Chapter 864: The Heavenly Gods and the Generous Pot

He Chunhua immediately continued, “Divine Venerable, there is one question that has always troubled me. Could you please resolve my confusion?”

“Mm.”

“Why are the gods so obsessed with finding the Generous Pot?”

From Mitian more than a century ago, to the unknown god that descended through Nian Songyu two years ago, to the gods of Lingxu, and now Naluotian whom he served, every single one of them coveted the Generous Pot.

They loved it more deeply than mice loved cheese, but why?

Naluotian understood that He Chunhua was asking it to demonstrate some sincerity as a prerequisite for signing a divine contract with Kunxiu.

If Naluotian would not even reveal one small secret, why should He Chunhua stake his life and everything he possessed?

These cunning mortals, heh!

It slowly began, “In truth, Lingxu fears the Generous Pot falling into the hands of another heavenly god far more than it fears the pot remaining in mortal hands.”

“Why?” He Chunhua immediately thought of Panlong City and Mitian.

If that was the case, then more than a hundred years ago, Mitian possessing the Generous Pot must have been what frightened the gods most?

Hm, that does seem plausible. Otherwise, why would Panlong City and Zhong Shengguang have met such a tragic and heroic end?

Massacring an entire city was itself an expression of hatred and fear.

“Even in the divine realm, very few know this secret.” In other words, only a small number of heavenly gods were privy to it. Naluotian’s avatar hesitated before continuing, “Even I... can only infer the truth from the intelligence available to me.”

So even Naluotian doesn’t dare guarantee that it knows the truth? He Chunhua became even more curious. What kind of secret could even such a powerful true god not fully understand?

“Divine Venerable, your deductions must naturally be reasonable and authoritative.” Flattery came effortlessly to him. It cost nothing, after all.

Had He Lingchuan been present, he would have understood what Naluotian was implying.

It had originally been no more than an obscure wild god like Shinan. Only later, after using the Dragon Punishment Pillar to harvest nightmare qi on a massive scale, had its strength soared enough for it to rise into the ranks of the true gods. However, it had entered that circle too recently. Compared with the old and established true gods, it naturally knew far fewer of their hidden secrets.

Even so, Naluotian’s deductions still carried considerable weight. “The gods of Lingxu have always suspected that Mitian never truly perished.”

He Chunhua was astonished. “More than 150 years ago, when Panlong City fell, didn’t they personally witness Mitian’s death?”

“No! So you truly know nothing.” Naluotian’s tone became strange. “Mitian had already perished before that. Back then, imperial nectar had even descended into the mortal realm. The divine realm has confirmed this beyond doubt.”

“...” He Chunhua stared blankly, momentarily unsure how to react. “What?”

If Mitian had already died before that final battle, then who had led Panlong City in holding out until the very last moment?!

“H-how did Mitian die?”

“We don’t know.”

“What?” Even the god of fate isn’t able to divine it?

But then He Chunhua thought about his own experiences tonight.

Had they not already proven that even the god of fate was not omniscient?

It too had been outmaneuvered by He Lingchuan.

“Mitian perished, Zhong Shengguang and Panlong City also failed, and the Generous Pot fused with the Panlong Ruins. Everything seemed to have reached its conclusion. But Mitian’s skin-sack was far too powerful. That defied common sense and had never been adequately explained. Furthermore, Mitian had already disappeared for a long period before its death, so some heavenly gods believe—” Naluotian paused for a few moments before continuing, “that Mitian once attempted to use the Generous Pot to descend directly into the mortal realm!”

“?!” Did I hear that correctly?

Before He Chunhua could speak, Naluotian added, “When I say descend, I do not mean divine descent through an avatar!”

“You mean Mitian could use the Generous Pot to break through the barrier between the two realms and directly—” He Chunhua then pointed toward the ground and continued, “descent into the mortal realm in its true body?”

“I never said that to be the truth! It’s merely an inference, a deduction!” Naluotian corrected him. “Reliable intelligence says that Divine Majesty Lingxu believes the same. Whether this deduction is correct remains impossible to prove. However, the Generous Pot is too unusual. If it truly has that capability, I would not be surprised. Now do you understand? On the one hand, the gods of Lingxu fear that another heavenly god might use the Generous Pot to descend directly into the mortal realm. If that ever happens, it would be a catastrophe for the entire divine realm. On the other hand, they also suspect that although Mitian perished, its divine soul did not, and that it survived in another form. For example, it could be living inside the Generous Pot. Therefore, whoever possesses the Generous Pot becomes everyone’s target.”

“So that’s how it is.” Remembering that this extraordinary treasure had slipped right past him, He Chunhua felt his throat go dry.

Forget it, I simply don’t have that kind of fortune.

“But regardless, the Generous Pot merely concerns disputes internal to our divine realm. It has nothing to do with you mortals.” Naluotian then added indifferently, “Even if none of us can obtain it, the time when the gods descend will merely be delayed a little.”

At that last sentence, He Chunhua’s eyes widened.

What does that mean?!

S-surely it can’t mean what I think, right?

“The way you are choosing a master and attaching yourself to the strongest side is correct.” Naluotian mentioned it only briefly before immediately changing the subject. “As for He Lingchuan, how do you intend to explain things to everyone else? I doubt he will appear again anytime soon.”

He Chunhua forced himself to regain his composure. “Divine Venerable is wise. I think the same.”

After the Panlong Secret Realm disappeared, he had briefly worried that He Lingchuan might turn around and come back to kill him. But after calming down and thinking it through, he felt he had been overly concerned.

If He Lingchuan had wanted him dead, the best opportunity had been inside the Panlong Secret Realm. When father and son confronted one another, He Chunhua had only Zhao Qinghe beside him.

Despite that, his “eldest son” had never made a move. This showed that his killing intent was not strong.

After leaving the Panlong Secret Realm, He Chunhua once again had soldiers and generals surrounding him. Meanwhile, He Lingchuan lacked manpower and had no established power base in Yuan. Their relative strengths had reversed.

That man was meticulous and would not willingly place himself in danger. So just as Naluotian said, He Lingchuan probably would not appear again for some time.

The clearest evidence was that the Rongshan disciples had all vanished as well.

Amid this vast sea of yellow sand, He Chunhua was unlikely to find He Lingchuan and those dozen or so people.

But he had arrived with his eldest son and would be returning without such a conspicuous living person. He truly did owe both his family and the outside world an explanation.

He Chunhua said slowly, “Both publicly and privately, I will announce that Chuan’er died in battle in Panlong City. As for the Rongshan disciples, they returned home after their expedition in the Panlong Desert ended.”

In any case, Rongshan’s loan to the Royal Court of Yuan had already been delivered.

Naluotian gave a sound of acknowledgment, and then it asked, “Once you return to Ya Province, do you intend to march north immediately and campaign against Dong Haoming?”

“No, of course not.” He Chunhua glanced at his wound. “I am seriously injured. I need a good period of recuperation.”

Naluotian chuckled softly, its voice full of mockery.

After that, the incense on the table went out.

* * *

The daylight was bright, though it was actually already close to three in the afternoon.

He Lingchuan returned to reality and discovered, to his surprise, that he had appeared among the ruins of Wei City, about two and a half kilometers from Panlong City.

The Generous Pot was quite considerate. It knew that outsiders’ eyes were everywhere around the Panlong Ruins now, so it had simply deposited him outside.

But that also demonstrated the extent of the Generous Pot’s control over this stretch of desert.

He walked outward with a head full of thoughts. Not a single person remained in the ruins of Wei City. When he looked up again, something came swimming through the yellow sand and stopped directly in front of him.

It was another sand wyrm.

Unfamiliar the first time, familiar the second. He Lingchuan jumped onto the sand wyrm’s back, and the creature immediately sped away, swift and steady.

He had been exhausted for hours, yet at this moment he did not feel tired at all. Instead, his mind was racing.

The previous night already seemed like a dream. This journey into the Panlong Desert had brought him a large share of twists and turns, but in the end, his objective had still been successfully accomplished.

Ultimately, he had successfully tricked Naluotian into sending down an avatar and trapped that avatar inside the Generous Pot.

That was the result of months of planning and painstaking effort.

He was finally free.

He was finally safe.

The sheer relief and ease of having no lingering danger hanging over his head made even the scorching wind rushing into his face seem gentle and cooling.

He Lingchuan exhaled heavily.

The sand wyrm traveled through the desert faster than most creatures, but by the time he reached Baiyuan Post Station, night had already fallen.

Before coming into sight of other humans, the sand wyrm let He Lingchuan dismount, then turned and swam back into the sea of sand.

He Lingchuan pulled on his cloak and veiled hat, entered the post station, and reunited with Qiu Hu and the others.

The group was eating inside a guest room, leaving only the squirrel Little Qiao outside as a lookout.

He counted everyone and found that all were present. Even his mount, the cliff ram, and the eyeball spider had been brought back by Qiu Hu.

He Lingchuan casually set up a barrier before asking where He Chunhua and the others had gone. When he learned that He Chunhua had reunited with his army and headed south toward Heishui City, he instinctively picked up his wine cup and drained it in one swallow.

He Chunhua is still alive. Perhaps that really is just Heaven’s will.