Advice from a God

"To be honest, I thought you had also gone to the Astral Plane Tomb and fallen into eternal sleep."

Li Lin snapped his fingers, and soon Nia served the girl a cup of tea, while the female priest smiled slightly and reached out to touch her swollen cheek.

"It's been a long time since I've been beaten like this by a mortal."

There was a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice.

"In fact, she is not human."

Li Lin shrugged. He knew very well that Divine Descent possession was nothing more than a soul possessing a body. Even if Mina dismembered one of her hands, it wouldn't affect the goddess herself in the slightest. If anything, it would probably only hurt her pride.

"To be honest, I was quite surprised when I realized it was you. In my memory, you never leave your palace, and even when trading with us Arcane Mage, you usually only send a representative, right? What wind has blown that made you descend with Divine Descent?"

As he spoke, Li Lin gazed intently at the pastor before him, but he was not paying attention to her soul.

"Is she a Divine Chosen?"

I cannot answer your question.

The goddess in charge of "concealment" and "secrets" would naturally not answer questions so directly. Even if she showed a cooperative attitude, Li Lin could only guess from her "explicit" or "implicit" statements.

You can consider her a possibility.

She said it with a double meaning.

"I'm truly surprised; she's a priestess of the God of Justice... I understand now."

Li Lin tapped his head. What was so strange about this? Holding secrets and upholding justice weren't incompatible. Besides, as a "believer of another god," keeping this secret while worshipping another deity was itself an absolute "secret." Gods were beings that were half rule and half person; to be more specific, they were simply rule personifications, similar to the Weapon Spirit Transformation Li Lin created. Generally speaking, Divine Chosen worships one god chooses to worship another, there's only one outcome: either the original god abandons him, or the new god he tries to worship punishes him. But the Goddess of Secrets was completely different. She held the oldest secrets of all gods and beings; she could hide everything perfectly. Even other gods couldn't detect or discover what she wanted to hide.

If this young priestess is truly her Divine Chosen, then evading the inquiry of the God of Justice is not difficult at all.

After all, even gods are not omnipotent, especially in areas they are unfamiliar with. This is why, even after countless years, the gods of good have no intention of launching a counterattack against Hell, and the King of the Nine Levels of Hell focuses his attention only on the evil gods who pose a threat to him. They all know very well that acting in areas they are not good at or familiar with will only expose their weaknesses. While justice and secrecy are not mutually exclusive, they are not necessarily compatible either.

"I learned of your return from the other gods, and I think it's time to see you, Luoxia."

The Goddess of Secrets picked up her teacup, gently sipping it, ignoring Angela's curious, probing gaze. Li Lin, however, stared at her, pondering the hidden meaning in her words. The Goddess of Secrets would never directly reveal her intentions, unlike other deities who might do so merely out of modesty or secrecy. Her very divinity limited her from open communication, for if she did, all her power, divinity, domain, and even her soul would depart from her.

This is why mages don't choose to become gods. In the eyes of Arcane Mage, these gods are not only not powerful, but on the contrary, they are far more tragic than humans.

"I have to say, I don't really like this way of speaking, although I can understand it."

As he spoke, Li Lin spread his hands.

"So, what advice do you have?"

"You should know, Luoxia."

After taking a sip of warm black tea, the Goddess of Secrets stood up and put down her teacup.

We all know that.

With that, she turned and left the room.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very strange.

"Master, I dislike this way of speaking."

Angela stared at the closed door with dissatisfaction. In the end, the goddess basically said nothing. She merely showed her face, took a sip of tea, said "The weather is nice today," and then turned and left.

"You can't blame her; it's her nature, and she can't change it."

Li Lin tapped the table lightly with the fingers of his right hand.

"In fact, she has said everything she wanted to say. Whether we can understand it or not is up to us. She brought a secret and then left a secret behind. Deciphering the secret is our job, and when we finish this task of keeping it confidential, it becomes a new secret."

This is the divine, their power, and the source of their divinity.

"I simply cannot understand this kind of boring, tongue-twister-like behavior."

Angela frowned, but soon her sweet smile returned.

"However, since he's the master, he should be able to figure out what that perverted guy, who won't even tell anyone his measurements, is trying to say."

"Of course, I can pretty much guess why she came."

Li Lin smiled slightly.

Divine Descent consumes a great deal of a deity's power; it is no easy feat. Even the Divine Chosen must pay a price to receive Divine Descent. They can either sacrifice themselves, as the God of Justice did in the Temple, to secure the deity's arrival, or weaken themselves to descend as a near-empty entity. The former ensures the descending deity possesses immense power, while the latter, though convenient, weakens the deity to almost nothingness. Any deity with any sense would not act in the current situation. However, during the Magic Empire a thousand years ago, they frequently used this method. Firstly, it represented their sincerity; at least the latter form of descent conveyed to Arcane Mage that they were not aggressive and were a symbol of friendship.

Even in the era of the Magic Empire, the goddess of secrecy only ever sent representatives, never Divine Descent. Therefore, her own appearance this time is a signal in itself. Moreover, this is no longer the time when all gods coexisted a thousand years ago. According to the God of Light, Goddess of Dawn, Elf Goddess, the God of Justice seems to be planning to create a world of a "one-god," with all other gods being hunted down by him. Although the Goddess of Secrets possesses absolute "secrets" and can hide herself very well, judging from her current state, she seems to be under considerable pressure. At least, the fact that she mentions other gods in her words is a hint. It should be noted that the Goddess of Secrets never associates with other gods.

Based on these factors, Li Lin had roughly guessed the Goddess of Secrets's thoughts.

She's asking us for help.

Li Lin pondered, unraveling the mysteries before him one by one.

"It's obvious that even our reclusive young lady has been disturbed by the God of Justice. Although I don't know the current situation in the Divine Realm (Outer Planes), the fact that she was forced to show herself suggests it's not much better than the White Terror period. She deliberately had her Divine Chosen throw Fina into the Temple prison so that we would disrupt the Temple's operations and buy them time. As someone who holds the deepest secrets of the multiverse, she must have discovered that Fina's power doesn't belong to this world. As Angela said, such an undead creature has never appeared in our world before. Therefore, she also concluded that the Temple of God of Justice wouldn't purify Fina immediately, but would study her slowly. That's why she chose this action."

"So, we were used by this woman?"

Angela's expression darkened slightly. She had no liking for gods or for being used, let alone the fact that it was doubled in the end.

"If she were using us, she could have simply stayed hidden nearby and watched without making a sound. There was no need for Divine Descent to specifically remind us. In fact, if she hadn't shown herself, I wouldn't have even noticed her presence."

Li Lin shook his head, denying Angela's guess.

"She came to make a deal, but the difference is, she took the goods first and promised to buy on credit... That's why I suspect she was being pressured by the God of Justice."

"Then, I can only hope that the compensation that woman gives you will be enough for us to do so."

Seeing that Li Lin appeared very calm, Angela could only respond listlessly.

"Of course, I'm sure of that."

Li Lin is very confident about the returns.

Once he gained the support of the Goddess of Secrets, concealing his secrets would no longer be difficult for Li Lin. He wasn't ready to act ostentatiously yet, and with the Goddess of Secrets's help, Li Lin could more easily hide his whereabouts and avoid attracting attention. Although the Goddess of Secrets didn't mention the agreement, her final statement, "We all know," clearly indicated her position— Li Lin helped her divert the attention of the God of Justice, and in return, she helped Li Lin conceal his secrets.

A very good deal.

Perhaps only Mina remained furious about the matter. After all, her sister had been used as a bargaining chip by the gods. However, her time in the Temple hadn't been wasted. Mina knew very well that mortals had no right to interfere with what the gods wanted to do. Moreover, just now, she had almost beaten the goddess black and blue. As long as her sister could return safely, the older sister who could "beat up a god" would naturally have no more complaints.

"Okay, stop being so angry."

Looking at Angela, who was sprawled on the table like a lazy little cat, Li Lin smiled wryly, stood up, walked to her side, and gently stroked her hair.

"As compensation, you won't have to sleep tonight."

"Really?! Master?!"

Angela immediately perked up, happily raising her head to look at Li Lin with excitement.

"Certainly."

Li Lin patted her head, revealing a meaningful smile.

Trust me, this will be a wonderful and joyful night for you.