Light Fortress -
Chapter 781 - 21 Immediately Return (Ask for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!)_2
Chapter 781: Chapter 21 Immediately Return (Ask for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!)_2
"Did they never consider that not every labyrinth has an exit?"
"Here, there are only entrances, no exits... Rather than calling it a ’labyrinth,’ I’d prefer to call it a ’nest.’"
Big Snake had pondered for a long time and used such a term, the Netherworld King’s Spark had bestowed unprecedented wisdom upon it, and the soul fire it had absorbed over the years also allowed it to glimpse some memory fragments from the warm world in the south.
"The sole purpose of this place is to witness the reunion between you and me."
Gu Shen fell silent once again.
He stretched out his palm, touching the cold mountain rocks.
So... the teachers and the others, walking outside the labyrinth, were actually due to the effect of "Rule Points," seeming close but actually very far... And those fallen wood shavings were accidentally pulled into the Dream by Big Snake’s realm.
Well... this is the only explanation I could come up with so far.
The method of trying to find the teacher’s trace through the labyrinth seems to be unworkable.
"Right... there’s one more thing."
Gu Shen asked again, "Do you still remember the explorers who reached the labyrinth last time?"
Big Snake nodded earnestly.
Its spiritual power was very solid, capable of weaving such realistic dreams, and even capable of deceiving the Source Sensing Device, so naturally, its memory was also excellent. Every single day of these twenty-one years was stored in its mind.
"I need to know what happened during the last exploration, how these people... died."
Gu Shen spoke with a serious expression.
As he finished speaking,
the wind and snow around him swiftly flowed in reverse, and the Dream shifted at this moment.
Familiar voices sounded behind him.
["Route thirty-eight exploration, seventeenth attempt... currently, no issues, it’s time to replace the source energy fuel."]
Gu Shen turned around.
He saw a six-person squad.
Leading the team, giving commands at this moment, was the squad captain "Hong Zhong."
["All members replace the source energy fuel, prepare to return."]
This team had reached the same "endpoint" as their own initial arrival... Next, the Source Material Instrument would malfunction, and they realized their retreat was cut off.
Gu Shen, like a nonexistent shadow, quietly stood in the gaps of the space-time rift, watching as the exploration mission continued unfolding...
The scene replayed.
This team was more united than he had anticipated.
Everyone decided to press forward... and up to here, everything was normal, but soon they would step into the "golden spike flowers"’ Dream, from which, with this team’s ability, there was no escaping.
How did Hong Zhong manage to escape?
In the Dream, these people saw an "oasis," saw the non-existent hope at the end of the labyrinth...
And as the golden spike flowers were about to "take away" their spirits,
Hong Zhong suddenly awoke from the Dream!
Alone, he broke free from the Dream... and then, without hesitation, he struck swiftly, smashing Old Yao’s Source Armor, yanked out the source energy fuel core, and then fled from the labyrinth at high speed.
After returning to reality, he seamlessly executed all these actions.
As if someone was guiding him.
The rest of the memory is not important.
Golden Spike Flowers discerned that Gu Shen wanted to know only the details of this man’s escape... It fixed the reflection of this mental image at this moment, speaking faintly, "That man carries an exceptionally strange ’seal,’ seemingly guided by an incredible fate. His spirit was almost entirely lost, but at the crucial moment, he abruptly became alert and found the only correct way to escape."
Gu Shen narrowed his eyes.
It is said that Hong Zhong is an extremely lucky veteran in the Investigation Corps, returning safely from every mission he embarked on...
This guy’s luck is indeed against the heavens!
Even faced with a disastrous Dream like the "golden spike flowers," he still managed to escape.
Clearly, this was beyond what his own abilities could achieve.
This guy must have some remarkable sealed item on him... perhaps obtained from an exploration mission in the Old World.
Gu Shen extended a finger, slowly nudging it.
Following his will, the Dream of the golden spike flowers flowed, returning to the moment Hong Zhong awoke.
He tried to find the whereabouts of the sealed item in the Dream.
But unfortunately,
he found nothing... Hong Zhong, wearing the Source Armor, showed no signs of using the sealed item, and the entire awakening process was spontaneous.
It was likely a passively defensive sealed item.
It activated on its own when its master faced disaster.
"However, that guy is undoubtedly doomed,"
Golden Spike Flowers said coldly, "His spirit has already been corrupted by me... It won’t be long before he perishes in eternal silence, his spirit utterly fallen. Not only that, this strand of corrupting power will spread. If you do not wish to claim the soul fires in this maze, after returning, you can also search for his spiritual mark. You can extract many souls, the Pure Land is currently too spacious and urgently needs hands."
"???"
Gu Shen’s expression changed instantly, "What did you just say? Your corrupting power... It will spread?"
Golden Spike Flowers nodded.
"Aren’t you trying to form an army within the Pure Land?" Big Snake hissed regretfully, "These years, I have been striving for your coronation... Only, too few have arrived here."
Gu Shen was speechless.
He never expected that what this Big Snake was doing was so insane... It’s likely that the Netherworld King had nearly gone mad when he cast it out.
To drag living souls into the Pure Land and form an army, how utterly sinister was that?!
"Don’t do such things again in the future."
Gu Shen furrowed his brows and immediately issued an order, "My Pure Land has other ways to expand, there is no need to extract souls in such a manner, this method will cause me great trouble... From now on, you must not attack humans on your own initiative."
Golden Spike Flowers’ pupils were blank, and it nodded subconsciously, remembering this command.
Although its soul had grown for twenty-one years, it was almost a blank slate.
The only guidance it had received was the residual will of the Netherworld King’s Spark.
As for good and evil... it had no concept.
As for life and death, born within the Netherworld King’s Pure Land, it cared even less about these "mortals’ life and death."
Gu Shen finally understood why the former Netherworld King met such a tragic end...
If there truly were "rules of fate" operating in this world.
Then the actions of the former Netherworld King, just the tip of the iceberg that he knew of, were enough to attract an abundance of bad omens!
"Do you realize what consequences that strand of corrupting power will cause..."
Gu Shen’s expression was grim as he rebuked in a low voice.
Big Snake bowed its head, looking aggrieved.
"That strand of corrupting power is not very strong... It only spreads within the Spirit Sea," Golden Spike Flowers argued in a low voice, "As long as the spiritual power is strong enough, it can withstand it. If not, with your mighty power, you can certainly undo it."
Gu Shen’s expression was complex.
The spiritual power of this Big Snake was terrifyingly powerful!
Even Yuan Yuan could not see through the dreams it wove.
And the remnant corrupting power... even if just a weak strand, could be resisted by few.
He knew that the current state of Golden Spike Flowers was all due to the guidance of the former Netherworld King... This naive creature, after its birth, the only thing it could rely on was the residual spirit of the Netherworld King’s Spark.
That strand of spirit was extremely malignant.
It instilled in Golden Spike Flowers only hunting and devouring.
For many years, only "Hong Zhong" had narrowly escaped a disaster, while Golden Spike Flowers left behind corrupting power simply out of the top predator’s instinct to hunt.
But now, the situation was very bad.
Everyone who had come in contact with Hong Zhong could potentially encounter the "spiritual corruption" of Golden Spike Flowers... Wouldn’t that mean, if not handled properly, a mental virus could sweep across Gu Castle Fortress next?
No... even worse!
The Investigation Corps Second Team strongly demanded to bring Hong Zhong back inland... Once agreed, the spread could become uncontrollable!
It was time to start the return journey immediately!
Gu Shen could only pray that Aluer and Lin Lin would detect the corrupting virus within Hong Zhong’s Spirit Sea in advance and at least firmly refuse the Investigation Corps’ request to bring back the "hero."
...
...
(PS: Finally broke the monthly ticket curse, it wasn’t easy, TAT, at the start of the month, I continue to ask for monthly tickets! There will be additional updates tomorrow!)
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