Chapter 1875: The New Use of the Punishment Dragon Pillar

For ten full days, ever since Miao Zhantian was executed and the War of Upside-Down Sea concluded, He Lingchuan had not entered the Panlong World.

The Great Square Pot had sealed itself, and He Lingchuan had no idea what it was tinkering with.

This situation had occurred before, after the Great Square Pot devoured the avatar of Naluo Tian, so He Lingchuan wasn't worried in the slightest. He calmly enjoyed his nights sleeping at sea, sometimes even dreaming.

It wasn't until this evening that He Lingchuan once again stepped into the Endless Foggy Forest.

Had the Great Square Pot finally opened? He looked around: the mist drifting through the mountains and forests was light red, the sky was light red, and even the soil on the ground was slightly reddish.

The last time, He Lingchuan had taken the malevolent spirit of the Shadow Dragon from a certain tree and returned it to the Great Evolution Heavenly Pearl, severely tricking True Master Qianhuan.

The Great Square Pot typically wouldn't lead him here unless something important was happening.

He Lingchuan took a few steps and walked into a clearing in the forest.

On the ground was that familiar small puddle again.

He Lingchuan had seen the avatar of Naluo Tian and the malevolent spirit of Luosheng Jia in the puddle.

What would he see this time?

Before he could squat down, a sharp voice emerged from the puddle:

"Who, who's there!"

It sounded somewhat familiar. He Lingchuan looked down and saw a point of light moving around at the bottom of the puddle, like a firefly in summer, but it couldn't break free from the water's surface.

Several thin chains were bound around it.

Was this...?

"It's you!" the point of light exclaimed, having seen him first. It was frantic, like a headless fly buzzing against a window pane. "Let me out, or Lord Miao Zhantian will surely strip your soul and bones, leaving you unable to live or die!"

The moment it spoke, He Lingchuan remembered. Wasn't this Zhaoyou Shen!

It had been sent by Miao Zhantian to occupy the Mystic Crystal Mine but was defeated by Elder Liu, He Lingchuan, and others, forcing it to abandon the body of Spirit Urn Immortal. However, Zhaoyou Shen's divine soul hadn't escaped far before He Lingchuan and Elder Liu each collected a portion of it.

At that time, He Lingchuan had directly slapped its face with the God Bone Necklace and collected it. He hadn't expected that after so many days, Zhaoyou Shen still hadn't been digested by the Great Square Pot.

He didn't know if what was captured was its main body or an avatar.

The Great Square Pot, this supreme treasure, was truly becoming more considerate; it had even left a living captive for him.

"Miao Zhantian?" He Lingchuan found it amusing. "Do you know how long you've been captured in here?"

"What do you mean?" Zhaoyou Shen was confused. "Hasn't it only been a few hours?"

He Lingchuan gave a slight smile. Indeed, time in the Great Square Pot had always been somewhat arbitrary; he didn't know what standard it followed.

"The War of Upside-Down Sea ended ten days ago."

"Wha—" Zhaoyou Shen choked, then cried out in disbelief, "You, how could you? This is impossible!"

This person was clearly from the Illusion Sect. If the War of Upside-Down Sea had ended, how could he still be alive and well?

Had Venerable Miao Zhantian not won? Had they abandoned it and retreated first?

All sorts of thoughts exploded like fireworks, and He Lingchuan watched it change colors with his own eyes, finding it very amusing.

"Miao Zhantian is dead, and all the Heavenly Demons who invaded the Upside-Down Sea are dead. Only a wisp of your avatar remains," He Lingchuan informed it gravely. "From now on, I'll ask, and you'll answer. If your answers aren't satisfactory, your fate will be the same as Miao Zhantian's: you'll turn to dust."

"What foolishness are you spewing, you lowly human... Ah!"

Zhaoyou Shen's last sound went off-key because it saw He Lingchuan pull something golden and glittering from his embrace—

The Golden Scales.

"Ah!" Zhaoyou Shen shrieked like a marmot. "Venerable Miao Zhantian's scales!"

These were Venerable Miao Zhantian's treasured possessions, utterly impossible to abandon! Could this fellow really be telling the truth?

He Lingchuan raised a finger. "Why wasn't Miao Zhantian's power significantly reduced during this divine descent?"

This question was too important; it had troubled He Lingchuan for quite some time.

Miao Zhantian's performance in the Upside-Down Sea had defied conventional wisdom. If future Heavenly Demon divine descents could be like Miao Zhantian's, it would not be good news for the human realm.

He had asked True Master Jieshui, who had surrendered from the opposing faction, but that old fire salamander said that Heavenly Demons never discussed such matters in its presence.

The secrets of Heavenly Demons ultimately had to be sought from Heavenly Demons themselves. Moreover, such classified information might not even be known to minor wild gods on the periphery of the Demon Realm.

Zhaoyou Shen's soul-fire flickered, indicating its intense inner turmoil. It didn't even register He Lingchuan's question.

The chains binding it suddenly yanked!

Zhaoyou Shen cried out in pain, as if waking from a dream, "This is impossible!"

Its voice carried a hint of despair.

If Venerable Miao Zhantian had fallen, wouldn't it be left to rot in this deserted ocean?

This time, He Lingchuan held up three fingers. "Wake up. I can send you to your Venerable Miao Zhantian with a snap of my fingers."

The chains of Chaos constricted again, and only then did Zhaoyou Shen acknowledge reality and feel fear. "Can you let me out?"

It had had enough of being in the water. No soul could rest easy sharing the same ocean with Chaos.

"Come out of here?" He Lingchuan pointed to the puddle. "Yes."

"..." Is he that easy to talk to?

He Lingchuan found its hesitation annoying and brought his thumb and middle finger together, about to snap his fingers.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Zhaoyou Shen quickly said. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

"The True Gods have studied for millennia," Zhaoyou Shen began, "due to the existence of the two-realm barrier, a significant amount of divine power is inevitably lost during a divine descent. This is simply unavoidable!"

He Lingchuan nodded. This was old knowledge.

"However, over the past hundred years or so, an experiment spearheaded by Miao Zhantian has finally succeeded!" Zhaoyou Shen said. "If one brings a Punishment Dragon Pillar filled with nightmare energy, and uses it correctly, it's highly likely to counteract the power loss during a divine descent!"

"Punishment Dragon Pillar?" This answer was unexpected for He Lingchuan, yet it made sense. The empty Punishment Dragon Pillars confiscated by the Black Armored Army from Bai Ziqi and Bai Wei were astonishingly numerous.

He Lingchuan had wondered at the time what they were used for.

"Yes, Punishment Dragon Pillars only appeared in the human realm about 150 to 160 years ago," Zhaoyou Shen continued, "according to Venerable Lingxu's inference, it might be related to the Great..." Zhaoyou Shen suddenly remembered where it was trapped. "Wait, is this the Great Square Pot?"

"Am I asking you, or are you asking me?" He Lingchuan gave it a cold smile. "Do other Heavenly Gods know about this method?"

"The specific use of Punishment Dragon Pillars during divine descents, which we've been refining for over a hundred years, is known to very few. Not many of the Lingxu Pantheon are aware, but Shali Tian already knows."

"Why?"

"Some of the Heavenly Gods who joined this experiment have very extensive connections," Zhaoyou Shen said with a bitter smile. "When the news leaked, Venerable Lingxu was furious and punished two Heavenly Gods, but ultimately, there was nothing more that could be done."