Chapter 443 Family Head Order

Gu Lunshen, sitting in his wheelchair, pointed a finger at the token in Gu Qilin's palm.

It was the Family Head Order.

Its greatest purpose was naturally to symbolize the position of Family Head.

But normally… apart from the so-called symbolic meaning, the token had no other real function.

The extraordinary beings of the Gu family wouldn't only recognize the token and not the person.

So… this token was actually useless.

With Gu Qilin's personality, if he wasn't thinking of leaving this order to the future Family Head Gu Nanfeng, he wouldn't have felt much heartache even if he threw it away in a moment of life-or-death crisis.

But at this moment, Gu Lunshen had specifically asked for it.

Because Gu Lunshen wanted it, he couldn't give it.

The old man smiled, his voice hoarse. "If you want it, come and get it yourself."

Gu Lunshen was silent.

Snowflakes rustled down, and a ripple of mental energy surged from afar, shaking the tall trees until they trembled.

After this ripple passed.

Gu Lunshen asked with disappointment, "Old man, does it have to be this way?"

This time, his choice of words had changed.

At first, he had addressed him as "Old Master."

But now, it was "Old man."

The change in wording signified… a change in attitude.

He looked at the old man in the distance, leaning on his sword.

And Gu Qilin slowly raised his broken battle blade, holding it horizontally in front of his chest, equally demonstrating his own attitude.

Then… the answer was obvious.

If he wanted to take away this token, there was only one possibility.

Kill Gu Qilin.

"Rumble—"

A low, deep wind echoed through the forest.

Gu Lunshen placed both hands on the armrests of the wheelchair and slowly stood up from his seat.

It had been countless years since he had appeared before the world in this manner… sitting in this wheelchair, pretending to be a disabled weakling. But many people in Changye Snow Forbidden City knew that Gu Lunshen could stand up.

He was a cunning fox, good at showing weakness, and enjoying it.

He could stand up… but it wasn't necessary.

Since sitting in a wheelchair could defeat all enemies, and lead the Gu family's new faction to be invincible and unstoppable.

Then why did he need to stand up?

Gu Lunshen used the power of the [Keepsake].

The strand of mental energy gifted by the Dionysus Throne thinly covered his clothing, flowing and circulating, like a brand-new robe draped down… As he tried to stand up, his calves trembled constantly. However, after the purple radiance spread and touched the ground, all the trembling and discomfort disappeared.

He became a "normal person."

"I didn't want this."

Gu Lunshen said softly, "You could live, but why won't you?"

Gu Qilin took a deep breath.

The phantom of the Boundless Scale was attached to the broken blade… Nether souls struggled and surged, like rolling tides, giving this blade the terrifying power to cut souls!

Gu Lunshen disappeared instantly, and then reappeared.

Gu Qilin slashed out with his blade.

The blade light collided with the divine radiance… a dazzling burst of light and fire appeared in the snow forest.

The outcome of this scene was not in doubt.

Gu Qilin flew out again.

He was indeed old.

This era no longer belonged to him… The era belonging to Gu Qilin had disappeared in the rumbling gunfire of North Continent. At that time, [Deep Sea] was still slumbering in the cradle of research, and heavy-armored tanks were the invincible weapons on the battlefield of the North Continent Emperor. And today, the "old man" wielding a battle blade was the well-deserved king of that battlefield.

Sixty years, more than half a century had passed.

His hair was already white.

His battle blade had also been shattered.

The mental power of the Boundless Scale had also fallen from its peak. In his youth, he could spread a domain of hundreds of feet, but now, in the Disaster Realm, only a narrow layer remained, barely enough to cover his body like a painting on clothing.

"Boom…"

In the midst of the muffled heavy impact, the broken battle blade drew an arc in the air and plunged into the heavy snow, with only half the hilt remaining above the snow layer… not because the blade was sharp, but because the remaining blade body had been completely shattered.

Gu Qilin crashed heavily into a tree, and the Family Head Order flew out of his hand, falling into the snow dust…

Gu Lunshen, standing in front of him, maintained the posture of reaching out a palm.

Dozens of sharp, broken blade fragments floated in the air.

He only needed a thought to make these blade fragments… cut into Gu Qilin's body and nail him to the tree.

But Gu Lunshen didn't do that.

He simply withdrew his palm and gently hooked his fingers.

The floating blade fragments rustled down, silently falling into the snow.

And the Family Head Order, buried deep in the snow, flew into his palm.

"You seem to think… that I am now a lackey of the Dionysus Throne."

Gu Lunshen stared directly at the disheveled old man, his eyes without mockery or ridicule, but said these words very seriously.

Gu Qilin smiled.

He looked up at Gu Lunshen, the meaning in his eyes very clear.

Did these words even need to be said?

"Am I such a foolish character in your eyes? Since you have already seen the existence of the 'Third Kindling', then you shouldn't imagine me to be so lowly…"

Gu Lunshen crouched down, and the Gu family's wooden token vibrated gently in his hand, emitting a soft hum.

Gu Qilin's mental imprint was instantly erased.

He said quietly, "If there is a chance to become a god, then who would want to be a dog? At least, I don't."

The old man suddenly thought of the previous guidance…

The power of the Third Kindling could cause the Family Head Orders of the five great families to resonate. This very likely meant that the power suppressing this Kindling had the help of the five great families.

He thought of a place.

The Colossus Ruins.

Qingzhong Mausoleum was built on the foundation of the Colossus Ruins!

And the true power of that ruin required the Family Head Orders of the five great families to work together… to summon it. The reason these five tokens were useless was because they were separated and given to the Family Heads of the five great families.

If they weren't combined.

They were just… ordinary identity tokens.

But if they were combined, the bloodline power of the five great families would connect with the Colossus Ruins, then it would release the accumulated power of the Colossus Ruins. This was actually a measure used to guard against the worst-case scenario when Qingzhong Mausoleum was built.

But now it seemed.

That Colossus Ruin was very likely the place where the Third Kindling was suppressed. If it was moved… then the Third Kindling would completely lose its suppression.

Gu Lunshen's purpose… had never been the struggle within the Mausoleum.

He didn't care what happened outside.

Nor did he care about the life or death of the Dionysus Throne and Gu Changzhi.

What he cared about… had always been the Third Kindling!

He wanted to remove the suppression and become the master of the Third Kindling!

"It's laughable… Gu Changzhi deceived the world. You don't know about the existence of the Third Kindling, Chino doesn't know, even the Dionysus Throne doesn't know." Gu Lunshen smiled with lowered eyebrows. "But I, of all people, know."

At this point, he suddenly coughed violently.

The cyan frost on Gu Lunshen's chest suddenly became denser.

With a burst of violent breathing, the cyan frost crackled, as if his heart had turned into a blazing furnace. Even Gu Qilin, several meters away, could feel the scorching temperature coming from that side of the snow.

The old man looked at this scene with a look of surprise.

Gu Lunshen's chest was burning—

At his heart, inside his clothes, it seemed as if a small sun had lit up. In order to suppress this heat, the Dionysus Throne's mental power was rapidly consumed.

Soon after.

The frost was incinerated and then reborn.

His expression was still calm, but pain was hidden in his eyes. After this process ended, the snow was scorched with small holes from a few drops of sweat.

This was the price of the eye in his heart… after its awakening.

He had endured this kind of pain for too long. Fortunately, it seemed that this kind of pain was nothing, after all, he had spied enough valuable information. Even the Dionysus Throne didn't know that everything Gu Lunshen had done was to seize the Third Kindling.

"The things you can't see, I can see…"

Gu Lunshen said with a hoarse smile, "Deep in the Mausoleum, in the mist of the Inner Mausoleum, such a Kindling is buried. Twenty years ago, when Gu Changzhi fell asleep… I saw it!"

"Do you know why Qingzhong Mausoleum was able to be built?"

"Because this Kindling was too weak… unprecedentedly weak. If a miracle land that gathered the extraordinary source power of East Continent could be built, then it could gradually recover and become stronger!"

At that time, the new and old factions of the Gu family argued endlessly over the [Qingzhong Act]!

But Gu Lunshen, who possessed the third eye, saw all the truth… He knew that Gu Changzhi had fallen into a complete slumber, and he also knew that the lost Seventh Kindling was suppressed under the Colossus Ruins.

Thus, a long-term plan lasting more than a decade was sown at that time.

The new faction and the old faction went through difficult and fierce struggles… In the end, Gu Lunshen "unwillingly" retreated half a step, and the Qingzhong Act was successfully passed. The construction of this Mausoleum experienced many difficulties, but fortunately, they were overcome one by one and successfully put into operation.

Soon after, the eye in his heart slowly went out.

This was a good thing, meaning that Gu Changzhi's awakened divine power outside was getting weaker and weaker.

This was also a bad thing, meaning that he would no longer be able to spy and grasp the latest information.

However… the seed had already been sown, and the only thing that needed to be done was to wait.

Gu Lunshen had the most patience.

He just started waiting.

Time flew by like a fleeting shadow… Many years later, the eyes in his heart finally opened again, and he saw the "revived and strengthened" Underworld Kindling as he wished.

His plan was successful.

The rest was to pick the fruit.

He had to prevent Gu Changzhi from waking up.

For all of this, Gu Lunshen had already established contact with the Dionysus Throne of the Source Tower. With the care of opportune timing, favorable terrain, and popular support… the real plan began to be implemented half a year ago, and the Dionysus Throne chose to actively step into Changye.

At that moment, the fate of the Mausoleum was already doomed.

Half a year later, Qingzhong Mausoleum ushered in an ultimate explosion.

These plans were not that ingenious.

But… they were truly grand.

Because Gu Lunshen was just an "ordinary person", the things he could decide were limited. Even standing on the summit of a certain peak in Changye, all he could manipulate was the new faction of Gu family extraordinary beings.

And those most critical pawns in this plan, he could only guide, not control.

He couldn't decide whether the god-throne would stay or go, nor could he decide whether the Family Heads of the five great families would enter the Mausoleum or not.

And now… everything was developing in the "best" direction.

His luck was really good.

"So… you don't want to kill me because you want to re-integrate the Gu family after becoming a god-throne." Gu Qilin laughed softly.

Gu Lunshen said softly, "When I become a god-throne… why do you need to believe in Gu Changzhi anymore?"

The old man looked at his once extremely admired junior.

He was a little regretful.

Regarding this question… he didn't answer, not because he couldn't answer.

But because the answer had lost its meaning.

Gu Lunshen's thinking was the complete opposite of his. To outsiders, Gu Changzhi was a respectable sun, but in his opinion, Gu Changzhi was the most dazzling and blinding ray of light in the world.

But he racked his brains, wanting to become the next god-throne, wanting to replace him.

He… also wanted to become the sun.

This was not hatred.

This was jealousy, envy, and hate.

"In recent years, the old faction has been retreating steadily. I thought you were mature enough, but I didn't expect… you are still so naive." Gu Qilin shook his head disappointedly, he asked softly: "So you personally went to the Mausoleum just for such a trivial matter?"

Back then, after learning the news that Gu Lunshen had entered the Mausoleum, including him, everyone in the old faction was very nervous.

They worried that the new faction would start a war in Qingzhong Mausoleum again.

And ultimately.

All of this was just a false alarm.

Gu Lunshen and the tomb keeper didn't start a war… So many people didn't understand. If they didn't start a war, why did Gu Lunshen have to go to the Mausoleum himself? Did he just go to say a few words?

Not only did the old faction not understand.

Those extraordinary beings of the new faction also couldn't understand.

Gu Lunshen narrowed his eyes.

The experiences, encounters, and endurance of these years… had turned into a shadow, deeply imprinted in his heart!

The frustration, unwillingness, and anticipation of the imminent dawn of living in the same era as Gu Changzhi were brewing in his chest. Gu Lunshen finally chose to visit the tomb keeper of Qingzhong at the last moment before the storm was about to come.

This trip was not only to confirm the specific information of the lost Kindling.

It was also to say the sentence he wanted to say the most.

["If Gu Changzhi dies, someone has to inherit the Kindling."]

Was this a trivial matter?

This was not a trivial matter.

For him, the greatest motivation to support him to live through these twenty years, to collude with the Dionysus Throne and fall into depravity, and to wait patiently… was the Kindling buried under the Mausoleum!

That was his last hope.

It was also all of his hope.

"Those words are very important to me."

Gu Lunshen lowered his eyebrows, his voice trembling slightly: "This is a very, very big thing… Old man, you don't understand."

He stretched out two fingers.

And swiped them in front of Gu Qilin.

A spray of blood splashed out, splattering on the snow and on Gu Lunshen's face.

…

…

(Just one chapter tonight)