"Meeting you is a genuine surprise."

The man in the wheelchair looked at the little girl before him and couldn't help but smile.

In his plan, the Li Clan's token was supposed to be delivered to him personally by a Li Clan elder... Logically speaking, after the upheaval in the mausoleum, the Li Clan elders would imprison Li Qingsui and seize the token.

But he never expected…

He would actually see the principal in the mausoleum. Clearly, the Li Clan's plans in the outside world had failed.

But it didn't matter.

What Gu Lushen cared about was only the token. As for who truly held the position of Li Clan head, he didn't care.

Li Qingsui felt a strong sense of unease.

After she entered the mausoleum… she had inexplicably arrived in this snow forest. The bloodline resonance within the token kept guiding her to move deeper into the snow forest, but she had seen a wisp of invisible sonic wave sweeping through the dense forest, shattering snow, and immediately realized that something was wrong.

This was definitely not where she should be.

So Li Qingsui moved in the opposite direction. The place was freezing cold, and her realm was weak, making it difficult for her to resist the severe cold. To make matters worse, she hadn't gone far before she encountered this guy.

"Uncle Gu…"

Li Qingsui forced a smile.

She retreated.

Gu Lushen advanced.

After a few seconds of stalemate, Gu Lushen made his move. He aimed his five fingers at the girl's chest.

With a ripping sound!

The sound of torn fabric echoed. Li Qingsui cried out in alarm as the front of her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) was torn open, and the wooden token that had been guiding her was knocked directly out of her hand!

Gu Lushen's mental power enveloped the Li Clan Head token, sweeping through the air!

However, the next moment, a sharp force suddenly slashed out from the snow forest!

The Li Clan wooden token flew towards the depths of the forest amidst the wind and snow.

Gu Lushen narrowed his eyes.

This power was exceptionally sharp, like a knife, directly tearing apart the envelope of his mental power… In this place, even titled transcendents had their mental power suppressed.

The power just now was a little strange.

After his mental power returned, Gu Lushen looked down at his palm. There were two drops of blood on his hand, but they weren't his own.

Gu Lushen chuckled softly, "So it's Brother Bai."

From the depths of the snow forest, a figure slowly walked out. Bai Xiaochi, holding the wooden token, came before Li Qingsui.

He handed out the token.

Li Qingsui breathed a sigh of relief, took back the token, and cast a grateful glance at Bai Xiaochi.

Bai Xiaochi asked indifferently, "Surname Gu, I didn't see it wrong, did I? The dignified new patriarch of the Gu Clan is actually bullying an underage girl like Li Qingsui?"

Gu Lushen only smiled.

He said softly with a smile, "Brother Bai, your arrival is perfectly timed."

The next moment, without any warning, he raised both hands and slapped the armrests of the wheelchair, suddenly leaping up from the chair. His entire person transformed into a streak of purple light.

With a bang!

Gu Lushen struck out with both hands. It was a head-on physical confrontation without any fancy moves, incredibly fast and extremely fierce!

This strike… was not aimed at Bai Xiaochi.

But at Li Qingsui!

This sudden change shocked the little girl, and she didn't have time to dodge.

Because… everything was too fast!

At the critical moment, Bai Xiaochi stepped forward, blocking Li Qingsui.

He raised his palms, and [Zhaoming] transformed into a blood-colored barrier, rising from the ground in front of them!

Bai Xiaochi groaned.

The two separated in an instant… The purple light that Gu Lushen's body had transformed into instantly retreated, returning to the wheelchair, looking calm and composed, not at all like someone who had just made a move.

As for Bai Xiaochi, his body didn't move an inch, seemingly gaining the upper hand, but in reality, his feet were deeply embedded in the snow.

He moved them imperceptibly.

Bai Xiaochi's expression was a little unsightly… The force of that strike was terrifyingly heavy, and he was actually finding it a little difficult to withstand?

"As expected of the person who consistently ranks second among the five great families."

Gu Lushen said softly with a smile, "Although [Zhaoming] isn't exactly a combat-oriented ability, I have to admit, you are more powerful than Gong Qing and Mu Yi…"

Gong Qing, Mu Yi?

Hearing this, Bai Xiaochi's pupils contracted involuntarily.

"What did you do to them?" he asked in a low voice.

"Actually, it's nothing much, just borrowed something from them." Gu Lushen sighed softly, shaking his head and saying, "These two weren't willing to lend it, so… I took matters into my own hands and took it."

Although he sighed,

There was still a hint of a smile in his words.

Bai Xiaochi felt a chill run down his spine. He stared coldly at Gu Lushen, "You took their… Clan Head Tokens?"

Gu Lushen's earlier attack on Li Qingsui was to seize this token!

But he couldn't understand.

The Clan Head Tokens of the five great families were now just a symbol of honor. What use would taking them have?

"That's right."

Gu Lushen raised his hand, and as his fingers rotated, purple snowflakes imbued with divine power danced in the forest.

Three tokens slowly floated and swirled.

Bai Xiaochi placed a hand on Li Qingsui's shoulder, his expression more solemn than ever before.

Those three tokens corresponded to Gu, Gong, and Mu respectively!

The Clan Head Tokens of three families had already been taken by him… which also meant that Old Master Gu Qilin had also fallen at his hands.

"This game should come to an end."

Gu Lushen said leisurely with a smile, "Brother Bai, you've always been known for your keen insight and intelligence. Surely you've noticed the abnormality in the depths of this snow forest by now?"

Of course, Bai Xiaochi had noticed.

From the moment he stepped into the mausoleum and arrived in this frigid land, he had guessed what had probably happened in Qingzhong.

Such a large-scale disaster could only come from Mr. Gu Changzhi.

And the God Seat that triggered this disaster…

Could only be the God of Wine.

A year ago, when he investigated the assassination case in the Tundra, he vaguely sensed something amiss. The case file was actually perfect, with almost no loopholes, but the only problem was precisely its "perfection."

Because it was too perfect, it was unreasonable.

When the clue about the Elder Council's mole pointed to Bai Buzheng, Bai Buzheng died.

When the location of the Tundra assassin was exposed in Inta, that assassin also died.

That assassin was burned to ashes… All information disappeared. The blood extracted by [Zhaoming] in the Tundra also couldn't be matched to the original owner in the Deep Sea Database. This indicated that the assassination in the Tundra had been ingeniously and meticulously designed.

And such an assassination, concluded in this way, seemed to end hastily.

After thinking it over, Bai Xiaochi decided to link this assassination case with the "Source Tower"... He firmly believed that there were still "Servants" of the God of Wine within the Elder Council, perhaps more than one.

And long periods of lurking would always have a day of explosion.

So when he stepped into the mausoleum and found himself separated from his clansmen, he realized… that this was the "day of explosion" at the end of hibernation.

And the one being exploded was not just the Bai family.

"You… the power you just used was from the God of Wine's Seat." Bai Xiaochi murmured thoughtfully, "You are also involved with the Source Tower."

Gu Lushen shook his head with a smile.

He said, "You should have guessed more."

"The Clan Head Tokens of the five great families… are the keys to guiding the way to the Colossus Relics." Bai Xiaochi said as he thought, "You want to collect all five keys to go to the Colossus Relics…"

Gu Lushen smiled, "Continue."

The five great families first arrived in Nagano, took root and sprouted, and passed down their bloodlines, and were related to this Colossus Relic.

Collecting the keys was nothing more than awakening those Colossi.

But what was the use of awakening the Colossi?

They were just inanimate objects, containing vast transcendent source matter. At best, they could be considered the totem sealing objects of the five great families, guarding the peace of the Nagano District for six hundred years.

Bai Xiaochi was a little bewildered.

A wisp of mental ripple swept over… This time, this mental ripple was already quite large, vaguely bursting out with the sound of a tsunami. Wherever it passed, the snow trees bent their backs, almost knocking their crowns to the ground, bending ninety degrees. And several jagged rocks protruding from the snow forest were shattered by the extremely thick震(zhen) force within this ripple!

Unknowingly, this "mental tide" had been superimposed with dozens, nearly a hundred waves.

Now each one was more frightening than the last!

At first, encountering this ripple would only lead to being hypnotized.

But now… there was a real risk to life. This mental ripple didn't carry murderous intent, but it was more and more powerful with each iteration. Now, transcendents with weaker mental power would probably fall into a long sleep. And if the souls of ordinary mortals were even weaker, it wouldn't be surprising if they couldn't withstand the impact and were directly erased from existence.

The most terrifying thing was that this mental ripple had now reached the edge of the mausoleum within the Great Cold Disaster.

The next one should surge out of the snow forest and go to the snowfield.

And based on the "diffusion effect" of a tsunami, the power of this mental ripple was getting stronger and stronger, and it was only a matter of time before it rushed out of the snowfield!

"This is… a Fire Seed!"

Bai Xiaochi finally reacted.

Only a Fire Seed could possess such terrifying power!

Within the Qingzhong Mausoleum, there was also hidden a Fire Seed… That federal file that had been lost and sealed twenty years ago now appeared in the mind of this Bai Clan head.

The Fire Seed of Hades was hidden in Qingzhong?!

"Clap, clap, clap."

The crisp sound of applause echoed in the forest.

Gu Lushen earnestly applauded Bai Xiaochi. He didn't give any hints, but Bai Xiaochi had guessed the truth…

This made him feel very gratified.

"Brother Bai, you really are stronger than those two 'stubborn donkeys' who only know how to fight to the death."

In the brief pause after the tsunami-like mental ripple dissipated.

The wind blew through Gu Lushen's frosty white temples.

He stared at Bai Xiaochi's eyes and said calmly, "In fact, I have never betrayed Nagano, nor have I ever believed in the God of Wine's Seat. What I want to do is to bring greater light to this place. So I didn't kill them. Gong Qing, Mu Yi, Old Master Gu, they are all still alive… When I refine the Fire Seed, I will personally expel the God of Wine and bring true peace to Dongzhou."

These words were not spoken with mental power.

But they were very contagious.

A subtle change appeared on Bai Xiaochi's expression, and he seemed to be hesitating.

"So…"

Gu Lushen said sincerely with a smile, "I don't want any more unnecessary battles and casualties."

He stretched out a hand, palm up.

"Give me the Clan Head Token, and we will walk together to a higher peak."

…

…

(There's more tonight)