Chapter 1 The Ice Sea's Season

The monsoon of the Ice Sea arrived at the southern caves of Sangzhou, the dark clouds heavy, the volcanic ash clinging.

The impact of the beast tide seemed to be weakening.

Because the ground tremors in Sangzhou Cave were no longer so intense...

A light rain began to fall from the sky.

The two people inside the barrier looked at each other in the myriad falling raindrops. Gu Shen would remember Hong Long's eyes at this moment for a very long time.

In the depths of this Envoy of the Origin Tower's eyes, there was a gentle and resolute smile hidden.

If you choose to burn –

We are willing to be your embers.

The fiery flame between his eyebrows seemed to have heard these words and understood their deeper meaning, flickering slowly.

"Alright... not much time left."

Hong Long chuckled softly, "The origin aura of the Ice Sea has changed. The storm may be returning."

Gu Shen's expression became serious.

"The storm is returning?"

The Holy City's retreat, the southward deployment in Sangzhou Cave, the very origin of this mission, all came from the storm throne's departure from Lizhou.

Once the throne returned.

These storm cultists would put on a different face!

"Yes... this is the result of divination."

Hong Long said indifferently, "Although 'Divination' cannot peer into the Fire Seed, it can peer into the future of the Sages of the Holy City. But you don't need to worry, everything in Sangzhou Cave will end before the storm returns."

Gu Shen frowned, repeating the last two words with some uncertainty.

"End?"

"As you can see, a large amount of volcanic ash fills Sangzhou Cave. In fact, the Origin Tower is also exploring what exactly the power inside 【Tan Yao】 is. It's just a pity that there are too many unsolved mysteries in this world. Even if Qing Long lived for a hundred years, there are still many secrets she doesn't understand... A hundred years is a long time, but it's very short when placed in human history." Hong Long said, "Mr. Yan used 'Premonition' to see a corner of the fate of the Ice Sea and Sangzhou Cave."

"What did Mr. Yan see?"

"Darkness, extreme darkness... You are a diviner yourself, you should know what this kind of darkness means." Hong Long pressed the hilt of his knife, looked up at the sky, and sighed softly, "If Mr. Yan's prediction is correct, Sangzhou Cave will eventually face destruction."

"..."

Gu Shen did not respond, falling into thought.

When Hong Long mentioned divination, he remembered a past event that wasn't too distant.

"Now there is not much time left, you need to hurry up and do one thing."

Hong Long's voice interrupted Gu Shen's thoughts.

Gu Shen looked up, "What is it?"

This first Envoy of the Origin Tower pondered for several seconds, and slowly asked: "This matter is a bit risky, I don't know what level your strength has reached after your advancement... Are you confident in defeating an injured Zhu Que?"

Gu Shen's eyes lit up.

"The beast tide is impacting the four districts. Whether it is the Origin Tower or Guang Ming Bi Lei, they are all busy defending. A large amount of volcanic ash shields the 【Deep Sea】 inspection, and even the 'Authority' is no longer working... This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Hong Long smiled, "If possible, I actually want to take action too. It's just that this mission has the 'Authority', as long as I get close to Zhu Que, 【Cloud Mirror】 will sense it."

When Zhu Que was beaten by Jia Wei, Gu Shen was lying in wait the entire time - if he guessed correctly, this guy should have been stabbed twice and suffered serious injuries, his mental power and physical strength are no longer at their peak!

Gu Shen likes and is best at this kind of thing like picking up a bargain to kill someone.

"I need Zhu Que's detailed data."

But he still maintained the greatest degree of caution: "To ensure everything is foolproof, I must be fully prepared."

"His trump card, hasn't it already been tested by you in the Northern Ridge of e0 District?"

Hong Long smiled indifferently, "The strongest trump card of the Four Envoys is the quasi-S-rank Bit Plate... But he has just broken through, comprehended a dual domain, and has the characteristic of 'elementalization'. If you want to kill him, you have to use an attack method that directly breaks 'elementalization'."

As he said that, he pulled the short knife, along with its scabbard, from his waist.

"If you don't have a suitable weapon... my 'Po Yu' can be lent to you. If you use this knife to directly strike the ability user's weakness, you can ignore 'elementalization', but be sure to wait for the final blow before drawing the knife."

Generous.

Too generous.

But Gu Shen didn't want it.

"No need... I have my own way to deal with 'elementalization'."

Gu Shen didn't accept Hong Long's short knife, for two reasons. First, this knife was too conspicuous, once it was drawn, it might expose Hong Long's identity. Second, it was too precious, it was only their first meeting, he couldn't take it, nor did he want to take it.

"Killing Zhu Que doesn't require your knife. Prepare to mourn for him, I guarantee that the Origin Tower won't even be able to find Zhu Que's body."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "By the way... If necessary, I can also help deal with the other two Envoys."

"I didn't realize you had such a strong killing intent?"

Hong Long said helplessly, "Killing an Envoy is not a small matter, the risks are high, and the rewards are small... Even if you kill all the current Envoys of the Origin Tower, they can still find new successors. The Envoy system will not be shaken in the slightest."

Zhu Que, Yun Hu, Xuan Wu...

Even the strongest Hong Long is not irreplaceable.

They climbed up from among thousands of people to become "Envoys", proving their potential to the Origin Tower.

And the Origin Tower then reciprocates with "Envoy-level" resources!

In this way, the fundamental reason for making Zhu Que and the others Envoys is actually the Origin Tower's rich foundation accumulated over many years...

"They die, the Bit Plate is still there. The position of Envoy is still there."

Hong Long said seriously, "So... killing one Zhu Que is enough. If you kill him, it will make the next task much easier for me. After receiving Gu Xiaoman, the Origin Tower will withdraw from Sangzhou Cave."

Speaking of this, he paused.

"I suggest that Dongzhou also hurry up and leave... The second round of discussions at the World Conference is also coming to an end. Before the Storm Throne returns to Nanzhou, the Four Continents Council will be able to complete the 'pressure'. You want to take all the 'Neutrals' away, right?"

Gu Shen nodded.

"The Origin Tower will take the lead in taking people away - this will be a breakthrough."

Hong Long gave Gu Shen a "you know what I mean" look.

Gu Shen certainly understood.

Once the rules are broken, they are no longer rules.

The Origin Tower has an extraordinary position in the Five Continents, and often needs to do this kind of thing... And Dongzhou, which has received the signal, does not need to prepare too much, just follow behind the Origin Tower to make a "breakthrough"!

The conversation between the two came to its final end. Hong Long gave Gu Shen Zhu Que's location and the final reminder.

"Remember, the lethality of the 【Cloud Mirror】 Authority is very powerful. At this moment, Zhu Que should be in the core area of Tan Yao. A large amount of volcanic ash can shield the 'Authority' from sensing. But once he escapes from the volcanic area, don't chase him, you must not be captured and locked by the 【Cloud Mirror】 Authority... Qing Long's divine might is not something a mortal like you can withstand!"

After saying these things, Hong Long floated away.

Obviously, before he set off for the southern caves, he had already planned out the entire script...

He is now preparing to return directly to the Dong Caves base camp, to reorganize the Origin Tower's enforcer lineup. As for the "emergency rescue" agreed upon with Zhu Que, it was just a lie from beginning to end.

He wouldn't go at all.

……

……

After Hong Long left, the red canopy barrier dissipated like flowing water.

Gu Shen received a delayed message in his mental sea.

"Gu Shen, are you okay?"

"Are you alright?!"

Messages from Chen Li, Mu Wanqiu, Chen Mei, Zhuang Su, and Qi Mo came one after another.

It seemed that Little Iron Man had successfully returned to the s12 district with Mr. Zhuang and told his acquaintances what happened in the deep forest.

Gu Shen didn't have time to reply to all the messages. He just connected to Chen Mei's mental link.

"Are you still alive?"

Chen Mei's first sentence was quite direct.

"Alive, and living very well."

Gu Shen quickly replied, "You don't need to leave the city, and I don't need rescuing."

What he was most worried about now was that Little Iron Man would worry about his safety and bring the remaining extraordinary forces in the city to rush to his aid.

"..."

On the mental sea side, Chen Mei was silent for several seconds.

"Don't worry, no one will leave the city, and no one has time to save you."

Chen Mei said in a low voice, "A large number of beast tides are impacting the Dong Caves. Nineteen districts are in emergency at the same time. The 'poisonous miasma' you set up has been broken through. These beast spirits have gone completely crazy... Several city walls have already been breached. The number of districts that are still holding on is constantly decreasing."

Saving Gu Shen was actually a somewhat ridiculous thing -

With Gu Shen's strength, if he encountered danger, the only ones who could save him were Bai Xiu and Chen Mei!

Anyone else coming would be meaningless!

Gu Shen's heart, which had just been put down, was raised again: "What about Hu Danian? Did the armored vehicles sent by Da Du arrive?"

"That's the only good news!"

Chen Mei's voice was very urgent: "The armored vehicles from Da Du arrived just before the beast tide, bringing the latest strong logic materials. The Sincerity Society completed the city wall coverage of the s12 district before the beast tide arrived. Currently, the beast tide cannot break through the s12 district. I am busy killing high-level beast spirits--"

"Has the beast tide reached the city walls?"

Gu Shen's expression was a little ugly. In this case, it meant that he could not use the "Nether River Poison."

Mental toxins are for large-scale killing!

Using poison in this kind of situation would cause all the living beings in the city to be buried together!

"In short, the situation in the s12 district is stable, it's just a bit 'hectic'. As for what you said about Hu Da..." Chen Mei frowned: "Is that the person in charge of this mission? I didn't see him!"

"..."

Gu Shen was speechless for a while.

Chen Mei suddenly asked, "By the way, Chen Li said that you encountered very powerful transcendents who set up special barriers. Who was that person? How did you solve it?"

At this moment, he was activating 【Time Slow】to slaughter the beast tide under the city.

Although there were no opponents.

But it was very slow, in every sense of the word.

Communicating with Gu Shen did not require consuming mental energy from the 【Time Slow】 domain.

"It doesn't matter who that person is. Gu Shen and I have already killed 'him'... He was probably an agent of Guang Ming Bi Lei."

A calm voice sounded in the link.

Gu Shen turned around.

He saw Bai Xiu in white clothes, and a black-clad girl standing blankly next to Bai Xiu not far away.

Gu Xiaoman had finished her first "real combat experience"... She was forced to end it because of the sudden outbreak of the beast tide. She was found by Bai Xiu, forcibly taken away from the battle, and hid on a tree trunk for a long time before the beast tide ended.

In fact, the reason why this deep forest was quiet was not because the beast tide had stopped, but because the beast spirits had already reached the districts.

Gu Shen and Bai Xiu looked at each other.

The two tacitly skipped over the matter of "Hong Long."

"Little Xiu is also here."

Chen Mei said indifferently, "In that case, I'm relieved."

"I will be back soon..." Bai Xiu said, "As for Gu Shen, he still has something to do."

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back in the s12 district."

With the basic situation explained, Chen Mei was completely relieved, and the mental link was cut off.

At the end of this conversation, Little Xiu helped him out, Gu Shen knew... Bai Xiu had probably already talked to Hong Long.

"Finished talking?"

Little Xiu glanced in the direction Hong Long left and spoke first: "Congratulations on breaking through."

"Finished talking."

Gu Shen heard that it sounded a bit like sarcasm, he said helplessly: "There's nothing to congratulate about."

"Do you need my help with what follows?"

Bai Xiu transmitted the sound again, but his voice was not enthusiastic: "Killing Zhu Que is not a small matter, if you are worried about accidents... I can wait outside 【Tan Yao】."

Compared to the previous sentence, this sentence sounded even more sarcastic.

Gu Shen grinned and said frankly: "If it was before breaking through, then I would have called you over, you would have killed him, and I would have watched. But now... if you are willing, you can come with me, I'll be responsible for killing, and you can be responsible for watching."

"Since you say you can kill him, then there's no need for me to go with you, just a dead bird, there's nothing to see."

Bai Xiu lowered his eyes and said, "Let's kill those higher up later."

This sentence had a deeper meaning...

Those stronger than the Four Envoys were naturally not any titles.

But the one on the throne.

Feeling that the atmosphere was a little strange, Gu Shen was stunned for a second and smiled: "Okay."

"Gu Shen gege..." (older brother)

Gu Xiaoman in black was very polite. She quietly waited for the two to finish talking before speaking softly.

"I killed thirteen beast spirits..."

The little girl had injuries on her face, and there were bruises all over her black clothes.

"Later on, I didn't use sealed items."

Bai Xiu's eyes became gentle, he looked at Gu Xiaoman and added for her: "Xiaoman insisted on removing the 'Origin Armor', so she suffered these injuries... But she won, and she fought very well."

Hearing the praise, the girl raised her face, and when she smiled, her white teeth were revealed.

At this moment, she still had that unfamiliar face.

"Sizzle!"

However, the next second, Bai Xiu raised his hand and Xiaoman's veil was taken off -

On the grand strategy of the two continents, he was a firm pro-war faction.

However, after talking with Hong Long, he also saw a corner of the future...

Bai Xiu knew that his strength was not enough.

Currently, he could not make a decision to start a war, a decision like this, on behalf of the lives of the common people of Dongzhou, in his personal capacity.

So he handed the final decision-making power to Gu Shen.

And now, he had already guessed what Gu Shen and Hong Long were going to do...

In the open space in the deep forest, crackling lightning rang out, the towering figure of the Thunder Realm Walker condensed, holding a thin red veil in his thick hands, and sent it to Gu Shen.

"Since you and Hong Long have finished talking, I will take off 【Ghost Mask Veil】 for her."

Gu Shen finally understood why Bai Xiu's words were not pleasant when he talked to him.

After that conversation with Hong Long, the Ghost Mask Veil was indeed no longer needed.

When this wave of beast tide subsided, the results of the World Conference should also be out -

At that time, Xiaoman would be taken away by the Origin Tower.

"..."

Gu Shen's expression was a little complicated.

He took the red veil, slowly came to Xiaoman, looked at the girl's smile, and he also squeezed out a smile: "As expected of Xiaoman, you must be tired after fighting for a day, right? You go back to the district first, I'll be back in no time."

"Xiaoman is not tired."

The girl quickly shook her head and said seriously, "But you have to come back quickly... I'll wait for you at the residence."

"...Okay."

Gu Shen stood up, took a deep breath, he looked at Little Xiu, wanting to say something.

But before he could say a word, he was interrupted the next second.

"No need to say more, I already know the result of your discussion with Hong Long..."

Bai Xiu's expression didn't change much, he silently transmitted the sound: "About the 'Origin Tower', you should wait until you're done and come back and tell her in person."