Light Fortress

Chapter 1739 - 391: Ascension City

The mist over the Qingzhong Cemetery dissipated, and Gu Shen stretched lazily as he slowly walked out from the inner mausoleum.

"Is it over already?"

Shen Li took a few steps, turning back repeatedly, his face full of reluctance, saying, "I still want to ask Mr. Bai Shu for more guidance."

"There will be plenty of chances in the future."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "You live right in Changye; aren’t you worried about not having the opportunity to ask him questions?"

"But he’s a Divine Throne..."

Shen Li said instinctively, then rubbed his nose and chuckled awkwardly.

He belatedly realized there was another Divine Throne right in front of him.

God Gu.

"I think Mr. Bai Shu is right."

Mu Wanqiu crossed her arms and said, "God-killing, how could it be that easy?"

She probably guessed Gu Shen’s motivation for proposing to eliminate the Sky Divine Throne. If a Divine War broke out in the future, Qinglong would indeed be the most troublesome thorn.

"Killing a god, of course, isn’t easy."

Gu Shen nodded and said, "The birth of any Divine Throne requires the right timing, geographical advantage, and popular support... Killing them is harder than reaching the sky. My visit to the mausoleum this time was actually to explore the possibility of ’God-killing’ through Mr. Bai Shu."

Mu Wanqiu wore a faintly teasing smile and asked, "Did you find out now?"

"I did. The chances are exceedingly slim."

Gu Shen sighed and laughed, "But there’s still a tiny bit of possibility."

"You’re not seriously planning on plotting such a thing, are you?"

Little Iron Man blinked and said, "That weak spot or flaw or whatever... I don’t think it’s reliable."

"On this matter, I agree with Shen Li."

Mu Wanqiu said seriously, "Rather than conspiracies and tricks, I think a more straightforward approach is for you to ascend to a Divine Throne... Back to the point, when do you plan to fuse the Netherworld Fire?"

"I can start the fusion anytime."

Gu Shen shook his head and said, "It’s just that... you all heard what Mr. Bai Shu just said as well: if I can’t completely refine it, then it would be meaningless for the ’Divine War.’ I can’t fully grasp the ’Authority Origin,’ and as for the ’Life Origin,’ my own Blazing Fire Domain hasn’t been fully united yet."

No one wanted to become a Divine Throne more than Gu Shen.

He wished he could immediately ignite the Molten Furnace Spark and become the Netherworld King on the spot.

Then, bringing the Great Pure Land, he would directly crush the Source Tower!

Divine War!

Directly a Divine War!

The Empress, the Battle God, plus a Netherworld King—these three Divine Thrones at peak combat strength attacking together, what does Qinglong have to resist?

But unfortunately.

Gu Shen knew in his heart... he still needed time.

The union of domains, the understanding of origin, and the exploration of the Netherworld Fire’s secrets.

These things cannot be achieved overnight.

...

...

After leaving the cemetery, Gu Shen took Mu Wanqiu’s mini-boat to the North Continent.

He had promised Mu Wanqiu to make a trip to the North Continent.

This northward journey, Gu Shen had many things to do: one was to meet Little Xiuzi, and the other was... he wanted to see the Empress.

Mu Wanqiu’s first stop north was Central City.

She served as the captain of the first team of the Investigation Corps and needed to report back to Purple Rain Commander at Central City after taking leave to come south.

It was convenient.

Gu Shen could take this opportunity to visit "Her Majesty" in the tower.

The mini-boat whistled at the Skytop, with the weather growing increasingly cold and harsh. Changye already leaned towards the north and had a colder climate. Passing through the tundra area made it even more so; this area had almost become a "life forbidden zone" in the mortal world. Perhaps due to the oncoming Ice Sea Origin Material, the temperature of the entire Five Continents World was dropping, and the tundra hadn’t supported mortal residents for the past few years.

Only Transcendents could survive such extremely harsh weather.

"There is something worth mentioning."

Mu Wanqiu said, unusually speaking up, "With the convergence of the two continents, there’s an extremely important project led jointly by the Gu family and the Lin Family... the production base for the Heavenly Sheath Weapon is set in the tundra."

Gu Shen’s eyes shifted slightly.

He looked down at the snowfield below, where the cold winds like silver knives cut through.

This was indeed an excellent hidden base.

"If I remember correctly, that guy is called ’Tomb Ghost,’ right?"

Mu Wanqiu suddenly brought up an old acquaintance.

In Gu Shen’s mind, the familiar figure instantly appeared, and he immediately laughed and said, "Yes, what about Tomb Ghost?"

"He made a significant contribution to the Heavenly Sheath Weapon project. Her Majesty personally concealed his records."

Mu Wanqiu said, lowering her head, "I haven’t followed ’convergence’ matters much, this is mostly what I know. Tomb Ghost frequently visits the Underground Research Institute in Central City for viewing activities; I’ve met him several times, and he’s quite an interesting guy."

"Interesting?"

Gu Shen raised an eyebrow; based on his understanding of Tomb Ghost, most people wouldn’t find him interesting.

More likely, they would find him reclusive, odd, and ominous.

"I sensed an unprovoked ’disaster aura’ emanating from him."

Mu Wanqiu looked seriously at Gu Shen and said, "Did you not feel it? It seems to be a power akin to the ’Netherworld King Authority,’ this guy’s proficient in ancient texts and yet carries such a significant calamity..."

She knew.

Grave Ghost Xing Yun and Gu Shen had a good relationship.

And precisely because of this relationship, the Underground Research Institute continued to invite Grave Ghost to participate in events. Of course, behind Grave Ghost stood the Gu Family Young Master, Gu Nanfeng.

Because of the protection of these two "big figures".

This "mobile ancient library" named Grave Ghost, who is as weak as a chicken, can receive such privileged treatment now.

In the past, he was always held in someone’s grasp, used as needed, detained as wished.

"He is under my protection."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "I’m certainly aware of everything about him."

As for the secret of "Grave Ghost".

Through the Black Snow Mountain Dream, Gu Shen had already guessed most of it.

The calamity clinging to this guy is most likely the "penalty for breach of contract" left by the wager between the traveller and the Netherworld King.

Gu Shen speculated that the traveller of the past tried to escape the fate’s judgment and chose to "rebirth" with the Spirit Sea in the Five Continents World, but unfortunately, the fate’s decree was not so easy to shake off; the traveller lost his own memories and was entangled by the calamity from the Netherworld King.

This truth was something Gu Shen did not tell anyone.

Because he wanted to maintain the current state of Grave Ghost, compared to the "traveller" from thirty years ago, Grave Ghost now had a much more stable mental condition.

A scholar proficient in ancient texts of the Old World.

Can help decipher numerous ancient text secrets.

And in the future... could be brought into the ruins of the [Old World] to unlock those lost technologies of the starship civilization!

Once the "traveller" within Grave Ghost’s Spirit Sea wakes up, the situation becomes unpredictable, although Gu Shen is not worried about any chaos occurring.

The traveller’s spark is locked in the furnace by the Empress.

Even if the traveller in his prime truly awakens, in the current Five Continents World, he would still have to bow his head.

There are several Divine Thrones here!

Even if it’s just the Empress alone, the traveller may not win, let alone with an ally like the Battle God Throne in our camp...

Gu Shen squinted, hesitantly asking, "You just said that Her Majesty granted Grave Ghost the ’favor’ of erasing his records, did Her Majesty summon him?"

"Summon?"

Mu Wanqiu shook her head and said, "Not exactly. Although Central City is flourishing now, these years Her Majesty still resides in seclusion, summoning only a few. Aside from generals, probably only commanders and Major General Lin Lin, characters like Duke Lin Chou can meet Her Majesty."

She paused for two seconds and said, "...and possibly you."

Gu Shen is an exception.

Her Majesty the Empress has long known that he will be among the highest seats in the future.

So the summons is merely a "procedure" in the eyes of the outsiders.

With Her Majesty the Empress’s foresight ability, she must have already known about the true identity of Grave Ghost.

Gu Shen does not believe in coincidences.

The Empress ordering the erasure of Grave Ghost’s records actually means she has noticed this person’s existence.

Being noticed by such a figure as the Empress actually means Grave Ghost has no secrets left.

"You came north with me this time, probably wanting to have an audience with Her Majesty, right?"

Mu Wanqiu suddenly spoke.

"Yes."

Gu Shen jokingly asked, "To have an audience with the Empress, what procedures must I follow? Do I need to submit an application for approval to the Central City’s Privy Council?"

"Are you serious?"

Mu Wanqiu appeared somewhat helpless.

Gu Shen just blinked.

Previously, he had always been summoned.

This time, in seeking an audience actively, Gu Shen honestly had no idea.

He did not know if Her Majesty the Empress would see him.

"There has never been such a thing as an audience procedure."

Mu Wanqiu calmly replied, "The commander stands before the attic; whether you can see Her Majesty depends on meeting the commander first... Submitting such a proposal to the Privy Council for an audience with Her Majesty, do they even dare to approve it?"

Gu Shen noticed that the chilling wind at the Skytop gradually grew warmer.

This indicated that the airship had exited the Tundra’s boundary and had formally reached the North Continent.

Heavy clouds and frozen snow were left behind, and Gu Shen gently inhaled; the gale at the Northern Continent border was not harsh, but instead very warm.

From afar, he saw that Ascension City.

Due to the injection of the "traveller’s" spark, the Empress’s [Furnace] Divine Domain received inexhaustible and endless energy.

The entire Central City officially ascended!

And accompanied by dozens of surrounding cities, both large and small, ascended together.

Gu Shen did not expect that six years later, this towering giant city had developed so vigorously, with many source energy boats flying around Central City, like countless meteors, with their brilliant flames streaking across the sky.

This was an extremely stunning scene.

In this world relying on Extraordinary Power, the North Continent stubbornly relied on "technology" to make the entire city lift off the ground.

At this moment.

Dozens of source energy boats hovered in the airspace outside Central City.

At this moment, one by one, the source armors actively left the cockpit, hovering above Gao Tian; these were the generals stationed at the Northern Continent Border Fortress, coincidentally near Central City for official purposes at this time.

These people, having received news of Mu Wanqiu’s journey north, gathered along this necessary route to wait.

They waited not for Mu Wanqiu.

But for Gu Shen.

...

...

(It was a busy day, so the update is late. Please forgive me, there will be another Chapter tonight.)