Chapter 109 Equivalent Exchange

"Please."

The long corridor was filled with flames.

The Legion Commander, his greatcoat ablaze, made a gesture of invitation.

Gu Shen slowly stepped into the giant door.

The world behind this door was not as scorching as he had imagined... wisps of fire-wind swirled around, extinguished, and turned into shattered ashes.

Gu Shen raised his head, his vision gradually widening.

He looked at the scene before him in shock.

The world behind the door—

It was like a boundless and vast "starry sky."

The divine realm was spread out, condensed to an extremely small range.

In this room, countless extraordinary source materials, like shooting stars, revolved around the throne in the center of the chamber. The Empress, seated upon the throne, was shrouded in a dazzling silver-white radiance.

The world outside the door was ignited by the "furnace"—

But the place where the throne stood was permeated with bone-chilling cold.

Within the furnace, a great wind howled.

The woman sitting on the throne lowered her head, silent, as if taking a nap.

The throne was not tall, as pale as snow. The Empress's figure was shrouded and covered by countless extraordinary source materials, hazy and shapeless...

Gu Shen couldn't see the Empress's appearance clearly.

But he roughly understood the reason why the Empress had not appeared before the world for the past two years.

The power of this "divine realm" before him seemed to be showing signs of losing control.

Gu Shen felt the blazing fire in his brow burning restlessly.

Yes, the blazing fire burned unhindered. The Dou Zhan golden circlet that had always held his forehead was silently frozen by the Empress's power after he entered the divine realm... Perhaps it was because the distance from Changye was too far, or perhaps it was because Bai Su had just refined the fire seed, the power within the golden circlet did not manifest within the "furnace domain."

Although it was a "furnace," the temperature here was terrifyingly low.

All the heat of the Central City was born from the "furnace domain."

"These source materials... are drawing power from the throne."

Chu Ling's expression was solemn as she borrowed Gu Shen's eyes to see the scene before them.

This was a scene that could not be explained by common sense.

In fact, from beginning to end, Central City was a perpetually winter city born in ice and snow, but when this furnace burned fiercely, it took all the cold into the throne... all the cold, frost, was borne by one person.

"This is..."

"Equivalent exchange."

……

……

"Your Majesty..."

After a long silence, Gu Shen finally spoke.

"I came to the Northern Continent to deliver a letter for Gu Changzhi."

He took out the folded letter from his bosom. He had promised Mr. Gu Changzhi in the Qingzhong Cemetery that he would deliver three letters, and this was the second one.

A familiar name awakened the surging frost and snow within the furnace.

The woman slowly raised her head.

Even through the countless snowflakes, one could still feel her "fatigue." She had actually fallen asleep. Gu Shen was a little worried. Had the Empress been in this state during the days when she had avoided the world?

The woman on the throne looked at the young man before her in a daze, or rather, at the letter in the young man's hand.

Her gaze became gentle, warm...

She reached out her hand.

"Whirr——"

The letter paper trembled gently, flying out of Gu Shen's hand with a crisp rustling sound.

Gu Shen stood at the entrance, not moving forward. He knew... the closer he got to the center of the furnace, the lower the temperature would be. The place where the Empress was located probably gathered all the "cold" of the entire Northern Continent.

The letter floated slowly—

The frost touched the letter paper, but did not stick.

The frozen snow fell on the envelope, but did not melt.

It landed in the woman's hand.

A very soft laugh came from the ice and snow.

The Empress of the Northern Continent lowered her head and looked at the letter in her hand, murmuring softly, "This letter... I've been waiting for it for a long time..."

How long was a long time?

Was it the twenty years that Gu Changzhi had been sleeping?

Or was it a date that had been agreed upon twenty years ago?

Gu Shen did not know what these two had experienced, but he knew that Mr. Gu Changzhi had sheltered the young Empress as she grew up, personally witnessing her becoming a powerful ruler of the Northern Continent, achieving a great cause... but after that, they never had the chance to meet again.

One slept in the depths of the Qingzhong Cemetery.

The other was locked in the furnace on the second floor of the ancient castle.

Although their fire seeds were different, their origins were different, their fighting philosophies were different, and the beliefs they upheld were different... Gu Shen felt that Her Majesty the Empress and Gu Changzhi were actually very similar people.

The moment he stepped into the "Furnace Divine Realm," Gu Shen felt... the same brightness and frankness on the Empress that he had felt on Gu Changzhi. The reason why this place was so cold was because it had dedicated the heat that was enough to burn the entire Northern Continent.

What followed next.

Something that Gu Shen could not understand happened.

The Empress gently raised her hand. She did not look at the letter, but simply revoked the divine power protecting the thin letter paper... Under the frost of the furnace, the letter paper was instantly frozen into ice, and then torn to pieces by the strong wind, turning into fragments.

With the power of a god.

It was not difficult to piece the letter paper back together.

But... why did she do this? Even if she didn't want to read the letter in front of him, she shouldn't have torn it up like that, right?

Gu Shen was stunned.

"Thank you for delivering the letter, but this is... the best ending for this letter."

The Empress looked at Gu Shen with a smile, and only said this meaningful sentence. Other than that, she didn't say anything more.

The two of them looked at each other from a not-so-distant distance...

Gu Shen felt his soul tremble.

His gaze was attracted by the Empress's eyes, and when he really looked over, the surrounding scenery blurred. The wind, snow, throne, and woman all disappeared. The pair of pupils that moved his spirit seemed to have turned into a bright moon.

This was the first time... his mental power had been completely "defeated."

If the Empress had released a dream just now.

Then he would have been lost.

With his current strength, it would have been impossible for him to break the dream... Gu Shen quickly took a deep breath and circulated the Spring Breathing Technique to calm his mind. He was also a lucky one who had experienced "divine descent" and participated in "divine battles."

Thinking back carefully, when he faced the Dionysus Throne... he had not felt such a powerful mental oppression.

It was not that the Dionysus Throne was weak.

But that the Empress was too powerful.

Although the Empress of the Northern Continent was locked in the阁楼, her strength was likely to be among the top three of the seven gods of the Supreme Council!

Did that glance just now... see through his soul?

Gu Shen's expression was a little pale.

The existence of the Ancient Text Society and Chu Ling, the golden穗flower outside the border of the Northern Continent, the sealed Ruler of Truth, and the冥王fire seed buried in the Qingzhong Cemetery were all great secrets that could not be exposed.

The Empress had not even read Gu Changzhi's letter... Gu Shen simply did not know this Majesty's attitude and position towards him.

If these secrets were seen through by the Empress, it would be terrible.

The current peace in the Eastern Continent was based on the premise of the existence of the second Divine Throne,冥王... If others in the Supreme Council knew that冥王had died and only left a remnant fire seed, it would undoubtedly trigger a great conflict.

An extra fire seed was enough to change the格局of the five continents.

If the Empress knew that he was the candidate for the冥王fire seed...

Would she still be so "polite" to him?

Gu Shen subconsciously touched his pendant.

Fortunately, the Blessing of the Goddess of Destiny did not send any unusual signals... If this thing was still useful in the Furnace Divine Realm, then it proved that he was at least not in danger now.

Gu Shen took a deep breath.

The habit he had developed from facing life and death many times allowed him to stay alert and keep his trump cards... It was just that when he really faced a Divine Throne, these trump cards were not strong enough. He told himself that there was no need to be nervous. His state and spirit were things that the Empress of the Northern Continent could see through at a glance.

The gap in strength was huge, and there was no use in being tense.

His biggest trump card should be the "Ruler," but even if he offered a deal, the devil inside probably wouldn't dare to accept it, right?

Judging from the strength that the devil hiding in the dark had shown so far, even if it could break free, it would likely be directly killed by the Empress.

"No need to be nervous."

Indeed.

The Empress of the Northern Continent could see that Gu Shen was too tense.

In fact, every person who personally saw a Divine Throne was like this. Some were too excited because they were finally able to see the rumored figure of faith, while others were afraid that their secrets would be seen through and exposed.

And the reason why this young man was so nervous was because he had too many secrets...

She said with a smile, "Actually, before you came to the Northern Continent... I was paying attention to you."

The biting cold wind dispersed the mist between the two of them.

Gu Shen heard the Empress's gentle voice, and the big stone hanging in his heart finally fell... This voice was very gentle, making people feel inexplicably relaxed. It was the soothing feeling he had felt in the hall on the first floor.

In the Furnace Divine Realm, she absorbed the negative and pessimistic suffering, and what she released was a mental power that made people feel relaxed.

Paying attention to him before he came to the Northern Continent?

Gu Shen smiled bitterly. After the gaze just now, he had no idea how many of his secrets the Empress had seen through.

His identity as冥王... probably hadn't been seen through.

But other things were hard to say. The existence of the Ruler of Truth had likely been seen through, but the Empress didn't care.

With her status and her friendship with Gu Changzhi, she wouldn't make things difficult for Gu Shen because of the existence of a certain forbidden sealed object.

The Empress said softly, "This time you came to the Northern Continent, it's a pity that you didn't find any news about Mr. Shu and the others... Thanks to you, the 牯堡was able to be defended. I express my respect to you on behalf of the border."

Gu Shen bowed and shook his head, "Your Majesty is too kind. This is what I should do, not only for the Northern Continent, but also for the homes of all people."

After a slight pause.

Gu Shen looked at the fragments of the envelope falling in front of him. He felt truly regretful. The power of the extraordinary source materials wandering in the Furnace Divine Realm was quite overbearing, devouring the heat around the throne. A mere letter paper could not bear this kind of violent extraordinary power at all.

Freezing, breaking, and then being swallowed by countless turbulent currents.

To this extent, his blazing fire was definitely unable to piece together these shattered scraps of paper... He just didn't know if a figure at the level of a Divine Throne had this kind of great power.

However... since Her Majesty the Empress had chosen to tear up this letter, she probably wouldn't restore it at all.

He sighed softly, looking at a piece of fragment falling into his palm, and murmured, "Your Majesty, my biggest task on this trip to the Northern Continent... is actually to deliver the letter."

Recalling Mr. Gu Changzhi's words back then.

Gu Shen's mood was complicated.

In the cemetery, Mr. Gu Changzhi had vowed to tell him that after delivering this letter, he would immediately receive the help of the entire Northern Continent...

But now, Her Majesty the Empress had torn the letter directly without even reading a word!

The woman sitting in the ice and snow smiled.

"You will know the reason for tearing the letter... in the future."

The Empress said softly, "I guess he said that after this letter is delivered, you will immediately receive the help of the entire Northern Continent and be treated as an honored guest, with a status at least equal to that of the Grand Duke."

Gu Shen was stunned.

He stood there, unable to say a word... because what Her Majesty the Empress had said at this moment was almost exactly the same as Mr. Gu Changzhi's words of farewell in the cemetery, not a word was different.

"Since I know the meaning of this letter, then is it still so important to read it or not?"

The Empress asked, "The same question... ask yourself, did you really need the so-called 'Grand Duke treatment' when you came to the Northern Continent to deliver the letter this time?"

Gu Shen was silent for a while. He admired the Empress's extraordinary power.

Some things could not be described as "coincidence." Being able to say Gu Changzhi's words of farewell in the cemetery without missing a word, Gu Shen was more willing to believe that this was a kind of "miracle" that could be replicated.

He had heard that Her Majesty the Empress had created a method of foresight that could be compared to "divination."

Perhaps, this was the power of that method of foresight?

"I came to deliver the letter just to fulfill Mr. Gu Changzhi's last wish." Gu Shen thought for a moment and said slowly, "I thought... you would be very sad, and that this letter was very important to you."

After saying this, Gu Shen shook his head.

Sadness was never shown to others.

And that letter... the Empress must have had her reasons for tearing it up.

In the end, he was just a "messenger," not knowing the origin of the letter, not knowing the end of the letter, only needing to know... that this letter was delivered smoothly, then that was good.

What exactly was written in the thousands of words inside was not so important to him.

As for the "Grand Duke treatment" of the Northern Continent, it was even less important.

If it weren't for his teacher and senior sister... he wouldn't have stayed in the Northern Continent for too long.

"Actually... even without this letter, I wanted to meet you."

The Empress looked at Gu Shen, her gaze a little erratic, and said something that Gu Shen did not expect: "You are a person who carries a 'sincere heart' without realizing it."

A sincere heart?

Hearing these four words, Gu Shen couldn't help but laugh.

He was the chosen one of the Ruler of Truth, killing two transcendents when he first awakened. He had killed no less people on his path to advancement. He had directly taken action in the无人区tundra and血洗the entire snow mountain. In the eyes of outsiders, he was a radiant "S-level," but in reality, he could not tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes. Once he had the intention to kill, he would leave no survivors.

Gu Shen had always believed that this was the reason why he was chosen by the冥王fire seed.

Gu Changzhi and the Empress chose to burn themselves for the sake of their people and homeland. This behavior could be called a "sincere heart."

Gu Shen felt awe and respect for their actions.

But asking himself, it was difficult for him to do such a thing...

Did something like a sincere heart have any connection with the dark and ominous冥王?

These were qualities that stood on the opposite sides of light and darkness.

Sure enough... the Empress's eyes could see through most of the fog in this world, but when it came to people and things related to the "fire seed," she would also be mistaken.

Gu Shen raised his head, looked at the throne, and smiled in agreement, "Your Majesty has good eyes."

He didn't say much.

After all, this was just a compliment, and he would gladly accept it and then leave it at that.

The Empress on the throne also smiled.

She looked at Gu Shen, and the wind and snow between the two of them suddenly rose, a blur.

Indeed... he didn't realize it.

……

……

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