Chapter 1 Li Qingsui Arrives at Mount Shenci

Li Qingsui came to Mount Shenci.

It was desolate to begin with, but after Li Qingci passed away, it seemed even more bleak and lonely.

Mount Shenci welcomed a glimmer of light. The dark clouds no longer loomed over the disaster-stricken dome, but instead, a ray of sunlight shone through.

When the last guardian of Mount Shenci died, it finally ushered in the light.

However, the crisis at Shenci had not been completely resolved. There were still countless black flowers blooming in the mountains.

"They're all gone...all gone..."

Li Qingsui squatted on the mountaintop, hugging her knees, looking at the flower garden her sister had left behind, and murmured softly.

Returning to Shenci, she was no longer the Li Family Head in the outside world, wielding the power of life and death.

At this moment, she looked like an ordinary little girl.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

She would not be eighteen for another two years.

In the traditional customs of Changye's Li Family, the most important and cherished "relatives" and "teachers" were usually invited to attend the coming-of-age ceremony. Li Qingsui had long imagined the happy scene of her coming-of-age ceremony. She thought that if her sister was still unable to leave Mount Shenci at that time, her coming-of-age ceremony would be held in the mountains, inviting the direct descendants and the backbone of the Elder Council from the Li Clan.

Of course, Gu Shen would also be there.

But later, she seemed to grow up overnight.

Those unrealistic fantasies never came back in her dreams.

The wind blew gently, and the mountaintop was silent.

Li Qingsui enjoyed this rare tranquility alone, but did not feel relaxed.

She stretched out her finger and gently touched a small white flower on the edge of the flower garden.

After her sister left, the flowers in this garden were still growing well. Perhaps her sister was right, after ushering in the light, Shenci no longer needed the so-called guardian.

But who besides Gu Shen had the ability to erase these black flowers all over the mountains?

The guy her sister spent ten years of her life waiting for was already dead.

There was no one here anymore.

Thinking of this.

"Clatter..."

From the well in front of the ancient house on the top of Mount Shenci, an unusual sound suddenly came out. Li Qingsui suddenly turned her head and saw dozens of golden threads whistling through the void. The neat stack of goddess costumes placed in front of the ancient house were drawn by the golden threads and swept into the ancient well. She couldn't help but exclaim. In the midst of the misty water vapor, a graceful figure, stunningly beautiful, supported herself on the ancient well and slowly stood up.

That figure was too beautiful, so beautiful that people dared not look at it too much.

Li Qingsui quickly turned her head, fearing that she would desecrate the goddess in the mist.

After a moment, the sound of putting on clothes behind her ended.

A clear and cold voice, but with a gentle tone, immediately sounded.

"Qingsui, you've come to Shenci."

Li Qingsui hummed softly. She had actually forgotten that on this mountain, besides her sister and Gu Shen, there was a third person.

However... Miss Chu Ling shouldn't be considered a "person."

"Goddess Sister, is today the day you descend to the world?"

Li Qingsui turned her head and looked at the red and white goddess clothes, unable to help her heart sway. No matter how many times she looked at it, she would feel that Chu Ling had a beauty beyond the mortal world, a temperament that ordinary people could not possess.

The words "Goddess" were indeed extremely fitting.

"Not really."

Chu Ling also came to the flower garden. She squatted beside Li Qingsui, reaching out to stroke the swaying white flower bushes, and said, "I could have 'descended to the world' long ago, but I've been waiting for him. I wanted to wait for him to come back from Sangzhou Cave before 'descending to the world', so we could meet at just the right time."

Him... Gu Shen.

Li Qingsui's heart trembled.

Li Qingsui didn't know the secrets of the Guwen Association, nor did she know that Chu Ling and Gu Shen had a deeper and more private spiritual connection.

She hesitated again and again, and carefully asked, "What about the Sangzhou Cave incident..."

"I already know."

Chu Ling's answer was very calm.

She lowered her eyes and thought for a while, and said, "Gu Shen is dead."

Li Qingsui looked at the goddess in front of her and felt a little strange.

She knew the relationship between Goddess Sister and Gu Shen...

There were countless people in this world who were saddened by Gu Shen's death, but at this moment, Goddess Sister didn't seem to have much sadness or pain on her face?

"You seem very surprised?"

Chu Ling smiled softly, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Because I didn't show sadness or grief?"

"...Yes."

Li Qingsui stared blankly at the goddess who was getting up again.

The flower garden on the top of the mountain was very quiet. At this moment, Li Qingsui thought of herself when she attended her sister's funeral. She had lost the most important person in her life, but she didn't shed a single tear.

Perhaps she looked like this in the eyes of the Li Clan elders at that time.

Sadness, grief, pain... such emotions didn't necessarily have to be expressed on the face.

Despair greater than heartbreak.

"I'm also very curious as to why I didn't even shed a single tear."

"Actually, I'm very sad."

"But... I can't make a sad expression."

"Perhaps it's because I can still do something now..."

"It's not easy to come to the human world once. I only have a few days of light, so I can't waste my time on such things as sadness."

Chu Ling took out the Yama Umbrella placed beside the ancient house of Shenci, opened and closed it twice, and hung it around her waist as a sword. She also picked a few black flowers and pinned them between her temples.

After doing all this, she stood in front of the steps on the top of the mountain.

Chu Ling turned her head to look at the little girl who had grown up a little, but not completely, and said with gentle eyes, "Regarding Gu Shen's death, I want to do something... while I'm still 'alive'."

...

...

The first place Chu Ling went after leaving Mount Shenci was Qingzhong.

She was the current tomb keeper, so the array patterns in the Qingzhong Cemetery would naturally not stop her in any way.

At this moment, Bai Shu, who was sitting in the inner mausoleum, also withdrew the golden divine realm's glow and met Chu Ling's true form.

Chu Ling slowly entered the inner mausoleum. In the golden divine realm, she saw a figure sitting alone, facing the wall in silent meditation. It was none other than Song Ci.

Song Ci had disappeared from the world's view for a long time.

Only a few people knew.

The crow of Dadao was actually in Changye, cultivating in the golden divine realm under the throne of Dou Zhan.

At this moment, the triple divine light actually separated a wisp and enveloped Song Ci... The apostle's blessed light originally emitted from this [Undying One] was also dispelled by most of the nurturing of the Dou Zhan divine realm, but some iron laws could not be changed. Once someone touched a certain fire and signed a contract with it, they would never be accepted by the second fire for life.

In other words.

Even if Bai Shu tried his best to cultivate Song Ci, Song Ci could not become a Dou Zhan apostle, nor could he bear the descent of Dou Zhan.

The wisp of Dou Zhan divine light that was now lingering on his body could not be brought out of Changye, or even out of the mausoleum.

"You're here."

At the end of the golden divine realm was a figure whose triple incarnations were constantly overlapping and changing, sometimes old and sometimes young.

"Mr. Bai Shu, you should know why I've come."

Chu Ling raised her head.

"I know. You want to ask me... Is Gu Shen dead?"

Bai Shu smiled and said, "You're not the first person to confront the divine throne for this matter."

Chu Ling raised her eyebrows, a little surprised.

She was not the first?

It was true that there were countless people in this world who wanted to know the truth about "Gu Shen's death"... but there were only a few who truly had the ability to meet the divine throne.

Besides herself, who else?

She looked towards the direction where Song Ci was in seclusion. The crow's meditating figure was like a withered stone, covered with layers of golden dust, and did not look like it had moved recently.

"It's not him."

Bai Shu said lightly, "Song Yingji has been in seclusion in the divine realm for a hundred days. For a whole hundred days, he hasn't heard a single bit of worldly noise. He doesn't know anything about what's happening outside... and this matter is no exception."

"It's a silly boy from Central City."

Before Chu Ling could speak, Bai Shu said the answer.

Central City?

Because of Gu Shen's death, there was only one person who would not hesitate to pay the price, and who had the ability and status to meet the Empress in the pavilion...

Lin Lin.

"So, is Gu Shen dead?"

Chu Ling stood in the divine realm surrounded by golden clouds. She didn't say any other nonsense and went straight to the point.

And Bai Shu's answer was also very straightforward.

"No."

Two words.

These two words instantly dispelled the haze lingering in Chu Ling's heart.

"He is the future Hades. How could Hades fall so easily?"

Bai Shu said with a chuckle, "With Lin Lei and I, two divine thrones, watching Sangzhou Cave, if we let Gu Shen die now... how will the future 'God Slaying' plan be carried out?"

This plan was not a secret to Chu Ling.

Bai Shu knew that Chu Ling knew all of this.

When he spoke to Gu Shen, he never intended to hide anything from Chu Ling.

Because... Chu Ling was also a part of the plan.

"..."

Chu Ling narrowed her eyes. She repeatedly chewed on what Bai Shu had just said, and the more she listened, the more she felt that there seemed to be a second meaning.

After descending to the world, she regained the right to activate divination, but every link in the cause and effect of "Gu Shen's death" was obscured by tons of mist, and she couldn't see it clearly at all.

Obviously, this accident was related to "Fire" from beginning to end.

It was very likely that more than one divine throne had interfered.

"Gu Shen didn't die, but everyone thinks he did. The Gu Clan Hall even took out the 'Blood Tablet Record' to verify the dissipation of his spirit in front of the five great families and the three great organizations..."

Chu Ling frowned as she recalled the information that was currently circulating outside.

This information all proved that Gu Shen had indeed died.

And these news...

Were released by Bai Shu and Lin Lin.

They wanted the Five Continents to think so. If everyone thought Gu Shen had died, then that would be the best ending.

"Besides Lin Lin, did anyone else see the divine throne... Was it Gu Nanfeng? Was the Blood Tablet Record fake?"

A gleam of brilliance suddenly lit up in Chu Ling's eyes.

Under the interference of the [Reversal] divine power, Bai Shu's image transformed into a delicate child.

"Not bad."

He had a faint smile on his face, "But it can't be said to be fake, after all, I can extract the blood left by Little Gu in this mausoleum at will in the [Reversal] divine realm. So what the five great families saw was indeed his blood. It's just that there has never been a 'Blood Tablet Record' in the first place. Gu Shen has never left these things in the Gu Clan Hall. You should know this better than me."

[Source Code] maintained a spiritual link with the host 24 hours a day.

But Chu Ling's way of thinking was to calculate probabilities.

After Gu Shen entered the disaster realm that shielded the spiritual link, [Source Code] would lose the link... She thought that the "Blood Tablet Record" might have been left at that time, but thinking about it carefully, this was indeed a loophole, a loophole that the world could not find, but that she could easily break through.

"Why?"

Chu Ling was a little puzzled, "You want everyone to think that 'Gu Shen is dead'... What good is that?"

Bai Shu didn't directly answer this question.

Instead, he threw out a rhetorical question.

"If everyone thinks Gu Shen is alive, then... what good is it for Eastern Continent?"

Chu Ling was stunned.

As the [Source Code] left by Mr. Turing, her mission was to help Gu Shen survive, so everything she did, every arrangement, every plan... was to make Gu Shen live longer and farther, so that he could become stronger in the future.

But Bai Shu's words awakened her.

The格局 of the Five Continents was becoming increasingly tense, and the identity of Hades could no longer be concealed.

As long as Gu Shen was "alive," he would attract a lot of attention, the Four Divine Envoys, the Blessed Child, and then the top titles of the major forces of the Five Continents, the Apostle!

For Hades, "living" was not a good thing.

"You see, sometimes 'death' is not a bad thing either." Seeing Chu Ling fall into silence, Bai Shu knew that she already understood, so he smiled slightly, "Gu Shen needs time too much. But as long as he is alive, alive in the public eye, he will not have time... The Source Tower, the City of Light, and the Storm Church are all staring at him. At that time, there will be endless pressure and killing intent surging towards him. If these killing intents accumulate too much, they will crush him, and the day when the Hades Fire appears will be the moment when the divine war breaks out. How long do you think the living Gu Shen will need to bear the weight of this fire?"

"So, you arranged for him to die in the 'flames' of the Tanyao eruption?"

Chu Ling still couldn't understand.

How exactly did Gu Shen die at the bottom of Tanyao?

"No, this was not arranged by me."

Bai Shu said calmly, "You must be clear that I am just a martial artist, and I only want to be a martial artist. Others are laying out these things, and what I have done can only be regarded as cooperation at best. From the day I took the fire from Gu Changzhi, I knew what my mission was. I am waiting for the real divine war to begin. At that time, not for the sake of the common people, but only for myself, I can have a hearty fight."

From beginning to end, he was very pure.

More than twenty years ago.

Bai Shu firmly chose the "Dou Zhan Fire", even if he didn't succeed, he never went to contact other fire powers.

Now, merging with the Dou Zhan Fire in the mausoleum, his temperament became more and more sharp and unstoppable!

"However..."

"There is one thing I can tell you clearly, since you have come to the human world, then live well, cherish this limited time, and do not try to explore the real truth."

Bai Shu looked at Chu Ling and gave a sincere warning, "The cause and effect involved before and after Sangzhou Cave are too long, even I can't see clearly. With your current divination talent, even if you exhaust all the life of this body, you won't be able to see through a bit of haze... You will get nothing."

Chu Ling was silent for a moment and said, "Thank you for the reminder."

She turned to leave the golden divine realm.

Bai Shu suddenly said, "If someone asks, you know what to say, right?"

The woman in the red and white goddess clothes had no sorrow or joy on her face. She was like this from the moment she descended to the world, and also when she learned that Gu Shen was still alive...

This reaction made Bai Shu very relieved.

If someone asked, the answer was not important.

What was important was the person's expression and the subtle fluctuations in their spirit. Chu Ling did very well in this regard. She was like an emotionless machine.

The reason why Bai Shu mentioned Lin Lin earlier and used "silly boy" to replace him.

It was because Lin Lin did this very poorly.

Because the two had different performances, they got different answers.

Bai Shu chose to tell Chu Ling the truth.

On the other hand... the Empress gave her younger brother a kind lie.

"Don't worry."

At the end of the divine realm, Chu Ling paused and said expressionlessly, "Lying is a compulsory course for AI."