Chapter 1 Sangzhou Grotto

Sangzhou Grotto was a solitary island adrift off the southern coast of Southern Continent.

After the Awakening Experiment enveloped Sangzhou Grotto, this solitary island completely lost contact with the outside world… 【Deep Sea】 took full control of everything here, and the Deepwater District allocated sufficient computing power to carry out 【Balancing】 processing of this area.

The Storm Church and the Holy City Research Institute strictly controlled the entry and exit points.

These past three years…

No one had ever set foot here.

"Squeak…"

Gu Shen and his party were traversing through dense, long forests when a huge, plump black shadow darted across.

Sangzhou Grotto absorbed a large amount of Source Substance from the coast of Southern Continent. The mental link of 【Deep Sea】 allowed most of the creatures on this small island to undergo transcendent Awakening, even rats were no exception.

The one that just scurried past was nearly half a meter long.

In the jungle, faintly visible through the leaves, a dense layer of black ash floated in the high sky, and in the distance, there was a majestic and towering volcanic cone.

"That volcano is called 'Tanyao.'"

Vias led the way, and he said earnestly, "Actually, Mr. Adam wasn't entirely accurate… It's not really an 'active volcano'; it should be called a 'dormant volcano.' The residents of the Southern Grotto of Sangzhou Grotto have records that the last volcanic eruption was five hundred years ago."

"The Federation just revised the definition of a volcano's status last year."

Adam said indifferently, "Any volcano that has erupted within six hundred years is considered an 'active volcano.' The bill was passed by the Upper City, and I proposed it. Now, any volcanic area with hydrothermal activity and fumarole phenomena around the mountains is considered an 'active volcano.'"

"…"

Vias fell silent directly.

"The transcendent Source Substance is becoming increasingly active, and volcanic revival may be stimulated." Adam explained unhurriedly, "The revised naming is to remind local residents not to lower their vigilance."

"Alright." Vias continued to explain, "The reason it's called 'Tanyao' is said to be because the eruption five hundred years ago was too dazzling. This solitary island was originally directly connected to Southern Continent, but it was forcibly cut off by the ancestors. Of course, these are all rumors. There was no 【Deep Sea】 back then, and the means of preserving images were limited, so the history of that time cannot be accurately verified."

"The zoning of Sangzhou Grotto is actually around the active volcano 'Tanyao.'"

"The inner ring is divided into four major areas: east, south, west, and north, with nearly one hundred thousand residents… Because this place is remote, the Storm Church doesn't quite value the local residents, but the small churches under the Church don't mind, so this place has become a preaching ground for small churches to promote their congregations."

Vias lowered his eyebrows and said, "Before the Awakening Experiment began, the four major areas actually had intense conflicts…"

"Because of the church competition in the Southern Continent's interior?"

Gu Shen's mind stirred.

He remembered his previous experience in Xiyin City.

The Storm Church of Southern Continent cultivated many small churches, one of which was the Evening Bell Church, which secretly stole slates in the tundra… The Source Tower was raising Gu, and the Storm Church was doing the same, but the "Gu raising" methods of the two major forces were different.

This was also related to the actions of the two Gods.

The Source Tower controlled order, while the Storm Church advocated chaos… The reason they did this was essentially the same, to seek the greatest "benefit" for themselves.

"Yes."

Vias' expression was complicated. "The church competition in the interior of Southern Continent is very intense. Although they all believe in 'Storm,' the churches are in a constant state of 'struggle' to seize resources and consolidate their positions. And in recent years, Sangzhou Grotto has been like a small chessboard. The Storm Church doesn't value this tasteless rib, but other churches are very interested… So the four areas are filled with dense church infighting."

He sighed deeply, "Because of the Storm Church's 'laissez-faire' attitude, many small churches poured in, and Sangzhou Grotto was once extremely chaotic, almost losing its value for exploitation and utilization."

Southern Continent was indeed like this.

Bai Su rarely spoke, "So, the Storm Church agreed to the 'Awakening Act' to be tested here."

This place had been abandoned.

It was better to… sell the Federal Government another favor.

"I think that's probably the case."

Vias' face was full of self-deprecation.

He grew up here, but he watched Sangzhou Grotto being poisoned by fanatic faith…

He could do nothing.

"Ironically, after the Act was confirmed, all those small churches withdrew from the competition. They didn't leave any 'residents' behind, and they stopped recruiting believers."

Vias took a deep breath. "I guess the Storm Church's final treatment of Sangzhou Grotto might be to destroy it… The Southern Continent Council acquiesced to the 'death' of this solitary island. Even without the Awakening Act, its life had begun to count down. And it doesn't matter if there are errors in the Awakening Experiment; everything here will become a thing of the past. The Southern Continent Council will completely 'erase' this island from the map of the Five Continents."

"Do you not have faith?"

Gu Shen suddenly asked.

"No."

Vias shook his head and said coldly, "My parents died at the hands of the church, and my younger brother and sister… were no exception. When the infighting in Sangzhou Grotto was at its most intense, I hid in a cave and endured for seven days and seven nights. At that time, I felt that all these people were devils."

"Later… I awakened my transcendent ability…"

That was a very distant matter.

In the struggles of many churches, ordinary people had no choice, but transcendents were different.

"There are some 'neutral' people on Sangzhou Grotto Island. They took me in and cultivated me… When the churches bloodwashed the island, they silently practiced medicine. Compared to 'Storm,' they were the real saviors."

Gu Shen's mind stirred.

In the Southern Continent list of the Ancient Text Society summarized by Chu Ling… there were several "missing persons." Perhaps there were members of the Ancient Text Society among these "neutral" people?

Otherwise, he couldn't imagine that in this dense land of Storm faith, someone would do such a thing.

Gu Shen slowly asked, "Are these 'neutral' people still around?"

"Of course!"

Vias replied subconsciously, then he looked a little nervous. "I'm not sure… Three years have passed. I hope they haven't changed their address."

"We are going to the Southern Grotto now, near the 'Ice Sea.'"

Vias said, "I was born there. Outside the mountains of Sangzhou Grotto is dense forest, with fierce beasts roaming. Before the church came, it was very backward, and people lived by hunting…"

Gu Shen could probably guess what the natives of Sangzhou Grotto lived like.

Chu Ling had previously captured photos of this place.

The level of technology was stuck two or three hundred years in the past.

"After the church came, although it brought 'struggle,' it also brought relatively advanced technology…" Vias said sincerely, "At least before I left, streets and urban areas had been built in the Southern Grotto."

……

……

"Bang!"

A muffled sound came from inside the base gate of the Holy City Research Institute.

The Vermilion Bird Envoy, with a gloomy expression, grabbed a base transcendent by the collar and asked coldly, "What did you just say? Say it again?"

"Lord Vermilion Bird…"

The transcendent's face was pale. "Researcher Adam… was kidnapped…"

The Vermilion Bird Envoy's expression was extremely ugly.

The World Conference had not yet ended, but he had rushed over here at full speed—

Among the Four Divine Envoys, he should have been the fastest!

But he was still late. Someone was one step ahead of him. 【Deep Sea】 retrieved the base's video from a few hours ago, and Vermilion Bird saw several blurred shadows. He was very familiar with one of them.

Gu Shen!

"Quick, continue to adjust… did they enter the office?"

Vermilion Bird ordered in a low voice to continue retrieving the video, but there were no gains after that.

The camera in Adam's office was destroyed. As for the content of the conversation, from the moment Gu Shen stepped into the office, Chu Ling "understood" and carried out "processing." The content had been damaged.

But that was enough.

"Gu Shen kidnapped Adam?"

The Vermilion Bird took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and after receiving a definite answer, he prepared to set off immediately.

"Tsk."

At this moment, a very soft laugh rang out from behind the base.

Vermilion Bird turned his head back.

He saw a team of transcendents wearing Northern Continent Source Armor entering the base. As the World Conference came to an end, the Storm Church of Southern Continent decided to open up its authority, and the elites of various continents would gradually be stationed in Sangzhou Grotto.

The roar of air currents echoed in the distant sky.

Several Source Energy Boats were hovering over the Holy City Research Institute's base on the northern shore. Northern Continent transcendents rarely acted alone. For this mission, the Storm Church was only responsible for providing half of the extermination force, and the other half needed to be brought along. Northern Continent directly dispatched the "Legion Fortress" that was currently idle.

"Isn't this the Divine Envoy from the Upper City?"

The man who spoke was tall and had a cold expression.

He was the garrison of Luoyin City Fortress.

"Wild Dog," one of the three hounds under Grand Duke Zhuxue!

Wild Dog sneered faintly, "Why do I see the Divine Envoy beating people as soon as I arrive? Aren't we here to help?"

The Vermilion Bird released the transcendent's collar and said coldly, "...Get out."

His words had a double meaning.

As soon as he said this, the transcendents behind Wild Dog all raised their hand cannons in unison.

He raised his hand slightly to stop his subordinates' actions.

"We are civilized people. Don't be rough." Wild Dog said indifferently, "It's not good to fight here. Mr. Zhuxue will be angry if the Holy City Research Institute's base is demolished."

"Heh…"

The Vermilion Bird Envoy chuckled softly.

Speed was of the essence, and he had come in a hurry, but the main force of Middle Continent had not yet arrived at this moment.

He looked at the dense Source Energy Boats behind Wild Dog, and he was ready to rush into Sangzhou Grotto at any time.

The Vermilion Bird knew.

It wouldn't be long before the Upper City transcendents arrived.

This time, collisions between the four continents were inevitable during the Sangzhou Grotto mission.

He said expressionlessly, "Since you are Zhuxue's dog, it's best not to bark indiscriminately outside of Northern Continent… Be careful not to cause trouble for your master, or you may never be able to bark again for the rest of your life."

Wild Dog looked at the Vermilion Bird calmly.

The next moment.

The huge figure suddenly stepped forward, and a vast gale howled. This Luoyin City pure man, who hated trash talk the most in his life, came to the Vermilion Bird Envoy in an instant.

He threw a punch directly.

The Vermilion Bird's pupils shrank.

This guy's speed was too fast… It was almost like teleportation!

……

……

(ps: Something came up during the day, delaying the update. I'll post three thousand words first. There will still be three chapters tonight at the minimum. I'll make up for the missing words later.)