Chapter 842: The Plundering Heavenly God

This small world was different from the Fu Realm. It did not open to the mortal realm regularly. Perhaps it would not open again for several hundred years, after the immortals had already vanished.

Putting the two legends together, Perfected Sanshui, the lid of the Generous Pot, and the que beasts were clearly connected.

If Perfected Sanshui was removed from the equation, then the que beasts now running rampant throughout Panlong City might very well have been released by the lid of the Generous Pot.

Zhang Lianhai had spent several months operating around Heishui City in Yuan, gathering a great deal of intelligence and even locating three people directly involved in the events. Two years ago, all three had followed He Chunhua, who had been the commandery administrator back then, into the Panlong Ruins and survived by sheer luck. Ever since, they had often bragged about the experience in taverns, embellishing it with vivid detail.

All three had mentioned that once the pool in the Temple of Mitian was filled with water, the entrance to the secret realm would open.

More specifically, it was the entrance to the Panlong Secret Realm.

Yet this time, when Zhang Lianhai entered Panlong City again, que beasts connected to the lid of the Generous Pot had actually come charging out of that entrance?

The disciple then asked, “Why do little points of light rise from the que beasts after they die? Lamp Guardian Zhang has been following them the entire time. He’s already gone quite far and even avoided several groups of those beasts along the way.”

“Following the lights?” Hé Jing suddenly understood. “Zhang Lianhai must have noticed something.” The thing drawing in those lights could very well be the Generous Pot.

Zhang Lianhai was neither a fool nor a weakling. Otherwise, the Heavenly Palace would never have sent him to monitor the Panlong Desert. Panlong City was extraordinarily dangerous right now, and he would never charge out of a safe hiding place for no reason. The only reason he would do so was if he believed that there was something worth risking his life for.

Hé Jing was still thinking it through when his disciple’s eyes suddenly widened. “Lord Cloud Envoy, quick, look!”

He turned toward the mirror and saw Zhang Lianhai and the others provoke the little ghost-faced monkeys. Immediately afterward, a massive herd of que beasts surged toward them!

Zhang Lianhai’s group fled with the beast herd hot on their heels. Even through the Haofang Mirror, those from the Heavenly Palace who were merely watching could feel the suffocating urgency of the chase.

The average strength of these aberrant creatures far exceeded that of the duonao beasts in the Fu Realm.

After all, the most hostile things about the Fu Realm were its environment and gravity.

One aberrant creature after another sealed within the lid of the Generous Pot was now making its appearance, completely stealing the spotlight from the Generous Pot itself.

Why are they so full of fury, so intent on killing humans on sight?

Those watching the mirror even heard several exceptionally loud beast roars.

What kind of creature could make a sound like that?

A flash of insight suddenly crossed Hé Jing’s mind. He murmured, “No way. Could it be...?”

A strange possibility occurred to him.

Could it be that despite nearly half a year having passed since that unknown intruder wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, the recovered lid still hasn’t fully merged with the body of the Generous Pot?

Well, who could say for sure that two supreme treasures like these would immediately fit together without resistance?

The Heavenly Palace possessed countless treasures, and Hé Jing understood one thing very well: the more divine an artifact was, the stronger its personality tended to be.

That would explain all the strange phenomena appearing in the Panlong Desert.

Perhaps they’ve separated for too long, or perhaps both treasures possess personalities that are simply too strong. Whatever the reason, the lid of the Generous Pot seems rather resistant to the idea of merging. The aberrant creatures Zhang Lianhai is facing inside Panlong City could very well be the manner by which the lid is resisting.

Every time one que beast was killed, a portion of the lid’s power was taken away by the body of the pot itself, weakening one side while strengthening the other.

For the complete fusion to take place, perhaps we’d have to wait until the very last que beast is destroyed...

This is probably the lid’s final desperate resistance.

The disciple stared fixedly at the mirror. “The que beast herd is hunting them down, but Lamp Guardian Zhang is still doing everything he can to reach the eastern part of the city!”

What’s in the east?

Hé Jing and the attendants quickly discovered Zhang Lianhai’s destination: the Red General’s cenotaph!

Of course, it has to be the Red General’s cenotaph!

Back then, that half-human, half-divine creature had been tied even more closely to the Generous Pot than Zhong Shengguang had been.

When Zhang Lianhai tore open the Red General’s cenotaph and discovered the abandoned armor and the small pot within, Hé Jing’s breathing immediately quickened.

The Generous Pot!

He was actually seeing the Generous Pot with his own eyes!

This was the supreme treasure the heavenly gods had yearned for, the source of countless wars drenched in blood and flame, the divine artifact the gods had pursued even at the cost of killing every single person who possessed it!

Zhang Lianhai actually found it!

This was a historic moment.

But in the very next instant, the tomb began moving farther and farther away from the young attendant.

The final image he saw was the gaping, blood-filled maw of a que beast!

The scene in the mirror cut off there, leaving only Hé Jing’s own reflection.

He stamped his foot and sighed deeply. “Just a little more! He was only a little short!” That useless Zhang Lianhai!

The disciple asked, “Lord Cloud Envoy, what do we do now?”

Hé Jing looked up at the dilapidated Panlong City ahead. The hollow southern gate looked like a massive maw waiting for them to walk in.

But the Generous Pot really is in there!

If he could recover the Generous Pot, then from this day forward, he would become the undisputed foremost figure in the Heavenly Palace. The Chief Cloud Envoy was already old, and among the four deputy cloud envoys, Bai Ziqi had originally been the strongest contender to succeed him.

Hé Jing and Bai Ziqi had also been struggling against each other in secret for years.

This one Generous Pot could settle everything for him in a single stroke.

But then there was the problem. Hé Jing was also fully aware of how dangerous this undertaking would be.

Even setting everything else aside, the que beasts filled him with unease. The duonao beasts of the Fu Realm were generally weaker than these creatures, but the duonao beast lords were extraordinarily powerful.

What about these snow beasts?

And Panlong City undoubtedly still concealed other dangers.

The dangers one could not see were always the most terrifying.

The Generous Pot had never once been separate from bloodshed, conspiracies, and schemes.

Even Hé Jing, who had weathered countless storms, found himself unable to decide.

Of course he understood the principle of high risk and high reward. But just how high was the risk this time?

Thinking it through, what he needed to do was not fight the que beasts head-on. He only needed to find an opportunity to snatch the Generous Pot from the Red General’s cenotaph.

If I make the right preparations...

Another attendant said, “There are still several parties inside the city.”

“The people in there won’t survive until dawn...” Hé Jing murmured. “Why did it lure them here?”

Whether it was the red light or the reflected phantom city in the sky, both now appeared to have been bait used by the Generous Pot to attract adventurers into the desert and entice them to explore Panlong City.

But why did it do that?

Is it searching for a new master, or borrowing outside strength to eliminate the que beasts and help it subdue the lid that’s been separated from it for so many years?

It was certainly not strange for a divine artifact to choose its own master, but Hé Jing leaned more toward the second possibility.

Could that mean the Generous Pot itself currently doesn’t have much strength to spare?

But once the body and lid fully merge, the Generous Pot would undoubtedly become even more powerful and unpredictable. Would I still have a chance to obtain it then?

Countless thoughts spun through his mind, every one weighing gains against losses.

What if I choose not to go in?

Can I return to the Heavenly Palace and explain myself?

Just then, the pillar of red light rising from Panlong City suddenly flickered several times, its color gradually fading.

“The red pillar is about to disappear.” Everyone turned toward Hé Jing, waiting for his final decision.

Fu Liang whispered, “Lord Cloud Envoy, perhaps we can wait until the red light appears again before going in!”

“Again?” Hé Jing glanced at him. “When will that be?”

“T-tomorrow?” Hasn’t the red light been appearing every night recently?

“Can you guarantee it will definitely appear tomorrow?”

“Ah...” The disciple was left speechless. “N-no!” He was not the Generous Pot. How could he possibly guarantee such a thing?

The red pillar had appeared every night recently, but that did not mean it would continue doing so forever.

That was no rule saying that it should do so at all.

Judging by the many wounds covering the que beasts inside the city, perhaps the Generous Pot’s struggle against them was already approaching its end.

At that moment, an attendant pointed toward the sky. “Lord Cloud Envoy, look! It seems to be coming toward us.”

At some unknown point, a light had appeared in the dark night sky.

Everyone looked up and watched it grow larger and larger before their eyes.

It seemed to be heading straight for them.

No, more precisely, it seemed to be heading toward Panlong City’s southern gate.

The green light was so vivid and intense that against the darkness of night, it looked especially eerie.

Hé Jing’s expression changed. He snapped at the attendants behind him, “Which one of you secretly invoked a divine descent?”

Everyone was shocked and shook their heads frantically.

Cloud Envoy Hé’s saying that this is a divine descent?!

Then is that green light descending from the heavens actually...?

Their astonishment did not seem feigned. Hé Jing had only asked on instinct anyway. Preparing to invoke a god was an elaborate process, and these youngsters probably did not even know how.

In that case, has someone inside Panlong City invoked a god and succeeded?

But which god have they called?

In the blink of an eye, the green light had drawn near. It shone like a comet, so dazzling that those with weaker cultivation could no longer look directly at it.

Sensing that the thing did not come with good intentions, Hé Jing immediately ordered, “Summon the lamp spirits!”

It was approaching too quickly for them to set up an array in time. As lamp guardians, their strongest available weapons were their lamp spirits.

Three golden lights immediately flared among the group, and three lamp spirits appeared.

One hovered above Hé Jing’s palm, one above Fu Liang’s, while another Heavenly Palace attendant possessed the third.

The three flew over their masters’ heads and merged their radiance together, weaving a golden barrier that enclosed and protected everyone within.

Hé Jing murmured several lines under his breath, and over a hundred runes immediately appeared across the golden barrier. They shone with the same golden light and slowly drifted across its surface.

The group was still standing in the desert, more than thirty meters from the land bridge. The green light had seemed to be heading for Panlong City, but the moment it reached the bridgehead, it abruptly changed direction and slammed straight toward them.

Hé Jing shouted, “Hold your minds still! Cast out all stray thoughts!”

Everyone immediately calmed themselves and loudly recited the revered name of Divine Majesty Lingxu.

Even when a heavenly god’s avatar descended into the mortal realm, it required a human vessel before it could fully exert its power. And this unknown heavenly god was clearly heading toward Panlong City. Why would it choose someone standing outside the city for its divine descent?

Still, Hé Jing summoned the lamp spirits as a precaution.

Without a divine seal mark, a heavenly god’s avatar could not successfully descend into a human who refused it. However, heavenly gods would use every possible means of threat and temptation.

With the lamp spirits’ “heart lamps” protecting them, the Heavenly Palace envoys would be far less vulnerable to seduction from some unknown wild god.

The green light slammed directly into the golden barrier.

Everyone, barrier included, rocked from the impact. The force behind it was tremendous. However, the green light immediately swept over the top of the barrier, curved back around, and plunged straight into Panlong City’s southern gate.

Then it vanished.

Silence returned to the surroundings, as though nothing had happened at all.

Only then did Hé Jing withdraw the lamp spirits, suspicion stirring in his heart.

Why did that wild god ram into us?

He called it a “wild god,” but as a cloud envoy, Hé Jing could clearly sense that the aura within the green light did not belong to any of the gods of Lingxu. Still, he sensed it was unquestionably powerful.

The Heavenly Palace party exchanged confused looks, unable to understand what had just happened. Only the disciple controlling one of the lamp spirits suddenly cried out, “Lord Cloud Envoy! M-my lamp spirit!”

Hé Jing lowered his gaze.

The white-and-gold candle in the disciple’s hand now had only a tiny flame the size of a mung bean, trembling in the wind as though it might go out at any moment.

Seeing its utterly feeble state, Hé Jing’s brow furrowed. “The heavenly god’s avatar stole the essence of your lamp spirit.”