Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1065: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (73): What Year Is It Tonight?

It kept expanding—stretching as though entering a state of rapid replication.

The Universal Material Pool unfolded before Jiang Zuo’s eyes. Originally, the pool only had space to support fifty Gaia units printing simultaneously, but it had now suddenly expanded several times over.

Not only that, it kept layering on itself—like a Rubik’s Cube. In front of him, hundreds, maybe thousands of Gaia units were printing at the same time.

It was like a military factory had accidentally pressed the “mass deploy” button!

As each printed Gaia began to activate, a massive gap suddenly opened above the Universal Material Pool—those already activated Gaia units began flying out one after another.

【Engage】

The Gaia that Jiang Zuo had unintentionally activated now issued a cold command—as more Gaia surged out from the rift above.

Engage… engage whom?

Could it be that forces from both the Daoist and Demon sides had broken in here? No, he had heard with his own ears that Chairman Baijie said both sides had suffered heavy casualties.

Then who could it be?Did Chairman Baijie charge in alone? Possible, but unlikely in Jiang Zuo’s view—yet the next scene made him suddenly realize exactly who the Gaia thought the enemy was!

A massive screen projection appeared in front of the Gaia he had activated—displaying a set of images that Jiang Zuo found extremely familiar!

It was footage of the battle between Gaia and the formidable sword-wielding Daoist—but the angle of the recording was different from what Jiang Zuo had seen before… it seemed to come from another Gaia’s memory system.

The footage didn’t show the end of the battle… just the middle—right when that sword-wielding Daoist was mowing down everything, and countless combat Gaia units were destroyed and falling from the sky.

“Damn… could that option really have meant ‘inherit’?”

Jiang Zuo’s expression twisted as he realized: the Gaia he activated had inherited the memories of a Gaia destroyed in that war—its memories were frozen in the middle of that battle, and after seamlessly resuming from there, it believed the war was still ongoing, hence the mass deployment!

【Penglai Treasure Vault entering Level-1 Alert Mode】

【All transactions suspended】

【Purge all unauthorized lifeforms in the Treasure Vault】

【Universal Material Pool entering maximum production mode】

One after another, chilling commands issued from the Gaia, making his scalp go numb. He suddenly felt deep regret—he may have just thrown the surviving Daoists, Demons, and even Chairman Baijie into unprecedented danger.

“Wait!! You’ve misunderstood!! Hey, hey, that guy’s long gone!!” Jiang Zuo shouted at the Gaia issuing orders.

【Initiating Subscriber Protection Protocol】

But the Gaia simply waved a hand, and a glowing ring emerged from the ground, sweeping over Jiang Zuo. Instantly, he was engulfed in a pillar of light—like being sealed into a container.

Then the ground split open, and the container sank into the earth.

Darkness surrounded him, but soon, his vision cleared—he seemed trapped in a special space, confined within a strange container of light, completely cut off from the world.

He had no idea how long had passed.

“Hah, I knew you'd end up here.”

A voice suddenly rang out from behind Jiang Zuo.

He shuddered and turned around in fright. Behind him—is another container of light.

Inside, a man dressed in coarse cloth sat calmly, exuding a commanding presence—like someone who had stepped straight out of a historical drama.

“Who… who are you?” Jiang Zuo asked in shock.

“Me?” The dignified man seemed to think for a moment. “No-self… I think that’s my name… hmm, what was my last name again?”

“You’re Gongsun,” a clear female voice chimed in from the side.

Jiang Zuo looked instinctively and saw another light container—inside was a stunningly beautiful woman, lounging lazily yet watching him intently, sending chills down his spine.

“Right, right—Gongsun. I remember now,” the man laughed heartily. “Little brother, I’m Gongsun Wuwei! Took me a while, sorry—I’ve been stuck in this place for so long, I’ve just been practicing to kill time, and somewhere along the way I forgot some things.”

Practicing so long he forgot things… Just how long had this guy been training?

Jiang Zuo shivered and turned his gaze back to the woman. She lay casually but kept scanning him with her eyes, making him increasingly uneasy.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself. “Now that I’m trapped here, may I ask the seniors to enlighten me… Senior Gongsun just said I would definitely end up here—what did he mean? Did you two know I’d come?”

“You’re sharp,” the woman chuckled. “Of course we knew. We could see everything you did out there.”

“Are you the owners of this place?” Jiang Zuo’s expression changed drastically.

She snorted coldly. “If we were the owners, would we be stuck in this godforsaken place with no sky or sunlight?”

“Then…”

“Same as you.” Gongsun Wuwei sighed. “Place your hand on the screen in front of you, and you’ll understand how we knew you’d arrive.”

Jiang Zuo hesitated, then pressed his hand onto the screen. A familiar blue display instantly lit up before him.

“This is…” Jiang Zuo stared at the screen in shock.

“As you can see, though we can't leave, we can watch what happens outside through this screen… While a few core areas are blocked, we still get a pretty clear picture,” Gongsun Wuwei said with a shake of his head. “Not just you—we’ve been watching the Daoists and Demons who came with you too.”

“May I ask…” Jiang Zuo frowned while flipping through the display.

The woman finally said, “You’ve seen the scene of Taibai fighting the Gaia units, haven’t you?”

Taibai… was that the sword-wielding Daoist?

Jiang Zuo nodded instinctively.

She sighed. “Years ago, Taibai came here with the two of us… but fate played a cruel trick. Gongsun and I became so-called ‘subscribers’ by coincidence. But later, for reasons unknown, Taibai suddenly went on a rampage, wreaking havoc in this place, triggering Gaia's retaliation…”

She gave a bitter smile. “Taibai’s sword was too sharp—he destroyed countless Gaia units, and the war spiraled out of control. Gongsun and I were placed here under the guise of protection. It’s laughable, considering we came with him…”

“After that battle, Taibai vanished. The Gaia units were nearly wiped out—only one remained, heavily damaged and forced into dormancy. Gongsun and I have been trapped here ever since.” She sighed again. “Honestly, we’ve lost track of how much time has passed. Young man, what’s the world like out there now?”

Jiang Zuo looked around—this space was utterly empty, devoid of day and night, with no sense of time passing. They were confined in narrow containers of light, with nothing to do but watch the world through a screen.

If it were him—even a few months would drive him mad… Wait. A few years?

They came in with the Daoist Taibai from the memory footage… Taibai was unbelievably powerful, yet Jiang Zuo had never even heard of him?

Looking again at the two people's attire...

Jiang Zuo cautiously asked, “May I ask, seniors, how long have you been trapped here?”

Gongsun Wuwei replied, “Two or three years, I guess? That’s just a rough estimate… Oh, right, young man, your clothes are rather strange. Where are you from? You don’t seem like someone from the Western Regions or Persia.”

Two or three years...

Western Regions, Persia… These terms are practically obsolete nowadays…

Jiang Zuo seemed to realize something and quickly asked, “May I ask, seniors, do you remember which dynasty it was before you arrived here?”

“It should have been the third year of Zhengde during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty,” the woman looked at Jiang Zuo with surprise. “Is there a problem?”

“The third year of Zhengde… Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty… Zhengde... three?” Jiang Zuo kept muttering to himself.

Suddenly, he slumped to the ground, staring at Gongsun Wuwei and the charming woman, his face pale. “Seniors, the third year of Zhengde... that was five hundred years ago…”

“What!”

The charming woman and Gongsun Wuwei’s faces changed drastically at the same time!

…

…

The number 8 million kept refreshing in Luo Qiu’s glasses — eventually displaying another number: 678.

Six hundred seventy-eight — that seemed to be the current number of these Gaia — and the number was still increasing. Gaia kept emerging endlessly from a rift in the sky, with no telling how many there would be in the end.

After bursting out of the rift, the Gaia immediately split into several groups, flying off in different directions — and one group was heading straight toward Luo Qiu.

“Master?” You Ye softly asked beside Luo Qiu’s ear.

Luo Qiu blinked, watching the rift from which the Gaia had come — once the number reached a thousand, the rift suddenly sealed itself.

Luo Qiu thought for a moment and said, “Didn’t you say we’d only know more after research? Well, now we have materials to study.”

You Ye nodded — the master’s intention was clear.

Miss Maid looked up at the rapidly approaching Gaia. They looked like empty shells — mobile, yes, but to the master’s eyes, they were probably nothing more than lifeless husks.

“Shall we fight?” Da Zhe rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

“I only need two samples,” You Ye said calmly. “I’ll catch them. You clear the rest. They’re just dead things. Don’t hesitate.”

Da Zhe shrugged — though these Gaia had the delicate and lovely faces of girls, those cannon-like arms gave a completely different impression.

“No problem,” Da Zhe smiled. “It’s not like I’m a good guy anyway…”

But before he could finish, Daoist Baijie suddenly interrupted.

“Don’t act rashly!”

Daoist Baijie suddenly pushed himself up. “You have no idea how dangerous these things are! With numbers like this, you can't handle them… even just one! We must avoid them for now!”

He had already exhausted his energy slaying a few earlier. Even after consuming some Vermilion Fruit, there hadn’t been enough time to recover. His body was weak, and he grew anxious, afraid these three newcomers might act recklessly.

But Wang Hu gave a bitter smile. “President Baijie, I think it’s too late… We’re surrounded.”

Daoist Baijie was stunned.

Not only were Gaia rapidly flying in from the front, but now a group had emerged behind the hill, creating a pincer formation.

Wang Hu gritted his teeth. The tiger king patterns on his body began to surge, and beast-like traits started to appear. On the black-framed glasses, Wang Hu’s power level numbers began to spike rapidly.

4 million… 5 million… 7 million… 7.6 million… 7.7 million… 7.89 million.

7.89 million.

The number stopped rising, but it had nearly tripled from the start… Luo Qiu adjusted his Yanjing. So this was the legendary transformation power-up.

“President, Boss Luo… good luck.” Wang Hu gritted his teeth and bent his legs into a jumping stance. “I’ll try to buy you some time… no more than ten breaths!”

But facing this many Gaia… if each one was as terrifying as the one before, Wang Hu wasn’t even confident about lasting five breaths.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared beside Wang Hu and held him back.

“What are you doing?!” Wang Hu growled in anger.

“Don’t be reckless.” Da Zhe shook his head and pressed Wang Hu down. Then he tore off the necklace from his neck — the pendant's key burst with brilliant light in his hand, and a sword formed in his palm.

“The patient should stay put!”

With that, Da Zhe grabbed the manifested Zhanlu Sword, bent his knees, and shot into the sky like a rocket, slashing straight toward the incoming Gaia!

In mid-air, Da Zhe swung the Zhanlu Sword horizontally — a massive crescent wave shot forth! It extended to a hundred meters long and swept through the group of Gaia!

The Gaia quickly raised shields with their arms to block the crescent slash — but with a sizzling sound, the shields of the first three Gaia instantly shattered. They were cut in half!

The crescent wave didn’t lose momentum and continued into the sky, slicing through more Gaia. Their bodies exploded the moment they were cut.

As the sword stroke erupted, fiery explosions lit up the sky. Da Zhe, wielding the Zhanlu Sword, plunged into the remaining Gaia!

While Da Zhe engaged the front line, Miss Maid wasn’t idle. She leapt onto the hill, brushed her windblown hair behind her ear, and gently swept her hand forward — dozens of black flames emerged.

You Ye flicked her fingers like playing piano keys. Each small black fireball precisely struck a Gaia.

They burned… and turned to ashes.

“Huang Baifu… did you say they just entered the transcendent realm of Divine Land?” Daoist Baijie asked, dumbfounded, turning to Wang Hu.

Wang Hu’s expression was no better, and he muttered, “Maybe… these Gaia are just weak?”

But at that moment, a piercing screech filled the air!

Ten Gaia in the sky raised their arms, firing cannons simultaneously — twenty beams of light shot at Wang Hu and Daoist Baijie!

They gasped. Wang Hu could probably dodge, but Baijie, already depleted… likely couldn’t.

Then, Luo Qiu, who had been standing beside them, raised his hand and made a sweeping motion — the twenty beams twisted mid-air and veered off course!

They slammed into a stone forest ahead, causing a massive explosion that blasted a crater over a hundred meters wide. The shockwave blew Luo Qiu’s clothes wildly.

Above the ambushers, ten black fire pillars suddenly descended — all ten Gaia were instantly obliterated.

“You two alright?” Luo Qiu turned around. “Elder? Mr. Wang Hu?”

Weak, my ass!!

Wang Hu’s brow twitched violently… These three were simply too terrifying! One more monstrous than the last!!

(End of Chapter)