Chapter 978

"Ah, I'm fine." He Lingchuan steadied himself, "Knowing this spear is a fake, why is everyone still buying it?" Someone in the audience was already bidding.

"Where can you buy the real thing? Later generations have always had the habit of imitating divine artifacts; for example, the Green Intent Bottle collected by Beijia's Green Palace is not an original, but an imitation." Fang Canran saw his complexion turn from pale to white, "Are you really okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine." He Lingchuan took a few deep breaths in secret, suppressing his emotions, "Just touched by the scene, recalling past events, that's all."

He quietly loosened his left hand, and the beads of blood that had emerged from his palm brought a stinging pain.

No rush. He watched the imitation Thunder-Responding Spear on the stage with cold eyes.

He would figure out the reason for this sooner or later! At this moment, a deep sense of vigilance rose in his heart.

He Lingchuan did not sleep all night.

The next day was a clear, sunny day. Min Tianxi switched to a small boat and carried He Lingchuan to another island ten miles northwest of Platinum Island, Toulon Island.

Reefs of all sizes divided the waterways between the islands into narrower alleys, like the hutongs on land, which the locals called "water alleys."

Min Tianxi took a shortcut, rowing the boat through the water alleys.

The narrowest part was only one zhang wide, just enough for a boat to pass. There were unknown insect chirps and beast roars from near and far, and looking up, there were towering branches and leaves—the jungle was dense, blocking the sky of the water alley completely.

Outside, the sun was high, but here it was secluded, dark, and cool.

He Lingchuan looked up and waited for a long time, finally waiting for half a ray of sunlight to penetrate the layers of obstacles and shine on his face.

The light in the dark jungle was precious and scarce.

He closed his eyes, let out a soft breath, sank his mind, and thought of what he had seen and heard yesterday.

Why did he cross the ocean to come to Bailie? Besides wanting to take back his family's territory, more importantly, the geographical location here was excellent, right in the rear of the Mou Nation.

It's good to enjoy the shade under a big tree; hiding behind the Mou Nation, a powerful enemy of Beijia with strong military force, certainly gave him a greater sense of security.

After the great disturbance at the Tiangong, he instinctively wanted to stay away from Beijia.

But this was Lingshan's territory, the sphere of influence of the Mou Nation. According to his initial concept, as long as he could gain a firm foothold locally and successfully establish a relationship with Lingshan, then by virtue of his record of burning down the Tiangong, he should be able to gain Lingshan's acceptance and support, becoming a friendly force.

This was a setup for the future: if he used strong-arm tactics to take Bailie, the Mou Nation's reaction might also be very strong. At that time, he would need Lingshan to come forward to mediate and resolve the contradictions between the two sides. Even if the Mou Nation was dissatisfied, with Lingshan standing in the middle, how could it easily fire at a teammate in the same camp? After all, the wood was already carved into a boat, after all, it was still fighting a war itself, and after all, they would have to fight against Beijia together in the future.

However, the Little Thunder-Responding Spear that appeared at the auction venue last night poured a basin of ice water over He Lingchuan's head.

He shivered and woke up.

He had been too presumptuous.

Zhong Shengguang, who possessed the iron-blooded Panlong City and the undefeated Dafeng Army, seemed unable to gain Lingshan's wholehearted devotion—although this might involve Mitian, Great Fanghu, or other inside stories—then what about He Lingchuan himself? Would Lingshan go all out to protect him just because he set a fire in the Tiangong and had a few spears under his command? Who does he think he is?

Lingshan was also a behemoth; an individual was insignificant and not worth mentioning in front of it. Did it really think highly of him?

Even if he threw himself into Lingshan's embrace now, besides knowing that Lingshan and Beijia were at odds like fire and water, he knew nothing about its guiding ideology, strategic guidelines, personnel composition, or style of conduct.

Heh, even his original body's biological father, He Chunhua, was untrustworthy, so why did he naively believe from the beginning that he and Lingshan had common ideals and were natural allies? Was he influenced by Zhong Shengguang's attitude toward Lingshan? No, that's not right.

He Lingchuan questioned his own heart all night, only to realize that the root cause was in Beijia, and the crux was in himself.

The Beijia he saw was only the tip of the iceberg, and it was already chilling and terrifying.

Fighting Beijia alone was too difficult.

Independence and autonomy were too difficult.

When faced with dangers and obstacles, people instinctively look for help, instinctively grasp at straws, without caring whether they are reliable or not.

And within the range of his vision, the strongest backer and the most powerful support was only Lingshan.

He subconsciously believed in it, relied on it, and longed to use its power to fight Beijia.

Perhaps Zhong Shengguang was the same back then.

However, was Lingshan really reliable?

As a force that had been fighting with the Heavenly Gods for thousands of years, how complex could its interior be? As immortals who were originally high above, what kind of eyes would they use to look at the nations and the human world?

In essence, how different were they from their opponents? A Little Thunder-Responding Spear woke He Lingchuan up; it was time to adjust his strategy: he must focus on "himself" and develop in a low-key manner.

While maintaining independence and autonomy, he should communicate friendly and increase understanding with Lingshan and the Mou Nation. After all, in this vast and chaotic world, he still needed allies to coordinate and provide support.

He still regarded Bailie as something in his pocket, but when to take it and how to take it required more appropriate timing and more sophisticated methods to avoid over-stimulating the Mou Nation.

The boat moved silently, the still water ran deep.

A large spider web appeared ahead; He Lingchuan brushed it away and thought of Zhu Xiuer.

This ancient demon immortal could both fight and produce; thousands of years of spiritual energy depletion couldn't kill it, yet in the current world, it was chased away and had nowhere to go.

Because self-reliance is very difficult, and it didn't easily join any force because of fear of difficulty—until it met He Lingchuan.

Even though this new team was still very weak, it found peace and trust here.

Trust is the most precious foundation.

He Lingchuan once thought that he had firmed his Dao heart before and after burning down the Tiangong, and from then on he would be brave and fearless, advancing all the way.

But only now did he understand, how could it be that easy? "Fear" and "fear of difficulty" had never really been brushed out of his heart.

They were just hidden deeper and were harder to be discovered.

This is the inner demon.

He needs to reflect on himself and warn himself often.

And in his approach to dealing with the world, and in his attitude of carefully choosing partners and allies, he should learn from Zhu Xiuer and no longer blindly admire the strong.

The world is very big, and there are still many people with lofty ideals who, when fighting against Beijia and the Heavenly Gods, also need a credible and powerful backer.

One day, will he become their backer?

Min Tianxi's respectful voice came from behind:

"My lord, we're here!"

He Lingchuan slowly opened his eyes, ending this journey of self-verification.

The entire archipelago was very large, and Toulon Island was closer to the coastline, with thousands of permanent residents, all of whom were local natives.

He Lingchuan put on his mask again and walked toward the depths of the island.

Min Tianxi did not follow; he found a small barbecue stall near the pier trestle, ordered some pickled vegetables and grilled meat, and waited while eating.

The buildings along the road were scattered, sparse in some places and dense in others, with no overall planning.

He Lingchuan walked more than a hundred zhang and saw a small temple ahead.

(End of chapter)