Chapter 2387: Each Preparing Their Own

"That's true enough." Naluotian laughed, "When dealing with someone of He Lingchuan's stature and status, even if a great opportunity presents itself right before your eyes, you must first carefully consider two points before deciding whether to act."

"Please enlighten me, Divine Sovereign." He Chunhua bowed deeply and respectfully, yet inwardly thought, You didn't treat He Lingchuan like this over a decade ago—you merely regarded him as a divine skin, as your own possession.

The tremendous change in He Lingchuan's identity and status is precisely why Naluotian cannot help but shift his perspective and reevaluate him fundamentally.

"First, we must see whether we can take him down."

If we can't take him down, what's the point of even talking?

Naluotian knows the strength of Shen Guo very well; it does have some strong individuals, but it's impossible for them to arrive at Heishuicheng in a short time. Relying solely on the forces He Chunhua has stationed in Heishuicheng, attempting to capture Jiǔyōu Dàdì is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Unless they cooperate with Dimu and Lingxu Zhong.

However, Naluotian is not optimistic about that.

Even when He Lingchuan was still weak, he managed to scheme against Him and He Chunhua, imprisoning His divided form for years.

Not to mention he burned down the Zhaixing Lou of Tiangong and stole the treasures inside.

This boy's scheming ability is truly astonishing.

Now that he is Jiǔyōu Dàdì, Naluotian himself cannot fathom what level of power he possesses.

Furthermore, the Panlong Ruins are Jiǔyōu Dàdì's home ground—what he might stir up there is utterly unpredictable. The last two times He Chunhua entered, either the giant black dragon statue came to life, or a horde of monsters burst forth from the Secret Realm.

Who knows what mischief He Lingchuan might stir up if he arrives in person this time?

He Chunhua also nodded: "For a demon like Dimu, encountering him for the first time, suffering a great loss is almost inevitable."

Not to mention Dimu—this old man himself has fallen for He Lingchuan's tricks more than once.

Naluotian continued: "Second, we must see what benefit there is in taking him down."

He Chunhua pondered: "None for us."

It's not that there's no benefit for the demons—after all, He Lingchuan is the most steadfast force resisting the demons; eliminate him, and the demons' descent into the world might proceed smoothly halfway.

This lack of benefit applies to He Chunhua and Naluotian, because the direct beneficiary would be Lingxu Zhong.

"If we kill Jiǔyōu, Lingxu Zhong would not only gain the Great Fanghu but also eliminate their most promising rival—truly a total victory. Alas, they were already dominant." He Chunhua said this, firmly believing that even if Naluotian reached some agreement with Lingxu Zhong, it would only be a limited cooperation.

Originally, merely watching Lingxu Zhong collect the Great Fanghu should have been Naluotian's limit; He Chunhua even suspected that, at the critical moment, He might still pull a fisherman's gain.

If we further assist Lingxu Zhong against Jiǔyōu Dàdì, that would truly be harming others without benefiting oneself, contrary to Naluotian's interests.

With Lingxu Zhong's power further strengthened, what could Naluotian possibly gain?

In fact, their words have already made this clear: without tremendous benefit, they won't undertake the offense against Jiǔyōu.

This isn't just something Naluotian has realized—He Chunhua believes that any powerful force in this world, including Between Between Between Beijia, before attempting to deal with Jiǔyōu, must also fully consider these two key points:

One, do we have the capability to eliminate him?

Two, even if we do, what price must we pay, and what benefit could we gain?

If one cannot see this clearly or understand it, one must absolutely refrain from acting.

Naluotian chuckled low: "It seems you've already decided what to do."

These words conceal a venomous argument, but He Chunhua won't be easily deceived: "I can only presume to guess the Divine Sovereign's holy intent, pretending ignorance of the arrival of the Cangyan forces. This way, more trouble is worse than less—we can still observe and wait."

Let Jiǔyōu fiercely contend with Dimu and Lingxu Zhong—what harm could come of it to them?

He immediately followed up: "Divine Sovereign, has Lingxu Zhong also received news of Cangyan's joining?"

"They?" Naluotian said lightly, "If they possess vast divine powers, they will naturally know. The splendid show is about to begin—why should we spoil the scenery?"

He Chunhua instantly grasped the implication of His words: He will not inform on them.

"Divine Sovereign, wise and brilliant!"

Naluotian chuckled twice, the smoke and mist in the air dissipating completely.

He departed.

It appears He Chunhua's approach has greatly pleased Him.

He Chunhua stepped back two paces, simultaneously opening the window and drawing in a deep breath of cold, refreshing air.

Fortunately, this hurdle has temporarily passed.

He also understands clearly that even if Naluotian has some shady agreement with Lingxu Zhong, it is half-hearted at best—let alone lending aid, even the matter of "Cangyan Yao Pu Shi appearing on the Panlong Huangyuan," Naluotian would not wish to share with the other party.

That's just fine.

Given Naluotian's temperament, he might later use this for other purposes.

He and He Chunhua alike are standard opportunists.

He Chunhua pondered for a moment, then sent new instructions to Shan Youjun.

￥￥￥￥￥

In the coming ten days, another large batch of cultivators responded to Lingshan's summons, rushing to Heishuicheng.

The sudden influx of these wealthy guests caused the city's inns and taverns to instantly boom. Yet, while Heishuicheng residents profited from this wealth, they wore worried frowns.

Any observant person could see at a glance that the immortals were mostly heading for the ghost city on Hongya Road.

If these two sides were to clash, could Heishuicheng avoid being affected?

Shen Guo's tens of thousands of reinforcements also arrived at Heishuicheng, stationed just outside the city. Shan Youjun and the Heishuicheng garrison commander breathed a sigh of relief, for besides the troops, many of Shen Guo's great powers had also arrived.

Since He Chunhua established Shen Guo, he has received focused support from Sharili Tian; Naluotian even allocated his own worldly forces to him. Over these years of heavenly and earthly spiritual qi revival, Shen Guo has also strongly attracted immortals and demons of great power—though their numbers cannot compare to the three great nations, they far surpass those of the surrounding small states by more than two tiers.

Those unwilling to go to Between Between Between Beijia, after weighing their options, might just have pledged to Shen Guo—after all, this is also one of the great nations of the present age.

Heishuicheng, a tiny border military outpost, is now a gathering place of storm and dragon, crouching tiger and hidden dragon.

All factions have placed their chips here, yet simultaneously hold their forces, waiting for others to reveal their hand first.

At the same time, Dimu is intensifying the invasion and devouring of the Panlong Huangyuan.

Lingshan's movements are also watched by it. Even if those two demons pat their chests and promise to act, Lingshan's power grows day by day, and it does not wish for prolonged nights and many dreams.

Fortunately, the power of the Panlong Ruins is weakening ever more—this rate of decline even exceeds what Dimu had anticipated.

This manifests as its resistance growing ever weaker; Dimu's blackening of the Huangyuan accelerates greatly, advancing hundreds of zhang in just one night's time.

Now, more than half of the Panlong Wasteland has been brought under the control of the Earth Mother, and it has already formed an encirclement around the Panlong Ruins.

From a high vantage point, the avian demons can see vast stretches of land turned black, spreading forcefully toward the northeastern corner of the wasteland.

Now, only the Chipa Plateau remains unchanged.

Thanks to the reward from book friend Prophecy of Gods and Demons~~