Unlike the Fu Realm, this minor realm did not regularly open to the mortal world. Perhaps its next opening would not be for several centuries, long after the immortals had vanished.
Looking at these two legends together, there was clearly a connection among Master Sanshui, the Dafang Pot lid, and the Que beasts.
Setting aside the factor of Master Sanshui, the Que beasts rampaging throughout Panlong City might very well have been released by the Dafang Pot lid.
Zhang Lianhai had operated in Blackwater City of the Yuan Kingdom for several months, gathering substantial intelligence and tracking down three individuals who had been there. Two years ago, all three had accompanied the former Commandery Governor He on the expedition into the Panlong Ruins. After barely surviving, they often bragged about the experience in taverns, spinning vivid, colorful tales.
Every one of them mentioned that once water was poured into the pool-well of Mitian Temple, the entrance to the secret realm would open.
Note that this was the entrance to the Panlong Realm.
Yet when Zhang Lianhai entered Panlong City this time, what surged out of that entrance was actually the Que beasts from the Dafang Pot lid?
A disciple asked again, "Why do tiny motes of light rise from these monsters after they die? Lamp Warden Zhang has been following those specks of light all this time, traveling quite far and avoiding several packs of beasts along the way."
"Following the specks of light?" Realization dawned on He Jing. "Zhang Lianhai has picked up on something." What absorbed those motes of light was likely the Dafang Pot itself.
Zhang Lianhai was by no means incompetent; otherwise, the Heavenly Palace would not have dispatched him to monitor the Panlong Desert. In its current state, Panlong City was exceptionally dangerous. He would never rush out of hiding without good reason.
Unless he believed there was something out there worth taking such a risk for.
While He Jing was still turning the matter over in his mind, the disciple's eyes suddenly went round. "Emissary, look—look quickly!"
He looked at the mirror's surface just in time to see Zhang Lianhai and his men offend a small ghost-faced monkey, and right after that, a massive horde of monsters came charging in!
Zhang Lianhai and the others were chased relentlessly by the beast herd. Even through the Haofang Mirror, the Heavenly Palace emissaries outside could feel that suffocating urgency.
The average strength of these monsters was far greater than that of the Donao beasts in the Fu Realm.
After all, what made the Fu Realm most inhospitable was its harsh environment and its gravity.
The beasts sealed within the Dafang Pot lid appeared one after another, completely stealing the spotlight from the Dafang Pot.
Why were they so filled with resentment, killing anyone on sight?
Those watching the mirror even caught several unusually resonant roars.
What kind of creature had made them?
A sudden spark of inspiration flashed in He Jing's mind, and he murmured, "It couldn't be... Could it be...?"
A bizarre thought struck him:
Was it possible that, nearly half a year after the Anonymous One wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, the recovered lid still had not fully fused with the Dafang Pot's body?
Who said these two treasures were guaranteed to click into place at once?
The Heavenly Palace harbored countless treasures, and He Jing understood one thing clearly:
The more divine an artifact, the more temperamental it was.
That would explain the various anomalies in the Panlong Desert.
Perhaps because they had been separated for too long, or perhaps because both treasures had too much of their own will, the Dafang Pot lid seemed rather resistant to the fusion. The monsters Zhang Lianhai encountered in Panlong City were quite likely the means of resistance it had unleashed.
For every Que beast slain, the lid's power was drained by a fraction, usurped by the pot's vessel—one waxing as the other waned.
To achieve final fusion, they would have to wait until the very last Que beast was wiped out... wouldn't they?
This was probably the Dafang Pot lid's last-ditch struggle.
The disciple watched without blinking. "The Que beasts are hunting them down, but Lamp Warden Zhang is still doing everything he can to reach the eastern quarter!"
What was in the east of the city?
He Jing and the acolytes soon discovered Zhang Lianhai's destination:
General Red's Cenotaph!
Of course. It had to be General Red's Cenotaph.
A hundred and sixty or seventy years ago, this half-human, half-divine monster had shared a far tighter bond with the Dafang Pot than Zhong Shengguang ever had.
Watching Zhang Lianhai dig open General Red's Cenotaph in a single breath to reveal the armor relics and the small pot within, He Jing's breathing grew ragged.
The Dafang Pot!
He was actually seeing the Dafang Pot with his own eyes!
This was the supreme treasure celestial gods longed for day and night, the root of countless bloody, fiery wars—a divine relic that the gods would pursue relentlessly, slaying every holder in their path!
Zhang Lianhai had actually found it!
It was truly a historic moment.
Yet in the next second, the cenotaph receded farther and farther from the young attendant's view.
The last image he saw was the gaping, bloody maw of a Que beast!
The image in the mirror vanished then and there, leaving behind only the reflection of He Jing's face.
He stomped his foot and let out a long sigh. "So close, so very close!" That useless, disappointing Zhang Lianhai!
A disciple asked, "Emissary, what do we do now?"
He Jing looked up at the dilapidated Panlong City before him. The hollow South Gate resembled an open maw, waiting for them to walk into the trap.
Yet the Dafang Pot was truly right there!
If he could recover the Dafang Pot, he would become the uncontested first person of the Heavenly Palace from then on. The Chief Duyun Emissary was already decrepit with age, and of the four Duyun Emissaries, the one favored to succeed him had originally been Bai Ziqi.
His covert feud with Bai Ziqi had also raged for several years.
This Dafang Pot could help him settle the matter once and for all.
Yet—and there was always a 'yet'—He Jing knew all too well how perilous this venture was.
If nothing else, those Que beasts left him with a nagging worry. While the Donao beasts of the Fu Realm were weaker overall, the Donao beast lords were immensely formidable.
What about these snow beasts?
Furthermore, other hidden dangers undoubtedly lurked within Panlong City.
It was the unseen perils that were the most terrifying.
A supreme treasure like the Dafang Pot had never been divorced from bloody struggles and scheming plots.
Even He Jing, who had weathered great storms, now found himself wavering.
He naturally understood the principle of high risk and high reward, but just how high was this risk?
Reflecting on it, his goal was not to go head-to-head against the Que beasts anyway. He only needed to seize an opportunity to snatch the Dafang Pot from General Red's Cenotaph.
If he made proper arrangements...
Another acolyte spoke up. "There are still several other groups inside the city."
"The people in the city will all be dead before dawn..." He Jing mused. "Why lure them here?"
Whether it was the red light or the mirrored city cast across the sky, both now seemed to be bait set by the Dafang Pot to draw adventurers into the desert to explore Panlong City.
Why would it do that?
Was it seeking a new master, or using outside strength to eliminate the Que beasts so it could tame its long-lost lid?
It was hardly unusual for a divine artifact to choose its own master, but He Jing leaned toward the latter explanation.
Could this mean the Dafang Pot currently had little strength to spare?
Yet once the vessel and the lid fully merged, the Dafang Pot was bound to grow even more powerful and unpredictable. When that time came, would he still have any chance of claiming it?
Countless thoughts swirled in his mind, each weighing gains against losses.
What if he didn't go in?
Would he be able to answer to the Heavenly Palace upon returning?
Just then, the towering pillar of light within Panlong City flickered several times, its color gradually dimming.
"The red light pillar is about to fade." Everyone looked at He Jing, awaiting his final decision.
Fu Liang said in a low voice, "Emissary, perhaps we can wait for the red light to appear next time before going in!"
"Next time?" He Jing shot him a glance. "When will next time be?"
"To-tomorrow?" Hadn't the red light been appearing every night recently?
"Can you guarantee it will appear tomorrow?"
"Ah..." The disciple was struck speechless. "N-no, I cannot!" He was not the Dafang Pot, so how could he make such a promise?
Just because the red pillar of light had appeared every night lately did not mean it would come every day hereafter.
It was by no means a set pattern.
Judging from how scarred the Que beasts in the city were, the Dafang Pot's grinding down of them was likely nearing its end.
At that moment, an acolyte pointed toward the sky. "Emissary, look! It seems to be heading right toward us!"
In the deep, dark night, a streak of light had appeared without warning.
Everyone looked up to see it expanding rapidly in their field of vision.
It seemed to be heading straight for them.
No, it seemed to be heading for the South Gate of Panlong City.
Such vivid green light looked exceptionally eerie against the backdrop of the dark night.
He Jing's face changed, and he sharply snapped at the acolytes behind him, "Which of you secretly invoked a divine descent?"
Everyone was appalled and shook their heads frantically.
Emissary He was saying this was a divine descent?!
Then this green light descending from the sky, could it be...?
Their shock did not appear feigned, and He Jing had only asked offhandedly anyway. The preparations for inviting a god were intricate; these boys would never know how.
It seemed, then, that someone inside Panlong City had petitioned a god and succeeded?
Just which deity had been invoked?
In the blink of an eye, the green light flew close, shining as dazzlingly as a comet. Those with weaker cultivations did not even dare look straight at it.
Sensing that this thing harbored ill intent, He Jing commanded immediately, "Bring out the lamp spirits!"
It was coming too fast to arrange an array on the spot; the lamp wardens could only draw upon their most potent weapon.
Three golden flashes instantly lit up within the crowd, and three lamp spirits materialized.
One rested in He Jing's palm, another in Fu Liang's, and a third in the hand of another Heavenly Palace acolyte.
They flew above their masters' heads, merging together into a protective canopy of golden radiance that shielded everyone within.
He Jing chanted softly, and over a hundred runes appeared across the golden canopy, glowing with matching golden light as they drifted slowly across its surface.
They were still standing in the desert, more than a hundred feet from the land bridge. The green light had seemed headed for Panlong City, but upon reaching the bridgehead, it abruptly swerved and charged headlong toward them.
He Jing shouted, "Hold still and maintain focus—clear all stray thoughts!"
The group immediately calmed their minds and loudly chanted the glorious name of the Holy Venerable Lingxu.
Even when a celestial god's avatar descended to the mortal realm, it required a human host to unleash its true might. Furthermore, this deity of unknown origin was clearly bound for Panlong City; why would it choose someone outside the city for divine descent?
Even so, to be safe, He Jing still had them summon the lamp spirits.
If a human without an imprint did not consent, a celestial god's avatar could not successfully achieve divine descent. However, they would exhaust every form of threat and enticement.
Only with the protection of the lamp spirits' 'heart lamps' would the Heavenly Palace emissaries remain guarded against being seduced by this wild god of unknown origin.
Sure enough, the green light slammed into the golden canopy.
Everyone, along with the canopy itself, was jolted by the impact, feeling the ferocious momentum behind this entity.
Yet the green light immediately skimmed over the top of the golden barrier, veered back, and plunged straight into the South Gate of Panlong City.
And then, it vanished.
Silence returned all around them, as if nothing had ever happened.
Only then did He Jing recall his lamp spirit, doubts gnawing at his mind: Why had this wild god rammed into them?
Though he called it a 'wild god,' as a Duyun Emissary he could sense that the green light's aura belonged to none of Lingxu's gods, yet it was just as formidable.
The Heavenly Palace party exchanged bewildered glances, entirely at a loss, until the disciple who had wielded a lamp spirit cried out in dismay:
"Emissary, m-my lamp spirit!"
He Jing looked down and saw that the white-gold candle in the disciple's hand had only a pea-sized flame left, flickering in the wind on the verge of dying out.
Seeing its utterly depleted state, He Jing frowned. "The essence of your lamp spirit was stolen by that celestial god's avatar."
Chapter 834