All noise and clamor vanished in that instant.

The immense base fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them.

The blue-silver glass, subjected to a moment's impact, became covered in a dense network of silvery white cracks.

The "Eye of the Storm," positioned at the very top of the core laboratory, instantly ceased operation, interrupting the simulation experiment.

One researcher couldn't believe his eyes.

The entire base, working day and night, on a project estimated to take another half-month to complete...

This guy, just like that... finished it?

The Night Watcher holding the projection phone also stood frozen in place.

Gu Nanfeng in the projection was also silent.

If Gu Shen hadn't insisted, he wouldn't have allowed Tsukumo Oni to come to a place like this.

So... this was the result of the divination?

In the quiet base, after a long while, someone cautiously broke the silence.

"It's... it's finished?"

The researcher standing behind Tsukumo Oni looked at the "Storm Equation" constantly evolving on the main screen. The code of the equation began to proliferate rapidly, and countless strings of sprawling code burst out on the screen.

Many researchers gathered around.

They discovered... this code exceeded their comprehension.

They couldn't understand it.

This was a "logic" that only Tsukumo Oni and [Deep Sea] could understand. The fundamental reason was that the operation of the "Heavenly Sheath Weapon" required the interweaving of "ancient characters" with extraordinary effects.

None of the researchers here could understand "ancient writing"... so if they wanted to seek the final "evolution result," they could only rely on time to slowly compute it.

Tsukumo Oni's "ancient writing" directly accelerated this process.

He skipped the simulation stage, giving the "Storm Release" a very stable initial state.

"It's not finished yet," Tsukumo Oni said softly. "Currently, the activity optimization of the Heavenly Sheath fragment is about 75%, which is enough to support the Gu family's first-stage needs, but the efficacy of 'Storm Release' can be improved. The fragment activity has a chance to be optimized to 90%."

The group of researchers behind him fell silent again.

90%?

This was something they wouldn't even dare to imagine... simply a "miracle." If they could steadily optimize the fragment activity to 60% in the next three days, the entire base would be celebrating with champagne, welcoming the initial version of the Heavenly Sheath Weapon.

But now...

75% fragment activity had already heralded the birth of the Heavenly Sheath Weapon.

Unlike what they had expected.

They hadn't even experienced "arduous" struggles or "perilous" debates. They hadn't even had the chance to go down the wrong research path, correct it in time, then find their way back and finally achieve a breakthrough after wandering in the wilderness.

This research had just begun.

And had already come to an "end."

The victory came so suddenly that smiles hadn't even had time to appear on everyone's faces.

"90% fragment activity..." one researcher murmured. "Is this real? How long will it take?"

"Due to the 'edge diminishing effect,' after the activity reaches a certain base value, improvement becomes increasingly difficult. 75% is a very high base value. To increase it by one percentage point afterward, a lot of time is needed to 'simulate' the steady state," Tsukumo Oni said slowly, looking at the main console. "After the release experiment of the initial steady state is successful, if you want to reach nearly perfect 90% activity, it's destined to be a long process, maybe a year? Or maybe longer."

"How do you know all this?"

It wasn't until Gu Nanfeng's voice came that Tsukumo Oni woke up as if from a dream.

The sharpness and brilliance in his eyes earlier had all dissipated at this moment, as if blown away by a strong wind. His expression became confused and bewildered again.

He looked at his reflection in the blue-silver screen and muttered to himself, "Yeah... how do I know all this..."

"..."

The group of researchers in the base had complex expressions.

They had actually all heard about the changes that had occurred in [Snow Cage] earlier. Tsukumo Oni was on the scene when the Heavenly Sheath fragment collapsed. His luck was as bad as ever. He suffered heavy damage in that incident and lost most of his memory, but fortunately, he retained some useful "knowledge," such as the translation of ancient characters.

And at this moment, it was clear that Tsukumo Oni retained more than just "ancient writing."

This matter made the researchers sigh deeply in their hearts.

It had to be said that there were differences between people from birth!

Take Tsukumo Oni as an example.

Even if this guy lost his memory... he still had superb "feel" and stable "intuition." Manually modifying the stable numerical value of the initial state of the Heavenly Sheath fragment required both calculation ability and some luck.

For six hundred years, East Continent had collected less than 100g of fragment samples. In this case, no one knew the approximate attributes of the "Heavenly Sheath fragment"!

How could anyone know the exact numerical value of the Heavenly Sheath fragment?!

"Continue with the simulation experiment of fragment activity optimization here," Gu Nanfeng quickly issued an order. He lowered his voice and asked, "According to the current 'Storm Equation,' carry out the assembly and production of the Heavenly Sheath Weapon... I need to see the results within three days. Can it be done?"

Did that even need to be said?

The biggest problem had already been solved!

Most of the researchers then realized what a great miracle they had just witnessed. Changye's decades-long plan for the "Heavenly Sheath Weapon" was finally about to be born!

The Storm Equation was done!

There were enough Heavenly Sheath fragments!

The blueprint framework was ready!

All the factors had been gathered—

"Yes, of course it can be done!" The head of the research team said excitedly, slamming the table heavily and roaring, "Everyone, move now, quickly, quickly, quickly! We are creating history!!!"

...

...

The summit of Mount Shinji.

Li Qingci sat at her desk, finding it hard to calm her mind.

A few days ago, she could actually sit quietly at the table for a whole day, her mind undisturbed, but now, after seeing Gu Shen, her thoughts had become very chaotic, troubled by those trivial matters that had previously been settled.

Of course, some of the current turmoil came from worry... she didn't know what wish Little Gu was going to make? If it was something important, he would have to pay a very high price, wouldn't he? This wasn't a good thing.

And there were other, deeper layers—the confusion and bewilderment of the past few days.

Pen to paper, a mess of strokes.

No matter how she wrote it, the dissection of eternal life on the ancient text drawing was wrong.

Above the dome, black clouds loomed, and a ray of light fell on the wooden house.

The entire Mount Shinji seemed silent, but in fact, apart from Li Qingci, there was another person who was closely "watching."

Inside the wooden house, the candlelight flickered.

The young figure illuminated by the four bronze figure lamps sat cross-legged, his back straight, as if supported by a ruler.

A breeze blew in through the cracks in the wooden house.

The flames flickered, and the hem of his black windbreaker fluttered slowly.

Gu Shen felt that his life had completed its "flow," which meant that the first round of the Wishing Art transaction had been completed. The Scales had taken two years from him, or seven hundred and eighty-one days to be exact.

And what was returned to him was an aerial map of the frozen tundra lake, with a small crimson dot.

This dot.

Was Han Dang's "hiding place."

Was it worth it to exchange two years for Han Dang's location...?

Gu Shen thought it was worth it.

After listening to the Stellar Project, he realized that Jing Shanyan was no ordinary Snow Cage criminal. The first Grand Inquisitor must be hiding an important secret of the "Ancient Text Society."

Jing Shanyan couldn't die.

The scene in the Calamity Bracelet was very contradictory. If Jing Shanyan's head was taken by Han Dang, then [Azure King's Authority Realm] would not be able to maintain its existence... but the appearance of this scene was enough to show that Jing Shanyan's situation at the bottom of the frozen lake was very worrying.

His head was already at someone's disposal.

Wouldn't his life and death be decided by Han Dang's whim?

Han Dang wanted to force him to show himself, and gave him a very short deadline. If he couldn't find this guy's hiding place... then the situation would not be something that could be salvaged by paying just "two years."

To cut grass, you must remove the roots.

Gu Shen spent nearly two and a half years of his life without any hesitation. As long as he could directly find Han Dang, in his opinion, this exchange was worth it!

"Is the Wishing over..."

Gu Shen got the specific coordinates, and then looked around. He found that he was still in that silvery-white mental world.

In a primal sacred place like the wooden house on Mount Shinji, it wasn't difficult to enter the Wishing dream, and naturally, it was very simple to exit.

The transaction was over, and if he wanted to go back.

He only needed a thought to regain consciousness at any time.

"I'm still here... does this mean that I can continue to trade with the 'Scales of Fate'?"

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes. He raised his head and examined the silvery-white world in front of him.

A somewhat crazy idea surfaced in his mind.

Gu Shen held his breath.

His mind began to reify his thoughts.

First, he reified a ruler, and then his mental power swept into the ruler, directly immersing himself in the ruler. Layers of mist parted, revealing a deep mental space with dappled light and shadows.

In the mental realm of the "Ruler of Truth," large swaths of gloom enveloped everything.

Gu Shen used his thoughts to reify the figure sitting in the deepest darkness.

A devil!

This was the preliminary information he sent to the "Scales of Fate"!

Then, he made his second wish—

"I want to kill... 'this guy' in the Ruler of Truth. Do you have a way?"

He looked at the Scales.

The huge Scales received the message and began to sway... but this time, its swaying amplitude was much larger than before, like a boat being slapped by a large river, tilting to the extreme all at once.

"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine days... twenty-three hours."

Gu Shen's pupils constricted!

To kill the devil... the Scales of Fate could provide a way!

But the price was... paying ten thousand days of lifespan, twenty-seven years!

And at the moment the Scales of Fate offered the price, the numbers were decreasing rapidly!

Gu Shen was in a daze, and the numbers on the Scales had become:

"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine days... twenty-two hours!"

Hesitating for a second cost him an hour!

"No exchange!"

Gu Shen immediately stopped.

The huge white Scales disappeared after receiving Gu Shen's "refuse transaction" signal... this wasn't really a "loophole." Even if the caster reacted quickly, peeking at the transaction cost of the "Wishing Art" and stopping instantly, he still had to pay part of the price.

And next time.

If he finished considering and wanted to wish for the same thing...

The Scales would "raise the price."

The price would be more expensive than the first time.

The caster always had the right to withdraw from the "transaction," but the Scales would also continue to "raise the price." In the Wishing Art transaction, the more you hesitate, the higher the price you had to pay.

"Either make a quick decision and complete the transaction..."

"Or, don't even look..."

Gu Shen stared at the snow-white Scales, his expression a little gloomy. A sudden inspiration had actually cost him two hours of his lifespan for nothing. These were all life... two years of life to kill Han Dang. There was no other better way at the moment, so he could only accept it!

But two hours of lifespan to exchange for a question.

This deal should be considered a loss for him.

"It's not entirely without gain... at least I've confirmed one thing."

Gu Shen murmured, "Devils can be killed."

He had never been able to deal with the devil in the Ruler. The only way was to use "Silver of Miracles" to completely seal it.

But from the response given by the "Scales of Fate" just now, this guy was powerful, but not immortal!

"If the Scales can find a way, I can too..."

Gu Shen comforted himself.

Two hours wasn't too much of a loss, not too much of a loss...

He withdrew from the Wishing and pushed open the wooden house.

"Little Gu?"

Li Qingci looked up nervously and asked, "Was the Wishing successful?"

"So-so."

Gu Shen smiled and said self-deprecatingly, "I paid more than two years... uh, plus two hours, and asked an unimportant question."

"It was Qingci's oversight."

Li Qingci was slightly startled, realizing what Gu Shen's "two hours" meant. She said apologetically, "Wishing Art is not a child's play. Once you open your mouth, you must pay a price... I thought that Mister would act with careful consideration."

Gu Shen smiled bitterly, "You don't need to apologize. It was my recklessness this time."

Before leaving, Gu Shen looked back at the scattered drawings on the desk.

He suddenly stopped, looked at Qingci, and asked, "Miss Qingci, since I climbed the mountain, you seem to have something to say to me?"

"I..."

Li Qingci gripped her white clothes, a hint of hesitation appearing in her eyes.

She really had a lot to say, but Gu Shen's ascent this time was not for leisure, and he had to rush back to the tundra now. Those words that she had pondered over for many days were not suitable to be spoken at this moment.

After a moment of thought.

Li Qingci shook her head, concealing all the strangeness.

"It's nothing..."

She smiled lightly and said, "Little Gu, I wish you a smooth journey."

Gu Shen looked at Li Qingci, a little suspiciously.

He looked up at the dome again.

He knew that Chu Ling could see everything here, and naturally, she could also see what happened when Li Qingci was in quiet residence... but at this moment, the sea of consciousness was also peaceful.

Chu Ling didn't seem to have anything to say to him.

"Thank you for your kind words."

Gu Shen went down the mountain and said earnestly, "Thank you, Miss Qingci, for helping with the Wishing."

Frost and snow swept across Mount Shinji, and soon returned to silence.

Li Qingci sat alone on the mountain, looking at the scattered drawings on the desk, lost in thought for a long time.

She also raised her head.

The weather was bad on the summit of Mount Shinji today.

Black clouds swept across the sky, but fortunately, several white flowers flew up and swayed in the wind.

On the high mountains, black clouds pressed down on the city, a scene of depression, but as long as there were a few small white flowers rising with the wind.

It would become a very beautiful sight.

Li Qingci watched in fascination, unable to help but cough, covering her mouth with a silk handkerchief, but some blood still seeped out.

"Goddess," she opened the silk handkerchief, looked at the bloodstains on it, and asked softly with a smile, "Do you think... I can still wait until the day the flowers bloom?"