Chapter 2434: Things That Go Against the Norm Must Have Demons

He is a soul-body, and also a nightmare; his sensitivity to other souls exceeds that of living people.

Ling Jinbao listened, half-believing, half-doubting.

His soul far surpasses that of an ordinary immortal—could it be him?

"The companion of the Spider Immortal, surnamed Lu, became a general in an emerging country in the east. But as for his specific background, I don't know either." Ling Jinbao shrugged. "There are immortals from Ling Mountain all over the world; in the past decade or so, many have entered the service of the human state, and everyone's identity and background have become quite mixed."

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Seeing no one around, Immortal Mingke leapt to the edge of the medicine cliff and reached out to pluck the wind-dew golden lotus.

"Not in a hurry."

A flash of shadow beside him, and He Lingchuan arrived as well.

Immortal Mingke glanced sideways; this fellow was fast, and his footsteps made not a sound.

This Tiger-Wing General, in his every gesture, unconsciously revealed qualities far beyond those of an ordinary warrior.

He Lingchuan also reached out, lightly blocking Immortal Mingke ahead. The latter then said:

"I'll just pull it open to look; if the Earth Mother isn't inside, we'll search elsewhere."

Even if the wind-dew golden lotus hides nothing, eliminating a wrong option is still good.

He Lingchuan spoke quickly: "In the secret realm, Shangguan Biao has been tending this golden lotus day and night; if something is hidden inside the flower, wouldn't he notice?"

Immortal Mingke argued: "Those trapped in history may not necessarily perceive it."

"Do you think the master of the secret realm knows we've intruded into Duzhi Mountain?"

Given Shangguan Biao's control over Yujing City, Immortal Mingke felt no hope: "He probably already knows."

"But as soon as we entered the secret realm, we saw the wind-dew golden lotus gleaming with golden light, and then we saw Shangguan Biao." He Lingchuan asked him, "Is the secret realm master unafraid of our interference, or does he want us to interfere? When things go awry, there must be a demon."

The dew of the golden lotus can soothe the Earth Mother; even the Earth Mother's soul might be hidden within the golden lotus. This is a supreme treasure related to the secret realm master and the entire Yujing City. If the secret realm master has already discovered these intruders, why wouldn't he intervene? Why dare let them face the wind-dew golden lotus directly?

"This is rather suspicious." Could it be that the secret realm master is preoccupied elsewhere, too busy to attend to this? But Immortal Mingke immediately dismissed the thought: "But what harm is there in verifying the golden lotus?"

Before the three, the golden lotus continued to emit a stable golden halo.

Immortal Mingke had not finished speaking when his thumb and forefinger lightly pinched forward, about to pluck the lotus.

After all, he is a great immortal—why must he obey the words of a mortal general?

But before his hand could extend even a palm's distance, He Lingchuan made a scissor-hand gesture, aiming to pierce his Hukou.

Immortal Mingke swayed outward, trying to close in, but He Lingchuan was a step faster; his left shoulder slammed into the immortal's chest with a bang.

Immortal Mingke felt his force sink like mud into the sea, while a soft force transmitted from the opponent's shoulder, shaking him backward.

Unwilling to retreat, this force suddenly erupted, forcibly holding him two steps away.

Since ascending to immortality, he has rarely engaged in such close combat; unaccustomed to it, and he never expected mortal martial arts could produce such an effect.

But as Immortal Mingke retreated, a copper dart flew from his sleeve, aiming to slice off the lotus petals.

Two spider threads shot from the side, lightly sticking it in place.

Zhu Xiuer and He Lingchuan have been partners for too long; their coordination is seamless. He Lingchuan need not turn around to know it will surely block Immortal Mingke's follow-up move.

Immortal Mingke, already mild-tempered among immortals, could not help but snap: "You..."

"We originally thought the Earth Mother's essence might be in the golden lotus because it is one of the few real things in this secret realm. We brought yao blood from outside and poured it onto it." Time was pressing, He Lingchuan interrupted: "But there is another real thing in this secret realm we should investigate!"

Being able to speak substantively, Immortal Mingke's anger subsided: "What thing?"

"The Earth Mother!" He Lingchuan pointed to the rear mountain: "In this secret realm, Shangguan Biao has been bringing the dew of the wind-dew golden lotus into the earth fissure, drop by drop, feeding it to the slumbering Earth Mother."

The dew produced by the wind-dew golden lotus is real, and the Earth Mother has indeed consumed these dewdrops, as witnessed by the eyeball spider.

Moreover, He Lingchuan emphasized the words "slumbering" with heavy stress. Upon hearing this, both companions exclaimed: "Exactly!"

Zhu Xiuer immediately said: "Assuming the Earth Mother's essence is truly sealed, the secret realm master must find a way to keep it stable; continuously feeding it medicine is a good method. Coincidentally, in history, during this period the Earth Mother was also resting and healing. If the secret realm master sealed it underground, he only needs Shangguan Biao to feed it the dew. After all, the wind-dew golden lotus is real, and its dew is real!"

In the cultivation world, there is a consensus: to seal an object, whether living or not, it is best to keep it calm and stable; otherwise, the seal and barrier constantly face challenges from the object, making efficacy hard to guarantee.

A counterexample is the great fire spirit brazier beneath the Star-Plucking Tower. The Heavenly Palace used the great formation of Mount Xushan to suppress it, preventing it from sinking into the earth's core, but lacking the ability to let it fall into slumber; thus, the brazier constantly schemed to escape suppression, occasionally probing, and finally collaborated with He Lingchuan, this great demon, to directly smash the Star-Plucking Tower.

Shangguan Biao has controlled Yujing City for thousands of years, outwardly appearing as the Earth Mother's image, indicating he has well-controlled the Earth Mother's essence. Therefore, the Earth Mother's essence is likely in slumber, and sleeping soundly.

If the Duzhi Mountain secret realm truly hides the core secret of Yujing City, nine times out of ten it is the location of the Earth Mother's essence! To guard this secret, the secret realm master will surely deliberately mislead all intruders—

For example, this very conspicuous wind-dew golden lotus before their eyes.

Immortal Mingke glanced at the golden lotus before him, then at the hill behind the locust tree, pursed his lips: "Let's go."

In fact, he also understood that what the Tiger-Wing General said remained mere "inference," not fully certain. But under the circumstances, this seemed a relatively reasonable option.

Yujing City and this secret realm are truly bizarre. With insufficient effective information, one can only rely on one's intuition and judgment.

Actually, he also felt this flower was somewhat off.

The eyeball spider hanging on the old locust tree sent a warning to Zhu Xiuer:

Someone's coming—withdraw quickly.

He Lingchuan finally glanced at the golden lotus, then furrowed his brows.

Under the influence of the divine bone necklace, the golden lotus in his eyes still emitted a thread of red light, very lively.

The necklace insisted this was his target, but this did not match his own judgment.

All along, the divine bone necklace's indications have been an important reference, but if they conflict with his own judgment, of course his judgment prevails. After all, the great pot represented by the necklace never speaks.

So, what important value does the divine bone necklace still attribute to the golden lotus?

The three hurriedly departed, leaving the wind-dew golden lotus standing tall and serene in its original spot, glowing peacefully.