Chapter 1 The Existence of the Evil Ghost

Gu Nanfeng had long known of the "Evil Ghost's" existence.

The Eastern Continent Fleet was able to escape the Hei Yin (black silver) cannon fire from the [Ice Sea Ruins] because of the Evil Ghost's assistance—

It was just that there was no corresponding figure in his mind.

With Gu Nanfeng's status and position, there was nothing in the Eastern Continent that he didn't know.

He knew every Feng Hao (titled expert) in the Eastern Continent like the back of his hand.

If there really was a "Transcendent" who could hide from the Gu family's eyes and silently grow to this point, then it must have come from the hand of the Divine Seat.

Either Mr. Bai Shu.

Or...the Pluto.

He could actually guess the "answer" that the Guang Ming (Light) Church of the Western Continent could guess.

"..."

The Evil Ghost was silent for a few seconds. He didn't answer Gu Nanfeng's question, but instead calmly asked, "Why do you think I'm helping you?"

"I already know about the [Ice Sea Ruins] and the assassination of Utop."

Gu Nanfeng said, "You're stopping me because you don't want me to go to my death."

"I'm stopping you, not just because I don't want you to die."

What Gu Shen found most troublesome was dealing with acquaintances.

When he attended the banquet in Nagano, he was almost seen through by Bai Lu. Although the Divine Concealment Cloak could help him hide the aura of his authority, he couldn't change his speaking habits and style of doing things all at once.

He needed to be even more careful when talking to Gu Nanfeng.

The Gu family's young master had a strong insight, so he deliberately changed his tone and conversational style.

Since he chose to wear the "Evil Ghost Mask," he had to completely change his face.

He said, word by word, "If you want to rescue 'Meng Xizhou,' you can't break into the prison today. I'm stopping you just because...I want this mission to succeed."

"So you are indeed from the Eastern Continent."

Gu Nanfeng stared intently at the Evil Ghost's face. He said in a low voice, "It's impossible that I wouldn't know you, unless you're someone from Mr. Bai Shu's side."

Gu Shen remained silent.

"Or...you're someone from Pluto's side."

As Gu Nanfeng spoke, he stared into the Evil Ghost's eyes, trying to get some information from them.

But he gained nothing.

The Evil Ghost's eyes were dark and deep like the sea, and seemed to carry a hint of a smile.

He couldn't figure out the true meaning of that smile...

The Evil Ghost's silence was clearly like ridicule, but from his eyes, Gu Nanfeng couldn't see any hint of sarcasm.

"Alright, I can't guess who you are."

He shrugged and sighed softly, "If Mr. Bai Shu really cultivated a [Feng Hao], his style of doing things shouldn't be like this. At least it should be like Song Ci...As for Pluto, although that possibility is the greatest in my mind, I can't believe Pluto's successor would dare to come to this Guang Ming City."

Gu Shen wanted to laugh, but he held back.

Yes.

Who would have thought that Pluto himself would dare to come to Guang Ming City?

If it weren't for the help of the [Divine Concealment Cloak], even he himself wouldn't dare to believe it... It was indeed too absurd.

"Who I am is not important. You will know about this later."

Gu Shen restrained his smile and slowly said, "What's important now is...I can help you rescue Meng Xizhou."

...

...

Deep in the secret prison, the dim shadows were illuminated by the light of the [Lantern], as bright as day.

The Great Elder, who had given up the trial of the Washing Heart Pond, hurriedly came to this place. Because he had come in a hurry, his snow-white robe was covered with the dirt of the secret prison floor.

The heavily armored guards stood far away at the end of the last secret prison.

Su Ye and Yao Jin stood silently on either side of the Great Elder.

"Junior brother..."

The Great Elder stared blankly at the figure slumped on the ground.

Yuan Yang committed suicide.

This news was sudden, but...it was indeed the truth.

He destroyed his spiritual sea, thereby severing his last chance of survival. This kind of death mark could not be faked.

No one knew why Yuan Yang would do this, or what he was thinking before his "death." The corners of the Divine Hall's Second Elder's lips were still slightly upturned, as if he was smiling.

He seemed to know that the door to the secret prison would be opened before long.

And his body would be completely preserved until he met his senior brother.

People always thought that the longer one lived, the more numb one became to "parting from life and death."

But that was not the case.

The Great Elder had lived for many years, many years... In the Divine Hall, the only person who had grown old with him was Yuan Yang.

The longer one lived, the more lonely one became.

Although Yuan Yang had committed a serious mistake in handling the Donglai family's affairs this time, the Great Elder had no intention of punishing his junior brother at all. The removal of the No. 1 dark line was just the death of some unimportant "chess pieces" to him. There were too many chess pieces in Guang Ming City. No matter how important these chess pieces were, they were still just chess pieces.

Yuan Yang was different from a chess piece.

This was his junior brother.

He only had one junior brother.

The Great Elder silently looked at his junior brother's body, his eyes filled with sorrow.

This strong body, which had clearly "regained new life," was now finding it difficult to even beat its heart. His heart felt as if it had been hit by a bullet, and a sharp, sour sensation surged up, but he couldn't shed a single tear.

Blood or tears.

They had long since dried up.

The only thing left in this body that belonged to him was this lingering thought, and a spirit that could be extinguished at any time.

So he could only silently feel the sadness in his heart, but couldn't squeeze out a single tear.

"Great Elder..."

Su Ye's voice was hoarse, "When I arrived at the secret prison, the Second Elder was already..."

"Mm."

The Great Elder raised his hand, signaling Su Ye not to say anymore.

He had lived for a long time and experienced too much. He only needed to take one look to understand what had happened in this secret prison.

The Great Elder slowly turned around and looked at Yao Jin, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

"Slap."

A crisp slap echoed in the depths of the secret prison.

Half of Yao Jin's face was swollen high. He and his wheelchair were knocked to the ground, and two of his teeth were knocked out. The heavily armored guards stationed outside the door of the last secret prison felt a chill in their hearts when they heard the sound.

No one dared to help him up.

It was true that Yao Jin was in charge of the secret prison.

But this power... was bestowed upon him by the Divine Hall.

After this slap.

It was hard to say whether Yao Jin still had the power to control the secret prison.

"..."

Fresh blood flowed down his chin and onto his snow-white robe. Yao Jin refused Su Ye's help. He struggled to right the wheelchair on his own and sat back down.

"Where is the person?"

The Great Elder spoke softly, asking only these two words.

Su Ye narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out the amount of information contained in these two words.

"...Didn't come." Yao Jin's voice was hoarse.

There was no trace of a smile on his face.

During the period when the secret prison's door was open, the alleyway remained calm, without any abnormalities.

He had laid a net, waiting for Gu Nanfeng to step into it.

But...

Gu Nanfeng didn't come.

Or rather, Gu Nanfeng had already come, but was now watching his joke from the entrance of the alleyway.

Yao Jin never imagined that after entering the secret prison, he would receive the news of the "Second Elder's suicide." The secret net that he had worked so hard to lay had to be retracted early. Now that all the elders of the Divine Hall had arrived, and the Great Elder had also come in person, Gu Nanfeng would not be able to step into this alleyway even if he had three heads and six arms.

Yao Jin, his face covered in blood, raised his head and looked at the Great Elder.

He still wanted to say something.

Not to defend himself, nor to beg for mercy... He just wanted to explain what he was going to do to avoid any misunderstandings by the Great Elder. But when he saw those cold eyes, Yao Jin tightly closed his mouth.

He knew that there was no point in saying anything now.

The Great Elder waved his sleeve.

Su Ye immediately understood. He pushed the wheelchair with a complicated expression, taking Yao Jin away from the last secret prison.

The place became silent, and more silent than ever before.

...

...

The Great Elder opened the door to the second secret prison.

He looked at the goddess sitting withered in front of the black silver stone wall and said softly, "So... what exactly happened?"

There were only two people left in this secret prison now.

No one knew what was being talked about at this moment.

Meng Xizhou had her back to the Great Elder.

This was the first time in six years that the door to her prison had been opened, and it was also the closest she had been to the outside world.

Meng Xizhou gently uttered two words.

"Suicide."

She didn't turn her head, because she didn't want the Great Elder to see her face.

Having been trapped in the secret prison for more than two thousand days and nights, she had not yielded to anyone and had not revealed any information about the Holy Book.

But after Yuan Yang's soft sigh, her rock-solid heart was still shaken.

Meng Xizhou had thought that all of this was the Divine Hall's plan.

Until this change that was beyond the plan occurred.

And she wanted to stop it, but it was too late.

"I know it was suicide."

The Great Elder said hoarsely, "Why did he commit suicide?"

Meng Xizhou smiled and asked, "Don't you know the answer to this question?"

The Great Elder was silent for a long time.

He knew that his junior brother had a stubborn personality. If he was determined to do something, he would not turn back, even if he ran into a wall and broke his head.

If his junior brother committed suicide one day.

Then he must have had this thought a long time ago.

Yuan Yang had long decided that when his life was about to reach its end, he would use "suicide" to end his life.

It was just that something had happened in this Hei Yin (black silver) secret prison.

This was what the Great Elder was curious about.

He walked into the cage that had trapped Yuan Yang and sat down, not caring that his white robe was stained with blood and dust. He sat in the same position that his junior brother had once sat in, and he raised his head...

There was nothing here.

Empty.

Pitch black.

Then the Great Elder looked at his junior brother. He saw the indentation on his forehead.

The Great Elder silently extended two fingers and touched the indented area.

Yuan Yang's sea of consciousness had collapsed.

But... there was still some broken spirit in the position of his forehead.

This was the last bit of "dying words" that he had left for the world, or rather, for himself.

After that wisp of spirit was touched, a familiar voice came from within the collapsed sea of consciousness.

"Senior brother, you're here."

The Great Elder closed his trembling eyes.

This was a dark nightmare. Between the interweaving of spirits, he once again saw the familiar face of his junior brother.

The last wisp of broken spirit that Yuan Yang had left behind was smiling and speaking words of remembrance.

Many years ago, the Divine Hall.

Many years ago, traveling east to spread the teachings.

Because he had lived for too long, these past events had long been buried in the Great Elder's heart. He was unwilling to mention them to outsiders, but Yuan Yang was the only exception.

The people who had personally experienced it back then had all died.

Now, his junior brother was no exception.

The Great Elder suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of exhaustion. He seemed to understand why his junior brother had chosen to end his life in this way.

The Divine Hall, and even he himself, had gone very far, so far that they couldn't even see the way they had come from when they looked back.

The companions who had traveled with them in the past had long been buried.

If Yuan Yang hadn't reminded him, he probably would have forgotten what the Divine Hall looked like back then.

At the end of this dying message.

Yuan Yang left behind a sincere request.

"Senior brother, I can't go on, and I can't hide it anymore... Forgive my selfishness in choosing to take a step ahead on the final road."

"Leaving this place, I only feel relieved, free, and infinitely joyful."

"There is only one regret, and I hope you can fulfill it."

"I hope you can release Little Meng from the secret prison and give up on the [Holy Book]."