Chapter 2848: Strange Spoils of War

He Lingchuan was about to enter the next battle, so he had no time or energy for this—he could only rely on the power of the Great Square Pot to forcibly suppress the trident's artifact spirit.

As it turns out, even a melon twisted by force can be sweet.

He casually swung the trident; though its materials were solid and its appearance heavy, it felt extraordinarily light in hand, with no sensation of water resistance at all, as if he were on land. Swimming with this artifact, he didn't even need to draw it out specially—his speed could increase several times over compared to before!

Of course, a weapon's combat characteristics are most important. He Lingchuan casually stirred it a few times, and two massive water dragons formed, wandering in the Red Sea.

He could even generate undercurrents in the deep sea.

"Retreat, water!" This is another usage, commanding the water to retreat from beside him or from a designated area.

Of course, there is also the most formidable:

The barrier.

The trident is also the Divine Trident of Calming the Sea, capable of generating an immensely powerful barrier to strictly prevent foreign enemies or natural disasters from invading and to protect all living beings in one region.

Although it is the Sea Emperor's artifact, many of its properties are not limited to underwater use. Perhaps that is why the Great Square Pot left it to He Lingchuan.

After all, the Secret Realm is currently facing a fierce assault by the heavenly demons—this great trident might just be useful?

He Lingchuan waved the trident, practiced its usage a bit, and was about to put it away.

Suddenly, a metallic clinking sound came from Chaos's body, and a chain dropped down, vertically probing into the deep sea.

What was it looking for? He Lingchuan felt a bit curious.

After a while, the chain retracted smoothly. At its tip was tied a strange object, resembling both an egg and a cocoon spun by a silkworm binding itself, slightly larger than a chicken's heart, emitting a pale purple glow throughout, slightly translucent.

Seeing this color, He Lingchuan inexplicably thought of the Goddess of Phantom Music.

Indeed, he had just seen the Goddess of Phantom Music entangled by chains and dragged into Chaos's body; although she had previously dodged left and right in this waters, she ultimately could not escape being bound.

So-called Dream Goddess, in the end, fell into the nightmare set up for her by others.

Then, could this purple gemstone be a relic of the Goddess of Phantom Music?

If it were an ordinary object, Chaos would not have expended effort to retrieve it.

He Lingchuan recalled what Red General had once told him: when she hunted the Goddess of Phantom Music in the Panlong World, she discovered this heavenly demon was extremely cunning—not only could it feign death to escape, but it could also disguise its avatar as its main body to lure enemies away. Thus, its true essence could hide, waiting for an opportunity to flee.

Even Red General had been fooled once. She nearly let it slip away successfully.

At that time, He Lingchuan merely took it as an amusing anecdote. The Goddess of Phantom God's trick reminded him of a sea cucumber ejecting its viscera to survive—expelling internal organs to confuse the enemy while slipping away.

So, is this Goddess of Phantom Music, whom he secretly schemed against, also aware that escape is hopeless, thus leaving behind a small countermeasure—only to be seen through by Chaos?

Such a thick chain, to coil around this tiny object, must be handled with extreme care to avoid breaking it.

As the chain passed by He Lingchuan's side, he wanted to pick up the glowing purple gemstone for a closer look, but the chain bent and went around his hand.

Hey, not giving.

He Lingchuan casually took out a glowing spore to illuminate.

The spore's light shone on the purple gemstone, and He Lingchuan discovered that the object was nearly transparent, its outer gemstone shell probably very thin, inside which lay a small, paramecium-like entity that could move. Some eggs, when illuminated by light, can reveal the yolk sac inside the shell—this is very similar.

However, the Great Square Pot had no intention of giving this to him. He Lingchuan merely glanced at it briefly, and the chain took the purple gemstone away, handing it over to Chaos.

Really stingy.

"Thank you for helping me defeat the strong enemy!" He Lingchuan truly needed to thank the Great Square Pot; otherwise, relying solely on himself, Earth Mother, and Pa Chi Hai, he could not have defeated so many powerful foes at such a small cost.

That said, he still had to endure consecutive major battles soon, and the Great Square Pot's help was actually helping itself.

He first treated his wounds in the Red Sea, stopped the bleeding, took some medicine, and finally quietly regulated his breath.

Entering the Land of Dreams with his soul body, the so-called "bodily wounds" were actually soul wounds; if not properly treated here, returning to reality would be difficult.

Resting and adjusting breath in Chaos's Sea hardly occupied any real-world time.

After resting, He Lingchuan asked Chaos: "Where to now?"

Chaos naturally would not speak.

But suddenly, light shone down from above, illuminating the dim waters. He Lingchuan looked up—wasn't that precisely the Panlong Secret Realm above?

Those several beams of light were the heavenly demons outside the city using their divine powers to illuminate the sky.

It seemed he could not return to the Panlong World for now.

He Lingchuan sighed inwardly, suppressed his anxiety, and swam upward.

……

Longkou West Town.

Duanmu Heng had been staying in the guest room for too long and felt somewhat stifled, so he walked to the window, quietly opened the wooden window a crack, letting the night's cool air blow in to help himself clear his mind.

He was the chief designer of the Battle of the Dragon's Maw, but the two most important battles now—the Panlong Secret Realm War and the Dream War of the Goddess of Phantom Music—he could not personally participate in, only able to wait here for news.

Duanmu Heng's heart was unusually anxious.

Logically speaking, the Nine Abysses Great Emperor, facing three heavenly demons besieging him in reality, might also be ambushed in dreams, not to mention the Dream Realm of the Goddess of Phantom Music, which is the most complex labyrinth and most perilous dangerous place under heaven.

No matter how Duanmu Heng calculated, the Nine Abysses Great Emperor's chances of victory were extremely slim, yet he still could not put his mind at ease. Because the Nine Abysses Great Emperor's past battle record was too glorious, repeatedly turning desperation into survival, always making the impossible possible. Thus, Duanmu Heng could only tell himself again and again: "It's fine, good news will soon come from the front lines."

Just as he took a deep breath, he suddenly heard a soft "pop" from behind, turned quickly, but saw that the dreamy purple butterfly, which had been fluttering in the air, had actually fallen onto the desk.

It froze, motionless.

Duanmu Heng hurried back and said to the purple butterfly: "Your Reverence."

No response.

He asked again: "Goddess of Phantom Music, Your Reverence, are you well?"

The purple butterfly still had no response.

Duanmu Heng hesitated slightly, then reached out.

He had intended to lift the purple butterfly, but as soon as his fingertip touched the wing, the entire butterfly shattered, like the most fragile ice sculpture falling to the ground, instantly splitting into countless fragments. Purple light points scattered on the desktop, vanishing after a few breaths.

Seeing this, Duanmu Heng's heart pounded wildly: "What is going on?"

Oh no, this is serious. He hurriedly opened the door and walked to the adjacent guest room.

The guest in the next room was none other than the Sea King, Xuan Du.

As he approached, a little ghost popped out from the door, stared at him twice, then shrank back.