The temple keeper who emerged from here was nearly bald, save for a single tuft of hair left right in the center of his forehead.
What a familiar hairstyle. Fang Canran had indeed pointed him to the right place.
Across the overseas archipelagos, fringe powers abounded, as did shrines and temples dedicated to all manner of minor gods and wild deities.
He stepped into the shrine. It was only about ten square meters in size, with no distinction between front and back halls. Looking up, He Lingchuan saw that the idol enshrined inside looked to have been refurbished not long ago, freshly painted with its past damage patched up.
On the altar table sat two plates of mixed fruit, a plate of red steamed buns, and even an entire roast chicken!
Several sticks of incense burned in the censer, curling upward without pause.
It seemed the incense offerings here were quite thriving.
An elderly woman with salt-and-pepper hair was prostrating herself on a kneeling cushion, five points touching the ground, palms turned upward. She held this posture while muttering prayers under her breath, exceptionally devout.
Aside from her, there was no one else in the shrine, and the temple keeper who had just stepped out was nowhere to be seen. He Lingchuan lit seven sticks of incense, planted them in the censer, and picked up the pair of moon blocks from the altar table. He circled them through the incense smoke three times, murmuring with each rotation:
"Celestial God Shi Nan, please show yourself. A friend from Leigong Island comes to call!"
With that, he cast the blocks onto the floor.
The so-called moon blocks were carved from wood into crescent shapes, flat on one side—called the yang face—and convex on the other, known as the yin face. They always came in pairs, coated in red lacquer, serving as tools for mortals to communicate with spirits and gods, commonly found in shrines and temples.
When asking for a deity's will, worshippers would take the blocks and cast them to the ground.
When He Lingchuan cast them, both blocks landed flat side up—yang face upward—signifying that the deity had not made up its mind and needed to be asked again.
He picked up the blocks, waited patiently for half a quarter-hour, and cast them again.
Flat faces up once more.
He Lingchuan murmured, "Have you lost interest in the deal we agreed on last time? I've brought the goods."
The moment the words left his lips, the candle flame flickered.
Understanding the hint, He Lingchuan cast the blocks to the floor once more.
This time, it was finally one yin and one yang—indicating the deity's assent and satisfaction!
The old woman on the cushion remained prostrate. He Lingchuan briefly considered asking her to leave, but after a second thought decided against it. Instead, he went over to shut the doors and windows, then lit and offered another seven sticks of incense.
The candle flame and the smoke rose straight up; the air in the room grew still.
At that moment, the smoke rising from the censer drifted without any wind, veering around to head straight toward the old woman on the floor.
Her eyes were closed in prayer, completely unaware.
The smoke snaked into her ears and nostrils, and her muttered prayers cut off instantly.
Then, she slowly raised her head and stood up.
The old woman had been slightly hunchbacked, likely stooping in daily life, but now her back was ramrod straight. Her cloudy old eyes shone with vitality, pupils large and faintly greenish as she stared at He Lingchuan and rasped:
"So it is you, Nailuotian's vessel."
Even the mask he wore was the same as last time.
"Where is the item you were to bring me?"
Its voice was stiff and grating, though not slurred or indistinct.
He Lingchuan fished a small bronze rod from his robes and handed it over. "Used."
The old woman took it in hand and turned it over several times. Seeing a few wisps of vapor inside confirmed the treasure had indeed been used.
This was the new version of the Dragon-Torture Pillar He Lingchuan had crafted, designed differently from before.
"Very good," said the old woman whose mind was controlled by God Shi Nan. "The transaction is complete."
When He Lingchuan had visited it on Leigong Island the previous time, he had obtained answers to five questions in advance on the condition that he return a used Dragon-Torture Pillar within a year.
For anyone else, this condition would have been impossibly difficult, as those who possessed Dragon-Torture Pillars kept quiet about them, and such things were never circulated on the open market.
But for He Lingchuan—heh.
Thus, he had simply brought God Shi Nan a high-capacity model this time, and the latter's satisfaction was plain to see.
"What else do you wish to ask?" This was a lucrative business—answer a few questions and receive a Dragon-Torture Pillar in return.
"You can divine the timing of Emperor's Flowing Dew's descent, correct?"
"Mm, naturally." The fall of gods occurring in the divine realm could not be hidden from their ears and eyes.
"Aside from the two descents in quick succession within the next half month, when will the following rounds of Emperor's Flowing Dew arrive?"
God Shi Nan stared at him for a good while. "That it will descend within half a month—who told you that?"
"Nailuotian."
Hearing the title of this orthodox god, God Shi Nan's voice shot up several pitches:
"Wait! He found you already?"
If Nailuotian had been watching this vessel all along, it would not be hard to discover his dealings with Shi Nan!
Coveting another's vessel—especially that of an orthodox god—was a major taboo in the divine realm. Such a risk was something Shi Nan would avoid at all costs.
Sensing Shi Nan's hesitation, He Lingchuan immediately said, "Rest assured, he won't be looking for me again anytime soon, let alone discover the connection between you and me."
His tone was utterly casual, like friends chatting about the weather.
Sensing the confidence behind his words, Shi Nan asked suspiciously, "What do you mean by that?"
"Nailuotian met with a bit of an accident."
The old woman controlled by Shi Nan gave a slight shudder at the neck. "What happened?"
"Why not inquire in the divine realm to find out for yourself?" He Lingchuan smiled. "In short, I'm completely safe, and so are you. No deity will come after us."
Naturally, Shi Nan was still reluctant to believe him, so He Lingchuan pressed on: "Besides, isn't it a bit late to start worrying now? A year ago, we already made a deal on Leigong Island. You knew very well that I wanted to break Nailuotian's mark, and you gave me the method anyway. If Nailuotian were to successfully descend, he'd know about all of it. What, you only want to back out now?"
Shi Nan choked. "That..."
At the time, it had truly coveted the Dragon-Torture Pillar, while gambling that Nailuotian might not bother to hold a grudge.
It hastily changed the subject: "Since you can even converse with Nailuotian, obtaining information on Emperor's Flowing Dew shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
"Can't anymore. We've lost contact." The information regarding these two descents of Emperor's Flowing Dew had indeed come from Nailuotian's avatar. But that unfortunate avatar had subsequently been planted into a tree by the Dafang Pot, leaving it unable to speak to him ever again. "That's why I immediately thought of you."
God Shi Nan said at once, "The divine realm strictly forbids us from passing down such information. Otherwise, if the mortal realm found out, imagine what chaos would ensue!"
He Lingchuan couldn't help laughing. "Are you joking with me? In Beijia, from Lingxu City down to the vassal demon kingdoms, high-ranking officials know all about it. The aristocrats' relatives, dependents, and even their servants have long prepared basins to catch it. Yet you tell me passing the news down is strictly forbidden?"
God Shi Nan's tone grew a bit stiff. "Beijia is different."
The status of the gods of Lingxu was exceptionally high in the divine realm.
"Is that so? Then what about the Mou Kingdom?" He Lingchuan didn't believe a single word. "Does the sovereign of Mou know? Do the high nobles know?"
God Shi Nan fell silent.
The Mou Kingdom was not a god-venerating kingdom, but that didn't stop them from securing intelligence.
Once major information like this began to spread, there was simply no way to contain it.
The only ones kept in the dark had always been the common folk.
Emperor's Flowing Dew was extraordinarily precious. It was of vital importance to He Lingchuan, to the Yangshan Archipelago, and to the army he planned to build in the future. Therefore, he had to secure accurate intelligence on it.
Among known celestial gods, Shi Nan was the easiest to communicate with.
He Lingchuan added a few more sticks of incense. "The magistrates are allowed to set fires while the commoners aren't even permitted to light lamps. So the divine realm operates the same way?"
The old woman remained dazed for a long moment, not even moving her eyes. He Lingchuan knew Shi Nan was weighing the options.
After another short pause, it finally spoke: "Disclosing such precious intelligence to you carries risks for me."
He Lingchuan rested a hand on the altar table. "A birchwood table, a freshly repaired golden idol. You're doing quite well here—at least better than on Leigong Island."
The temple on Leigong Island had been larger than this one, but far more dilapidated.
The old woman rolled her eyes slightly, not denying it.
"The Dragon-Torture Pillar I gave you last year allowed you to feast on quite a bit of nightmare energy, didn't it?" Minor gods like Shi Nan had virtually no outside channels to obtain nightmare energy. They all hoped to replicate Nailuotian's success story, but such lucky few were exceedingly rare.
Shi Nan gave a low chuckle. "You think too highly of yourself. A single Dragon-Torture Pillar, even if filled to the brim with nightmare energy, how much could it replenish me?"
"So you obtained nightmare energy through another means?" Realization dawned on He Lingchuan. "What method was it? Did you find a new ally, or throw your lot in with a powerful backer?"
"..." Wasn't this kid's mind a little too sharp? It had only let slip a single sentence. "Don't you find it rather forward to ask such things?"
He Lingchuan laughed. "All right, all right, back to business. Provide me with all future intelligence on Emperor's Flowing Dew, and I also want updates on Nailuotian's movements. Name your price."
He intended to establish a long-term line of communication.
To know oneself and one's enemy, he needed at least one informant in the divine realm to stay abreast of new developments and adjust his plans in time.
Just as Shi Nan was about to speak, He Lingchuan added, "With a bit of effort, I could acquire intelligence on Emperor's Flowing Dew elsewhere as well. Approaching you is partly for convenience, and partly because befriending another god opens up another path. In these turbulent times, you'd like to make a few more friends in the mortal realm as well, wouldn't you?"
Shi Nan felt like rolling its eyes.
Friends? Why would a celestial god ever want to be friends with a mortal? What they wanted were worshippers, informants, and laborers!
Yet deep down, Shi Nan also understood that the shrewder a person was, the harder they were to control.
It had cultivated some devout followers of its own, but those people were either dirt-poor or blockheads—the lowest of the low.
Servants were obedient but useless; talents were useful but disobedient. As a rule, only orthodox gods with the suffix "Tian" had the standing to recruit mortal elites to serve them.
Yet that was a paradox: if it could not become an orthodox god, it could not attract mortal elites; if mortal elites would not work on its behalf, how could it absorb enough nightmare energy to become an orthodox god?
Most wild deities and minor gods were stuck at this hurdle, with no hope of elevation.
Although this fellow before it was Nailuotian's vessel, he was quick-witted and capable, even able to procure Dragon-Torture Pillars. Perhaps in the future he could accomplish even more for it.
Exchanging what each had for what each needed truly offered more benefits than drawbacks.
Very well, let it be cooperation then; let it be friendship. If it did not stoop from its high perch, how could it trade with a mortal for mutual gain?
It only hoped that before the final transition arrived, it could amass enough power to advance to an upper god. Otherwise, the day the two realms connected would be the day all hope of minor gods like it rising up was extinguished forever.
"I can give you the news of Emperor's Flowing Dew first," Shi Nan said, beginning to lay down its terms after a moment of thought. "Yapu Island and Sha Island in this archipelago are large islands, each inhabited by two to three thousand people. You must build a shrine for me on each of those two islands."
Chapter 959