Chapter 840: City of Wind and Sand

He Chunhua pursed his lips before saying: "It was your mother." She suffered a postpartum hemorrhage and had already named the child before she passed away, hoping he would be brave and fearless all his life.

"Why did you change my name to He Lingchuan later?"

He Chunhua said in a low voice: "According to the Great Shaman of Mandu, this name is more suitable for you and is beneficial to you."

He Lingchuan said noncommittally: "Isn't father rushing to the Panlong ruins? Let's go."

He Chunhua was waiting for these words.

But when he stood up and looked toward the Panlong ruins, he suddenly let out a long sigh.

Was this day finally coming? He felt a bit reluctant in his heart.

He Lingchuan saw that he seemed to have different emotions: "What's wrong, old man?"

"Nothing!" He Chunhua forced a smile, "Let's go."

At his command, the Heishuicheng army replenished their food and water and headed toward the Chipa Plateau.

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The closer they got to the Chipa Plateau, the more majestic and desolate it felt.

The moat in front of the Nanmen of Panlongcheng was originally just a very deep earth trench, but now it had shallow flowing water.

Zhang Lianhai and the others stood on the wide land bridge and could hear the fine, murmuring sound of water underneath.

This sound had disappeared from the Panlong Desert for over a hundred years.

Arriving here, the mounts stopped their steps; no matter how people whipped them, they refused to move forward.

Ling Jinbao, an elder of the Jianyang Sect, was riding a blue-spotted beast; he communicated slightly with the beast and said to everyone: "They all feel there is huge danger ahead and dare not move forward."

Even the bird demons in the sky came down to report that there were turbulent currents above the Panlong ruins, making it difficult for birds to approach.

They couldn't go.

Seeing this, people had no choice but to dismount and walk across the bridge.

As for the mounts, they found special people to take them to the bottom of the nearby sand dunes to settle them.

This small disturbance made everyone increase their vigilance, but it didn't dispel their intention to enter.

They were here for the anomalies of Panlongcheng. If it were too peaceful here, what need would they have for exploration?

Everyone passed through the huge gate and slowly walked into Panlongcheng.

Even the Tiangong envoys, who were used to all kinds of miracles, subconsciously held their breath when passing through the gate tower.

This solid, heavy fortress, which was almost armed to the teeth, was covered in scars left by war, in addition to the marks of wind and frost.

Whoever passed through here would be shrouded by the stagnation of history and the tragic atmosphere rushing toward them.

Zhang Lianhai couldn't help but whisper: "This is Panlongcheng."

This sound also echoed between the two layers of the barbican.

It wasn't until they walked into the Nanmen Square that the whistling wind woke everyone from the atmosphere just now.

The ruined city before them miraculously hadn't been covered by wind and sand; although there were traces of arson and burning everywhere, some buildings stubbornly remained.

The pool and river channels in the Nanmen Square had accumulated a little clear water, although there were no fish yet. In the cracks of the ground, bricks, and the shadows of buildings, little bits of green were already sprouting.

There were even red and white grass flowers blooming sporadically by the river.

The city is deep in spring grass and trees.

Zhang Lianhai steadied his mind, feeling that this city forgotten by the world seemed to be planning to wake up from its slumber.

This was not a compliment, but a kind of eeriness.

The Panlong ruins should be desolate, dilapidated, and lifeless. At least for the past hundred years, it had been in this state under the attention of the gods.

Ever since the upheaval in Lingxu City, the Panlong ruins had indeed shown corresponding changes.

The various teams scattered as they walked here, each using their own methods.

Ling Jinbao of the Jianyang Sect was also observing the terrain, and his subordinates asked him: "Uncle Master, what should we do now?"

Although they were here to "investigate," Panlongcheng was so big—where should they start?

"One group goes to the temple, one group goes to Zhong Shengguang's former residence and tomb, and one group goes to the Red General's residence. A few people should also go to the Nanchengmen." Lady Mitian, Zhong Shengguang, and the Red General were all related to the Great Fang Hu; if Panlongcheng had changes, these places should be focused on first.

As for the Nanchengmen, climbing high was good for looking far.

A subordinate reminded: "Uncle Master, it's not good for us to be too scattered, right?"

This ghost place was evil, not to mention there were other factions coming to hunt for treasure.

Ling Jinbao thought about it: "Then divide into two groups first, going to the temple and Zhong Shengguang's official residence."

While speaking, human voices suddenly came from the alley ahead:

"... The temple also has no anomalies. But the Grand Marshal explained that the entrance was opened at the temple last time..."

"There's water in there, and we've tried it..."

A group of people turned out from the corner, about twenty or so.

Caught off guard, both sides faced each other and were startled, subconsciously drawing their weapons.

"Who are you?"

The Jianyang Sect people stared at them: "And who are you?"

The leader of the other side snorted. Everyone came for the same purpose, but no one wanted to report their family name.

The two teams confronted each other with swords drawn and bows bent, but Ling Jinbao first returned his sword to its sheath and spread his hands: "We don't want to cause trouble."

The atmosphere eased, and the other side looked at them a few times and turned to leave.

Ling Jinbao spoke up at the right time: "May I ask, when did you enter the city?"

"Why ask this?" The other side was still very vigilant.

"I've been here once; I'm looking for you to verify clues."

The few people on the opposite side looked at each other before saying: "Entered this morning."

In other words, they had only arrived at the Chipa Plateau and entered Panlongcheng this morning.

Ling Jinbao nodded: "We came at night last time and encountered illusions."

Were they really illusions? Actually, he didn't think so.

The other side looked at them a few more times and walked away.

"Uncle Master, these people look unfamiliar." They didn't belong to any faction that set out from Heishuicheng.

"There are many people who come here to take risks and hunt for treasure. We can come, and others can come too." Ling Jinbao said, "They came long ago, but it looks like they haven't gained anything either."

"The 'Grand Marshal' they mentioned—could it be Dong Haoming?"

Other countries also had Grand Marshals, but mentioning this title on Yuan Nation territory made it hard not to associate it with the rebellion in the northwest. The Jianyang Sect naturally also knew who Dong Haoming was.

Another disciple was surprised: "Could it be the one who killed Senior Brother Wu Di..."

Ling Jinbao made a "shh" sound, his face showing displeasure: "Why talk about these idle things? Let's go to the temple and see."

"Didn't they say there's nothing in the temple?"

"They searched it and that's it? This Panlong ruins has had many visitors before, and every house has been searched. Why did we come again?"

Not long after, they stood in front of the magnificent temple ruins.

Everyone knew that the only god worshipped in Panlongcheng was Lady Mitian.

However, after the city was broken, this temple was also focused on by the Baling and Xianyou coalition forces, being dismantled into pieces and mostly burned down, with even the statues beheaded and pushed over.

"They said, there is water." Ling Jinbao circled the inside and outside of the temple and found that the only place with water was the offering pool in front of the temple.

The pool was not small, and there were traces of being broken and repaired. Probably because of the continuous heavy rain in the past few days, a foot-deep pool of water had accumulated here, clear and rippling, and one could see the bottom at a glance.

His disciple also leaned over: "The Grand Marshal's subordinates just said that the entrance is in the temple, and also mentioned water; could it be this pool?"

Ling Jinbao took out a copper coin and threw it into the pool.

The copper coin was heavy and soon sank to the bottom. Everyone looked through the pool water and saw it clearly.

Ling Jinbao took a long stick and poked the bottom of the pool; it was solid.

"The entrance opened in the temple last time?" He muttered, "When was last time, and how would the Grand Marshal know?"

Had someone successfully found the entrance? And then, what happened?

A disciple climbed onto the tower to look into the distance and suddenly said: "The Tiangong people have made a move!"

He climbed high and looked far, just happening to see the movement in the Nanmen Square.

It turned out that the Tiangong lamp-guarding envoy had lit that pale platinum candle in the square.

The disciple muttered: "Other than lighting candles, can he do anything else?"

"This lamp spirit clone is equivalent to their life-bound magic treasure; the Tiangong lamp-guarding envoy has many skills, mostly performed through it."

Everyone was startled: "Lamp spirit... clone?"

"The Eternal Lamp in the Tiangong has been nurtured by divine grace for hundreds of years and never goes out; it is a very powerful magic treasure. What the lamp-guarding envoy brought out is just a clone."

As soon as the words fell, everyone saw Zhang Lianhai muttering words, and then he raised the candle—

The lamp spirit blazed, turning into hundreds of golden lights, rushing in all directions.

Each golden light seemed to have intelligence, drilling into streets, alleys, buildings, and city walls to inspect, not even letting go of the stone bridges by the river or the cracks in the bluestone slabs on the road.

Seeing this, Ling Jinbao immediately changed his words: "... Even if it's a clone, it has many wonderful uses."

It saved them from searching with manpower like this.

In terms of efficiency, the lamp spirit was probably higher. And these glowing things were also very sensitive to divine arts and secret techniques, perhaps being able to perceive things invisible to the human eye.

In the blink of an eye, a golden light swayed over, ignoring the Jianyang Sect people, but not letting go of any corner or crack in the temple.

It even hovered over the pool water twice, suddenly diving in.

It was just a light, with no substance. But the pool water rippled in two layers and bubbled up a small string of bubbles.

An anomaly? Ling Jinbao immediately stared intently.

However, the golden light turned twice at the bottom of the water and came up, finding nothing. The pool water soon returned to calm; perhaps it had just been wrinkled by the wind.

Watching it go far away, the disciple was sensible: "Uncle Master, where should we search now?"

Ling Jinbao's eyes flashed, looking back at the Nanmen Square: "Send two people to watch the Tiangong people; it's best to let them lead the way for us. Everyone else, follow me to the square to climb the city wall."

Everyone followed while being puzzled: "Why climb the city wall?"

"The red light at night rises from inside the Panlong ruins, so where the light comes out, the treasure is there—understand?" Speaking of this, Ling Jinbao suddenly remembered something, his footsteps pausing, "Wait, wait!"

He looked up at the sky: "How long until dark?"

"It was already the end of the un-hour when we arrived at the oasis outside the city, and we stayed for half a quarter of an hour before rushing over—" The disciple calculated carefully, "It's almost sunset, right?"

"Sunset, sunset." Ling Jinbao muttered to himself, "Right, we came at night last time!"

He turned his footsteps and rushed out of the city gate:

"Go, go! Get out first!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 841 =====