Bulwark of Light

Chapter 681 Dyeing Black Flowers White (7K words)
The days of peace are coming to an end?
What does it mean?
Gu Shen was stunned for a moment, looking towards the direction where the inner mausoleum was shrouded in golden light, Mr. Bai Shu closed the entrance of the inner mausoleum... Shrinking the golden divine realm, the layer upon layer of divine light also gradually retracted.

"These days, the supreme seat has undergone some changes. I will retreat for a while."

Bai Shu said softly: "Perhaps because of the appearance of the 'Traveler', the source quality proliferation rate outside the five continents world is skyrocketing. After a while, the highest seat will hold a meeting... There may be a god seat, leave the five continents, Look outside the old world, what's going on."

Gu Shen immediately became nervous.

If the top executive is going to hold a meeting, isn't it possible that his identity as "Pluto" will be exposed?
Pluto is dead, and no matter what happens, he is destined not to show up.

On such an important occasion, Pluto doesn't show up... the gods in Outer Continent must have doubts.

"There are some things you don't have to worry about."

Bai Shu said gently: "The sky is falling, tall people will stand against it. The guy from Beizhou and I have already set up a plan and prepared some means... You just need to practice in seclusion, and whatever you encounter, do what you want, no need to worry about it." Thinking too much."

In this world, there is nothing more reassuring than this sentence.

Gu Shen looked at the glittering inner mausoleum with complicated eyes, he felt that the burden on his shoulders was much lighter, and he felt lucky at this moment.

He was born in the worst of times.

Dongzhou God of War fell, besieged on all sides.

But this is also the best era.

Mr. Bai Shu smelted the fire and carried the last crumbling sky for him... If there is no new Dou Zhan, how long can he mediate and survive under the coveted throne of the Outer Continent?

Gu Shen took a deep breath.

The days of peace are coming to an end... No matter how strong Mr. Bai Shu is, he is still only one person after all.

He has to grow up early.

Gu Shen left the cemetery and returned to the Temple Mountain.

In the following days, Gu Shen devoted all his energy to cultivation.

……

……

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past seven days, Gu Shen and Chu Ling stayed together on the top of the shrine mountain, watching the flowers bloom and wither, and seeing black and white match each other.

During this time, Gu Shen concentrated on tempering the "fire of vitality".

As Bai Shu said, if you want to go further in the eighth layer of the deep sea, then there is no shortcut——

Accumulating "field embryos" is an unavoidable chore!
Fortunately, he has the blessing of a spectator state of mind, and when his mind is like still water, he can practice with twice the result with half the effort. Although these small flames grow slowly, we can still see that they are gradually growing stronger every day.

Chu Ling, on the other hand, is practicing "ancient prose".

After she was born, she was not interested in extraordinary practice, but had a desire to explore the lost "forbidden ancient texts"... But this is also in line with common sense. The time of her birth is limited, and extraordinary practice is destined to be a long process. If you concentrate on practicing, It may not be possible to achieve excellent results, and it will only waste time.

And if you study ancient Chinese, as a super AI, her thinking ability, memory depth, and deduction speed will all provide unprecedented blessings. In this field, she is a "BUG-level" existence that has never been seen before or since.

There is no fixed direction in a person's life.

Everyone has the right to choose to pursue their "love".

Fortunately, not long after Chu Ling was born, she found her own direction in life.

During these seven days, she stayed by Gu Shen's side. She taught Li Qingci the divination technique, and began to learn Li's 600-year-old taboo prayer technique... Learning ancient Chinese is a long process, and Li Qingci is not Qianye, Her learning speed is very slow, and her teaching speed is also very slow. According to this progress, one birth is far from enough to learn.

Chu Ling was not in a hurry.

She came to the world, not to live for "learning".

She enjoys every breath of air in this world, every ray of sunshine she sees... In this way, on the evening of the seventh day, at sunset, the time of Chu Ling's "birth" came to an end.

Gu Shen and she stood on the top of Shenci Mountain. Most of the haze that shrouded the place all year round had dissipated, revealing the dome clouds above Wonderland and a ray of bright and pale moonlight.

The sun sinks into the earth, and the long night ushers in the prologue.

day to day.

Every creature on the earth will welcome this alternation.

It's just... tonight is the last night of Chu Ling's "life". She is sitting on the top of the mountain with bare feet, swinging her feet like Li Qingsui. At the end of the shirt, she pressed her hands between the jagged rocks, her snow-white fingers were vaguely illusory, as if they were floating and scattered into light.

"This is the first time I have seen such a bright moonlight on the Temple Mountain."

Chu Ling raised her head with a smile in her voice.

Gu Shen imitated her appearance and sat down, the black windbreaker overcoat fluttering in the air.

"The moonlight is really beautiful tonight..."

The black flowers on the top of the mountain have almost been uprooted.

Although these numbers are just a drop in the bucket compared to the "pollution" of the entire shrine mountain... But this is a good start. Everything in the world needs a sign before it gets better.

Even, just a little bit.

The waterfall is gurgling, and the wind is blowing, with petals as pink and white as snow.

Chu Ling stretched out her hand, grasped the petals with two slender fingers, and put them between her temples with ease. She likes white flowers very much, not only because they are beautiful...but also because they herald "life" and "hope" , most people are always full of expectations and love for things that they never really have.

Chu Ling hummed a ditty lightly.

She can't remember the specific song... It seems to have emerged from memory. This is not the ability of [Source Code], but the talent and instinct she possessed after she became an adult.

When something sad happens, you will feel sad and cry.

When you encounter happy things, you will be happy and jump for joy.

But at this moment, when she was about to leave, her emotions were between the two... The four bronze lamps that gave life to [Source Code] seemed to cover all the emotions of the world in every possible way.

But the "emotions" possessed by a living person are not as simple as joy, anger, sorrow and joy?
How can four words outline and describe everything a person has experienced in his life?
She lived again.

This time, she saw the forest of Linz and the sea of ​​the Rhine. She traveled far away with her beloved one, watched the sunrise and sunset, and the tide was rising... But now, it's time to part again.

This little song sounds like the wind in the new night, melodious and relaxed, but in fact it will dissipate after a while, and it will never stay until the next day, and the exact same tune will never appear again in the future.

She hummed softly.

Gu Shen also listened quietly.

"It's weird..."

At the end of the song, Chu Ling asked with a smile: "Obviously after my physical body dissipated, my spirit is still in the deep water area. I know that we will meet again...why do I still feel sad in my heart at this moment?"

Gu Shen was silent for a long time.

He said softly, "Maybe it's because you're not really sure that we'll meet next time."

This is not a soft love story.

But Chu Ling woke up.

That's right... After all, she is just a wisp of illusory spirit without a real physical body. If she wants to "live", she needs to rely on the "Sacred Well" on the Temple Mountain to accumulate source matter and store energy.

But "Kamii" is not stable.

Even she herself doesn't know when the next birth will be.

Or... is there really another birth?

"So this is ah……"

Chu Ling's eyes were a little enlightened, and she was still smiling: "It turns out that my sadness is because every parting between us may be a forever parting."

"Others, I don't know, but I know... At least this time the farewell will not be forever."

Gu Shen said seriously: "I will do my best to maintain the order of the shrine mountain. When I smelt the fire and control the birth and death, I will find you a 'body' that will last forever, and I will let you truly... alive."

Chu Ling stared at Gu Shen in a daze.

It would have been funny to her if it had been said by anyone else in the world.

Even the gods at the highest seat are the same...

They can't do this kind of thing!
But if it was Gu Shen, maybe he could really do it...

"Oh... I suddenly became happier."

There was a little more smile on Chu Ling's face, and she asked with emotion: "I just realized that I am the same as other women. I like to listen to vows, and like those illusory things. Gu Shen, what you just said, Is it...a love story?"

"Of course not."

Gu Shen shook his head, grinned and said, "This is not something imaginary, this is something I will definitely do in the future no matter what."

"Good. I remember. I have a good memory."

The moonlight and the waterfall flow together, gurgling and singing together.

"Hook, hang yourself."

Chu Ling stared at Gu Shen seriously, she stretched out her little finger.

It's a pity that from this moment on, her body began to transform into a feather, and the process of feathering began from the fingertips. Under the moonlight, her whole body became ethereal, nothingness... so she turned into pieces of light feathers, and finally only There was only one floating, thin red and white sacrificial robe left.

Gu Shen stretched out his finger, but he didn't have time to impress.

Chu Ling beside him dissipated in the evening wind.

He jumped forward lightly, stretched out his palm in the waterfall, grabbed the ancient sacrificial clothing floating in the wind, and finally fell into the pool at the bottom of the shrine mountain... Countless broken spirits, in the The moment it fell, it sank into deep water.

Chu Ling, whose consciousness returned to nothingness, opened her eyes and saw Gu Shen who "falls" with her.

Gu Shen pointed out his finger to the illusory woman in front of him, smiled and added the last half of the unfinished sentence: "Here... Pull the hook, hang yourself, 100 years, it won't change."

……

……

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

In the pool, Gu Shen surfaced, and not far from him, there was a beautiful figure in white standing awkwardly.

Tonight is the time for the goddess to return to Shenjing.

Li Qingci tactfully went down the mountain early, and cleaned at the foot of the shrine mountain by himself, leaving Gu Shen and Chu Ling alone time... But she never expected that she would still run into each other.

Gu Shen grabbed Chu Ling's clothes, crawled out of the pool, and said with a helpless smile, "Girl Celadon."

"Mr. Gu...Miss Chu has gone back?"

Li Qingci looked at the clothes with regret in his eyes.

In the past few days, she followed Chu Ling to study taboo ancient prose, and gained a lot, but it was a pity that she was innately blunt, and her progress was extremely slow, so she couldn't compare with Chu Ling.

Chu Ling taught, she learned, at a slow pace.

She taught, and Chu Lingxue made rapid progress.

Fortunately Miss Chu has a gentle temper and is not in a hurry, otherwise her heart would be filled with guilt...

"Well. See you next time, I'm afraid it will take a while."

Gu Shen turned on the blazing fire, and steaming mist emitted from his body.

The water of the cold pool on his body was evaporated in just a few seconds.

After all, his ability is "fire". After practicing to the eighth floor of the deep sea, drying clothes is a matter of one thought. After one thought, Gu Shen's windbreaker became dry again, and he no longer looked as embarrassed as before.

"It's a pity, I haven't had time to thank Miss Chu in the future." Li Qingci looked regretful.

"Have you forgotten, she is the goddess of the shrine mountain...she is everywhere."

Gu Shen smiled and stretched out his hand, pointing to the clouds above the sky, "If you really want to say, she will definitely be able to hear."

The shrine mountain is now covered by Chu Ling's "consciousness".

"Mr. Gu..."

Li Qingci climbed the mountain with Gu Shen, she hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I want to ask something about 'divination'..."

Gu Shen paused, with a strange expression on his face.

On the surface, he is a disciple of Master Qianye.

But in fact, Chu Ling is the only one who masters divination.

It's not that he is afraid of paying the "price", but that the technique of divination is really not suitable for him. His comprehension speed is very slow, and the divination effect is very poor.

What's more, he now has two fate suits, "bracelet" and "pendant". All trivial matters, big and small, can be predicted through these two sealed items... Divination, on the contrary, seems a bit useless.

"Ask." Gu Shen adjusted his tone and said, "I know everything."

"Actually, it's not a problem in practicing 'divination'..." Li Qingci smiled wryly.

Hearing this, Gu Shen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Because the current me is not qualified to say that I have encountered 'difficulties'." Li Qingci said in shame: "When I practice divination, my progress is really too slow. It often takes a whole day to comprehend an ancient text... According to this progress, even if Miss Chu is really patient, I am too embarrassed to continue to trouble you."

The study of divination is destined to be a long process.

This is why looking across the five continents, for so many years, only Qianye and "Mr. Yan" of the source tower have mastered the taboo technique!

It's not that they don't want to teach, and it's not that others don't want to learn.

But if they can't teach it, others can't learn it either!
Like Chu Ling, who was born out of nowhere and quickly mastered the "taboo technique" is really the only special existence in 600 years.

Li Qingci looked at Gu Shen, and said sincerely: "Mr. Gu, if you are going to retreat in the Temple Mountain, can you spend a little time in your free time... to teach me the 'divination technique'?"

Li Qingci's meaning was very clear... She wanted to work hard secretly and practice hard.

Seeing that Gu Shen was silent, she quickly added: "If you are always busy, then ignore me and just pretend that I don't exist. Usually, I need to study a piece of ancient Chinese for a long, long time."

This request gave Gu Shen a headache.

It's not that he doesn't want to teach it...but that he really doesn't have the ability.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Shen asked: "Girl Qingci, do you know...the price that divination requires?"

"I know."

Li Qingci's voice is very low: "To use divination, you need to sacrifice your 'physical body'. Depending on the goal of 'foreseeing' the future, the amount of physical body you need to pay is also different...The caster will gradually disintegrate, and the whole process starts from the hands." , and irreversible."

Pause slightly.

Li Qingci murmured: "Miss Chu told me about the price before."

"Since you know..." Gu Shen said in a deep voice, "As a caster who uses a lot of 'wish', don't you know how heavy the price of this taboo technique is?"

She and Chu Ling are different!
Chu Ling can avoid the punishment of the forbidden technique to a certain extent!
But she can't, she's an ordinary person, and she has to fight all the costs herself!
"Celadon is nothing more than a crippled body, so why should it be pitied?"

Li Qingci shook his head, and laughed at himself: "You know, I can't live long. If death will come eventually, will I die at the end of my life, or dissociate from my body... Does it matter? If I can practice successfully" Divination', then when Mr. Gu and Ms. Chu are not in the shrine, I can also help. Maybe one day, I can see the sunshine outside. Qingsui is still young, and she always needs a trustworthy person , standing behind silently."

Hearing this, Gu Shen was sincerely silent.

"Mr. Gu..."

Li Qingci spoke again, but her voice was interrupted by Gu Shen.

"If you really want to practice ancient prose, you should take these things first."

Gu Shen took out a stack of blueprints from his Pure Land Domain. These are the ancient texts of the "Longevity Technique" left in the small city of Linz. The specific ancient texts are deciphered, and Chu Ling is still processing them in the background of the deep sea. This is a It was a longer learning process than divination... But once he mastered the "Longevity Technique", Li Qingci's biggest problem could be solved.

There is nothing more important than her broken life being delayed.

With Li's huge resources and the power Li Qingsui now has, it is not difficult to pull out a few "death row prisoners" from the prison from time to time to continue her sister's life.

The Longevity Technique has been handed down to the world, and the biggest problem encountered by those in charge is often the "fear" brought about by "greed".

Ian obtained the "Longevity Technique", deceived the world, and deceived the world, for fear of letting others know that he was researching such a taboo technique of "reviving the dead" in the ancient language laboratory.

So he can only live in the dark, alone!
"This is?"

Li Qingci was startled.

"This is the incomplete blueprint of the 'Longevity Technique'."

Gu Shen looked directly into Li Qingci's eyes, and he said slowly: "The reason why you want to practice 'divination' desperately is because you feel that you don't have much time...Now, let's think about it, is it a choice? Burn desperately in a limited time, or choose to let yourself burn longer. These two future powers are in your hands at this moment, and you can choose by yourself."

"The burning time... is longer?"

Li Qingci never expected that there is such a terrifying taboo technique in this world, longevity, is it what he understands as longevity?

"This technique is a real sorcery." Gu Shen said calmly, "If you live, someone will die... It's just that there are many people in this world who deserve to die. Someone dies every minute. Li's power can help you solve your 'worries about the future', the only problem you have to face is the price of fighting the 'longevity technique'."

"Wait, what is the price of longevity?"

Li Qingci suddenly woke up.

Every taboo technique requires a price!
Divination is the dissociation of the body, prayer is the burning of lifespan... so what is the price of longevity?
What else can the "longevity" see as a price?

"At present, I only know that...you will absorb the spirit of the 'dead', and your spiritual sea will be filled with the memory of the dead ghost. If you live for too long, then you may forget your true identity..." Gu Shen seriously "But I'm not sure if that's the only side effect," he said.

Cold sweat was already oozing from Li Qingci's back.

"Sorry, that's the only thing I can do."

Gu Shen said regretfully: "Actually, I haven't learned 'divination', so I can't help you with the practice of divination... If you want to learn divination as soon as possible, you are looking for the wrong person. But I know , this incomplete blueprint of the 'Longevity Technique' may allow you to live longer."

He didn't want Li Qingci to die like this.

She is a good girl.

She should see what the outside world looks like.

"I……"

Li Qingci was a little confused, she was holding the blueprint, a little dazed.

Gu Shen asked: "Does Li Shi really need you to burn like this?"

The chaos in Nagano has settled down.

With the help of Uncle Gao, Li Qingsui revived the discipline of the Presbyterian Church, continuously eliminated the alien party, and at the same time regained the confidants left by the previous head of the family. The Li family may step by step show an unprecedented "brilliant posture" in the past century.

At this time, no matter how hard Li Qingci put in his efforts, it was just "icing on the cake".

When Gu Shen's soul asked, she fell into thinking.

Yes.

Today's Li family really needs himself as a guardian, does he burn so much?
For a long time, she believed in the will of her ancestors. She was conscientious and did not dare to relax for a moment, because the sky over the shrine was still shrouded in haze, and because the Li family was the weakest among the five great families...

But now, the haze has broken, and the shrine has gradually recovered its light.

"There is nothing wrong with living longer."

Gu Shen patted Li Qingci's shoulder, pulled out the stack of blueprints from her hand, and said softly: "Perhaps, you still have a third choice...Do nothing, don't care about anything, from today onwards , Whether it’s divination, prayer, or longevity, forget about it.”

"So... what am I going to do?"

Li Qingci looked bewildered.

"Alive."

Gu Shen said word by word: "What you have to do is to live. Then do what you want to do, do what you like to do."

……

……

In the end, Gu Shen left a few blueprints in ancient script and put them in the ancient house of the shrine.

There is a limit to what he can do.

Giving the "Longevity Technique" may not be the best policy.

But as Li Qingci said, she is already a disabled body. In this situation, what is more important than being alive?
Everyone has the right to choose their own life...

If Li Qingci really chooses the "Longevity Technique", Gu Shen will not object, he will find ways to help Li Qingci avoid the cost of the "Longevity Technique".

It's just that this technique is more difficult to practice than divination. If Li Qingci wants to practice, it will take a lot of time. These few blueprints are enough for her to comprehend for a long time. During this time, she can also study hard. calm down.

Whether it is practicing divination or longevity, she has the last choice.

That is to only learn, not to use.

The next few days passed quickly.

Gu Shen no longer retreats, but walks in the mountains of Shenci Mountain, picking black flowers along the way, tempering and transforming them with "fire of vitality", turning the picked black flowers into small white flowers full of vitality.

This is exactly what he has explored to make the fledglings of his domain expand and become more powerful!

If you don't leave the fortress, then the Wonderland of Shenci Mountain can be said to be a holy place for practice!
There are countless "disordered source quality" here, which can make the blazing fire continue to devour and grow... It can also supplement the growth needs of the "Pure Land World", and it is only a matter of time before Li's ancestor's last wish is fulfilled.

Gu Shen felt that the number of black flowers in this shrine mountain seemed huge in the early years, but as his realm increased, and he really practiced...these black flowers might not be enough for him to swallow.

The "blazing" evolution alone may exhaust the source quality of this entire wonderland!
If you want to build a "pure land" to accommodate an army of undead, then the source quality of the shrine mountain is far from enough.

He needs to be prepared ahead of time.

These days, Gu Shen has established a spiritual link with the "Golden Spike Flower" far away in Beizhou, and issued a new order...to explore a new "nest" in the old northern world, and to find a gentle "source" as much as possible. land of quality".

If I can successfully smelt Pluto's fire seed in the future, then things like absorbing source quality must still be done in the [Old World].

Golden spikes are enjoying themselves wandering around the old world in the north.

Since leaving the [Maze], it has tasted the taste of freedom... There is no creature in this world who does not yearn for freedom.Gu Shen didn't control this big guy too much. After washing away the "spiritual imprint" left by the previous Hades, he completely let go of Jin Suihua's authority, even if he saw the teacher and senior sister in the "traveler"'s vision After encountering a snowstorm, he still believed that the three of them still had hope of surviving and returning.

Among the five continents, what is a better exploration tool than "Golden Spike Flower"?
Even the apostles who got the "token" may not go faster or farther than it!
The big guy doesn't need to be fed, it can find food by itself, and every once in a while, it will send back the route it has traveled and the scenery it has seen... This is a priceless map outside the Great Wall!

Not even [source code] can invade the internal network of Beizhou Investigation Corps.

It can be seen how important the Beizhou military regards the information resources of the old world——

If this exploration continues, the value of the "Old World Map" constantly expanded by Jin Suihua will not be inferior to the secret collection of the investigation corps over the years.

Gu Shen's practice on the mountain of the shrine was quiet and fulfilling, and half a year has passed like this.

In the past six months, many things have happened——

It was the third time that Chu Ling condensed her physical body, reunited with Gu Shen for the third time, and then parted for the third time.

Li Qingci once gave up the research on the blueprint of the longevity technique, and picked it up again.

The sun rises and the moon rises, and the stars move.

For half a year, nothing seemed to happen.

Nagano is peaceful, Dongzhou is peaceful, and Gu Shen, who is walking stop and go among the shrine mountains, is also in an unprecedentedly peaceful state of mind. He dyed the black flowers on half of the cliffs into white.

If possible, he hopes that this tranquility will last forever...

Unfortunately.

In the early autumn of Shenci Mountain, this tranquility was broken.

……

……

(PS: The 7K words in this chapter are doubled starting from the 29th, I will make more and more, please ask for a monthly pass~)

(End of this chapter)