Chapter 2371: The Tangled Present

"Probably." He Lingchuan's face was heavy and solemn. "Before I first entered the Panlong Secret Realm, Commander Zhong had already been holding out alone for over a hundred and fifty years. According to the Great Shaman, his strength would eventually be exhausted. After that, he attached himself to the black dragon statue and defeated the invaders."

Zhong Shengguang became a demon fiend after death, and perhaps his oil ran dry and his wick burned out during this hundred and fifty years of guarding, so that after the battle at the Panlong ruins, the statue was completely shattered.

As Zhao Man Du said, "Such guardianship always has an end."

Dong Rui then said: "Isn't he waiting for you? Since you have appeared, his mission is also over."

What is the demon fiend's mission? To bind the Great Great Great Fanghu and the Panlong ruins together with himself as a knot, waiting for the new owner favored by the Great Great Great Fanghu to appear.

After finally waiting for He Lingchuan, Zhong Shengguang's mission is also over, and he should naturally be freed.

Zhong Shengguang is not a god who knows the future; he did not know that the Great Great Great Fanghu would later undergo so many changes, nor did he know that the process of the Great Great Great Fanghu's "leaving the substance for the void" would actually be this fast.

When Sha Jian originally handed the Great Great Great Fanghu to Zhong Shengguang, it was still a small pot that could be held in the hand.

But by the time He Lingchuan established a relationship with the Great Great Great Fanghu, it had already detached from the concept of "form," and as a result, He Lingchuan could not take it away.

This is the hidden danger left by the two collaborators during their handover.

"Troublesome!" He Lingchuan could only make an unfavorable inference: "After the power of the demon fiend that Commander Zhong turned into is exhausted, the connection between Panlong City and the Great Great Great Fanghu will gradually weaken. And the evolution of the Great Great Great Fanghu is 'leaving the substance for the void,' with its ties to the mortal world growing ever fewer. No wonder the Lingxu gods chose this moment to strike at it! They must have sensed the changes in the Great Great Great Fanghu!"

Zhu Xiuer shuddered: "The Holy Sovereign of Lingxu truly has piercing eyes—where did it see the anomaly in the Great Great Great Fanghu?"

Dong Rui's concern was more practical: "Hey, if the connection between the Great Great Great Fanghu and the Panlong ruins is severed, what then?"

"Perhaps—" He Lingchuan said slowly, "perhaps the heavenly demons have a way to take it away. They sought help from the Earth Mother, which is unlikely to be a shot in the dark."

Over the past hundred years, the heavenly demons have repeatedly suffered setbacks in the Panlong Desert. This time, the Holy Sovereign of Lingxu's renewed provocation is likely already prepared.

At this moment, the sound of collapse came again from the direction of the city walls.

The ghost ape previously left in the city by Dong Rui also leapt over, gesturing with its hands and feet.

"It says that a large section of the western buildings in the city has collapsed, and there is a tendency to spread toward other directions within the city. When it came over, the eastern city wall made a cracking sound, and it saw several fissures."

He Lingchuan's face turned grave: "The Panlong Secret Realm is both the interface of substance and void, and the connection between the Panlong ruins and the Great Great Great Fanghu. Its collapse represents a step-by-step disengagement of these two."

Zhu Xiuer only asked: "What should we do now?"

He Lingchuan held the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl in one hand, pondered for a moment, then exhaled: "Perhaps we have two choices: either, re-establish the bond between the Panlong ruins and the Great Great Great Fanghu, stabilizing their relationship again; or—"

"Or simply let the Great Great Great Fanghu and the Panlong ruins completely disengage, helping it accelerate the full process of 'leaving the substance for the void'! But given the two major external enemies eyeing us covetously, this is not a wise choice."

Because the outcome is unknown. The risk is too great, He Lingchuan dare not gamble recklessly.

Zhu Xiuer immediately said: "No matter which option, the Earth Mother and heavenly demon forces outside are coming with mighty momentum; we must stop them from taking advantage of the void to attack the Great Great Great Fanghu."

Earlier, the Panlong Secret Realm released the image stored within the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl, precisely to let He Lingchuan understand the antecedents and consequences, grasp the severity of this incident, and thus make a decision.

"The Earth Mother's forces are numerous." Dong Rui thought of the enemy's demon soldiers filling the city and his head ached. Including all the demon puppets, they still outnumber us in absolute terms. "Do we have any reinforcements?"

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered, he lowered his head and remained silent.

At this moment, the three of them felt the ground beneath their feet suddenly tremble, at least a four or five magnitude earthquake.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror murmured: "How come as soon as we entered the Panlong Secret Realm, this place is accelerating its collapse?"

However, the puddle before He Lingchuan's eyes suddenly rippled without wind, then transformed into another layer of image:

The valley seven li outside the Panlong ruins suddenly underwent a violent tremor, the earth split and trees fell.

Sand and stones splashed and flew, smoke and dust filled the air.

Countless bird habitats were destroyed, they shrieked and flew up into the high sky, the heavens filled with clamor.

And within that smoke and dust, the outlines of buildings faintly appeared.

They became increasingly distinct, increasingly grand.

And just a quarter of an hour later, this valley had gained a city!

Thick city walls, various architectural styles, considerable area.

The key is, it still looks very familiar.

The Earth Mother brought the Jade Capital City to attack!

"So the earthquake was caused by it—truly, whatever trouble you fear comes to pass." Dong Rui stared at the strange city in the image, "But isn't it coming too early?"

Half of the Panlong wasteland has not yet been blackened; is the Earth Mother too impatient?

But Zhu Xiuer said: "It is coming to probe the enemy's situation. Before taking action, shouldn't one first gather intelligence? The Earth Mother's combat experience should also be very rich."

Such ancient great demons are all seasoned old hands; their fighting experience is certainly not lacking.

The Earth Mother likely wants to test the weight of the Panlong ruins, then see what abilities the renowned Great Great Great Fanghu actually possesses.

But it also remains cautious, not daring to get too close.

"High insight, Elder Lady." He Lingchuan pointed at the image: "Look, this first wave of probing has arrived?"

The gate of the ghost city is archaic in style, five zhang high, opening inward. Unlike ordinary cities, above the city gate is a huge ghost head sculpture, with high cheekbones, garlic nose, protruding forehead, glaring eyes, blue face and fangs, horns growing on its head, and huge blood-red ghost eyes seeming to stare at every creature below the city.

It is precisely because of this ghost head that the people of Heishuicheng call the Jade Capital City the Ghost City. Someone who sees it once is frightened into sleeplessness for several nights.

Now the ghost city's gate suddenly opened, and dozens of demons marched out, running all the way toward the Panlong ruins.

Their speed exceeds that of galloping horses; when they run, their feet hardly touch the ground.

The mere seven-li distance, they cover in no time.

Then, they were blocked by the Chi Pa Highland.

The moat ahead is as deep as an abyss, and the stone bridge connecting the highland to the plain has already been broken, leaving no passable road.

But at this moment, hundreds of bird demons fell from the sky, two or three together seizing a demon and flying toward the Chi Pa Highland!

The land bridge is broken—can we take the aerial route instead?

These bird demons thus transported the demons to the southern gate of the Panlong ruins, and did not depart, merely circling high in the sky.

They are the Earth Mother's scouts, wanting to see how the Panlong ruins will respond to uninvited guests.

The southern gate of the ruins still maintains the appearance from when it was breached in the past, and of course cannot be closed. These demons probed outside the gate, and it could be seen that they were somewhat hesitant.

Thanks to Tian Tian Kan for the reward~~