Chapter 737: Bi Lu

**Chapter 730: Bilu**

What could have made her deviate from the common sense and rules of the celestial gods? The Grand Square Pot? This was the only reason He Lingchuan could think of.

He Lingchuan pointed to his head: "There's a divine mark in my sea of consciousness, but I have no idea when it was planted there."

"Not surprising. How could such an excellent vessel be without an owner?" Even I coveted it.

Dong Rui, meanwhile, looked at He Lingchuan, examining him from head to toe. How was it that he was only hearing about such an important matter for the first time today?

Shi Nan regarded He Lingchuan as an object, but He Lingchuan didn't get angry. He just continued to press: "Can such a divine mark be planted in my sea of consciousness without my knowledge?"

"To plant a mark, you need the vessel's owner's consent! That's the prerequisite," Shi Nan asked him, "When was your mark planted?"

He Lingchuan frowned: "I can't remember, probably a very long time ago." He had searched through his own and the original body's memories countless times but found no trace of the divine mark. It's now largely certain that the mark was planted on the original body. As an unfortunate transmigrator, he merely inherited it.

Shi Nan continued: "Heh, such things can be induced, especially when the vessel is young and ignorant." There was a hint of envy in its tone: "Which deity do you belong to?"

"Naraku-ten. Ever heard of it?"

Shi Nan let out a long "Oh," then said: "Never heard of it."

He Lingchuan felt a wave of disappointment. It was one thing for Mitian not to recognize it, as it claimed to have been in seclusion for too long; but now even Shi Nan didn't recognize it. Although this deity claimed to be a wild god, considering its roots in the many temples of Xunyang Sandbar, it should be quite well-connected.

"You don't know all the celestial gods, do you?"

"I know all celestial gods of status and renown," Shi Nan said casually. "If you give me a name I haven't heard, either it's always been obscure, or it's a new god not yet famous, or—"

"Or what?"

"Or it changed its name," Shi Nan explained. "A celestial god's primary name and divine status aren't as easy to change as it is for humans."

"Where did you hear this name?" Shi Nan asked him again. "Marks don't indicate their origin."

During their conversation, Dong Rui silently added seven more incense sticks in front of the shrine. Before he could insert them, He Lingchuan poured out about half of the ash from the incense burner and then used his hand to draw on the table.

This time, it was Shi Nan's turn to fall silent. This kid truly had no respect for it! But for the sake of the Dragon Punisher Pillar, it didn't bother to argue with him.

He Lingchuan drew the pattern of the divine mark with the incense ash.

Shi Nan looked at it for a few moments, saying nothing.

He Lingchuan saw its expression: "You recognize it, don't you?"

"This is the mark of the deity Bilu," Shi Nan mused. "It was only recently elevated to a true god, and I didn't know it had changed its name. You know, each deity has only one primary name but can have many titles."

He Lingchuan acknowledged this. Mitian also had many titles, and Moon God was one of them.

"Is this deity Bilu very powerful?"

"Every true god is powerful," Shi Nan chuckled. "Congratulations, a true god has taken an interest in you! But I'm not familiar with Bilu!"

He Lingchuan showed no joy: "Since I've been marked, can the owner of the mark descend at any time?"

"You only offered one Dragon Punisher Pillar and a bit of nightmare energy, and I've answered so many questions for you—each a core secret, each vital to your life," Shi Nan said slowly. "But my generosity isn't endless. If you want more answers—" It extended its hand towards He Lingchuan: "You'll need to offer more sacrifices!"

This fellow understood negotiation, hitting He Lingchuan on the core issue he cared about most.

"What kind of sacrifice do you want? I no longer have the Dragon Punisher Pillar or nightmare energy."

"Find me a few good vessels, or help me build a new temple in a prosperous area."

He Lingchuan shook his head: "I can't do either of those right now."

"Then come back when you can," Shi Nan said sagely, extending its hand towards him. After all, it wasn't the one in a hurry.

This fellow had indeed answered many questions, so what was due to it still had to be given. He Lingchuan handed the Dragon Punisher Pillar to the temple attendant, then took out a few items from his pocket and placed them on the offering table: "Do any of these interest you?" He produced a Frost Talisman, a Thunder-Ward Tablet, and a few other miscellaneous items.

"Oh, you have quite a few good things," Shi Nan said after a quick glance, pointing to two items. "Give me these two, and you can continue asking questions." The items it chose were actually Glazed Gold and Pulp Pearls!

When He Lingchuan broke the core of the Spirit Gathering Array, he secretly took a Glazed Gold pillar, which he later smashed into over a dozen large pieces. This was a valuable refining material, hard to acquire even with money. After all the trouble of a trip to Xu Mountain, he had to at least recoup the travel expenses.

As for the Pulp Pearls, there was no need to mention them; they were obtained from killing demons and retrieving their pearls, evidence of Grand Tutor Qingyang's crimes.

He Lingchuan didn't know what Shi Nan needed these two items for, perhaps for refining artifacts too? After all, even celestial gods needed to win people over.

"The same question as before."

"A divine mark is both a locator and a permission. However, the first time a god is summoned requires a divine descent ritual, meaning both the ritual's conductor and the vessel must be present, and the entire process completed. Otherwise, the celestial god would have to suppress the original owner's soul, which is extremely, extremely strenuous," the old temple attendant looked up, a few wisps of smoke drifting from his nose. "After the first descent, it's no longer necessary."

He Lingchuan recalled that when Sun Fuping had summoned a god, he indeed performed a ritual to invite the deity's avatar to descend upon Nian Songyu. Although his original body had a divine mark, it seemed it had never been used for a descent. Thinking of this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It wouldn't be so simple for Naraku-ten to forcefully descend upon him with a mere snap of fingers. This was truly the best news he had heard recently.

"If a celestial god favors a vessel, can they forcefully take it without consent?"

Shi Nan's answer was direct: "No."

He Lingchuan shook his head: "Two celestial god avatars once invaded my sea of consciousness, attempting to usurp it. It seemed they didn't find it difficult."

"You're quite popular," Shi Nan said, selectively ignoring its own recent similar probing. "Did they intimidate you?"

"More than that? They directly attacked me." The celestial god avatar summoned by Sun Fuping transformed into a sand leopard that fell off a cliff with him after entering his sea of consciousness; and before Wonderful Enlightenment Heaven finished judging his soul, a celestial god also rushed over, trying to drag him into the shadows.

"That was intimidation, and it could only be intimidation. They threaten you with overwhelming power, and as long as you're scared and weak—which you usually would be—they force you to agree to let them possess you and then brand you with their mark," Shi Nan laughed. "This is the least costly method, and often the most effective."