Light Fortress
Chapter 94 - 86: Followers of Taotie (Third Update)_2

Chapter 94: Chapter 86: Followers of Taotie (Third Update)_2

Gu Shen then realized... the scenes he saw in the Jingzhe Dream were just lingering fragments of spiritual power.

Jingzhe marks the beginning of the change of seasons, and also the beginning of the breathing technique.

"Gu Yu is in prison..." Gu Shen’s eyes burned with fervor as he asked, "Is there a copy of this breathing technique that I can observe?"

"Are Gu Changzhi’s breathing techniques so easy to copy? After all these years, there’s only been one ’Heavenly Eye’!" Cui Zhongcheng shook his head, "If you want other breathing techniques, I might think of something, but this volume of Gu Yu is not in Da Du. If you want to see it, you have to file a request yourself. The pre-requisite for the council’s default approval is that the requester must possess at least the strength of Deep Sea Sixth Layer."

"Deep Sea Sixth Layer?" Gu Shen let out a bitter laugh and said, "Is the requirement that high?"

"The same old saying, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Before you have achieved great success in the Jingzhe Breathing Technique, it may not be good to get in touch with the other two volumes," Cui Zhongcheng said indifferently, "Spring Breathing, for ordinary people to comprehend one volume is already a tremendous fortune. That’s why the council made this rule, Transcendents below the Deep Sea Sixth Layer are not allowed to apply for access to the second volume; it’s both a limitation and a protection."

"That’s true..." Gu Shen said helplessly.

Suddenly, Cui Zhongcheng asked, "How long did it take you to comprehend Jingzhe?"

"Ah, ha..."

Gu Shen chuckled hastily, "Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."

This kid, still hiding something at this critical moment?

Cui Zhongcheng didn’t say anything. Since Gu Shen wouldn’t say, he couldn’t be bothered to ask further.

After a short while, Gu Shen walked around the bronze altar again.

He slowly stopped at the most secluded altar.

"Huh..."

Gu Shen leaned down slightly to get a clearer look, and inside the red silver cover of this bronze altar lay a slender pointer.

"What is this...?" he pointed to the red silver cover.

"A clock hand with an unknown origin," Cui Zhongcheng said, "As you can see, the seventh floor underground of Huazhi Building belongs to the Zhao Family, specifically used to store low-level Sealed Objects in the Collection Hall. Many objects whose origins cannot be traced and cannot be identified are kept and managed here... As I recall, this pointer has been sent in many years ago. Due to its age, it no longer has active power, but it is imbued with strong Extraordinary Essence. Any item that touches this pointer, whether human skin or a material object, will have its time frozen."

"Freeze time?"

Gu Shen immediately thought of Zhou Yexin’s broken pocket watch.

"Mm... only locally, just the part in contact with the pointer, a very small, very small portion. The kind that can be completely disregarded." Cui Zhongcheng stretched out two fingers and gently rubbed them together. "That’s why its ranking is only E, an object on the fringe of the rating system, not exactly classified as a Sealed Object."

"Interesting..." Gu Shen smiled. "I don’t need the breathing technique anymore. Give me this pointer."

"Are you... sure?" Cui Zhongcheng furrowed his brows.

This kid, as soon as you slap on fur, turns into a monkey; he doesn’t seem like someone who would make a losing deal.

"I feel a bit shortchanged... trading a breathing technique for a pointer of unknown origin. How about you compensate me with another Sealed Object?" Gu Shen turned around, stroking his chin, "I’ll take that silver vest."

Cui Zhongcheng: "???"

"Dream on, take the pointer and scram," Cui Zhongcheng decisively rejected, slapping his hand down.

He used a specialized pair of tweezers to pick up the pointer and then placed it into a thin red silver-plated bag.

"There... Let’s consider last night’s incident on the river bank settled," Cui Zhongcheng said with a sigh of relief after completing the trade, his expression visibly tired. He really didn’t want to see Gu Shen anymore and personally escorted him out of Huazhi Building, repeatedly cautioning, "Don’t let that old guy come make a fuss at the Building!"

Gu Shen nodded vigorously, assuring secrecy, then with the two Sealed Objects, he trotted to a deserted alley where no one was around.

After confirming there was no one around and no one was following him... he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Buzz!"

Divine Power uncontrollably burst from the center of his forehead, hitting the surface of the Red Silver Bag in an instant, splattering into flowing, burning liquid fire, covering the bag with no dead angles in a 360-degree spread.

If it weren’t for the red silver coating blocking, the "pointer" would probably have been swallowed already.

"It really is a Taotie... eating what’s in the bowl while looking at what’s in the pot, never content."

Gu Shen was gradually understanding the purpose of the Deep Sea trial.

The Transcendent’s path to advancement is the journey of ceaselessly developing and controlling one’s abilities... not every Transcendent can perfectly harness their powers.

Underneath the Huazhi Building, feeling the Extraordinary Essence encapsulated within this compass needle through the red silver plating, the Chi Huo at his brow immediately burst forth with intense spiritual fluctuations, guiding him forward, even disregarding the Essence he was currently digesting, conveying a thread of resolute will.

If Chi Huo could speak, at that moment it probably would have said...

"Wahaha, I’m gonna eat it up!"

Gu Shen had discovered.

The seemingly weak and harmless flame at his brow was actually an insatiable Taotie.

In the Dream, seeing the mysterious blood-red flame... Chi Huo also conveyed a strong intent to devour.

"You do have quite the appetite..."

Gu Shen, through the Red Silver Bag, looked closely at the compass needle. After the awakening of Chi Huo, the world through Gu Shen’s eyes changed colors; the blue sky was no longer the clear azure and the white clouds were no longer as white as snow. If he truly opened his "heart’s eye," he would see that the world’s flow was chaotic, and those Extraordinary Essences that redefined order in the material world were like discrete, drifting winds.

This thin bag contained Extraordinary Essence that was both pure and immense.

No wonder Chi Huo had such a strong desire to devour... solely from the perspective of devouring Essence, the deal he made with Cui Zhongcheng was definitely not a loss.

But if one disregards this Extraordinary Essence, this abandoned compass needle is merely a mundane object. The power to freeze time is indeed a defiance of the natural order, but when it can freeze less than 1 square centimeter of contact area, it’s truly the most useless of useless things.

However... if I just ate it like that, wouldn’t it be a bit of a waste?

After much thought, Gu Shen decided to save the compass needle carefully.

"You can’t eat it!"

He communicated his will to Chi Huo with spiritual power.

"Wuwuwu..."

The flame with the wide-open mouth, trembling pathetically in the wind, sounding like sobbing, regrettably retracted like a puddle of sludge, withdrawing bit by bit from the Red Silver Bag, and ultimately reconverging into a flame, pitifully flitting back to Gu Shen’s brow.

This thread of Chi Huo was in tune with his own intentions; the feeling was very unique... as if he had obtained a second soul.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness all became double.

Feeling aggrieved, Gu Shen felt a bit helpless.

"Good, be obedient... there’ll be even more delicacies in the future."

He felt like he was coaxing a child.

But this child was quite easy to appease. After Gu Shen’s comforting, the small flame at his brow nodded like a pecking chick and settled down obediently.

"If I say, Chi Huo is still just a baby now... then its eventual growth is closely related to every choice I make," Gu Shen reflected on the scene from the Ghost Cage, his expression gradually turning solemn.

In the Dream, his own evil thoughts were nearly overwhelming!

And after awakening as a Transcendent, he and Chi Huo had already formed a symbiotic relationship.

The emotions it birthed, he would be directly affected by... In fact, Gu Shen’s heart had surged with intense desires several times already, wanting to open the Red Silver Bag and command Chi Huo to directly devour the compass needle... but all were suppressed by his strong willpower.

He must never let the spontaneous emotions of the Extraordinary Essence dictate his behavior.

"I am the master of this body... if I can’t suppress my own Transcendent abilities, then losing control isn’t far off."

After suppressing his restlessness, Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief.

He lightly caressed his brow and whispered, "Little guy, you have to remember... those who indulge like Taotie will not meet a good end."