Light Fortress

Chapter 1642 - 328: Winds Rising

The Transcendents involved in the Heart Cleansing Pool Trial began to immerse themselves in the guidance of the Dream.

The Great Elder manipulated the barrier, observing the Dream of each Trialist.

The water of the Heart Cleansing Pond possesses a certain spiritual pressure, so Transcendents with poor spiritual power are simply unable to dream... This, as previously stated by the Holy Judge, leads to the appearance of "withdrawn participants," a phenomenon typically seen in Loose Cultivators without a background force; their qualifications are average, and their capabilities are ordinary.

The Trialists sent by the envoy have quite good talent.

Soon, these individuals all entered the Dream.

Although suffering through the "calamity," the Great Elder would not take this opportunity to recklessly distribute his "tainted blood." The reason is simple, each of these envoys has its own backstory.

Distributing tainted blood.

Is better left for those devout Light Sect believers.

If those believers die, they simply die—they remain under absolute control. If the Great Elder recklessly spreads calamity and is discovered, it would bring unnecessary trouble to the temple.

So this time, the Great Elder’s main target is Song Ci!

He locks onto Song Ci with the Spiritual Lock... Among the group of people in the Heart Cleansing Pool Trial, Song Ci is the most powerful, yet he is ironically the slowest to dream!

A layer of indistinct fog shrouds above Song Ci’s Spirit Sea.

The Great Elder has no other solution, at this moment, all he can do is wait.

...

...

Song Ci felt a very familiar summons.

He sat beside the Heart Cleansing Pond, as he always does when meditating, closed his eyes, and entered the state of "forgetting self and the external world."

In the Spiritual World, he saw dazzling golden light.

That golden light is different from the Divine Radiance in the Battle God Domain.

Just a glance would evoke a feverish warmth spreading deep within the soul.

Before entering Changye, Song Ci was plagued day and night by the "Dream of Light," in which he would see a massive lake in the Dream.

He knew that was the legendary Red Lake.

In the Dream, the golden light formed a bridge, guiding him to the other shore of the lake’s mist... only he never accepted this invitation.

This time.

The dreams of the past coalesced anew.

Countless golden radiances surrounded Song Ci, exuding a power that directly tempted the soul.

Song Ci gazed at the long bridge enshrouded in golden light, quietly staring for a long time, eventually deciding to step onto it.

He ignored the temptation unleashed by the golden light.

He only wished to discover what lay at the end of the Red Lake.

The moment he stepped onto the Golden Bridge, this dream full of sacred light suddenly changed color, with dense fog surging at the far end of the Dream, the bridge began to sway, and countless tiny black gusts of wind blew in.

This was "ominous."

Song Ci’s cultivation to his current realm had already dealt with these ethereal ordeals more than once.

He had done many things underground in Da Du that invited "calamity," knowing he was entwined in much ominousness, even seeking temporary refuge while meditating in the Battle God Domain, knowing the calamity would eventually erupt.

Yet, it arrived at such a coincidental time?

Song Ci squinted, stared intently at the end of the Golden Bridge engulfed by fog, enveloped in Golden Divine Light, ready to fight.

Just as he prepared to cross the bridge.

The black wind dispersed the fog, and Song Ci saw a towering, old figure standing at the bridge’s other end.

...

...

The wind was strong.

An old street and alley in Light City was covered with fallen leaves.

Several Heavy Armor Guards arrived at the alley entrance, belonging to the Secret Dungeon, adhering to Yao Jin’s orders.

Even if Su Ye relinquished authority, it only severed Yao Jin’s control over the temple’s Holy Judge.

These Heavy Armor Guards, Su Ye could not dismantle.

They had long received Yao Jin’s orders, waiting outside the alley until Su Ye pushed Yao Jin into the Secret Dungeon and reappeared. These Heavy Armor Guards directly seized control of the alley entrance, and conveyed the "deployment" message via the Spirit Network to the Holy Judge.

"Lord Yao instructs that once entering the Secret Dungeon, we must strictly guard this alley."

The leader of the Heavy Armor Guard spoke: "You two, go outside the alley to set up ’Seal Objects,’ establish [Holy Light Barrier], and inspect carefully!"

This team of Heavy Armor Guards only had five members, but these five were enough to guard the Secret Dungeon entrance!

Yao Jin’s orders were to scrutinize the entrance, prevent anyone from stepping inside the dungeon, and once someone intrudes, not to aim for victory but quickly transmit information!

Su Ye’s departure was part of Yao Jin’s plan.

Yao Jin knew from the start his "gain of power" wouldn’t last long, Su Ye wouldn’t allow him to stand in the light for long.

Once extended.

It would inevitably remove his control over the Holy Judge.

And also... head to the Secret Dungeon to visit Yuan Yang.

He could resist, he could persistently report to the Great Elder, to compete with Su Ye... but doing so would only cause the Great Elder Council to split the power of this incident, half given to him, the other half handed to Su Ye.

He desires the complete power to control the temple Holy Judge.

If Su Ye were to take half, it amounts to failure, whereas the current brief loss is just a necessary step towards success.

Su Ye withdrew the Holy Judge to oversee the Gu Family Night Watchman, which truly wasn’t wrong.

If Light City remained peaceful, then Su Ye’s arrangement was correct... but if an incident arose in Light City, and it wasn’t caused by the Gu Family Night Watchman, then Su Ye’s arrangement would backfire.

Yao Jin intends to methodically provoke this "incident."

Su Ye knew him well, and he knew Su Ye just as well.

The two had been engaged in a battle of wits for many years.

Yao Jin knew every thought Su Ye had, and he knew that Su Ye knew his thoughts too... so the true "disguise" was not to disguise.

He truly did not wish to see Su Ye enter the Secret Dungeon.

But the more he displayed his "unwillingness," the stronger Su Ye’s desire to force his way into the Secret Dungeon became.

Just as he had reminded Su Ye countless times... At such a crucial moment, forcing his way into the Secret Dungeon meant that any unforeseen events would be Su Ye’s responsibility to bear.

He had already delivered that blueprint to the Gu Family Envoy’s estate.

Yao Jin knew that Gu Nanfeng was watching him at every moment.

With Gu Family Young Master’s personality, there was no way he would miss this perfect opportunity... So he had set this stage, and after Su Ye entered the Secret Dungeon, he only needed to wait for Gu Nanfeng to seize the chance to break in.

Two tigers fighting.

The Gu Family Envoy and the Divine Palace Saint Child would both suffer severe losses.

As for him... of course, he would suffer some losses as well, but both Gu Nanfeng and Su Ye would be the losers.

By the end of this game.

He would win alone.

As for that so-called "man behind the scenes," if he went to the party with the Gu Family Young Master, there would only be one word—death.

The Heavy Armor Guard had already notified the Holy Judge.

Red Lake seemed calm, but undercurrents of killing intent surged.

Once the Secret Dungeon barrier alarm went off, Jia Wei would immediately set out for Light City, and by then, with a net cast over heaven and earth, that person would not escape even if they had wings!

...

...

Countless fallen leaves rose with the wind, and a gust of strong wind suddenly blew through the deep alley!

The Heavy Armor Guards responsible for guarding had completed the placement of the [Holy Light Barrier], but for some reason, a sense of unease surfaced in each person’s heart.

Having guarded the Secret Dungeon for many years, they had seen countless Transcendent criminals!

As long as the holy fire was lit, in this Light City, they would feel completely at ease.

Light is the eye of the Divine Throne.

But this time...

Even after lighting the holy fire, they still felt a tremor of fear.

They seemed to feel countless tangible killing intents sweeping over from the end of the alley, accompanying this unreasonable wind, blowing against the Holy Light Barrier, and even the fallen leaves rushing from all directions became sharp.

"You... go take a look."

The Heavy Armor Guard Captain frowned and motioned with his chin, indicating that one of his subordinates should go investigate.

He watched intently at a nearby dark alley, ready to deploy the Purple Silver Gun at any time.

The other Heavy Armor Guards were equally prepared.

The scope of the [Holy Light Barrier] was limited, the Secret Dungeon was safely enveloped within, but the direction of the wind was dark and deep, the result of spiritual power detection showed nothing.

At such times, they were more willing to trust their eyes and the investigative seals granted by the temple.

"Clank! Clank!"

The Heavy Armor Guard, burdened with extremely heavy armor, moved slowly.

He left the [Holy Light Barrier] and headed toward the wind’s direction in the black alley, feeling a stronger unease with every step.

"Captain Guard, sir."

One person spoke in a deep voice, "How come that alley feels like there’s someone there?"

The Heavy Armor Guard Captain raised his hand to indicate silence.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed at the end of the dark alley.

The Heavy Armor Guard walked into the darkness, and the Scale Armor was swallowed by the darkness; the heavy armor emitted a series of snapping sounds as it was scratched by the wind!

"Xu Hu, report the situation!"

The Heavy Armor Guard Captain shouted.

"Captain Guard, sir..."

Xu Hu finished his patrol, turned back, and emerged from the darkness, seriously stating, "Everything here is normal, I didn’t notice anything unusual; it’s just a bit darker and windier... I just used the sealing item to probe as well and didn’t detect any Extraordinary Aura."

All the Heavy Armor Guards breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The Heavy Armor Guard Captain’s tone also relaxed slightly: "Very well, come back."

Just as Xu Hu was about to turn around.

The wind suddenly rose to a howling gale.

Countless leaves at the end of the dark alley scattered wildly at that moment.

No one saw that amidst the myriad leaves, a faint, carefree silhouette was faintly visible, cloaked and carrying a wooden knife.

Gu Nanfeng moved quickly.

But he was still a bit late; by the time he arrived, the Heavy Armor Guards had already begun setting up the [Barrier]. He knew that to infiltrate the Secret Dungeon, an ideal timing had to be created... Breaking the [Barrier], getting inside to break the dungeon, and escaping all required time. If these Heavy Armor Guards joined forces and resisted to the end, although he could handle them, it would inevitably cause some trouble.

In a jailbreak, once it begins, there’s no pause button.

He had to ensure everything was foolproof...

So, he needed to reduce the number of Heavy Armor Guards.

And now, was the perfect opportunity!

A pale hand silently extended from the darkness, its fingers long and powerful, with a harsh wind sound lingering at the fingertips.