Chapter 78: My Knife, You Can Keep It

Blood dripped from its fangs, and it made a very obvious swallowing motion.

He Lingchuan finally understood why he and his group had never found Tao Bo, the leader of the Baling exploration team and the grand-disciple of Patriarch Zhu Gen. He probably met the same end as Nian Songyu.

Among those holding Mao Tao, a sand bandit sorcerer suddenly exclaimed, "What is this?"

He tore open the back of Mao Tao's collar and ripped a yellow paper figure covered in talismans from his back.

As soon as the yellow paper was torn off, Mao Tao's frenzy ceased abruptly. His hand relaxed, and the precious saber fell.

In the midst of the chaos, no one moved to catch the saber.

He Lingchuan twitched his fingertips, but in the end, he didn't reach out.

With a clang, the saber landed spine-down on the hard paving stones and, in full view of everyone, broke into two pieces.

Everyone's movements froze as if a pause button had been pressed. Their eyes were fixed on the broken saber on the ground, then they furtively glanced at the black dragon.

It's broken, the saber is broken!

What was Nian Songyu's last word before he died?

Only He Lingchuan knew that the treasured saber already had deep cracks. The controlled Mao Tao had then used the back of the blade to smash against the wall, damaging it even further. It was remarkably sturdy not to have broken on the spot.

This fall to the ground was the final straw.

Several thoughts immediately flashed through He Lingchuan's mind:

How did the so-called "Heavenly God" know that this treasured saber was the black dragon's weakness?

How did it know the saber was on He Lingchuan?

How did it know Mao Tao could break this saber?

Perhaps it noticed that He Lingchuan had returned alone from the south city on a demon bird, while Sun Fuping's whereabouts were unknown, thus concluding that the treasure was in He Lingchuan's hands.

What about the other two questions?

He Lingchuan knew that this likely involved more complex underlying secrets, but as the white light was devoured, the answer also vanished.

Furthermore, the white light that had possessed Nian Songyu had miscalculated; its fate was to be swallowed whole by the black dragon. If the saber had broken a few breaths earlier, the situation would have been entirely different.

Above and below the city, a deathly silence reigned.

Then, the illusionary creatures like demon apes and monster birds suddenly fell to the ground and turned to dust.

However, the black dragon swam towards the city wall.

Everyone instinctively retreated. He Lingchuan cleared his throat and, steeling himself, asked, "Is our previous agreement still valid?"

Although the demonic creatures were gone, the black dragon's own combat power had escalated, and so many Great Wind Army spirits in the city still obeyed its commands. If it wished for everyone to die, not a single person here would see the sun again.

The black dragon looked at the broken saber on the ground, then at him, and suddenly smiled, "You are very clever. You may keep my saber."

Uh, what should he say? "Thank you?"

He Lingchuan picked up the broken saber from the stone surface and returned it to its sheath.

"No, I should thank you," the black dragon said, shaking its head, its voice surprisingly calm. "For all these years, you are the first person who, without digging up my grave, offered me three toasts."

Three toasts? He Lingchuan wasn't surprised; instead, he exhaled, "It's really you, Zhong Shengguang."

This was a name that resonated like thunder in Blackwater City but had been lost to history for centuries.

Upon hearing this, the others were all incredulous.

Situ Han stammered, "He-he's Zhong Shengguang?"

Zhong Shengguang was a renowned general, but first and foremost, he was a human. How could this black dragon be Zhong Shengguang?

The black dragon ignored the others, instead lowering its head to the Great Wind Army and saying, "Escort them out of Panlong Wilderness."

Several Great Wind Army commanders bowed respectfully with clasped fists from their horses.

Exactly. Who else but Zhong Shengguang himself could command the unwavering loyalty of the proud Iron Army?

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the south of the city: "Where is the Great Square Jar?"

It was He Chunhua, who had rushed back with his subordinates.

As soon as he reached the south city gate, he realized the battle was over, Nian Songyu was missing, and the black dragon was perched on the city wall talking to his son. The situation didn't appear tense.

He immediately determined that the Heavenly God had lost.

So, his side had won, but the objective of this expedition was still far from being achieved.

So many lives had been lost, all for the Great Square Jar.

"You cannot take it," the black dragon said, glancing at him. "The Great Square Jar is Panlong City, and Panlong City is the Great Square Jar; they have long become one. Not to mention humans, even gods cannot take it away, or it would not be here anymore."

"On the other hand, you," it turned to He Lingchuan and said, "Your wish might just come true."

He Lingchuan looked bewildered, pointing to his own nose and asking, "My wish for what?"

The black dragon did not answer. Instead, it faced the south city and let out a long sigh: "My mission is finally complete." Its voice carried weariness, surprisingly, even joy, and many other emotions He Lingchuan couldn't comprehend.

Its dark, gleaming body quickly became coated with a layer of grey frost.

Within a mere dozen breaths, the gigantic dragon crashed to the ground from the city wall with a thunderous impact, shaking the earth as it shattered into countless fragments.

A legendary general, once again turned to dust in the annals of history.

An endless cloud of dust billowed towards them.

Everyone instinctively closed their eyes, covered their noses, and held their breath.

Therefore, no one noticed that as the light in the black dragon's eyes faded, a red glow shot up into the sky from the ruins of the south city!

By the time the dust settled, everyone opened their eyes and found themselves standing before the temple of the desolate Panlong City.

Nian Songyu was indeed right; only with the black dragon's disappearance could they escape the illusion alive.

He Lingchuan spread his arms wide and embraced He Chunhua. "Dad, I thought you had been sacrificed earlier!"

He and He Chunhua weren't usually this close; he was simply following his instincts.

He Chunhua patted his back, then pulled away, unaccustomed to such intimacy with his eldest son. "We only had time to escape the formation because you brought out the broken comb, which made the Great Wind Army cease their attack. You talked the most with the black dragon; did you find any clues about the Great Square Jar?"

He Lingchuan asked, puzzled, "Didn't it say that the Great Square Jar and Panlong City are one, and it can't be taken? Besides, we've already left the illusion."

"He's not a spirit entity at all, but a vengeful spirit who died over a hundred years ago. How do you know what it said was necessarily the truth?" He Chunhua retorted impatiently. "We made enormous sacrifices; how can we return empty-handed?"

Previously, everyone had only thought of escaping with their lives. Now that they were safe, they realized they had nothing to show for it, not a single piece of loot.

The gains from this adventure were not proportionate to the costs.

No, it was an absolute loss.

Zeng Feixiong also asked, "Without the Great Square Jar, what about the war at Woling Pass?"

Situ Han couldn't help but interject, "You're all regular soldiers; won't you fight without a divine artifact?"

He Lingchuan pulled out the long saber from his waist to look at it; it was still there, it hadn't disappeared.

This was probably the only real object in the illusion.

"What are your plans, Dad?"

He Chunhua pondered for a moment, "Send someone back in to take a look."

The rest of the group instinctively took two steps back. No one wanted to re-enter that dreadful place.

He Lingchuan casually picked up a stone and tossed it into the pool well.

Plop.

Although the pool water was reddish, everyone still clearly saw the stone sink to the bottom of the pool.