Chapter 2516: Naluotian's Attitude

Outside the city gates, two more mines had sprung up……

These were all spoils of war collected by the Panlong Secret Realm after it devoured other ruins.

The virtual and the real are closely linked; not only does the real contain the virtual, but the virtual can also turn around and affect the real.

He Lingchuan brought He Chunhua up onto the gate tower, overlooking the scenery inside and outside the city.

By now, the Earth Mother's reshaping of the terrain outside the city was far from over; most of it was still ruins of Yujing City, only a small part was newly opened plains and forests, the two intermingled, forming a remarkably strange landscape.

He Chunhua leaned on the battlements, gazing into the distance at the plains: "I never expected the Battle of Yujing City would end in this way."

At the start of the great war, every situation was unfavorable to Panlong Ancient City; Shangguan Biao and the Heavenly Demon's combined power was overwhelmingly tyrannical, so much so that even the Kshatriya Gods dared not intervene.

But by the war's end, He Lingchuan had not only reversed the situation, but also became the final victor.

He Chunhua discovered that he was not surprised in the slightest.

Why was it the eldest son who laughed last, again?

Why is he always able to win?

He Chunhua had been in the Wasteland for two days already, spending them listening to battle reports and questioning a few monsters who had escaped from inside Yujing City.

The Battle of Yujing City was extremely complex; no one could explain the full picture, only knowing that Shangguan Biao's collapse seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. He Chunhua believed there must have been countless twists and turns, schemes and calculations in between, after all, the Earth Mother disguised by Shangguan Biao had always been infamous for her cunning and ferocity.

Yet even combined with the Heavenly Demon, they still could not defeat He Lingchuan!

This signal was far too strong, to the point that He Chunhua had no choice but to come in person.

The victorious Nine Nether Great Emperor — how could he not come to meet him personally?

He Lingchuan smiled: "The hidden danger of Heishuicheng has been resolved from now on."

Both the Earth Mother and the Heavenly Demon came for Panlong Ancient City.

For so many years, Panlong Ancient City had been Heishuicheng's — had been He Chunhua's — destabilizing factor.

Now Shangguan Biao has been executed, and Panlong Ancient City has also been taken away by the Earth Mother; a major thunder on the Shen Kingdom's border has been swept away, and the Red Cliff Trade Route has become even more unobstructed.

He Chunhua looked at him with a very strange gaze:

"I am truly surprised you would take Panlong Ancient City away in this manner. Was it planned from the very beginning?"

From now on, Panlong Ancient City has become a moving ruin, and will never again fall under the jurisdiction of the Shen Kingdom.

He Lingchuan nodded: "You know, Panlong Ancient City cannot be too far from me."

Long before the Battle of Yujing City even occurred, he had been very interested in the "Earth Mother's" divine abilities. Be they Heavenly Gods or any other power, their coveting of Panlong Ancient City had always been a hidden danger.

The Earth Mother's divine powers happened to solve this problem. The best method was to have the ancient city leave the Panlong Wasteland, making it difficult for others to track its whereabouts.

He Chunhua secretly let out a long breath in his heart.

He Lingchuan plans deeply and thinks far ahead; such character and bearing are truly worthy of the status of one of the current world's Three Great Emperors.

Just where is this person before him still his eldest son?

"Actually, before the war in Yujing City began, the God Naluotian anticipated you would personally come to the Panlong Wasteland, but did not notify the Lingxu Gods."

He Lingchuan understood clearly: "He sought me out several times before and after, and I ignored them all."

Connecting with a Heavenly God would expose his own location; He Lingchuan, on the pretext of secluded cultivation, quietly left Cangyan, naturally not wanting his whereabouts to be figured out by outsiders or foreign gods.

But Naluotian is as treacherous as a ghost; from these faint clues he guessed quite a lot.

"Please convey my thanks to him." From the reaction of the Lingxu Gods, He Lingchuan was certain they had not known beforehand that the Nine Nether Great Emperor would come in person, so Naluotian was telling the truth. Whatever selfish motives this old demon head harbored, it was also true that Naluotian had given him a hand.

"I thought Naluotian would side with the Lingxu Gods this time."

The Lingxu Saint Venerable's move of "limited supply of descent quotas" was extremely powerful, even temporarily suppressing the heavenly turmoil triggered by the Punishment Dragon Pillar.

He Lingchuan did not doubt in the slightest that Naluotian, as one of the Orthodox Gods and one of the main power-brokers of the Kshatriya Heaven, must have received the Lingxu Saint Venerable's invitation to descend.

The Lingxu Saint Venerable would most likely use these quotas to entice the leaders and important figures of the major powers to stand on his side, or to secure their support.

Under such circumstances, Naluotian currying favor with the Lingxu crowd and selling out intelligence on the Nine Nether Great Emperor would actually be perfectly reasonable.

Yet Naluotian did not do so.

The reasons within are well worth deep investigation.

The two great kings conversed, having long since dismissed their attendants; the city wall was very empty, and this was the turf of the Nine Nether Great Emperor and the Earth Mother, but He Chunhua still subconsciously looked around in all directions.

This action represented that he had confidential content to speak.

He Lingchuan casually set down a soundproof barrier: "Please speak."

He Chunhua said in a deep voice: "Naluotian never stated it explicitly, but I sense that he seems ambiguous about the matter of returning to the mortal world, not showing the slightest urgency."

He Lingchuan frowned: "He doesn't want to return to the mortal world? Then why did he use me as a vessel back then?"

If He Chunhua's words were true, he would truly be revealing a major piece of intelligence to He Lingchuan!

"One can only say, that was then, this is now." He Chunhua had also pondered this question deeply himself, "Actually, I've thought it over carefully; returning to the mortal world may not hold any benefits for Naluotian or for the Kshatriya Heaven, at least far less than the substantial gains the Lingxu crowd would reap."

He Lingchuan wanted to speak but stopped.

He Chunhua's words actually made a lot of sense. He Lingchuan had never considered the problem from this angle before; with his wisdom, he now also needed to think it over properly.

The descent quotas are pinched in the hands of the Lingxu Saint Venerable; once a large-scale god descent led by the Lingxu crowd succeeds, the Lingxu crowd would obtain the greatest share of the profits. Not to mention other things, the Lingxu crowd itself has the largest number of gods descending; other powers like the Kshatriya Heaven would only get a pitiful few quotas. Even if great gods like Naluotian can descend, their forces would still be extremely thin compared to the Lingxu crowd.

A hero still needs three helpers; when the time comes, their competition in the mortal world — whether for resources, population, or nations — would be far inferior to the Lingxu crowd.

Moreover, would the Lingxu crowd really let them develop freely?

The Kshatriya Heaven's rise in the Heavenly Realm has already made life very difficult for the Lingxu crowd; how would they allow a repeat of the same mistakes in the mortal world?

Not only is the mortal world troubled by the descent of Heavenly Gods, the Heavenly Gods themselves are also exhausting their hearts over the descent.

If this large-scale god descent succeeds, it will inevitably be a super reshuffle of Heavenly Realm powers.

After this, who rises and who falls, who sits firmly in the mortal world and who lingers on their last breath — in truth, the signs were already slightly visible beforehand.

If Naluotian and the like have foresight, their desire to descend may not be so urgent after all.

The Heavenly Gods worry that the Lingxu crowd will enjoy the mortal world's resources while they are thrown into the Heavenly Realm to fend for themselves. But thinking in reverse, if they stay in the Heavenly Realm, what would the true outcome be?

He Lingchuan did not ask "how do you know," only saying: "You cannot be certain."

"I can't even produce evidence." He Chunhua's tone was very sincere, "I just have this intuition."