Chapter 17 Underground

The old mansion in Lion Lane was never an ordinary residence.

Lu Cheng's Lion Awaken elixir experiments had been secretly conducted here for many years… The ultimate goal of the experiment was to extract pure spiritual transcendent elements. However, this epic problem remained unsolved even after Old Lu's death. But during the experiment's progress, many other inventions and creations were derived.

The [Lantern], as a consumable item, was one of them.

The potion that Madam now held in her hand could also be considered a result of the experiment. Within the Five Continents Council, there were many similar types of spirit solvents, and quite a few could deal with transcendents, but something so efficient and fast was exceedingly rare.

Gu Shen reached out and placed a hand on his senior sister's shoulder.

"With her current strength, how could she possibly fight an Apostle? I can't watch her go to her death."

Madam looked out of the courtyard and said, "Even Yingji can only delay them slightly. All we can do is not waste time… The sooner we get out of here, the sooner Yingji can escape."

Her eyes were resolute.

With the Apostle's attack, only Song Ci could resist.

If he couldn't withstand the Apostle's offensive, then Lu Nanjin's going would be useless…

Although he didn't know how the battle outside the mansion was progressing, Gu Shen knew one thing very clearly: high-level transcendents, if they fought with abandon, would destroy buildings not reinforced with strong logic materials in an instant.

"This is East Continent territory. Soon, high-sequence powerhouses from the Three Schools will arrive. Tonight, the Apostle's goal is to kill me… Whether or not they succeed, this act of transgression will provoke the wrath of East Continent." Lu Nanzhi quickly packed up, holding a bronze box, which was Old Lu's relic and the only thing they would take with them on this trip.

Her thinking was always clear.

Escape.

Escape to a safe place.

Da Du had [Frost River] and the [Sky-Reaching Tree]. They were true powerhouses who could intervene in the battle with the Apostle.

The Central Continent's purpose in sending the Apostle was direct. As long as they completed the mission and killed Madam, the dispute over the bill would become a foregone conclusion, and subsequent "trouble" would be no trouble at all.

As for the wrath of East Continent…

They didn't care.

…

…

Inside the master bedroom of the old mansion, several floorboards were not securely joined.

After forcefully knocking on the hidden compartment of the bookshelf, the secret passage in the厢房 opened suddenly—

This was an emergency passage leading to the underground pipelines of the old city.

"Below are the underground pipelines of the old city. Huazhi was responsible for completing this project for the government during the early urban planning…" Madam hugged the bronze box and began to climb down. Gu Shen, supporting his senior sister, found that the entrance to the passage was very narrow but passable. Soon, they arrived in a dark and humid environment.

For some reason, the holographic glasses' screen no longer displayed anything.

Chu Ling's voice also disappeared… The [Deep Sea]'s network connection must have been forcibly disconnected. This was a rare occurrence. Was the Apostle able to disconnect the network connection in a certain area?

Since the holographic glasses were useless, Gu Shen simply took them off and directly summoned the blazing fire from between his eyebrows.

A faint flame burned, and the darkness before him was immediately dispelled.

Before them was a long, narrow underground tunnel, exuding a damp, earthy smell.

This underground tunnel required one to bend over and crouch to barely squeeze through… But Lu Nanzhi was moving very quickly. She was skilled, and while striding forward, she said, "Old Lu took me through this tunnel… This is a useless route that disappeared from the planning maps. If we go a little further, we'll see a well leading to the surface."

Gu Shen nodded.

He helped Senior Sister Nanjin and prepared to follow, but just as he squatted down, a familiar voice rang in his ear.

"The [Deep Sea]'s network connection has been cut off—"

Chu Ling said, "I've now switched to a 'spirit link'… The underground pipeline map of the old city is being transmitted."

Madam noticed the young man behind her stiffen and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"…It's nothing."

Gu Shen's expression remained unchanged.

He asked silently in his heart, "Is the network disconnection the Apostle's ability?"

"Yes. Initial guess is some kind of domain expansion ability."

Chu Ling said in a low voice, "It's been confirmed… There are two Apostles who have appeared in Da Du this time. One of them is outside, fighting Song Ci. The network disconnection should be the work of the other Apostle."

The moment this assassination attempt erupted, the Apostles cut off the Deep Sea network in this area.

Clearly, they wanted a swift resolution.

"Through signal feedback, it can be preliminarily determined… the second Apostle's domain covers a circular area with a diameter of five thousand meters, centered on Lion Lane. This is a considerable range of diffusion. To leave the domain's range on foot, under these terrain conditions, it may take an hour." Chu Ling gave her calculated results: "Due to the complete sealing of information files in the deep-sea area, I cannot fully deduce the nature of this domain, or the intentions of the second Apostle. But I can say for certain that sneaking underground does not guarantee absolute safety."

Gu Shen frowned and asked, "Are you saying… the second Apostle might come after us?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Chu Ling paused and said, "Because the [Domain] has already been deployed, sneaking in the old city's underground may not escape detection… It can only be said that continuing forward here is a gamble. Do you want to take a chance?"

"Gamble."

Gu Shen did not hesitate… He had no other choice.

This was a domain that spanned a full five thousand meters. If they didn't leave the domain's range, they would be immediately detected by that Apostle as soon as they returned to the surface.

Hiding underground, although inconvenient, could at least buy more time.

But in reality, he also knew… this was just a delaying tactic, and it was foolish to dream of reaching the end from underground.

That Apostle wouldn't give him too much time.

"Can you help me contact the outside world?"

The network connection within the domain was cut off, but the spiritual link between Gu Shen and Chu Ling remained. Therefore, with just a transit station, he could contact his teacher.

"According to the real-time updated map tracking… Zhou Jiren is already advancing towards here." Chu Ling's tone was level. "Another titled [Frost River] is also on the way. Their arrival is estimated to take ten minutes."

Ten minutes?

Gu Shen took a deep breath. There was no sound in the underground tunnel. This deathly silence… at this moment, gave him a sense of security. He hoped it could remain this quiet.

Ten minutes usually passed quickly.

But at this moment, every second was slow.

"Almost there." Madam turned her head and reminded, "The well is ahead. We can leave the underground."

"No…" Gu Shen said in a low voice, "We're changing course. We'll keep moving forward. Don't leave the underground. I'll lead the way from now on."

Madam paused, startled.

She turned her head and saw Gu Shen's eyes and the wisp of flickering flame between his eyebrows.

For a moment, she was in a daze.

This young man was the [Key] chosen by Mr. Turing, and the future leader that the Gu Wen Association placed their hopes on.

"…Okay."

Lu Nanzhi didn't ask any more questions.

She had always been a decisive person who firmly believed in her choices, and she never hesitated at critical moments. At this moment, this young man possessed a convincing aura.

Madam moved to the side and said, "You lead the way."