Chapter 2465: Shangguan Biao's Countermove

It looks like, if a flesh-and-blood body went in, it would only end up turning to ash and smoke.

The more the Earth Mother struggled, the tighter the stone chains pulled, clanging loudly.

All I heard were two "dong dong" sounds, and two stone chains were snapped in succession, but the Earth Mother's back also shed several large chunks of rock, which fell into the Lei Chi with a hissing sound.

At this moment, He Lingchuan suddenly felt his hairs stand on end, as if great danger loomed.

This feeling is somewhat familiar.

"Ah, not good!" The blood demon on his back instantly transformed from a cloak into a blood mist, diving beneath the pauldron of the Jinglong Battle Armor to evade danger.

The helmet automatically appeared, and He Lingchuan was completely enveloped in the battle armor, leaving no gap from head to toe.

He extended his left hand, summoning the Ying Lei Spear.

Just as the spear and battle armor surface burst forth with a layer of purple light, a forked lightning bolt descended from the sky and slammed heavily onto the Earth Mother!

Though described as "a bolt," in that instant it was already dozens of lightning strikes, each leaving a crater on the Earth Mother's body, with shattered stones flying everywhere.

The Earth Mother cried out in pain, causing the pool's water to splash with electrical light.

He Lingchuan still stood firmly in its shoulder socket, and the residual shockwaves of the thunder were all absorbed by the Ying Lei Spear. As its name suggests, when the Red General wielded this spear in the past, he often drew heavenly thunder to strike enemies.

At this very moment, two more stone chains protruded from the pool's bottom, reattaching to the Earth Mother.

It seems the Earth Mother can replenish as many chains as it breaks.

He Lingchuan drew the Floating Life Blade and swung it at the stone chains.

Slash through the void!

The blade's edge passed over the stone chains as if cutting through air, without striking any solid object.

Unable to cut? This is a novel experience for He Lingchuan, for the Floating Life Blade specializes in slashing formless and intangible things, and has always been effective—so why did he swing at nothing this time?

"Useless." The Earth Mother naturally noticed the small thing added to its shoulder, saying, "These stone chains also come from my power, and are one with the Jade Capital City—you cannot sever them."

He Lingchuan immediately recalled the Earth Mother's punch that sent Shangguan Biao flying in the Secret Realm. Regardless of whether Shangguan Biao was injured, the Earth Mother's performance seemed more like it had been punched away by itself, even falling into this void.

"How could Shangguan Biao use your power to trap you?" He felt a slight chill in his heart, "Could Shangguan Biao possibly possess a divine ability that reflects and backlashes damage?"

The Earth Mother said in a low voice: "No, he merely transfers the damage he receives to me."

Transfer damage? Such a thing is already forbidden in the mortal realm—how did Shangguan Biao manage it? He Lingchuan's face sank like water.

He was not so naive as to believe that releasing the Earth Mother's essence would solve everything, leaving Shangguan Biao powerless to resist. But the Earth Mother's abilities are so limited, or perhaps Shangguan Biao's control over the Jade Capital City is so immense, it still exceeds He Lingchuan's expectations.

Indeed, to reach the utmost evil also requires substantial capital.

"Hold on." He Lingchuan said to the Earth Mother, "This is the void realm constructed by Shangguan Biao, not the true Lei Ting Heavenly Origin. These thunder and lightning look fearsome, but they may not possess the power of the original."

The Earth Mother looked somewhat bewildered: "Void realm?"

"Shangguan Biao is a master at controlling secret realms, and the Du Zhi Shan Secret Realm can cycle repeatedly. At the end of each cycle, before it restarts, he places things not belonging to the secret realm into the void realm for transition—such as you." He Lingchuan explained, "You can think of the void realm as a transfer station. Over the past few thousand years, when a new secret realm cycle begins, you will again enter Du Zhi Shan to continue your slumber."

He could speak with such certainty because, after Zhong Shengguang's Panlong Secret Realm ended, there was also a void realm—namely, the Mist Valley/Singing Sand Forest. No matter how the secret realm changes, the void realm remains unchanged, and it was there that He Lingchuan and Zhu Xiuer built a new secret realm.

Moreover, compared to the Lei Ting Heavenly Origin, the Mist Valley has a special feature: it directly connects to the Great Square Vessel.

The Earth Mother fiercely yanked the chain: "How could Shangguan Biao possess such power, dragging me here by force?"

"He made good use of the rules, namely the secret realm's laws." He Lingchuan inferred, "He likely established these rules when creating this secret realm: as soon as you awaken, you will be automatically transmitted into the void realm. This is the power of the secret realm's laws, and since you cannot exert your full strength, you find it hard to resist."

The Earth Mother angrily said: "Whether he rebuilds the secret realm or commands the Jade Capital City, he uses my power! Now he uses my power to imprison myself—truly unreasonable!"

"Was it you who threw in the word-curse ball?" As he said this, the Earth Mother slightly tilted its head, looking at He Lingchuan on its shoulder, "You resort to any means, and you're not exactly a good thing either."

He Lingchuan was not poking it with a needle, but with a wolf-tooth club—

Liu Yisheng's word-curse activated the contract's backlash power, which for it is immense damage.

"Sorry. My way of waking people up is a bit rough." He Lingchuan looked around, apologizing while saying, "But the situation is urgent, and I have no confidence that other methods could wake you."

The Earth Mother has slept for thousands of years; even the dew of the Wind-Dew Golden Lotus, I don't know how much it has consumed—that is deep sleep, and without some harsh measures, how could it be awakened?

"Shangguan Biao seems to have called you, the Nine Nether Great Emperor?" During these years of its slumber, many new figures have appeared in the mortal realm, unheard of before but looking formidable.

"Not bad, I am the lord of the Cangyan State." He Lingchuan said solemnly, "Shangguan Biao rides the Jade Capital City to invade and devour my Panlong Ancient City, and the situation outside is extremely perilous. Moreover, he has colluded with the invading heavenly demons; if you are not awakened, I fear he will succeed."

The blood demon on him muttered: "Who knew the Earth Mother would be so useless—awake and still unable to deal with Shangguan Biao!"

"What did you say?"

Obviously, the Earth Mother heard its words clearly.

The blood demon was somewhat surprised, while He Lingchuan shifted the topic: "Nothing. By the way, you and Shangguan Biao—have you not signed a contract?"

This question is too crucial.

"No." The Earth Mother said softly, "The only contract I signed is with Liu Yisheng. He learned from the lesson of Changfeng Valley and specifically demanded this contract's uniqueness, forbidding me from signing with others."

Liu Yisheng is no pushover either; since he signed a contract with the Earth Mother, he must have considered everything thoroughly, plugging every possible loophole.

However, the method Shangguan Biao used back then was truly unconventional.

He Lingchuan immediately relaxed: "Then that's good—fortunate in misfortune. As long as you haven't signed a contract, we can still find a way to kill Shangguan Biao!"

Time is pressing, and every word he says is pointed and direct.

"Killing Shangguan Biao" is exactly what the Earth Mother urgently wants, what it longs for.

He paused: "Liu Yisheng has most likely already had his soul scattered and dispersed, so that unique contract would become invalid. Shangguan Biao has you detained here, probably intending to sign a true contract with you to eliminate future troubles."

The Earth Mother's voice is flat compared to humans', but after listening for a while, He Lingchuan can also sense its urgency: "How do we kill him?"

(End of Chapter)