Chapter 1896

"Good." He Lingchuan agreed readily. "Then I'll have to trouble you."

He happened to be short on intelligence; even biased information would do. The ones who understood immortals best, it seemed, were still their mortal enemies.

"I know what kind of background you come from." Seeing He Lingchuan's attitude grow increasingly arrogant, Naluo Tian spoke in a low, soft voice. "Even if you now claim to be the reincarnation of the Dragon God, in reality you are merely the son of a border prefect of the Yuan Kingdom! Deceiving others is one thing, but don't deceive yourself into thinking you truly possess the ability to pierce heaven and penetrate earth!"

"I also know what kind of background you come from — originally just an insignificant minor wild god of the Divine Realm, and your rise to prominence was only a little over a hundred years ago." He Lingchuan crossed his legs. "If the gods of Lingxu thought highly of you, how would you have ended up mixing with the Kshatriya Heaven?"

"Watch your words and deeds." Naluo Tian warned him. "Don't miss this golden opportunity."

"Golden opportunity?"

Naluo Tian chuckled lightly. "Even taking a hundred steps back — even if you could conquer the entire Shanjin Plain like the Shanjin Great Emperor over a thousand years ago, then what? You think winning every battle is the end of it, that from then on you'll ascend the throne and sit securely upon the rivers and mountains, with subjects as docile as sheep?"

He Lingchuan deliberately said, "If not?"

"How would you control such a vast territory? Do you have that ability?"

Conquering the realm is hard; holding the realm is harder!

"I just said, the hearts of the people on the Shanjin Plain are unstable, their nature cunning. When you defeat them, they are as obedient as can be; but the moment you leave, the wicked commoners rebel! You're killing in all directions on the front lines, yet the rear is catching fire everywhere — people killing your men, seizing your grain, taking your cities, stirring up chaos. Do you turn back or not? Do you divide your forces or not? Having to watch the front and guard the rear at the same time — can you still win?"

He Lingchuan was a little impressed. "You really know a lot."

Regarding humans and human nature, the heavenly gods have indeed pondered seriously for these thousands of years — they're better at it than immortals.

"This is the bloody lesson of the past few hundred years on the Shanjin Plain." Naluo Tian continued. "Take the Yao Kingdom — do you think they lacked the power to sweep across the Shanjin Plain? They've tried many times."

The Yao Kingdom was once the hegemon of Shanjin, its strength unrivaled on the plain.

"And the result?"

"The fighting went smoothly — no one was their match; the governing was a headache. How do you humans put it? Push down the gourd and the ladle pops up. The Yao Kingdom once worshipped the Kshatriya Heaven, and as one of the Kshatriya Heaven's orthodox gods, Naluo Tian knew the Yao Kingdom's past history quite well. The Yao Kingdom once had ambitions, wanting to emulate the Shanjin Empire, trying repeatedly and failing repeatedly. The places they conquered — hah, they simply couldn't govern them! A hundred and sixty years ago, the Yao King launched his last great expedition, hoping to achieve total success in one stroke, but instead exhausted himself until the people were impoverished and the treasury empty, nearly causing the state to collapse."

He Lingchuan gave a slight cold smile. "So later they switched to believing in Miao Zhantian?"

"The Yao Kingdom's expedition was a decision-making error by the Kshatriya Heaven at the time, and Miao Zhantian exploited the opening." Naluo Tian could blame the ally without any psychological burden — after all, those decisions weren't made by him. A hundred and sixty years ago, he wasn't yet an orthodox god.

"Such vast land, such massive numbers of wicked commoners — it's not something a fake Dragon God like you can control. Only the power of a true god can help you." Naluo Tian was quite sincere. "Six hundred years ago the Beiqia Kingdom was founded, two hundred years ago the Yao Kingdom was founded — were their founding monarchs stupider than you? Why did they have to rely on the power of heavenly gods? You think it over carefully."

He also knew He Lingchuan couldn't make such a major decision in a short time.

He Lingchuan smiled. "Worthy of Naluo Tian — you nearly worried yourself to death for my sake."

Naluo Tian hadn't been an orthodox god for long; he could lower his stature to personally act as a lobbyist, unlike the other orthodox gods who were so arrogant.

"Let's exchange intelligence one last time." Having sat here a while, He Lingchuan pressed his neck, producing a cracking sound. "How do the Lingxu gods plan to deal with me?"

"Good, I'll show some sincerity first: didn't you set up the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce? They can't catch you, so they'll go after your people. As far as I know, they've already issued orders — even your business in the allied army will be in dire straits." Naluo Tian smiled. "But I know the Lingxu gods well. Before Miao Zhantian's successor is decided, their attention on you is limited. Even if you wave some childish banner of a Dragon God saving the world, they won't actually take you seriously — they only regard it as the laughable fantasy of a mortal."

He Lingchuan understood clearly.

The reasons were multifaceted.

As for him, no heavenly god believed he was truly the Dragon God reincarnated, and no heavenly god believed he could truly unify Shanjin; as for the Lingxu gods themselves, right now was the golden period for scrambling for power and profit — whichever god spared extra energy to keep tabs on He Lingchuan would feel they had lost out.

The intelligence and judgment Naluo Tian provided were of extreme value to He Lingchuan.

He also had to produce intelligence of corresponding value to exchange, or there would be no next time.

"Good, I'll give you a piece of reliable intelligence too." He Lingchuan said at once. "Miao Zhantian's operation failed this time, causing the Lingxu gods to lose over nine hundred Punishment Dragon Pillars. They're furious — you lot be careful."

"Lost... nine hundred!" Naluo Tian was startled, then suddenly realized. "No wonder they're ferocious and desperate. Where are these Punishment Dragon Pillars?"

"Naturally left behind in the mortal world." He Lingchuan didn't wait for Naluo Tian to ask again; he raised a hand, and the heavenly palace candles went out in response.

Please... collect... (!)

Without the medium of communication, the smoke and mist in the air dispersed once more.

The constant feeling of being watched also disappeared immediately.

He Lingchuan stood up and put the statue back into the Soul-Capturing Mirror.

He forcibly ended this long-distance call; Naluo Tian could do nothing about it.

He had to leave this great demon unsatisfied so he'd be willing to answer the summons next time. Besides, He Lingchuan himself acted very cautiously — Naluo Tian's scheming was no less than Miao Zhantian's.

Putting away the heavenly palace candles, he didn't rush out, but stared out the window in a daze.

Zhu Xiuer, who had been standing behind him like a statue all this time, only now spoke: "You sought out Naluo Tian — any gains?"

"Yes, very important. His words verified my judgment." He Lingchuan said seriously. "Miao Zhantian's death has too far-reaching an impact — even the Lingxu Saint Sovereign can't suppress it."

"Indeed." Zhu Xiuer agreed. "Miao Zhantian's legacy isn't something the Lingxu Saint Sovereign can give to whomever he wants — it's not even something Miao Zhantian himself could decide."

There was originally a problem here: Miao Zhantian's capture of True Person Qianhuan was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Or rather, it was because He Lingchuan revealed Qianhuan True Person's hiding place to Bai Ziqi that Miao Zhantian made this bold decision.

He had no time and no inclination to arrange posthumous affairs, to properly pave the way for his successor — because he fundamentally didn't believe he could possibly die in the mortal world.

Dealing with Qianhuan — if he couldn't win, couldn't he just run away?