Chapter 739: Burdened Fate

## Chapter 732: The Fate Borne

It turned out that Bi Lu rose to prominence by relying on the Dragon Punisher Pillar. This meant he was a Celestial God who had only emerged in the past century or so, and he had changed his name after his promotion, so it was no wonder Mitian claimed not to recognize him. Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan understood that Mitian's goal in creating the Dragon Punisher Pillar had been achieved; it had indeed caused chaos and war in the Divine Realm.

Shinan then asked, "Do you know what the two characters 'Nai Luo' mean in the divine language?"

He Lingchuan shook his head. How could he possibly know?

"'It means 'fate',' Shinan chuckled. 'Bi Lu renamed himself 'Nai Luo,' effectively declaring himself the God of Fate. What arrogance!'"

"'Fate?' He Lingchuan murmured, 'What right does it have to call itself 'Fate'?'"

"'I've heard a legend—just a legend—that Bi Lu was fortunate enough to stumble upon a fragment of an ancient god's divinity. He carefully hid it, slowly refining it without any other deity's knowledge. Only after his power greatly increased and he became a true god did he finish refining that ancient god's divine fragment and gain a trace of the power of fate!'"

He Lingchuan heard another new term: "What is an ancient god?"

"Your five questions are answered; we shall meet again." The old temple attendant, having left him wanting more, began to emit smoke from his mouth and nose.

"I heard that something significant happened in Lingxu City a few months ago. What was the Divine Realm's reaction to that?" He Lingchuan seized his last chance. "That's hardly a secret, is it? I could ask other deities and get the same answer!"

"'Turbulence!' Shinan twisted his lips into a sinister, distorted smile. 'Blood-soaked turbulence. The show has begun! You humans are truly amusing.'"

Then, all the smoke exited, and he vanished into thin air.

The old temple attendant knelt down, his expression weary, with two streams of blood flowing from his nose. Although it wasn't a true divine descent, merely a deity using him to converse with He Lingchuan, he was too old, and his aging body could barely withstand it.

He Lingchuan took out a silver ingot and thanked him again.

Dong Rui led him away from the Thunder God Temple, buying several strings of Dugu fruit as they passed through the market. Before being peeled, the fruit resembled longans; once peeled, they looked like lychees, with translucent, sweet, and juicy flesh.

The two sat by the river, peeling and eating the fruit, saying nothing for a long time. He Lingchuan stared at the distant riverbank, lost in thought for a long time.

The weather was truly cold, and even with his cultivation, Dong Rui felt his backside grow numb. He sighed, looking for something to say: "So you have the divine mark. You're doomed!"

This fellow didn't seem too disheartened. A disheartened person wouldn't eat three catties of Dugu fruit in half an hour. He Lingchuan didn't even bat an eye at his schadenfreude.

"Shinan just said there's no precedent for a failed divine descent."

He Lingchuan peeled a fruit, lowering his head. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Then why did you go cause trouble in the Celestial Palace and do so much useless work?" Dong Rui didn't understand. "If I were you, I'd eat, drink, and be merry for a few years before the divine descent." Shouldn't an ordinary person be utterly devastated upon learning of their tragic fate?

"It's all about human effort," He Lingchuan said calmly. "How many times have you escaped death by following me?"

Indeed, this guy was skilled at finding life in death. Waiting to die certainly wasn't his style. "Have you thought of a solution?"

"Not yet." But he wasn't accustomed to waiting for death.

"You haven't thought of one, or you haven't figured it out yet?"

"Just a slight clue." How could it be that easy to figure out? Breaking divine spells was no joke.

"Oh, you have? So soon? As expected of you. You've only been in Xunyang Sandbar for two days. What are your plans next?"

"You should go back and accompany your First Aunt and Second Aunt. Can you stay put?" A homebody like him should be fine.

"I have plenty of things to work on," Dong Rui said, counting on his fingers. "The Snail Toad was a rushed project many years ago; I want to re-engineer it to make it more stable and no longer reliant on Selfheal; I need to test the longevity technique Aunt Zhu taught me on the ghost ape; and that stuff you brought from the F-Realm is also worth examining." If he wanted to be busy, he'd have an endless supply of experiments.

"Can it be used?" He Lingchuan glanced sideways. "Can it be used on your demon puppets?"

Dong Rui rubbed his hands. "Can't say for sure, which is precisely why it's worth experimenting! The monsters from the F-Realm are generally powerful, and if they could be integrated with his demon puppets, oh, the thought alone was exciting."

He rattled off a string of technical terms He Lingchuan didn't understand, but He Lingchuan didn't interrupt him, simply letting his mind wander. By the time Dong Rui realized his mouth was dry, he quickly ate two fruits to quench his thirst before asking his companion, "What about you?"

"I have another long journey, about two months round trip."

Dong Rui asked curiously, "Where are you going?"

He Lingchuan smiled. "Back to my hometown, to do some verification." Tracing back to the source, he needed to return to where it all began. If he wanted to resist Nai Luo Tian's divine descent, that might be his only chance.

"Oh, by the way, lend me your bat demon puppet for travel." Traveling by air saves time.

"Alright," Dong Rui agreed, as he had nowhere else to go anyway. "Remember, it only eats fruit; if there's really no fruit, it can reluctantly eat some meat, but it doesn't suck blood!"

At that moment, the sky cleared, and several slanting rays of sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the riverside.

"Finally, the sun is out!" He Lingchuan, who had been enduring the cold outdoors, had been waiting for this moment. "Stand in the sunlight."

"Why?" Dong Rui hadn't reacted, but he subconsciously stepped into the sunlight. Basking in the sun in the middle of winter was quite pleasant.

"Just as I expected." He Lingchuan suddenly drew his saber and swung it around Dong Rui's neck. The gleaming blade completed its circle around his neck before Dong Rui reacted, startled. "What are you doing!"

"Shinan just now played a trick on you." As soon as Dong Rui stood in the sunlight, a faint gray thread on the back of his neck became visible—though of course, only He Lingchuan could see it. This was another 'thread of karma' commonly used by Celestial Gods; General Baizhan had secretly placed one on Aunt Zhu previously. "It wants to track us. No wonder it was so agreeable just now and even offered five questions in advance. It probably takes quite some time to weave this 'thread of karma.'"

Dong Rui also remembered Aunt Zhu's experience and knew He Lingchuan could see and sever such threads, but he was a little resentful. "Why does this thing never get attached to you?" It couldn't get He Lingchuan, so it settled for him, right?

He Lingchuan smiled. "Because I'm the chosen one?"

He Lingchuan traveled by day on the bat demon puppet, and even when he entered Yuheng City at night, he wasn't idle. As a new official, he started strong. He convened several military council meetings, gathering all the generals to familiarize himself with them, issued some directives, and then proceeded to inspect the frontline of the border. He had once conversed with General Hong by the Yin River, so he had a deep impression of the place. During the high-water season, the river would be over forty zhang wide; in the current dry season, it was less than fifteen zhang, with pebbles on the riverbed exposed. This river marked the boundary between Panlong City and Jinta Province.