The Ancient Gods' Whisper

The firewood crackled by the bonfire in the rock cave.

"Emergency report: The Seventh Squad encountered a You Ying Group attack in the ruins of Baloo City!"

"Emergency report: The Twelfth Squad encountered a You Ying Group attack in the northern region of the Returning Burial Forest!"

"Emergency report..."

Static.

The sandstorm disrupted communication signals.

The two Guardians from the Lu Family fiddled with the equipment at the cave entrance, but no matter what they did, it couldn't be repaired.

Gu Jianlin listened to the reports coming through the communication channel. It seemed that the You Ying Group was carrying out indiscriminate attacks, purely as revenge for the Bren Hill incident, without knowing Minister Lu's precise location.

Yet, for some reason, he couldn't shake a sense of unease.

"There are no Ancient God Seeds in the vicinity, no spiritual fluctuations, and no one is following us."

Chen Qing's eyes slowly returned to their normal state, the pure white fading away. This was the advantage of divination for Fourth-tier Spirit Communicators.

Without such assistance, they would have to remain constantly on edge.

"Given the attacks by the You Ying Group, my suggestion is to wait for the sandstorm to pass before heading east to quickly cross the Silent Wilderness and reach the Sea of Eternal Life. There are four squads in the eastern region, and if we encounter danger, we can seek their help. Alternatively, we could use the pretext of seeking assistance to adjust our route and join with other squads."

Lu Qingqing pulled out her tablet and analyzed, "Our primary mission is to protect the chess master. We have no obligation to assist other squads. The only objective is to ensure my sister... Minister Lu, reaches the Sea of Eternal Life safely."

Zhou Yiming nodded, "Captain Lu previously participated in the exploration of the Sea of Eternal Life. Though she only conducted reconnaissance via drones from a distance, she's more familiar with the terrain here than we are."

"The eastern region is still contested due to the Ancient God's Blood, and top-ten Omega ranks are involved."

He added, "The more chaotic the situation, the better chance we have to fish in troubled waters."

Whenever this topic came up, Ji Xiaoyu would chime in, "What are you afraid of? If we're really attacked, we fight back! Are we scared of them? The new poison I've developed will make sure they never return!"

"Foolish child!"

Lu Zijin rolled her eyes and said coolly, "I'll just go along with whatever you all decide."

"Xiao Gu, come over here for a moment."

She stood up and beckoned to the young man with a finger.

Gu Jianlin, puzzled, followed her.

Lu Qingqing and Zhou Yiming frowned. Despite everything, the true leader of this mission was still Minister Lu.

This private conversation made them uncomfortable, as if they were being excluded.

"Minister Lu."

Gu Jianlin asked suddenly, "What's the matter?"

With a lollipop in her mouth, Lu Zijin glanced at him with a faint, teasing smile, "Do you know the relationship between your teacher and my father... the Family Head of the Lu Family?"

Gu Jianlin shook his head.

"The Lu Family is a relatively large Ascender Family. Previously, we were stationed in North America, but we were transferred when the threat level of the Qilin Immortal Palace increased. My father is the commander of the Dawn Battle Sequence First Army Group. He and your teacher were comrades back in the day. Their relationship wasn't friendly, but they shared common interests."

Lu Zijin narrowed her eyes and said softly, "Honestly, my preference wasn't to choose this squad... but if I had joined another, you and Xiaoyu wouldn't have chosen this one."

Gu Jianlin frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Even my sister would have followed me."

Lu Zijin added, "But the King of Qing was adamant that you be in this squad."

Gu Jianlin pondered briefly, "Zhou Yiming? I have no connection to him. Wait!"

Suddenly, he understood.

His teacher's target was the two individuals from the Judgement Court.

"Mmhmm."

Lu Zijin glanced at him playfully, her tone laced with amusement. "Though I don't know how those two provoked the King of Qing, there's no way he orchestrated their proximity to you without a reason."

Gu Jianlin thought for a moment and concluded: their purpose was likely to eliminate them.

Lu Zijin chuckled, "Go ahead. I'll keep watch."

·

·

Lin Wanqiu had been uneasy the entire journey, primarily because she lacked a sense of security.

Her hands weren't clean, as she had a second identity.

A Sea Demon.

As one of the five people who had reached the highest tomb of the Qilin Immortal Palace, she sometimes felt like the daughter of destiny—the protagonist of a novel, blessed with immense fortune.

As a Fourth Rank, she even made contact with an Ancient Supreme.

But the reality was far from it. Not only did she fail to achieve her goals, but she also brought endless peril upon herself.

Back then, she had stumbled into a dimensional rift by accident. As a Priest with no combat ability, surviving in such a dangerous Ancient God Realm was a near-impossible task. It was inevitable that she became infected. Fortunately, she found this stone cave to use as a refuge and temporarily suppressed the deformation with her alchemy matrix.

At the time, her mental state was unstable, so she didn't think too much.

And that left a massive vulnerability.

It wasn't until she staggered and escaped, ultimately regrouping with the Pharmacist's squad, that she realized the danger she'd left behind over the ensuing months.

When the Ether Association's exploration team eventually arrived, exposure became inevitable given that her alchemy matrix was still present in the cave.

"Based on our divination and investigation, this alchemy matrix matches the Ether Association's medical department's latest prototype for helping the Unclean suppress deformation and contamination. Yet, it's clear this matrix is very much incomplete. When I saw you treating the Unclean with it, I immediately thought of you."

Li Yijie tapped his temple, "I'm a Spirit Medium. My instincts are sharp."

Wang Jingchuan, stretching his limbs, was a Fourth-tier Dragon Slayer, exuding overwhelming pressure.

Lin Wanqiu backed away step by step, her voice icy, "Pardon me, but I don't understand. Please step aside."

"We mean no harm."

Wang Jingchuan sneered, "We're simply curious about one thing. How exactly did you survive the Qilin Immortal Palace? Or rather, what did you obtain there?"

Li Yijie chuckled, "I did some meticulous digging. The emergence of this alchemy matrix coincided perfectly with the time Xu Fu's Record went missing. Your teammates were presumably those traitors, weren't they? You found the treasure Xu Fu left behind, didn't you? And unless I'm mistaken, you're a descendant of the Lin Family!"

Overwhelming terror erupted in Lin Wanqiu's heart. She knew there was no talking her way out of this.

Once this secret got out, she would be utterly doomed.

"Don't panic. We won't harm you, nor will we put you in a dangerous position."

Li Yijie smiled nonchalantly. "We haven't even informed the Judgement Court. Isn't it obvious what we want? Sister Wanqiu, all we need is shared secrets."

Wang Jingchuan approached her, giving her shoulder a pat, and grinned darkly, "You wouldn't want your secret reaching the Judgement Court, would you? Best cooperate."

Their eyes roved greedily over her exquisite silhouette, alight with lust.

Lin Wanqiu knew struggling was pointless; her fatal weakness had fallen into their hands.

Even if she cried for help and brought others over, it would still mean her death.

Indeed, the risk of being a traitor was insurmountable.

Despite her caution, she had still been found out.

Her fists clenched tightly as she glared at the two men advancing on her.

She closed her eyes, her chest heaving ever so slightly.

She knew what might happen next—a life under coercion, akin to being trapped in Hell.

Her cards and tricks would be stripped away, piece by piece.

Until she'd lost all ability to resist and was left at their mercy.

Her mind raced, frantically seeking a way out. Her body had gone taut, a chilling cold running through her.

"That's more like it, Sister Wanqiu," one of them chuckled slyly. "Now, let's start—what's your secret…?"

But in that instant, Wang Jingchuan suddenly looked down. A thin red line had inexplicably appeared on his neck, spurting blood that stained his collar.

Clutching at his throat, he staggered back several steps, staring at his partner with wide, terrified eyes.

His gaze seemed to scream: You useless fool!

Li Yijie froze in shock at the sight. He had been maintaining his sensory domain at full strength; not even the faintest spiritual fluctuation should have escaped his notice.

How was this possible?!

As an icy wind howled, a fleeting, dazzling blood-red silhouette appeared and vanished. The figure bore majestic, menacing dragon horns on their head, cascading hair like a waterfall, and a celestial beauty so stunning it stole the breath. Crimson streaked their eyes like blood, and their gaze exuded an otherworldly disdain, as though overlooking the world from the clouds above.

Enshrouded in a faint mist, they seemed like a ghost.

One glance left one feeling as though plunged into an abyss of ice!

Despite that, Li Yijie reacted instantly, his eyes flipping white.

Mental interference!

As a Fourth-tier Spirit Communicator, his ability allowed him to manipulate others' thoughts and actions.

Force them to attack their allies!

Lin Wanqiu felt utterly cold, overwhelmed by the fear of imminent execution!

Crack!

Li Yijie looked down to find a dagger lodged in his heart, blood blossoming like a flower across his chest.

The phantom gazed at him mockingly, as if he were a fool.

Invalid!

Li Yijie couldn't comprehend it, even in death, as he crumpled lifelessly to the ground.

In mere seconds, two Fourth-tiers were dead just like that.

To be fair, it wasn't that they were weak.

It was simply that the Candle Dragon Sister was far too overpowering—absurdly so.

Especially when combined with the Lock of Nonexistence, she was undoubtedly the strongest assassin. Period.

This kind of unreasonable assassination required an opponent to be a battle-hardened warrior with extensive defensive measures and constant vigilance to even stand a chance against her.

Unfortunately, these two were neither adept at countering the Ghost Slayer Path nor sufficiently cautious.

And so, they were doomed.

After a brief moment of shock, Lin Wanqiu wasn't mortified by the two men.

Instead, she was utterly alarmed by the shadow. Her barriers shattered as she instinctively prepared to scream.

Out of nowhere, Gu Jianlin appeared behind her, his hand covering her mouth.

Lin Wanqiu stopped dead at the scent coming from him.

The young man's clothes carried the faint fragrance of his household's coldly beautiful maiden who did his laundry—a distinct and recognizable scent.

A pleasing and unmistakable aroma.

"Miss,"

Gu Jianlin said flatly, "Surely you wouldn't want your secret revealed to others, would you?"

Lin Wanqiu: "..."

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