Chapter 1 Black Spring

Dark source matter, like a rosy mist.

And where these transcendent source matters congealed, one broken black spot after another emerged.

Gu Shen finally understood why he had felt so uneasy when he gazed into the darkness earlier.

This wasn't some wondrous realm at all.

It was a demon's den!

This "God Shrine Mountain" was covered in black spots of collapsed order. Just one more glance would make your scalp crawl. If not for the [Lantern], an ordinary person who mistakenly entered would be crushed with a single misstep.

Gu Shen was still shaken. Recalling Li Qingsui's swift and nimble figure, he hadn't expected such audacity from the little girl.

He took a deep breath.

After calming himself, Gu Shen looked towards the distant mountain waterfall curtain cave. In the light of the blazing fire, a slender figure could be vaguely seen.

That slender figure seemed to make a "please" gesture, and said softly, "Little Gu, please don't be polite."

Gu Shen stared at Li Qingci and shook his head, saying, "I don't understand... what you're saying."

The ability of the blazing fire to absorb disordered source matter was his greatest secret.

He didn't know what the woman before him intended by inviting him here... Even if she had no malice, he couldn't simply follow her lead.

Li Qingci chuckled, as if this response was within her expectations.

She asked patiently, "Little Gu... would you be interested in hearing a story?"

Gu Shen calmed himself down.

He felt that the woman before him spoke in a tone and used words like an ancient person from hundreds of years ago.

Was it because of inheritance, or for some other reason?

Gu Shen found a cool, large rock and sat down. He replied just as patiently, "The Goddess may speak freely."

The title made Li Qingci shake her head helplessly.

"The Qing family has been established for nearly twenty years. In these twenty years, the Nagano District has enjoyed favorable weather and peace. Whether it is the Tribunal, the Command, the Prison... or the Five Great Families responsible for guarding the Snow Forbidden City, they have all felt an unprecedented sense of 'security.'"

"But before the establishment of the Qing family, it was not like this."

The voice floating in the mountains was ethereal.

"Little Gu, you went to the Qing family during the day and saw Master Qianye. You must have seen the giant statue ruins, right?" Li Qingci suddenly asked.

"I did," Gu Shen nodded slowly.

The impression that the ruins gave was too profound. Even through the vast fog, he could still feel the towering height of the giant statue and the insignificance of himself.

"Six hundred years ago, before the Five Great Families moved to Nagano... the giant statue ruins already existed."

Li Qingci said faintly, "And the years that 'God Shrine Mountain' has existed are as long as that of the giant statue ruins... In fact, you have already seen that this wondrous realm is already on the verge of collapse. Countless predecessors of the Li family have devoted their efforts and lives to suppress 'God Shrine Mountain.'"

Gu Shen was stunned.

He stared at the woman's figure deep in the curtain cave and suddenly thought of what Li Qingsui had said.

"My sister is the greatest and hardest-working person in the world."

He looked at the curtain cave again and no longer felt that it was like a landscape painting.

Instead, it was a prison in a demon's den.

"...The person responsible for guarding God Shrine Mountain is me."

Li Qingci smiled slightly, "Rather than the title of 'Goddess,' I prefer 'Dao Protector.' Because what our Li family has guarded for generations is the 'Goddess,' the 'Godchild'... or rather, the 'Divine Embryo...'"

Gu Shen was somewhat at a loss.

He had never seen such a woman... Her tone was literary, as if she had walked out of the distant past.

And the words she used were also very unfamiliar.

"Master Qianye of the Qing family is proficient in 'astrology.'"

"And the magic that the Li family has inherited from distant years is called 'Prayer Art.' The two have the same goal by different routes, but there are some aspects that are not the same. The former can only divine, while the latter can 'turn illusion into reality.'"

Hearing this, Gu Shen was shocked.

Turn illusion into reality?

Li Qingci smiled and said:

"The ancestor who suppressed the wondrous realm of God Shrine Mountain, used the 'Prayer Art' to make a great wish. He wished that this disaster mountain could suppress the black spots of collapsed order on its own.

"That it could give birth to a 'Divine Embryo.' When God Shrine Mountain, which is collapsing in the wondrous realm, cannot bear the divine power, the Divine Embryo can be born, so that the Li family can turn danger into safety."

This greatly delayed the collapse. Just like you have seen, those "new shoots" began to devour each other, they grow, and there will still be a day when they devour God Shrine Mountain, but when that day comes, countless black spots are intertwined.

This is an extremely terrible scene, but in fact, these black spots interweaving form a wonderful "balance". This is a miracle that cannot be described in words. It is a miracle brought about by the Prayer Art.

"I came to God Shrine Mountain at the age of eleven and began to practice 'Prayer Art' with my father..." Li Qingci said softly, "After my father died, I guarded this place alone. Prayer Art requires a price, and I am willing to use God Shrine Mountain as a prison, just to witness the great wish of my ancestor’s Divine Embryo being born."

Gu Shen's forehead was covered in cold sweat... Even though he had accepted that there were people in this world who could use extremely powerful transcendent abilities to create "miracles," he still couldn't accept the existence of "Prayer Art." This had already exceeded his range of understanding.

Most importantly, this seemed to be a power passed down through generations of the Li family. This was a "transcendent ability" that could be inherited and learned through practice!

The ethereal voice in the mountains was like wind and fog.

"Some time ago, the prayer for the 'Divine Embryo' finally manifested, and it guided a picture..." This is why we are here today."

"These are the causes and effects."

Li Qingci said softly, "Prayer Art and God Shrine Mountain are the Li family's oldest secrets. Qingci has confided everything to Little Gu today... this is enough to show sincerity."

Gu Shen's expression was very complicated.

He opened his mouth, hesitating.

He had only been in Nagano for two days.

He had already met the young "leaders" of the Five Great Families in turn, and it had to be said that the attitude of Li Qingci, the Dao Protector of God Shrine, was the most sincere.

He was just an outsider, and had never had any contact with the Li family. Today was the first time he had met Li Qingci.

"Why?"

Gu Shen sighed and said slowly, "Such an important matter... As the Dao Protector of God Shrine, you could have sent someone to observe and then make a decision slowly. You don't even know what kind of person I am."

In the dimness, someone lit a [Lantern].

On the other side of the light, it wasn't a beautiful waterfall curtain, but a desolate cliff. A pale-faced, thin woman in gauze clothes raised her hand to light the lantern, illuminating her face.

That face was very haggard. In Gu Shen's "blazing fire" vision, it was a morbid face, surrounded by countless black auras, the face of someone about to die.

"The reason is simple..." Li Qingci smiled weakly, and said, "Because God Shrine Mountain can't wait any longer."