Chapter 1952: Time and Circumstance

Luo Xie had no choice but to walk back to the table. Fang Canran had already put some rabbit and chicken meat on a plate, and Weng Xing added the chicken bones to it before holding out the plate to him. "Here, take this," she said.

This time, as soon as Luo Xie passed the plate through the fence, the oldest child snatched it, and those next to him immediately lunged for it. Just moments before, they had been timid and hesitant, but in the blink of an eye, they transformed into hungry wolf cubs, shoving the snatched food into their mouths without fear of choking. Luo Xie could even see a fierce green glint in their eyes.

He walked back to the table and sat down, frequently looking back. "Are these children stupid?" he wondered aloud. "They want leftovers instead of money." "You're the one who doesn't understand the situation," Weng Xing said coolly. "Haven't you heard the saying, 'Don't flaunt your wealth'? Even adults here might not keep their money bags safe, let alone these half-grown kids. If you give them money, hehe, it would be snatched away within fifteen steps." Weng Xing pointed at the children scrambling for food. "They understand very well," she continued. "They know that money isn't theirs. Only these leftovers on our table – gnawed chicken bones and rabbit heads, things others look down on – give them a slight chance."

Luo Xie fell silent, then sighed. "You don't see sights like this in the Upside-Down Sea, do you?" Luo Xie shook his head. "In the Upside-Down Sea, spiritual energy is abundant, and crops are plentiful. Everyone can at least eat their fill, regardless of whether the food is good or not. We common folk eat simple meals, while the Illusion Sect enjoys lavish feasts."

"A place sustained by the power of Blazing Gold, truly different, isn't it?" Weng Xing scoffed. "Able to eat your fill every meal? Heh, don't just say that about White Tower Town; even in the prosperous Ju City, that's a lifelong dream for countless people." Luo Xie lowered his head and said nothing.

Fang Canran came to his rescue. "Most of the spiritual energy from the Spirit Gathering Array is consumed by True Person Thousand Illusions and the Illusion Sect," he explained. "The common people in the Upside-Down Sea only get a mouthful of thin soup, and even that is beyond their control."

Luo Xie lamented, "Every few years, the Upside-Down Sea suffers invasions from Yakshas who devour people. We always thought that was the great terror of the human world, but compared to here—" He shook his head. After all, Yaksha invasions are very brief. Compared to the Blazing Gold Plain, the Upside-Down Sea feels like paradise. The true terror of the human world is right here: a bone-deep, hopeless numbness, and an eternal hunger and poverty from which there is no escape.

"That's why this land needs Emperor Jiuyou and the reincarnated Dragon God," Fang Canran said earnestly. "I believe only he has the ability to change the current state of Blazing Gold." He paused, glanced up at the sky, and added, "And it will also need an endless supply of Imperial Nectar."

The common people in the Upside-Down Sea are spared from hunger because of the abundant spiritual energy. Although True Person Thousand Illusions did not establish the Positive-Negative Heavenly Constellation Array for their benefit, when immortals eat meat, they also got to drink a bit of the soup.

At this moment, He Lingchuan walked back, accompanied by a thin, dark-skinned old man who was bowing and nodding deferentially to everyone. "This is Mao Lizheng, who manages White Tower Town," He Lingchuan introduced. "He says something else was discovered in the collapsed mine pit. The pit is currently preserved as is. Brother Fang, you're an expert in identifying rare artifacts. How about you accompany me down into the mine pit?" Fang Canran's answer was, of course: "No problem!"

The mine entrance was in the mountain behind White Tower Town; it would take half an hour to get there on horseback. He Lingchuan and Fang Canran rode side by side, while the other three fell behind, giving them space for a private conversation.

"Brother Fang, what brings you here?" He Lingchuan asked. It was Fang Canran who had sought out He Lingchuan today, which had led to this impromptu meal and artifact identification.

"That matter I spoke to you about three days ago—" Fang Canran began, his voice exceptionally calm in the quiet woods, where only the rhythmic thud of hooves could be heard, "—I've thought it through, and I must do it!" Three days ago, he had initiated the conversation with He Lingchuan, expressing his desire to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor Shao Jian: to spread the Dragon Punishment Pillars to the outside world. After hearing him out, He Lingchuan had advised him to calm down and not act impulsively. Now, after three days of calm reflection, he had come to declare his decision to He Lingchuan.

"Brother Fang, you should know..." He Lingchuan's words were cut short by Fang Canran. "I know. Everything you're about to say—what dangers and difficulties this will entail, and your concerns—I know it all." He Lingchuan hesitated, then held back his words.

"My mind is made up," Fang Canran said gravely. "Besides, this matter doesn't require you to make a decision for me." He Lingchuan shook his head. "The scene of Mr. Shao's departure is still vivid in my mind. I just don't want to, and can't, wait for your return."

"Brother He, what you're doing is ten times more difficult and perilous than anything I face. Since you've committed yourself without hesitation, how can I spare myself?" Fang Canran chuckled. "You saw those children outside the fence just now, didn't you?" He Lingchuan assented, always observant. "They might be the children of miners," he said. Children without fathers in these chaotic times are like blades of grass; a bit of wind, frost, rain, or snow, and they're gone.

"What we're about to do might just give them a chance – a chance to live, a chance to grow up," Fang Canran said, a hopeful glint in his eyes. "As long as spiritual energy is abundant in the human world and not monopolized, everyone can live a little easier." When the rain and dew are shared, no matter how little each receives, it benefits the poorest the most.

He then asked He Lingchuan, "Just tell me, where is the best place to carry this out?" Where was the best place to spread the Dragon Punishment Pillars? He Lingchuan knew his mind was made up and that persuasion was useless. So he said, "It's best to go west or southwest of Bega; that's Kshatriya Heaven's territory."

Fang Canran, of course, couldn't directly give the Dragon Punishment Pillars to the followers of the Spirit Void Deities; that would be giving away treasures for free. "Kshatriya Heaven has recently been on the rise, with several great gods very active. In contrast, the Spirit Void Deities have suffered considerable losses and have been ridiculed further due to the deaths of Wonderous Purity Heaven and a dozen of its subordinates," Fang Canran mused. "I also just received news that Xipu, a subordinate deity of the Spirit Void Sage, was ambushed and killed by someone – no, by a god – on his way to a joint conference."

He Lingchuan was startled. "When?" "Two and a half days ago, the very night we met." Such coincidences in life are endless. That day, he had just learned the true identity of True Person Thousand Illusions and had resolved to perform a feat similar to his ancestor Shao Jian, when that very night, he received news of this deity's demise. This further solidified his resolve to stir up trouble with the Dragon Punishment Pillars. The demon realm was already in such disarray without his intervention. If he could use the Dragon Punishment Pillars to further exacerbate the conflict between deities and demons, what a blessing that would be for the human world?

"The perpetrator hasn't been found yet. The Spirit Void Deities suspect Kshatriya Heaven, as Xipu had grudges with several Kshatriya Heaven deities. Kshatriya Heaven, however, claims it was an inside job by the Spirit Void Deities, framed to blame them. Both sides are locked in endless arguments." Fang Canran paused. "Xipu was an important subordinate deity of the Spirit Void Sage, often responsible for conveying divine will externally."