abnabooks Chapter 2347 The Final Strategy
Chapter 2347 The Final Strategy
Chapter 2347 The Final Strategy
Behind the door was indeed a courtyard, but instead of drying racks, there were over a dozen flowerpots filled with various herbs. One of the plants was jet black, resembling a burnt ginseng, but with two tufts of white hair on its top. Dong Rui exclaimed, "Oh! They're growing Ghost Silkworms here!"
Ghost Silk Child is a type of mountain spirit, capable of roaming freely across the mountains like ginseng, but it prefers to stay indoors most of the time. If anyone dares to pull it out of the ground, or accidentally touches it and displeases it, it will suddenly unleash an incredibly shrill and terrifying scream. He Lingchuan was fortunate enough to hear it; the volume was probably... 170 or 180 decibels, enough to shatter an ordinary person's eardrums.
This is also a kind of supernatural power, comparable to a demonic sound penetrating the brain; if the listener is not careful, they will be stunned.
The owner of this shop is unusual for being able to grow ghost silk dolls in a courtyard in a bustling city.
This mountain spirit is also a rare and precious medicinal herb, and one of the materials used in various witchcraft and divination techniques.
Zhong Shengguang looked away and walked to the front of the house to knock on the door.
Someone inside immediately said, "Please come in."
He Lingchuan felt that the voice sounded familiar.
Zhong Shengguang pushed open the door and went in; someone came to greet him.
Upon seeing that face, He Lingchuan blurted out:
"A high shaman?!"
The man looked to be in his thirties or forties, with an ordinary face but gentle eyes; he'd likely blend into a crowd and be easily lost. The crucial point is, He Lingchuan actually recognized him—
Zhaomandu Great Shaman!
Upon hearing this, Dong Rui and the Soul-Capturing Mirror were both taken aback: "Huh, really?"
He Lingchuan looked solemn.
More than a hundred years ago, the great shaman Zhaomandu also appeared in Panlong City.
And compared to later generations, his appearance has not changed at all.
Humans cannot do this, not even the Grand Master of Qingyang. So, is the Great Shaman not human?
In the world of Panlong, He Lingchuan had never seen this person before.
Both Panlong City, more than 150 years ago, and Blackwater City in the present day, bear traces of the Great Shaman. He Lingchuan sensed that a scheme was being orchestrated.
Zhong Shengguang's next move left the three of them even more astonished.
He stepped forward and bowed deeply to the Great Shaman Zhaomandu, performing the ritual with utmost respect.
"Immortal Venerable!"
So Zhaomandu had different names in different historical periods?
Aunt Zhu was so angry that she scratched her hands, making several small dents on the ground: "Who exactly is this Zhaomandu? Why doesn't Zhong Shengguang call him by his full name?"
"You've arrived." Zhao Mandu said with a kind smile, then glanced behind him.
Zhong Shengguang immediately replied, "My daughter didn't come."
Zhao Man nodded, seemingly relieved.
He Lingchuan also received crucial information: Zhao Man knew the true identity of General Hong.
In this respect, it surpasses 90% of the residents of Panlongcheng.
"Something terrible has happened." Zhong Shengguang didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point. "I just received a letter from Beijia, demanding that Panlong City hand over the Great Square Pot within ten days!"
I won't go into the "otherwise" part.
He Lingchuan's heart clenched, realizing he had inadvertently stumbled upon a crucial juncture in Panlong's history, the very situation he feared most in the Panlong world:
The secret of Panlong City possessing the Great Square Pot has been discovered by the Holy Venerable Lingxu!
This is different from the situation in later generations: Cangyan is so vast, and there is a huge country called Mou between it and Beijia, so even though the Heavenly Demon discovered that the Great Pot was in the hands of the Nine Nether Emperor, he was temporarily helpless against it.
However, Panlong City's geographical location was unfavorable, situated right next to Beijia, and at this time, Panlong City's territory was incomparable to Cangyan's. While Beijia might have had reasons to ignore Panlong City previously, with the secret of the Great Square Pot now revealed, even the Holy Venerable Lingxu could not let it go easily!
Zhong Shengguang was well aware that Panlong City was facing annihilation.
What would he do?
Zhao Mandu's expression changed slightly: "The Heavenly Demon has still discovered it."
“Very few people know this secret. Including you and me, there are no more than five people in Panlong City who know it.” Zhong Shengguang’s brows furrowed into a deep frown. “How could this have been leaked?”
"If it wasn't leaked from inside the city, then someone outside the city must have betrayed you."
Mandu's words hit the nail on the head, causing Zhong Shengguang to suddenly look up: "You also think..."
"If you believe those five people are reliable, this is the only possibility."
"Lingshan!" Zhong Shengguang clenched his fists. "Lingshan!"
He spoke those four words through gritted teeth, his voice filled with remorse.
Zhao Mandu asked him, "Now that things have come to this, what are Commander Zhong's plans?"
“I inherited the Great Square Pot from King Yuan. Before the fall of the Yuan Kingdom, King Yuan specially ordered Shao Jian to secretly send the Great Square Pot to me, so as to preserve a glimmer of hope to fight against the Heavenly Demon.” Zhong Shengguang said heavily, “Logically speaking, now that the secret of the Great Square Pot in Panlong City has been exposed, I should also send it out to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Heavenly Demon.”
"You already have someone in mind?"
“That’s the problem,” Zhong Shengguang shook his head. “I’ve been searching for over twenty years, met countless talented individuals, and investigated countless capable people, but none of them are fit to shoulder this heavy responsibility!”
Zhao Mandu also looked solemn: "Even if someone has excellent talent, temperament, aptitude, and luck, they may not be a worthy candidate for Dafanghu to entrust with their mission. There are too many geniuses in this world, but too few beliefs that Dafanghu can recognize. So many years have passed, and it has not made a move, unlike before when it chose you at first glance."
A treasure like the Dafanghu (a large square pot) cannot be given away casually. If it is entrusted to the wrong person, it is better not to entrust it at all.
“If Panlong City follows in the footsteps of Yuan Kingdom…” Zhong Shengguang smiled bitterly, “This mission is too heavy, Immortal Venerable, I, Dafanghu and I cannot find a successor!”
This sentence contains a bottomless sense of helplessness.
Zhao Mandu looked at him carefully for a few moments before asking, "What are your thoughts?"
Zhong Shengguang is a very decisive person. Since he came to see Zhaomandu, he must have already made a plan.
“If both King Yuan and I fail, it’s either because the timing is wrong, or because our original approach and methods are flawed. Continuing to resist like this will likely be futile and only make the Great Fang Pot more dangerous,” Zhong Shengguang said solemnly. “I ask the Immortal Venerable, is there any way to keep the Great Fang Pot in the city so that the Heavenly Demon cannot take it?”
"Leave the Great Square Pot behind, yet prevent the Heavenly Demon from taking it?" Zhao Mandu pondered this question carefully, his expression showing some surprise. "You mean to completely bind the Great Square Pot to Panlong City?"
"After the Great Pot swallowed Mi Tian, I could sense that a major change was about to occur inside the pot. Sending it away at this time would not be a wise move."
Zhao Mandu remained silent, lost in thought.
"Furthermore, I have been planning for a long time that if Panlong City is defeated, I must find a way out for all my people." Zhong Shengguang's face darkened slightly. "In the past, I was the one who dragged them into the struggle between Dafanghu and the Heavenly Demon. I, Zhong, have no shame before Heaven and Earth, but I feel guilty towards them and cannot rest easy in my heart."
(End of this chapter)