Chapter 2906: She Has Finally Come

The capital of Cangyan, the Chixiao Golden Palace.

Stars hid in the sky; the east had already turned white.

Outside the Nine Nether Great Emperor's daochang stood a building called the Lishan Tower, specifically for preparing the Emperor's necessities. Du Shan and Liu Qingdao went nowhere else; they simply kept vigil here for a night.

Before the Emperor departed, he even entrusted his dying wishes — showing just how extremely perilous this journey was — so how could the two of them dare go back to sleep?

Idle personnel had already been driven out by them; on a low table facing east sat a blood jade talisman the size of a palm.

Liu Qingdao finished his third session of meditation and asked Du Shan behind the desk:

"Still unable to contact the Emperor?"

He had been restless all night; even his breathing exercises and meditation were repeatedly interrupted.

Du Shan set down his brush and shook his head: "Not a shred of news for a full double-hour."

The waiting was too agonizing; he moved all official business to Lishan Tower to handle, and several times along the way tried to contact the Emperor, but none succeeded.

Given the Emperor's abilities, for such a long time to pass without any reply, both men felt a heavy weight in their hearts.

"What about the Earth Mother?" Du Shan handled affairs without the slightest omission; Liu Qingdao clearly knew this, yet still couldn't help asking.

"Only contacted once — it said the Secret Realm was in dire straits, the Emperor was gravely injured, but had to enter the Great Fanghu to seek a chance to turn the tide." Du Shan let out a long sigh. "Then came now; I guess it hasn't the mental strength to reply to me."

This is not a good omen.

At this moment footsteps and the sound of a broom scraping fallen leaves came from outside the tower; palace servants had risen to sweep the courtyard. The entire Ju City was slowly waking in the morning light; a new day was about to begin.

No one knew that the Lord of Cangyan was, on a distant shore, experiencing a world-shaking great battle.

The outcome of this battle directly concerned the rise and fall of the mortal world and the future path of all living beings.

Liu Qingdao was just about to speak when a sudden "click" sounded from inside the room.

Though the sound was slight, in such a tranquil space it was exceptionally piercing. The two turned their heads and looked, and were struck dumb with shock:

The blood jade talisman placed facing east had actually developed a crack!

"This—!"

Even with Du Shan's composure, at this moment his eyes widened in shock. Could it—could it be?

The two had just rushed to the table when the crack expanded, and the upper half of the blood jade talisman fell off directly, trembling lightly twice on the tabletop.

Not until it came to a complete stop were the two still staring with mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.

Du Shan felt as if his heart had been thrown into an ice cellar; that coldness rushed from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head, and even his hands went numb.

Liu Qingdao grabbed the fragments of the blood jade talisman in one hand; despite his cultivation of several thousand years, his fingers were trembling now:

【22】 "Could it be the Emperor has met with—with misfortune?"

"Could it be that the Emperor encountered something... unforeseen?"

Du Shan fiercely bit his tongue tip; the bloody taste exploded in his mouth, instantly pulling back his clarity:

"Impossible!"

He had been by the Nine Nether Great Emperor's side for over ten years, personally witnessing the Emperor create countless legends.

The more he understood He Lingchuan, the less he believed this man would fall easily.

"But the blood jade talisman shattered." The blood jade talisman was refined using the Nine Nether Great Emperor's hair; the person lives, the talisman lives; the person dies, the talisman shatters!

Before He Lingchuan entered seclusion, he specially entrusted this blood jade talisman to the two of them.

If he returned safely, all would rejoice; if the blood jade talisman shattered, Cangyan would enter an era without the Nine Nether Great Emperor.

This would be a pain Cangyan cannot bear, a burden the world cannot bear!

Even though both were unwilling to believe it to the death, the talisman shattering was already fact.

In the quiet room, silence like death.

A "clang" came from the garden outside — probably a palace servant bumped a flower pot — and only then did it break the stagnant atmosphere inside.

Liu Qingdao said hoarsely:

"The Emperor gave prior instructions; when do we begin execution?"

"Wait for news first!"

"But—"

"Wait for news first!" Du Shan cut the nail and sliced the iron. "Even if the Emperor passes away, before going he must have made arrangements."

The Nine Nether Great Emperor's character and methods — even if he sacrifices himself, there will certainly be follow-up arrangements. Although before rushing to the Earth Mother Plains he entrusted his will to the two chief ministers, the battlefield situation changes in an instant; Du Shan insisted that they must still wait until the situation becomes clear before executing the Emperor's dying wishes.

"With the Emperor's abilities, plus the Earth Mother's spiritual convenience, even if they cannot defeat the Heavenly Demon, they should be able to withdraw. Yet now such a dire omen arrives..." He pointed at the blood jade talisman and further explained, "I fear the Emperor has something he must protect with all his strength, a goal he must absolutely achieve."

"The Great Fanghu?" Liu Qingdao blurted out. "Wait, you mean the world inside the pot the Emperor once spoke of..."

"The Earth Mother also just mentioned the Emperor entered the Great Fanghu seeking a turning point."

But the blood jade talisman shattering — doesn't that mean the Emperor's action this time failed? The thought flashed by, but Liu Qingdao did not voice a rebuttal.

"It is still early; keep the death secret first! The Emperor's dying wishes can all be carried out calmly; no need to rush this moment." Du Shan made the final decision. "The Emperor's passing will inevitably shake Cangyan's foundation. You and I must guard our mouths like bottles!"

Liu Qingdao had no objection either:

"Good!"

$$$$$

General Hong caught He Lingchuan's hand, silently speechless.

All around, people bowed their heads in mourning; countless soldiers wept aloud in grief.

On this very day when Panlongcheng achieved final great victory, they lost Zhong Shengguang, lost General Huyi, lost Zhao Jinghe, lost so very many good comrades.

Just then, a figure pushed through the crowd and walked toward He Lingchuan.

The wind blew her plain clothes, outlining a slender back.

For some reason, the moment she walked out, everyone else seemed to become background boards.

She, with this scene, with the battlefield, with the surrounding red mist, even with the tragic atmosphere here, were fundamentally not on the same layer.

Xu Shichu looked up and saw her, and let out a startled sigh:

"He's gone. Master Sun, you're a step too late."

The person who arrived was none other than Sun Fuling, the one He Lingchuan most wished to see in his final moments.

To wish, yet be unable to obtain.

"Not late." She shook her head, likewise bowing low to kneel, facing the Red General directly, "The timing is perfect."

Once these words were spoken, time suddenly slowed, even the wind on the wasteland congealing and refusing to move forward.

The guards beside Xu Shichu were weeping, but this tear, once it left their cheeks, never fell to the ground.

Everything around them strangely entered a state of silence.

"Master Sun? You're Master Sun?" The Red General, wearing a mask, first expressed surprise, then demanded sharply, "What is going on?"

How keen she was, she immediately noticed that only she and Sun Fuling spoke normally, as if unaffected by the slowed flow of time.

"I am Sun Fuling, I have lived in Panlongcheng for many years, but we have never met." Sun Fuling gazed at her, "As long as we appear in the same space, this situation arises, for it defies reason."

Therefore, she and the Red General never met face to face.

"Why? Why do you exist?" The Red General remained motionless, straining to think, "... Just which time-space is this, and what reason has been defied?"

Sun Fuling's arrival struck her deeply.

Having merged the knowledge of the Dragon God and Mi Tian, she instantly recognized upon seeing Sun Fuling that this was not a normal time-space!