Chapter 794: He Chunhua's Dilemma

Chapter 786: He Chunhua's Dilemma

He was demanding a protective talisman before he would return to the country.

The mirror asked in surprise, "Wow, if you don't want to show your hand completely, why were you confronting him head-on this morning?"

"What I've been through for almost a year can't be explained away; no excuse will dispel his suspicions," He Lingchuan said. His experience had grown rapidly, and he understood He Chunhua much more thoroughly than he had half a year ago. "Our father-son relationship can no longer return to what it was. At best, we'll maintain a facade of unity."

Though it wasn't great before either.

"Since that's the case, I might as well expose the rift and draw a clear line. Otherwise, he'll try to use his paternal authority to manipulate me like a pawn."

He Chunhua had an extremely strong desire for control, but He Lingchuan was no longer a pawn to be manipulated.

Lying low implies insufficient strength; a player with strength, however, must command corresponding respect.

This way, he would have an easier time later.

He Lingchuan slowly added, "Besides, my plan always had one major unknown."

"Oh, what's that?"

"He Chunhua's feelings for his son... well, I mean, his feelings for me." He Lingchuan glanced at the mirror, seeing his own wolf-like gaze—ruthless, calm, and full of calculation. "What I fear most is that he won't be able to harden his heart."

In truth, He Chunhua's feelings for his eldest son were complex and conflicted. His paternal love had never vanished, but he often wavered between fatherly affection and practical interests. If He Lingchuan were still to mimic the original body's personality, causing He Chunhua to back down from summoning the god at the critical moment, that would be a huge problem.

Even if He Chunhua didn't summon the god now, he would do so eventually.

This is like having a sharp weapon, and the urge to kill arises. When you hold a trump card, you'll always be planning when to play it.

Even if He Chunhua were to abandon the idea of summoning the god from now on, He Lingchuan had the divine mark in his mind, and he had no idea when Naraka Heaven might forcibly descend.

He absolutely had to eliminate this unknown, uncontrollable risk as quickly as possible!

"I need to force him to make up his mind, to stop hesitating."

The mirror couldn't comprehend complex human emotions, and He Lingchuan offered no explanation.

He intended to provoke He Chunhua through words and actions, forcing him to commit fully, without wavering.

The stronger and more independent this eldest son became—or rather, the less like the original He Lingchuan he became—the higher the probability that He Chunhua would summon the god.

In other words, He Lingchuan needed He Chunhua to decide to summon the god, but not to do it immediately. He even needed to be able to control precisely *when* He Chunhua summoned the god.

How to strike the right balance and control the most opportune moment would depend on the game between him and He Chunhua.

No, this should be the game between him and Naraka Heaven.

"So, have you decided yet?" the mirror chattered, "What exactly are you going to use to deal with 'fate'?"

Its master kept everything hidden, not even revealing the specific plan to it.

"I decided long ago," He Lingchuan said, stretching. "There's one thing that even fate and gods cannot resist. Perhaps it's our most powerful weapon."

"Oh? What treasure?" The mirror listened attentively.

"Greed."

He Chunhua returned to his study. Before he could sit down, a candle flame on the desk suddenly popped.

He Chunhua instinctively stared at it.

As he watched, the flame flickered again, then popped once more.

There was clearly no wind indoors.

He immediately dismissed all servants from the room, closed the doors and windows, then placed a statue facing east, set up an incense burner, lit seven sticks of incense, and prayed devoutly.

As smoke filled the air, he took a drop of blood from his fingertip and let it fall into the incense burner.

The smoke immediately took on a reddish tint, slowly coalescing into a human face.

Though it was called a human face, it was merely the nascent form of features, its exact appearance indiscernible. Yet, He Chunhua could feel its gaze upon him, supremely majestic.

He bowed his head and saluted, "My Lord."

A low, cold voice spoke, "He Chunhua, has your eldest son returned?"

"Yes," He Chunhua replied respectfully, though a hint of surprise registered in his heart. How had Naraka Heaven discovered Chuan'er's return so quickly?

"Where has he been for the past half year?"

He Chunhua summarized the events truthfully in a few words.

Naraka Heaven listened, then sneered, "This is utterly nonsensical."

"Indeed, but we couldn't verify it. On the contrary, he even brought back money and people from Rongshan, corroborating his story." He Chunhua felt a touch of admiration for this.

After half a year apart, he saw his eldest son in a new light.

"There's something unusual about him," Naraka Heaven stated. "The divine mark exists, so I knew he was alive. Sometimes I even lost sensation, indicating he probably entered other minor worlds."

"Did he truly go to Shura Kingdom?"

"He did go to Beijia, but the divine mark alone cannot pinpoint his exact location." Otherwise, why would He Chunhua, as the summoner, need to perform a ritual for the first divine descent?

It was precisely because of the barriers between the two realms that the divine mark couldn't precisely locate the mortal body, hence the need for the ritual to guide the way!

Without the ritual, if Naraka Heaven wished to forcibly descend, it would have to search for the body's location on its own, which would be a tremendous effort.

"Prepare yourself, you will perform the divine descent soon!" Naraka Heaven informed him. "The sooner, the better!"

"My Lord!" He Chunhua looked up in alarm. "There's peace and no trouble, so why is a divine descent necessary?"

"His thread of fate has drastically changed. It was once clear, but now it's obscure, and I can't even redirect his luck to you. Some power must be interfering. Furthermore, some changes related to me seem to be occurring in the unseen, and I dislike them greatly!"

The last sentence was spoken with great severity. He Chunhua asked, puzzled, "What's wrong on your end?"

His intuition told him that the last sentence was the true reason Naraka Heaven suddenly wanted to descend, not genuine curiosity about his eldest son's past experiences.

The God of Fate disliked surprises, how ironic.

Naraka Heaven offered no explanation, merely stating, "I must descend myself to understand the full story!"

He Chunhua remained silent.

"What, are you reluctant now?" Naraka Heaven sneered. "Didn't you vow to sacrifice your eldest son to me when you begged for my help before?"

He Chunhua's Adam's apple bobbed twice; his mouth was filled with bitterness.

Although he had been mentally prepared, when this day truly arrived, his heart still ached as if pricked by needles.

Seeing his silence, Naraka Heaven softened its tone: "You don't need to worry too much; the divine descent won't cause him much harm."

"It won't?" He Chunhua wasn't so easily fooled. "I've checked previous divine descents over the years; the human bodies that hosted them were almost torn apart by the end!"

Thus, whenever he interacted with He Lingchuan, he couldn't help but imagine his eldest son's body being torn apart, sometimes even waking from such nightmares.

When he had nothing, he could sacrifice what he loved.

But as his career prospered and his power grew, his regret also increased daily.

If only he hadn't borrowed Naraka Heaven's power back then...

(End of Chapter)