many of them were linked to Panlongcheng, precisely because Panlongcheng shouted the loudest and resisted the fiercest, so they regarded it as the vanguard of anti-Bekka resistance." Qingyang shifted her posture; blood gushed from her wound like a spring, but she pretended not to notice. "You say, how could Bekka not destroy Panlongcheng, to make an example of it?"

He Lingchuan gave a faint cold laugh: "Was the effect good?"

"Very good. After we destroyed Panlongcheng, all was silent as tombs—even Ling Mountain drew back."

"Is that so?" He Lingchuan mocked: "Then how did Mu State come to appear?"

This time, it was Qingyang's turn to be silent.

That was indeed Bekka's oversight—at the time, preoccupied with Panlongcheng and other rebel forces, they paid no heed to anomalies in Mou Di, with the result that a third party seized the opportunity to rise.

Her breathing grew ever more rapid, yet her thoughts remained clear: "Now it's my turn to ask. Is the Red General still alive?"