Chapter 2877: This Is Your Final Choice

The clear spring water was instantly stained red with blood, turning into a dark crimson pool of blood.

Everyone fell silent, unable to bear the sight.

Immortal Moke gave He Lingchuan another spirit pill. He consumed the elixir made from Emperor's Flowing Essence paste as if it were cheap candy, but in the short term, it still couldn't replenish him.

He Lingchuan's cultivation was no longer as shallow as it was twenty years ago, when a mere bit of Emperor's Flowing Essence would make his face glow red and digest over half a day. Now, the Nine Abysses Great Emperor himself was like a black hole—no matter how much energy poured in, it was never enough.

Immortal Moke worried: "Your Majesty..."

The little stone figure also stared blankly at He Lingchuan; though silent, others inexplicably felt his emotions were especially complex at this moment.

He Lingchuan slightly lowered his head, gazing at the divine bone necklace on his chest: "No problem, I'll go too."

After saying this, he closed his eyes and entered meditation to regulate his breath.

No one noticed that the golden serpent bracelet on He Lingchuan's wrist suddenly slid two rounds along his wrist, its form slightly altered, and the red light in his eyes flickered twice.

Immortal Moke also fed himself several pills, then declared resolutely: "To the upper city gate—we continue fighting until the Emperor returns!"

He Lingchuan's mission was to enter the Panlong World, find a way to counter Jia Luo Heaven before the power of the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl was exhausted.

Meanwhile, the Earth Mother and everyone else's task was to, during this period of his spiritual wandering in the vase, exert every effort to keep the Secret Realm from collapsing.

He Lingchuan was willing to inflict heavy damage on Jia Luo Heaven even at the cost of his own severe injuries, precisely to buy time for subsequent actions. Taking advantage of Jia Luo Heaven needing to heal itself and the Sequence Order divinity needing to recharge, he had already reallocated the remaining power of the Great Expansion Heavenly Pearl.

For a period of time, Jia Luo Heaven's own power had not recovered, making its threat to the Panlong city walls relatively small.

This was exactly what He Lingchuan wanted.

But as time passed, the Secret Realm would grow weaker and weaker, while Jia Luo Heaven's Sequence Order power would grow stronger and stronger—this was certain.

Thus, the battle would only become fiercer, and the casualties among the Cangyan people would only increase.

But they had no choice—only to fight to the death!

The Earth Mother suddenly said: "Dawn is approaching."

Across the entire plain, only She could sense the changes in the outside world's heavenly light.

This bloody, cruel night—will it remain frozen forever, or will it eventually become the past?

￥￥￥￥￥

Thoughts inwardly gathered, spirit wandering beyond the material.

He Lingchuan opened his eyes, discovering himself in a strange, unfamiliar space.

It was a world of rolling thick smoke. Between heaven and earth, besides the murky, toxic vapors, there was nothing else.

Smoke above, smoke below, and countless smoke-formed vapor pillars surrounded him.

Had he arrived at the mouth of a volcano that had just erupted?

He originally thought that after his soul left his body, he would enter the Panlong World, or at least be in the midst of the Chaos Sea.

But that was not the case.

Where was this? How could the Great Vase allow his soul to enter an unknown space? He Lingchuan pondered this, while simultaneously noticing that what floated beneath his feet was black mist, and above his head drifted red mist. The surrounding vortex-like vapor pillars, like whirlwinds, were also red and black—this world seemed to contain only these two colors.

Just as this thought finished, the mist above and below suddenly coalesced, as if gripped by an invisible pair of large hands, twisting together and rapidly solidifying.

In just five or six breaths, they revealed their true form.

It was a variegated giant snake of red and black, its length unknown because the lower half was buried deep in the thick smoke, but even the exposed portion already stood tall enough to reach heaven and earth.

Facing it, He Lingchuan felt as if he were confronting the primordial chaos in the Red Sea, highlighting his own utter insignificance.

This giant serpent had two heads—one black, one red—both eyes flashing with strange light. Looking closely, the two smokes composing them were different. The red smoke seemed to be made of those red strange creatures on the chaos body; while the black smoke, He Lingchuan was extremely familiar with—it was karma!

The red strange creatures formed the red snake, possessing an immense body.

The black karma, meanwhile, was the foundation upon which the black snake took shape.

Though they appeared powerful and ferocious, He Lingchuan felt no fear, for he instantly recognized them: this was the Fate Divinity!

Only, they were no longer the tiny bracelet resting on his wrist, but the absolute rulers of this unknown space.

He Lingchuan raised his head before it, impatiently saying: "What are you blocking me for? Move aside—I still have urgent matters."

Both serpent heads flicked their tongues at him.

They did not open their mouths, yet their voices echoed endlessly in this world, like countless voices speaking in unison.

"It's your turn."

"You finally started speaking human words?" He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow: "What do you want me to do?"

"Make the choice of fate." The Fate Serpent's voice rang like a great bell: "This will also be your final choice. Be careful—do not make a mistake."

How the tides have turned. Before, he was the one playing the mystic, making others choose; now it was his turn. He Lingchuan sighed: "Fine, let me see what options there are."

The black serpent head first lowered itself toward him, its massive mouth opening—even if there were several hundred He Lingchuans, it could swallow them all in one bite:

"With your current mental and physical state, entering the Panlong World is a one-way road. You know in your heart that the Panlong World still holds a world-shaking war waiting for you—you cannot possibly come out alive, and you may not even be able to save Panlongcheng."

"To exhaust all strength, wager life and death, just for a slim hope—is it worth it?"

"Quite reasonable." He Lingchuan said these four words, then turned his head toward the red giant serpent: "And you? What options do you give me?"

The red great serpent also lowered its head to stare at him.

"Or, you can turn back and return to reality."

He Lingchuan's eyes shifted: "You mean? I'm not going to the Panlong World?"

"Exactly. As long as you turn back, you still have a chance to live. After Jia Luo Heaven breaks the Panlong Secret Realm, you and the Earth Mother have a chance to carry the Great Vase and escape the scene, fleeing thousands of miles away. That way, neither of you needs to die."

The entire Earth Mother plain was the Earth Mother's body. But unlike humans, it could freely sever any part of its body when necessary, like a lizard shedding its tail to survive. That's why He Lingchuan had previously told the Earth Mother: if he didn't return, let her take the Great Vase and flee.

Now, the red serpent's suggestion was merely to have him follow the Earth Mother in fleeing.

How simple?

He Lingchuan remained silent for two breaths before asking: "Then, what about Panlongcheng?"

"You can't even protect yourself—why worry about Panlongcheng?" The red serpent's voice echoed in the smoke-and-dust world: "Panlong Ancient City has its own fate—it's not for you to bear, nor can you change it. What responsibility could you possibly have toward it?"

(End of Chapter)