Chapter 1294: Heavenly God Pu Yin

His touch was remarkably precise. The object passed through the curling white smoke above the incense burner, seemed to pause for a moment, and then landed with a soft thud on the offering table.

It looked somewhat like a pen, gleaming with a metallic luster, and had an oval crystal embedded in its center.

The offering table at Puyin Temple was small, and the tube rolled a few times, almost falling off.

Almost.

Reaching the edge of the table, it suddenly stopped dead, defying inertia.

The smoke rising from the incense burner suddenly straightened.

Everyone felt the surrounding temperature drop several degrees instantly, and a chill ran down their spines.

Two wisps of smoke curved and suddenly shot into the temple keeper's nostrils.

His eyes immediately glazed over.

"You two," he beckoned to He Lingchuan and Dong Rui. "Come in."

The temple keeper's voice had changed; it was deep and authoritative.

Captain Yang was startled. He turned to look, seeing that the fear had vanished from the temple keeper's face, replaced by a cold expression and vacant eyes.

"God Puyin!" He understood and immediately bowed. "God Puyin, the lives of everyone in the city, young and old, are in grave danger. I beg you..."

"They will be safe," God Puyin said faintly. "You may leave."

The deity had finally responded! Captain Yang was overjoyed. "Yes! After we repel these villains, I will certainly return with more offerings!"

God Puyin remained silent, only waving a hand to dismiss him.

Captain Yang glanced at He Lingchuan and Dong Rui again before quickly leaving with his five guards.

A deity had descended and specifically requested to see these two; how could he possibly stop them? Besides, he wasn't blind. If it weren't for the offerings these two presented—which even a god couldn't refuse—how else would God Puyin have manifested? And how else would he himself have coincidentally received God Puyin's blessing?

When he first saw the masks, he did think it was the Zhao army sneaking in to assassinate, but on second thought, it didn't seem likely. Anyone could wear such masks. He sighed. Previously, he had knelt and pleaded in the temple, trying every persuasion. No matter how sincerely he prayed, the idol had remained completely unresponsive.

He had thought the god hadn't heard him. Now it seemed true, as the temple keeper had said: the god heard and saw everything; it simply chose not to respond. Even if he bowed until his head bled, the deity wouldn't have bothered to look. Yang Meng sighed inwardly. The world was cold and indifferent; even deities were like this.

He Lingchuan, however, was not in a hurry to enter the temple. Instead, he watched Captain Yang's retreating back for a while.

Dong Rui asked him, "What is it?"

He Lingchuan then retracted his gaze, shaking his head as he replied, "Nothing."

The light was perfect then, and sunlight poured unobstructed onto the open ground in front of the temple. He Lingchuan clearly saw a faint golden thread attached to Captain Yang's shoulder, its other end pointing towards the temple behind him.

It seemed the temple keeper's words weren't entirely deceptive; Captain Yang had indeed caught God Puyin's attention. Which meant it considered this person worth observing.

Subsequently, He Lingchuan and Dong Rui entered the temple.

With a soft creak, the temple doors and small wooden windows closed on their own.

He Lingchuan looked up at the idol.

God Puyin's idol was also humanoid, but it had two horns on its head, its upper body bare, and rode a giant bear. Its overall appearance was wild and untamed. Compared to the elegant and dignified images of the Gods of Lingxu, it clearly represented a different path.

"Who are you?" The temple keeper, controlled by a wisp of God Puyin's divine consciousness, turned and gazed at the two. "You brought the Dragon-Punishing Pillar; what do you seek?"

These two had brought a Dragon-Punishing Pillar to it, yet they wore masks. They were certainly not its devotees.

"We're here to verify some information," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "If our cooperation is pleasant, perhaps we can visit each other often in the future."

"What do you wish to ask?"

"A few questions," He Lingchuan said. "With the recent frequent occurrences of Emperor's Nectar, which deities have fallen?"

For a stranger to immediately ask such a core secret, the temple keeper's pupils contracted slightly. The consecutive appearance of "fallen god" and "Emperor's Nectar" indicated that the other party was well-informed.

"Whose devotee were you originally?" God Puyin asked him. "Or are you from the Immortal Sect?"

"You're asking me questions?" He Lingchuan chuckled. His laughter, muffled by the Clanging Dragon Armor, became low. "Have you given me a Dragon-Punishing Pillar yet?"

This minor deity asking if he was from the Immortal Sect right away—what did that indicate? It indicated that they might have had dealings with the so-called "Immortal Sect" in private. This was the world as he understood it, not simply black and white.

God Puyin pondered. It didn't have a habit of revealing everything to strangers, especially when it concerned secrets of the divine realm.

He Lingchuan took another Dragon-Punishing Pillar from his possession, waving it before the deity. "For our first collaboration, there should be some sincerity, shouldn't there? If you don't value this, I can find other deities."

On the Golden Flash Plains, minor deities were abundant.

This person actually has so many Dragon-Punishing Pillars! God Puyin then said, "Alright then, I'll be generous. Two questions for one Dragon-Punishing Pillar."

"Are you joking?" He Lingchuan couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You know very well how many times this treasure's value has multiplied. Gods are fighting tooth and nail over them, and Emperor's Nectar has fallen multiple times. Now you just open your mouth comfortably and expect to exchange it? Do you look down on the Dragon-Punishing Pillar, or do you look down on other gods?"

Previously, He Lingchuan had dealings with two or three minor deities on Platinum Island. One of them accidentally let slip that the Dragon-Punishing Pillar's value had increased fivefold compared to five years ago! It must have wanted to slap itself, but it couldn't retract the words; He Lingchuan had already committed it to memory.

Fivefold!

Rarity drives value. The soaring value of the Dragon-Punishing Pillar indicated a massive increase in demand, and gods' urgency for it far surpassed what it once was. Dragon-Punishing Pillars hadn't appeared just yesterday, and obtaining them also carried the risk of being pursued by the Gods of Lingxu. Why were the gods still so diligently seeking them? Therefore, something significant must be happening in the divine realm. But the wild gods on Platinum Island had limited knowledge of core secrets and couldn't provide He Lingchuan with the answers he sought.

He Lingchuan decided to try his luck on the Golden Flash Plains.

"You lack sincerity. Goodbye." He Lingchuan reached out, and not only did the Dragon-Punishing Pillar in his hand vanish, but the one on the offering table was also retrieved by him.

The two turned and walked away without hesitation. The temple doors were tightly shut, but this couldn't stop them at all.

"Wait!" God Puyin then realized the masked person before it was not easily deceived. "Secrets have weight. How many more Dragon-Punishing Pillars do you have?"

To be able to produce two at once indicated that he had more in his possession.

He Lingchuan glanced back at the idol. "Your sincerity isn't even enough for one."

You can't even eat what's in your bowl, and you're already thinking about what's in the pot? The greed of these gods never disappointed him.

God Puyin became much more straightforward. "You came to me because you know my background, correct?"

He Lingchuan simply uttered two words: "Kshatriya."

Shao Jian had mentioned in his notes that God Puyin was one of the Kshatriya gods. Although it seemed to have abundant incense offerings and many followers, its temples on the Golden Flash Plains were not located in prosperous cities. Judging by the offerings it received, its rank was not high.