Light Fortress
Chapter 384 - 67: A Heart Filled with Radiant Light

Chapter 384: Chapter 67: A Heart Filled with Radiant Light

Between the dry walls of Divine Temple Mountain, the gloom was still lingering; a lantern needed to be lit to penetrate the noxious miasma.

This time Mr. Gu Shen came alone, without Li Qingci to guide him.

Holding a lantern, he stood between the waterfall and the spring halfway up the mountain, using Chi Huo to disperse the fog and clearly see the gaunt figure of a woman in the distance.

"Mr. Gu Shen, you’ve come again."

Li Qingci stood with her back to Mr. Gu Shen, holding a small wooden pot.

She seemed to be watering plants.

Quite different from the Order Ruined Flowers that filled Divine Temple Mountain.

Between the mountain walls grew a very small, snow-white flower... forming a stark contrast with the dark, sinister flowers all around.

"I didn’t expect... your talents to be so remarkable."

Li Qingci turned around, her gaze holding firm on Mr. Gu Shen... She stared deeply at the flickering flame at his brow.

After a moment, she couldn’t help but express her admiration, "It’s just been a few days, and all that Extraordinary Essence has been absorbed by you?"

Mr. Gu Shen set down the lantern.

He just smiled and didn’t tell Li Qingci about the existence of the Four Seasons Wilderness in his mind.

In fact, the rate at which Chi Huo converted essence was limited, at least it was for now... Most of the essence absorbed this time was used for nurturing the "Spiritual World". The seed that had been planted disappeared without a trace after filling the pit, as if it had never been sown.

Tie Wu was working hard.

Mr. Gu Shen... was also working hard.

But for now, it seemed that it would take a very long time, a very long time for it to sprout.

"I’ve come to eat some flowers... and by the way, brought some things."

Mr. Gu Shen hadn’t started to speak yet.

Li Qingci immediately smiled and said, "Are they the goods from the entrance of Divine Temple Mountain?"

Mr. Gu Shen paused.

"After all, being the Protector of Divine Temple Mountain... I cannot just sit idly here," Li Qingci spoke softly, "Not a breath or word in this mystical place escapes my senses."

So that was it.

Mr. Gu Shen smiled... That also spared him the trouble; by having these goods here and knowing Li Qingci could see them, he felt more at ease.

However, his expression suddenly turned subtly complex.

Did that mean the conversation he had with Li Qingsui in the car the last time was also heard?

At that time, he hadn’t restored the Spiritual Link, which meant he hadn’t left the Divine Temple Mountain Miao Jing...

"Mr. Xiao Gu, are you worried?" Li Qingci was still smiling warmly, "You can rest assured leaving these things in Divine Temple Mountain. Ordinary people do not come here, and I will look after them for you."

"Thank you very much."

Mr. Gu Shen bowed in respect.

He stared at the little white flower between the mountain walls and earnestly asked, "I have a question... Divine Temple Mountain Territory is in disorder, with all things Silent Annihilation, how can any creature be born?"

Li Qingci crouched down, gently touching the fragile little white flower with her finger.

Her voice resonated in the quiet mountain breeze.

"You are right, Mr. Xiao Gu..."

"Order Ruined, Black Flowers covering the hills, Divine Temple Mountain has long lacked vitality; there are no seasons here, just six hundred years of unchanging darkness, an eternal silence."

"However, where there is a shadow, there must also be light, right?"

Mr. Gu Shen fell into deep thought.

He always felt... that what Li Qingci said was in reverse.

The sentence should be: Where there is light, there are shadows.

"You must think... that my words are in reverse," Li Qingci said with a smile, "But they actually aren’t. This is the original text from the Li Family’s Prayer Secret Book, where there is black, there is white, everything has life, and everything has death. The Divine Temple Mountain, shrouded in countless shadows, always needs a bit of light to cast such a vast shadow."

If hope had never been seen.

Then people would not feel despair.

It is precisely because they see a bit of light.

That people feel the darkness in front of them is too vast, too oppressive, overwhelming and irresistible.

"So this flower... is the only light?"

Gu Shen just felt a little thought but still did not fully understand, frowning and saying, "But the last time I was here... I did not see this flower."

"Because the last time you came, it had not been born yet."

Li Qingci’s eyes flowed with a faint sadness.

She caressed the petals, softly saying, "And soon, it will wither again."

"The task of a Protector is actually quite dreary."

Li Qingci stretched her body, gazing into the distance, and softly laughed, "Since ’Order Collapse’ is unstoppable, every day... a Protector must use the ’Prayer Technique’ to guide the growth of the Black Flower, prolonging the life of Divine Temple Mountain. We are like the gardeners of Divine Temple Mountain, trying to keep this mountain going for a bit longer. And in this process, we periodically see such small white flowers."

"No one knows why these flowers grow on Divine Temple Mountain, germinate, or how long they can live... The ones that last might live three to four days, while the shorter-lived ones may wither in just one night. Perhaps they are relics left by ancestors, but I am curious if such flowers... can really be considered light?"

"Actually, think about it, all Protectors of the Li family over the past six hundred years are just like these flowers."

"Guarding the Divine Temple, accompanied daily by the Black Flower, they live short lives. Even the best among them live only thirty to forty years, not even half a zodiac cycle."

"When a Protector’s time comes, people of the same age outside the Divine Temple Mountain still have ungreyed hair and are in their prime."

Li Qingci slowly said, "However, for us, whether blooming one night or blossoming for three days, there’s no difference. Both are equally... ephemeral."

Gu Shen fell silent.

This white flower blooming between the cliffs should have become a thread of hope.

But this place is full of "black spots," disorderly Extraordinary Essence, draining the nutrition from the rocks... It’s very difficult for the white flower to survive even a day.

"Miss Qingci, do you yearn for the light outside the mountain?" Gu Shen took a deep breath and asked seriously.

Li Qingsui had told herself that her greatest wish was to implement the Prayer Technique, restore Divine Temple Mountain, and then take her sister to see the outside world.

"Of course."

Li Qingci’s answer was unexpected to Gu Shen.

She calmly said, "But... I would rather be a white flower on Divine Temple Mountain that blooms only for a night."

"My father used to say... "

"Black symbolizes destruction, death, evil thoughts, chaos."

"White symbolizes dawn, life, hope, tranquility."

Li Qingci shook her head, smiling radiantly, "If on Divine Temple Mountain, such fleeting splendor can also be considered as light... then I am willing to be a thread of light, hoping that one day, these white flowers will bloom more abundantly, last longer, and cover the entire mountain, until that day, when they can break through the six hundred years of unchanging darkness and bathe Divine Temple Mountain in daylight."

In this world, some people live in endless night.

Yet, their hearts hold boundless light.

At this moment, Gu Shen was certain... that Li Qingci was such a person, coming here voluntarily to be the Protector of Divine Temple Mountain, ready to sacrifice everything.

She needs no one to rescue her.

She is the rescuer herself.