Chapter 1 A Terrible Situation...

"Mr. Jia Wei, the current situation is truly awful..."

A light, misty rain drifted across the walls of Xiku City.

Su Ye sat in a lounge chair, a self-deprecating smile on his face.

He gazed at the rumbling sky, his expression giving nothing away, yet his mood was darker than ever before.

"The Source Tower, the Northern Continent, and the Eastern Continent have all begun to retreat."

"And we're still having a 'revolution' here."

Su Ye's slender fingers tightened around the chair's armrest.

Volcanic ash obscured the Source Power and blocked mental perception, but as he looked into the distant rain, past countless ash clouds, he could almost see the clamor in the districts of Xiku... A massive popular uprising had suddenly erupted.

Without a doubt, this was the "Neutralists" doing.

Shadow was dead.

The Neutralists had escaped.

The Holy Book was gone!

Su Ye desperately suppressed his anger. He hadn't been a Holy Son for long, and the Sangzhou Cave southward expedition was his biggest mission to date... He had come with the "Holy Book," full of confidence, only to find himself in such a miserable state.

Most humiliatingly, he didn't even know who had stolen the Holy Book!

Su Ye covered his forehead with one hand and chuckled softly, "Why not just kill them all? What do you think?"

"..."

Jia Wei fell silent.

This heavily armored Great Knight of Guang Ming City stood like a towering statue, his silver armor glistening with countless fine raindrops.

"Inadvisable."

Jia Wei said in a deep voice, "Nearly two thousand transcendents are marching and rebelling in Xiku's 20 districts... Not counting those who have escaped. These people still have a chance for edification. If we recover the 'Holy Book,' everything can be salvaged."

"And if we don't?"

Su Ye lowered his eyes, saying with annoyance, "The Inquisitors' investigation has made no progress in recent days... We can't find a shred of evidence."

"... Gu Shen."

Jia Wei spoke the name of his suspect once more.

He said slowly, "This incident is very similar to Meng Xiao's disappearance. Back then, the Inquisitors couldn't find any evidence either."

"Respected Great Knight."

Su Ye smiled, "Intuition cannot be used as evidence. Do you intend to use that as justification to search Gu Shen? If we recreate the scene from Xuankong Mountain in the Northern Continent, how will we explain it?"

"Don't waste your energy on Gu Shen." Su Ye sighed with a headache, "The [Temple] will soon learn about the loss of a page from the Holy Book... Tan Yao could erupt at any moment, yet Guang Ming City hasn't managed to take away a single believer. As it stands, we can't convert the entire island's believers. We should take as many as we can, rather than return empty-handed."

Jia Wei remained motionless after hearing this.

A deep echo came from beneath his bright armor, "Are you suggesting a retreat?"

"Yes."

Su Ye slowly stood up. His thin frame was drenched by the rain, causing his Light-Blessed Robe to cling to his body. The radiant sun of light reappeared, though its brilliance was now diminished.

"Without enough 'faith'... my sun has dimmed as well."

Su Ye walked toward the inner city, watching the agitation and unrest within the main district.

"So,"

He pressed his hands against the stone wall and asked again, "Should we just kill them all?"

Jia Wei was stunned.

He hadn't expected the new Son of Blessing to come up with such a solution.

"I'm not joking with you."

Su Ye said softly, "Those who do not serve the light should be submerged, destroyed, shattered... Shouldn't these ignorant masses be put to death for revolting in Xiku?"

"You are the Holy Son, the future leader of Guang Ming City."

Jia Wei lowered his head, his voice hoarse. "The Divine Throne has taught us that those who do not serve the light are either foolish or ignorant. We should offer them sufficient patience and tolerance... If they are willing to return to the righteous path, then we should forgive their past sins."

"And if they refuse?"

"..."

Jia Wei thought for a long time, then said, word by word, "The Sangzhou Cave journey is led by the Holy Son. Jia Wei is only responsible for carrying out orders... Since the Holy Book has been stolen, I wish to search for it, and perhaps I will find something."

"Alright, I understand."

Su Ye, his brow furrowed with gloom, smiled and continued to watch the rebellious transcendents below the city, leaning on his elbows with a lack of concern. "Since you don't want to stay here, then go find the Holy Book."

Jia Wei left the high wall.

The area became quiet and deserted once more.

Su Ye looked down at the chaos below, extending one hand, countless rays of light gathering in his palm, materializing into a dim sun.

He gave a self-deprecating laugh and muttered to himself, "So... I'm still the one who has to do all the dirty work."

...

...

Icy sea rain fell over Sangzhou Cave.

The false sky was piled high with countless dark clouds and volcanic ash, with flocks of birds flying through the gloom.

Adam spread his iron wings, flying low in the ashen sky.

Gu Shen followed on a flying sword, traveling alongside him. Although the altitude was low, the wind was strong, and the shadows of black-winged hawks could be vaguely seen.

Perhaps because the beast tide had just receded.

The flying transcendent beast spirits in the clouds had not yet stirred, and these hawks had not launched an attack.

As they approached the core area, the concentration of volcanic ash greatly increased.

Gu Shen had planted "Blazing Embers" all around, ready to monitor any external changes. His first priority in coming to the core area was to uncover the truth behind the "Eye of Destiny" from years ago.

"Do you remember the route you took when you found the 'Eye of Destiny'?"

"I remember... but not very clearly."

Adam was able to fly freely with the help of his iron wings, and he muttered, "I entered from North Cave back then, circled west, and collected biological fossils all the way along the mountain ridge..."

"Lead the way."

Gu Shen said calmly, "We'll retrace your steps from that year."

"... This is it. This is where I started that year."

Adam began to descend, and Gu Shen immediately followed.

The two landed at the foot of the mountain on the west side of the Tan Yao ridge. Adam looked at a red-silver iron rod driven deep into the ground and exclaimed in surprise, "This is a mark I made three years ago! It's still here."

The iron rod had been battered by wind and frost, but its surface was coated with a layer of red-silver material.

As a result, it had not been damaged in three years.

"The Tan Yao core area has no deep sea signal, so travelers need to make their own 'signal rods'." Adam said with a solemn expression, "This is definitely the one I left behind... If you follow the mountain ridge, you can find the place where the 'Eye of Destiny' was lost."

He removed his wing armor, took a deep breath, and strode forward, looking back at Gu Shen. "Let's go. I'll lead the way."

Gu Shen nodded silently.

And so the two began to walk up Mount Tan Yao. The place was desolate and eerie, with bird calls constantly ringing out, and gusts of volcanic ash blowing with the wind. The rain falling from the icy sea, however, had disappeared. Even before reaching the mountain pass, it was already very hot, with steam rising from the ground, and the fine, dense rain evaporated into vapor before it could touch the earth.

Adam was sweating all over from the heat.

Gu Shen's expression remained unchanged, thanks to the protection of his Pure Land Domain.

The journey was uneventful, and the atmosphere was heavy as they continued.

Finally, Gu Shen spoke, "Can you tell me the story of the 'Eye of Destiny'?"

Adam paused for a second, then smiled, "The story of the Eye of Destiny... What do you want to hear?"

"Anything."

Gu Shen said, "Tell me whatever you want. If you're willing to explain, you might as well start by telling me why it's called the Eye of Destiny."

Adam was currently wearing the mechanical prosthetic eye.

The small jar containing the "scarlet eyeball" was with him at all times... He didn't usually use the eye, especially when he was alone with Gu Shen.

"It's not that complicated, really. When I put it on, I can see a lot of 'shadows'."

Adam smiled, "At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but then I realized... this eye is a sealed item. The shadows I see when I wear it aren't hallucinations. At first, I didn't think much of it, until one day I saw the research institute's laboratory engulfed in flames, and the next day the laboratory really did catch fire."

"Continue."

"After that, I started researching this 'eye'." Adam shrugged, "I didn't tell anyone about its existence... You probably know that I have the highest authority in the Holy City Research Institute."

Gu Shen remained silent, and Adam continued.

"This eye has given me a lot of convenience, but also a lot of trouble..."

"The 'illusions' I see are often accompanied by side effects. I become unable to control myself, constantly muttering and sharing the visions I see with outsiders."

"As for why it's called the Eye of Destiny..."

Adam scratched his head and asked, "It can indeed see destiny, can't it?"

Gu Shen suddenly said, "But if I hadn't brought the 'Divine Infant' with me, how would you explain the scenes of Tan Yao that you saw?"

Adam was stunned.

"That's a good question..."

He said with a wry smile, "Perhaps destiny can change. Did the 'future' I saw change with your decision? Or perhaps that's also part of destiny?"

"Destiny... does not change."

Gu Shen said calmly, "Otherwise, your eye would be useless, wouldn't it? Its existence proves that everything will happen, and everything is within expectations. Since you saw the scene of the Child of the Divine Scroll standing at the mountain pass in Tan Yao, then that scene will definitely appear."

"... Yes."

Adam murmured.

"But the Divine Infant is about to be sent out of Sangzhou Cave."

Gu Shen continued, "So who is the Child of the Divine Scroll that you saw, me, or you?"

"I..."

"Should I take another look?"

Adam hesitated, taking out the bottle. He looked conflicted and muttered, "But it really gave me a headache last time. I still haven't recovered..."

"How about I use the 'Eye of Destiny' this time?"

Gu Shen made a suggestion.

He said with a smile, "Since you can't afford to bear the cost of 'overdrafting' anymore, you might as well give me the eye... I'll 'see' for you."

Adam's expression became serious. He hugged the bottle and took two steps back, saying cautiously, "Of course, if you want it, that's fine... After all, I don't have the right to refuse. But what about the conditions we agreed on?"

"Zhuque is dead."

Gu Shen raised a hand and pointed to his heart. "You're safe now. That black-silver bomb won't be detonated."

"Zhuque? Dead!"

Adam's pupils contracted.

He didn't know that all his reactions, from the beginning to now, were under Gu Shen's observation.

Dozens of Blazing Embers were hidden in the volcanic ash, staring at his every move without blind spots and deducing his reactions.

"Yes..."

Gu Shen reached out his hand.

Unexpectedly, Adam tossed the bottle containing the Eye of Destiny over.

Thud.

The bottle was heavy.

Adam smiled, "Since you killed Zhuque, our deal is done... I'll give you this eye. I'm not interested in it. But how are you going to use it?"

"More than 90% of sealed items can be driven with 'mental energy'."

Gu Shen lowered his eyes and gazed at the blood-red eyeball inside the bottle, lost in thought. He chuckled softly, "Probably by immersing mental energy into it... I guess that's all there is to it?"

As he spoke, he opened the bottle.

He took out the Eye of Destiny... He had held this eyeball before, and it did radiate an ancient, mysterious, and sinister aura.

On Gu Shen's brow, Blazing Embers burned.

He released his mental energy. The eyeball swayed, countless blood vessels spreading across it—

The moment the Blazing Embers and the Eye of Destiny combined!

A tiny speck of dust landed on the "eyeball".

A faint, almost imperceptible tearing sound rang out.

Then, countless blood-colored flames exploded from the eyeball, a small eyeball no bigger than a baby's palm erupting with millions of crimson sparks! These sparks engulfed Gu Shen like an upside-down bowl!

Immense mental energy poured down like a celestial river.

"Rumble!"

Gu Shen's body was instantly frozen. At the same time, a sudden gust of wind swept in, and a large amount of volcanic ash spewed out from the Tan Yao mountain pass, scattering the Pure Land Domain and the Blazing Embers that were staring at Adam from all directions.

The tall, blond man acted the moment the Pure Land Domain shattered.

Adam's pupils turned a blood red.

His speed was astonishing.

He grabbed the folded wing armor, and his palm seemed to be as hot as lava. Ancient runes and the iron wings instantly melted in his palm, congealing into a long, narrow sword!

"Swoosh!"

The sound of air being torn apart shattered the dust and sand.

Adam thrust the sword into the bright red flames of the exploded Eye of Destiny. Inside the inverted bowl, two strands of flames were fiercely clashing. Amidst the trembling, a slender figure emerged.

This sword was aimed at "Gu Shen's" forehead!

Tear!

The sword made from the wing armor was not very sharp, but in a sudden attack, as long as it could break through a transcendent's defense, even a piece of iron would be fatal.

Gu Shen had sixth-order Source Armor.

Ordinary attacks, even those aimed directly at the heart, could be stopped by the sixth-order Source Armor.

That was why Adam had aimed the sword directly at his head.

The sword pierced in through the forehead and out the back of the head. There was no close-fitting armor to defend that location. As long as the attack was fast enough, the target would be unable to activate Instant Flash and would be certain to die!

This strike was very successful.

Gu Shen was a top-tier mental-type transcendent.

To prevent him from activating Instant Flash, his mental sea had to be restricted. And after the "eyeball" exploded, countless blood-colored flames containing immense killing intent fell, making it impossible for Gu Shen to move at all.

Thus, the sword successfully pierced through the blood and fire and landed on Gu Shen's forehead!

Sand and rocks flew on the Tan Yao mountain ridge.

After this stab.

Time seemed to freeze.