Chapter 2849: We're Back!

This is the gatekeeper ghost; once any unrelated outsider tries to sneak in, it will sound the alarm.

Duanmu Heng pushed open the door; his subordinates were sitting on the bedside, and upon seeing him enter, they immediately stood up and saluted.

Duanmu Heng asked anxiously: "How is he?"

Haiwang Xuandu sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes tightly shut, utterly still. His subordinate replied: "My lord Haihuang has always been like this, never opening his eyes midway, let alone getting up to move around."

Duanmu Heng hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and lightly placed his finger on Haihuang's wrist pulse.

It was very quiet; Duanmu Heng sensed no heartbeat, yet it was hard to judge.

What level is a True Immortal? A heartbeat once every one or two quarters of an hour should also be normal.

Moreover, Xuandu is of the sea race; his bodily functions may not be the same as humans'.

But Duanmu Heng dared not increase his movements, fearing Xuandu might be fighting desperately in his dream, only to be shaken awake by him.

At this moment, hurried footsteps came from outside. A subordinate pushed the door open and entered, shouting urgently: "My lord Duanmu, we have a situation here!"

Duanmu Heng hurriedly followed him downstairs to the room.

This is the residence of the three celestial gods.

Of course, their outward appearance is that of ordinary guests; aside from a slightly cold demeanor, they are no different from common people.

These three celestial gods followed Haihuang Xuandu into the Dream Realm to assassinate the Nine Abysses Great Emperor. But one of them, who had been sitting cross-legged steadily, has now collapsed.

He lies slumped on the bed, utterly without dignity, face up to the sky.

Duanmu Heng hurried forward to check his pulse—dead as ashes.

This time he confirmed it: over the past half quarter of an hour or so, not a single heartbeat.

Duanmu Heng's own heart pounded wildly. He took out a silver needle, gritted his teeth, and stabbed hard into the celestial god's palm.

This is the most sensitive, most painful spot on a human body. Ordinary people would wake up 100% if pricked like this while asleep. But no matter how many times Duanmu Heng stabbed, the celestial god lay there like a dead dog, with no reaction at all.

Duanmu Heng grew bolder, injecting a bit of true energy into him.

Like a mud ox entering the sea—there was not the slightest biological response.

Though his soul had entered the dream, his body should originally remain in a sleeping state, with breathing and pulse.

But now, everything has stopped.

This body before us looks more like a corpse.

Combined with the earlier anomaly of the Phantom Music Goddess's purple-winged butterfly shadow, Duanmu Heng easily concluded that the group led by Haihuang Xuandu likely encountered great trouble in the Dream Realm.

How could this be possible? Their battlefield was the Phantom Music Goddess's Dream Realm, and they also had Haihuang Xuandu, such a renowned and powerhouse True Immortal, as their leader!

Even if the Nine Abysses is cunning and they could never defeat him, it's impossible for them to suffer a catastrophe of overturning.

Yet seeing the Phantom Music Goddess's butterfly shadow vanish, Duanmu Heng again felt pessimistic.

The Phantom Music Goddess is the architect of the dream realm; Haihuang Xuandu and the other celestial demons would certainly prioritize her safety. If even the Phantom Music Goddess has met with misfortune, what about the other celestial demons? And Haihuang Xuandu?

Duanmu Heng's mind was in turmoil, his mouth dry. He first grabbed the cup on the table, moistened his throat, then said: "Send out the avian demons to release fireworks above the Earth Mother Plains, to inform Jiaolou Tianzun: something has gone wrong in the dream battle."

The subordinate reminded: "My lord, Tianzun is probably fighting in the Panlong Secret Realm; we've lost contact with him for a long time."

Of course, this loss of contact was already anticipated.

Duanmu Heng gave him a cold glance: "If I tell you to go, you go."

……

"Boom," the blessing spring at the south gate plaza of Panlong Secret Realm suddenly bubbled up.

A night-wandering god had just turned his head when he saw a golden lotus emerge from underwater, water droplets falling from the bud into the spring with a dripping sound.

"Golden lotus!" he immediately shouted, "The Wind-Dew Golden Lotus has returned!"

The golden lotus in the spring originally had five blossoms; before entering the dream realm, the Nine Abysses Great Emperor had specially plucked one.

Now, that one has emerged again.

Immediately, several people leapt down from the wall.

Right before everyone's eyes, the lotus slowly unfurled, and several strands of differently colored smoke drifted out from the lotus pedestal.

One strand landed and turned into Paochihai, grimy-faced, covered in wounds.

Another strand drilled into the nearby stone golem's doppelgänger.

Several more strands flew toward the people behind.

Everyone followed the strands with their gaze—and suddenly discovered the Nine Abysses Great Emperor standing right behind them!

Before entering the dream, He Lingchuan had first gone into the pagoda to meditate and regulate his breath. Now he appeared silently, without sound, and not together with this golden lotus.

But he is the master of the secret realm; no matter how abruptly he appears, no one present finds it strange.

"Your Majesty, you have returned!" Mingke Xianren and Lingjinbao rejoiced beyond expectation.

He Lingchuan and Paochihai had infiltrated the celestial demons' dreamlike divine realm to rescue the Earth Mother; all the Cangyan people in the secret realm were anxious and uneasy, every breath they took here feeling like excruciating torment.

If the Emperor fails to rescue the Earth Mother, or even becomes trapped in the divine dream realm, everyone here will face the catastrophe of overturning together with Panlong Ancient City.

Putting it broadly, perhaps even the doom of Cangyan and the doom of the human world will arrive.

Seeing He Lingchuan return safely, He Yue's eyes turned red.

Mingke Xianren felt even more strongly that, over his past several thousand years, he had never lived a day as tumultuous as today, his mindset explosive.

Such a wonderful, tense, thrilling life—may it never come again.

Lingjinbao happened to be standing beside the stone golem, crouched down to look at him, full of hope.

This this this... this should be the true form of the Earth Mother, right?

The stone golem's eyes flashed red light: "I have returned, sorry to keep you waiting."

Though his tone remained flat, the intonation was now different from before. Lingjinbao, who resides permanently on the Earth Mother Plains, could immediately hear this subtle difference; he couldn't help but clutch his chest and exhale a long breath.

The true master of this plain has returned. From this moment on, their war need no longer be so passive.

"Sorry, I fell for the celestial demons' treachery, which led to the invasion of the plains." The Earth Mother never avoids her own mistakes: "I will grind these worms into dust, one by one."

In its view, it was precisely because he had stumbled blindly into the trap of the Goddess of Illusory Music that the Mother Earth Plain and the Panlong Secret Realm suffered this great calamity.

He Lingchuan then asked: "How long have I been gone?"

This answer was too crucial, directly linked to his subsequent counterattack plan.

Mingke Xianren pointed to the hourglass placed beside him: "Less than thirty breaths."

He Lingchuan silently breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, it had not been long.

The time in the dream and reality could not correspond; while fighting in the divine realm of Illusory Music, he had always worried that the flow of time in reality was too fast, fearing that the Panlong Secret Realm could not withstand the attack of the Jia Lou Heaven.

He unconsciously pressed the divine bone necklace on his neck.

Thanks to this thing controlling time, before the situation worsened, it forcibly pulled him back.

The Great Vessel seemed heartless, but in fact always managed to provide him with the most crucial help, some of which he himself had not even considered at the time.