Chapter 1 Li Qingci's Funeral

Li Qingci's funeral was held at Qingzhong Cemetery.

Not many people attended.

Many people only knew that the Li Clan had a Protector... but they didn't know who the Protector was, let alone what the Protector did.

As the most mysterious clan among the Five Great Families.

The Li Clan silently guarded the "Shrine," with a Protector sacrificing their life in the Boundary of Disaster in each generation.

This matter was only known to the highest echelons of Changye.

Qingci's tombstone was in a relatively remote part of the cemetery, a location carefully chosen by Gu Shen... the array patterns were dense here, and the source quality abundant, making it a geomantic treasure. It was early winter, and heavy snow was falling in Changye. Li Qingsui, wrapped in a thick coat, pushed aside all her affairs and stood silently before the tombstone for an entire day. Uncle Gao wanted to hold an umbrella for her, but was stopped.

"Miss will probably not go to the Shrine for a long time."

Gao Tian and Gu Shen stood together.

He said softly, "This matter has hurt her deeply. I'm afraid it will be a long time before she understands your 'bitterness'... I hope you don't mind."

Gu Shen simply shook his head.

Two years ago.

Li Quhu passed away.

Li Qingsui cried very sadly, crying until she was a river of tears.

But today.

She didn't shed a single tear.

"Uncle Gao... let's go."

After standing in silence for a long time, Li Qingsui walked out of the snow. She didn't give Gu Shen a second glance, and just walked past.

Uncle Gao cast an apologetic look at Gu Shen.

And so they brushed past each other.

...

...

"Mr. Gu, I'm sorry."

In the dreamscape of the Shrine, a voice of apology sounded.

Beneath the Susao Tree.

Chu Ling gently held Li Qingci's shoulders. The scene of her and Gu Shen's mental link was reflected beneath the Susao Tree. Gu Shen was watching the scene in Qingzhong Cemetery, and so was Li Qingci.

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

Gu Shen said, "Take a few more looks. You won't be able to see it again after this."

The physical body died, but the spirit remained.

He used his own Nether Fire to summon Li Qingci's soul into the Pure Land.

This was the first time he had truly used "Nether Fire" to save someone.

Tie Wu was given by Gu Changzhi, Hong Zhong was obtained through the pendant transaction, and as for the Snow Cage criminals whose wills he had stripped away, they could be ignored... Li Qingci was the first person he had saved with his own power. He preserved all of Li Qingci's consciousness and memories.

At the moment of her death.

Li Qingci had been reborn.

And the secrets that had not been revealed between the two were completely unveiled at this moment.

The King of the Underworld, the Ancient Text Society, the Pure Land, the Old World... From now on, these would no longer be secrets to the Qingci girl, because she would hardly have the opportunity to interact with the "real world" again.

The woman beneath the Susao Tree shook her head.

This was the first time she had seen the outside world so clearly...

But she didn't look much.

"Actually, this world isn't that beautiful."

Li Qingci smiled softly.

She asked, "Mr. Gu, will I... be able to see Qingsui again in the future?"

Gu Shen said, "Which kind of seeing are you referring to?"

"The kind that is the least likely, the most difficult."

Li Qingci said self-deprecatingly, "If possible, I would still like to say a few words to her at that time."

To her surprise.

After a brief silence, Gu Shen replied, "It is possible."

The woman under the tree was stunned.

"What is more difficult than being resurrected after death?" Gu Shen walked towards the outside of the cemetery.

The golden divine light of the Triple Divine Domain flickered in the distance, and Mr. Bai Shu took it all in.

"You have personally witnessed the first miracle."

"In the future... there will be a second, a third..."

Gu Shen said calmly, "There will be a day when you and Qingsui will meet. At that time, you can say whatever you want to her, you can touch the sunlight of the outside world, and feel the snow falling in Changye's winter."

The woman beneath the Susao Tree laughed with a hoarse voice, "Does this count as... a promise from the Divine Seat?"

"Not yet, because I haven't truly become the Divine Seat."

Gu Shen looked back at the golden light surrounding the mountains and said, "This can probably only be an agreement between old friends. It just depends on whether you are willing to believe it."

"Of course..."

Li Qingci took a deep breath and said firmly, "I have never doubted it."

...

...

The Shrine Mountain no longer had a Protector.

The Li Clan did not close it.

Because the Divine Maiden would still descend from time to time, and the black flowers here had not been completely cleared. Chairman Zhou Wei of the Safety Committee personally confirmed the stability of the Boundary of Disaster. With the permission of the person in the cemetery, he respected the Li Clan's choice.

It was no longer the era of Gu Changzhi's slumber twenty years ago.

With Mr. Bai Shu around.

Even if an accident occurred in the Shrine Mountain Boundary of Disaster, it would not become a particularly major disaster.

Gu Shen returned here.

This time, the entire Shrine was truly quiet.

The Qingci girl had been "reborn" in the Pure Land world. The only pity was that her Prayer Art could no longer be used, but this might not be another kind of fortune. Having lost her last bargaining chip, she no longer had to make deals with fate.

Li Qingci was of great significance to his Pure Land.

She had seen the appearance of her own "Greater Completion Pure Land" in the Prayer Dream!

Currently, there were a total of one hundred and thirty-two souls in this Divine Domain. Aside from Tie Wu and Hong Zhong, the remaining one hundred and thirty Snow Cage souls were the original productivity of the wilderness.

They needed a true "leader."

Tie Wu was diligent enough, and Hong Zhong was mindless in his devotion, but that was not enough—

The Qingzhong of that year needed a construction blueprint.

His own Pure Land needed one as well.

And the Qingci girl was the most perfect "blueprint." Everything obtained from the Prayer Art transaction would not be forgotten. The Pure Land world she had seen would become an important clue to guide him forward in the future.

Under Li Qingci's guidance, these hundred or so souls had begun to truly start working.

They turned over the frozen soil and replanted.

They used the branches of the Susao Tree to build ancient houses.

The King of the Underworld's Divine Domain was the coldest, most lonely place in the world... but if there was life, it could become less desolate.

After Li Qingci joined, the Pure Land had new hope.

Perhaps there was no need to wait until Gu Shen cultivated to "High Summer" for this land to be revitalized.

Moreover, judging from the current progress of the Breathing Technique—

It was very likely.

Li Qingci was the key person in his future "transformation from death to life"!

Whether the Pure Land entered summer before he reincarnated, Gu Shen did not know.

However, after Qingci entered the Pure Land, the consumption of source quality also began to accelerate.

The "construction" of the Pure Land was proceeding smoothly. The coldness in this world of great cold was unprecedentedly strong, but Tie Wu and Hong Zhong's fighting spirit was unprecedentedly high. The two of them had always had strength but no place to use it. Now that the Divine Seat had sent this extremely intelligent girl, these two had finally found a place to use all their strength. Li Qingci began to make arrangements around the Susao Tree, giving the Snow Cage souls simple serial numbers and letting Tie Wu and Hong Zhong each lead a part. After a thorough division of labor, the snow and ice began to transform.

However, the construction of each ancient house, the reclamation of each wilderness, and the growth of each seedling all required source quality.

Gu Shen cultivated selflessly in Shrine Mountain.

He accelerated the speed of source quality absorption to satisfy the evolution of the "Pure Land."

Time passed little by little—

Mr. Bai Shu had said that peaceful days would not last long.

But now.

Changye, East Continent, and even the entire Five Continents... seemed to have returned to tranquility, but those truly in high positions knew that this tranquility was false and could be broken at any time.

Perhaps.

All it would take was for an ocean butterfly to flutter its wings lightly.

...

...

"Zzzzt!"

Electricity crackled!

In the darkness, intense sparks burst out.

A moth was burned to death by the electric grid. It struggled to flap its wings, but flames had already ignited on its body, and it eventually turned to ashes in this fire, scattering into nothingness...

"Gipta, the detector has detected an anomaly in the transcendent aura in area F19. What's your situation? Report immediately."

Outside the electric grid.

A man wrapped tightly in a red and silver combat suit raised a communicator. His gaze passed over the dense tall grass, looking at the moth burning on the electric grid. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, he reported, "Captain Vias, there's nothing unusual here... I just saw a moth get burned to death."

"A moth?"

Vias' voice was a little confused, "Are you sure? Just a moth?"

"Sure..."

Gipta took out his portable detector.

This kind of detector had an "antenna" made of a strong logic material. Utilizing the principle of strong logic materials resisting source quality, it could achieve "source quality" detection within a certain range.

It was just that the technological means of South Continent were slightly behind.

He had heard that those transcendents in other continents could detect transcendent fluctuations within a radius of three hundred meters, and the detection instruments of the Northern Continent Investigation Army were even more sensitive... the detectors in their hands currently had an effective range of one hundred and fifty meters, only half as much.

But... it was enough.

Who would use a detector to detect "beasts" in cages?

Gipta retreated backward. He stood on a small earthen slope. The terrain in the F19 area was uneven. He sometimes needed to climb high to complete his daily "inspection." In reality, this was not a necessary step at all.

In the era of full "Deep Sea" connection, what was the point of manual inspection?

It was just that the big shots of the "Holy City" required them to perform routine inspections three times a day.

No matter how lazy they were, they wouldn't dare to disobey orders.

The man took out a lens, placed it in front of his eyes. At the moment he let go, the lens floated on its own, maintaining a certain distance. He began to "record" the images of the F19 area. Looking from the high point of the small earthen slope, the front was a high-voltage power grid stretching for thousands of meters.

There were a total of ten layers, inside and out.

Like cages, one after another—

In fact, the place where he was standing was also inside a huge "cage," but he had "staff" privileges and could enter and leave through the safety channel at any time.

"F19 area, Awakening Experiment Report Log, New Calendar 641..."

He softly recited the monotonous beginning of the report.

At the same time, he slandered in his heart.

Why bother with manual inspection? Wasn't it actually using "Deep Sea" to record?

What was the difference between him looking and "Deep Sea" looking?

"Buzz!"

A very slight sound came from the darkness in the distance. Gipta was stunned for a moment. He frowned and looked towards the far end of the darkness, where it was pitch black. He tried hard to see the ten layers of electric grid, the scene several miles away, but saw nothing.

The sound just now seemed to be just an accident.

"Was it my illusion?"

Gipta felt nervous in his heart. He quickly said to the communicator in a low voice, "Captain... something seems a little wrong here..."

Zzzt, zzzt.

The sound of the communicator was intermittent.

Such situations occasionally occurred in the "cage." Gipta wasn't encountering it for the first time. He patted the communicator hard, but this time the communicator's situation didn't immediately improve.

"Crap..."

Gipta cursed and was a little helpless.

To be cautious, he began to retreat backward, while turning on the spare flashlight, while maintaining recording, while shining on the distant barren grassland. But with this shine... Gipta's scalp went numb.

In the darkness, there was a huge shadow, right in his "not far away"... This guy had actually silently broken through four or five layers of electric grid. The sound just now was made by it. The ultra-high-voltage power grid of nearly a million volts had been rolled over like this, entangled around it like a fishing net. When the light shone over, Gipta saw clearly what "it" looked like.

A... super huge butterfly, fully fifty meters long?

He was not feeling well at all.

Damn it!

How did this thing grow up... When encountering an electric grid, why did it only make such a slight sound? Where was the electricity, the fire, the light?

The darkness in the entire F area was quiet.

Gipta suddenly froze. Light... wait, light?

If he remembered correctly, the staff manual clearly stated that in the Sang Continent Hollow, insects of the order Lepidoptera, such as butterflies and moths, were mostly phototropic...

If encountered in the dark.

Do not shine a light.

"Buzz buzz buzz!!"

Gipta's mind was blank. He threw the light source out suddenly, but it was too late. He saw the "silently" soaring big guy in the darkness, turning its compound eyes. It was said that this thing's compound eyes were composed of fifteen thousand small eyes, but normal varieties were too small, and even transcendents couldn't see them clearly.

But magnified to fifty meters.

"Its" eyes were bigger than people.

Gipta made eye contact with the dense fifteen thousand eyes. His spiritual sea encountered a violent impact at this moment, and he fell to the ground in an instant...

The butterfly captured the light. Wrapped in several high-voltage power grids, it flapped its wings and advanced towards the "destination," with flames and lightning all the way, stirring up a violent storm.

Soon, the F19 area returned to tranquility—

A communicator that had fallen into the dense grass was still vibrating.

"Gipta, the system is temporarily upgrading, and communication is forced to disconnect. It has now completed the 'upgrade.' What's your situation?"

"The 'eye of the sky' in the F area has been destroyed. Are you okay?"

"Gipta, if you hear this, please respond."

"If you hear this, please respond."