Chapter 2178: Heavenly Chaos Unfolds

Seeing the power of these special weapons, other nations would soon follow suit.

Recipes? Haha. The casting and production of these special weapons involved countless individuals throughout the process. This secret simply couldn't be kept indefinitely; it was only a matter of time. If Cangyan refused to provide them, Naraka could still acquire them from Mou or Beijia.

As Naraka pointed out, by then the recipes would be worthless.

“Alright, I’ll give you a few of the common ones,” He Lingchuan said, a slight curve to his lips. “You’re certainly good to He Chunhua.”

Standard special weapon recipes couldn't remain secret for long anyway, so it was better to use them as leverage while they were still valuable.

The gods don't need special weapons themselves, so why would they want the recipes? It could only be to arm their forces in the mortal realm.

It seemed Naraka—or rather, Kshatriya—intended to thoroughly equip Shen and other nations, allowing them to fight on their behalf.

“You also need to sell vaingold solution, silver manganese, and white steel to Shen. Have He Yue arrange for a caravan to transport them back soon.”

“You, a dignified Great God, acting as He Chunhua’s steward?” He Lingchuan scoffed, his expression feigning displeasure, though he felt quite relieved internally.

This was because He Yue had only recently made this request on behalf of Shen, and He Lingchuan had already agreed. Now that Naraka was making the same request, it was clear He Yue had not privately consulted with Naraka.

This was a good sign.

He Chunhua’s tragedy truly should not befall He Yue as well.

Naraka chuckled, “You’re petty, He Yue is no match for you.”

Shen, when facing Cangyan, truly had no room for negotiation, even though the envoy He Yue was the Nine Nether Emperor’s own brother.

How could Naraka not know that making such a direct request was undignified? The problem was, however, that the nations under Kshatriya desperately needed these recipes and materials!

Witnessing the demoralizing effect the Dragon God Army had on the mighty Ya Army, Naraka was also greatly swayed.

The opponents Shen targeted were mostly small nations, lacking strength and plagued by internal chaos. With special weapons and superior equipment, Shen's army could defeat them with the ease of sweeping fallen leaves in autumn – like beating their own children.

This advantage was time-sensitive, so the sooner they were equipped, the better!

If they waited until special weapons became commonplace, Shen would find it much harder to launch overwhelming attacks against other nations.

He Lingchuan smiled back, just as cunningly. “Agreed.”

Several major transactions were thus easily and amicably settled. Only then did Naraka deign to speak further:

“The Heavenly Palace in Lingxu City has been secretly conducting experiments with phantom beasts and demon puppets, you know this, right?”

“I’ve heard,” He Lingchuan replied, not mincing words. “They intend to use demon puppets as vessels for the lower realm?”

The Red Mansion Lord’s anthropomorphic demon puppet experiments all but confirmed his and Dong Rui’s suspicions.

“The Heavenly Palace also has two other large-scale experimental sites: one is the Thousand-Eyed Cave in the Nantao Archipelago, and the other is the Bottomless Lake by Leng Mountain. I heard that Bottomless Lake also connects to the sea.”

He Lingchuan remarked, surprised, “You’re willing to share such information with me? What, do you not wish for the Lingxu gods’ experiments to succeed?”

Returning to the mortal realm should be the common aspiration of all gods. Yet, Naraka was betraying the Heavenly Palace’s experimental information to He Lingchuan. Wasn’t this a betrayal of his own kind?

The last known entity to do something similar was Maitreya.

“That’s none of your concern,” Naraka chuckled softly. “I assure you, this information is highly accurate.”

“Alright, this information certainly carries some weight.” With the exact locations of the Heavenly Palace’s experimental sites, He Lingchuan could dispatch people to investigate and ascertain the progress and results of the gods’ experiments.

Naraka betraying this information surely had some undisclosed considerations.

From this, it was also clear that the conflicts in the heavens were growing increasingly fierce.

“One more thing,” Naraka continued. “Recently, numerous Dragon Punishment Pillars have appeared in Chi and seven other nations across the sea from Beijia, as well as in the nations west of Beijia. Do you know what’s going on?”

In recent years, Fang Canran had indeed traveled extensively. He Lingchuan stated calmly, “Miao Zhan descended to the lower realm, bringing over nine hundred Dragon Punishment Pillars. More than a hundred of them were given to you, the rest to Mou, and I only have three to five left.”

The implication was that Naraka should inquire with Mou.

“If Mou wanted to distribute Dragon Punishment Pillars, why would they need such a method? Couldn’t they just give them directly to us?” The individuals spreading these pillars, weren’t they trying to incite conflict among the Heavenly Demons?

He Lingchuan shrugged, “I don’t need them either; I know quite a few Heavenly Demons.”

“In Chi, my followers collected twelve in a single instance,” Naraka’s tone was grim. “Given how easily they were found, I suspect the total number is far greater than nine hundred.”

A few tangerines, left by Lingguang, lay on the table. He Lingchuan casually peeled one to eat:

“Where did these things originally come from?”

“No one knows,” Naraka seemed to be observing him carefully. “The individual who first disseminated these items reportedly disfigured themselves and perished, body and soul, before they could be captured, thereby cutting off the source. If anyone attempts to disseminate them again this time, we must apprehend them and interrogate them thoroughly!”

The last few words were uttered through gritted teeth.

Mr. Shao Jian was truly resolute, wise, and brave; he managed to take this secret to his grave right under the noses of gods and demons. He Lingchuan sighed softly inwardly, but outwardly appeared even more open: “Those who commit much evil will perish by their own hand. It seems I am far from the only one firmly resisting the Heavenly Demons, and I am greatly comforted by that.”

Naraka likely rolled his eyes, though it wasn’t discernible through his misty visage.

“Oh, by the way, when is the next major eruption of Emperor’s Dew expected?”

Miao Zhan and the other gods’ contributions to the mortal realm were largely complete. The concentration of spiritual energy in the world had indeed recovered significantly, but—

It wasn’t enough!

Far from enough.

The current spiritual energy concentration was only halfway back to the late Middle Ages.

“Haha, speaking of this, it’s quite interesting,” Naraka’s voice was filled with schadenfreude. “The Lingxu faction brazenly seized Dragon Punishment Pillars, causing several divine scions to perish. As a result, they offended a powerful, previously neutral family, which included two true gods. That chaos is still escalating; there will be quite a spectacle to behold next.”

He Lingchuan’s expression subtly shifted. “The neutral Great Gods are now willing to ally with Kshatriya?”

Naraka spoke vaguely, but He Lingchuan knew that many Heavenly Demons used the nightmare energy collected from Dragon Punishment Pillars to nourish demonic fetuses. The birth of each “divine scion” required a massive amount of nightmare energy, making it extremely difficult to achieve. The Lingxu gods had harmed their children; could their parents possibly let this go unpunished?

Naraka slowly remarked, “Don’t you humans have a saying: ‘When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken’? In such chaotic times, who can possibly remain unaffected?”

The upper and lower realms are closely connected. With sudden upheavals in the mortal realm, wasn’t great chaos also upon the divine realm?

The divine realm’s original order had been shattered, and a storm would sweep everything away. Even powerful true gods could no longer remain uninvolved.

He Lingchuan tilted his head, looking at Naraka. “Could this be your scheme?”