Chapter 2501: Desperate Straits

In Jade Capital City, there were too many miscellaneous objects, and it emitted no magic power fluctuations, so Shangguan Biao didn't think much of it.

Then a strong wind blew through, the wind seeping into the cracks of the stone guardian, bringing out a commotion; upon close listening, it actually carried a hint of the sound of clashing weapons and iron horses.

Shangguan Biao, hearing this sound, was already somewhat irritable; the Violent Bear King noticed his displeasure, extended his massive palm, and with one blow shattered the stone guardian.

With a "puff" sound, the stone guardian shattered into eight pieces.

But the Violent Bear King, who had originally been sitting atop the wall, suddenly leaned backward and fell into the wall!

"Stupid fool!"

Shangguan Biao was startled, looked at the wall. Indeed, Jade Capital City had many small spaces of various kinds; he usually paid them no mind, but at the end, he had been tricked.

However, his most important possession, that colored stone, was on the Violent Bear King; wherever it went, he could only follow.

Shangguan Biao could only grit his teeth and charge in.

This was clearly just a ruined wall, with nothing before or after, but after Shangguan Biao followed the Violent Bear King into the wall, he actually discovered there was still a space here!

This place seemed like a small room, with bottles and jars piled in the corners, and there were two people inside.

"Who are you!"

As soon as Shangguan Biao spoke, he knew the answer.

This living person seemed to be a companion of Jiuxu who had previously infiltrated Jade Capital City, but had not entered the Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm. Shangguan Biao had sent his subordinates to pursue him, but this fellow had mysteriously disappeared.

Now it appeared he had hidden himself in this unnamed space.

Shangguan Biao felt nothing strange about it. Jade Capital City had existed for a long time, and he liked to collect spoils of war; this city not only had strange and unusual buildings, but also strange and unusual collections and tools, and he couldn't possibly recognize every single one.

Usually this wasn't a big deal, and he was too lazy to bother, but he never expected that in his time of destitution, he would actually stumble into such an insignificant space.

What kind of space is this? It's just a crack in the wall!

As for the other person, strictly speaking, he was a lonely soul; Shangguan Biao only felt he had a slight sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"You don't remember me?" The lonely soul stood upright, "You hung my head on the city gate to bask in the sun for three days; on the first day, crows pecked out my eyeballs—you forgot? You also often borrowed my title to set up confusion formations for your subordinates in the city—you forgot?"

When he mentioned the first point, Shangguan Biao still had no impression; but when he mentioned the second point, Shangguan Biao knew.

Chi Mountain Bandit!

At this moment, a small black shadow crawled out of the jar; before it even reached the Violent Bear King, it transformed into a large spider.

Jiuxu Great Emperor's companion, the Cave Spider Queen!

Shangguan Biao's face turned ashen.

It turned out he and the Violent Bear King had already fallen into the other's illusion formation; no matter how they walked, they would always end up here.

At this moment, a shadow flickered at the entrance, and someone else entered.

To Shangguan Biao's ears, he was deliberately placing heavy footsteps, each step like the drumbeat of impending death.

Without turning back, Shangguan Biao knew who had come.

"You have turned against your kin and allies, yet you've struggled this long—I truly admire you." This person lightly clapped for Shangguan Biao, "No wonder you're the grave digger of Changfeng Valley—your tenacity is truly strong."

"Jiuxu Great Emperor!" Shangguan Biao took a deep breath, "How did you find me? Have you already taken control of Jade Capital City?"

He was defeated in the Void Realm, turned and fled. Jade Capital City is so vast—how could He Lingchuan possibly capture him precisely?

Unless He Lingchuan has already completely mastered the entire Jade Capital City.

"You were the guardian spirit in the Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm, and you yourself are a soul form; the secret realm is equivalent to your physical body—you cannot stray too far from it. Relying solely on yourself, you cannot lift it." The soul residing in the physical body cannot lift it either, "But fortunately, your Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm was originally not naturally formed, but rather Wang Ye's 'Flowing Light' Secret Realm altered and repurposed—it might be possible to detach it from Jade Capital City. Therefore, your only way to escape Jade Capital City is to find someone to move the Flowing Light Secret Realm."

He Lingchuan smiled: "Originally, this was merely my speculation, but since you disregarded everything and ended the Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm, you have basically confirmed my conclusion."

At that time, the Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm and the Panlong New Secret Realm were locked in a fierce stalemate; this is the instinct of two powerful secret realms devouring each other—logically, they wouldn't cease until a clear victor emerged. But the battle in the Void Realm had just ended, and the Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm also abruptly disappeared.

"Forcibly closing the secret realm—this causes it great damage. Your options are few—did you kill your former self?" Let alone the fact that the Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm and Jade Capital City have been fused for thousands of years; even if a great tree, after growing for a hundred years, were uprooted, it would certainly suffer fundamental damage.

Furthermore, the Duzhi Mountain Secret Realm has operated normally for thousands of years, especially not easily altered by Shangguan Biao himself. "You cannot kill your former self, so you had someone else do it? And afterward, this person must also help you take the Flowing Light Secret Realm—he must have earned your deep trust."

He Lingchuan laughed: "The problem lies right here—you have never been able to trust anyone in the slightest, even after governing Jade Capital City for thousands of years. In the end, you could only pick the tallest among the dwarfs, and go find this bear demon."

Human dynasties rise and fall; even if a foolish ruler, there will always be a few die-hard loyal ministers and servants around him. Shangguan Biao searched and searched, but found no ideal candidate—he could only turn to the relatively loyal and honest one among the Three Great Demon Kings, the Violent Bear King.

"So, as long as I find the Violent Bear King, I can basically find you." He Lingchuan glanced at the Violent Bear King, who bared his teeth at him, but his body honestly shrank backward, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—this is your sorrow, and also your fate."

Shangguan Biao opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.

"Don't think he's sincerely working for you." He Lingchuan pointed at the Violent Bear King, "He and that leopard demon have long had secret discussions."

The Violent Bear King startled, quickly said: "You're talking nonsense—I haven't!"

Shangguan Biao also said: "He swore a blood oath of heart allegiance to me!"

"Don't oaths always have loopholes to exploit?" He Lingchuan chuckled lightly, "Just now, when you were besieged, where was he?"

At that time, the Violent Bear King fell into the leopard demon's trap, being crushed beneath a huge rock.

But Shangguan Biao is also a sharp person; He Lingchuan's insight was immediate, his gaze toward the Violent Bear King like that of a tiger in a cage—despairing and resentful.

"Ah, I see. What a splendid ploy of self-sacrifice! I had previously underestimated you."

Before taking the Flowing Light Secret Realm, Shangguan Biao had once made the Violent Bear King swear an oath not to defy him. He himself was a master of exploiting loopholes—back then, he used the loopholes in the Changfeng Valley and Earth Mother Contract to rise to power, destroyed Changfeng Valley, and yet he would not believe there exists a perfect, flawless alliance in the world?

But deep down, he believed the Violent Bear King's spiritual intelligence was insufficient to find the loophole in the heart allegiance blood oath.

Not finding it equals not having it.

But now, upon reflection, the Violent Bear King being struck by the huge rock happened to exactly avoid the content of the heart allegiance blood oath. At that time, he had even fainted—how could he still help Shangguan Biao break the siege and block blades?