Changye Northern Border, Highway 447.

Dense fog.

A black car slowly came to a halt.

Gu Shen got out of the car, the blazing fire between his brows slowly igniting. He could sense it... not far from the highway, there was a distorted "Great Marvelous Realm" opening its doors to him.

It was because of the Li Clan's talisman.

He now possessed the qualifications to enter "Shenci Mountain" (Mountain Shrine).

And without this talisman... perhaps the blazing fire could still sense the unusual transcendent aura around him, but he would have a hard time finding the entrance to the "Shenci Mountain territory."

In the distance, shrouded in fog, a plain and unadorned commercial van was already parked.

A slender figure, wearing a monocle, stood at the edge of the fog, an alloy box at his feet. Mr. Cui had arrived ahead of time, silently counting the seconds on his wristwatch, waiting patiently.

Compared to the Jinqi Mountain transaction, this rendezvous didn't require as many hands.

But it was just as important.

Lu Nanzhi couldn't leave Dadu in person, and the person she trusted most... was Cui Zhongcheng.

At the other end of the fog, Gu Shen's figure slowly emerged.

He smiled and said, "Mr. Cui, long time no see."

"A single day apart feels like three autumns," Cui Zhongcheng replied with a smile.

He adjusted his monocle, shifting his gaze from his wristwatch to scrutinize Gu Shen. It had only been half a month since they last met in Dadu, but the young man's transcendent aura had become remarkably deep and restrained, mysterious.

Gu Shen's movements were being watched not only by the five great families of Changye.

Even the "Dadu District" far away in Jiangnan was paying close attention... the "review" and the guidance into the Tribunal had all been overseen by the higher-ups in Dadu.

Cui Zhongcheng, who had spearheaded it all, felt gratified.

He picked up the alloy box and patted the van beside him. "Everything's in here... is it to be delivered there?"

Cui Zhongcheng slowly turned his head.

He looked towards the direction of "Shenci Mountain."

"Yes," Gu Shen nodded.

"A fully formed, super-large Marvelous Realm... seems to have existed for many years..." Mr. Cui narrowed his eyes, observing intently for a long time. When he arrived at Highway 447, he roughly understood what was happening.

Regardless of what those items were.

If they wanted to be smuggled into Changye, they needed to evade the [Wind Eye].

And this massive, chaotically transcendent Marvelous Realm was the best place to hide.

This was probably one of the trump cards of one of the five families.

Cui Zhongcheng smiled as he handed over the box, along with the car keys, and said, "Now that you've taken care of the 'Marvelous Realm'... there's not much I can help with from here on out. I wish you success."

He glanced behind Gu Shen.

There seemed to be an extremely powerful transcendent being watching them.

Cui Zhongcheng nodded slowly, turned to Gu Shen, and retreated into the fog.

...

...

"The [items] are fine."

Gu Shen had not even spoken when he returned to Li Qingsui's car. Uncle Gao spoke first.

His mental power had already enveloped the entirety of Highway 447.

Neither the alloy box nor the goods inside the commercial van contained any "prohibited items." They were mostly strange materials exuding transcendent auras, most of which had undergone compression processing.

The box contained rare mithril.

And some strong-logic materials that even he couldn't name.

These seemed to be unique to North Continent.

Uncle Gao didn't ask too many questions, saying simply, "Take the goods in. But don't go too deep into 'Shenci Mountain.' Stop the car after entering the entrance."

The Shenci Mountain was riddled with holes because it was occupied by too much transcendent source matter.

Because of the existence of the "Wish Art," these flowers of ruined order hadn't yet displayed great offensive power, but in fact, if they were triggered by a strong transcendent aura, these flowers might release their "qualities"... thereby causing an avalanche-like collapse.

To ensure absolute safety.

It was better to leave these materials at the entrance anyway, since Gu Shen only wanted to avoid the [Wind Eye].

"...Thank you," Gu Shen said sincerely.

That was what he thought as well.

Being able to send them into Shenci Mountain was enough!

The two cars, one large and one small, entered the Shenci Mountain territory one after the other... Gu Shen personally drove the van, following Uncle Gao's car. The talisman on his body emitted a fluorescent glow, and the highway that originally reached its end at 447 suddenly revealed a new world.

Countless fragmented gaps slowly appeared on both sides at the end of the line of sight.

And in the distance, a dark, towering mountain stood in the sky. Tens of millions of cracked void fissures converged towards "Shenci Mountain," as if it were the center of the entire world.

After parking the car and unloading the goods.

Gu Shen returned to Uncle Gao's car, and the three of them continued towards Shenci Mountain.

"So, you called me over... just to accompany you on a delivery?" Li Qingsui asked with interest, leaning on the back seat of the car. "It's a shame there wasn't a 'double-cross' scene. You can just park the car on the side of the road like that. It doesn't seem like there's anything valuable in that box."

"It's indeed not anything valuable."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "If you need a 'talisman' to enter Shenci Mountain, then there are only a few people who can come here. So, it doesn't matter where I park. If you want to send someone to take these things away, I have no objections... but these things are useless even if you take them."

Putting the items in Shenci Mountain was a sign of sufficient trust in the Li Clan.

And these things were just materials... at most, some of the materials were relatively rare.

But they could all be bought with "worldly possessions."

"As for the 'double-cross'... you'll be disappointed," Gu Shen smiled slightly. "It's hard to imagine a safer transaction than this."

"That person is Cui Zhongcheng."

Uncle Gao, who saw through everything, spoke.

Li Qingsui oh-ed with a somewhat dazed expression.

"If Cui Zhongcheng personally escorted these goods, then it's indeed safe enough," Li Qingsui said with a smile. "I knew Huazhi valued you highly, but I didn't expect them to value you this much... these worthless things are actually worth Cui Zhongcheng's personal delivery?"

Gu Shen smiled slightly and changed the subject.

"You know Mr. Cui?"

"...Of course," Li Qingsui narrowed her eyes.

In the eyes of the five great families of Changye... there were only a few forces in the entire East Continent that needed to be regarded highly. And Huazhi was one of them.

Zhao Xilai, in the past, was one of the highest-ranking members of the East Continent Council, able to control the economic direction of half of the Dadu District, holding immense resources, connections, and wealth in his hands.

For individual transcendent beings, no matter how much money they possessed, it was ultimately just worldly possessions.

But for a vast group with countless talents... a large amount of worldly possessions was enough to become one of the main rules governing the world.

Economics.

The Zhao Clan had a huge gold mine.

That gold mine had remained solid as a rock for ten years, and the gatekeeper holding the key to the gold mine... was Cui Zhongcheng.

Cui Zhongcheng's name was well-known throughout East Continent.

"Last year, my sister used the 'Wish Art' and inadvertently saw a scene of the Zhao Clan's decline..." Li Qingsui said softly, "So the Li Clan extended an olive branch to him."

She sighed, "It's a pity that Cui Zhongcheng rejected us. At first, I just thought he didn't believe in the 'future' that the Li Clan spoke of, but now it seems he had already pledged his loyalty to Madam Lu Nanzhi long ago."

Rather than saying that Cui Zhongcheng was the gatekeeper of the Zhao Clan.

It was better to say that he was the gatekeeper of Huazhi.

The gold mine changed hands.

But the gold mine didn't change.

The mountain was still that mountain... so the person was still that person.

However, these words made Gu Shen fall into thought.

Something seemed... not quite right?

Li Qingsui probably didn't know that Huazhi had undergone a drastic change, and that at the final moment, Madam and the Zhao Clan had become mutually hostile, forming two opposing camps.

If Cui Zhongcheng had pledged his loyalty long ago.

Then the final split... would not have formed at all. This was the most relied upon force by Zhao Xilai. If he had betrayed, the Huazhi strife would not have had any suspense.

If Cui Zhongcheng had ulterior motives.

That was even more impossible!

If he wanted to support the Zhao Clan, he wouldn't have watched Zhao Qi be banished to North Continent. He was the only heir to the Zhao Clan Group, and after Zhao Xilai revised his will... Zhao Qi no longer had any say in Huazhi.

"Either... Cui Zhongcheng had seen through all of this long ago, knowing that Zhao Xilai would compromise. Or, he simply didn't care about the outcome of the Huazhi infighting, no matter who won, he was indifferent."

If he didn't know about the news of the Li family extending an olive branch.

Gu Shen wouldn't have thought so much.

After careful thought, he felt that Mr. Cui was not as simple as he had previously thought.

No one is a saint, and after so many years of guarding such a large gold mine, he had no thoughts at all.

So, what exactly did he want?