Chapter 171 Opportunity

"Congratulations, you've finally broken through."

Chu Ling placed the little white flower back in her hair.

She liked this flower very much.

This was the first time Chu Ling had offered such formal congratulations.

Because she didn't have much time left to "live" in this world…she cherished every moment she spent with Gu Shen, every minute, every second she lived in this beautiful world.

"Breaking through isn't much."

Gu Shen smiled. He wasn't lying; although he had successfully broken through, he didn't feel much joy in his heart.

If he wanted to become the King of the Underworld, if he wanted to fuse the Fire Seed, he had to overcome these difficulties…

The nascent form of the Blazing Fire Domain was just a small bottleneck.

He felt the changes in the Domain within his body. It was originally just a "Pure Land," but now there was a strand of warm, fiery intent in his spiritual sea, the "Flame of Life" he had cultivated!

"With the blessing of three breakthroughs, my spiritual sea was only of ordinary fourth-order scale."

Gu Shen clenched his fist, trying to feel his strength, and murmured, "Now…with the Blazing Fire condensing a 'nascent form,' my spiritual sea has expanded once more."

This expansion was truly frightening.

Gu Shen estimated roughly that the strength of his spiritual sea was now on par with that of an ordinary captain on a restart mission!

Even he himself was surprised.

"If I advance to the 'ninth layer of the Deep Sea'… wouldn't my spiritual sea be able to compete with top-tier fourth-orders like Fisher and Zhong Yuan?"

He narrowed his eyes, somewhat incredulous.

"Is this the amplification brought about by exceeding the third realm?"

In the third order, Gu Shen possessed unprecedentedly powerful combat strength. In theory, exceeding the realm twice was already a monstrous feat. An S-rank monster like Mu Wanqiu could fight across realms against fourth-orders when she was at the ninth layer of the Deep Sea.

But Gu Shen, who had exceeded the realm three times, was much stronger than Mu Wanqiu!

This kind of gap was probably what ordinary geniuses saw when they looked up at an S-rank…an insurmountable chasm!

The only trouble was that with the amplification of "exceeding the realm three times," advancing became incredibly difficult… Gu Shen couldn't imagine how much it would cost him to condense his "Domain."

This was the eternal and unchanging iron law of the Extraordinary world!

"Rumble—"

Just then, the dome of dark clouds above the Shrine Mountain suddenly stirred.

A ray of golden light pierced through the sky full of dark clouds.

Li Qingci's expression suddenly tensed. Having lived in the Shrine Mountain area for many years, she had never seen such a sight… As the protector of the Shrine Mountain, she vaguely felt that this ray of golden light seemed to have pierced through the Mystic Realm.

Was this the "will" shining in from the outside world?

"No need to worry."

Chu Ling stood up and gently patted Li Qingci, comforting her, "This is Divine Sense."

Li Qingci was stunned.

Divine Sense?

Yes…this was indeed the will shining into Shrine Mountain from the outside world! And in the entire Eastern Continent, only one person could do such a thing!

The Battle God, Bai Shu!

The golden light shone down, landing on the mountain peak.

Although this ray of light was vast, it did not disrupt the balance formed by the Shrine Mountain's Mystic Realm over thousands of years, showing that the visitor's intention was gentle…

The three bowed to the golden light.

Within the golden light, Bai Shu's solemn image of sitting cross-legged in the golden divine realm slowly emerged.

Bai Shu's voice was mellow as he smiled and said, "Little Gu, congratulations on cultivating your own 'nascent form of the Domain.'"

Li Qingci was shocked. She looked at Gu Shen in confusion. This "divine advent" was truly beyond her expectations… She knew that Gu Shen had a good relationship with the Bai family, and that his relationship with the new God was extraordinary.

But no matter how good it was, it shouldn't be this good, right?

Gu Shen broke through the eighth level, and the God personally sent his will to congratulate him?

Her mind raced, and she instantly understood something… Could it be that the God, Bai Shu, regarded Gu Shen as his "successor?"

"Thank you, Lord God."

Gu Shen himself was also surprised. He knew that the events in this seemingly hidden Shrine Mountain could not escape Bai Shu's eyes… But he had only broken through a small realm, was there a need to be so grand?

Wait, as soon as he broke through, Bai Shu made a divine advent.

Clearly, he had been waiting for a long time.

Gu Shen guessed that Mr. Bai Shu probably had something to look for him, but he knew that he was in seclusion, so he hadn't bothered him these days.

Sure enough, a gentle voice came from the golden divine realm, "Gu Shen, breaking through is not easy. If you feel confused about your current cultivation, you can come to Qingzhong to find me. I'll be waiting for you at the old place."

Such a hint, those who understood would naturally understand.

Gu Shen and Chu Ling exchanged glances.

He bowed again and thanked in a low voice, "Yes… Thank you, Lord God."

…

…

Gu Shen entered the mausoleum again.

This time, as soon as he reached the outer mausoleum, he understood why Mr. Bai Shu had called him over.

In the thick fog, a straight figure knelt.

Song Ci.

"Little Gu, you're here?"

Crow had been kneeling for a long time.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw the visitor, his face showing unconcealable fatigue… He must have been kneeling in front of the Qingzhong Mausoleum for many days.

"You…"

Gu Shen rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

The moment he saw Song Ci, he guessed the whole story.

This kid, he didn't want the good fortune that was handed to him on a silver platter. He had to reject the God's offer before trying to fight for it again.

Could this be solved by kneeling and refusing to get up?

Song Ci scratched his head, said nothing, continued to kneel, and smiled, "Don't mind me, you go ahead with your business… The scenery here is nice, I want to take a look, um, this posture is also good."

Gu Shen sighed softly in his heart. He said gently, "You kneel here first. We'll talk after I come out."

Stepping into the fog, he was enveloped by golden divine light.

Without Gu Shen needing to do anything, Bai Shu controlled everything within the divine realm. After entering the fog, he only took two or three steps before arriving in front of the God. The Four Seasons Wilderness was peaceful, with the wind blowing through the grass.

Bai Shu sat in front of the ancient coffin, his expression serene.

Threefold Time was superimposed on him alone… This was how he usually looked when he was fusing the Fire Seed and cultivating. This kind of phenomenon was many times more terrifying than the scene of Gu Shen breaking through at Shrine Mountain.

He opened his eyes, and the three layers instantly overlapped.

"Little Gu, you're here."

Bai Shu's voice sounded somewhat helpless.

He said seriously, "Tell that person outside the mausoleum to go back as soon as possible."

Even though Gu Shen had already guessed what the scene would be, his heart still sank when he heard these words.

He quickly asked, "Senior… Could you tell me, what exactly happened?"

"Since you've entered the mausoleum, why ask what you already know?"

Bai Shu looked at Gu Shen and said, "Song Ci has changed his mind and wants to cultivate with me. But some things, once missed, will not have a second chance… It's not that I don't want to teach him, but because he rejected me first."

After becoming a God, one would possess incredible, heaven-defying abilities.

Hearing these words, Gu Shen knew that Bai Shu must have seen the causal connection between Song Ci and himself when he proactively extended the olive branch, and he had a moment of compassion. It was a pity that Song Ci refused, which meant that the two were destined to have no fate and were destined to break off their relationship.

"Thinking carefully, he already has a 'token.' It is indeed inappropriate for me to teach him again."

Bai Shu said, "However, I still removed the 'Light's Lost Dream' for him. You can rest assured about that."

He did this not only because of Gu Shen's request.

Song Ci was a genius belonging to the Eastern Continent!

Even if Gu Shen hadn't come forward, Bai Shu would have taken action to remove the Dream of Light once he found out. He would never allow the God of Light to reach into his territory and disturb the people he protected!

"During the removal process, I discovered that his spirit has highly integrated with the Token of Light… He has borrowed a large amount of power from the 'God of Light' for battle."

"Fate is fair. You must repay how much you borrow," Bai Shu said, "Even if the divine power he borrowed was given to him by the God of Light for free… But the moment he used it, Song Ci was bound to the Light. So even I can only use the Battle God Fire to expel the will of the Light, so that the guidance of the Light will no longer enter his dreams. I cannot wash away Song Ci's fate that is bound to the Light."

Hearing this, Gu Shen understood.

Light or Battle… In essence, these two Fire Seeds were "products" born from the Gospel Box. There was no clear distinction between the levels of the two. So what Bai Shu could do was to use his Fire Seed power to fight against the will of the God of Light himself.

He could not remove Song Ci's "apostle" status.

"What is destined will eventually come, and what is not destined cannot be forced."

Bai Shu's gaze penetrated through layers of golden divine realm and said slowly, "Little Gu, you can have Chu Ling use 'divination' to take a look. You only need to look once to know… The lifeline between me and Song Ci is gone. So, tell him not to continue kneeling outside the mausoleum."

Since things had come to this point.

Gu Shen could only remain silent. He originally wanted to enter the mausoleum and ask Mr. Bai Shu to give him another chance.

Now…

He could only give up.

"It's a pity that I also wanted to find one, but the Western Continent took the lead." Bai Shu said regretfully, "If Song Ci had not been bound to the Token of Light, I would have definitely taken him under my command."

This was fate.

"Mr. Bai Shu, if Song Ci returns to the Great Capital… Will he still be entangled by the 'Dream of Light'?"

Gu Shen pondered for a moment and suddenly asked.

"I have already used the 'Fire Seed' to expel the will of the Light. As long as he does not come into contact with the Token, he will be fine." Bai Shu shook his head.

Gu Shen asked again, "But what if he comes into contact with the Token?"

"That's hard to say." Bai Shu frowned.

His Battle God power was on the same level as the power of the Light.

Song Ci's current situation was completely different from Fisher's. The "Live Fish" back then resisted the temptation of the Holy Judge and did not bind his fate with the Light at all.

But Song Ci was already considered an "apostle" of the Light!

"So… If he comes into contact with it again, Song Ci may still dream of the 'Red Lake,' right?"

"…"

Bai Shu was silent. He could not give a guarantee either.

"There are still many fanatical believers lurking in the Eastern Continent… If they have the opportunity to completely infect 'Song Ci,' then these people will definitely take action. They don't care about their lives." Gu Shen said slowly, "These people are all madmen."

Bai Shu had already guessed what Gu Shen was going to say next.

He said with a headache, "So?"

"Mr. Bai Shu, no matter what, I cannot accept that there will be such an 'apostle' under the command of the Light…" Gu Shen looked directly at Bai Shu and said word by word, "The lifeline between me and Song Ci will never be broken. He is my close friend. I want to snatch him from the hands of the Light!"

If the one in the Western Continent called himself Light, Hope, and Fiery.

Then Gu Shen's "Nether Fire" was the opposite of all the characteristics of the Light Fire Seed!

Whether Light and the King of the Underworld were natural enemies was no longer important!

Now, Gu Shen wanted to snatch Song Ci and take him under his command as an apostle… He didn't care about the fate between Song Ci and the Light. His current strength was not enough, but in the future, Gu Shen would be able to fuse the Fire Seed, and he would directly use the "Nether Fire" to impact Song Ci's spiritual sea!

To hell with fate! To hell with the Light!

How would he know if it wouldn't work if he didn't try?

Bai Shu's voice was even more helpless, "So…"

"I hope Song Ci can stay in Nagano, stay in the mausoleum. Not as someone you value, but as someone I value…" Gu Shen said sincerely, "Besides this, I also hope that you can take care of him a little and teach him some 'combat skills' or advanced cultivation methods."

The Threefold Time was activated again.

There was a rumbling of thunder in the sky, and divine power shrouded the area.

Bai Shu's majestic voice came from the golden divine realm.

Bai Shu said in a deep voice, "Gu Shen, your calculations are too loud!"

Gu Shen straightened his back, took a deep breath, and withstood the invisible pressure.

Bai Shu's voice echoed directly in his spiritual sea, "Do you know that Song Ci's fate is already bound to 'Light'? If you ask me to cultivate him now, and he joins the City of Light in the future, you will be cultivating a confidant enemy for yourself?"

Gu Shen shook his head, "He won't."

"What makes you so sure?" Bai Shu laughed angrily, "Do you know and trust him that much?"

"It has nothing to do with those."

"Because you are here." Gu Shen said indifferently, "As long as Song Ci stays in the mausoleum, as long as he stays by your side… Unless the Light himself comes, who has the opportunity to take him away, and who has the opportunity to let him join the City of Light?"

As soon as these words came out, Bai Shu was completely speechless.

After a long time, Bai Shu sighed softly.

He was not a person who liked to pretend. With this sigh, the divine realm slowly dissipated. The majesty and intimidation he had deliberately put on earlier also disappeared with the breeze.

"You… You're really a troublesome guy."

Bai Shu looked at Gu Shen meaningfully and said, "This is the only time. There will be no exception in the future. If you don't realize the 'great wish' you said earlier when you fuse the Fire Seed in the future, I will look down on you."

"Senior…"

Gu Shen smiled, did not say anything big, but said seriously word by word, "You have stayed in my shadow for so long. Don't you know what kind of person I am?"

The vows he made and the promises he made were engraved in his heart!

He would repay kindness and avenge wrongs!

…

…

Song Ci knelt for a long time. He silently looked at the fog in front of him and recalled his conversation with Nan Jin in the old district.

Did he regret rejecting the Battle God?

Regret.

But if he had to do it again… The ending would probably be the same.

He, Song Ci, was a rough man. He didn't think deeply about many things when making decisions. He only followed his heart. At the moment when the Battle God extended the olive branch, he felt that he wanted to refuse.

That was the "correct" choice.

But it wasn't until Xiao Lu finished talking to him that he realized that his so-called "following his heart" required others to bear the price for him. From that moment on, Song Ci felt that he couldn't live as freely as before.

Before making a decision, he had to consider the people in front of and behind him.

Behind him were his wife, Xiao Lu, and the Flower Flag.

If he wanted to protect the people behind him, he needed to become stronger, even stronger… At this critical moment, how could he let go of the opportunity to cultivate with the "Battle God?!"

As long as he could seize this opportunity.

How long he had to kneel.

He was willing to do it.

Before long, Gu Shen walked out of the fog of the inner mausoleum.

"Get up."

Gu Shen looked at the guy kneeling on the ground and said.

"I won't get up."

Song Ci was as stubborn as a donkey, and he didn't even raise his head.

"What's the use of kneeling here? You're just moving yourself." Gu Shen frowned and said, "Didn't Old Lu and his wife teach you that men have gold under their knees? If you want to ask the Battle God, Bai Shu, to take you as a disciple, why don't you dare to enter the mausoleum?"

Song Ci was stunned.

"The Battle Fire Seed can only be controlled by people with strong personalities." Gu Shen said, "If you really want to cultivate with Mr. Bai Shu, the longer you kneel here, the smaller the hope will be. He won't be able to see you."

The next moment, Song Ci stood up with a whoosh.

"Did Mr. Bai Shu tell you this?"

He was a little nervous, at a loss, and didn't know what to do next or what to do.

Song Ci was a reckless man who was only good at fighting, and many things were blank pages to him.

"Mr. Bai Shu didn't say anything to me, but I know… What I said is the truth." Gu Shen asked, "Would I still lie to you?"

"Then, of course, you wouldn't." Song Ci shook his head like a rattle.

He looked at the fog and asked in confusion, "Could it be that I need to… Directly break into the inner mausoleum and explain to Mr. Bai Shu that this is a misunderstanding?"

"Perhaps that's a good idea."

Gu Shen looked at Song Ci and said softly, "Why don't you try it?"

"This is… Qingzhong."

Song Ci said cautiously, "This is Nagano's sacred place, the 'Land of Miracles' in the Eastern Continent… If I force my way in here and destroy the mausoleum, wouldn't I be embarrassing my wife?"

So that's why he was kneeling here.

Gu Shen sighed softly in his heart. What should he say?

He had some brains, but not all of them.

"Think about it carefully. With the one sitting inside the inner mausoleum, can you destroy the plants and trees here?" Gu Shen asked seriously, "Are you still worried that you can successfully force your way into the mausoleum?"

"…"

Song Ci scratched his head, "Yes, but with that God here, how can I successfully enter the mausoleum?"

Before Gu Shen could continue to say anything.

He was enlightened.

"I understand, Xiao Gu… What you mean is that I need to change my approach and show my determination and attitude." Song Ci murmured, "You're right, kneeling here is meaningless… Maybe directly entering the mausoleum is more suitable for me."

Forcing his way into the mausoleum was no different from kneeling and refusing to get up.

Whether he was seen or not depended on Bai Shu, not Song Ci.

It was just that the former was more in line with the Battle God's expectations for "younger generations."

With this idea in mind, Song Ci took a deep breath and crashed directly into the fog… As expected, a wave of golden light rippled, and he was directly bounced out, rolling down the hillside several times, covered in grass clippings.

Song Ci's eyes became firm, and there was a smile on his lips. At the moment of contact, he felt a strange and subtle force. As expected of Lord Battle, he didn't even need to meet him. He just waved his hand from afar and sent him flying heavily.

The power just now didn't have any level suppression.

It was purely a crushing victory in combat skills!

At this moment, Song Ci forgot the purpose of his visit. His inner desire for battle was aroused. After resting for a while, he continued to rush towards the mausoleum, and the next moment he was sent flying again, and then he continued to get up.

Without fatigue, without getting tired of it… He was so immersed in the process of fighting against the "subtle force," again and again, so impacting the inner mausoleum full of array patterns and divine thoughts, completely forgetting the time.

Gu Shen stood not far away, watching this scene, with a smile in his eyes.

He chose to lie to Song Ci, who was kneeling outside.

He didn't tell Crow that he had already settled everything…

Some things were better left in the dark for the person involved.

Mr. Bai Shu was rejected by this honest guy, and the lifeline that was originally destined to be broken for no reason. It was estimated that he also had some annoyance in his heart. Now that Song Ci was attacking the mausoleum, he was also holding a chance to beat him up as much as he wanted.

The luckiest thing in the world should be "lost and found."

Song Ci didn't know that he had regained this "good fortune." All he knew now was that he was holding on to the last "straw" and could never let go. He had to do his best.

With his character, if he wanted to break into the inner mausoleum, he would definitely use all his skills. In this way, Mr. Bai Shu would naturally have a better impression of this guy, and the subsequent "teaching" and "teaching" would not be entirely based on Gu Shen's request.

The matter of fate was wonderful.

Sometimes, the lifeline was suddenly broken in an instant, and repairing it… Maybe it was just a moment.

This "competition of strength" did not last long.

After Song Ci hit the inner mausoleum, he was accepted by the fog… But Gu Shen knew that what was waiting for Song Ci next must be a more severe "beating" from the Battle God. If he wanted to cultivate behind the Battle God, how could he not pay some price?

Gu Shen stood outside the mausoleum and watched this scene with a smile.

He shook his head and turned to leave.

At this moment, Bai Shu's gentle voice sounded in his spiritual sea.

"Your 'Domain' has great potential, but it is not easy to continue to advance. Remember, don't be impatient. There is no shortcut to the advancement of the 'Domain.' Only quantitative change can lead to qualitative change."

Gu Shen silently noted it down.

"Cherish the present."

Bai Shu said meaningfully, "The days of peace are coming to an end."