Chapter 603: The Hand of the Heavenly God

Chapter 599: Divine Tactics

Immediately, He Lingchuan’s vision went dark.

It was as if he had closed his eyes, but he felt dizzy and disoriented.

He Lingchuan, still unsure what was happening, suddenly felt a forceful shove. "Stop standing there blocking everyone, will you?"

He jolted awake. The celestial curtain, the starry sky, the gods, the scales, and the giant eyeball — all had vanished.

He was standing in Chongyang Hall, surrounded by a bustling crowd.

Everything seemed to be operating as usual, as if his world hadn't just been turned upside down.

As he regained his senses, he turned to see a corpulent middle-aged woman angrily scolding him, "Are you going to worship or not? If not, move aside! What's the point of standing there like a statue?"

"Oh," He Lingchuan replied, not at all annoyed, but rather a little grateful. "Please, go ahead."

He stepped back two paces. Lu Shishi looked at him with a smile and asked, "Are... are you alright?"

"I'm alright," He Lingchuan said, reaching up to rub his neck, his brows furrowed. "What just happened to me?"

A sudden, overwhelming fatigue washed over him, and he felt liquid dripping from his nose.

"You suddenly stood still, and I called your name twice, but you didn't respond," Lu Shishi said with concern. "Oh dear, you're bleeding from the nose!"

"Mmm," he murmured, sensing that Lu Shishi knew more than she let on. "My head hurts terribly. Is there somewhere I can rest?"

She gasped, "Then let's quickly head back to Yunzhan."

"Okay." He Lingchuan took a step, swayed twice as if unable to support himself, and then leaned his entire weight onto her.

Lu Shishi was caught off guard by his sudden collapse and was a little surprised, but in the next second, she steadied him with one hand.

Oh, this girl's cultivation is quite strong; he hadn't noticed it before.

Lu Shishi calmly supported He Lingchuan while beckoning to the nearby palace guards, "Come here and help!"

Usually, the palace guards would look down on people, but at her summons, they rushed over, swiftly supporting He Lingchuan and leading him out of the main hall, completely disregarding the curious stares of the crowd.

"Who is that man? Why are the palace guards escorting him out?"

The older woman who had shoved him earlier felt even more flustered and quietly hid herself within the crowd.

He Lingchuan pretended not to hear the whispers behind him.

He wasn't lying; he truly felt unwell. His head throbbed as if it would explode, his clothes were soaked with cold sweat, and his body felt heavy as a thousand pounds.

Although there was no precedent, he surmised this was likely a symptom of excessive mental exertion.

He had been standing in the great hall the entire time, a fact all the visitors could attest to.

Yet, the celestial curtain, the stars, the scales, and the giant eyeball he had seen earlier were not illusions either.

What exactly had he experienced?

Since someone was taking care of him, He Lingchuan simply relaxed completely, closed his eyes, and feigned unconsciousness.

The palace guard couldn't support such a dead weight, so he had to carry him on his back all the way back to Yunzhan.

The journey was still bustling, but none of it registered with him.

His world had been turned upside down, but the greater world remained utterly indifferent.

Yunzhan served as the reception room where subjects awaited an audience with the gods. It had no beds, but there were couches. The palace guard placed him on one of them.

He Lingchuan didn't open his eyes, and naturally, someone placed a pillow behind his head, wiped his face with a warm cloth, and covered him with a thin blanket.

Lu Shishi even asked him, "Do you want some water?"

He nodded, of course, and lay in the young woman's arms as someone spoon-fed him warm water, little by little.

He also took two small pills to replenish his spirit and energy.

To onlookers, his breathing gradually steadied, as if he had fallen asleep.

And for the Sky Palace Lamp-keepers, this was indeed a normal reaction after undergoing divine judgment. Some unlucky souls couldn't even endure it and simply passed away.

Although drowsy, He Lingchuan still tried to recall what had just happened.

When he first entered the celestial curtain world, he thought his spirit had left his body and been dragged by the gods into the void, or perhaps into a minor realm or a realm of souls.

Everything around him – the colossal scales, the vast starry sky, the countless eyes – seemed to support this conjecture.

But after the curtain was torn open, the sudden appearance of a glowing blue mark in the void instantly shattered this illusion!

He had seen this glowing blue mark before.

The previous year, when he and He Chunhua went to the Panlong Illusion, the 'god' avatar summoned by Nian Songyu had first rushed into He Lingchuan's sea of consciousness, attempting to seize his body.

At that time, this mark had appeared deep within his sea of consciousness, and the divine avatar had been instantly expelled.

So, when this blue mark reappeared, He Lingchuan immediately realized:

'To hell with minor realms, to hell with realms of souls – this is my own mind!'

Miaozhantian hadn't spirited away his spirit at all; it had charged directly into his mind and even created an elaborate stage setting, decorating his sea of consciousness so much that even he, its owner, didn't recognize it!

No, not just Miaozhantian, but also the observing gods!

These bastards were throwing a party inside his head! No wonder his head felt like it was exploding, as if someone was flaying his nerves with a thousand cuts.

The gods completely disregarded the consequences of their actions, and He Lingchuan's life, death, or feelings.

In their eyes, what was the difference between a mere human life and an ant? If they accidentally killed one, so be it.

But how could an ordinary person's sea of consciousness endure such torment?

He Lingchuan hadn't instantly turned into a blithering idiot, and he had Panlong City's long history of tempering to thank for making his spirit far more resilient than an ordinary person's!

Yet, He Lingchuan felt a sense of delight, because the greatest crisis he had faced since coming to this world had been narrowly overcome.

Miaozhantian's 'divine eye,' which had always been infallible, had failed on him.

If the gods didn't believe in the power of the Eye of Truth, they wouldn't have used this touchstone on him.

Conversely, if the scales determined that everything he said was true, then the gods would also believe it.

He Lingchuan didn't believe the Eye of Muluo would grant him special leniency; it meant that something within him had shielded or even distorted its vision, causing it to mistakenly believe that every word He Lingchuan spoke was genuinely true and valid.

By now, He Lingchuan no longer believed in 'coincidence.'

With people nearby, he couldn't easily reach into his embrace. But he distinctly remembered the sudden warmth emanating from his chest when he stood alone before the gods.

Was it this very item that had helped him pass Muluo's test?

So, had the gods now dispelled their suspicions about him?

If the answer was yes, his future actions in Lingxu City would face significantly less resistance.

This risky trip up Mount Xu had indeed been worthwhile.

However, the gods' malevolent intentions and versatile methods still exceeded his expectations.

This was a test of a different dimension, bypassing outward appearances and superficialities to directly interrogate his innermost being.

Strangely, none of the three questions posed by the gods were related to the Elixir of Immortality case.

He was, after all, the initial investigator of the Elixir of Immortality case, and he had expected the gods to at least ask about certain suspicious points, such as his relationship with Mai Xuewen or Xi Yunhe, and so on.

But to his surprise, they didn't even bring it up.

Did this indicate that, in the eyes of the gods, the Elixir of Immortality case and the Great Square Cauldron were not even in the same league?

Perhaps even less significant than the eastern state of Mou.

He Lingchuan had another point of doubt in his mind:

Why had the Great Square Cauldron shown no reaction at all?

His spirit had always been securely protected by the Great Square Cauldron; this fact had long been confirmed by the Soul-Snatching Mirror.

Yet this time, the gods had invaded his mind, essentially breaking into his home turf, and the Great Square Cauldron had remained utterly still.

Was it intentional, to avoid revealing itself?

He Lingchuan recalled how the Great Square Cauldron had dealt with the Hundred-Face Nightmare's attack last time:

It had first disguised itself as a dream, allowing the Hundred-Face Nightmare to enter Panlong City, then sent out a giant red shadow to devour it, with even the small Juluo Tree getting a share.

Was it employing the same trick again, just in a different way?

But for He Lingchuan, this was far too dangerous.

If the gods had resolved to kill him, could they have instantly extinguished his spirit?

Therefore, the Great Square Cauldron was also taking a risky gamble.

After all, if it had come out to protect He Lingchuan, the situation would have plunged into an irreversible abyss.

The gods were probably waiting for precisely that reaction.

After this incident, He Lingchuan finally confirmed:

The Great Square Cauldron possessed intelligence and could think!

The Hundred-Face Nightmare's judgment of it was correct:

It was alive.

Thinking of this, although he had essentially been 'set up' by the Great Square Cauldron today, He Lingchuan felt much more at ease.

It could weigh pros and cons, and it could disguise itself, so it wouldn't expose itself unnecessarily just for a meal. This, at least, He Lingchuan no longer had to worry about.

It was certainly better than a lifeless object.

Forcing his mind to work after his spirit and body were exhausted was asking for trouble. As soon as he grasped these key points, he couldn't hold on any longer, gave a few instructions to the Soul-Snatching Mirror, and fell into a deep sleep.

Heh, just now, when the gods forcibly invaded his sea of consciousness, this incompetent mirror hadn't sensed a thing.

What good was it?

He Lingchuan slept soundly, oblivious to time, not even dreaming.

He didn't know how much time had passed when someone shook his shoulder: "He Xiao, wake up, it's time to go back!"

He Lingchuan forced his eyes open and saw that it was Fu Shanyue.

His head was still throbbing. He managed to sit up and asked, "Have you seen the Emperor? Is it my turn now?"

Fu Shanyue rubbed his nose. "Uh, yes, I have. But the Emperor heard you were injured and fainted, so he said you should go down the mountain to rest and don't need to see him."

He Lingchuan let out an 'Oh,' understanding instantly:

The Demon Emperor had never intended to see a minor figure like him in the first place. Summoning him up the mountain was merely to allow the gods to thoroughly examine him.

Now that they had their answers, he was no longer important, and the Emperor couldn't be bothered with him.

"How did you just suddenly faint like that?"

"Too tired," He Lingchuan said, glancing at Lu Shishi, who was nearby. He pressed his neck, and it cracked. "I probably haven't recovered from the explosion yet."

Fu Shanyue murmured 'Oh' and stood up. "Then let's go down the mountain."

Lu Shishi smiled as she escorted the distinguished guest to the tower to take the teleportation array and depart.

They returned by the same route, silently.

Back at the inn, Fu Shanyue pulled He Lingchuan into the courtyard of their guest room, set up a barrier, and then asked him:

"What exactly happened?"

Given He Lingchuan's temperament and cultivation, how could he possibly faint in Chongyang Hall? Fu Shanyue would bet his life there was more to it than met the eye.

He Lingchuan didn't hide anything from him. Holding his head, he recounted in detail how the gods had invaded his sea of consciousness.

His head was still buzzing.

He omitted any mention of the Great Square Cauldron, of course.

Fu Shanyue's expression immediately changed. "What? They were so utterly reckless?"