Chapter 294

"I… I…" Harvey was so flustered he couldn't speak. Cheating? I, the Immortal King, Lord of the Dead, the Purple-Gold Skull, would never cheat!

"If you're not cheating, let go. This now belongs to my master." The coin tugged hard, but couldn't pull free.

"You used holy light—you're the one cheating! Yes, you're cheating!" Harvey suddenly remembered something and hurried to say.

The coin chuckled, his expression identical to that of a man spotting a fat lamb.

"Lord Harvey, you've misunderstood. Whether it's holy light—you can touch it to find out. It resembles holy light, but causes no harm to undead." The coin calmly extended a ball of holy light before Harvey, inviting him to touch it.

Harvey hadn't mentioned holy light before, but now that he had, he'd blocked his own excuse—two justifications can't occupy the same path.

Without even touching it, he could see clearly: no harm to undead. Harvey lacked the ability to lie with his eyes open—he wasn't Anthony.

The coin declared loudly: "Moreover, even if this were true holy light, it's not cheating. We only agreed to dispel your faithfire—not how to dispel it. Lord Harvey, the faithfire is gone. Please don't cheat!"

The coin emphasized "cheat" like a hammer striking Harvey's heart, making him instinctively loosen his grip.

The coin exhaled, quickly snatching the lens and clutching it in his hand.

No wonder gnomes fight for gold—just as once he'd dared to journey alone into the Elven Forest with a World Tree sapling, now, armed with reason and evidence, he dared to scold the Lord of the Dead.

Of course, the coin dared this only because Ange was behind him—even Harvey couldn't touch his soul. Otherwise, how could he dare provoke an undead creature? Afraid of soul-refining?

Second, from the Archmage's information, Harvey wasn't unreasonable. With solid reasoning, he wouldn't just slap you dead—he'd argue first, then slap you dead.

Third, the coin wasn't stupid. He was a gnome—chasing profit, not alienating clients. So he said hesitantly: "It seems this object holds great meaning for Lord Harvey. I don't wish to seize something dear to you. How about this: if you can offer something of equal value, I'd gladly trade."

Harvey, caught between regret and rage, nearly jumped with joy at these words.

He was filled with remorse—this lens meant everything to him. He shouldn't have wagered it. But he was so poor he had nothing but bones, and couldn't produce anything else on short notice. Besides, he never believed the coin's divine power could dispel faithfire.

For five full months, Harvey had grown increasingly irritated by this thing. At first, it was merely an annoyance—but later, it kept burning him awake.

Throughout, he'd tried every method possible, yet failed to remove it—even to shrink it. He could only watch helplessly as it grew stronger.

If even he and the Archmage couldn't remove it, how could that fake God of the Undead do it?

He didn't believe it. That's why he boldly wagered the lens. Who could've imagined that the stubborn faithfire, which had baffled him, vanished with a single flick from a divine soul—without even showing its face?

He realized he'd underestimated all gods—but couldn't directly renege. Yet giving up the lens felt unbearable. Still, the Lord of the Dead couldn't break his word.

Two little figures seemed to argue inside his head—one named "Keep Promise," the other "Break Oath"—one screaming to honor his vow, the other urging him to crush the gnome.

In this turmoil and regret, the coin's words became a soothing hand, instantly erasing the two figures and calming his soul—saving him from the shame of breaking his word.

"Good, good, good! I'll trade something of equal value. Wait, wait for me!" Harvey frantically racked his brain—where could he find something worth as much as the Soul Thunder Lens?

The coin smiled: "Lord Harvey has a soul of integrity. I'll return the lens to you first. The equivalent item can come later."

Harvey felt as if bathed in spring breeze—those words were so comforting. A soul of integrity? Wasn't that exactly what he, Harvey, was?

Just for those words, Harvey couldn't possibly break his word.

Add to that the joy of regaining what was lost—Harvey's mood was excellent. He'd entirely forgotten being scolded moments ago, his mind fixed solely on finding something of equal value.

Beside him, the Archmage wiped nonexistent sweat from his brow and secretly gave the coin a thumbs-up.

"I thought you really meant to take the Soul Thunder Lens. Even if Harvey's personality would hand it over, he'd harbor resentment—he'd try to destroy your god and reclaim it. This object means everything to him."

The coin smiled faintly. How could he ever do something so foolish?

Ange's consciousness had already projected onto him, along with Negril's. The moment the Soul Thunder Lens appeared, Negril recognized it.

It was a soul artifact that attached to a skull's eye sockets, enhancing the outward intensity of soul energy and expanding the skull's perception range.

Under strong soul activation, this soul energy could release attack waves resembling lightning—hence the name "Soul Thunder."

It was one of Bone-Lock's two pieces of equipment. Harvey had brought only one—the other might still be on Lock's body.

As a soul artifact, it could be stored within the soul. That's why the other wasn't visible on Lock's skeleton—it may have vanished forever with Lock's dissolving soul.

Such soul artifacts that enhance perception? Not useless, but barely useful. No real value. Can't even grow vegetables with them.

To offend Harvey, earn his hatred, over a thing Ange didn't care about and had no value? The coin wasn't that stupid.

After this performance, the coin gained Harvey's favor, would receive something as valuable as the Soul Thunder Lens, and acquired a faithfire—all in one stroke, one fish, three meals.

Seeing through his scheme, Negril couldn't help mutter: "Con artist."

"I've got it! This—your god will be interested. A wonder—the Rainbow Gate. Wait for me!" Harvey dashed off.

A dozen minutes later, Harvey sprinted back, each hand gripping a thick stone pillar.

Each pillar was one meter in diameter, five meters tall—much larger than Harvey. Yet he carried them on his shoulders as if weightless, vanishing in a blur.

"This—the Rainbow Gate—is worth far more than my broken lens." To sell the Rainbow Gate, Harvey even called the Soul Thunder Lens a "broken lens."

"Your god needs to spread faith, right? Building wonders is the easiest way to awe the soul. The Church of Light uses cheap tricks to fool people—but even they work. Look." As he spoke, he planted the two pillars into the ground.

The Archmage infused magic. Suddenly, the two one-meter-wide, five-meter-tall pillars transformed into a single colossal pillar one hundred meters high. The coin fell backward, landing hard on his rear.

Harvey burst into laughter: "Hah! Impressed? A hundred-meter sky-piercing pillar—two of them, left and right, forming the Rainbow Gate. But it's fake—a illusion. Come closer, touch it."

The coin ran over and touched it—his hand met empty air. Indeed, fake.

"It sprays water into the air, forming mist. When sunlight hits the mist, it creates a rainbow—hence the name Rainbow Gate. Too bad it's Eternal Night now, no sunlight, or I'd show you. How's that? Worth at least as much as my broken lens?" Harvey chattered on.

Rarely had a lethargic undead skeleton been forced into the role of a boisterous, sales-hungry minotaur aunt.

The coin looked troubled: "If it were a real wonder, fine. But this is just an illusion prop. Never mind. Though dispelling the faithfire drained much of my master's power, who are you if not Lord Harvey?"

Harvey's heart warmed. He'd almost forgotten—the coin had come to save him.

Dispelling his faithfire was something he should have deeply thanked the coin for. Yet he'd considered trading a mere illusion prop—how shameful! How beneath the Lord of the Dead!

But after thinking, Harvey decided: he'd keep the shame. He simply had nothing else of value. His bones were probably his most valuable possession.

Realizing Harvey truly had nothing left to squeeze, the coin said: "Lord Harvey, please help me put them inside." As he spoke, he opened his spatial artifact.

A one-meter-wide, five-meter-long pillar—ten coins couldn't lift it. Only Harvey could carry it easily.

Harvey, carrying the pillars, hesitated: "Can your spatial artifact hold something this big? What level is it? So spacious?"

"Yes. It's made by my master. Six-meter diameter—perfect fit. Anything larger won't work." The coin replied.

With starstone, space stone, space mages, dimensional beasts, and Ange's ultra-precise control, creating such large spatial artifacts wasn't especially difficult.

Harvey doubted it—until he shoved both pillars inside. Only then did he believe: the coin truly possessed a six-meter-diameter space.

For a spatial artifact, this was super-large. In value, it might even exceed his Soul Thunder Lens.

"Can your god make such large spatial artifacts? Do you sell them? My own isn't this big." Harvey asked.

"If the price is right, of course." The coin removed a ring from his finger: "Here's a new one. Seven-meter diameter. What will you offer?"

Harvey fell silent. He felt poverty again. Before, he didn't eat, didn't drink, had nothing to buy—he never understood money's use.

Now, in a single hour, the coin had made him feel one word again and again—poor.

What else of value could I offer? Harvey rested his chin, deep in thought.

…

In Ange's mind, Negril complained: "Why did you agree so fast? Two illusion props—worth nothing."

"Can water." Ange replied.

"What? Water?" Negril thought he misheard. "Repeat."

"Mist. Water." Ange replied.

"... h, I see. Spray water into the air, form mist, let it drift down—uniform irrigation over large areas. Where are you planning to put it?"

"Meishencheng."

"Perfect! Plant them along the riverbanks. Visitors arrive by boat, see the sky-piercing pillars from afar, then mist sprays up, rainbow arcs across the river as the boat glides beneath—stunning. Combine that with Meishen's miracles—visitors will become devoted believers in no time."

Negril muttered his analysis, then finally roared: "Such a perfect scheme—and you want to use two pillars to water flowers?! I'm furious!"

Ange tilted his head, bewildered.

The Rainbow Gate was soon installed along the riverbanks outside Meishencheng. By day, when boats passed, the pillars sprayed mist, sunlight struck it, and a rainbow arched across the river—exquisite.

Only Ange thought it wasteful—he'd wanted to place them on the parched wasteland behind Meishencheng. The riverbanks didn't lack water.

But he couldn't argue with Negril. In the end, they were planted along the riverbanks.

Yet after the Rainbow Gate was erected, Ange noticed the faithfire of Meishen grew rapidly—as if Meishen's faith had finally found its path, rushing swiftly to the goddess's faithfire. Quietly, Meishen's divine flame ignited.

When the divine flame ignited, Ange, in a corner of the Danhai realm, saw a series of bubbles rising from the sea.

Soon, the head of the Goddess of Redemption surfaced, peering curiously: "Again? Who ignited a divine flame now? Is becoming a god this easy? Should I go steal it?"

After hesitation, she abandoned the idea: "No. If I run into the God of the Undead again, trouble."

…

Watching Ange's Meishen flame, Negril muttered the same words: "Damn it. Is becoming a god this easy now? There are truly three divine cores now."

Igniting a divine flame meant possessing a true divine core. Now, on Ange's person, there were three: God of the Undead, God of Cultivation, and Meishen—truly a triune god.

"Four. God of Knowledge." Ange said.

"Uh, right, right—four. Almost forgot. But even with four divine cores, what good is it? Aside from your Undead Core awakening the Instant Death Aura, the others have no divine techniques. What about Meishen's core? Did it awaken a divine technique? No divine technique? What's the point of a divine core? Back in my day…"

As Negril was boasting about his past exploits, Ange said: "Awakened a divine technique."

PS: What kind of divine technique for Meishen would be both high-tier and fitting for farming?