Chapter 874

He then continued, "Divine Venerable, I have always had a question. Please, enlighten me." "Hmm."

"Why are the gods so obsessed with searching for the Great Fanghu?"

From Lady Mitian over a hundred years ago, to the unknown god Nian Songyu who descended two years ago, and then to the various gods of Lingxu, everyone he served, including this Naraku Heaven, coveted the Great Fanghu.

It was deeper than a mouse's love for honey; why? Naraku Heaven knew this was He Chunhua showing his sincerity, a prerequisite for signing a divine contract with the Kunsu God.

If Naraku Heaven wouldn't even reveal a small secret, why would He Chunhua risk his own life and family fortune?

These cunning mortals, ha! It spoke slowly: "Actually, Lingxu fears it falling into the hands of other heavenly gods far more than it being held by mortals."

"Why?" He Chunhua immediately thought of Panlongcheng and Lady Mitian.

Put that way, was Lady Mitian, who held the Great Fanghu over a hundred years ago, the one the gods feared most? Hmm, that seems to be the case. Otherwise, how could Panlongcheng and Zhong Shengquan have met their end in such a tragic way? The slaughter of the city itself was an expression of hatred and fear.

"This secret is known to very few in the divine realm." Which is to say, the number of heavenly gods who know is also small. The Naraku Heaven avatar hesitated before saying, "Even I... can only rely on the intelligence in my hands to make inferences."

In other words, even Naraku Heaven couldn't guarantee it? He Chunhua was even more curious.

What kind of secret could it be that even such a majestic and powerful true god could not fully know?

"The Divine Venerable's inference must be reasonable and authoritative." The flattery came out instantly; it didn't cost anything anyway.

If He Lingchuan were here, he would understand the subtext of Naraku Heaven's words: originally, like Shinan, it was just a wild, minor god. Later, it used the Punishment Dragon Pillar to wantonly collect nightmare energy, and its strength soared, allowing it to climb to the position of a true god. But its time in this circle was too short; compared to other veteran true gods, it certainly knew fewer inside stories.

But the inference made by Naraku Heaven also carried weight.

"The gods of Lingxu have always suspected that Lady Mitian did not truly perish."

He Chunhua was greatly surprised: "Over a hundred and fifty years ago, when Panlongcheng was destroyed, didn't they see Lady Mitian fall with their own eyes?"

"No! So you know nothing." Naraku Heaven's tone was strange. "Lady Mitian fell much earlier, even before the Emperor's Flowing Pulp descended to the human world. This point has been confirmed by the divine realm; there can be no mistake."

"..." He Chunhua stared, not knowing how to react for a moment. "What?"

If Lady Mitian had already fallen before the final battle, then who was it that led Panlongcheng to hold out until the very last moment?! "It, how did Lady Mitian fall?"

"I don't know."

"This?" Even the God of Fate couldn't calculate it? But He Chunhua thought again, didn't his own experience tonight prove that the God of Fate was not all-knowing?

It had also been calculated by He Lingchuan.

"Lady Mitian fell, Zhong Shengquan and Panlongcheng also failed, the Great Fanghu merged with the Panlong ruins, and it seemed everything had come to an end." Naraku Heaven continued, "But Lady Mitian's physical shell was too powerful; this point exceeded common sense and could never be explained. Coupled with the fact that Lady Mitian had disappeared for a long time before falling, some heavenly gods believed—"

Naraku Heaven paused before continuing: "—Lady Mitian had attempted to use the Great Fanghu to descend into the human world!"

"?!" Did he hear that right? Without waiting for He Chunhua to speak, the Naraku Heaven avatar added: "The descent I speak of does not refer to an avatar's divine descent!"

"You mean, Lady Mitian could use the Great Fanghu to break through the restrictions of the two realms' barriers and directly—" He Chunhua pointed to the ground, "—descend into the human world with its true body?"

"An inference, this is an inference!" Naraku Heaven corrected. "There is reliable news that the Lingxu Holy Venerable also believes this. As for whether this inference is right or wrong, there is no way to prove it yet. But the Great Fanghu is too special; if it could indeed do this, I wouldn't find it strange."

"Now you understand, right? On one hand, the gods of Lingxu worry that other heavenly gods will use the Great Fanghu to descend directly into the human world. Once this happens, it will be a catastrophic disaster for the entire divine realm; on the other hand, they also feel that although Lady Mitian fell, its divine soul did not perish and it survives in another way, for example—living inside the Great Fanghu."

"Therefore, whoever possesses the Great Fanghu becomes the target of everyone."

"So that's it." Thinking of this rare treasure slipping through his fingers, He Chunhua felt his throat go dry.

Forget it, he didn't have that kind of fortune.

"But regardless, the Great Fanghu only causes strife within our divine realm and has nothing to do with you." Naraku Heaven said indifferently, "Even if we can't get it, the time for the gods to descend will only be delayed a little."

Hearing the latter part, He Chunhua's eyes widened.

What does this mean! No, it's not what he imagined, is it?

"Your current approach of choosing a master to nest with is very correct." Naraku Heaven mentioned only one thing before immediately changing the subject. "Regarding He Lingchuan, how do you plan to explain it to others? I see that he won't appear again for a short time."

He Chunhua managed to steady himself: "The Divine Venerable is wise; I think so too."

After the Panlong Secret Realm disappeared, he had once worried that He Lingchuan would launch a sneak attack, but after calming down and thinking it over, he felt he had been overthinking.

If He Lingchuan wanted to kill him, the best time would have been inside the Panlong Secret Realm; at that time, father and son were confronting each other, and he only had Zhao Qian by his side.

But the "eldest son" never made a move, which showed the intent to kill wasn't strong.

After leaving the Panlong Secret Realm, He Chunhua was once again surrounded by soldiers. And He Lingchuan lacked manpower and had no foundation or influence in the Yuan Nation, so the balance of strength had shifted.

This person was meticulous and wouldn't put himself in danger. Therefore, just as Naraku Heaven said, He Lingchuan shouldn't appear again for a short time.

The best proof was that the Rongshan disciples were all gone.

In the vast yellow sand, he likely wouldn't be able to find He Lingchuan and those dozen or so people.

But he had brought his eldest son with him, and returning without such a living person indeed required an explanation to his family and the outside world.

He Chunhua said slowly: "Internally and externally, I will announce that Chuan'er died in battle at Panlongcheng; as for the Rongshan disciples, they all returned after the adventure in the Panlong Desert ended."

Anyway, the funds Rongshan lent to the Yuan Royal Court had already arrived.

Naraku Heaven gave a hum and asked again: "After you return to Xunzhou, are you planning to head north to crusade against Dong Haoming?"

"No, of course not." He Chunhua looked at his wound. "I am seriously injured and need to recuperate well."

Naraku Heaven chuckled, its voice full of mockery.

Afterward, the incense on the desk extinguished.

￥￥￥￥￥

The daylight was bright; in fact, the time of the Unripe (3:00 PM) was coming to an end.

He Lingchuan returned to reality and found that he had appeared in the ruins of Weicheng, five miles away from Panlongcheng.

The Great Fanghu was very thoughtful, knowing that the Panlong ruins were now full of outsiders' eyes and ears, so it simply put him outside.

But this also showed the Great Fanghu's control over this desert.

He walked outward, burdened with worries. The current Weicheng ruins were empty of people. Looking up, he saw something swimming in the yellow sand, stopping before his eyes.

It was another earth dragon.

Once bitten, twice shy; He Lingchuan jumped onto the earth dragon's back, and this thing sped away, fast and steady.

Having been exhausted for several hours, he didn't feel tired; instead, his mind was racing.

The past night was like a dream. Although this trip to the Panlong Desert had some twists and turns, the goal was finally achieved smoothly: successfully luring Naraku Heaven to descend an avatar and trapping it in the Great Fanghu.

This was the result of months of planning and hard work.

He was finally free.

He was finally safe.

This relaxation and comfort, with no more worries, made the hot wind blowing in his face feel gentle.

He Lingchuan let out a heavy breath.

The earth dragon traveled faster in the desert than other creatures, but it was already after nightfall when they reached the Bai Yuan Post Station.

Before entering the sight of other humans, the earth dragon dropped He Lingchuan off and turned to swim back into the sea of sand.

He Lingchuan put on his cloak and veil hat, walked into the post station, and reunited with Qiu Hu and the others.

These guys were all eating in the guest room, only letting the squirrel Xiao Qiao out to act as a lookout.

Counting the heads, everyone was there, even his mount, the rock goat, and the eyeball spider had been brought back by Qiu Hu.

He Lingchuan casually set up a barrier before asking about the whereabouts of He Chunhua and the others. Learning that he had found his army and was returning south to Heishuicheng, he subconsciously grabbed a wine cup and drank it in one gulp.

He Chunhua was still alive; perhaps this was heaven's will?

(End of chapter)