Chapter 1 The Beginning

Luo Yu and Zhong Fan leaned against the banyan tree not far away, and couldn't help but smile when they saw the young master, who had just pushed the door open, look stunned.

So many members of the Gu family waited here just to see this scene.

Everyone knew about this trip to the west.

The young master had come for the Divine Maiden.

"Disperse, all of you disperse!"

Luo Yu waved to the night watchmen and members of the delegation to leave. Soon, the courtyard became quiet amidst cheers, leaving only Gu Nanfeng and Meng Xizhou alone.

"You shouldn't have come."

Gu Nanfeng said helplessly, "The situation is turbulent. As a Divine Maiden, you shouldn't have too much contact with the Gu family in public."

The relationship between Guang Ming City and Changye was very sensitive.

Meng Xizhou's every move would be magnified. He didn't care…he was only afraid that with the turmoil in the Holy Church not yet settled, Meng Xizhou's actions would cause trouble and be criticized.

"How I stand under the light…those who understand, understand."

Meng Xizhou smiled and said, "Without the help of the Gu family to stabilize the situation at Honghu, the situation last night would have been unpredictable."

Last night, Honghu seemed calm.

But…the Gu family delegation and the night watchmen still played a significant role.

Sometimes, you don't have to fight to show strength.

Gu Shen's appearance last night ignited the anger of the two northeastern continents. If the Holy Adjudicators decided to forcibly suppress them, then the Gu family delegation and the night watchmen would have a legitimate opportunity to resist. Therefore, for the Holy Church, the best outcome was that no battle broke out at Honghu.

"Moreover, this is the Gu family delegation's residence courtyard, a private residence."

Meng Xizhou stood up and came to Gu Nanfeng, smiling as she asked, "There's only you and me here. Does this count as a public place?"

She reached out her jade hand to tidy Gu Nanfeng's cloak.

"You worked hard last night."

Meng Xizhou's voice was filled with pity as she said, "You're injured?"

There was a slight wound on Gu Nanfeng's cheek, a very minor injury that could almost be ignored.

"It's just a little blood."

Gu Nanfeng said helplessly, "After all, Su Ye is also a titled master. It wasn't easy to stop him. I still had to fight…"

The commotion at Honghu last night was too great.

Su Ye realized something was wrong later and used all means…

Faced with this mad dog of an enemy, Gu Nanfeng could only draw his blade.

The final result was that he beat Su Ye to the ground, while he suffered some minor injuries.

"I've already dealt with Su Ye's matter. The remaining feathers of the Holy Son's remnants have been trimmed. Now, the disputes within the Holy Church are almost quelled."

Meng Xizhou's fingertips emitted a soft glow: "With Gao Mao's death, several emerging clans in Guang Ming City have also collapsed…The remaining troubles are not worth mentioning."

She gently wiped Gu Nanfeng's cheek with her fingers, and the soft light brushed over it, causing the scab to fall off.

Gu Nanfeng narrowed his eyes in enjoyment. After a long time, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Where's Gu Shen?"

Regarding the identity of that demon…

He already guessed it.

He had hastily learned the general outline of what happened at Honghu last night through the spirit network on the way back to the mansion after dealing with Su Ye.

Xizhou's proud Guang Ming Bi Lei was killed by Gu Shen in a one-on-one duel!

Too bad.

It was a great pity that he didn't witness that battle in person.

"He…already left."

Meng Xizhou's expression was a little strange. She recalled the ending last night and couldn't help but sigh, "The matter…is like this."

…

…

"He just left after meeting the Light God?"

A moment later, Gu Nanfeng sat under the banyan tree in the courtyard, speaking in confusion.

Fallen leaves swirled in the wind, still surrounded by a holy glow.

"Yes…he didn't seem interested in viewing the Forbidden Book Tower." Meng Xizhou said in distress, "I originally wanted to persuade him, but his speed…was too fast."

Recalling the sword light that soared into the sky last night.

Meng Xizhou couldn't help but rub her forehead.

She wanted to greet the Holy Adjudicators on the cloud ship and try to persuade him to stay, but she hadn't completed the "unification work" of Guang Ming City at that time.

Thinking of this, the Divine Maiden said with some annoyance: "Based on that speed, he's probably already reached the high seas by now. Is there some kind of monster in Guang Ming City that could swallow him up?"

These words were mostly out of helplessness.

Even Jia Wei wasn't Gu Shen's opponent. If he really wanted to leave, who could stop him?

"..."

Gu Nanfeng smiled and said, "I understand Xiao Gu's personality. He must be in a hurry to return to Changye because he has something to do."

Six years of separation.

Too many people were waiting for him.

Changye, Dadu, Central City…Countless important figures have been working hard for Gu Shen's matter in recent years. It wasn't until last night that everyone realized that he was still alive!

This good show had deceived everyone.

Gu Nanfeng carefully recalled and guessed what had happened in the past six years…

When the Changye fleet arrived at the Ice Sea Ruins, Gu Shen had probably just completed his advancement.

Jia Wei's assassination six years ago was too fatal.

If it weren't for his comprehension of the Fire of Vitality domain, Gu Shen would most likely have died directly. After equating "demon" with "Gu Shen," Gu Nanfeng instantly understood many unreasonable things.

After he completed the Yuan Ting Island negotiations with the fleet, he heard about the Donglai family's case file.

This case file involved a lot, but it was handled very discreetly.

Although the Gu family was large and powerful, the Jiangnan region was after all under the control of Hua Zhi. As the young master of the Gu family, after hearing about the "Donglai's betrayal," he simply paid attention to it and learned that the case file had been solved and there were no further difficulties in the follow-up processing. He then skipped over it…But now that he thought about it, this was clearly "Gu Shen's" handiwork.

Besides Gu Shen, no one could have persuaded Judge Shen Li to suddenly head south.

As for the full cooperation of the prison.

Clearly, that god in the mausoleum also exerted some influence.

"Gu Shen's return to Changye must be to see Bai Shu, right?"

Gu Nanfeng recalled the events of six years ago and couldn't help but sigh, "This kid's death…deceived everyone. I didn't expect that Bai Shu, even I was deceived."

Back then, when he learned of the bad news, he immediately entered the inner mausoleum to seek an audience.

As the future master of the Gu family, Bai Shu had of course summoned Gu Nanfeng…However, he told Gu Nanfeng that even the god's intervention could not change anything.

Gu Shen was already dead.

The god's announcement of the death was the greatest despair.

This meant…there would be no reversal of the matter.

Later, when Grandpa Gu wanted to go to the mausoleum to ask Bai Shu to take action, Gu Nanfeng couldn't bear to let Grandpa continue to suffer, so he fabricated false evidence of the Blood Stele Records, which was actually also what Bai Shu meant…After Gu Nanfeng learned of the exact death from the mausoleum, the Gu family spread the news of "Gu Shen's death" throughout the world.

But now it seemed that everyone was a "victim."

Everyone was deceived.

Bai Shu had deceived him, and the Gu family had deceived the people of the world.

"Actually…I still have many questions."

Gu Nanfeng rubbed his brow, and said softly: "Regarding Gu Shen, regarding these six years…When I return to Changye, I will definitely arrest this kid and interrogate him properly."

Of course he was overjoyed to learn that Gu Shen was still alive.

It was just that during this trip to Guang Ming City, he and Gu Shen had only met once.

In that dark alley, separated by a demon mask, they met but did not recognize each other.

"Perhaps you will soon get the answers to some questions."

Meng Xizhou's hand gently rested on the back of Gu Nanfeng's hand. Her eyes were extremely clear and sincere: "Come with me to Honghu…I will ask the god to open the Forbidden Book Tower."

…

…

Honghu was very deserted today. The lake surface rippled, and there were fewer Holy Adjudicators coming and going.

Honghu was not open to the public on weekdays.

Only high-level officials within the Holy Church, as well as the nobles of some large families in Guang Ming City, could enter.

Every transcendent entering Honghu needed to submit an application in advance, which had to be approved by the Holy Church Elder Council before being allowed to pass.

It contained powerful spiritual power.

Even sitting quietly by the lake could condense one's mind, make it pure, and quickly arrive at "entering meditation."

In most cases, Holy Church transcendents would conduct trials in the Mind Cleansing Pool…The Mind Cleansing Pool was equivalent to a simplified version of Honghu. Sitting quietly nearby could also have a spiritual condensation cultivation auxiliary effect.

Gu Nanfeng followed Meng Xizhou to Honghu.

The distant fog obscured the view…But he could feel the vast light, just across the Honghu.

The Holy Adjudicators and members of the Gu family delegation waited on the lake shore.

Both groups were waiting.

This was a public place, but Meng Xizhou grabbed Gu Nanfeng's hand. Her expression was very calm, and she didn't mean to avoid it at all.

The two stood on Honghu like this, and the gentle breeze and light shone down.

A golden couple.

Many years ago, those people on the borders of the Northern Continent described these two young men and women in this way.

And now, the Holy Adjudicators of the Holy Church, and the Gu family night watchmen, watching the scene of Honghu sparkling with light, could not help but think of similar words in their hearts…

All the words in the world used to describe being a match were not too much to put on these two people.

"Rumble…"

At the end of the Honghu mist on the other shore, a deep muffled sound suddenly came.

This normally still, boundless lake began to flow, and thousands of light flakes shone like fish scales.

The mist in the center of the lake gradually dissipated.

The thin layer of mist covering the top of the sky was pierced by a blazing pillar of light—

This pillar of light was like a sword, instantly tearing the surface of the lake in the center.

Countless light water droplets floated and solidified in the air. Where the pillar of light struck, the water surface ripples opened like a tornado upside down. The center of Honghu rotated and condensed, revealing the forbidden true face.

The Holy Adjudicators and night watchmen watching by the lake all held their breath.

They knew that they might only see this miracle once in their lifetime.

Honghu was turned upside down, revealing a book tower.

After thousands of years of wind and frost, the book tower still remained intact, exuding an endless holy and charming glow, which was a "barrier" applied by the power of the Light Ancestor.

It was both protection and shackles.

According to the precepts of Guang Ming City back then, only those who controlled the light were qualified to browse the Forbidden Book Tower…However, Meng Xizhou accidentally entered Honghu because of her extraordinary talent and closeness to the light, and then entered the book tower without any obstruction and came into contact with the spiritual power of the book tower.

She could be regarded as the first "exception" in six hundred years.

And this time, the Light God opened the Forbidden Book Tower and allowed outsiders to enter, which was the second exception.

"Thank you, Light God."

Gu Nanfeng knew that this opportunity was rare, and immediately spoke loudly.

The brilliance on the other side of Honghu swayed gently with the wind, falling on him, as if it was praise and encouragement.

This was the Light God's reply.

Everything was implicit.

After the lake water was turned upside down, Gu Nanfeng appeared on a long staircase of light water. After he and Meng Xizhou looked at each other, they saluted the other shore and said respectfully, "Junior will not be polite."