Light Fortress
Chapter 385 - 69 Prayer Dream (Two in One)

Chapter 385: Chapter 69 Prayer Dream (Two in One)

This time, cleaning the Black Flowers was somewhat easier than the last.

Just as Gu Shen had anticipated.

With the "growth" of Chi Huo, he found himself possessing an increasingly large "Source Material Reserves" and an ever-faster "ingestion speed".

Another pitch-black stone wall had been swept clean.

Gu Shen checked the stone wall he had cleaned last time... A week ago Black Flowers were rampant, but after being devoured by "Chi Huo", they no longer grew there. Instead, they spread around the clean stone wall.

Areas cleared by Chi Huo wouldn’t spawn "black spots" again.

This was good news.

If those black spots were eaten and quickly grew back... with the speed at which they spread throughout Divine Temple Mountain, everything he was doing might indeed be a mere drop in the bucket.

The current pace of clearing, although still extremely slow,

at least... bore the potential for theoretical elimination.

These Black Flowers, so numerous... Could there be a root cause?

If he could find and clear this root cause... would it resolve the crisis of Divine Temple Mountain?

Suddenly, Gu Shen thought of the story where Mr. Gu Changzhi had once picked a Black Flower at the top of Divine Temple Mountain.

He pointed at the distant mountains.

"May I go up and take a look?"

Li Qingci understood what Gu Shen was thinking.

She said softly, "You can. However... it’s very dangerous at the mountain top. It’s covered in ’Order Ruined Flowers’. To reach the top, one must be extremely cautious, and there is nothing at the summit that you are searching for."

"What I am searching for?"

"You’re looking for the root of the order ruin. You think there might be a ’Primordial Flower’ within Divine Temple Mountain."

Li Qingci continued, "People have already tried that... Over the years, the Black Flowers proliferated not because the Protectors gave up resistance and resigned to their fate but because we couldn’t clear the black spots, so we could only guide their growth. If there indeed was a so-called ’Primordial Flower’ whose cutting off could eradicate the Black Flowers that swarm the mountains, it would have been found long ago."

Gu Shen nodded his head.

Indeed.

If there really was something like the "Primordial Flower", Mr. Gu Changzhi would have surely attempted to remove it.

"Regardless... I still want to go and see for myself."

Gu Shen picked up the [Lantern] again and spoke softly, "I must trouble Miss Qingci to lead the way."

So far, he and Li Qingci had only "met".

Separated by the distant mountain walls.

There was flowing mist, somber shadows, and faint candlelight between them.

The distance between them had not truly shortened to the extent where they could see each other’s faces...

Li Qingci set down the watering can she had been using on the flowers.

She slowly picked up a [Lantern] and gave serious instructions.

"Mr. Xiao Gu, if you wish to climb the mountain, please follow behind Qingci, keeping a distance of ten steps and no closer."

Gu Shen was taken aback.

"Li Family Protectors, because of their frequent use of the ’Prayer Technique’ in exchange for wishes with fate... have some ominous curses entwined around them." Li Qingci began to speak in a very low voice, "You can think of them as ’bearers of ill luck’."

There’s a cost to every gain.

This was fair.

Without any effort, merely by praying, one’s "wishes" could come true, making some impossible things truly happen, descend. Only those rumored to be chosen by destiny could bear such "luck".

But those who force the use of this power to add fortune to their family’s lineage must bear the backlash of fate.

However, the term "bearer of ill luck" mentioned by Li Qingci suddenly reminded Gu Shen of another individual.

Tomb Ghost.

Xing Yun.

He followed behind Li Qingci, maintaining a distance of ten steps, neither too far nor too close.

The two began climbing toward the summit of Divine Temple Mountain.

"Miss Qingci, do you have to go up and down the mountain every day?" Gu Shen casually picked a topic, seeking proximity.

"It is the duty of a Protector."

Under the light of the [Lantern], Li Qingci’s already slender figure appeared even more flickering and vague.

Like a wisp of shadow that could dissipate at any moment.

If seen elsewhere, she might mistakenly be taken for a "female ghost".

The silhouette was just too ethereal.

"Li Qingsui gave me a talisman, saying it’s essential for entering Divine Temple Mountain." Gu Shen continued, "If I may ask, in recent years... apart from me, who are the other ’outsiders’ that have entered this wondrous realm?"

The question was somewhat intrusive.

Gu Shen knew this.

Divine Temple Mountain was the Li Family’s greatest forbidden area, its existence a secret... Even though the five great families knew that there was a wondrous realm on the northern border of Changye guarded by the Li Family, the number of people who actually knew what this realm contained was scant.

Few and far between.

"Not many." Li Qingci’s mind was clear as a mirror; she chuckled softly and said, "Mr. Xiao Gu, you can just ask your question directly... There’s no need to beat around the bush."

"I know a... friend."

After a brief moment of thought, Gu Shen hesitated for a second between the words "fellow" and "friend", eventually choosing the latter—both to give Tomb Ghost some face and to lend the question a tinge of mystery.

"The ’bearer of ill luck’ Miss Qingci just mentioned..."

Before Gu Shen could finish,

Li Qingci replied, "The person you speak of is the Tomb Ghost, right?"

Gu Shen silently closed his mouth, wondering if the Prayer Technique also possessed the ability to foresee, as Li Qingci had read his thoughts on several occasions without him speaking them aloud.