Chapter 2398

The guardian spirit temporarily left, and that secret realm became ownerless at once. Everyone sneaked in, so they didn't have to deal with the local powers. The best part is, the secret realm still belongs to the guardian spirit, and the Earth Mother cannot probe it.

This is what is called a power vacuum. As long as they spot it, they have an opportunity to exploit.

"The Great Green Tea Demon cannot go there, for its secret realm is at the main gate of Jade Capital City." Immortal Qingke pointed to the remaining six secret realms, "It just depends on which of these six guardian spirits will respond to the Earth Mother's demand and go to battle."

Immortal Mingyao raised an objection: "But there is still a problem. The secret realms we enter are illusory by nature. How can things taken from an illusory place be brought into reality?"

The boundary between the real and the illusory is clear, just like when a person dreams of getting rich but cannot take real money out of the dream, cannot truly become wealthy.

Immortal Qingke then said: "After all, secret realms differ from illusions and dreams; they are not entirely fabricated. They have intersections and connections with reality, even mutual permeation. Otherwise, the Earth Mother would have no foothold to attack them. Therefore, secret realms often contain some physical objects that have absorbed the secret realm's aura and can conceal our movements."

Immortal Qingke's words were agreed upon by He Lingchuan, because the prototype of his Floating Life Sword, as well as the comb taken from Zhong Shengguang's residence, were both physical objects taken from the Panlong Secret Realm.

Immortal Qingke continued: "So the current problem is, how can we find these things within the secret realm?"

They know little about the secret realms of Jade Capital City, and the secret realms' nature makes truth and falsehood hard to distinguish. Within limited time, how can outsiders find physical objects from within the secret realm?

What is the difference between that and looking for a needle in the ocean?

He Lingchuan immediately said: "Leave this matter to me. As long as I enter the secret realm, I can find the physical object."

All the immortals' gazes fell on him at once, yet they saw he remained calm and composed.

What level of cultivation does this Tiger-Wing General actually have? The immortals cannot fathom his depth.

Immortal Qingke knows the Spider Immortal's temperament—she never allies with the weak. Anyone who can come alongside her must also have some skill. Observing the Spider Immortal's attitude toward this Tiger-Wing General, so relaxed and natural, one can infer they usually get along well.

The phoenix does not keep company with rats, unless it is a Heaven-Overturning Rat.

Furthermore, given that these major events occurred on the Panlong Wasteland, the Nine Abysses Great Emperor directly dispatched the Tiger-Wing General here, which shows his trust in him.

True Person Chonghui questioned doubtfully: "How do you plan to do it?"

"The Great Emperor ordered me to take one treasure from the Panlong Secret Realm that can easily pierce the veil between illusion and reality. Using it to seek the target within the secret realm is as easy as turning one's hand."

Through the Withered Leaf Butterfly, these people all know he and Zhu Xiuer have entered the Panlong Secret Realm, so He Lingchuan simply does not conceal it.

The immortals were slightly surprised and asked him: "How confident are you?"

"I dare not say more, but above eighty percent."

Immortal Mingyao immediately approved: "Excellent! Just so decided."

"There are still three problems." Let's solve them one by one. He Lingchuan asked the immortals, "For this stage of entering Jade Capital City, have you selected a suitable avian demon from among the captives?"

"We screened three, but haven't decided which one to take." Captives have no loyalty to speak of; they might just return to Jade Capital City from the Bean Cassia Garden and immediately offer themselves as enemies to the Earth Mother.

He Lingchuan understood perfectly well; these immortals are no saints either. The demon captives of Jade Capital City falling into their hands probably won't get any good treatment. With this good opportunity, who would not seek revenge?

So although the plan is good, the first step is already stuck.

"Perhaps we need to use deadly poison or blood curses to control them." Immortal Mingyao said, "Actually, the Heart-Confusing Worm could also be used here, for the Earth Mother lacks the Great Green Tea Demon's penetrative vision. But afterward, we must immediately go to a secret realm in the city where we can land, and the Heart-Confusing Worms in our hands may hardly accomplish such a high-difficulty task."

The Heart-Confusing Worms under their control have limited intelligence; the puppets they manipulate cannot perform those adaptive tasks requiring strong judgment.

"Perhaps we also have a way to solve this difficulty." He Lingchuan glanced at Zhu Xiuer, and she understood.

Under everyone's gaze, it actually produced from its abdominal pouch——

A little girl!

Five or six years old, with big, round eyes, looking adorable.

Before the immortals, she also showed no fear, her gaze sweeping over each person's face, carrying a child's innocence.

He Lingchuan rubbed her head: "This is Xiao An."

"She……" True Person Chonghui tried to find a clue, "She won't be an ordinary human, will she?"

In everyone's perception, this is just an ordinary child, with limp muscles, no spiritual power, no divine abilities.

"Of course not." He Lingchuan turned his head and waved to the sentry outside, "Come here, prick a drop of blood for me."

Xiao An was the child wolf who fled the Red Chamber over ten years ago. Dong Rui found and took her in, using every means to help her stabilize her body, which was on the verge of collapse. Since then, she has followed Dong Rui's side.

Child wolves can freely change their appearance, as long as they sufficiently understand the object being imitated. Xiao An still prefers the child's appearance, so she has maintained it until now.

The sentry hesitated, seeing True Person Chonghui nod, then entered the room, drew a dagger, and scratched a point of fresh blood on the back of his hand.

Xiao An stepped forward, extended a finger, smeared it on the back of his hand, and sucked the fresh blood into her own mouth.

She also smacked her lips twice, as if savoring the taste of fresh blood.

Afterward, her appearance began to change—her height increased, her face lengthened, her shoulders and back became broad, her hairline started to recede, and even a beard began to grow!

After just a dozen breaths, "Xiao An" disappeared. Standing before everyone were two sentries who looked exactly alike.

The sentry stared at his counterpart with a surprised expression, while the counterpart's expression matched his exactly.

This person seemed to be looking in a mirror—from the strands of hair to the standing posture, everything was completely identical. If not for Xiao An's different clothing, they would look like twins.

"Wait!" Immortal Mingyao extended his divine sense, sweeping over these two people.

"Their auras are actually exactly the same!" He also felt somewhat surprised, "Even the extent to which their cultivation aura is released outward is utterly identical."

Xiao An could not possibly match the sentry's cultivation level, but she can simulate it.

"To a certain extent, Xiao An is now the sentry." Zhu Xiuer said, "If you can deceive him, you can deceive the Earth Mother. Moreover, Jade Capital City is still a battlefield now, with heaven and earth in chaos, everything in turmoil. The Earth Mother's vast majority of energy must still be devoted to the battlefield."

"Can she transform into an avian demon?"

"As long as the body size difference is not too great, she can transform." Xiao An cannot turn into a sprout or a fly, after all, the size difference is set; even as a child wolf, there are forms she cannot assume.

Immortal Qingke immediately said: "That blue-feathered eagle, when standing upright, is about a person's height—just right."

While speaking, Xiao An changed back to her original appearance.

"Xiao An, when the time comes, you will transform into the blue-feathered eagle and lead us into Jade Capital City." He Lingchuan rubbed her head, "Can you do it?"