Chapter 980: Hooking an Informant from the Upper Realm

The temple attendant who walked out of here was almost completely bald, with only a tuft of hair left right in the center of his forehead. What a familiar hairstyle; Fang Canran really hadn't recommended the wrong place.

On the overseas archipelago, there are many kinds of fringe forces, and also many temples for various minor and wild gods.

He walked into the temple, which was only about ten square meters in size, with no distinction between front and back halls. He Lingchuan looked up and saw that the statue of the god enshrined in the temple must have been renovated not long ago, having been repainted and repaired.

On the offering table were two plates of assorted fruits, a plate of red steamed buns, and even a whole roasted chicken!

There were also several sticks of incense in the burner, curling upwards in an endless stream.

It seems the incense here is quite popular.

There was also an old woman with half-gray hair kneeling on a prayer mat, prostrate on the ground with her palms facing upward, maintaining this posture while chanting, looking very devout.

Besides this, there was no one else in the temple, and the whereabouts of the temple attendant who had just gone out were unknown. He Lingchuan lit seven sticks of incense, inserted them into the incense burner, then grabbed the moon blocks from the offering table, circled the incense three times, and whispered each time he circled: "God Shinan, please appear; a friend from Leigong Island is visiting!"

After speaking, he cast the blocks onto the ground.

The so-called "moon blocks" are pieces of wood carved into a crescent shape, with one side flat, called "yang," and the other side convex, called "yin." Moon blocks always come in a pair, painted with red lacquer, and are tools for communication between humans and spirits, commonly seen in temples.

When asking for the will of the gods, pilgrims take the blocks and cast them onto the ground.

He Lingchuan cast them, and both blocks landed with the flat side up, meaning the yang side was up, indicating that the deity had not yet made up their mind and required further petitioning.

He picked up the two blocks, waited patiently for a quarter of an hour, and cast them again.

They were still flat side up.

He Lingchuan whispered: "The deal we agreed upon last time, you don't want to go through with it? I've even brought the item over."

As soon as he finished speaking, the candlelight suddenly flickered.

He Lingchuan understood and cast the blocks onto the ground again.

This time, it was finally one yin and one yang, indicating that the deity agreed/was satisfied! The old woman on the prayer mat was still prostrate on the ground; He Lingchuan wanted to ask her to leave, but after thinking about it, he gave up, went to close the doors and windows himself, and lit seven more sticks of incense.

The candlelight and smoke rose straight up, and the air in the room stopped flowing.

At this moment, the smoke steaming out of the incense burner suddenly moved without wind, took a turn, and headed toward the old woman on the ground.

She was praying with her eyes closed and was completely unaware.

The smoke drilled into her ears and nose, and the old woman's chanting was suddenly interrupted.

Afterward, she slowly raised her head and stood up.

This old woman was a bit hunchbacked and usually walked with a stoop, but now her back was straight as a board, and her dim, aged eyes had regained their luster, with pupils large and tinged with blue, staring at He Lingchuan as she said:

"So it is you, the skin-bag of Naluotian."

Even the mask you are wearing is the same as last time.

"Where is the thing you were to bring me?"

Its voice was strained, but not unclear.

He Lingchuan reached into his robe, pulled out a small copper rod, and handed it over: "It's been used."

The old woman took it in her hand, turned it over and over to look at it, and discovered that there were indeed a few wisps of gas inside, proving that the treasure had already been used.

This was the new version of the Dragon-Punishing Pillar that He Lingchuan had manufactured, with a style different from the previous one.

"Very good." The old woman, whose consciousness was controlled by God Shinan, said, "The transaction is complete."

The last time He Lingchuan went to Leigong Island to find it, he had pre-paid for five questions, and God Shinan had demanded that he return a used Dragon-Punishing Pillar within one year.

To others, this condition would be extremely difficult, because those who possess Dragon-Punishing Pillars usually keep quiet about it, and these items do not circulate on the market.

But for He Lingchuan, heh.

Therefore, this time he simply brought God Shinan a large-capacity version, and the latter's satisfaction was visible to the naked eye.

"What else do you want to ask?" This business was a bargain; answer a few questions and get a Dragon-Punishing Pillar.

"You can calculate the arrival time of the Emperor Flowing Plasma, right?"

"Hmm, of course." The divine falls that occur in the divine realm cannot be hidden from their eyes and ears.

"Besides the fact that it will descend twice within half a month, when will the next few rounds of Emperor Flowing Plasma arrive?"

God Shinan glared at him for a long while: "It will descend within half a month; who told you that?"

"Naluotian."

Upon hearing the name of this true god, God Shinan's voice rose by three octaves: "Wait, He has already found you?"

If Naluotian had been watching this skin-bag all along, it wouldn't be hard to discover his transaction with Shinan!

Coveting someone else's skin-bag, especially that of a true god, is a great taboo in the divine realm. Shinan would avoid such a risk at all costs.

Sensing Shinan's retreat, He Lingchuan immediately said: "Don't worry, He won't look for me again in the short term, and He certainly won't discover the connection between you and me."

His attitude was truly indifferent, like friends discussing the weather.

Shinan sensed the confidence contained in his words and asked suspiciously: "How so?"

"Naluotian had a little accident."

The old woman controlled by Shinan felt her neck tremble slightly: "What happened?"

"If you go to the divine realm to inquire, won't you know?" He Lingchuan smiled, "In short, I am very safe, and you are very safe. No god will come to investigate us."

Shinan, of course, still refused to believe him, and He Lingchuan immediately added: "Besides, isn't it a bit late to be worried now? We made a deal on Leigong Island a year ago. You knew I wanted to undo Naluotian's mark and even told me the method. If Naluotian successfully descends, He will know all of these things. What's the matter, you only want to back out now?"

Shinan choked: "This..."

At the time, it really wanted the Dragon-Punishing Pillar and thought Naluotian might not necessarily care.

It hurriedly changed the subject: "Since you and Naluotian can converse, getting news about the Emperor Flowing Plasma shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"No, I can no longer contact Him." The information about these two instances of Emperor Flowing Plasma was provided by a Naluotian avatar. However, that unlucky avatar was subsequently planted as a tree by the Great Square Pot and could no longer speak to him. "That's why I turned to you."

God Shinan immediately said: "The divine realm strictly forbids us from passing down such information; otherwise, if the human world knew, what kind of chaos would ensue?"

He Lingchuan couldn't help but laugh: "Are you kidding me? Whether it's Spirit Void City or the Vassal Demon Kingdom in Beijia, the upper-level officials all know, and the relatives, friends, and even servants of the nobles have long had basins ready to catch it. And you're telling me that the information is strictly forbidden from being passed down?"

God Shinan's tone was a bit stiff: "Beijia is different."

The status of the Spirit Void gods is very high in the divine realm.

"Is that so? Then what about the Mou Kingdom?" He Lingchuan didn't believe a single word, "Does the monarch of the Mou Kingdom know? Do the powerful and wealthy know?"

God Shinan was silent.

The Mou Kingdom is not a nation that serves the gods, but that doesn't stop them from obtaining intelligence.

When such major intelligence wants to spread, it is impossible to prevent.

The only ones who don't know are the ordinary commoners.

How precious the Emperor Flowing Plasma is; it is crucial to He Lingchuan, to the Yangshan Archipelago, and to the army he will build in the future. Therefore, he must obtain accurate intelligence on the Emperor Flowing Plasma.

The easiest god to communicate with that he knew of was Shinan.

He Lingchuan added a few more sticks of incense: "The officials are allowed to burn down houses, but the commoners are not allowed to light lamps. So the divine realm is like this too?"

The old woman remained dull for a long while, not even moving her eyeballs. He Lingchuan knew that Shinan was weighing the options.

After another short while, it finally spoke: "Revealing such precious intelligence to you, I have to take risks."

He Lingchuan stroked the offering table: "Birch wood table, a newly repaired golden body. You are doing quite well here, at least better than on Leigong Island."

The temple on Leigong Island was larger than this one, but it was much more dilapidated.

The old woman rolled her eyes and did not deny it.

"The Dragon-Punishing Pillar I gave you last year allowed you to consume quite a bit of nightmare energy, right?" Like minor gods such as Shinan, they basically have no way to obtain extra nightmare energy; they all hope to replicate Naluotian's successful experience, but unfortunately, such lucky ones are too few.

Shinan chuckled twice: "You think too highly of yourself. With just that one tube of Dragon-Punishing Pillar, even if it were filled with nightmare energy, how much could it supplement me?"

"So you obtained nightmare energy elsewhere?" He Lingchuan realized: "What method was it? Did you find a new ally, or did you defect to a big backer?"

"..." This kid's mind is too sharp, isn't it? It only let one thing slip, "Don't you find it abrupt to ask these things?"

He Lingchuan laughed: "Alright, alright, back to the main topic. Give me all the intelligence on the Emperor Flowing Plasma in the future, and I also want to know Naluotian's movements. Name your price."

He was preparing to play the long game.

To know oneself and the enemy, he must at least have an informant in the divine realm to grasp new trends and adjust his layout in time.

Shinan was about to speak, but He Lingchuan added: "I could get the intelligence on the Emperor Flowing Plasma with some effort, but coming to you is for convenience, and I also thought that making friends with one more god means one more path. With the current chaotic situation, you also want to make a few more friends in the human world, right?"

Shinan wanted to roll its eyes.

Friends? How could a god want to make friends with humans? What they want are believers, informants, and labor!

But Shinan also knew in its heart that the more shrewd a person is, the harder they are to control.

It had developed some devout believers, but these people were either poor wretches or stubborn fools, all of them bottom-tier characters.

Servants are easy to use but not useful; talents are useful but hard to use. Often, only true gods with the suffix "Heaven" are qualified to develop elites in the human world to serve them.

But this is a paradox: if it cannot become a true god, it cannot attract elites in the human world; if the elites in the human world don't work for it, how can it absorb enough nightmare energy to become a true god? Most wild gods and minor gods are stuck at this step, with no hope of promotion.

Although the person in front of him is Naluotian's skin-bag, he has a flexible mind and means, and can even get hold of Dragon-Punishing Pillars; perhaps he can do more things for it in the future.

Exchanging what one has for what one needs with him is truly more beneficial than harmful.

Forget it, let's cooperate; let's be friends. If it doesn't lower its status, how can it get what it needs from others?

Hopefully, before the final transition arrives, it can accumulate enough strength to ascend to a high god. Otherwise, the day the two realms are connected will also be the day the hope for a minor god like it to turn things around is cut off.

"I can give you the news about the Emperor Flowing Plasma first." Shinan thought for a moment and began to negotiate terms, "Yapu Island and Shark Island in this archipelago are large islands, each with two or three thousand people living there; you must build a temple for me on each of the two islands."

(End of chapter)