Chapter 2781: Farewell to Panlong Ancient City

That was close — just a hair's breadth from irredeemable disaster.

But these people seem unable to see him?

Just what strange place have I fallen into? Could it be inside the walls?

"You're not out of danger yet — the other side has a big shot with extraordinarily powerful divine sense; they might well detect us!" The moment Bao Chihei finished speaking, someone among those immortals and demons suddenly turned back, staring right at them!

Damn it, what a jinx.

Bao Chihei grabbed He Yue's arm. "Come with me!"

Then, dragging He Yue, he plunged downward once more.

He Yue's vision went black — he couldn't see his hand before his face — but he could smell the distinctive damp scent of earth.

This seems to be an earth-escape technique?

Just a few breaths later, they surfaced above ground.

This is a desolate wilderness; the tall grass stands higher than a man, and night insects chirp softly.

"Where is this?"

"The village outskirts of the Plain." Bao Chihei made a few hand seals, and several streaks of light rose from the tall grass. "Show him to me!"

These streaks of light circled He Yue from head to toe several times, then flew before Bao Chihei, coalescing into three blurred human faces:

"Clean — he has no tracking spells, divine arts, or parasites on him."

These three are all Nightmares — or rather, Night Patrollers of the Plain — whose specialty is inspecting all manner of uninvited, stealthily infiltrating insects. The Earth Mother roams the world; inevitably many local minor creatures come uninvited. Besides driving away evil spirits, these Night Patrollers' duty is to expel these stowaways as well.

Bao Chihei dared not rashly bring He Yue to the Panlong Secret Realm, because the moment he entered the Earth Mother's Plain, Heavenly Demons showed up at the door — proof that Heavenly Demons have means to track his whereabouts.

But at that time He Yue had many personal guards around him; now he is utterly alone.

"Perhaps the Heavenly Demons are tracking the people around you."

He Yue's expression changed. Indeed — the Heavenly Demons had dug a trap for him months ago; it would hardly be surprising if they'd tampered with his personal guards. This once again corroborated that the Heavenly Demons' every move — including harming his eldest son — was aimed at his elder brother.

"Where are my attendants?"

"The Earth Mother's avatar has placed them inside the Secret Realm." Bao Chihei said, "The Secret Realm can block most spell-tracking. After we wash away the Heavenly Demons' tracking secret arts, we'll release them again."

"Where were we just now? How did the Heavenly Demons grow so large?"

Bao Chihei explained: "The crevice between dream and reality."

"Oh — inside the wall?"

"Right, inside the wall." This exchange feels familiar — the last person who told him this was the Nine Nether Great Emperor.

At this moment, the little stone figure popped out from the side: "Immortal Mingke summons you to the Panlong Secret Realm."

Having spoken, it fished out a string of stone chains and handed them to He Yue:

"Put it on, and you can traverse most regions of the Earth Mother's Plain on your own."

As He Yue fastened it on his wrist, he asked curiously: "Does the Panlong Secret Realm work too?"

The little stone figure's face was expressionless: "Only the Panlong Secret Realm cannot."

"Why not?" Isn't the whole Plain accessible?

"The Panlong Secret Realm isn't under my jurisdiction." Even the Earth Mother's true body cannot directly infiltrate the Panlong Secret Realm — she must enter through the main gate proper.

This is what's called a distinction between inside and outside.

He Yue shook the stone chain on his wrist: "Then let's go to the entrance of the Panlong Secret Realm."

The words had barely left his mouth when his vision went black.

Whoosh!

So dizzy.

By the time He Yue's vision returned, his breath caught — because the first thing he saw straight ahead was a towering, magnificent city gate.

From his upward-gazing angle, this defiant yet solitary, mottled yet primordial ancient architecture seemed to block out half the sky.

The South Great Gate of Panlong Ancient City!

Seeing Panlong Ancient City again under these circumstances, He Yue didn't know what flavor his heart held.

This ancient city and their He clan — truly an indescribable, inexplicable connection.

But Panlong Ancient City no longer lies in the vast desert; not far away stretches a dense jungle, and the South Gate is covered in climbing plants, purple-and-white small flowers painting the color of life onto the rustic walls.

Bao Chihei emerged from the side: "Let's go in."

No one can teleport directly into the Secret Realm — except the Nine Nether Great Emperor himself.

Walking through Panlong City's great gate, He Yue felt a few parts trepidation in his heart.

As a child he lived in Heishuicheng, and heard people speak of Panlong Ancient City's various spiritual oddities many times. He himself had entered this ruin many times, but aside from endless yellow sand and wind sounds, he never sensed anything special.

But his father told him this ancient city had long since awakened from its slumber, and bore an inseverable connection to his elder brother.

The next instant, a step shifted the scenery.

The sight inside the city gate made He Yue halt in his tracks: "This is the Secret Realm?"

Inside the city was no longer yellow sand everywhere, no longer broken walls and ruined tiles; the South Gate Plaza's rich waterways flowed gently, lotuses blooming in profusion.

The old streets by the water blazed with lights, shopfronts displaying a dazzling array of goods; straight ahead a treasure pagoda rose from the ground, soaring straight into the clouds.

This is too different from the Panlong Ancient City in his memory!

"What did you say just now?" he asked Bao Chihei. "A Secret Realm is a fragment of history or memory?"

"That applies to naturally formed Secret Realms." Bao Chihei gave a "however." "This Secret Realm was personally created by the Great Emperor — naturally it's different."

He Yue let out an "oh."

This vibrant, thriving cityscape — it couldn't possibly be what his elder brother remembers, could it? The two brothers had gone to Panlong Ancient City together and seen the true ruins with their own eyes. Howling winds, yellow sand, wasteland, utterly devoid of life — that was the true portrait of Panlong Ancient City.

What lies before him — this is clearly a great city, bustling and alive, merely lacking crowds in its streets and alleys.

The South Gate Plaza, however, is quite crowded — because large numbers of officers and soldiers from the Black Armor Army and the Shen Kingdom army have gathered here.

Seeing the commander-in-chief appear, Shen Jun's men all came forward with great joy to welcome him.

After rejoining his familiar deputy generals and army, He Yue also felt a slight easing in his heart.

With military authority in hand, power is in hand.

Not far off, Immortal Ming Ke hurried over, his face heavy: "You've come. I have bad news: Earth Lord Qing Shu has fallen."

Two people were both greatly shocked: "What!"

One was Bao Chihai, the other was Ling Jinbao who had just entered the Secret Realm.

Outside the Trapped Dragon Cave, he had single-handedly held off more than ten Heavenly Demons for over ten days, nearly losing his life; only now had he barely made it back to the Earth Mother Plains, only to hear this dire news!

The two rushed into the pagoda without prior agreement, and sure enough saw the eternal lamps enshrined in the divine niche — one had already gone out, wisps of green smoke still curling.

It was the one belonging to Earth Lord Qing Shu.

He Yue had just arrived and did not know which one Earth Lord Qing Shu was. Yang Sheng was covered in blood; his personal guards had just pulled the poisoned nails from his wounds and were applying medicine. His breathing was unsteady: "Just now the Heavenly Demons launched a sneak attack; each of us was besieged by more than ten immortal demons. Earth Lord Qing Shu threw himself into the fray without regard for his own safety to cover my retreat, and then..."

Ling Jinbao scratched his head hard, grinding his molars until they creaked.