Chapter 43 The Red Lake

Red Lake wasn't large; you could see the other side at a glance.

But Red Lake was also vast.

Ordinary transcendents could never reach the end in their lifetime.

Not to mention the end, even reaching the center of the lake was extremely difficult. Even with vehicles, they could only stop there... The first half of Red Lake was the outer mausoleum of Qingzhong Cemetery, while the second half was the inner mausoleum.

But at this moment, in Meng Xizhou's eyes.

This lake was very clear, and the surface was very clean... As for the mist?

There was no mist in the entire Red Lake.

She could see from the lakeside to the distant end.

Since the mist of Red Lake didn't exist, Meng Xizhou could naturally see clearly... the two figures fighting in the second half of Red Lake.

In fact, she had guessed roughly when she left the secret prison.

To ensure Gu Nanfeng safely reached the secret prison and rescued her, it was necessary to ensure that the two top combat forces of Guang Ming Cheng were trapped in the Red Lake situation.

Jia Wei was to be dealt with by Gu Shen.

As for the Grand Elder, he would be delayed by Song Ci.

After stepping onto the lake surface, she didn't stop at all, and every step was very firm.

She walked towards the second half of Red Lake, her goal was clear from beginning to end.

From the perspective of everyone else, Meng Xizhou was soon submerged in the mist.

...

...

The first half of Red Lake had returned to calm.

And the second half was still under the attack of violent storms.

Two pages of the Holy Book collided, erupting with terrifying power. Golden light and black mist constantly collided, causing the lake water within a hundred meters of Red Lake to evaporate—

"Heh... hehe..."

Song Ci supported himself on the lake surface with one hand, kneeling on the lake. Blood gushed from his nostrils, but he couldn't help but sneer.

Because the Grand Elder on the opposite side looked even more miserable, having already bled from all seven orifices.

For Song Ci, the Holy Book confrontation was an unprecedented "novel" experience.

This page of withered paper, regarded as a forbidden item by Guang Ming Cheng, possessed extremely powerful rules. As long as it was urged with spiritual power, it could forcibly "rewrite" the spirit of transcendents.

Earlier, Song Ci was shocked when he heard Gu Shen describe the effects of the [Holy Book].

However, there was no such thing as true perfection in this world.

The [Holy Book] was indeed powerful, but it also had limitations—

First of all, it couldn't convert "non-believers."

What the [Holy Book] could do was to allow a transcendent with concrete beliefs to change their belief target... The Grand Elder used the [Holy Book] at this moment because he recognized that while Song Ci rejected the light, he must also recognize fighting, or other existences.

The reason Gu Shen gave Song Ci a page of the Holy Book was because he guessed this move by the Grand Elder.

Song Ci originally refused, because he didn't think the [Holy Book] would necessarily be effective on him.

But...

Gu Shen forcibly made him accept this page of the Holy Book, and confront the Grand Elder at a critical moment... The reason was simple: this battle was crucial and must not be lost to unknown possibilities. Song Ci had, after all, studied in the Dou Zhan Shen Yu (Battle God Domain). Once his thoughts were smeared by the [Holy Book], then this fight would be unwinnable.

Retaining a countermeasure could ensure peace of mind.

In addition to this, the [Holy Book] had another defect.

That was... it was a consumable.

This page of withered paper had a limited amount of thoughts that could be smeared, depending on the spiritual strength of the person being smeared.

The stronger the spirit of the transcendent being smeared, the more power the Holy Book consumed.

This was also why the Grand Elder said earlier that converting Song Ci might consume an entire [Holy Book]. He guessed that Song Ci dared to travel to Xizhou alone, and most likely had spiritual defense items bestowed by the Dou Zhan Shen Zuo (Battle God Throne). Breaking through the obstruction of these items would also consume the power of the [Holy Book].

Back then, Su Ye brought a page of the [Holy Book] to Sangzhou Cave, secretly converting the local transcendents.

That one page of the [Holy Book] was enough to convert most of the Storm Cultists in W District.

The energy consumed for conversion was also completely different for transcendents of different levels... This was an exponential explosion of consumption.

This was why Guang Ming Cheng was so eager to possess more [Holy Books].

Once they had a sufficient number of [Holy Books], then the "preaching" plan that had been laid out for many years could be fully harvested.

It was a pity that the Grand Elder had calculated everything, but never expected.

That his biggest trump card.

Song Ci also had it!

"Rumble rumble..."

The lake water on Red Lake surged and reversed, turning into a tornado. The two figures struggled before the tornado. This was a battle of wills. Both of their spirits were drained by the [Holy Book], desperately trying to crush each other. But unfortunately, at this moment, the two pages of withered paper were entangled together, and this will duel wouldn't stop until all the energy was completely consumed.

After Song Ci studied in the Dou Zhan Shen Yu (Battle God Domain) for six years, his spiritual strength had greatly improved.

As the Grand Elder said, he was very young.

But at this moment... his advantage was "youth"!

He carried the [Undying] bloodline. Injuries of the level of bleeding from the nostrils could basically be ignored.

On the other side, the Grand Elder was different.

The one who was truly struggling was not Song Ci, but him.

Blood seeped from his seven orifices, his face turned pale, and his originally dense and lustrous long hair gradually fell out during this spiritual torment. He had just absorbed fresh [Undying] blood, but at this moment the activity in the blood began to consume rapidly. He tried his best to crush his page of the Holy Book against Song Ci, but no matter what, he could only gain a slight advantage.

Pushing down a little further.

Song Ci rebounded like a spring at the bottom.

In this mighty and fierce struggle, both of them heard the crisp sound of treading water coming from a distance...

Someone had entered the second half of Red Lake.

At this moment, the Holy Book game was in the most anxious balance stage.

The most taboo thing was the intervention of outsiders.

If someone stepped into this place and chose to break the balance, then the party being attacked would suffer a strong backlash...

Song Ci frowned, his expression gloomy... This was the forbidden area of the temple. If someone entered here, it was likely someone from the temple.

On the other side.

The Grand Elder was overjoyed. Hearing the sound of treading on the lake, he immediately raised his arms and shouted.

"Jia Wei! Save me!"

This was Red Lake. In the entire temple, the only one who could enter the second half was Jia Wei!

The final selection of Red Lake must have ended, and Jia Wei came to the second half to check the situation!

The Grand Elder's voice echoed in the storm of Red Lake, but there was no response... He was stunned for a moment after shouting, until a slender figure walked out of the mist.

The woman's soft words overwhelmed the overwhelming sound of the storm.

"Jia Wei is dead."

These words were like a bolt from the blue, striking the Grand Elder's heart. He staggered, looking in disbelief at the woman who appeared here.

"Meng Xizhou?"

Song Ci also turned his head, he blinked, looking at the legendary Guang Ming Shen Nu (Light Goddess).

"Thank you."

Meng Xizhou uttered two words softly, nodding slightly to Song Ci to express her gratitude.

She traveled all the way from the shore of Red Lake in a straight line, and the "stopover" was the battlefield between Song Ci and the Grand Elder. At this moment, she stopped, but chose to stand beside Song Ci.

"You're welcome."

Song Ci smiled.

The Guang Ming Shen Nu (Light Goddess) was very good-looking, and was naturally close to the light. After seeing the real person, he now understood what Gu Nanfeng had done.

No wonder he led the Gu family mission aggressively westward to Guang Ming Cheng to rob the prison—

If it were him, he wouldn't have waited six years at all!

If he had learned of the imprisonment, let alone the first year, maybe in the first month, Song Ci would have called his friends to smash the secret prison of Guang Ming Cheng!

The storm surged.

After Meng Xizhou appeared, the situation of the Holy Book game changed slightly.

The page of withered paper that the Grand Elder had previously pressed on Song Ci's head was pulled back little by little because of his mental breakdown and emotional fluctuations.

Now the situation was that Song Ci had the advantage.

The Grand Elder, bleeding from all seven orifices, looked at the Guang Ming Shen Nu (Light Goddess). He had guessed what had happened outside—

Meng Xizhou came here, which meant that the Gu family mission had succeeded in robbing the prison.

He just couldn't figure out who could hold Jia Wei back.

Even now, he was still unwilling to believe that Jia Wei was dead as the Guang Ming Shen Nu (Light Goddess) said... He only regarded it as a false message to disturb his mind.

He was too clear about Jia Wei's strength.

In the entire Five Continents, there were only a handful of people who could defeat him in Red Lake.

The three great generals of Bei Zhou (North Continent) couldn't have crossed westward!

Moreover, defeating... and killing, were two different things!

Taking a deep breath, the Grand Elder calmed down.

He rebuked in a deep voice: "Meng Xizhou... don't forget that you are a member of the Guang Ming Jiao Hui (Light Church)! The temple raised you and cultivated you for many years, and now you are standing beside outsiders?!"

Meng Xizhou listened quietly to the Grand Elder's rebuke.

There was not a trace of fluctuation in her heart.

After listening, a self-deprecating smile appeared in her eyes.

"Grand Elder, you only said half of it right."

"The temple raised me... but the temple also imprisoned me in the dark secret prison."

"As for my mentor who cultivated me, he died the day before yesterday, right in front of my eyes."

"I am now standing beside Song Ci, but Song Ci is the [Apostle] chosen by Guang Ming Shen Zuo (Light God Throne). In a sense, he is closer to the light than you... If you have to choose an outsider between the two of you, then it should be you, who bears the 'calamity and ominousness' and relies on stealing the faith of Guang Ming Cheng to eke out a living."

Meng Xizhou's words were like a bayonet, stabbing fiercely into the Grand Elder's heart.

The Grand Elder's expression turned pale.

"Those corpses buried under the Washing Heart Pond."

"Those [Undying] who have been tortured and ravaged over the years."

"Those innocent believers who were deceived by the Guang Ming Zhi Meng (Light Dream)..."

Meng Xizhou asked calmly: "Are the things you have done really worthy of the word 'light'? Everything I have done can be made public under the sun... What about you?"

The Grand Elder was speechless.

"Finally, you said one thing wrong."

"I have never been a member of the Guang Ming Jiao Hui (Light Church)."

Meng Xizhou said word by word: "The light I believe in is the light in my heart, not the light of the church."

"I only feel disgusted and hateful for what you have done."

...

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(There is another chapter tonight! Good luck to the students who will take the college entrance examination tomorrow!)