Chapter 845: Showdown

He Lingchuan now knew that real-time communication between gods and mortals was not easy due to the barrier between the two realms, even if the mortal was a believer. Otherwise, the Star-Picking Pagoda in the Heavenly Palace wouldn't need to have a divine scroll where gods could only write a few lines at a time.

The conventional method involved believers using artifacts to pray devoutly, call upon deities, relax their minds, and wait for the gods to respond—no, to project their will to communicate with them.

It was best for the surroundings to be quiet and sheltered from the wind, as this saved the gods a considerable amount of divine power.

He Chunhua’s act of summoning Naraka Heaven from a drafty horse stable was a desperate measure.

Feeling at his wit's end, he had no choice but to rely on the power of a god.

However, He Lingchuan was surprisingly alert and once again foiled his plans.

Even with He Chunhua's exceptional patience, he couldn't hold on any longer. Moreover, with dangers lurking all around, he truly couldn't afford to delay further.

"Enough, enough." "Chuan'er, Chuan'er!" he let out a bitter laugh. "I always held onto hope, always reluctant to do this. But your, your actions... I just can't..."

He Lingchuan's various behaviors since his return from disappearance were all pushing him to this point.

"Father, what do you mean?" He Lingchuan blinked, thinking to himself, *Here it comes, the truth is finally coming out.*

"You already knew where the Great Cauldron was, didn't you?" He Chunhua's smile vanished, and he fixed his gaze on He Lingchuan. "If anyone in this city knew the Great Cauldron's location from the very beginning, it could only be you."

This statement, seemingly out of nowhere, surprised both Qiu Hu and Zhao Qinghe.

The Soul-Snaring Mirror shrieked, "He, he, he actually knows! How does he know?" It simply couldn't fathom the workings of this father and son's minds.

"Huh? Me?" He Lingchuan pointed to his own nose, looking astonished. "Father, have you gone mad?" *Yes, it's me,* he thought.

"You haven't been my son for a long time!" The affection on He Chunhua's face had vanished. "Before we left the Dragon Coil Ruins last time, you already possessed Chuan'er through that broken blade, didn't you?"

He Lingchuan was greatly surprised. "What are you talking about? Who possessed me?"

"The evil spirit in the Great Cauldron!" He Chunhua was practically gnashing his teeth. "After returning home from the Dragon Coil Desert, Chuan'er changed. That personality, that way of acting—how could that be my son?!"

He Lingchuan couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "Father, are you complaining that I got better, or that I got worse?"

He Chunhua's face alternated between green and white, filled with a mix of emotion and anger.

After leaving the Dragon Coil Desert last time, his eldest son had become increasingly capable. Not only was he diligent in martial arts practice, but his interactions with others had also greatly improved. He had even saved He Chunhua's life several times in battles!

He could even please his stepmother; Hong Chan would smile broadly whenever she mentioned this eldest son!

He knew his own son's character better than anyone.

At the time, these changes gradually appeared, but He Chunhua was preoccupied with one major task after another, as busy as a spinning top, with no time to reflect deeply. It wasn't until his eldest son was swept away by a flood, and he gradually recalled events over the next year and a half, that the more he pondered, the more he felt something was wrong.

This time, his eldest son suddenly returned as an envoy from Mount Rong, no longer bothering to conceal his words and actions, even openly confronting him.

If He Chunhua still couldn't see it, he would be blind! Not to mention, this kid seemed unusually familiar with the ancient city of Dragon Coil, able to lead the Blackwater City army through its streets and alleys.

The strong wind and heavy snow obscured vision, the alleyways of the desolate city were uncannily similar, and monsters were relentlessly pursuing them from behind... These were serious distractions. If He Lingchuan hadn't known the place like the back of his hand, how could he have never taken a wrong turn?

Someone so capable simply couldn't be his son, He Lingchuan!

"You've been missing for a long time, and you suddenly came back looking for me—wasn't it to get into the Dragon Coil Ruins?" He Chunhua stared at him intently. "Why don't you reveal your true form? Or is it—"

He pointed eastward with his other hand, "—You want to quickly enter the Great Cauldron, don't you? You want to return to your own territory?"

The Soul-Snaring Mirror exclaimed in admiration, "Oh, oh, he's right again!"

"Father, you've lost your mind," He Lingchuan shook his head. "I never wanted to come to the Dragon Coil Desert this time; you were the one who dragged me here."

"You're just playing hard to get," He Chunhua sharply stated. "You are Zhong Shengguang. Your annihilation before our eyes back then was nothing but a feigned death! Everything you said was a lie—about the Great Cauldron merging with Dragon Coil City! You merely wanted to deceive us into leaving the Dragon Coil Ruins so you could return to the human world!"

"Father, you're just making excuses for yourself," He Lingchuan looked down at him, his eyes filled with insight and pity. "As long as you believe I'm an evil spirit, that I'm not your son, then offering me as a sacrifice to a god becomes perfectly justifiable, and you won't feel guilty, will you?"

Ever since entering the Dragon Coil Ruins, despite He Chunhua's attempts to hide it, He Lingchuan could still sense his pain and inner turmoil.

This nominal father had been wavering between the options of sacrificing to a god or not.

Now, his sudden sharp change in attitude and loud accusations against He Lingchuan could only mean he had finally made up his mind to plead for Naraka Heaven's descent!

The words "sacrificing to a god" struck the most secret corner of He Chunhua's heart without warning. He instinctively shivered, as if whipped. "W-what did you say?"

He Lingchuan pointed to his temple. "There's a divine mark of Naraka Heaven in my sea of consciousness. This is how gods mark their vessels. Father—"

A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he spoke each word distinctly: "Don't you dare say this has nothing to do with you!"

The moment of truth had finally arrived! Since the facade of a loving father and filial son had been torn apart, there was no need for pretense. It was time to speak plainly.

He Chunhua opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.

He Lingchuan's words struck him like a thunderbolt, making his mind buzz.

His son knew, he actually knew!

In that instant, countless thoughts surged: shock, unease, guilt, regret, and, of course, fear.

The fear of being seen through, inside and out, with no secrets or ambitions left to hide!

But he immediately realized that such a secret... his eldest son shouldn't have been able to know it at all!

He Lingchuan's ability to instantly reveal the divine mark of Naraka Heaven proved that he wasn't Chuan'er at all!

Yes, this thing wasn't Chuan'er, wasn't his son. If that were the case, what was there to be conflicted about?

"I know why you wanted to return to the Dragon Coil Desert, why you were so eager to enter the Great Cauldron!" He Chunhua's spirits soared, and his eyes gleamed. "You want to get rid of the divine mark, don't you? You don't want the body you worked so hard to acquire to be seized by Naraka Heaven, do you?"

He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, watching him. *How did this nominal father deduce a correct conclusion from a completely wrong premise?*

He Lingchuan was not Zhong Shengguang; He Chunhua was completely mistaken on this point.

But He Lingchuan had indeed come to eliminate the mark!

The Soul-Snaring Mirror in his embrace also trembled slightly with excitement: this drama of father against son was simply too interesting. It was worth it, truly worth it, to watch it without paying for a ticket!

"Last time, the Dragon Coil Illusion devoured the divine avatar summoned by Sun Fuping." The light in He Chunhua's eyes grew brighter and brighter; he had clearly figured it out. "You want to follow suit and devour Naraka Heaven's avatar as well? No wonder, no wonder you were so eager to return to the Dragon Coil Desert!"

"What a pity—" He couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You were just one step away, but I still saw through you!"

Once this monster entered the red light or the Great Cauldron, he wouldn't be able to do anything to it! But now, everyone was still in the Dragon Coil Ruins, still in reality.

This evil spirit could not possibly contend with the power of a god!

He Lingchuan sighed. "Father, you're truly insane! Even if everything you said were true—hypothetically—if I left you and rushed to the east of the city to find the Great Cauldron, could you stop me?"

He Chunhua only had Zhao Qinghe by his side. The scales of power were clearly tipped overwhelmingly in He Lingchuan's favor.

He Chunhua, however, spread his hands and retreated step by step, a triumphant expression unconcealed on his face.

"It's too late. You can't get in."

He Lingchuan suddenly felt something amiss and turned his wrist—at some point, several lines of runes had been imprinted on it, each character tiny like a fly's head, and he didn't recognize a single one. But now, these characters glowed faintly.

He rubbed vigorously several times, but it wouldn't come off.

Right, earlier, when He Chunhua stumbled descending the stairs, He Lingchuan instinctively helped him. He Chunhua seemingly subconsciously grabbed his wrist, but in fact, he secretly imprinted the incantation.

An incantation inscribed on paper, like a talisman, saves casting time, allowing the divine ability to be unleashed quickly. By imprinting the incantation on He Lingchuan's wrist, He Chunhua saved himself the time it would take to recite each word for it to take effect.

It would take at least forty breaths to recite the entire text. His son's martial power had grown too rapidly, now overwhelming him. He Chunhua feared he wouldn't have the chance to finish the incantation face-to-face, so he resorted to this trick.

In short, he had bypassed the cumbersome summoning ritual.

"This is the divine language for summoning Naraka Heaven!" He Chunhua flipped his palm, revealing a small statue. The statue was smeared with fresh blood, which he had secretly drawn from his own palm. "Unlike what Sun Fuping used, I don't need to recite it; as long as the incantation is cast upon you, it will activate on its own!"

The ritual for summoning Naraka Heaven had already begun! His frantic delaying earlier was precisely to buy time for the spell to take effect!

They were getting closer to their goal, but the monsters were pursuing them more fiercely, and their leader was hiding somewhere unknown. He had to summon Naraka Heaven first! That was his trump card for seizing the Great Cauldron and escaping the Dragon Coil Ruins alive.

He had long realized that the dangers of this place were far beyond what human power could contend with. At this moment, only divine power could help him successfully break free.

"What elaborate effort," He Lingchuan said, not with the furious indignation He Chunhua expected, but with a sorrowful gaze. "Don't you feel any guilt sacrificing your own flesh and blood to a god?"

These words were heartfelt and spoke directly from the soul. This was the very sentence He Lingchuan's original self had longed to utter ever since learning the truth! If he didn't confront him directly, his heart would never find peace!

Even Zhong Shengguang, who had sacrificed his own daughter for Dragon Coil City in the past, would have suffered pangs of conscience day and night afterward. As for He Chunhua, what exactly was he thinking?