Chapter 1 Linz's Small Courtyard

Linz's small courtyard was a haven of tranquility.

The entrance to the cellar was ajar.

The underground space was even more stifling and silent than the world above. The old man sat in his wheelchair, silently gazing at the massive bookcase that had accompanied him throughout his "life," while his disciple, Hu Po, held a lamp and sorted through the aged files and documents... The old and the young remained in the dusty basement, and as a beam of light shone down, Chi Huo blossomed with wisps of light, illuminating the underground study.

The appearance of this wisp of Chi Huo was the signal for Gu Shen's return!

The old man did not look up.

"Mr. Gu, you're back?!"

Hu Po quickly stopped his work and stepped forward to greet him, casting a subtle, concerned glance. "How did things go in Rhein?"

"The person was rescued."

Gu Shen was concise.

He approached the wheelchair and said softly, "Mr. Ian... I need an explanation from you about the person who killed 'Mr. Hallin.'"

All along.

He had never known the true origin of Xiao.

This guy possessed "blood fire," a power similar to his own, even capable of mutual devouring!

But this time, Xiao's background was gradually coming to light.

He had to know the truth about this matter.

The cause, the effect, everything!

"Explanation..."

A hollow voice came from the mental link device.

The old man asked softly, "You want to know its origin."

"Yes," Gu Shen said. "In Rhein Bay, it told me..."

At this point, he stopped abruptly and said nothing more.

There was bound to be suspicion of "mental bewitchment" in the words Xiao had said to him.

"What did it say to you?"

The old man laboriously raised his hand, signaling Hu Po to close the cellar entrance, then return to his wheelchair, pushing him to a bookcase and taking out some heavy documents.

Here were more than just ancient blueprints.

"What is this?"

Gu Shen frowned as the documents were handed to him.

"This is information that will not be recorded in history, immature experiments from before the promulgation of the Genetic Law."

Grand Scholar Ian said calmly, "These are all failed experimental sample data... Back then, the laboratory attempted to directly cultivate a 'chosen one' who could fuse with the 'Fire Seed', but after countless simulated experiments, all ended in failure."

Gu Shen flipped through the pages, his eyes wide with shock.

He handed the documents to Chu Ling.

Even Chu Ling fell silent. These documents dated back a long time, long before [Deep Sea] was born. The laboratory had already begun trying to simulate the cultivation of a 'chosen one', so naturally, she was unaware of it.

But the experimental data was still quite shocking.

"Directly simulating in the 'Spirit Sea'? Cultivating a perfect 'Spirit Sea'?" Gu Shen murmured, "What kind of madman could come up with such an idea?"

"Turing."

Ian slowly uttered these two words, he murmured, "Both a madman and a genius, one in a million."

Indeed.

This was indeed an incredibly crazy, yet incredibly genius idea, because directly cultivating a living body was a taboo that violated the ethics and morals of all mankind. Cultivating a Spirit Sea would not create such controversy.

"We created a Spirit Sea and gave it different 'ability adaptation environments' to adapt to the basic spirit of transcendents... But that was all."

"The purpose of the experiment was to create a 'chosen one' who was at their peak from birth. At first, we thought that to fuse with the Fire Seed, we had to find a suitable, powerful ability... But later we realized we were wrong."

"No matter how powerful the ability, it's just an outer garment."

"The Fire Seed is an incredibly hot, scorching core."

"After countless failures, the 'Spirit Sea Simulation Experiment' was completely abandoned."

Ian lowered his face, his voice hoarse. "Everyone in the lab thought it was all over... But what everyone didn't know was that the nightmare had only just begun—"

"The guy cultivated by the 'Spirit Simulation Experiment' should have been killed, but its ideology, having been tormented by too many simulation experiments, became incredibly tenacious... After we turned off the consciousness-bearing device, it still survived in the 'container' and learned to speak. It transmitted mental fluctuations, begging the people in the lab to spare its life."

This seemingly ingenious experiment had finally backfired.

Does a "being" existing solely as an ideology count as life?

"Hallin was my most admired disciple. He had an extraordinary mind and a loving heart... This was a good thing, but sometimes, it wasn't." Ian tapped his wheelchair lightly and said, "Because of the pleas of the guy in the 'container', Hallin felt compassion. He asked me if it was necessary to kill such a 'spirit'... And I, too, hesitated."

"It happened that Turing had gone to another continent, and we couldn't contact him."

"We decided to wait for Turing to return before making a decision, but this wait led to an accident."

"Gu, ah... There are some things that you can't easily believe, even if you see them with your own eyes, because you simply don't know what kind of face is hidden beneath their skin."

Ian said meaningfully, "The creature in the container was originally full of pleas, begging for mercy, and gratitude. It seemed completely gentle, kind, and harmless... It was precisely this facade that deceived Hallin, leading to the tragedy."

"When Hallin decided to give it a chance to live, it had already begun planning its 'escape'. In countless simulation experiments, it had long retained the ability that was most suitable for it and easiest to break free from the 'container' - mind control. During a shift change, it directly seized the body of a trainee, but this triggered an alarm. All the transcendents in the laboratory were mobilized. There was no [Deep Sea] at that time. Because of years of observation, it knew the Ancient Text Society's laboratory extremely well. When the alarm was triggered, it arrived at the storage point for forbidden sealed objects and released them all. A fire swept through the laboratory."

Gu Shen was stunned.

So... the Xiao he saw had a face burned by a fire.

That face appeared frequently.

Because Xiao was born in that fire!

The reason he was the Faceless One was because he didn't have a face of his own. He had always been just a wisp of consciousness... His so-called original body should be the "innocent trainee" he possessed back then!

"In that fire, the Ancient Text Society suffered heavy losses. Several young and talented transcendents perished in the fire, including Hallin's fiancée." Ian said softly, "After that, he remained unmarried for the rest of his life, entered Saint Cross Academy to study with me, and dedicated his life to research, paying no attention to other trivial matters."

Gu Shen was silent for a moment.

Was this the truth?

At the Rhein docks, Caroline of the Rose of Wind told him that Senior Hallin was a "perfect person." This was a high praise. She said that the reason the senior had become so perfect was because he had lost something, but the true past was unknown to anyone.

Because of his own "kindness," he had indirectly killed his lover.

Hallin had probably been immersed in guilt and self-blame for a long time, muddled and unable to extricate himself.

...

...

"You two."

"My time... is probably running out..."

Ian coughed and said softly, "Before I die, I hope to pass down the 'Ancient Text knowledge' of my entire life."

Hu Po scratched his head to the side, retreating silently with a clear sense of his own limitations.

His talent was really ordinary, and it took too long for a normal person to learn Ancient Texts... A "relic" like Grand Scholar Ian had built up a wealth of knowledge through sheer hard work over the years. There wasn't another miracle like that in the entire Five Continents.

There were several stacks of Ancient Texts on the table.

On the floor of the cellar, there were engravings of unknown Ancient Texts. Was this an unactivated Ancient Text array?

"Your Excellency, Grand Scholar."

Gu Shen said worriedly, "Your health..."

The old man smiled gently and said, "Life is a limited journey, and I have walked for much longer than others. I am very content. You don't need to worry about me."

Ancient Texts are spiritual writings that can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words.

Due to the accumulation in the Qingzhong Mausoleum, Gu Shen and Chu Ling, in a sense, could quickly read and learn Ancient Texts... However, there was a significant difference in the learning speed of the two.

It was still relatively difficult to understand on their own.

The reason for seeking out members of the Ancient Text Society was to "inherit" some of the Ancient Text information in order to piece together more of the truth of the [Old World], or to find the whereabouts of lost forbidden arts.

Gu Shen looked at Chu Ling with anticipation. The latter, wearing a white cat mask, nodded to him.

The most important and anticipated thing about this trip to Central Continent... was to inherit these "spiritual legacies" of the Ancient Text Society that had been lost!

"Come."

The old man sat in his wheelchair, looking at the two juniors with a kind gaze.

He stretched out his hands, palms up, waiting for Gu Shen and Chu Ling to touch his palms... He was too old, and his spirit could hardly leave his body. If he wanted to transmit Ancient Text knowledge, he could only rely on this method.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Gu Shen placed his palm on the old man's palm and said sincerely.

"Tear."

At this moment, Hu Po squatted down, bit his thumb, and slowly wrote along the Ancient Text engravings on the ground... This scene attracted Chu Ling's attention, and she was slightly surprised.

"The Ancient Texts on the ground are 'arrays' to help me stabilize my spirit."

Ian in the wheelchair explained with a smile, "Don't worry, once the information of the Ancient Texts is instilled into your minds, you will also be able to understand the wonders of this 'Ancient Text array'... It's just that the speed of understanding varies from person to person. This 'Ancient Text Comprehender', who is one in a million, will probably comprehend it in a very short time. Mr. [Key], you must work hard."

Gu Shen smiled helplessly and said, "I will try my best."

"Don't worry... I will slow down a bit and wait for you." Chu Ling placed her palm on the old man's aging arm and said calmly.

"Are you both ready?"

The old man slowly raised his head.

His kind eyes met Gu Shen and Chu Ling.

The next moment.

He closed his eyes, and the three "connected" life forms entered a state of complete selflessness and meditation together. This state of comprehension would last for a very long time, at least several hours.

And when Gu Shen comprehended Ancient Texts in Qingzhong back then, he would often spend an entire day on four or five array symbols.

...

...

When the meditation began, another major project also began.

Hu Po, who was squatting on the ground carving arrays, sped up the carving of the blood-colored arrays, and began carving the second layer after carving the first layer. This was what Ian had not told Gu Shen and Chu Ling - what was arranged in this underground pavilion was not just an Ancient Text array.

He kept biting his thumb, and kept smearing the floor with blood.

The arrays bloomed like lotuses, layer upon layer, centered on the three of them, and soon covered half of the basement floor space, but Hu Po did not stop. His expression was more focused than ever, and the smile on his face disappeared.

At this moment, he was like what Gu Shen had seen when he first arrived in Linz.

Incredibly focused when pulling weeds... even carrying a heavy air of death.

It's just that his blood was "vigorous." His thumb had been bitten countless times, and after smearing an area, the wound not only did not fester, but slowly healed. This was truly an incredible miracle. Admittedly, this kind of self-healing ability was not exaggerated. At least, [Undead] like Song Ci Huoyu could do it. However, as the arrays were continuously smeared, the entire basement floor had been covered with blood... The more Ancient Text arrays he wrote, the more blood he needed.

He was no longer satisfied with biting his thumb, but instead cut his arm with a sharp knife, and even tried to bleed from an artery.

This kind of scene could no longer be associated with "gentle" or "kind."

Under the backdrop of the blood-colored house.

The closed cellar looked particularly eerie, bloody, and humid.

Several Ancient Text blueprints swayed in the wind, and before they could fall to the ground, they were fixed in the air by invisible mental power, which made the bizarre atmosphere even more prominent... And after smearing and completing all of this, Hu Po, stood at the outermost edge of the array. His expression was a bit pale, but more of satisfaction.

Hu Po quietly admired this "masterpiece" he had created with his own hands.

Then he silently waited for the countdown.

While waiting, he couldn't help but recall the things he had encountered in the past few days... Everything was too sudden. The "Key" who came from the Eastern Continent, the "Xiao" who launched an attack after many years, and "Hallin" who rushed back to Linz and died on the road. Fate was really joking with people. This series of events broke out in just one or two days, which was really caught people off guard.

But so far, his response has been perfect.

A lie that is coordinated with the truth is the most perfect lie.

[Key] did not notice anything unusual.

But just as this thought arose in his mind, a sudden voice rang out in the center of the array.

"Are you done drawing?"

Hu Po was stunned.

Gu Shen, standing in the blood-colored array, suddenly spoke.

He opened his eyes, turned around, and asked seriously, "Mr. Hu Po, are you done drawing?"