Chapter 213 Family Banquet

“Family banquet?”

Gu Shen was taken aback by these two words.

“Don’t think too much…” Gu Qilin said quietly, “Inviting you to this meal is also related to your various identities… If you were just an ordinary child from the boondocks, not an S-rank, didn’t understand divination, and didn’t have the backing of Huazhi, you definitely wouldn’t be invited to this dinner tonight.”

The plain truth.

Hearing this, Gu Shen relaxed a lot.

“Besides this, there is another very important reason.”

Gu Qilin said slowly, “Your teacher and I are old friends of many years. Aren’t you curious… where Zhou Jiren has gone these days?”

Gu Shen’s expression gradually became serious.

…

…

“The authority of [Wind Eye] and [Sky Eye] has been transferred. The plane Zhou Jiren boarded departed from East洲(Zhou), transferred to a source-energy airship midway, and finally arrived at the Beizhou(Beizhou) Crescent Moon City Fortress.”

“He entered the super-large Calamity Zone of the Crescent Moon City Fortress.”

“Before that, a total of one hundred and thirty-seven people entered this Calamity Zone… none of them left.”

On the top floor of the Jiangbei Hotel, faint candlelight flickered.

A [Lantern] hung above the rooftop, without any visible means of suspension, floating and burning, emitting a warm heat that enveloped the two people on the rooftop.

This wasn’t the first time Gu Shen had seen the [Lantern].

When Gu Qilin took it out, he was only slightly surprised for a second.

This [Lantern] was similar to the one developed by Lu Cheng in Lion Lane in the old city district of the capital, capable of shielding the signals of the [Deep Sea] and preventing the monitoring of [Wind Eye] and [Earthworm], making it a very reliable safety measure.

And taking such measures… undoubtedly meant that the conversation to follow was highly confidential and of utmost importance.

Gu Qilin was the chief commander of the East洲(Zhou) Command.

Mr. Shu, Mr. Shan, Mr. Lin… these three were, in fact, behemoths known by the Snow Forbidden City as the “Three Giants.”

And he held an intelligence network spanning the Five Continents.

Gu Shen had always wanted to investigate the whereabouts of “teacher” after his departure, but even Chu Ling could not connect to the outer continents… The power of [Source Code] seemed incomplete, and at times it was difficult to exert its full potential. In tracking information, unless there were complete files that had already been sorted, or the real-time nature of [Source Code] would be insufficient.

This was actually the reason why the Deep Sea was constantly updating itself.

As the most basic foundation code, it inevitably lagged behind in the application of such emerging functions.

But Gu Qilin was different.

He was a truly “all-powerful” figure, and he had actually retrieved the tracking map of the teacher’s movements.

“Currently, that super-large Calamity Zone has not been named.” Gu Qilin zoomed in on the virtual projection, slowly moving his finger to bring up a three-dimensional image of the outside of the Crescent Moon City Fortress, and said slowly, “But judging from the degree of disaster it presents… it has far exceeded the initial estimates of the fortress garrison.”

Senior Sister Luo and Senior Brother Zhong… were in that Calamity Zone.

Gu Shen’s expression tightened.

As this projection was released, Chu Ling had already begun to work. She immediately transformed this projection into private information in the [Database] through Gu Shen’s “spiritual vision,” making it convenient to access at any time. At the same time, she requisitioned the real-time Beizhou(Beizhou) map and conducted a new round of scanning of “Crescent Moon City Fortress.”

“Gu Shen… the map where the Calamity Zone is located has changed.”

Chu Ling said after a brief scan, “A gap seems to have opened in the Great Snow Mountain Canyon.”

In the light of the [Lantern], Gu Qilin slowly drew an X with two fingers on the map, intersecting at the end of the canyon.

“Just today… that super-large Calamity Zone has established a connection with the real world.”

The reason why Calamity Zones were treated so seriously was because those who entered them would lose their way, become more and more trapped, and eventually become “out-of-control” or lose their lives.

And establishing contact with the outside world also meant…

“Someone came out?” Gu Shen blurted out subconsciously.

At the same time, he had a vague premonition that this matter was not so simple, otherwise the old master of the Gu family would not have personally told him.

“Yes.”

Gu Qilin said slowly, “One hundred and thirty-five people came out, one hundred and twenty-nine died, and only six survived, all in a state of deep coma… But don’t worry, your teacher, senior brother, and senior sister are not among these people.”

“Zhou Jiren, Luo Er, and Zhong Wei are still in this Calamity Zone!”

“They sent out the dead and the survivors from the snowy mountain… In a sense, the mission has been completed, the door has been opened, and since they were able to send those people out, they can also come out.”

Gu Shen murmured, “They didn’t come out?”

The old master of the Gu family was silent for a few seconds.

“Take a look at this video first.”

…

…

Heavy snow.

Overwhelming heavy snow.

Snow that could bury everything… heavy snow.

The vision of the person trekking shook violently, as if they could fall at any moment, but in this white and vast world, even if they fell, what they saw… would not change.

Above, below, and all around, only a vast expanse remained.

Seeing and not seeing made no difference.

“Attempting to establish a connection…”

“Connection failed…”

“Attempting to establish a connection…”

“Connection failed…”

Amidst the huge sound of wind and snow, there was a sporadic sound of electronic signals.

A faint female voice sounded in the distance.

“Can’t the connection be established yet?”

The vision shifted slightly downward.

The person recording this video was a thin young man, gripping a communicator. His withered hands were covered with a layer of thin ice, his skin was frozen pale, and a cyan vine was wrapped around his wrist, emitting a faint green light.

It was because of the green light coverage.

That he could barely resist the磅礴(pang bo) wind and snow.

“Maybe… it needs… to open the door a little wider…”

The young man took a deep breath.

He turned his head.

Looking in the direction of countless flowing wind and snow… behind him, in a place that was not originally visible, a door had actually opened in the void, constructed of countless vines and strands of hair.

On both sides of the door sat two figures, one on the left and one on the right, supporting the opening of the “door.”

This door, only opened a few meters, and hundreds of tons of snow poured out, like a volcanic eruption, spewing from this world to the outside… but what was spewed out was extreme cold.

The snow tide and torrent rumbled and rolled.

The young man struggled to hold his ground, doing his best, tilting his body, like a rickety old tree. Even so, one foot was still lifted off the ground, but his feet were covered with strands of hair. Because of these strands of hair… he resisted the terrible suction of this world and was not directly ejected by the “door” in the distance.

Under the efforts of the two people sitting on the left and right.

The small door in the void tried to expand even more—

Bigger!

At this moment!

The sound of electricity in the communicator was no longer intermittent.

Instead, it returned to normal.

“Attempting to establish a connection…”

“Connection successful.”

The young man shouted excitedly, “It’s a success! Hold on!”

The figures sitting in front of the two doors, one old and one young, were shaking violently… Maintaining the opening of this door was a great drain on them.

The young man seized this brief moment and spoke quickly into the communicator.

“This is the Special Operations Team of the East洲(Zhou) Tribunal. I am Tribunal Officer Zhong Wei, accompanied by Tribunal Officer Luo Er and Grand Tribunal Officer Zhou Jiren.”

“The recording location is the entrance to the canyon, twenty-six kilometers north of the Beizhou(Beizhou) Crescent Moon City Fortress.”

“If [Deep Sea] can hear our voices, please upload the video to the Beizhou(Beizhou) Federation database after the connection is interrupted, and add an author’s note to this data, and deliver it to Grand Duke Zhuxue.”

“We have discovered a super-large Calamity Zone in Crescent Moon City… the original scale is estimated to be twelve thousand meters in diameter, and it is gradually spreading at a rate of thirty meters per day. According to federal regulations, it will be attacked after the characteristics of the Calamity Zone are confirmed. But we, in the name of the East洲(Zhou) Tribunal, request… that the Beizhou(Beizhou) military can protect the scene, not allow transcendent individuals to enter the Calamity Zone again, and not carry out destructive attacks on the Calamity Zone.”

“In this Calamity Zone, we have discovered a ‘channel’ that is not entangled by ‘black spots’… suspected to be an ancient road leading to the [Old World].”

Having said that.

He had already used a lot of strength.

The young man ran quickly towards the distance, while shouting loudly. His throat felt as if it was filled with knives, sounding hoarse and rough, but even so, he still shouted loudly to ensure that the communicator could bring his voice to the outside world, “Because the connection is unstable… I can’t guarantee the display of the picture, but I will do my best to run!”

The next moment!

He was like a meteor burning with flames all over his body.

With all of his transcendent abilities unleashed.

The frost and snow on his body all burned up, and even the green vines burned, and the sizzling sound of burning could even be heard on the communicator, even louder than the howling of the wind and snow… but the farther he was from the door, the worse the signal was. He did his best to run to the distance, and the picture in the spiritual link became more and more blurred.

In the distance was howling wind and snow.

The wind and snow were getting bigger and bigger, like knives… and even bloodshot eyes appeared in his spiritual vision.

Finally, there were two towering, pale mountains!

On the other side of the mountain, there were silver-white spots… countless wind and snow tore through the air, but there seemed to be the only peaceful place. As long as he arrived there, all the cold, frost, and frostbite would no longer exist.

The next moment.

The video ended.

All the sounds and pictures were frozen in silver and white.

…

…

“This is the video from the Beizhou(Beizhou) Fortress.”

Gu Qilin said, “I thought it was necessary for you to see this image as well.”

“Is this the reason why teacher and the others… didn’t come out?”

This video ended.

The light of the [Lantern] on the rooftop seemed to have dimmed a lot.

Gu Shen came back to his senses and felt a little inexplicably cold… The overwhelming snow could probably freeze people directly into ice sculptures.

“Yes. They chose to stay in that Calamity Zone, and the only thing that was sent out was this video.”

The old master’s expression was a little complicated.

“As far as I know… the reason why Zhou Jiren left the capital and went to the Crescent Moon City Fortress was because [Sky Eye] sent out a strand of hair. With the strength of [Sky Eye], only a strand of hair could be sent out. The transmission of this video is already a miracle.”

Because of the combined efforts of two top-level transcendent individuals.

That door was opened.

But even so… there were still heavy casualties.

Gu Qilin said, “As you can see, the last part of this video was successfully transmitted… and arrived in the hands of Grand Duke Zhuxue in Qianjin City. Beizhou(Beizhou) is carrying out a strict purge. Grand Duke Zhuxue originally wanted to hold a meeting with the theme of purging, but this video successfully changed the focus of his meeting. The Qianjin City Privy Council signed a document agreeing to the Fourth Army’s garrison in Crescent Moon City, and at the same time began to transfer the people in the fortress. From a strategic point of view, it is equivalent to the western side of Beizhou(Beizhou)’s right wing giving way to an arc point.”

Black spots will continue to spread.

The super-large Calamity Zone in Beizhou(Beizhou), if left unchecked… may cause a great disaster!

“And the decision to make this decision… is not because Zhou Jiren and Luo Er have noble identities.” The old master said softly, “In the face of such a huge disaster, there is no distinction between high and low status for those trapped… Even if Grand Duke Zhuxue is still inside, when it is time to destroy it, it must still be destroyed. It’s just that a larger stele will be erected afterward.”

Gu Shen murmured, “This video mentioned… the channel to the Old World…”

“To be precise, it is a channel to the Old World that is not entangled by black spots.”

The old master said calmly, “This is the reason why the Beizhou(Beizhou) military ordered the protection of this Calamity Zone… The amount of information in that video is actually very large.”

He held out two fingers.

On the screenshot of the video, the last frame, he began to zoom in on that silver-white spot.

In Senior Brother Zhong Wei’s vision, that silver spot sandwiched between two towering mountains… was almost too small to be seen directly, but after being magnified hundreds of times and clarified, it was vaguely visible.

That was a…

Ferry?

“In theory, the Calamity Zone forms a closed loop, and it is likely to present endless, boundless scenes, and it is almost impossible for such a ‘ferry’ to appear. Such a place can basically be considered a ‘connection point.’”

The old master said, “The small spot that Zhong Wei provided at the end is very likely to be the connection point between the Crescent Moon City Fortress Calamity Zone and the real world… which can lead to another place.”

“Is this… the entrance to the channel?” Gu Shen’s pupils shrank slightly.

“That’s right.” Gu Qilin said, “And once the Calamity Zone is destroyed, it will no longer have the ability to revive. This means that we will forever lose the link to the entrance. This is the reason why the Beizhou(Beizhou) military decided to protect this Calamity Zone.”

“Most importantly… the ‘connection points’ in this Calamity Zone are likely to appear randomly.”

The old master squinted his eyes and said, “Remember the six people who were sent out of the door? Deep Sea read the memories of these two comatose people… and found that they each saw different dreams…”

“Is this the reason why teacher and the others chose to stay in the Calamity Zone?”

Gu Shen understood immediately and murmured to himself, “If they choose to leave the Calamity Zone and step in again… the connection point may disappear.”

“Yes, because no one knows what the rules are for these black spots.” Gu Qilin said in a deep voice, “Perhaps they have no rules at all… so we must be careful! Every move from the outside world may cause the Calamity Zone to change. Now the entire Fourth Army is on high alert, just to prevent this Calamity Zone from contacting any living beings and causing mutations!”

“The channel to the Old World…”

Gu Shen rubbed his eyebrows and asked, “What exactly is that?”

That can make the Beizhou(Beizhou) military value it so much!

A general personally guards it, and at the same time evacuates the residents of an entire fortress. This is obviously going to be a protracted war.

The old master did not answer directly, but instead asked Gu Shen a question.

“You have been to Qingzhong, you should have seen the ‘Giant Statue Ruins’ there, right?”

Gu Shen was stunned.

“Do you think… those things were built by us?” Gu Qilin said meaningfully.

Gu Shen shook his head.

Those giant statues have a history that is too long.

Counting from the beginning of the New Calendar, it has only been more than six hundred years.

“Just like the question that everyone asks after they are born… where do we come from, and where are we going?”

The old master said softly, “Standing on the torrent of history, there will also be such a question, where did mankind come from, and where are we going?”

Gu Shen understood a little.

But he didn’t fully understand.

“The Giant Statue Ruins are things from before the New Calendar. No one knows who built these sculptures.” Gu Qilin smiled and said, “Similarly, the New Calendar has been around for more than six hundred years, and no one knows what the [Old World] is. That is probably the place where we ‘came from’… A long, long time ago, I heard a rumor that outside the great walls of Beizhou(Beizhou), in those broken, collapsed voids, there is an [Oasis], a sacred place that carries the hope of the [Old World]. And to find it, one needs to go through endless hardships and overcome countless obstacles.”

Gu Shen thought of the scene he had just seen in the super-large Calamity Zone.

Endless wind and snow!

Frost and cold like knives!

He also thought of the Li family’s shrine mountain… the number of black spots outside the Beizhou(Beizhou) Fortress is countless, and each one, if taken out, may be comparable to a shrine mountain with dark clouds pressing down.

Outside of such a place… is there an [Oasis]?

How is that possible…

“You must be thinking, how is that possible.” The old master shrugged and smiled, “I thought the same way when I was young. When I saw the Beizhou(Beizhou) Fortress and the billions of ‘black spots’ that I couldn’t see the end of, I thought that even a god could not cross the ‘black sea’ outside of Beizhou(Beizhou) and reach the so-called ‘Old World Oasis.’”

“But… what I can tell you is.”

“Over the years, mankind has never given up searching for the ‘Oasis’… The top transcendent individuals of the Five Continents, when their strength reaches a certain level, many people will join the investigation corps and cross the great walls to explore the outside world.”

Gu Qilin squinted his eyes and thought, “For example… you should know Gu Zhi of the capital district?”

Gu Shen nodded…

Shuangchuan, Gu Zhi.

This is a titled expert with considerable strength!

If I remember correctly, Mr. Gu Zhi became a “title” in the Beizhou(Beizhou) Fortress. Because of an accident, he was injured and his strength declined, so he left Beizhou(Beizhou) and came to the capital with Councilor Chen San.

“The most difficult thing to explore the oasis is the ‘black spots’. Except for the Gods and Apostles who can ignore the black spots and forcibly trudge a certain distance, almost no one else can travel long distances… This is the reason for establishing fortresses. The construction and repair work takes a lot of effort and time, but the fact proves that building great walls is completely worthwhile, not only to fight against the invasion of black spots, but also to find that legendary ‘channel.’”

Gu Shen vaguely understood something.

He silently visualized the Beizhou(Beizhou) map in his heart.

Looking down.

That vast map of Beizhou(Beizhou), with fortresses connected into lines, is a winding super-long line, and this long line is just one entrance to the maze.

If there really is an “oasis”… then every point on this long line may be a breakthrough point.

“This discovery is very important. If this is a real ‘channel’, then human history may usher in a new breakthrough.” The old master squinted his eyes and said, “Of course… all we can do now is wait.”

“Your teacher Zhou Jiren may be going on a ‘long trip’ for a long time… and will not be back for a long time.”

The wind on the rooftop blew quietly.

“No one knows when he will come back.”

“Even… no one can guarantee that he will be able to come back.” The old master said calmly, “The worst result is… after a long, long time, there is no news from these three people who have traveled far away, Beizhou(Beizhou) cannot allow the Calamity Zone to expand indefinitely, so Her Majesty the Queen personally takes action and shatters the Calamity Zone. Everything is completely broken.”

These words sounded very unlucky.

But Gu Shen knew… that this, on the contrary, was the most real.

“If the Calamity Zone is broken…”

“If Zhou Jiren arrives at a real ‘connection point’, then after the Calamity Zone is broken, he needs to find a way home again.” The old master said slowly, “If he is still in the Calamity Zone, then… he will be broken along with the Calamity Zone.”

Either way is bad.

“But judging from Zhuxue’s attitude at the moment, Beizhou(Beizhou) is very patient, and the possibility of shattering the Calamity Zone is not very high.”

The old master said faintly, “At least wait until the Crescent Moon City Fortress is completely swallowed up… If Zhou Jiren has not appeared by then, I’m afraid things will be bad.”

“Huff…”

Gu Shen’s mood was a little complicated.

“This news may cause some changes in Nagano.” Gu Qilin said, “You also know… some people have been eyeing the position of Grand Tribunal Officer, and the two biggest troubles have now disappeared.”

Zhou Jiren, Luo Er.

“For you, this is probably bad news.”

Gu Qilin sighed and said, “Just after the news from Beizhou(Beizhou) came out, the East洲(Zhou) Federation urgently convened a meeting. The position of Grand Tribunal Officer of the Tribunal is very important. Before Zhou Jiren’s whereabouts are unknown, someone needs to temporarily take office… and the most suitable candidate is Zhu Wang.”

Gu Shen squinted his eyes.

“I heard about what happened in the Snow Forbidden City a few days ago. Han Dang used some despicable tricks behind his back. Although you fought back, there will inevitably be another time…”

The old master showed his true colors.

He smiled and said, “Children without mothers are not popular… They are always bullied, and it’s not a good thing. Would you like to consider it? The Gu family can protect you.”

…

…

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