Chapter 2376

In truth, these three days were the time Zhong Shengguang spent constructing the Panlong Secret Realm; only after its completion did it reveal its power.

Dong Rui stared wide-eyed: "In other words, from the moment the Earth Mother detected us until your Secret Realm is finished, we have to hold out for a full day?!"

"Correct. Your understanding is spot on." He Lingchuan praised him, "If the construction succeeds, this Secret Realm will become the new link between the Panlong Ruins and the Great Fanghu, a new boundary between the real and the illusory; for a short time we won't have to worry about the Great Fanghu detaching from reality or being seized."

Conversely, if the new Secret Realm fails to be built, the consequences are unthinkable.

"Twelve hours!" Dong Rui murmured, "Within these twelve hours, just the three of us have to block an entire city of monsters and Heavenly Demons outside — the difficulty is too great, right? Don't forget, those two Heavenly Demons definitely still have trump cards."

"More than that! Lord Zhong has long been at the end of his tether; his remaining power is negligible. Within these twelve hours, the energy to construct the Panlong Secret Realm must also come from another source, otherwise I'll have to shoulder it." He Lingchuan said solemnly, "Also, the Earth Mother has been continuously devouring the entire Panlong Wasteland. That is also a weakening of the Secret Realm, to facilitate its final all-out assault."

Zhu Xiuer also said: "To give the Panlong Secret Realm myriad transformations, it must be integrated with the Wasteland as one."

"Meaning, within twelve hours we not only have to architect the new Secret Realm, but also take the initiative to attack and reclaim the devoured Wasteland, and then withstand the assault of the Earth Mother and the Heavenly Demons?" Dong Rui counted on his fingers one by one; after counting, his vision went black, "Heh, hehe, you really know how to ramp up the difficulty for us!"

Ever since following He Lingchuan, his life has been rich and flavorful indeed.

"Isn't this being forced onto the stage? We have to do it whether we want to or not." He Lingchuan shrugged, already resigned.

Zhu Xiuer, with a straight face, added frost to snow: "The previous problem still isn't solved: how will you structure your Secret Realm? Even if you don't need to become a demonic fiend like Zhong Shengguang, don't you need to stay in the Panlong Wasteland long-term to maintain this Secret Realm's existence?"

After Zhong Shengguang's death he also could not leave the Panlong Wasteland, until Wang Lijie disappeared — all to maintain the Secret Realm, to bind the Great Fanghu.

Must He Lingchuan now retread Zhong Shengguang's old path?

Seeing Dong Rui's worried frown, he patted Dong Rui's shoulder:

"No worries, we'll break it down step by step. First, the Panlong Secret Realm's structure — I've already thought it through."

Dong Rui looked up: "How so?"

"I cannot stay here long, so I need a perfect substitute."

Dong Rui froze, looked at him, then at the hand on his shoulder, and asked suspiciously: "You don't mean me, do you?"

He didn't want to be killed and offered to the ritual vessel!

"Dreaming? What use could you be?" He Lingchuan withdrew his arm, unfastened a luminous pearl from his cloak, "I mean this."

"The Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl!" Zhu Xiuer and Dong Rui exclaimed in unison, "Oh..."

Right, they had both forgotten He Lingchuan still had this great treasure on him.

He Lingchuan tossed it lightly, and the pearl floated in midair, glowing quietly.

"Half-illusory, half-real, neither illusory nor real — what treasure could be more suitable for constructing the Panlong Secret Realm?" he said softly, "Lord Zhong had this plan long ago: to build a Secret Realm and transfer the entire city's soldiers and civilians inside to avoid calamity. Alas, until the year Panlongcheng fell, the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl was still not ready."

The Zhong Shengguang of that year had underestimated the difficulty of this plan. "He could only become a demonic fiend after death and forcibly open this insufficiently stable Panlong Secret Realm. Because human power is finite, his soul also had to remain in the Panlong Wasteland until he contributed his very last bit of strength."

"As of today, I think the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl should be ready."

He Lingchuan's words concealed countless twists and turns.

The Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl was originally a Shadow Dragon's inner core; the Dragon God personally refined it into a Heavenly Pearl. Panlongcheng hung it atop the city walls; True Person Qianhuan handed it to the Yao King, then retrieved it and continued washing and refining it in the Upside-Down Sea.

Its final stop: it fell into the hands of the Nine Nether Great Emperor, where in the Cangyan Empire it felt the rolling red dust, and on unprecedentedly vast land absorbed the floating-world vicissitudes composed of hundreds of millions of living beings.

Its previous two owners, Zhong Shengguang and True Person Qianhuan, both misjudged the situation, with severe consequences, so it was regarded as ominous. This time, it falls to He Lingchuan to make the decision.

"This treasure pearl has already acknowledged me as master; I will plant it between the illusory and the real, hoping it becomes the most reliable link between the ancient Panlongcheng and the Great Fanghu. Once successful, I also won't have to stay long in the Panlong Wasteland."

The Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl — it should fulfill its mission now.

Hearing this, Dong Rui breathed a sigh of relief: "Then that works; this matter counts as temporarily solved."

The doubt Zhu Xiuer raised was resolved; next came the next problem.

"As for the enemy, I originally thought it best for the Earth Mother to act against the Panlong Secret Realm as late as possible. However, I've changed my mind now."

Dong Rui's face was full of hope: "What scheme do you have this time?"

"The Earth Mother and the Heavenly Demons — our opponents are not singular, so we shouldn't fight alone either. Remember the recent surge of cultivators in Heishuicheng? What do you think they've come for?"

"Quite a few loose cultivators, but mainly from Lingshan." Zhu Xiuer continued, "They've come to take revenge on the Earth Mother, right? The Earth Mother excavated Shao City's Xuanjing mines clean and killed two batches of their people."

Dong Rui added: "Lingshan also has designs on the Great Fanghu; they'll probably wait and see how things develop."

"Since they have the intent, why not make them our helping hand?" Borrowing strength to strike strength has always been He Lingchuan's forte.

He walked to the large pool by the South Gate Plaza, reached out and lightly brushed the water surface, "The Panlong Ruins have likely had other visitors recently. Before considering countermeasures, let's first see if there's any usable manpower."

He had already obtained control of the Panlong Secret Realm. As the middle ground between reality and the Great Fanghu, the Secret Realm's connection to the Ruins is actually very tight; with a wave of his hand like this, ripples rose on the water surface.

"Let's see what events have occurred in the Ruins over the past five days."

When the pool surface smoothed like a mirror, images appeared.

The scenes in the pool water were all views inside the Panlong Ruins, but from multiple angles, focusing on the several city gates serving as entrances and exits.

At first, the Ruins' footage was like a still frame, with no creatures entering or leaving.

Because a barrier over the Panlong Ruins prevented birds from landing, and the stone bridge outside the South Main Gate was already broken, ordinary people couldn't walk up directly from the Panlong Wasteland, which deterred a large group of idle adventurers wandering around.

However, just two days ago, several avian demons also landed outside the Nancheng Gate of the Ruins; six or seven people jumped down from their backs and swaggered in through the Nancheng Gate.

He Lingchuan let out a soft "Huh?"

"What?"

"I recognize this person." He pointed at one of them, "Ten-odd years, didn't expect to meet him here again. His name is, uh..."

He drew a blank.