Chapter 740: Intelligence from the Heavenly God

But the Punishment Dragon Pillar was still the Punishment Dragon Pillar; as long as it had the function of adsorbing evil energy, it was the genuine article.

Now, inside the transparent glass (or resin) in the middle of the wooden tube, some pale red liquid was gathering, sometimes flowing, sometimes turning into red fog.

After Li Qingge's subordinates returned from the Wan Ge swamp, they returned this Punishment Dragon Pillar to He Lingchuan.

Because the cicada plague had indeed caused devastation to the living beings in the Wan Ge swamp and forest, the Punishment Dragon Pillar had also collected a portion of evil energy, not only from humans but also from other dead creatures. No one knew the specific unit, but it looked like quite a lot.

"No matter what it looks like, it is still a Punishment Dragon Pillar, it can still be used, and it won't be traced by Lingxu City." He Lingchuan cupped his fists and bowed to him: "Greetings, Heavenly God Shinan!"

The old temple attendant gave an 'en', his gaze swept over the two, and then stopped on He Lingchuan: "What do you seek? I don't see you as pious believers."

What pious believer would come wearing a mask?

"I have something to ask." He Lingchuan pointed to the wooden tube: "This Punishment Dragon Pillar is the reward."

His words were very particular; he said the Punishment Dragon Pillar was a reward, not a gift of thanks.

A reward could be settled and quantified.

This also meant that if Shinantian's answer could not satisfy him, the Punishment Dragon Pillar would not be so easy to obtain.

The old man's face was already drooping, so no matter how he smiled, it looked like a forced smile: "You have quite some nerve to bargain with a Heavenly God."

Dong Rui helped out at the right moment: "There are eleven other temples on this island; if you won't answer, we can ask other gods."

"Them?" The old temple attendant chuckled twice, looking very disdainful, but he nodded in the end: "Ask."

This Shinan God had once appeared in the Panlong world.

The last time He Lingchuan entered the Panlong world before launching the Xushan operation, the Shinan God had broken into Panlong City using a borrowed skin to warn Lady Mitian.

At that time, He Lingchuan also wanted to take the opportunity to ask him a few questions, but this Shinan God refused to let him get a free ride and only revealed the address of his temple.

If a mortal wants to seek help from a Heavenly God, shouldn't they express their sincerity properly?

In a word: offer tribute.

The initial impression this Shinan God gave He Lingchuan was not as aloof as other Heavenly Gods, but rather inclined toward human snobbery.

He Lingchuan speculated that this was probably related to its status in the divine realm.

Since it called itself a minor god or a wild god, it had no qualifications to be arrogant in front of a great power like Lady Mitian.

And it had also revealed its desire for the Punishment Dragon Pillar and evil energy at that time, so He Lingchuan knew this was the best reward, which Shinan should find hard to refuse.

With the Punishment Dragon Pillar, it could send its believers to the battlefield to collect evil energy.

This was equivalent to digging into the corner of the Heavenly Net and cooking its own private meal.

He Lingchuan had no psychological burden about giving away the Punishment Dragon Pillar. Originally, the evil energy in the human world would be sucked away by the Heavenly Net; what was the big deal about the Punishment Dragon Pillar intercepting a little?

He Lingchuan organized his thoughts: "I saw you coming straight for me just now; why?"

Don't say it was a mistake; Heavenly Gods wouldn't have failing eyesight.

The old temple attendant chuckled: "You are an excellent skin; it's hard for a Heavenly God not to notice."

To put it bluntly, it couldn't help itself.

Despite the mask, it still saw through the value of this mortal at a glance.

From the moment He Lingchuan took out the Punishment Dragon Pillar and mentioned evil energy, Shinan understood that this little guy had already touched the core secrets of the two worlds, so there was no need for it to be too evasive in its speech.

He Lingchuan still remembered that when National Master Sun Fuping invited a god in the Panlong ruins, the prepared skin was Nian Songyu. As a result, the Heavenly God clone that was invited didn't look for Nian Songyu directly but prioritized He Lingchuan, only to be bounced out by the divine seal mark in his sea of consciousness.

"What counts as an excellent skin, and how does it come about?"

"Mortals usually can't even bear one percent of our power and aren't qualified to be skins. However, there are exceptions to everything; some people's bodies can bear four or five percent of the power, so they are qualified to be skins; being able to bear ten percent is considered excellent."

"Ten percent?" He Lingchuan was a bit surprised. "Excellent is only that much?"

"You humans—" Shinan's tone couldn't hide its arrogance and contempt, "bodies under these spiritual energy conditions are fragile. Heavenly Gods using your skins is like wearing a thin paper coat; one careless move and it tears, one careless move and it shatters."

He Lingchuan remembered the skin of the Hundred Battles Heavenly God, Lu Shishi. After the possessed Heavenly God left, she did indeed shatter like a paper person.

Shinan's metaphor was indeed very vivid.

But it also continued: "There are outstanding individuals among you who can enable a Heavenly God to exert two or three tenths of their power. But those are skins that are one in a million or ten million; even in Beijia, they are hard to find. What's more—"

It paused: "Every Heavenly God's power is different, and every Heavenly God's requirements for a skin are not exactly the same; not one skin is universal for all Heavenly Gods."

But this requires the right time, place, and people.

"Only?" Shinan laughed heartily. "The power of gods is not something you lowly beings can imagine. Even if we only exert two or three tenths of our power, it is enough to sweep away thousands of troops!"

Thousands of troops? It was bragging. But He Lingchuan wouldn't argue with it on such an issue; if it said so, it was so.

"If the skin is so fragile, how many times can it be used?"

"It depends on whether the battle is intense, and also on whether the Heavenly God cherishes it," the old temple attendant stroked his white beard. "Used carefully, three or four times."

Three or four times? But Lu Shishi was possessed by the Hundred Battles Heavenly God and died in less than an hour.

Although the battle with the Spider Immortal was intense at the time, the Hundred Battles Heavenly God's lack of care was also a major reason, right? "After being used, is it possible to be undamaged?"

"Almost impossible," the old temple attendant shook his head. "Even if the skin isn't injured in the battle, the divine descent itself causes damage. The skin's sea of consciousness and body will both be damaged and must rest for a long time before it can welcome a divine descent again."

He Lingchuan gave a long 'oh': "Are you sure?"

"This is common knowledge; what is there to be unsure about?"

"So that's how it is." He Lingchuan nodded; it turned out common knowledge was wrong.

He hadn't seen many divine descents, and the biggest counterexample among them was General Hong.

Zhong Shengguang sacrificed his daughter to Lady Mitian, and He Lingchuan could basically confirm that General Hong was Lady Mitian's skin. But General Hong had always been full of vigor, not looking damaged at all.

Perhaps the injury was hidden where no one knew?

He Lingchuan shook his head secretly; this possibility was not high. General Hong's military duties were heavy; if her body were damaged, she would have been dragged down long ago.

She even had the leisure to go to the Martial Training Hall to guide the contestants; she didn't look like a broken person at all.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 741 =====