Indeed.

　　The old man's intuition was still accurate.

　　Gu Shen took out the letter from inside his jacket.

　　"People get sentimental and melancholic when they get old."

　　Gu Qilin didn't open the letter directly but put it away, smiling softly, "This kid still has some conscience, leaving me a letter… but if he really had a conscience, why would he only leave me one?"

　　After waking up from his slumber in the cemetery.

　　He learned the whole story of the Qingzhong Incident...

　　Gu Changzhi's death was a huge shock to everyone in Nagano.

　　Not to mention the Gu family.

　　"I heard you were in the cemetery the whole time."

　　Gu Qilin said meaningfully, "Did you see the final battle of gods...?"

　　Gu Shen was taken aback.

　　He nodded and said, "I was lucky enough to be enveloped by Mr. Gu Changzhi's Golden Divine Domain. I vaguely saw some scenes of the battle of gods. It was a very intense battle."

　　"I heard the Underworld King showed up too?" Gu Qilin asked again.

　　"..."

　　Gu Shen thought for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "Grandpa, I only saw a large cloud of darkness, covering the sky and the sun. It's said to be the Underworld King's dark clouds, but I couldn't see any more specific details."

　　"Mm."

　　Gu Qilin said calmly, "People outside are saying that the Underworld King is still alive... but I always feel like something's not right."

　　Gu Shen paid attention to this.

　　He asked cautiously, "What makes you say that?"

　　"Years ago, the Underworld King stayed at my Gu family residence for a while... From what I know of him, even if he was willing to help East Continent, he wouldn't do good deeds anonymously."

　　Gu Qilin tapped his wheelchair gently, frowning, "He just disappeared after killing the Wine God Seat. That's not like him."

　　"Twenty years have passed..."

　　Gu Shen said slowly, "Perhaps he has changed."

　　"Or perhaps, he was seriously injured and won't live long." Gu Qilin smiled, "I personally prefer the latter, but that guy is definitely not a good person, and villains often live long lives..."

　　At this point.

　　The old man paused and sighed softly, "No wonder he's lived this long."

　　Gu Shen's mood was complicated after hearing these words.

　　He thought of something and asked indirectly, "I heard that after the federal government confirmed the Underworld King's 'death,' the prison system recovered his belongings?"

　　"Oh?"

　　Gu Qilin was a little surprised to hear Gu Shen's words.

　　He wasn't surprised by the news itself.

　　But he was surprised that... how did Gu Shen know about this?

　　"I heard it from Mr. Shan in the Golden Divine Domain." Gu Shen smiled and said, "Mr. Shan seems very afraid that the Underworld King will seek revenge."

　　"He should be afraid."

　　Gu Qilin smiled playfully, "He's a God Seat after all. The Northern Continent's Investigation Corps is still looking for traces... but he dared to have people empty out the Underworld King's residence. It's an old house in Snow Forbidden City. Twenty years have passed, and it's completely abandoned. I still remember when the Underworld King was first confirmed to be dead, 'Shan' took his capable assistants and searched the entire residence carefully, only to find that there was nothing of great value inside. The only things containing extraordinary power were a few inexplicable blueprints."

　　Gu Shen narrowed his eyes.

　　He didn't expect that Mr. Shan, who seemed mature and steady now, was so crazy twenty years ago.

　　What if the Underworld King came back?

　　What would he do?

　　"Twenty years ago, the Third Prison was newly established. He wasn't yet the Chief Inquisitor and was desperately trying to establish himself in Nagano and make a contribution. Emptying the Underworld King's residence was a kind of gamble. He did it, and it attracted the attention of many big figures in Snow Forbidden City." Gu Qilin said calmly, "In fact, there are many people in East Continent who don't like the Underworld King."

　　Gu Shen nodded slowly.

　　He had been in contact with the Underworld King's Fire Seed, which contained a cold, bitter, and sorrowful spiritual aura.

　　It was completely opposite to the magnanimous spirit emanating from Mr. Gu Changzhi's Four Seasons Wilderness.

　　No one would like to be exposed to such negative spiritual fluctuations.

　　However... the Fire Seed was neither good nor bad in itself.

　　It all depended on the user's intentions.

　　Just like the Fire Seed of Wine... This should have been a force of joy that spread sweet rain and eliminated worries, but under Di Jiu's manipulation, it spread into a disaster. Over the years, the Wine God's followers of the Source Tower have seriously violated the oath that Di Jiu made when he melted the Fire Seed.

　　He roughly understood what had happened twenty years ago.

　　Many people in East Continent didn't like the Underworld King.

　　And that residence was going to be searched sooner or later.

　　The young "Mr. Shan" decided to take the lead, and he did, gaining recognition from many people by searching the Underworld King's residence.

　　"After searching the residence, there were only a few inexplicable blueprints?"

　　Gu Shen raised his eyebrows and asked, "Didn't the Underworld King leave behind any powerful sealed objects?"

　　"Heh..."

　　The old man couldn't help shaking his head with a smile, "You don't know, a person like the Underworld King would never leave important objects behind when leaving the Five Continents World. He's an extremely conceited person, claiming that he can see through even fate... If there were really any useful things left in that residence, they would definitely not be left for the East Continent government. As far as I know, the reason why the Northern Continent's Investigation Corps is so frantically pursuing the Underworld King's whereabouts is because he didn't leave anything behind!"

　　"..."

　　Gu Shen's expression was subtle, and he fell silent completely.

　　Good heavens!

　　Was the previous Underworld King so frugal?

　　However... even Old Man Gu didn't have complete information.

　　At least the Underworld King left behind the "Ruler of Truth," and it eventually came into the hands of A-009. Judging from the timeline, that seemed to be a deployment he made before leaving the Five Continents... In that case, the final battle of gods between Gu Changzhi and the Underworld King was not fought at their peak strength. Mr. Gu Changzhi had experienced an unprecedented black hole storm and was seriously injured, while the Underworld King was vaguely in a state of mental breakdown, and he had left his weapon in the Five Continents in advance.

　　With these clues pieced together, Gu Shen suddenly felt that there was more to the events of many years ago than met the eye.

　　Since the Underworld King was considered a "selfish" person in the eyes of the world.

　　How could such a person abandon his weapon on the way to the Old World?

　　Could it be... that he foresaw his own loss of control?

　　In order to prevent the loss of control from bringing about a devastating disaster, he chose to discard the "Ruler of Truth"?

　　Or was it in order to resist the loss of control that he discarded the ruler?

　　Gu Shen fell into deep thought.

　　"Breathing Technique, Sealed Object, Inheritance... He took away all the blessings that a God Seat should have left to the world."

　　Old Man Gu Qilin's voice pulled him back to reality, "The federal government knows that the only things left in the world that are related to the Underworld King are those few inexplicable blueprints. All the relics from the residence were collected by the prison system, but even after deciphering them to this day, there has been no progress. I think they're not important objects at all."

　　Gu Shen came back to his senses and smiled, "...I see."

　　"Why, are you very interested in the Underworld King?"

　　Old Man Gu looked at Gu Shen, noticing that the latter's expression was a little strange.

　　"I've seen him up close, after all, so I'm very curious."

　　Gu Shen answered sincerely.

　　"That's true..."

　　The old man nodded, understanding that a twenty-year-old was at an age when they would be in awe of the name of a God Seat.

　　Such close contact, even just sensing a trace of divine might, would be a huge shock.

　　"It's not a good thing to see the Underworld King."

　　Gu Qilin thought for a while and reminded, "It's best to stay away from him. It's said that he's a jinx. People who get involved with the Underworld King don't have good endings."

　　"Is that... so..."

　　Gu Shen's smile became a little stiff.

　　"Of course."

　　The old man smiled and reached out to pat Gu Shen's shoulder, "Young man, seeing the Underworld King was a very unlucky thing twenty years ago. I'm resting in the ancestral hall these days. I suggest you come here a few more times these days. Let's chat, the two of us, and get rid of the bad luck. The Gu family ancestral hall has the most abundant heritage among the five great families. The mountains are beautiful, the water is beautiful, and the scenery is beautiful. Do you see that hundred-year-old tree? It guards the entrance of the ancestral hall, evergreen in all seasons, and can resist all misfortune."

　　He gesticulated spiritedly, pointing to the evergreen banyan tree at the entrance.

　　It was really boring to recuperate alone.

　　And many of the young people from the family who came to visit were "mediocre people." The more he looked at them, the more annoyed he became. He might as well not see them. Old Man Gu thought silently in his heart that he should look at outstanding youngsters like Gu Shen from Nanfeng more often in order to keep his mood happy.

　　Gu Shen couldn't refuse the old man.

　　He asked with a guilty conscience, "Then... I'll come again tomorrow?"

　　"Come." The old man was in a good mood. "If you can come every day, I can live to be two hundred years old."

　　Gu Shen sighed lightly in his heart.

　　He agreed to this matter and left the Gu clan's ancestral hall, but he vaguely felt that the words the old man had said seemed to be true.

　　After leaving the cemetery, he had felt a sense of foreboding more than once.

　　He thought it was just a coincidence.

　　But on closer thought, this had happened after he had come into contact with the Underworld King's Fire Seed.

　　His "Pure Land" had absorbed the spiritual power of the Underworld King's Fire Seed, and before that, during a year of solitary cultivation in Nagano, Gu Shen's "observer's state of mind" had been incredibly stable, never tainted by a trace of misfortune.

　　Long Night Alley.

　　Gu Shen stopped. He narrowed his eyes and looked back at his shadow.

　　The wind blew through the alley, fluttering his robe and hair.

　　But that shadow, as if nailed down, was firmly fixed to the ground.

　　Only a few seconds later... the shadow's robe fluttered in the wind, and everything returned to normal.

　　Could it be that the Underworld King's Fire Seed really possessed the characteristic of "misfortune"?

　　...

　　...

　　"You're finally awake?"

　　This was the first sentence Shen Li heard.

　　Then he opened his eyes with difficulty and saw two faces surrounding him.

　　"Holy crap...?!"

　　Anyone who saw the faces of Gong Zi and Mu Nan appear at the same time would exclaim this.

　　The little iron man woke up instantly, sat up abruptly, and found himself on a lawn. The morning sun was particularly dazzling, and his clothes were particularly revealing. The standard official uniform was torn into several large pieces of cloth, still frozen with bits and pieces of ice.

　　These were not important.

　　What was important was that Gong Zi and Mu Nan, these two ugly and dirty faces, were no more than a few dozen centimeters away from him... It looked like they might bite him at any moment.

　　"What are you doing? Get out of here!"

　　Shen Li roared in terror and despair.

　　The two shook their heads in disdain and, as Shen Li wished, moved backward, revealing even more onlookers: Gu Shen, Li Qingsui, Uncle Gao, the Li clan, and the transcendents from both the Gong and Mu families, as well as some old acquaintances from the prison.

　　So many people?!

　　Shen Li was dumbfounded, desperately clutching his ragged robe.

　　What... was going on?

　　The remaining memories in his mind were still stuck in the snowy scene of the cemetery.

　　If he remembered correctly.

　　Before he fell asleep, the last person he saw was the incomparably beautiful Miss Chu.

　　How could he see these twisted freaks when he woke up!

　　"You can really sleep, you've been asleep for almost two days."

　　Gong Zi pouted and explained, "A lot happened in the cemetery, but now everything has been resolved... Only you are still asleep. We gathered together, of course, to watch the fun. Everyone wanted to see how long you could sleep."

　　"???"

　　Shen Li was stunned.

　　At this moment, someone handed over a large robe with a smile.

　　"Brother Gu..."

　　Shen Li put it on, still a little confused.

　　"Your condition is special. Your spirit was frozen." Gu Shen said softly, "Because you were too close to the Great Cold Disaster Realm, it will take a long time to wake up..."

　　"Is this... Qingzhong?"

　　Shen Li's lips were dry as he looked around and caught sight of the dilapidated green lawn.

　　"Yes."

　　Gu Shen nodded. After the cemetery turmoil subsided, he placed Shen Li near the inner mausoleum.

　　Senior Bai Zhu was currently in the cemetery.

　　There was a warm power emanating from the Fire Seed of Battle, which could nourish the soul. Being closer would be very beneficial for Shen Li's healing, and the thawing of the ice and snow from the Great Cold Disaster Realm would naturally be faster.

　　"Today is the cemetery's funeral..."

　　Gu Shen transmitted his voice, "These people are here to attend the funeral."

　　Only then did Shen Li realize that there were indeed many people outside the lawn where he was, all dressed in formal attire with solemn expressions.

　　He saw familiar faces in the crowd.

　　Among them was his teacher.

　　His teacher seemed to have aged a lot overnight.

　　The spirit frozen by the Great Cold Disaster Realm slowly recovered, and fragmented memories surged like a tide.

　　Shen Li's face was pale as he took Gu Shen's hand, his voice hoarse, "Brother Gu... are you, are you alright?"

　　"Xu Yan has been killed by me."

　　Gu Shen's expression was gentle as he patted the back of Shen Li's hand, indicating that he didn't need to worry.

　　Shen Li had witnessed Xu Yan's slaughter.

　　Then he was hunted down.

　　After killing Xu Yan, Gu Shen had seen the entire pursuit process from Xu Yan's broken memories.

　　Shen Li didn't end until he fled into the inner mausoleum and met him... Before he fell asleep, he was still worried about whether he would die at Xu Yan's hands and whether the entire cemetery would be destroyed by this huge conspiracy.

　　So when he woke up, he subconsciously asked about the thing he was most worried about.

　　After receiving a definite answer.

　　The little iron man breathed a long sigh of relief.

　　He then thought of something important and quickly came to Li Yu, his face pale, "Teacher... Senior Brother Zou is dead... He died to save me..."

　　As soon as these words came out.

　　The expressions of the onlookers all dropped, especially those officials from the prison who had come to attend the funeral.

　　Fourth Inquisitor Li Yu, although he had a full head of white hair before, was in his prime and looked very handsome, but after experiencing the changes in the cemetery, he seemed to have aged ten years overnight.

　　All of his disciples, except for Shen Li... had died young in the snow of the cemetery.

　　Just because they had encountered Xu Yan.

　　If possible, Li Yu hoped that Xu Yan had not died, so that he would have the opportunity to kill this evil son with his own hands!

　　"I... know..."

　　About the things Xu Yan had done in the cemetery.

　　Gu Shen had brought out that memory and replicated and uploaded it to the Deep Sea...

　　This matter had enraged many people in Nagano.

　　No one knew how many people had been blinded by this S-class.

　　He alone had caused the greatest casualties in the cemetery... Many people had not died in the snow tide, nor in the impact of the battle of gods, but at the hands of Xu Yan, being "hunted" by him!

　　Many of the people here had come to attend the funeral.

　　But Li Yu had arrived at the cemetery early. He was here to wait for his last disciple to wake up... Now that Shen Li had awakened, the biggest weight in Li Yu's heart had also been lifted.

　　The clear sound of a bell rang in the distance, it was the sound of the array patterns of Qingzhong Cemetery.

　　"The funeral... is about to begin."

　　Li Yu took a deep breath, patted his disciple's shoulder, and said softly, "I'm relieved that you were able to wake up."

　　...

　　...

　　As the bell rang.

　　The Five Great Families, the Three Great Prisons, all those who entered the cemetery gathered one after another.

　　They came to the small mountain in the inner mausoleum.

　　The mountain was not high.

　　There was a faint mist swirling around it, making it hard to see clearly at a glance.

　　This wisp of mist meant that Qingzhong Cemetery had begun to be repaired, starting from the inner mausoleum, it would gradually recover from its destruction and return to its former completeness.

　　Qingzhong Cemetery, which was originally in a state of lockdown and reconstruction, had specially lifted the restrictions today.

　　In this Qingzhong Incident that had shocked East Continent, a total of one hundred and ninety-six transcendents had died.

　　In addition... Mr. Gu Changzhi, who was known as the God of War of East Continent, had left the world forever.

　　The memorial service for this grand funeral was held today.

　　The people stood solemnly in front of the mountain.

　　The whole ceremony was extremely depressing.

　　The deceased are gone, and the living should continue to move forward... Everyone understood this principle, but only those who had personally experienced separation could understand what farewell meant.

　　Qingzhong, which often rained, did not have a single drop of rain today.

　　As the funeral reached its end, a large dark cloud drifted from the distant sky.

　　"It's the Underworld King!"

　　The titles of the Three Prisons and Five Great Families all felt a weight in their hearts.

　　They didn't dare to release their spiritual power to sense it, nor did they dare to look up to see it carefully... The spiritual power in that large dark cloud was wrapped in a depressing and eerie aura.

　　In fact.

　　There was also a coincidence in choosing to hold the ceremony here.

　　This was the mountain where Gu Shen had first comprehended the array patterns of the cemetery, and it was also the farthest distance at which he could sense the "Underworld King's Fire Seed."

　　Mr. Gu Changzhi had stepped into the "Pure Land" from this mountain realm and then left forever.

　　It was impossible for Gu Shen to unfold the Pure Land and bring all these people into it for today's funeral...

　　All he could do was to draw out a small strand of the power of the "Underworld King's Fire Seed" and then summon such a dark cloud.

　　After that dark cloud condensed.

　　The already solemn funeral became even more depressing.

　　Gu Shen's control over the "Underworld King's Fire Seed" was not skilled, and it could even be said that... he could not yet master the power of the Fire Seed. All he could do at the moment was to summon this dark cloud to show respect to Mr. Gu Changzhi.

　　As for dispersing it...

　　That might take some time.

　　After a long time, the dark cloud finally dissipated, which made the funeral, which should have ended, last much longer.

　　Because of the "Underworld King's" gaze, after the funeral ended, the transcendents of the Three Prisons and Five Great Families left the cemetery one after another under the leadership of their teachers and elders. They actually wanted to stay a little longer, but the large dark cloud above their heads was too frightening.

　　...

　　...

　　After the funeral, Shen Li left with Li Yu.

　　The master and disciple traveled with Mr. Shan and his party. The sorrow in the prison's team was overflowing... But they also left very early. During the mourning process, Mr. Shan seemed to often look up at the dark cloud, and after the funeral ended, he was the first big figure to issue an order to leave the cemetery.

　　"Please stop."

　　A very soft voice suddenly sounded.

　　Shen Li turned his head and met Gu Shen's gaze.

　　Beside Gu Shen was the Miss Chu who had saved his life in the cemetery, now giving him a friendly smile...

　　Shen Li quickly returned the smile, then whispered to Gu Shen, "This is..."

　　"Your sister-in-law." Gu Shen replied without changing his expression.

　　Shen Li silently gave him a thumbs up.

　　He was just about to say something.

　　When he felt a tearing sensation in his mind.

　　"Teacher... I always feel like there's something more in my mind."

　　Shen Li hissed, looked at his teacher, his expression slightly painful.

　　Li Yu was stunned and asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

　　"No... I just feel like there's some sound ringing."

　　Shen Li shook his head, he rubbed his brow, feeling his head swell.

　　Could it be that his memories had not fully awakened?

　　This abnormality attracted the attention of many people.

　　Li Yu stopped, and his colleagues from the prison also stopped one after another. Several inquisitors surrounded Shen Li.

　　Everyone sensed with their spiritual power, but did not feel anything unusual.

　　There was an uproar.

　　Even Mr. Shan walked over quickly, "What's wrong?"

　　Mr. Shan's voice was a little puzzled.

　　"Little Shen... is not feeling well." Li Yu frowned and whispered, "Chief Inquisitor, can you help take a look?"

　　Mr. Shan's expression was solemn as he reached out a hand and placed it on Shen Li's shoulder, trying to sense Shen Li's spirit.

　　Shen Li's face was pale as he looked up at the large black cloud in the sky.

　　At this moment.

　　The Chief Inquisitor's expression suddenly changed.

　　In a daze, he seemed to see a black vertical pupil opening towards him!

　　That was... the Underworld King's gaze!

　　From the moment that dark cloud descended, he had vaguely felt something was wrong. It might be an illusion, or it might be a real spiritual feeling... He felt that something had targeted him.

　　The only explanation was naturally the Underworld King.

　　At this moment, a very soft voice, following Shen Li's spirit, was transmitted to Mr. Shan's mind.

　　That voice did not possess any lethality.

　　All it had was deterrence.

　　"The borrowed things should be returned."