Chapter 974: Chapter 974
Chapter 974: Chapter 135: The Black Silver Scam
Amidst the boundless Deep Sea.
Deep Sea moved slowly, with codes and bubbles intermingling as they passed through. The entire world was silent, except for arcs of light from the train, proving that the boy and girl had once existed in this void world—
In this cold data world.
As long as two souls truly embraced, warmth was born.
Gu Shen extended a hand, his fingers slowly gliding through the carriage. Light and flame flickered at his fingertips, sketching a portal to the “Pure Land” that emerged.
He held Chu Ling and gently floated towards the portal.
The world turned upside down.
Shattered arcs enveloped them as they fell from the deepest part of the Deep Sea… reaching the Skytop of Pure Land, where soft winds and swirling clouds danced, and countless blades of grass flew.
“Thump, thump, thump…”
Because of the proximity, Gu Shen could even hear the heartbeat in Chu Ling’s chest.
Chu Ling had visited Gu Shen’s spiritual world many times, but this time… she felt dazed. This once barren land had transformed into something resembling an Immortal Realm. Updates are released by novel•fire.net
Giant trees reached the sky, shedding ten thousand rays of light.
Gu Shen smiled and said, “This is… the Pure Land. Our Pure Land.”
Endless blades of grass flew over, transforming into a soft carpet in the sky, welcoming the falling duo.
Chu Ling supported herself on the carpet like a kitten first born into the world. She carefully probed her head, staring blankly at the beautiful landscape, holding her breath, fearing this was a dream, and that heavier breathing would wake it.
[Deep Sea] can capture every corner of the Five Continents, only… in today’s human world, such captivating natural landscapes are unseen. Towering skyscrapers and forests of steel cover every landmass of the Five Continents.
Compared to the outside world, this is indeed a Pure Land.
On the ground, tiny figures were waving to greet them.
Tie Wu eagerly spread his hands around his mouth, appearing excited.
Finally, finally… he had finally met the “long-awaited” Lord Divine!
The wooden Hong Zhong stood dumbly, mimicking Tie Wu’s actions, mechanically waving in the direction of the flying carpet… though he lacked much wisdom, he possessed basic emotions, knowing joy, anger, sorrow, and knowing that the figure nodding back at him on the flying carpet was the one who granted him new life, the creator of this world.
He poked Tie Wu’s shoulder with his finger.
With gestures, Hong Zhong expressed his emotions.
Tie Wu raised an eyebrow, watching Hong Zhong’s pantomime performance. Over time, he had learned to guess Hong Zhong’s thoughts from these movements, immediately laughing and asking, “Do you want to know the identity of the other person?”
Hong Zhong nodded repeatedly.
“Idiot! Use your brain…” Tie Wu disdainfully patted Hong Zhong’s shoulder, whispering, “Who else could it be? It must be Lord Divine’s spouse!”
Hong Zhong grinned, suddenly realizing.
“I never imagined that the once desolate ‘Four Seasons Wilderness’ would transform in less than a year.”
Grass leaves fluttered.
Gu Shen, with Chu Ling, flew a loop around the suspended trees, finally landing on a massive branch.
Sitting atop the treetop, they overlooked the Pure Land World.
The once barren soil no longer showed its dilapidated, ruinous appearance; instead, it was vibrant and full of life.
“The Pure Land… will only get better.”
Gu Shen spoke with a smile.
This is the real world the Netherworld King dreamt of creating, but unfortunately, the Netherworld King failed.
Instead, it was Gu Shen who succeeded in rooting, sprouting, and growing the suspended trees.
The suspended trees brought real vitality to this world, and Gu Shen’s “Spring Breathing” nurtured more seeds for the Pure Land. These seeds drifted with the wind, landing in one new pit after another.
During these days, Tie Wu and Hong Zhong tirelessly cultivated, and signs of new growth emerged on the distant vast wilderness.
This was indeed a very beautiful scene.
Chu Ling smoothed her stray hair and softly asked, “If we want this world to further develop and expand, won’t relying solely on Tie Wu and Hong Zhong be insufficient?”
A world cannot truly grow with just one or two people.
No matter how hardworking Tie Wu and Hong Zhong are, it’s far from enough.
“So… the former Netherworld King wanted to attract lost souls.” Gu Shen said softly: “He wanted to cultivate numerous Dead Souls, incorporating those lost souls into the Pure Land to become his believers.”
In the Netherworld King’s plan, the Pure Land was essential, and so was the Undead Army!
That’s why he commanded the golden spike flowers to kill upon sight in the labyrinth, leaving spiritual poison in the Nether River… those transcendent beings erased by his killing intent would all be reborn in the Pure Land.
Perhaps those lost souls would become like Hong Zhong, becoming “low-level creatures” lacking much wisdom.
Such souls, to the Netherworld King, can both charge into battle and build the Pure Land.
“But I don’t want to do it like he did.”
Gu Shen said softly, “The Transcendents the Netherworld King killed… most of them were innocent people.”
Those explorers who ventured beyond the borders, searching for oases for humanity, could die in storms, fall in deep snow, get lost in the mists of the Old World, but they shouldn’t die at the hands of the Divine Throne who holds the ‘fireseed.’
Chu Ling calmly said, “The Netherworld King trampled on the Divine Throne’s necessary boundaries, so he never planted the Suxuan Tree, nor cultivated the Pure Land… everything he planned became fleeting smoke.”
Perhaps, in this world, there is a subtle cause and effect.
He also only hoped so.
If there is truly something in this world that can restrain the Divine Throne, something that could instill awe in the Firekeeper, then… perhaps it’s this elusive ‘fate.’
“There’s one thing I can’t quite figure out.” Gu Shen rubbed his brow, puzzled, “If the Netherworld King of that time really wanted to nurture the ‘Undead Army,’ then his real challenge wasn’t collecting lost souls…”
Take Gu Shen himself, for instance.
Collecting lost souls was not a difficult task.
The Five Continents are so vast, as long as there’s a genuine desire to collect lost souls, there will always be fallen, battle-dead Transcendents…
Apart from that, those out-of-control, destined-to-be-executed dangerous Transcendents were also excellent collection targets.
With the means of the Netherworld King back then, collecting lost souls wasn’t a difficult task.
The real difficulty lay in maintaining the operation of the “Pure Land,” which required a vast amount of Extraordinary Essence!
Sunrise, sunset, wind, rain…
Everything happening in this world requires the support of “Essence.”
The more lost souls, the more Essence consumed!
This was also an important reason why Gu Shen hadn’t rushed to “recruit souls.”
The Essence Gu Shen had previously consumed on the Divine Temple Mountain, as his own strength grew, was no longer abundant and could barely sustain the current consumption of the Pure Land. To go further, he needed to consume more.
Fortunately… the Divine Temple Mountain had ample Essence.
The hidden threat of the Li Family was precisely his best supply.
At present, it seemed that the Pure Land wouldn’t face a “lack of Essence” problem for a long time.
But the “Pure Land” that the Netherworld King intended to cultivate was of a different scale… If he really created such a defiant Divine Domain, nurturing tens of thousands of lost souls, how much Essence would it consume?
Where would the Netherworld King get that much Essence?
As soon as this thought emerged, a silhouette flashed through Gu Shen’s mind.
And at the same moment, Chu Ling spoke.
She thought the same as Gu Shen: “It’s that guy inside the Ruler.”
The Devil of the Truth Ruler!
This was the “catalyst” that drove the last Netherworld King into complete madness.
If the Netherworld King tried to build the Pure Land and assemble an invincible and unconquerable Undead Army, then in this matter… the Devil inside the Ruler could not be uninvolved.
When mentioning that guy in the Ruler, Gu Shen’s expression became slightly gloomy as he briefly recounted what happened in the Duolu River Disaster Realm.
“I see, so he’s already laid his cards on the table.”
Chu Ling, having listened, showed no change in expression.
The Devil inside the Ruler knew of her existence.
And she knew of the Devil’s existence.
In a way, both of them were “kindred spirits” unseen by the “light,” unable to truly escape their spiritual dilemmas. Before Gu Shen set off for the Duolu River, she already had a certain premonition.
It’s just that she didn’t expect the Devil would outright refuse a deal and explicitly state… he wanted to kill the host and find a new one!
This declaration meant open war.
And the reason the Devil was so rampant was that it knew full well that Gu Shen could do nothing to it.
“With this guy’s despicable nature, at this moment, he must be watching me closely.”
“This feeling is really unpleasant… especially when you’re on a date.”
Gu Shen pressed his hands on the tree branch and said with some resentment, “This was supposed to be a wonderful date, if not for some shameless presence in the black mist peeping.”
The last time, a deal was made under the condition of “the Devil’s freedom.”
He had just left the Nether River and hadn’t had the time to tidy up the Devil.
So, that guy was still “free” at the moment.
“He certainly knows many secrets.”
Gu Shen chuckled self-deprecatingly, saying, “But knowing many secrets is useless because he can’t get out, and there’s no one he can tell… If in the Nether River, he didn’t see hope in killing me, then perhaps the drama between him and me could continue.”
Chu Ling felt a bit worried: “So… there’s only one possibility now. Either you kill him, or…”
Gu Shen knew that everything he did after leaving the Nether River was seen by the Devil.
And naturally, the Devil heard these words too.
“Only I kill it; it doesn’t kill me!”
Gu Shen said expressionlessly, coldly, “Since it’s no longer acting, then I have nothing to fake. The deal of ‘not sealing with Black Silver’ was, of course, a scam. Before killing it, I want it confined and tortured!”