Chapter 1 The Neem Forest

Dense neem trees cast slender, lance-like shadows under the scorching sun.

The air buzzed with insects and the clamor of the hot wind.

On the oxcart, a haphazard pile of withered weeds shifted with each gust, revealing a corner of the dried, foul-smelling corpse beneath. A pair of pale, shriveled legs were faintly visible, and the clothes beneath the dry weeds emitted the stench of fly larvae...

The young man looked at the person emerging from the dense forest, his expression puzzled.

"Sir… I don't understand what you're saying…"

His face was full of sincere bewilderment.

Gu Shen stopped.

He calmly looked at the young man before him.

Watching his "performance."

The young man pointed to the oxcart, lifting a corner of the weeds. A pungent odor wafted out. He was about to explain that he was transporting his deceased father out of the city for burial, but Gu Shen didn't give him a chance to speak.

Gu Shen expressionlessly waved his hand.

With a "whoosh."

It was like a piece of iron slicing through the air.

And it was indeed a piece of iron slicing through the air.

The young man's words abruptly stopped. He staggered back two steps, grabbing the oxcart to steady himself... For the first few seconds, he felt no real pain, but after a few more, he reached out to touch the itchy spot on his neck. A clear, bright red line of blood encircled it.

With a "thud."

He knocked his own head off.

A head fell, smashing into the mud!

A wisp of blood-red flame seeped out from the center of the head's brow, appearing and coalescing, containing a mix of complex emotions like anger, panic, and confusion.

"Gu Shen!"

A furious roar came from within the blood-red flame.

Gu Shen, still nonchalant, waved his hand again, directly seizing the wisp of blood-red flame.

Through that flickering flame, Xiao, far away, saw clearly the "weapon" that had severed the head: a thin piece of rusted iron, snatched from the dilapidated oxcart.

This piece of rusted iron…?

He suddenly realized why Gu Shen was here.

These shells were too weak.

So their perception was limited… The time to retrieve the Church's sealed items was very tight. Even though he had been cautious enough, he still hadn't realized that an object had been tampered with.

He had thought that even a wisp of Gu Shen's Fiery Chasm, he could sense it clearly!

But… that wisp of fire was hidden in the rusted iron!

All of its aura was perfectly concealed!

Weakness had its advantages; he could abandon this shell at any time, flee at any time, without the heartache he would feel in Da Du.

But weakness also had its biggest problem.

He was too weak.

He couldn't resist at all.

"I've been waiting for you,"

Gu Shen said calmly, holding the wisp of blood-red flame. "Leaving Silver Leaf City must have been difficult, right? Thank you for your hard work."

In front of Xiao, he waved his hand again.

A gust of wind stirred, blowing away all the withered grass on the cart, revealing a pale "corpse."

At every checkpoint along the way, no one had bothered to inspect this "fresh corpse" because its stench was simply too overwhelming. Now, the "corpse" tumbled off the oxcart, revealing one sealed artifact after another hidden beneath the weeds…

Gu Shen could feel the intense fluctuations of spirit within the blood-red flame.

Anger!

Resentment!

To leave Silver Leaf City, Xiao had used almost all of the "shells" that had been lying dormant in the city for a long time. The reason for taking such a convoluted route was to ensure that he could pass the inspections smoothly… Each of the clerics who came to question him had his own "blood-flame follower." After finally escaping with great difficulty, he realized that he was just a clown.

In the end, everything had been done for Gu Shen!

Gu Shen looked at the pile of sealed items. None of them really caught his eye.

What he cared about most… was the Lamp of Wrath.

His spiritual power swept over the various objects.

The Iron Throne activated, emitting a low hum… Gu Shen found the ancient lamp. He raised his hand and sucked it into his palm, then looked at the faint wisp of blood-red flame, smiling as he said, "You seem very angry?"

The wisp of blood-red flame suppressed its furious emotions.

"Gu Shen… This body of mine has no power. Killing me will be useless."

He could see it too.

Gu Shen wasn't interested in these sealed items.

He only cared about the antique lamp.

Gu Shen put away the Lamp of Wrath, released his hand, and let the wisp of blood-red flame hover in the air, asking with a smile, "What do you want to say?"

"Do you know why I attacked the New Moon Church?"

Xiao seemed to be back in the earlier negotiations. He lowered his voice and said slowly, "We can continue the deal. I'll tell you the big news about that forbidden technique."

Gu Shen nodded.

He seemed… to be deep in thought.

But in the next second.

He raised his head, looked at the blood-red flame, and said coldly, "Save it."

He slapped it!

The slap shattered the blood-red flame!

The already weak wisp of spirit was scattered, turning into floating sparks… Gu Shen didn't want to waste time with Xiao. He had already found the Lamp of Wrath and didn't want to stay in the Southern Continent for another second.

He could slowly guess and explore the content of the forbidden technique himself.

Cooperation with "Xiao" was out of the question!

Knowing Xiao as he did.

That guy had sent the sealed items out of Silver Leaf City, and had probably arranged for a pickup… After a year of recuperation, even if Xiao hadn't found a powerful body comparable to "Zhou Yu," he had likely found a Third Stage transcendent container.

If he were held back.

His own strength wouldn't be advantageous… Then he would be at a disadvantage.

Watching the blood-red flame being devoured by the Fiery Chasm, Gu Shen said softly.

"Before I leave, I'll leave you a gift. I hope you like it."

…

…

Time returned to several days earlier.

Gu Shen finished his negotiations with "Xiao."

He readily agreed to the church operation twenty-one hours later, but after the negotiations, he called Cui Zhongcheng… Chu Ling's authority in the Southern Continent was limited; she could only find a portion of the information about Archbishop Lanville of the New Moon Church in Silver Leaf City. That information showed that the archbishop never left the church and was a loyal "believer" and "guardian." With such a general in the New Moon Church, the plan to find the Lamp of Wrath would be severely hampered.

And Xiao's implication was that Lanville was leaving Silver Leaf City to attend a certain meeting.

What kind of meeting could make Lanville leave the church?

It seemed… not hard to guess.

On the other end of the communicator, Cui Zhongcheng investigated the list of attendees and gave Gu Shen the expected answer… Thus, an interesting plan was born in Gu Shen's mind.

…

…

"Have you investigated everything?"

Lanville stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of the Sacred Image Building.

The owner of the Sacred Image Auction House bowed respectfully, not daring to be negligent. "Archbishop, everything has been investigated… The man's name is Amir, from Aihakamda in the Inland Confederation, and he comes from a noble family."

"He claims to be a believer of the Church. He came to Silver Leaf, ostensibly to search for treasure, but in reality, he has been probing the secrets of the Church in his words…"

"From the first time I met him, I felt something was wrong… This guy's behavior was out of the ordinary, so I deliberately kept an eye on him and sent people to investigate the Amir family of Aihakamda."

"The result was that the Amir family said they didn't recognize him at all!"

The owner said excitedly, slapping his thigh.

As he spoke, an extremely faint flicker of fiery light flashed in the depths of his pupils.

Lanville didn't turn around, frowning as he asked, "They don't recognize him?"

"He's a fake."

Beside the owner stood a female follower of the New Moon Church, with black hair and black eyes, her voice gentle.

Zhou handed over a photo.

Lanville took the photo and carefully examined the "young face" on it. The previous investigation in the lower reaches of the Silver Leaf River had been somewhat unsuccessful because the "people" who pointed out the clues couldn't recall the specific face of the wanted man.

This was understandable.

How could someone who could loot the New Moon Church's underground church not have some abilities?

This was a spiritual-type transcendent.

"Have you compared it against the [Deep Sea] database?"

The archbishop's voice was a bit annoyed.

"I can't find anything… There are no results yet. He may be a 'half-dead man' from the lower reaches of the Silver Leaf River who hasn't been entered into the system." Zhou shook her head, giving her conclusion.

In the Southern Continent, not everyone can be entered into the [Deep Sea] system.

It's too chaotic here.

In some places, life is cheaper than grass.

When someone dies… do they have to enter every "nameless person" who sinks into the Silver Leaf River into the system?

It's easiest to deal with those who aren't entered into the system. The reason why the files piled up in the underground church of the New Moon Church could be covered up was because they escaped the radiance of [Deep Sea].

If they aren't entered into the system.

Then burying them is like burying some grass.

[Deep Sea] doesn't even need to balance it out.

These people disappear.

And they just disappear like that.

"If I remember correctly, he bid on those items… and sent them to the Eastern Continent?" Lanville knew that this was the last clue. "Where in the Eastern Continent?"

Zhou said softly, "Those items were sent to Da Du… We contacted the Intercontinental Affairs Office of the Eastern Continent Federation as soon as possible, and then learned a shocking piece of news."

She presented the last piece of information.

This was a detailed case file of the "S-Rank Wanted Criminal" capture case that shook the three major departments of the Eastern Continent. The "title" of the target object on the case file was marked as Xiao. This man named "Xiao" had developed many followers in Da Du, established an extremist organization, and was finally wiped out by the Tribunal's "Sky-Reaching Tree."

However, the case file clearly stated that there might be remnants of this extremist organization.

What shocked Lanville was…

The special reminder on this case file.

[Special Note: The ability of this S-Rank Wanted Criminal manifests as blood-red flames. The specific effect of this ability is not yet clear, but it has been preliminarily determined that blood-red flames can corrode the spirit and transform the flesh. There may be more than one Xiao. If they cannot be completely wiped out, they will quickly multiply.]

Blood-red flames…

Blood-red flames!

Lanville's memory returned to the scene of the underground church. He had never been able to understand how the "target" had managed to grasp the timing so accurately…

After seeing the case file from the Eastern Continent.

He suddenly understood everything.

"Xiao…"

If this person had always been by his side, watching his every move, and had been stationed in the underground church for many years, familiar with the system, then he would have the ability to commit the crime.

And if there really was someone in this world who could use "spirit" to erode the flesh, then it would mean… he could abandon a certain body to clear himself of suspicion.

After stealing the underground church with a space-type sealed item, he wouldn't need to consider escaping at all.

He only needed… to commit suicide.

So breaking out of the door was just a pretense, a means to deceive him?!

"Archbishop!"

"Two corpses have been found outside Silver Leaf City…"

A church member rushed in, quickly handing the latest report to Lanville.

"Residual transcendent aura was detected on a dilapidated oxcart…"

"However, when they were discovered, all the sealed items were gone…"

"The deceased were commoners from the lower reaches of the Silver Leaf River who had not been entered into the [Deep Sea] system. He took a very strange route, and among the church members responsible for letting him pass, there have already been several cases of suicide due to guilt… They are all dead!"

One voice after another rang out.

Lanville remained silent.

He listened to everything in silence.

He looked at the photos in the case report in silence.

Under the neem trees, there was a withered corpse, and the corpse's face was exactly the same as the face of "Amir" presented by "Zhou."

After seeing this case file from the Eastern Continent, he realized that the truth behind this matter… was more serious than the loss of the New Moon Church's sealed items… An ability user who could freely use spiritual power and occupy bodies had infiltrated the New Moon Church.

He could easily take away the sealed items from the underground church.

He could leave without a trace, shedding these "bodies" one by one.

Killing… was shedding.

What he had revealed was already terrifying enough… But what was even more terrifying was that Lanville's intuition told him that this was just the tip of the iceberg. This guy was like a cockroach that couldn't be killed, able to reproduce and multiply infinitely. If he wasn't exterminated, then he would always retain a breath, always spying in some dark corner, waiting for an opportunity!

But fortunately…

He had discovered all of this.

It wasn't too late!

"Xiao…"

Lanville silently said this name.

The joint case report from the Eastern Continent Federation stated the reason why they had stopped their investigation: a "devil conversion case" had occurred in a certain church in the Southern Continent. [Deep Sea] compared the spiritual elements of the devil with Xiao's, and the overlap of blood and fire was as high as 100%. This devil was believed to have died in the conversion of the Sacred Image, so the Eastern Continent Federation began to destroy Xiao's [Long-Lasting Foundation], and the subsequent process was very smooth.

The Eastern Continent defaulted that the S-rank fugitive Xiao was dead.

But now it seemed that this wisp of blood-red flame was still alive!

"I'm going to the 'Storm Temple.'"

Lanville said in a deep voice, "The God Seat must know about this!"

…

…

On the return flight.

Cui Zhongcheng frowned as he looked at the sealed items that filled half of the cabin.

"You should know that these 'items' cannot be taken out and used… If they are discovered by the Southern Continent, it will have a bad impact."

These sealed items had been cleaned once.

But Cui Zhongcheng, who had always been somewhat fastidious, learned from Gu Shen where they had been buried before, and couldn't help but look at these "items" with disgust.

"We can't leave them for Xiao, can we?"

"These sealed items can be placed in the underground of the Flower Banner… There are too many sealed items there that can't see the light of day. Adding these ones won't matter."

As Gu Shen spoke, he took off the bulky white robe.

He really didn't want to wear such a clergyman's robe anymore… But thanks to such a robe, it wasn't recognizable at all in Silver Leaf City, and the final identity handover wasn't troublesome.

Now.

He wasn't Amir.

Xiao was Amir.

"Are you sure… those two clergymen you hypnotized don't need to be killed?"

Cui Zhongcheng said softly, "I've arranged snipers in Silver Leaf. If needed, there's still time."

Two strong-logic bullets.

Kill the last two "insiders."

"There's no need to worry about that."

Gu Shen shook his head and said, "Lanville is a Layer 10 transcendent in the Deep Water Zone. Even he didn't notice anything unusual… If someone tries to investigate, I'll directly destroy the spiritual connection. They won't get any information."

The owner of the Sacred Image Auction House, and Zhou.

Both of these people had been planted with the seeds of the "Fiery Chasm."

There were very few transcendents who could control "spiritual connections" over ultra-long distances.

And Gu Shen's Fiery Chasm had such power.

In a sense, they were no longer clergymen of the New Moon Church, but his own followers… It was indeed a very subtle feeling, to be able to remotely sense two followers who could sacrifice their lives for him at any time, who had absolute loyalty and absolute obedience.

In fact, Gu Shen treated them as his "eyes."

[Deep Sea] was balancing all the information.

If he wanted to see the real world… he needed more and more "eyes." Seeing is believing.

What he saw with his own eyes.

What he personally saw.

That… was the truth he could believe.

He still wanted to maintain contact with the events in the Southern Continent… If there were no accidents, this case would attract the attention of the Storm Throne, and that shadowy rat hiding everywhere would be exposed to the light.

Gu Shen was very curious.

How would Xiao hide?

He looked forward to waking up one day and receiving the good news that "Xiao" had been crushed to death by the Storm Throne.

Of course… he hoped that this time it wouldn't be through the information analyzed by [Deep Sea].

But what he "saw with his own eyes."

"By the way."

Cui Zhongcheng spoke again. He sat across from Gu Shen, gently shaking a paper "newspaper," and said slowly, "I need to tell you about… the final result of this meeting."

Gu Shen paused slightly.

If he remembered correctly, the Flower Banner's purpose in landing in the Southern Continent this time was to "sell" the secret research results from the underground.

It should be some kind of weapon.

"The transaction has been cancelled." Cui Zhongcheng said casually, "The Flower Banner didn't reach an agreement with any church or any general… The so-called secret weapon will not be sold to the Southern Continent."

"Why?"

This was something that was beyond Gu Shen's expectations.

It had alarmed the various giants near Silver Leaf.

Such a grand meeting had been convened.

And the final result was an anticlimactic end… This event might have a negative impact on Cui Zhongcheng.

"They offered a very high price, almost an irresistible profit…"

Young Master Cui said calmly, "From a logical point of view, the transaction should have been completed perfectly. But from a moral point of view, I didn't want to see the scene after the transaction was completed."

The plane soared into the clouds.

Looking down.

One city after another became small in the clouds.

Looking at this world from 10,000 meters high, one couldn't see the bloodshed, the violence, or the suffering… Only by getting close to the ground could one see the true appearance of the Southern Continent, a disaster-stricken land full of holes.

The people here had already suffered enough.

Cui Zhongcheng put down the stack of "newspapers," which was the only thing Gu Shen had brought out of the underground church after smashing the alarm.

The thick stack of papers was full of the ugliness and filth of the New Moon Church's underground.

And at this moment, every inch of soil that the plane rumbled past was buried with the Southern people's endless "sorrow."

"There aren't many things I can decide, but this transaction just happens to be one of them."

Cui Zhongcheng said slowly.

The cancellation of the transaction would inevitably cause losses to the Flower Banner. Without thinking, he knew that the Flower Banner's actions would be attacked by the Southern Continent's representatives in the Central Assembly, and the subsequent development of the event would be a rebound of opinions within the board of directors.

Gu Shen was silent for a second.

He said softly, "Young Master Cui, the task the Madam gave you was to assist me in completing the Southern Continent operation. This time, we brought back a large number of sealed items, a full load, which counts as a great merit… Not achieving cooperation with the Southern Continent can only be counted as a small demerit. Merits and demerits cancel each other out. What you did was not a problem. I will take care of the troubles with the transaction in the subsequent case report."

Cui Zhongcheng was stunned.

He pushed up his monocle and looked at Gu Shen with a subtle expression.

Gu Shen stretched out a hand and smiled, "Happy cooperation."