Chapter 739: Xunyang Shazhou

He Lingchuan smiled, and a faint red light slowly radiated from around his body. "Yuan energy?" Zhu Xiuer was even more surprised. "How can you have Yuan energy now!"

It knew this guy was actually a Yuan person, but even if he held an official post in his home country, he was now far away from the Yuan Nation; how could he stimulate such thick Yuan energy? "Yes, I am also very surprised; I don't understand why either." After reclaiming the divine object from Mount Xushan, he discovered that he could actually use Yuan energy, and it was the one he was most familiar with—

The Yuan energy of the Great Wind Army!

He could use as much as he could in Panlongcheng, and he could use that much in reality.

The shock and ecstasy of that moment were truly beyond words.

It seemed as if one doubt had been resolved, but more mysteries had followed.

For example, the real Panlongcheng had already been destroyed; what he experienced in the world of the Great Fanghu should have been the past history of Panlongcheng.

But how could a void history grant him real Yuan energy? He Lingchuan couldn't understand.

But regardless, the fact that he could bring the Yuan energy of Panlongcheng into reality must be a new function unlocked by the Great Fanghu becoming complete again.

For him, this meant a significant increase in combat power and an expansion of combat levels. In Beijia and Lingxu City, he had suffered enough from not having Yuan energy.

High risk brought high returns; he had reclaimed the lid for the Great Fanghu and had indeed received a generous reward.

But he naturally had no way to tell Zhu Xiuer these reasons.

Fortunately, this giant demon didn't press for answers. Having lived as long as it had, it knew that everyone had little secrets they couldn't tell.

He Lingchuan asked again: "What about King Shiwen?"

That wild boar demon had also left a deep impression on him; if sent to Beijia, it could at least be appointed as a Mobile Corps Commander.

Zhu Xiuer had nothing good to say about King Shiwen; it sneered: "The stupid pig refused to move its nest, so let it wait for death in the Demon Nest."

Xunyang Shazhou, at the confluence of the Xunyang River and another large river.

During the dry season, this was a vast sandbar plain; once the flood season arrived, the water level rose rapidly, the sandbar was replaced by the river surface, and this place turned into small islands scattered like stars. Residents traveling between islands had to use boats.

Now the sandbar was covered in ice and snow, and it was the time of the lowest water level; one could walk between the islands without needing a boat.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui walked across one small island after another.

Just the two of them; Zhu Xiuer and its sister remained in the nest to process the spider shells and did not follow.

"Leigong Island is here, go ashore!"

Leigong Island was one of the main islands of the Xunyang Shazhou, no different from the other small islands they had passed, only larger and more populous.

Leaving the pier and heading into the island, the roads did not follow a grid but wound like pythons through the jungle. The buildings along the road were strange and bizarre in material and shape: stone, wood, brick, clam shells, calamus, palm leaves, and even skins stripped from unknown animals were all used to build houses.

Dong Rui also introduced to He Lingchuan that the local area produced a kind of tree sap, which was excellent for use as a construction adhesive. Xunyang Shazhou's specialties also included lacquer and wooden lacquerware, which were sold in surrounding countries.

Having walked through two markets, He Lingchuan had seen enough; everything was sold here, from insects to humans, food, daily necessities, toys, and things whose purpose he couldn't even guess, all squeezed into a small market for sale—it was truly dazzling.

He Lingchuan handed Dong Rui a mask. This was given by Fang Canran and could block others' spiritual sense from peeking.

After both had put on their masks, Dong Rui led him to take a shortcut, drilling into a small path behind the market.

The alleys here were winding and twisting, sometimes even passing through other people's homes; even though that family was sitting at a low table eating, they turned a blind eye to the two people passing by.

Finally, Dong Rui led him into a large house with red bricks and black tiles.

This was also the largest building in the vicinity.

"We're here."

He Lingchuan was still a bit dazed: "This is it?"

"Yes, this is it," Dong Rui smiled rarely. "We took the back door. If we had entered from the main gate, you could see the plaque of the Leigong Temple."

There were temples everywhere on Leigong Island, at least twelve or thirteen of them, among which the Leigong Temple was the largest on the island, covering an area of two qing.

He Lingchuan smelled the thick scent of incense before he even reached the front hall and could hear at least seven or eight believers murmuring prayers.

The temple attendants here were all dressed in orange, their hair almost completely shaved, leaving only a tuft in the center of their foreheads, like a rooster's comb, which was particularly conspicuous from a distance.

That was exactly the effect they wanted.

Dong Rui found an old temple attendant whose eyes were half-closed, whispered a few words, and then slipped him a silver ingot.

The old attendant looked at the two, nodded, and led them to a quiet room in the back.

In the quiet room, there was only one shrine, one offering table, and two kneeling stools.

"Where is the offering?"

He Lingchuan handed a wooden tube to the old attendant, who took it in his hand and examined it carefully for a long time before closing the door behind him.

He reached out a second time.

Dong Rui nudged He Lingchuan with his elbow, and the latter took out two large silver ingots and handed them to the old man.

The wooden tube was for the god, and the silver was for the temple attendant.

Waiting until the candle flame on the offering table was straight up, he grabbed seven sticks of incense, lit them, inserted them into the incense burner, and said to He Lingchuan and the other: "The incense must not be broken."

Afterward, he knelt down and murmured prayers with the pious posture of offering a gift.

The volume of the old guy's chanting was very low at first, sounding breathless. But after a while, the sound gradually strengthened and became coherent; He Lingchuan even heard echoes in this small quiet room.

Or rather, the lingering sound was endless, sounding as if several people, or a dozen people, were chanting together.

At the same time, the ignited smoke also condensed above the shrine without dispersing, turning into a black-gray mass.

Right under the gaze of the two bystanders, the gray fog mass drifted toward the old temple attendant.

The two watched without blinking, but saw the fog mass suddenly turn halfway and actually veer toward He Lingchuan!

Dong Rui was slightly startled, and He Lingchuan's Floating Life Blade appeared in his hand, a point of blade light flickering.

Perhaps blocked by the sharp energy of the Floating Life, or perhaps sensing the power of this blade to cut incorporeal things, the fog mass stopped and remained still in mid-air for a long while.

Then, it drifted back toward the old temple attendant along the original path. He Lingchuan saw its reluctance in this movement.

The fog entered the temple attendant's mouth and nose, and the candle on the offering table suddenly popped with a spark, with a 'chi' sound.

The old temple attendant woke up as if from a dream.

This old man's eyelids had originally been drooping, his eyes open and closed being about the same, but now they revealed a bit of spirit, looking bright and energetic.

His features hadn't changed, and his senility hadn't changed, but his demeanor and temperament were like a different person.

Or rather, changed into... a god?

The wooden tube was already in He Lingchuan's hand, and he shook it at him.

The old man observed the wooden tube carefully, a bit surprised: "How did the Punishment Dragon Pillar grow to look like this?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 740 =====