Chapter 1304: The Essence of the Conflict Between Humans and Gods

"Then how did Defense Commander Yang fight off the Zhao army?"

"I wasn't on the front line, so I don't know the process." The temple keeper had rested enough, stood up and said, "But the Zhao army only attacked Shizhoutou for three days, and then retreated. City Guardian Liu probably heard that Shizhoutou was held, so he brought his troops back, but was blocked outside the city by Defense Commander Yang and not allowed in."

"I heard City Guardian Liu tried to persuade him several times to no avail, so he ordered an attack on the city." The temple keeper spread his hands, "These two sides started fighting, and they are still entangled until now."

"Which side has the upper hand?"

"I don't know about that." The temple keeper was also worried in his heart.

He He Lingchuan asked him, "Which side do you hope will win?"

The temple keeper sneered twice and said nothing more.

He didn't know these two masked men, so of course he wouldn't say it clearly and leave a handle for others. But He He Lingchuan saw his expression and knew his attitude.

"How many residents does Shizhoutou have?"

The temple keeper refused to answer this question either.

He He Lingchuan finished his questioning, and the two put on their veils again and left Puyin Temple.

Both of them stood in the open space in front of the temple, bathing in the sunlight.

He He Lingchuan immediately saw a faint golden thread shining on Dong Rui, with the thread end pointing to the temple behind him.

The god Puyin had indeed quietly cast its attention, wanting to monitor their whereabouts.

The two rode away from Bayuan Township and arrived in the wilderness; only then did He He Lingchuan draw his sword and cut off this golden thread.

This was the reason he chose to visit the temple on a sunny day.

"The god Puyin is very cunning and didn't reveal any useful intelligence." Dong Rui felt it wasn't worth the two Punishment Dragon Pillars. Although the cost for He He Lingchuan to create this thing wasn't high, why should it be cheap for these minor gods?

He He Lingchuan, however, said, "It's very careful. But looking at the answers to these few questions together, it's still very valuable."

"How so?"

"Nailuotian is desperately stealing nightmare energy; nearly eighty heavenly gods have fallen, more than the sum of the past hundred-plus years; Miaozhantian snatched the Yao Nation from the hands of the Shali Heaven; the gods of Lingxu demand that the human vassal states intensify the war; this is just the tip of the iceberg we have heard of, and there are endless conflicts and contradictions in the divine realm that we do not know about. Looking at these together, what does it look like?"

Dong Rui pulled the reins, "The sky suddenly became chaotic?"

"For the past few thousand years, what has been the crux of the various problems of chaos in the human world?"

"Crux?" Dong Rui thought for a long while, "Do you want to say that the heavenly gods are disturbing the human world?"

"It's the struggle for resources." He He Lingchuan said in a deep voice, "Spiritual energy is declining, immortals have to fight for spiritual energy; spiritual energy is declining, produce is no longer abundant, and the land cannot support so many living beings, so war has become the norm."

War is always the best means to quickly eliminate population and living beings.

"The two realms grow and wane; the spiritual energy of the human world has decreased, and the Nightmare Qi of the divine realm has become abundant. But now, all the heavenly gods are desperately grabbing Nightmare Qi..."

"Cough." Dong Rui reminded him, "In these few years, less than a hundred heavenly gods have fallen, and the Nightmare Qi of the divine realm is still far more abundant than that of the human world."

"I know, but don't forget how great the demand of heavenly gods for Nightmare Qi is. And the essence of Nightmare Qi is also spiritual energy."

Ever since the existence of the Heavenly Luo Star, the divine realm and the human world have been fighting back and forth, and what they are fighting for is spiritual energy.

"Look, why did immortals disappear from the world back then? Wasn't it because the spiritual energy in the world became increasingly thin, making them unable to continue? Giant whales cannot survive in tidal flats." He He Lingchuan talked eloquently, "I ask you, under what circumstances do people start hoarding materials in large quantities?"

"... War and famine?" Dong Rui frowned for a long time, "If it's only because of panic, it won't last for several years, right?"

Excessive hoarding caused by temporary panic is often just a gust of wind.

"Regardless of the specific reason, once hoarding-type competition appears, even the most abundant materials are not enough to distribute; it's the same in the sky and in the human world. So, the value of the Punishment Dragon Pillar has increased fivefold." He He Lingchuan confirmed, "It's such a good opportunity, wouldn't it be a pity if we didn't get involved?"

"What are you going to do?"

"You also heard what the god Puyin said just now; the Lingxu gods require the Yao Kingdom to take action; coincidentally, we are on the Flash Gold Plain. The reason why the heavenly gods choose to create chaos here is because the Flash Gold Plain has a massive population but no powerful regime. If a war breaks out, their gains are the highest. If the total amount of Nightmare Qi increases, it can alleviate the struggle for resources in the divine realm."

"We want to add some obstacles to the divine realm—just a little bit—there are two ways: either calm the fighting on the Flash Gold Plain, or prevent the Nightmare Qi here from being absorbed by the Heavenly Luo Star. As long as the Nightmare Qi obtained by the divine realm decreases, it can force the heavenly gods, making them fight for resources more intensely and suffer greater casualties." He He Lingchuan said slowly, "Just like what the heavenly gods have done to the human world for thousands of years."

He looked toward Shizhoutou, "It just so happens that I have something I want to do here."

"What now?" This was becoming Dong Rui's catchphrase.

"We'll act separately." He He Lingchuan smiled, "You go to Shizhoutou to inquire about the war report, and I'll go back to Ju City to call people."

Afterward, he explained his plan.

"By the way, didn't you get a lot of small gadgets in Juyu's underground palace? This time they can come in handy."

Dong Rui's eyebrows rose higher and higher, and the look he gave him became more and more strange, "It sounds like fun; are you sure you want to do it this way?"

He He Lingchuan laughed, tapped the horse's belly lightly, and the horse galloped away. Dong Rui only heard a sentence drifting from afar:

"From now on, we are going to meddle in other people's business."

The weather changed suddenly in the evening; before the sun went down, there were two thunderstorms.

*Crack*, a thunderbolt in mid-air illuminated the wilderness.

Defense Commander Yang stood on the city gate, facing the heavy rain, looking at the woods not far away.

There was firelight in the woods earlier, but it was extinguished by the rain, leaving it pitch black. But he knew very well that City Guardian Liu's army was stationed in the woods, waiting for the next opportunity to attack the city.

The other side wouldn't give up, unless they were defeated and returned.

His face was as gloomy as the rainy night. The confidant beside him comforted him, "You don't need to worry. Even Zhao Guangzhi and his cannibal army were scared away by you; where could City Guardian Liu's mob take Shizhoutou?"

"Zhao Guangzhi has two elite forces, charging and fighting, heroic and fearless, but they didn't show up this time. Perhaps because the siege battle wasn't suitable?" Defense Commander Yang's expression didn't look relaxed, "His performance wasn't as legendary; perhaps there was another reason; but City Guardian Liu is determined to take Shizhoutou and won't be easily scared away by us. Besides, the city is short of supplies."

On the night City Guardian Liu attacked, they used up their arrows and had to go out of the city to pick them up in the middle of the night, almost being taken advantage of by City Guardian Liu's men.

After City Guardian Liu learned this intelligence, the ground in front of the city became cleaner than ever before.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1305 =====