Light Fortress
Chapter 102 - 94 The Bloody Meeting

Chapter 102: Chapter 94 The Bloody Meeting

After the lady left, the clinic closed early for the day.

Gu Shen returned home, fed Da Ju, but Chu Ling still hadn’t come online.

He alone initiated the connection to the Deep Sea.

This time, just as Gu Shen predicted, after summoning Chi Huo in reality, the first-layer trial in the deep water area about "sustaining equilibrium" posed no difficulty whatsoever.

Perhaps it was because his spiritual power had grown several times stronger that the Spirit Space was exceptionally stable; the Chi Huo, which had struggled even to maintain its form, now frolicked like a wave, blooming and retracting in his palm, changing patterns joyously.

Thanks to the visit from the Changjiu Foundation and Qu Shui’s life-and-death assassination... Summoning Chi Huo and sustaining equilibrium had become as simple as eating and drinking for Gu Shen.

It wasn’t so much a case of gradual accumulation and sudden breakthrough, but rather a transformation born from destruction and creation.

"The cultivation of Extraordinary Power is indeed a slow process... but it does not mean one cannot rise to great heights in a single step," mused Gu Shen as his consciousness immersed in the deep water area: "The Deep Sea merely helps Transcendents understand their powers... It’s like a baby growing up, learning to run, jump, these basic actions, which can then be combined and sequenced. Those with high talent, after learning to run, won’t take long to run very fast."

When Extraordinary Power had just awakened, it was like a baby, needing to crawl on the ground before learning to walk.

Even a genius must go through this process.

And after learning to walk, one can soon run, jump... When the basic powers are mastered, different Transcendents can then develop in different directions.

"The first three layers... are probably just the basic mastery phase."

Gu Shen’s thoughts settled.

"Deep Sea, I wish to enter the Second Layer."

After a few seconds of simulated glow, a message was transmitted.

"Serial number V340011250001, access granted, permission to enter the Second Layer."

His vision abruptly changed.

The Chi Huo suddenly dispersed, turning into countless phosphorescent lights; amidst the scattering flames, Gu Shen felt his consciousness fluctuate... He seemed to be back in the dream where he removed the brand from the lady during the day.

Spiritual power is intangible.

Yet it truly exists.

"The Second Layer Trial of the Deep Sea... relates to the ’intricacy’ of the spirit," Gu Shen murmured: "If the first layer helped me summon and stabilize Chi Huo, then this Second Layer is probably reminding me to use Chi Huo to perform hypnosis."

So, my Chi Huo is really of the Spiritual type?

"This Second Layer... seems not to be difficult either."

Gu Shen smiled.

He remained immersed in the Extraordinary Trial.

...

...

In the virtual world, there are immense pressures of deep ocean; every thread of spirit is like an electric current in the sea water, billions of threads wandering through the void, unproven to exist in any real sense by anyone... yet no one can prove them false either.

This is the deep water area of the Deep Sea.

Transcendents’ spiritual power engages with this vast virtual space, supported by computing power that human concepts cannot fathom, propelling this realm to rapidly evolve and progress. Perhaps it is a brand-new world; now at the onset of a Big Bang, countless spirit threads snake towards the depths of the Deep Sea, carving out individual Spiritual Spaces.

The first three layers of the deep water area provide Transcendents with trials to familiarize themselves with their own power, a feat almost everyone manages in time to reach the Fourth Layer... Beyond that, souls can interact, with myriad spirit serpents intertwining.

Of course... all this occurs under the watchful gaze of the Deep Sea.

It accommodates everything.

It also oversees everything.

It has no physical form, yet it exists everywhere; hence, it needs no "eyes," as every thread of Transcendent spirit from the deep water area, in some sense, serves as its eyes.

However, nothing is perfect, exceptions always exist... Even in the myths that are widely believed in the West Continent, the omnipotent "Creator God" once made the mistake of creating Lilith.

Within the deep water area, there exist "Spirit Spaces" not monitored by the Deep Sea.

If a secret key with sufficient authority locks the door, the disappearance of one or two rooms among millions of spiritual edifices... is no big deal.

...

...

The scarlet door is permeated with dense symbols.

Each symbol on this door is an arcane ancient text, undecipherable even with the highest access rights to the Deep Sea, because it has never been manually entered into the database... The only proof of this ancient script’s existence is in the memories of a very few individuals.

Moment by moment, countless scanning programs sweep across the surface of this blood-red door. With the ancient texts cloaking it, all the Deep Sea sees... is "nothingness," or "itself."

The spirit space represented by this door floated awkwardly in the deep water area, like an isolated, plummeting island.

Behind the door, accompanied by the descent of the solitary island, were the "drowned people" who, thanks to the ancient door being intact, remained in a relatively complete spirit space.

The consciousness of the drowned people was not engulfed, and they could still exist "dressed in full attire."

It was a narrow meeting room with only a long table, a chandelier above, and the room bathed in a dim blood-red surge, reminding each conscious drowned person... that it was a critically dangerous moment.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

A hoarse voice rang out.

"The pace of evolution in the Deep Sea is accelerating. After the next round of upgrades, self-repair will begin again, and if we don’t find the ’key’ left by Mr. Turing, this door won’t be safe anymore."

The first drowned person awoke, and a red glow surged by the side of the table in the meeting room, slowly condensing into a tall, virtual figure... but this tall figure didn’t represent anything.

In the world of spirit, all images are false.

The second drowned person also quickly awoke.

His figure was very small, like a seven or eight-year-old child, obviously a false image, his voice not serious but carrying a relaxed smile, "Ling Qisan, don’t be so tense... finding the key is not an overnight task, at least the door is still safe for now, isn’t it?"

Ling Qisan’s expression became even more despondent as he sighed.

"But... it’s been ten years since we started looking, and the hope of finding the key is getting smaller and smaller..."

One by one... the dormant consciousnesses in the meeting room kept waking up in succession.

The space behind the door was very small, omitting the vacant seat of chief, and the long table in the meeting room could seat about ten people, five on each side.

There were six people whose consciousnesses were convened in the meeting room.

"Who initiated this meeting?" asked Ling Qisan in a deep voice, "I have something very important to do, and I only have ten minutes in the real world."

"I initiated it; ten minutes is enough."

The speaker was the only female in the meeting room, a thin girl, about fifteen or sixteen, who although appeared tiny, spoke with an unusually steady voice, "Regarding the decree... we can’t delay any longer. Someone must step forward, publicly stop all this from happening. If the East Continent passes the decree, our chances of finding the key will be even slimmer... With the full awakening of Extraordinary Essence, the pace of evolution in the Deep Sea will greatly accelerate, and Ling Qisan’s worries will come true. Without the key, this door will soon be discovered."

"The Five Continents Council is relatively independent... I’m currently in West Continent, sorry... I can’t help you."

The young man’s voice from the corner, full of regret, solidified along with the surge of red, with a nameplate symbolizing his identity appearing on his chest, bearing the numbers 957.

"Central Continent, sorry," said another elder with the code 064, his words succinct.

The girl’s gaze fell on the tall man Ling Qisan and the grinning young boy coder 031.

"I am not in East Continent, but I have ways to try... Perhaps the East Continent Council could delay the promotion of the decree," said Ling Qisan, "How about you? As far as I know... you are in East Continent."

The boy shrugged his shoulders and spoke indifferently, "As for stopping the Awakening Decree, I’m powerless. This matter has attracted too much intention, and even if I were a council member, what I could do would be limited, let alone the fact that I’m not."

Ling Qisan frowned, "If I remember correctly, you have significant influence in East Continent..."

"Unless Gu Changzhi wakes up, who else could decide whether or not a decree is promulgated?" the boy calmly said, "But I have found another solution... and told you not to worry. The key has already been found by me."

Ling Qisan was startled.

"Ahah... I can understand your emotions right now, probably shock, doubt, and a tiny bit of disbelief."

"The key that still harbors hope in the new world... after all, it was just a phrase left by Turing before his death."

The boy smiled, "It’s such a light-hearted phrase, no one can be sure if such a key really exists, one that can transcend the all-encompassing authority of the Deep Sea, cut off all the chains and shackles, and lead us to the light... We have all been struggling painfully to survive, to find the key, giving it everything, but sometimes what’s needed is just a tiny bit of."

"Luck."

Even though time was limited.

Everyone still endured this guy’s lengthy, self-satisfied boasting.

"Not long ago, I discovered the ’key’ by chance; it passed my verification," said the boy, suddenly serious, looking to the girl, "Of course, the most important verifier here is you. I have already sent the key to the city you’re in."

The girl was suddenly silent.

Frowning, she tried to recall the details of these past days.

Then, she shook her head.

"I’ve encountered some trouble lately..." she said with difficulty, "I have not detected the presence of a ’key’, and there are no signs that the red door has opened."

The boy fell into thought.

"Although I don’t know by what means you verified it, but obviously, if the red door doesn’t sense it... it’s not the key," said Ling Qisan, somewhat disappointed, looking at the boy and shaking his head, "Finding the wrong key has happened more than once before, I hope you are more careful."

"Time is running out, let’s conclude this meeting now."

"Finally, as per the rules... to prevent the worst-case scenario, please look into my eyes, I will seal the memory of this meeting to prevent it from being probed. If this door is breached, all that will be left in the deep water area will be useless codenames."