Chapter 1876: Great Hatred

The secret spell has been leaked, and its dissemination is now uncontrollable.

"Such an important secret, and you couldn't keep it safe?"

Zhaoyou God shook his head, replying matter-of-factly, "Of course such an important secret couldn't be kept. The Divine Realm is vastly different from your human world."

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered slightly. "So, how much nightmare energy is consumed during the divine descent?"

"I was allocated over thirty at the time. After the descent, I barely retained about seventy-five percent of my original divine power. Other gods received varying amounts, but Shimei God didn't get any. Heavenly Venerate Miaozhan must have used the most; I'm not clear on His specific quantity."

So that's how it was. He Lingchuan was secretly alarmed. "On this trip to the lower realm, the consumption of nightmare energy alone—or rather, the Dragon Punishing Pillars—was enormous."

Over a dozen Heavenly Demons participated in the Battle of Inverted Sea. If each of them received a Dragon Punishing Pillar, the total consumption would be at least several hundred. And considering what Heavenly Venerate Miaozhan used personally, wouldn't that amount easily double?

Other Heavenly Gods must have had some left, right? And surely Sacred Venerate Lingxu, as the main antagonist, would have kept some as well?

Back then, Mitian had only created just over two thousand Dragon Punishing Pillars and scattered them across the human world. It turned out that over half of them were eventually seized by the Lingxu Gods.

No wonder there was such intense conflict in the Demonic Realm.

The Dragon Punishing Pillars, created by the Grand Flask, could traverse both realms and switch between reality and illusion, entirely unaffected by the barriers between them. Once the nightmare energy within was depleted, the Heavenly Gods would hand them over to their followers and servants on the ground, instructing them to continue collecting nightmare energy.

In essence, the Dragon Punishing Pillars held by their earthly followers and the ability for gods to procure nightmare energy themselves were the two primary methods for obtaining this resource.

"Indeed," Zhaoyou God replied with a wry smile. "If we could have acquired True Lord Qianhuan's body, it would have been worth everything. Alas!"

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; in the end, they even lost their lives.

"Why was True Lord Qianhuan's body so important?"

"Sacred Venerate Lingxu and Heavenly Venerate Miaozhan wanted to use the Illusion Immortal's body and abilities to create a suitable vessel for divine descent, also known as an outer avatar," Zhaoyou God explained. "The Illusion Immortal's outer avatar is more powerful than those of ordinary immortals."

He Lingchuan immediately recalled Qianhuan's "Wind God" avatar; it was indeed humanoid and incredibly powerful.

Since his true form was a massive clam — difficult to move and lacking in offensive power — Qianhuan invested far more effort into his outer avatar than other True Immortals. Perhaps, in the eyes of Sacred Venerate Lingxu and the other Heavenly Demons, this was an irreplaceable advantage.

At this point, Zhaoyou God exclaimed, "Oh! Since Qianhuan won the Battle of Inverted Sea, then True Lord Zangxi's body must also have been taken by it! Oh, the Venerate must have been furious."

Time passed differently in the flask; it was unaware that Qianhuan had died even before Heavenly Venerate Miaozhan. He Lingchuan didn't bother to correct it, simply asking, "How many True Immortal bodies does Sacred Venerate Lingxu possess?"

"I don't know, but... not many," Zhaoyou God replied, without envy. "They are incredibly rare!"

For his next question, He Lingchuan got straight to the point. "When do you truly plan to descend to the human world?"

No matter how many minor or wild gods he had asked, they all stammered evasively. Logically, these entities were most susceptible to temptation, so at least one or two should have spilled the beans.

Yet their unified silence led He Lingchuan to conclude that this was a major event, one that concerned all the Heavenly Gods.

As expected, Zhaoyou God choked up again.

The chains wrapped around him suddenly tightened, and Zhaoyou God immediately cried out, "I can't say, truly, I can't say! It depends on Beijia's research on the Ghost Beasts!"

"What kind of research?" He Lingchuan knew a little about it, but he wanted to hear it directly from a Heavenly God.

Zhaoyou God was a subordinate deity of the Lingxu faction, a seasoned combatant who had entered the Inverted Sea alongside Heavenly Venerate Miaozhan, indicating a significant status. The information it possessed should therefore be more authentic and accurate.

"More... more human-like!" Zhaoyou God stammered. "Also, extending the duration of our divine possession. Even now, when we descend upon a True Immortal or an Immortal, it only lasts a few days at most before we can no longer remain and are forcibly expelled! After all, it's not our original body."

"Long-term divine descent?" He Lingchuan was secretly alarmed. "Have any Heavenly Demons ever succeeded before?"

"No! I heard the Venerate say that Mitian might have attempted it once, but failed."

Mitian failed?

He Lingchuan's heart stirred. "Are you referring to General Hong?"

"I'm not sure," Zhaoyou God's divine soul flickered. "I only heard Him mention that to Heavenly Venerate Miaozhan once. Oh, decades ago, the Venerate also said that Mitian's approach was unique because it could utilize the Grand Flask."

That's significant information. "So, how can one maintain a long-term divine descent?"

"The body must be more compatible with our true souls, ideally cultivated or modified with divine blood."

So, the Heavenly Gods are primarily researching Ghost Beasts? "How is this research progressing?"

"There should be some results already, and I've heard of even more cutting-edge developments," Zhaoyou God stated. "However, these are all classified, so we aren't privy to the details."

He Lingchuan was about to conclude the conversation, but a sudden thought sparked in his mind.

"By the way, why does Mitian hate you all so intensely, insisting on being an enemy to every god?"

He had previously asked minor and wild gods this question, but their answers were consistently "I don't know."

Great Heavenly Gods are very private, and Mitian, in particular, is highly enigmatic. The minor gods He Lingchuan questioned had only heard of Mitian's power, but none had ever personally interacted with Him.

However, He Lingchuan had personally and clearly felt Mitian's disdain and hatred for the Heavenly Gods – or more precisely, for the Lingxu Gods – while inside the Grand Flask. Mitian had even used the Grand Flask to create Dragon Punishing Pillars, throwing the Divine Realm into disarray and prompting a joyful welcome of Imperial Nectar in the human world.

What profound animosity was this?

"That?" Zhaoyou God was taken aback by the sudden mention of Mitian. "I don't know much about that either."

He Lingchuan immediately extended three fingers in front of it, as if preparing to tap.

"No, no, I've answered so many of your questions already!" Zhaoyou God exclaimed, feeling aggrieved. "I've only heard rumors!"

"Tell me what you've heard."

"No one likely knows Mitian's origins. He was already incredibly powerful when he first appeared, inherently possessing the Divine Death Providence, unlike us Heavenly Gods who progress slowly!"

"Divine Death Providence?" Qianhuan and Heavenly Venerate Miaozhan had mentioned the Divine Death Providence during their conflict in Panlong Solitary City, so He Lingchuan certainly wouldn't miss this detail. "I heard that originally belonged to your Ancient Gods?"

"Yes, they were also revered as the Three Holy Gods, who wielded the three great divine providences of Life, Death, and Fate, governing all living beings in the Divine Realm."

"All living beings? Including yourselves?" In He Lingchuan's view, gods and immortals were merely more powerful life forms.

He suddenly realized that the Grand Flask was a fragment of the Tianluo Star, and the Tianluo Star itself had been refined from the core of a world.

And where did this world core come from? It had been captured by the Ancient Gods of the Divine Realm.

Alas, everything was connected.