Chapter 2373

That should be the strength of the Panlong Secret Realm and the Great Square Vase.

During their conversation, Dashan continued to shrink, and its falling speed kept slowing down; now it was only the size of a small hill, and it was also affected by the wind.

"It's coming down!"

Dong Rui estimated that it had already passed through the barrier of the Panlong Ruins, and the speed of the mountain peak's shrinkage suddenly accelerated again!

If the viewpoint from above followed Dashan all the way down, one would feel this process was extraordinarily long, because it kept falling but never touched the ground.

In fact, until the very end, it never landed, but instead "plopped" into the Fu Pool.

Water splashed everywhere, and the nearby fish were startled, flicking their tails and swimming away.

Dong Rui's neck angle shifted from looking up to looking down, standing side by side with Zhu Xiuer, watching it fall into the water the whole time.

"Ah ha? Just this little thing?"

The ghost ape still stayed by He Lingchuan's side to watch the live scene, then oh oh haha, clutching its belly and laughing loudly.

This "mountain" was about the size of a marble that a child would play with on the roadside, not much bigger than a fingernail.

If it weren't for Dong Rui's current higher cultivation and sharper eyesight, he really wouldn't have been able to see its final stretch.

The fish in the pool gathered again, looking to see what had frightened them, opening and closing their mouths, cursing terribly.

The Great Square Vase's Retracing Divine Power not only shrank the falling mountain, but further "traced" it back to its original form, making it even smaller than when the Qingchu Ghost grabbed it!

"That makes sense." Zhu Xiuer said seriously, "It seems its true form isn't actually a mountain—it was forcibly enlarged, and now it's been shrunk back."

In ancient times, some magical artifacts were truly refined from an entire mountain peak or an entire river flow; even if one used the Retracing Divine Power, it would be useless, as they were naturally that large.

Obviously, the Great Square Vase's judgment was extremely precise, having seen through its weakness, thus enabling a single strike to destroy it.

"Jiuyou has summoned us back." Zhu Xiuer looked up at the avian demons in the sky, "These things are still scouting."

Returning to the Panlong Secret Realm, the three gathered again by the puddle to observe.

The Qingchu Ghost returned to staying inside the ghost city's walls. The "Mountain Pressing Down" tactic was ineffective; the Earth Mother had no new moves for now, but land demons began returning to the Panlong Ruins, once again exploring everywhere.

However, they didn't linger long by the Fu Pool's edge. Earlier, when Zhu Xiuer burst from the ground, she activated her own camouflage, perfectly blending with the surroundings, and Dong Rui wore an invisibility cloak, so the avian demons in the sky didn't notice them.

"The Earth Mother's next probe or attack will begin soon." He Lingchuan said lightly, "From the materials found by Liu Qingdao, for such relics with resistance, the Earth Mother most often adopts the method of close combat."

"City against city?"

"Yes, city devours city." He Lingchuan lightly clapped his palms, "The Heavenly Gods wish to use this process to separate the Great Square Vase from the Panlong Ruins!"

"So the Heavenly Gods will definitely intervene?"

"And, not only will those two fully descended Heavenly Gods act." He Lingchuan's face sank like water, "To deal with the Great Square Vase, relying on just those two—where could that be enough?"

Zhu Xiuer also felt the situation was dire: "You've worked out a plan, right?"

"I said earlier, we actually have no choice." During the process of Dashan's fall, He Lingchuan had been repeatedly weighing, "The power of the Panlong Secret Realm is growing weaker; just now, to withstand this bit of divine power from Yujing City, the western city wall collapsed in a large section. For now, I must rebuild the Secret Realm!"

That is, rebuild the connection between the Great Square Vase and the Panlong Ruins, so their bond becomes unbreakable once again.

Once achieved, Lingxu Shengzun will have no choice but to give up.

"Zhong Shengguang's power has already faded; what will you use to serve as the adhesive between these two?"

He Lingchuan pointed to his own nose with a wry smile: "Then it can only be me."

He is Zhong Shengguang's successor. Most importantly, he is also a collaborator deeply trusted by the Great Square Vase— is there anyone more suitable than him?

He hasn't returned to the Panlong Desert for over ten years; this time, he just happened to rush back when the Earth Mother and Heavenly Gods were attacking the Panlong Ruins—truly, the timing and fortune were perfect.

Dong Rui, having interacted with him for a long time, knew that when he furrowed his brows, there was something hidden: "Is something wrong?"

He Lingchuan hesitated unusually for a moment before saying: "Nothing, nothing. We need to hurry."

Even if he could successfully emulate Zhong Shengguang, but the Great Square Vase's "from substance to emptiness" is already an inevitable trend, and so far remains uncompleted. When Zhong Shengguang became a demon over a hundred years ago, this trend was not yet obvious, so he could still forcibly bind the two together.

Now the Great Square Vase's power is incomparable to what it was over a hundred years ago. For the Great Square Vase, this bond is also equivalent to a kind of constraint. Does He Lingchuan have enough strength to rebuild this relationship?

And he still remembers what Zhaomandu said to Zhong Shengguang:

Perhaps one day, the Great Square Vase will still have to return from emptiness to substance.

This sentence, upon careful thought, is terrifying.

After He Lingchuan personally went to overturn the sea and had a discussion with Qianhuan True Person, his understanding of the "virtual-real" relationship transformed, already far surpassing ordinary people— even Zhu Xiuer beside him could not catch up.

Therefore, he can be certain of one point: if Zhaomandu's judgment is correct, and if the Great Square Vase truly needs to "return from emptiness to substance" later, then this process would be far more difficult and intense than "from substance to emptiness"!

He Lingchuan is not certain whether he can endure such a trial.

However, for now, "using oneself as the bond" is the best way to preserve the Great Square Vase. If he chooses the latter option— that is, accelerating the separation between the Great Square Vase and the Panlong Ruins— the consequences would be utterly unpredictable. If the Great Square Vase henceforth flees into the void and never appears again, what then? If the Great Square Vase and the Panlong Ruins have no further connection, will he never be able to return to the Panlong world?

And no one knows how long this process will take; if the Heavenly Gods succeed during this period...

Then, having obtained the Great Square Vase, Lingxu Shengzun would sweep away his final obstacle to full descent.

That would be a catastrophe for mankind!

In summary, He Lingchuan retracing Zhong Shengguang's old path is the most stable and fastest method.

For now, we can only take one step at a time— first resolve the immediate major crisis, and leave future troubles for later.

Zhu Xiuer also suddenly felt something was off: "Hey hey, wait! After Zhong Shengguang died, he immediately became a demon, completing this blood-oath bond, and from then on could never leave the Panlong Wasteland! You, you wouldn't also have to do that, would you?"

Zhong Shengguang sealed the bond with his death!

Even if He Lingchuan forms this bond without needing to die, would he from then on be trapped in the Panlong Wasteland? As a bond, shouldn't he be situated between the Great Square Vase and the Panlong Ruins, otherwise how could it be called an "adhesive"?

If the Jiuyou Great Emperor cannot return to Cangyan, will the Jinjin Plains not fall into great chaos? Then, the great undertaking of resisting the Heavenly Demons— who will lead and command it?