Time was running out. He Lingchuan looked He Chunhua squarely in the eye and said solemnly, "Father, this is the last time I will ever call you Father! I am He Lingchuan, genuine and unaltered—not Zhong Shengguang, and not some ghost of Panlong City! I saved you from the ghost ape, I saved you by the shore of Xianling Lake, and I saved you in the rushing torrents of the Han River! Except for your own flesh-and-blood son, no solitary stray ghost would risk its life to save you!"
Every word pierced like a needle to the heart.
He Chunhua stood utterly speechless, but He Lingchuan gave him no chance to speak. His expression twisted, and he suddenly roared:
"Yet you used me as a deity blood sacrifice! You knew very well that mortal flesh cannot endure the descent of a celestial god, yet you didn't even blink before using your own son for a blood sacrifice! Even a vicious tiger won't devour its cubs, yet you are worse than a beast! I must have suffered eight lifetimes of bloody bad luck to end up with a father like you—hypocritical, cold-blooded, selfish, and venomously cruel!"
The grievances buried deep in his chest erupted like a volcano. He did not even need to search for words; the heartfelt outrage poured forth in an unstoppable flood.
At this moment, he handed the right to curse his father back to his original self.
He pointed at He Chunhua, bristling with fury. "My only regret is that I was blind, failing to see your true colors sooner. This is also the last time I will ever lift a hand to help or save you—consider it repayment in full for the debt of giving me life and raising me! From this day forth, all ties between us are severed! Next time we meet, do not blame my blade for being merciless!"
*Ah, what a relief!*
Letting fly with this tirade left him invigorated from head to toe.
His original self had vented his grudge, and he himself felt thoroughly cleansed of vexation.
He Lingchuan's righteous fury left He Chunhua shaken to the core, blood rushing to his head, his face burning hot with panic while his throat remained choked, unable to utter a single word in defense.
Every word had rung true. Who other than his own flesh-and-blood son would risk his life time and again to save his father?
He Chunhua remembered how his son had repeatedly thrown himself between danger and his father without a second thought; he remembered the profound gratitude he had felt upon being rescued. Could it be... could this truly be his eldest son, rather than some vengeful possessing ghost?
And yet...
He drew two ragged breaths and was about to speak when the ground trembled beneath them, a thunderous roar echoing from the opposite bank—the monsters near the ditch had also been startled by the explosion Tao Ran set off and were galloping full-tilt toward the west.
This stone enclosure lay directly in their path.
"Milord, watch out!" Zhao Qinghe yanked the dazed He Chunhua away, ducking through two or three turns before finally escaping the beast herd.
Listening to the streets quaking beneath the thunderous stomping, neither of them dared to breathe.
If the monsters ran them down, their deaths would be gruesome.
Only after several waves of beasts had passed did they finally cross the ditch again, but He Lingchuan and his companion were nowhere to be seen.
"Milord!" Seeing He Chunhua still looking listless and completely devoid of life, Zhao Qinghe grew frantic. "This is a place of mortal peril! Please compose yourself!"
Danger lurked at every turn. If he could not focus, only death awaited them.
He Chunhua's mind was in utter turmoil, as if two conflicting voices were violently shouting each other down in his head.
Another blast of icy wind swept past. He shuddered, the shock snapping him back to his senses, and he abruptly struck his own face twice.
*Slap! Slap!*
Zhao Qinghe stared blankly, wondering if his master had lost his mind.
He Chunhua rubbed his eyelids. "Move. Quickly, to the east!"
Things had come to this! Things had already come to this!
He could not turn back!
What use was hesitating, wavering, or regretting now? He could only march steadfastly forward.
Now that the monsters had been drawn away, this was their golden opportunity to seize the Dafang Pot!
Claiming the Dafang Pot was his only way out.
Only by securing the Dafang Pot could he appease Nailuotian's wrath once he exited the secret realm. No, it was more than just that—he had to look even further ahead!
As long as he retrieved the Dafang Pot, he could turn the entire board in his favor.
He Lingchuan was undoubtedly heading there as well; they had to pick up their pace.
***
Tao Ran and the others hid within the thick hollow walls of the South Gate, peering outward through small slits in the stone.
The shot had achieved a magnificent effect. Within their line of sight, at least two hundred monsters were tearing westward, their roars ringing out continuously.
A Blackwater City soldier chuckled softly. "Le Zhengqing's going to be cursing bloody murder this time." Half the city's monsters had been lured over to play with him.
Tao Ran raised a finger and made a gentle shushing sound. "Don't draw the monsters' attention."
Among those beasts were some with exceptional hearing.
Under these conditions, the mortals on the South Gate had to be doubly cautious. After all, Liren Street was not that far from here.
One shouldn't get dragged into the water while merely watching the show.
Just then, someone whispered, "People are entering the South Gate Square!"
The others almost laughed, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him.
With monsters running amok everywhere, any sane person would be in hiding. What sort of squad would venture into the empty South Gate Square just to court death?
Yet when they looked down, they too were stunned.
"Wh-what... where did these idiots come from?"
"I don't think we've seen them before?"
Tao Ran said helplessly, "Can you all keep your voices down?"
Indeed, the four or five figures who had suddenly appeared in the South Gate Square were all unfamiliar faces.
Had they just entered the city from outside?
Everyone was already gloomy and frustrated at being unable to leave Panlong City. Seeing people rushing in to throw their lives away, they could not help feeling a gleeful schadenfreude.
The newcomers came to a halt and looked back at the South Gate, their faces showing some surprise. They clearly had not expected the city gate to close so silently, but they were far from displaying the panicked terror of He Chunhua's men.
The people inside the hollow wall ducked down quickly to avoid being spotted.
Tao Ran, looking down from his vantage point, gave a live report: "They're moving. Heading east."
"East? Isn't that suicide?" Packs of monsters to the east were sprinting westward—were these contrary travelers looking to die?
"Watch your tongue! The Governor-General and his son headed east too!"
As a master archer, Tao Ran's eyesight far surpassed that of an ordinary person. He whispered to his companions, "I see faint ripples of light again. It might be a lamp spirit. These people are probably from the Heavenly Palace as well."
Surprised, the others crowded around the slits to look east. Though they could no longer see the newcomers, faint glimmers indeed flickered above the alleyways.
"That's a lamp spirit too?" someone questioned. "Isn't the light a bit too dim? Zhang Lianhai's lamp spirit was blazing bright."
The Heavenly Palace's lamp spirits were certainly formidable, but they were almost too conspicuous in the dark.
"Perhaps the newcomers are smarter than him and don't want to invite unnecessary trouble, or perhaps they have a more refined mastery over lamp spirits." The Mount Rong disciples exchanged glances. "No wonder the Young Master discovered over thirty Heavenly Palace visitors in Blackwater City, yet Zhang Lianhai claimed he only brought about a dozen subordinates. Turns out they split into two groups."
"Then there are only four or five down there."
"Perhaps they split into even more groups."
"What's the use of splitting into more groups?" a Blackwater City soldier grunted. "Coming in here is still courting death, isn't it?"
Rough words, but true enough; even the Mount Rong disciples agreed.
Yin Ran murmured, "Just in time—seven or eight monsters are coming, about to collide with them head-on!"
Someone could not help worrying, "What if they retreat toward the wall and try to climb the gatehouse?"
Should they yield or fight? With the He father and son absent, who could make the call?
Suddenly, Tao Ran let out a startled sound. "They're gone!"
Another Mount Rong disciple poked his head forward. "What do you mean, gone?"
"Those four or five people vanished on the spot! Huh... the monsters ran right past and didn't notice them at all."
"An invisibility art?"
"Looks like it," Tao Ran mused. "I heard the art of invisibility was lost long ago. Who would have thought they'd be proficient in it?"
In ruins swarming with monsters, an invisibility art was indeed the optimal solution. It allowed one to advance without disturbing the beasts.
***
The moment He Jing and his companions passed through the South Gate, something felt wrong.
An explosion echoed from the west, its force palpable even through the howling cold wind.
When He Jing turned around, he found more than half his retinue missing; only his disciple and two trusted confidants remained by his side.
His disciple Fu Liang panicked. "Lord Emissary!"
"Calm yourself." An unexpected incident the moment they entered Panlong City took He Jing by surprise as well, but he waved his hand dismissively. "They were teleported elsewhere!"
*Elsewhere?*
There was indeed a hidden power working in the shadows, seeking to divide and conquer them.
Could the one manipulating outsiders like this be the Dafang Pot?
"Head east," He Jing said decisively. "The acolytes know our objective. They will most likely regroup with us at General Red's Cenotaph."
Fu Liang happened to glance back and cried out in alarm, "Lord Emissary, the gate is shut!"
The two massive leaves of the South Gate were sealed shut, not leaving even a sliver of a gap.
He Jing was not surprised. "I told you, this is already a secret realm!"
A secret realm had its own rules; how could it allow people to come and go freely?
"To the east, hurry." Their sole objective in entering the Panlong Realm was to seize the Dafang Pot as swiftly as possible; not a moment should be wasted along the way.
The colossal silhouette across the firmament also drew their attention.
He Jing looked up at the sky from time to time, privately speculating.
Awed by his master's vast knowledge, Fu Liang asked in a low voice, "Lord Emissary, what is that?"
He Jing said nothing.
He did not know either.
How could anyone fathom a self-contained realm like the Dafang Pot at a single glance? But the sheer pressure radiating from that entity in the sky was overwhelming.
Were there originally living beings inside the Dafang Pot? Excluding the Que beasts, of course.
The other guards exchanged glances, each wondering: where had the divine avatar that entered earlier gone?
For now, there was no answer.
A few wisps of eerie light swept past the four of them, heading east.
He Jing brushed his hand outward, but the eerie light slipped through his fingers, impossible to hold.
He produced a small white jade vial and aimed it at another wisp.
The vial had the ability to collect spiritual entities, yet the eerie light remained unaffected, sliding right past the mouth of the vial.
Fu Liang asked softly, "What on earth are these?"
He Jing shook his head; he could not say for sure either. Something that even a jade vial could not capture was truly formless and incorporeal.
The four raced dozens of yards through the alleyways when a rumbling sound suddenly rose ahead. Something was stampeding toward them en masse.
Monsters?
"Best not to engage them." He Jing had witnessed Zhang Lianhai's predicament earlier. A single monster might not pose a threat to them, but they were adept at calling their kin and swarming in packs. Heavily outnumbered, once spotted and tangled up with them, escape would be exceedingly difficult. "Fu Liang, Invisibility Incantation."
"Yes!" Fu Liang answered. He summoned his lamp spirit and blew a breath upon it. The lamp spirit immediately soared above their heads, enfolding all four in its light.
Fu Liang formed hand seals and silently chanted an incantation. Within the lantern light, the figures of the four vanished in an instant.
A few breaths later, the lamp spirit ceased its bright glow, shifting into the faint, eerie light seen everywhere across the city, drifting inconspicuously through the air.
Chapter 836