Light Fortress
Chapter 100 - 92 Nanzhi

Chapter 100: Chapter 92 Nanzhi

Gu Shen closed the door.

He took a deep breath, telling himself not to be so nervous, before he came to sit down at the table. Unlike his previous treatment of the group suffering from insomnia... the status and identity of the woman before him were simply too significant. He had to be fully alert.

"Lu Nanzhi."

The lady sat in the chair, crossing her legs with graceful demeanor. Seeing Gu Shen hesitate, not knowing what to say, she kindly spoke in a soft voice, introducing herself, "You can call me ’Madam’."

"Madam..."

Lu Nanzhi’s voice carried a peculiar soothing power that calmed Gu Shen’s emotions.

"Forgive my presumptuous gaze."

He apologized before summoning his Blazing Fire Vision.

"Hum—"

In the silence of the compartment, as the Blazing Fire emerged, the entire world seemed to change color... Gu Shen gazed intently at the woman before him. There was no Extraordinary Aura on her, but there flowed a layer of Extraordinary Essence, thin like gossamer. Her rings, earrings, and necklace—nearly every piece of her jewelry—contained extremely powerful Extraordinary Power.

Through the Blazing Fire Vision, it appeared that the lady was not a Transcendent.

But a vague premonition surfaced in Gu Shen’s heart... if he harbored any ill intentions, just one of these spirit seals would need to be activated, and he would be taken away in an instant!

With such powerful spirit seals for protection, could she still be afflicted by Extraordinary Power?

He looked again more carefully.

Gu Shen’s expression became solemn.

Under the guidance of Blazing Fire... he felt a very, very fine thread at the madam’s brow. This thread was so fine it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, even enhanced by the Blazing Fire, existing only within an indistinct sensation.

He felt it was there.

But he could not see it.

The fine thread was taut... pulling at the spirit throughout the body, somewhat like... a statue’s Spiritual Seal?

But it was only similar, not comparable in level.

A Spirit Seal of the statue’s level, if it got close to the madam and released its nightmare power, would be shattered in an instant by the protective force autonomously activated by the earrings, along with the statue itself being blown to pieces.

"How is it... did you notice anything?"

After a moment, the madam spoke softly.

Gu Shen withdrew the Blazing Fire Vision. He pondered for a moment and hesitantly said, "Given your status, I assume numerous Spiritual Extraordinaries have examined you, haven’t they?"

The madam smiled and said, "Indeed, among them were even Spiritual Transcendents from the Deep Sea Tenth Layer, yet they couldn’t see anything."

Gu Shen was taken aback.

Even those from the Deep Sea Tenth Layer... hadn’t noticed that hidden fine thread?

But the Blazing Fire Vision had felt it, his Extraordinary Power was indeed very special.

However, he also knew very well that with his current strength, noticing it was one thing, but resolving it was another... Amidst his hesitation, the madam’s voice rang out once more.

"It was Cui Zhongcheng who recommended that I come to you. He said you could cure me."

Upon hearing Cui Zhongcheng’s name, Gu Shen felt a sudden flash of understanding.

He knew there were not so many coincidences in this world; the collective insomnia on Lipu Street was very likely part of Cui Zhongcheng’s plan, and the previous patients, more or less sent his way, also counted as "accumulated experience."

No sooner had he dealt with the statue’s Spirit Seal than the madam came visiting... This series of events forced Gu Shen to wonder about Cui Zhongcheng’s true intentions behind the scenes.

"Madam, your symptoms are very straightforward—it should just be... insomnia."

Gu Shen looked directly into the woman’s eyes, stating confidently, "Occasionally you fall asleep, but it’s always filled with dreams, nightmares to be specific. Recently your sleep has become more and more scarce... Even with the protection of Spiritual Spirit Seals, it cannot be avoided. I guess you haven’t taken off those earrings for a long time, but the time you can sleep each day is no more than three to five hours."

Lu Nanzhi sighed softly.

Before coming to the Speaker of Dreams, she had her doubts... How could an obscure young man cure a Transcendent symptom that even someone from the Deep Sea Tenth Layer couldn’t perceive?

But the truth had proven that Gu Shen was more capable than that Deep Sea Tenth Layer Transcendent.

At the very least, he "read" her symptoms correctly, and very accurately at that.

The two earrings were incredibly precious Spirit Seal artifacts. With them, despite any anxiety, worry, or tension over the past years, she had at least managed to get a good night’s sleep, waking up each day with plenty of energy and vitality.

But now, the earrings had stopped working.

The madam lowered her eyes, speaking softly, "Have you seen what the cause might be?"

"..."

Gu Shen was silent.

The silence between them did not last long.

Lu Nanzhi gently addressed the young man’s concerns, "You suspect it was done by someone close to me, so you dare not speak."

Gu Shen’s expression shifted slightly, looking at the madam with a peculiar gaze, thinking to himself how astute this woman was.

"There’s an abnormal Extraordinary movement at the madam’s brow... Although it’s extremely subtle, it certainly exists."

He spoke frankly, "With the protection of those two earrings, I can’t imagine how anyone could have placed a ’Spiritual Seal’ on you... I’m afraid it could only happen when you remove the earrings. So I think... it’s likely only someone close to you could do such a thing."

Lu Nanzhi listened quietly.

With her intelligence, she understood Gu Shen’s meaning as soon as he began to speak.

The Spiritual Imprint had been planted by someone she trusted.

Gu Shen was somewhat nervous, fearing that his words might anger the high-status woman, but contrary to his expectations, she remained disturbingly calm upon learning she had been conspired against by someone she deeply trusted. Without a hint of anger, she merely asked calmly, "If that’s the case, do you have a solution?"

That strand of Spiritual Imprint was very special.

The person plotting from behind the scenes must have anticipated that a strong person would investigate. The previous Transcendent from the Deep Sea Tenth Layer was indeed powerful, but due to their Extraordinary Traits... they couldn’t see this imprint, and naturally, they couldn’t talk about removing it.

Gu Shen was different.

"I can try... but I can’t guarantee success," Gu Shen said after some consideration, asking, "Are you willing to take the risk?"

"No problem."

The lady didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

She removed her earrings and said softly, "Let’s begin."

How resolute... Gu Shen was surprised by the lady’s courage.

It was only their first meeting, yet she took off her earrings... even though he had reminded her before that the Spiritual Imprint was planted by those with intentions exactly when she would take off her earrings.

Was it because she saw him as young or was it out of trust in Cui Zhongcheng? Regardless, this was a woman with considerable determination.

Due to various considerations... some were due to the wariness of Cui Zhongcheng, others were out of reverence for the lady’s identity, in this affair, Gu Shen always maintained the attitude of doing his best, but he neither shouldered it all nor showed off his abilities.

"I will try my best," Gu Shen said softly, "Madam, please drift into slumber."

His Blazing Fire Power should now only be lingering at the first layer stage, only able to release the most basic hypnotism.

Luckily, the lady was not a Transcendent, and after removing her earrings, her spiritual power gradually relaxed.

She closed her eyes, her consciousness about to plunge into Chaos.

The thin line at the center of her brow started to tremble... as if a steel saw was rubbing back and forth against the soul. Lu Nanzhi furrowed her brow and moaned softly. This symptom had occurred during the last deep hypnotism by a Transcendent from the Deep Sea Tenth Layer, as if a mysterious force was resisting the hypnosis imposed by others, preventing her from easily falling into sleep.

This scene was within Gu Shen’s expectations.

"Go."

Gu Shen’s expression was calm; he had already felt that there was something unusual with Lu Nanzhi’s spiritual focus at her forehead, how could he not have measures to counter it?

A low shout.

The Blazing Fire immediately shot towards the lady’s forehead, with the tiny flames creating a howling and majestic momentum in the air.

He couldn’t see the thin line, but he could feel it with the Blazing Fire.

He closed his eyes, and Gu Shen placed all his spirit on the Blazing Fire, taking the Spiritual Space of the lady’s brow as the battlefield... Both were slender and minute, yet when placed on the same scale, they both became colossal.

The initially pitifully small Blazing Fire turned into a vast sea of flames upon entering the brow.

"Within the tiny, there lies the enormous."

It was the profound within the profound, an instant could be encompassed in a mustard seed.

Gu Shen, for the first time, personally experienced such a profound sensation. When removing the Soul Seal Sculpture imprint, he had directly submerged into the soul without the slightest hindrance, but this time was an exception. Before he could merge into the soul, he was blocked from the outside... His own consciousness remained clear, only now he had reached the Micro Realm, his spirit converging into a tiny figure.

Perhaps the slowing down of the Spiritual hypnotism was the delivery of one Micro Realm after another.

"It’s trying to escape..."

Above the sea of fire, Gu Shen’s visage emerged.

He looked down at the Spirit Space of her brow. On the battlefield of the brow, the thin line was magnified into a sprawling and majestic form, resembling a long dragon. It looked impressive, but it was fragile. After being hit hard by the unguarded Blazing Fire, it roared angrily... choosing to flee.

It didn’t put up even a token resistance.

It seemed that the person who had planted the Spiritual Imprint had been prepared all along, even if their traces were captured, there were corresponding measures to follow.

But this was too spineless, wasn’t it?

Gu Shen frowned and manipulated the sea of flames to intercept the long dragon fiercely. This time he felt the power of his "Blazing Fire" trait. Also within the Micro Realm, his Spiritual Trait was the opposite; it was solid and dense. Each strand of fire that fell from the sea of flames could burn a bowl-sized bloody hole in the long dragon’s body.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Gu Shen gathered the sea of fire, forcing the long dragon to coil its body. Head and tail came together. At this point, only the final eradication was left.

However... something unexpected occurred.

The long dragon cried out in agony!

It raised its head suddenly and smashed it downwards. Then its huge body burrowed downward. Gu Shen reacted extremely fast, the sea of fire instantly slashing in a fan shape, cutting the burrowing long dragon in half... but he was too late. Half of the huge body turned into nothingness in the burning flames, and within a few breaths, the Blazing Fire completely consumed its Extraordinary Essence. The remaining half had disappeared without a trace.

This thin line was not a dragon at all, but a worm!

Survival by severing the body.

This was the tactic of an earthworm.

"Who could have planted this imprint, being so cowardly?" Gu Shen’s expression was grim as he muttered, "But with this imprint fleeing from the brow, does it mean... I can successfully hypnotize Madam into the dream?"

Gu Shen faced a choice.

Just from the aspect of "entering the dream," he had fulfilled his employer’s entrusted mission. The Spiritual Imprint had been successfully repelled, and the lady could now enjoy a peaceful dream.

But from another perspective, there was still some residue of the imprint. If it wasn’t completely dealt with, it could cause trouble in the future.

"Madam is Nan Jin’s sister, and Cui Zhongcheng especially sent her to see me..."

After a brief thought, Gu Shen made his decision, "Let’s try to draw out this strand of Spiritual Imprint."

As the thought settled, the Blazing Fire dived deeper.

Indeed.

After the Spiritual Imprint had fled, the lady sitting in the chair with her eyes closed started breathing deeply and softly within a few seconds...

She had successfully fallen asleep.