Chapter 2374: Vitality in the Desolate

In the Panlong Secret Realm, He Lingchuan had been staring blankly at the puddle for a long time, while Zhu Xiuer and Dong Rui stood beside him, all three pairs of sixteen eyes fixed on the water surface.

But there was nothing in the puddle.

The chaotic figure never appeared.

He Lingchuan then said to the two: "Wait here, I'll be right back."

After saying that, he jumped into the puddle with a splash.

To the other two, this puddle looked shallow—no more than an arm's depth—but when He Lingchuan jumped in, he vanished instantly.

"This ghostly place, truly mysterious and strange."

After more than two quarters of an hour, He Lingchuan emerged from the puddle, wiping water from his face.

Dong Rui looked at the pool again—still crystal clear, as always. He had no idea where He Lingchuan had gone just then.

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing." He had drifted aimlessly through the crimson ocean, but saw no trace of chaos.

That big lump who always wandered around aimlessly—He Lingchuan had entered the Panlong World ten times and "chanced upon" it nine times, but now he didn't know where it had hidden.

If it doesn't appear and gives He Lingchuan no hint, how can he deepen his bond with the Great Square Vessel?

—Speaking of which, it's time.

For over ten years, his relationship with the Great Square Vessel had been like that of faint collaborators, not as deeply bound as Zhong Shengguang and the Great Square Vessel.

"There's a big entity hidden below; I wanted to communicate with it, but it refuses to show itself." He Lingchuan casually squeezed water from his hair, white steam rising from his body as he circulated his true energy to dry his clothes. "I think it wants to tell me that we shouldn't seek it for this matter."

Chaos never speaks, nor does it communicate with him through words or spiritual sense; he has always observed its actions and inferred its intentions. Fortunately, after dealing with it for so long, he can usually guess correctly four or five times out of ten.

The companions exchanged glances, bewildered. What big entity? Are there still living beings in the Panlong Secret Realm?!

Zhu Xiuer pressed on: "Then who should we look for?"

Dong Rui found it strange: "Wait, can you still find people here?"

He Lingchuan fell into deep thought.

The Panlong Secret Realm is a boundary between the virtual and the real; He Lingchuan has never seen any other living beings here. When he fought the Three Waters True Person in dire straits years ago, the Red General could only send him a set of armor, unable to join the battle personally.

Therefore, this is a rather special plane. From the dialogue between Zhong Manshu and Zhong Shengguang, it can be inferred that this place is likely the manifestation of Zhong Shengguang's power and belief—one end connected to reality, the other to the Great Square Vessel.

Once the Panlong Secret Realm collapses, the bridge between reality and the Great Square Vessel will also break.

Thus, He Lingchuan's immediate priority is to reinforce this constantly collapsing Panlong Secret Realm, or...

His thoughts briefly expanded, then returned to the point:

To repair the Panlong Secret Realm, one must first take control of its leadership.

The chaos in the Red Sea has made its stance clear—this matter has nothing to do with it—so where should He Lingchuan begin?

Zhu Xiuer's earlier question was spot-on, hitting the core directly:

Who should we look for?

The transfer of power must occur between two entities. One is He Lingchuan; the other is?

The target is naturally only one: the creator of this Panlong Secret Realm—

Zhong Shengguang.

He Lingchuan rose and strode back: "Follow me!"

Dong Rui hurried after: "Where to?"

"To Lord Zhong's tomb."

After Zhong Shengguang's suicide following the city's fall, the enemy, deeply impressed, built him a grand tomb. He Lingchuan returned, lit two candles, placed them before the stele, and lit an incense stick.

Seeing the wine cups left by He Chunhua and himself years ago, he picked them up again, pulled a bottle of fine wine from his bosom, filled them, and set them before the stele.

Then he drew the Floating Life Treasure Blade, laid it horizontally before the tombstone, and said softly:

"Lord Zhong, this is the treasure blade you gave me back then. I repaired it after it broke, making it far superior to before! Today's Panlong Secret Realm is like that blade—worn out, unusable, tottering. If you entrust it to me, I will surely rekindle its primordial fire, making it stronger than ever!"

Dong Rui and Zhu Xiuer exchanged glances behind him. He Lingchuan faced Zhong Shengguang's tomb in prayer—does this mean Zhong Shengguang's will still exists?

As his words faded, a gust seemed to blow from the forest direction, lifting the dust on the ground into a swirl.

The three waited a long while, but no further phenomena appeared.

Before Zhong Shengguang's tomb, all was silent, as always.

Having received no response, was it because He Lingchuan's deduction was wrong, or because they came too late and Zhong Shengguang's will had already dissipated?

He Lingchuan again pondered long before the tomb.

His companions had grown accustomed to not disturbing him when he thought—only the wind from the Red Plateau came in gusts, dry, scorching, sharp, scraping across faces like blades.

This is the true fierce wind familiar to Panlongcheng folk—not the soft, affectionate breeze of later times.

The great wind swept over the heavy southern city gate, carving mournful notes through its thousand holes—gods howling, ghosts weeping.

He Lingchuan instinctively turned his head, gazing toward the southern city gate.

Sand filled the sky, the wilderness dim and yellow—this too was the usual scene when Panlongcheng stirred with wind.

But! The southern city gate in the distance stood defiantly abnormal in their view, still wrapped in a full halo of light from the sandstorm.

As if this world had nothing left but this high wall.

Dong Rui happened to say: "Why did the wind suddenly pick up? Does this place usually love strong winds?"

Zhu Xiuer sighed and muttered: "Trying to get a hint from this desolate place? Really not easy."

"Wait!" He Lingchuan suddenly turned to Zhu Xiuer: "What did you say?"

"I said, trying to get something from this..."

He Lingchuan cut in: "Desolate?"

"Yes."

"The Secret Realm is indeed desolate, but we just seemed to see vitality—undying vitality!" He Lingchuan leapt up, unleashed his divine powers, and headed toward the southern city gate, not forgetting to add: "Zhu Xiuer gave a good hint!"

Today was the second time she'd been praised, and Zhu Xiuer was happy: "No need to thank me."

Dong Rui asked Zhu Xiuer: "What did you hint at?"

Is there still life in this place? How come I have no impression of it at all?

Zhu Xiuer held her head high, lifted her leg, and sauntered toward the Nancheng gate:

"Just go take a look and you'll know? If there's nothing else, you should use your brain more."

How could it know! Can anyone keep up with He Lingchuan's train of thought?

But this is the fifth time He Lingchuan has changed locations after entering the Secret Realm.

Upon entering the Nancheng gate, the first thing they saw was the huge stone sculpture fragments in the square, and the second thing was He Lingchuan's hunched back.

He was crouched in front of the dragon's head of the black dragon stone sculpture.

Even though it was shattered all over the ground, the black dragon stone sculpture still covered a considerable area. Its shattered aura always made people feel this was a true dragon that had fallen, not merely a giant statue.