“Who are you?!”

Shadow had never encountered such a situation before.

Even those transcendents with stronger mental power than him shouldn't be like this.

Absolute darkness!

A darkness that chilled the heart!

"Who am I..."

Gu Shen chuckled softly.

Instead of answering the question directly, he countered, "Do you really want to know?"

The Saint Book Ancient House area of w4 district, and the entire manor, were sealed off by blazing fire… meaning there would be no mental power leakage here. In other words, Shadow couldn't transmit signals from here.

This was their "alone time."

"The aura emanating from you is gloomy and profound, seemingly burdened with sin..."

Shadow stared at Gu Shen for a long time, silently gripping the two daggers that had slid from his sleeves.

"You're no good thing."

Gu Shen remained noncommittal to this assessment.

Shadow narrowed his eyes.

The gloom beneath the eaves was like ink, impossible to dispel.

He was an assassin lurking in the shadows, constantly hiding in the night, consorting with darkness!

Yet the "darkness" carried by the person before him made even him feel fear and disgust!

Wait... fear, disgust?

A possibility suddenly occurred to Shadow. He raised his head, unable to conceal his shock. "Are you an apostle of the King of the Underworld?!"

"Heh..."

Gu Shen smiled.

He slowly shook his head. "Close guess, but wrong… guess again."

"Guess again?!"

Shadow paused for a second. If he wasn't an apostle of the King of the Underworld… then who could he be?!

He didn't have much time to think!

"Boom!"

After speaking, Gu Shen, standing under the eaves, immediately made his move. The moment he asked Shadow to guess his identity, he was already prepared to kill the man and destroy the body!

This was a punch at extremely close range!

Shadow reacted quickly. He drew his twin blades, spun out two wheels of knife light, and abruptly raised them, aiming a cross-shaped slash at Gu Shen's fist—

Two crisp sounds of "clang clang"—

Gu Shen's Pure Land domain covered his fist, smashing in a simple and unadorned manner at the point where the "Source Breaker" and "Tear" blades intersected. These two special blades contained extremely powerful killing force, directly shattering the "Great Cold Frost Snow"!

For a moment, ice shards flew in all directions!

The next moment, they were instantly incinerated by the high temperature!

Blazing fire spread, and a large amount of mist filled the courtyard!

After striking, Shadow instantly retreated. His heart was pounding, filled with astonishment.

"Two completely different domain powers?"

Shadow had never seen such bizarre power. Normal transcendents comprehended a complete domain before advancing to the fourth level, and then slowly comprehended a second domain later… and this second domain was often based on the former!

For example, the Suzaku Envoy just now, the first domain [Flame Giant], the second domain [Blazing Fire Body], these two domains were mutually dependent and mutually complementary!

This was the first time in Shadow's life that he had seen two completely different domain powers appear on one person!

"Boom..."

Amidst the explosive roar, after Shadow blocked a punch, he retreated several steps in a row, barely managing to stumble to a halt.

Gu Shen, on the other hand, took a step forward, delivered a punch, and returned to his original position, once again concealing his figure in the darkness under the eaves.

The two men stared at each other from dozens of meters apart, one at one end of the small courtyard, the other at the other end.

"This person is so powerful… I should recognize him!"

Shadow frowned, desperately recalling the important figures in the files for this mission south in his mind.

This guy was definitely not an unknown figure.

A fourth-level powerhouse who had comprehended two domains… should be recorded in the files, why didn't he remember?

Related to the King of the Underworld, this was an East Continent person?

Chen Mei, no, wrong.

Bai Xiu, also wrong…

Cold sweat seeped from Shadow's forehead.

Of the three fourth-level leaders in the East Continent, only one remained… Gu Shen. Rumor had it that his ability was "blazing fire," a mental-type S-grade power. If it was S-grade, it wouldn't be an exaggeration if some kind of mutation occurred.

He vaguely guessed the answer, and this time, the shadow under the eaves met his gaze, seemingly with a smile.

At this moment, the two men were positioned far apart, at a distance from each other.

This guy didn't seem to be watching him very closely.

After the battle with Suzaku just now, his spirit and physical strength were no longer at their peak. If he engaged in another battle, the chances were that things would turn out badly…

With this in mind, a hint of retreat arose in Shadow's heart.

However, the killer's instinct told him that at this moment, he must not escape. If he didn't escape, there was still a chance to counter-kill… If he wanted to escape, he was afraid that there would really only be a dead end!

"Gu Shen?"

Shadow took a deep breath.

He prepared himself to fight the mysterious man before him to the death. However, after gripping the twin blades, he lowered his voice and tentatively called out a name.

"..."

Of course, there would be no response from the darkness under the eaves.

The courtyard was silent.

In fact, Shadow's calling out Gu Shen's name was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

This was not a test—

But a signal transmission!

This entire small island was under the surveillance of [Tide]!

Shadow knew that his "spirit" had been cut off from the link, and he also knew that if he chose to fight to the death, then he would most likely die in this small courtyard!

He might not be able to send effective messages to Su Ye.

So the only thing he could rely on now—

Was the Storm Church!

Unfortunately, Gu Shen had already made "complete preparations."

He had placed a wisp of Netherfire above this small courtyard. The monitoring of the [Tide] authority would also be restricted. Under the shroud of authority power of the same level, [Tide] would directly ignore this place.

Sage Cadit could hear nothing.

Gu Shen slowly walked out of the darkness of the eaves. He no longer concealed his face, his aura, or his identity.

"It really is you..."

Shadow's heart trembled.

At the same time, the ominous premonition in his heart rose to the extreme.

Showing his true face meant… that what followed would be a fight to the death!

"It is me."

Gu Shen said calmly, "How do you want to die?"

"Tear!"

What responded to him was a silver-bright blade light that suddenly burst open!

Source Breaker as the opening move.

Shadow did not choose to retreat. He followed the guidance of his heart, choosing to launch a desperate counterattack. His choice was correct, because "Pure Land" had completely enveloped this small courtyard. As long as Shadow had the intention to avoid battle and wanted to escape, then there would only be one consequence.

Death!

Of course.

The current choice… was actually the same.

Gu Shen chuckled lightly. His body swayed slightly, perfectly dodging this blade, and then he pressed out with a single palm.

"Buzz buzz buzz—"

Source Breaker missed. The second blade, specializing in matter, the "Tear" blade, slashed at the position of Gu Shen's forearm!

Clang!

Golden iron light splattered!

There were some materials in this world that were extremely, extremely difficult to destroy.

For example, the "nameless firm iron" that Gu Shen brought out from the bottom of the Tundra tomb. Shadow's unexpected blade, carrying the "Tear" trait, slashed at the forearm covered with [Iron Throne], only causing a muffled crisp sound!

In the end, Gu Shen was unscathed, only a corner of his sleeve was cut to pieces!

From the very beginning, Shadow had no chance of winning in this duel!

Under the black clothes, apart from the "iron scale skin" covering his whole body, Gu Shen also wore the sixth-order source armor given by the Northern Continent… This was a top-level protective gear that could withstand the frontal explosion of [Childlike], comparable to the explosive power of a titled level!

It was simply impossible for an ordinary fourth-level to break through his defense!

"Boom!"

Gu Shen forcibly withstood Shadow's twin blade slashes, and took a step forward in such a simple and unadorned manner.

Storing energy, unleashing a punch!

This punch erupted with a cannonball-like roar, directly hitting the latter's lower abdomen, causing Shadow to bend over and fly backwards, his back hitting the small courtyard, the courtyard wall collapsing, and at the same time, a green frost spread.

Great Cold Frost Snow surrounded them into a large circle!

This was the domain application that Gu Shen had comprehended after the battle with Suzaku in the Northern Ridge—

Since the Nanli Spirit Tablet could bind a barrier, then his own "Pure Land" could do the same!

Before the battle began, the deep courtyard of the mansion in the w4 district had been completely enveloped by Gu Shen's "Pure Land" domain, becoming a perfectly closed single-player arena!

"You can't escape."

Gu Shen said calmly, "If you want to live… you have to fight desperately. Try it, maybe there's still a little bit of a chance."

He stretched out his palm, hooked his fingers, and signaled Shadow to stand up.

Gu Shen never showed mercy to this kind of enemy, and would have directly killed him with a single slash in normal times.

However, he was currently in the breakthrough stage.

Although there were many fourth-level opponents, high-quality life-and-death battles were hard to find.

A shadow assassin who believed in the light, once desperate… should be able to burst out with considerable power. If Shadow's will to live was strong enough, then it should be able to help his "breakthrough."

"Ah ah ah—"

A surge of anger welled up in Shadow's heart. He was the most appreciated genius assassin under the Divine Palace, when had he ever encountered such humiliation!

Holding Source Breaker in reverse, he instantly slashed a circle.

The "chill" that had been surrounding him shattered in an instant!

Stepping on the frost and snow, he burst out with an incredible and astonishing speed, his twin blades instantly slashing out nearly a hundred blade lights—

"Cha cha cha cha!"

The blade light was like a fluttering butterfly. Gu Shen put his hands behind his back, retreated with a calm expression, and frowned slightly at the same time.

He abandoned other attack methods and only manipulated "blazing fire" to fight the enemy!

A wisp of fire, according to his will, outlined in the air, flying together with the blade light that Shadow delivered!

For a time, blade light and blazing fire danced together in the small courtyard, looking extremely brilliant and dazzling.

Shadow's blade was fast, but… not fast enough!

This was an assassin who lurked in the darkness, seeking a one-hit kill.

Once a frontal battle broke out… no matter how great the determination to die was, it would not change one problem.

The first blade drawn was the strongest, and each subsequent blade became weaker and weaker.

These blade lights no longer had the strange and tricky angles that Gu Shen had seen when Shadow assassinated Suzaku while observing in the forest.

In a head-on attack, Shadow brought too little pressure to him. This was indeed a life-and-death battle, but wanting to use it to break through was nonsense.

Gu Shen no longer retreated, and suddenly stopped.

In front of him were hundreds of blade lights interwoven into a net, with Source Breaker and Tear coming out together. In the end, Gu Shen still imitated the previous method, extending an arm and using the simplest and most barbaric method—

Breaking all laws with one force!

The iron scale skin and the sixth-order source armor directly withstood all of Source Breaker's and Tear's attacks.

The dense and numerous crisp sounds exploded in the courtyard.

Eventually, the small courtyard returned to tranquility.

Gu Shen's palm pressed on Shadow's forehead.

He said calmly, "Unfortunately, I gave you a chance… but you're useless."

Blazing fire burned.

Shadow's eyes widened, and fiery flames also burned in his pupils.

"The envoys from the Southern Continent should be coming soon."

Gu Shen said calmly, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have died so easily in the real world. I will use all the tortures suffered by the 'neutrals' on you once… so that you can taste the pain of having your eyes gouged out and your limbs broken. But it doesn't matter, we will have a chance to make up for this regret later."

"Ho… ho…"

Shadow was a little confused. He didn't understand what Gu Shen's second half of the sentence meant.

But he didn't have time.

Shadow's breathing became difficult. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't say a word. His arms slowly slid down, and the two daggers fell to the ground with a clanging sound.

From a biological definition.

He was dead.

But from another perspective… he was not dead yet, his "life" had just begun.

"Don't worry, 'death' in the real world is not liberation."

Gu Shen said coldly, "Aren't you curious about my true identity? Now… you can know the truth."

He let go of his palm.

With a "bang."

Shadow, who had been lifted off the ground, fell to the ground just like that. His body was burned by blazing fire, and when he fell heavily on the ground, he had turned into clumps of ashes and dust!

In the Pure Land world.

A brand new soul, here, had obtained "new life"!

For those souls resurrected in the "Pure Land," Gu Shen, as the master of the world, could choose to retain the self-awareness of the deceased, or carry out a complete erasure… For those Tundra criminals who had escaped from prison during the Frozen Lake mission, Gu Shen chose to erase them, making them serve in the Pure Land for all eternity to repay their sins.

And at this moment, for Shadow, who was "reincarnated" in the Pure Land, Gu Shen chose to let him retain his self-awareness!

"This…"

"Where is this?!"

Shadow woke up from suffocation, and saw a towering giant tree.

In his vision, hundreds and thousands of pale frost snow also floated by, mixed with dry golden wheat ears.

The next moment.

He understood everything.

This was a complete rule world. The last time he saw a complete rule world was under the Red Lake in Light City… And the man who possessed this kind of world and the aura that the Light hated and loathed, only had one identity left.

King of the Underworld!

Gu Shen was not an apostle!

But the real Seventh God who inherited the Fire Seed!

"You have two choices now."

Gu Shen said calmly, "First, to have your consciousness erased by me… Do you see over there? You will become 'one' of them. After your consciousness is obliterated, you will serve in my Pure Land for all eternity."

Shadow looked in the direction Gu Shen was pointing.

There were hundreds of souls there, building ancient buildings similar to flower beds.

"Of course, you will also be the first to go when we attack Light City in the future…"

Gu Shen said indifferently, "Since you believe in the Light God Seat, then I will let you witness the collapse of 'faith' with your own eyes."

"???"

Shadow was stunned. He had never seen such a shameless person.

"As for the second choice…"

Gu Shen looked at the ancient house not far from the Suxuan Tree.

Shadow's whole body was trembling when he saw the ancient house… This was the most important "object" in this mission to the Southern Continent, the Saint Book!

Gu Shen had moved an entire house away!

"I know your mental sea is locked, forcibly searching it is meaningless."

Gu Shen said quietly, "But you can say it yourself… If you tell me the secrets of the 'Saint Book' and answer my doubts, I can give you a dignified death. I can let you… truly die."

The Pure Land was cold.

But Gu Shen's words were even colder.

At this moment, Shadow finally understood the meaning of Gu Shen's previous words.

Death in the real world was indeed not the end, not the end…

In the hands of the King of the Underworld.

All of this was just the beginning!