"The wind is rising?"
"Is it?"
Su Ye was pushing the wheelchair, and Yao Jin turned his head to look in the direction they had co from, towards the Secret Dungeon. The barrier and chanism had already been opened, and there was only a deep, dark void visible there.
Yao Jin could have closed it again but didn’t.
He was waiting for Gu Nanfeng to arrive... but the breeze he hoped for did not appear.
A very faint breeze ca from the direction at the end of the Secret Dungeon, and Yao Jin’s expression was sowhat perplexed. He didn’t understand why there would be wind there.
But soon he understood.
This was wind stirred up by soone running. In the Secret Dungeon, the Heavy Armor Guards rarely moved. Judging by these hurried footsteps, sothing was wrong.
What happened inside?
A few seconds later, sure enough, a Heavy Armor Guard ran over with a panicked expression. This Heavy Armor Guard paused for a mont when he saw Su Ye Saint.
This is the Secret Dungeon, not the temple.
The Heavy Armor Guard’s direct superior is Yao Jin, not Su Ye.
So, he hesitated for a second before redirecting his gaze back to Yao Jin. The Heavy Armor Guard silently stood still, anxiously sending out a thread of Divine Thought, informing them of everything inside the Secret Dungeon.
"..."
Yao Jin sat silently in his wheelchair, gently sighing after hearing the news.
At this mont, the atmosphere inside the Secret Dungeon was unnervingly calm.
"Hmm?"
Su Ye noticed the Heavy Armor Guard’s unusual deanor, but he was more interested in Yao Jin’s sudden silence. These two must have recently exchanged so ntal dialogue.
Since they intentionally avoided him.
Then there’s no point in asking.
Whatever happened inside, he would see it soon enough.
Su Ye quickened his pace.
The Heavy Armor Guard wanted to stop him but was halted by Yao Jin’s gaze. This final stretch of the Secret Dungeon was long yet brief. Su Ye quickly walked through the darkness, with flas continuously igniting on either side, illuminating the dark and eerie path.
Unease also surged in his heart.
Finally.
The last heavy door of the Secret Dungeon opened.
Between two tightly sealed Black Silver cells, one was tightly shut while the other was open...
Su Ye gazed blankly at the cell in a state of unlocked status.
A faintly visible haggard and emaciated figure sat on the ground, lifeless.
Crimson blood trickled across the floor.
The entire world seed swallowed by darkness.
...
...
Sitting in Red Lake for ditation, Jia Wei suddenly opened his eyes.
He had been waiting all day for news from the Secret Dungeon.
Now, he received it.
But it wasn’t "soone has invaded"; instead... Second Elder Yuan Yang had committed suicide in the Black Silver Secret Dungeon.
Yuan Yang’s status in the temple was very high.
He was the Great Elder’s junior and had served the Divine Throne in Light City for over seventy years, experiencing several decades of change. Although now elderly, he remained in a high position.
He died.
The entire Light City will be shaken!
The person responsible for guarding Yuan Yang was Yao Jin, according to the initial plan... Yuan Yang entered the Secret Dungeon to execute a "self-sacrifice" strategy to gain ng Xizhou’s trust and obtain the whereabouts of the Holy Book. Even if the mission failed, there shouldn’t have been any harm.
Yet it’s only been a few days, and he’s dead?!
The news of Yuan Yang’s death spread out from the Secret Dungeon, instantly reaching every corner of Light City.
Every elder and Holy Judge in the temple knew about this news...
Including the Great Elder.
...
...
The Heart Cleansing Pool Trial had reached the most critical mont.
Song Ci had finally entered the Dream of Light.
The Great Elder guided the disasters at the bottom of the Heart-washing Pond, preparing to gather them into form and testing the depths of Song Ci in this illusory Dream.
But just as his ntal power converged at that mont.
Deep Sea transmitted the events in the Secret Dungeon to his Heart Lake.
In that instant.
The Great Elder’s mind trembled suddenly.
His spirit could no longer concentrate, with his entire being withdrawing from the barrier, looking towards the direction of the Secret Dungeon.
"Yuan Yang... is dead?"
On the other side.
Standing on the Light Golden Bridge, Song Ci was ready to battle the shadows within the black fog... but suddenly, a cold wind gusted past, and the shadow cloaked in mist disappeared without a trace.
"What happened, the ominous... has vanished?"
Song Ci was sowhat puzzled.
His expression was extrely grave, standing still in this Dream, preventing any sudden intrusive threat.
But after waiting for a long ti, no movent occurred.
Only after determining that the unsettling "disastrous aura" had completely faded did Song Ci dare to move forward. Surprisingly, the Dream Trial was astonishingly simple, and he proceeded along the Golden Bridge to reach the endpoint quickly.
At the end of the Golden Bridge, there was nothing.
This Heart-washing Pond Dream was not a complete "Dream of Light."
Because this place wasn’t a true Red Lake either.
This was rely a simple, man-made Red Lake... the so-called "Heart Cleansing Pool Trial" was rely to confirm whether the thoughts of the Transcendents were pure and straightforward.
"Heart Cleansing Pool Trial" concluded, and Song Ci opened his eyes, seeing the surrounding Transcendents rising to move.
He completed the Heart Cleansing Pool Trial slowly.
As he looked up, many people had already left.
Those who passed the "Trial" went with the waiting Holy Judges nearby to receive the Fla Dream.
"Young Master Yi."
Song Ci reached out to call the nearest Transcendent.
Young Master Yi from the Red Wine Group saw Song Ci wake up and hurriedly wanted to leave, but he was already too late.
People of this level can’t be beaten, nor can they be offended.
Called to stop, he could only obediently respond.
Young Master Yi quickly plastered on a smile and said, "Brother Song."
"Did you see anything strange in the Dream?" Song Ci frowned, looking at the Heart-washing Pond’s water, and asked seriously.
"Sothing strange?" Young Master Yi was startled, shaking his head as he replied, "I saw a Golden Bridge, and walking to its end ant completing the trial."
Yes... this is precisely the prelude to the Dream of Light.
Song Ci continued to ask, "After stepping on the Golden Bridge, didn’t you see a strange figure?"
Upon hearing this.
Young Master Yi’s expression turned a bit odd, "A figure? You wouldn’t have encountered the ’calamity’ the Great Elder talked about, right?"
"..."
Song Ci didn’t speak anymore.
He sat alone in front of the Heart-washing Pond, and at the beginning of this Dream, he thought these calamities were erging from himself, but now it seed not to be the case.
Once the calamity on a Transcendent breaks out, there’s no turning back.
Judging by the situation just now, encountering the "Black Shadow" should certainly lead to a fight.
Yet, the calamity ca along, nothing happened, and it dispersed.
"It seems like the ’calamity’ contained within the Heart-washing Pond’s water."
He recalled what the Great Elder had ntioned before, but he still couldn’t figure out one thing—if there was a calamity in the Heart-washing Pond’s water locking onto him, why would it suddenly disperse?
Would this calamity retreat on its own once it locks onto soone?
"Why do I feel like this ’calamity’ is being controlled by soone?"
Song Ci squinted his eyes.
He rembered Gu Shen’s warning that the temple had been searching for the [Undead] in recent years, and during this Heart-washing Pond Trial, the Great Elder might take action against him.
So... could the calamity just now have been controlled by the Great Elder?
With this thought in mind, Song Ci began searching for the Great Elder’s whereabouts.
He looked around but found nothing.
He approached a Holy Judge straightforwardly, "I want to see the Great Elder of the temple."
"I’m sorry, Mr. Song, the Great Elder has already left."
The Holy Judge responded coldly because of Song Ci’s previous imrsion in the Heart-washing Pond, and none of the Holy Judges here wanted to deal with him. Now that the trial was over, not even one person was willing to step forward and help him claim the Fla Dream.
However, Song Ci didn’t care about the "Fla Dream."
He ca to participate in the West Continent’s Torch Trial mainly to see what tricks the temple was playing.
"He left. For such an important ceremony as the Heart-washing Pond Trial, shouldn’t he preside over it from start to finish? Doesn’t your Great Elder have any basic sense of duty? How co he can’t be found at a critical mont?"
Song Ci frowned and asked, "When did he leave?"
"..."
This inquiry naturally received no response.
The Holy Judge only glared coldly at Song Ci.
The news about the Second Elder’s death had already spread within the temple...
Many were imrsed in grief, but this news wasn’t quite ready to be made public yet.
Everyone knew.
The Great Elder and the Second Elder were very close, having been brother disciples for most of their lives, going through years of trials together, fighting against the Netherworld King and launching a northern crusade against the Red Emperor.
Now Elder Yuan Yang was dead.
How could the Great Elder continue to preside over the Heart-Washing Trial?
Song Ci couldn’t comprehend the Holy Judge’s angry glare directed at him; finally, another elder personally ca over to take him away to receive the Fla Dream, thus concluding the trial.
...
...
The wind stopped.
The silent world suddenly beca noisy.
The deep alleys of the Secret Dungeon, usually deserted.
Suddenly, there were many figures.
The lively "holy parade" was still happening in Light City. The worshipers were still unaware of what had happened. So keen individuals noticed several blocks nearby were blocked off, and a large number of [Heavy Armor Guards] showed up, while the deep alley leading to the Secret Dungeon’s entrance was even more heavily guarded.
Elders with a place in the temple had all co here.
They stood silently within the Holy Light Barrier, staring at the pitch-black entrance to the Secret Dungeon, awaiting the final verdict.
In the dimness beyond the crowd where the light couldn’t reach.
A weak remnant breeze swept up fallen leaves, swirling them on the ground.
Gu Nanfeng silently watched this scene.
He looked back with a complex expression at the hand resting on his shoulder.
Behind him was an even deeper darkness.
There, surprisingly, stood a figure.
As Gu Nanfeng reached out, the person standing further in the darkness also reached out a hand and firmly placed it on his shoulder.
"If you choose to break into the Secret Dungeon, you might have a chance to et ng Xizhou... but absolutely no chance of getting him out."
A sinister ghost face appeared slowly in the pitch-black shadow.
The ghost’s face was ferocious, but his tone was gentle, "Look at how many people have entered the Secret Dungeon in these few minutes."
After a brief pause.
The ghost smiled, "Yao Jin has been waiting for you. Just take one step forward... and you will be beyond redemption."
"..."
Gu Nanfeng could only remain silent.
Because the ghost was right.
"I thought you had figured out his intention." The ghost continued.
"I know he’s waiting for ."
Gu Nanfeng said softly, "But I still want to try... I can take hostages."
"You want to abduct Su Ye and Yao Jin? It’s useless. Even if you hold them, you can’t leave the Secret Dungeon."
The ghost shook his head and said, "Because they themselves are shadows, even standing in the light, it doesn’t change that fact. The purpose of shadows is to one day sacrifice for the light."
Gu Nanfeng looked back at the pitch-black, eerie ghost mask.
"Why... are you helping ?"
He asked seriously, word by word, "Who are you?"
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