Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1079: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (87) – The Courtyard in the Cage

On the massive, solid metal deck, a deep dent had been smashed in by a violent impact—and embedded in that dent was none other than Long Xiruo’s Constructed Body.

Inside the Leixia Ship, at the hollow core of a huge rotating metal column, the Prototype Gaia hadn’t stopped at all. As it swung its arms, countless lightning spears shot directly at the Constructed Body.

In a rush, the Constructed Body could only cross its arms in front of it to block—yet the power of those lightning spears was terrifying, and even just fending them off was already extremely difficult.

After all, the body was only a construct created through an artifact, unable to fully unleash the power of the True Dragon. Under the violent assault of the Prototype Gaia in its street-release mode, the Constructed Body was clearly at a disadvantage.

This scene shocked both Kui Qianyi and Gui Ying... They didn’t know exactly how much Long Xiruo had been weakened due to her condition, but seeing the strongest guardian of Divine Land barely able to defend herself was unprecedented even for the long-lived Kui Qianyi.

“Lord Kui…” Gui Ying hesitated, calling out.

Kui Qianyi could only reply helplessly, “At this level of battle, we can no longer intervene. If we recklessly get involved, we’ll just be burdens. Right now, the only thing we can do…”

Kui Qianyi looked toward the invader from beyond the domain—Count Drekeya.

At that moment, Count Drekeya was still intently observing the fight between the Prototype Gaia and the Constructed Body, showing no intention of taking action… which made Kui Qianyi frown deeply.

He carefully recalled the things Count Drekeya had said. Much of it was incomprehensible, but one line stuck with him—spoken just before Gaia’s sudden surge in power:—Level-3 restrictions released… Duration: three minutes.

“This thing’s power surge can’t last forever,” Kui Qianyi muttered. “Also, this invader isn’t moving, and is just watching closely… maybe something will happen after the time limit that makes it hesitant.”

“If it’s controlled by that invader, and we can land a serious blow while it's vulnerable…” Gui Ying’s eyes flashed with killing intent, but he also sighed. “But that barrier… we just don’t have the strength.”

Indeed, without the Constructed Body’s level of power, they couldn’t break through Count Drekeya’s barrier.

Suddenly, Kui Qianyi sat down. This confused Gui Ying greatly. Kui Qianyi’s movement was strange too—his wide sleeves draped over the metal bridge’s surface, completely hiding his hands.

“Check on City Lord Xiao’s condition,” Kui Qianyi said seriously. “For now, all we can do is… wait for the outcome of this final battle.”

Though he didn’t understand Kui Qianyi’s intentions, Gui Ying didn’t hesitate. He nodded, staying alert to Count Drekeya in the distance as he approached the unmoving Xiao Shengmo.

Meanwhile, unnoticed by anyone, something tiny began to crawl out from Kui Qianyi’s sleeves—one after another, tiny turtles the size of fingers quietly slipped to the underside of the metal bridge and began crawling toward the huge sphere ahead.

At the same time, Count Drekeya indeed took note of Kui Qianyi suddenly sitting down and not attacking him. Naturally, he also overheard the conversation between Kui Qianyi and Gui Ying.

To Drekeya, their decision not to interfere and risk becoming burdens made sense—a smart move. But their plan to wait and seize an opportunity to strike? He found that laughable.

Still, just as Kui Qianyi had guessed… Count Drekeya had good reason to remain focused on the battle—or rather, he needed to devote immense concentration to observing Gaia’s state at all times.

“Its advanced AI has already degraded, leaving only the lowest level of intelligence. The power release is still too unstable... This needs to end quickly.” Count Drekeya was thinking fast.

Watching the struggling Constructed Body, Count Drekeya suddenly smirked.

“Penglai’s legacy… your creator is gone. So why are you still holding on here?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it somehow cut through the sounds of battle, clearly reaching the Constructed Body’s ears.

Hearing this, the Constructed Body frowned slightly—but that brief moment of distraction nearly got it impaled by another of Gaia’s lightning spears.

Count Drekeya laughed wildly.

“What’s wrong? Forgotten how you were created? That’s right—your original body has likely fused with the earth by now, right? What’s left of you now is just inherited power and memories. There are things you don’t even remember, aren’t there?”

“Shut up shut up shut up! Did your damn mother never teach you to shut your face?!” the Constructed Body roared furiously at Count Drekeya.

But Drekeya only sneered.

“Such a poor-quality experiment. Did you forget? I’m one of your creators too. Experimental designation 009—Dragonkind!”

“What?!” The Constructed Body was truly stunned this time—countless chaotic images flashed wildly in its mind.

At that exact moment, the Prototype Gaia seized the opportunity. The lightning spear in its hand shot out in an instant!

The Constructed Body couldn’t dodge in time and could only watch as the lightning spear pierced through its abdomen, pinning it directly to the metal wall!

Immediately after, two more lightning spears followed, pinning both of its hands in place and completely immobilizing it.

Count Drekeya chuckled.

“Oh, saying I ‘created’ you is an exaggeration. At best, I just tweaked some of your parameters. Dragonkind… your real creator? Long gone. Killed by me… my teacher, Prince Cicero. That so-called ‘Penglai Immortal’ you locals like to talk about.”

Nailed to the wall and enduring the continuous surge of lightning power, the Constructed Body struggled to lift its head, gritting its teeth.

“No idea… what you’re… talking about…”

“The Main World constantly evolves, refines, and moves forward—infinitely. The closer a Main World is to the edge of spacetime, the closer it gets to perfection. Conversely, the earlier ones are full of flaws… This place? Just one of the earliest test samples.”

Count Drekeya smiled.

“All under the management of the Alaya System.”

“So basically… what the hell are you even rambling about!!!”

With a thunderous roar, the Constructed Body erupted again—its arms trembling under the lightning's pressure, but slowly beginning to break free.

Count Drekeya shook his head. “How pitiful... Forget it. Once I’ve inherited my teacher’s authority, I’ll take you—his legacy—along with it. Of course, I’ll re-adjust your parameters too. Gaia, finish it! Don’t worry about breaking it. I can fix it later!”

【Understood...】

Prototype Gaia’s hands surged with lightning again, forming two more thunder spears.

But just then, a massive explosion suddenly rang out—from the giant sphere connected to the rotating columns!

Flames burst from the sphere’s interior, and the massive rotating metal columns began to slow down!

Count Drekeya was stunned for a moment before his face twisted in fury. In an instant, he realized something and turned sharply toward Kui Qianyi, who was still sitting on the ground in the distance.

“Blast turtles... just some little creatures I raised for fun,” Kui Qianyi said as he slowly stood up, eyes narrowed. “You seemed very concerned about that place. From the start, you kept trying to get in... I don’t know what’s inside, but I figured destroying it was the right move.”

Count Drekeya was livid. “You dare!!”

But the massive sphere, having exploded from within, suddenly shifted position—just slightly—but enough to slip from the interfaces connecting it to the two rotating columns and fall straight downward!

“Damn it!”

Seeing this, Count Drekeya ignored Kui Qianyi and leaped off the metal bridge, diving toward the falling sphere.

——

In front of a majestic palace, Luo Qiu stood at its enormous entrance… He hadn’t felt this small in a long time—though it was only a matter of visual scale.

The hallway was dim. The walls were pristine and seamless, with no visible cracks.

Luo Qiu soon passed through and entered the palace's depths—a circular grand hall.

He didn’t bother concealing his footsteps, so the two already inside quickly turned around at the sound—Windchaser and ‘Mo Xiaofei.’

Upon seeing them, Luo Qiu opened his mouth slightly but said nothing. His eyes instead moved to the massive crystal at the center of the hall—gazing at the figure sealed within.

Windchaser instinctively felt fear as soon as Luo Qiu entered—perhaps a deep primal instinct. He dropped to all fours like a feral hound, baring his sharp teeth.

‘Mo Xiaofei’ frowned slightly.

Suddenly, Windchaser lunged. “Why are you here?!”

Luo Qiu extended his hand toward him, then gently shifted it aside. In that instant, Windchaser was bound in place and quietly moved to the side, as if someone had gently placed him down.

“I mean no harm,” Luo Qiu said calmly, shaking his head. “I’m just here to learn something. We can catch up later.”

Windchaser, now on the ground, slowly retracted his fangs. He had no choice but to remain quiet—this guy was completely out of his league.

But… why was this man here?

Suddenly, Windchaser thought of his ‘big bro’—Mo Xiaofei. Maybe this man could help restore him to normal?

As Windchaser settled down, ‘Mo Xiaofei,’ unaware of his thoughts, frowned. Searching Mo Xiaofei’s current-life memories, he found no trace of this mysterious young man—but his body somehow recognized him, with an eerie sense of familiarity.

“No need to search, Your Majesty,” Luo Qiu said casually, glancing at him. “I’ve met Mo Xiaofei before—though he didn’t look like this then. We didn’t meet again after that, so I don’t blame you for not recognizing me.”

“You... know this Lonely Emperor?” ‘Mo Xiaofei’ frowned deeper, his expression changing slightly.

“I’ve read about him,” Luo Qiu said with a small smile. “The First Emperor—few wouldn't know him. I’m surprised he’s awakened, but I hope his stay isn’t too long... After all, Mo Xiaofei still has a contract with us.”

‘Mo Xiaofei’ furrowed his brows but said nothing.

Luo Qiu approached the crystal again. ‘Mo Xiaofei’ stared intently, tracking his every move—until Luo Qiu passed right by him.

“I won’t touch anything here... Your Majesty, feel free.” Luo Qiu didn’t even turn around as he stood before the giant crystal.

Then he took another step—into the crystal.

With that step, Luo Qiu vanished into the crystal!

Windchaser rushed over curiously, reaching toward the spot—but his hand couldn’t pass through.

“Is this guy a ghost?” Windchaser scratched his head, puzzled. “Big bro?”

He turned to look at ‘Mo Xiaofei,’ who still radiated an imposing aura. But his hairline seemed damp.

‘Mo Xiaofei’ suddenly let out a long sigh and said, “Let him go… Never mind that this Lonely Emperor was once a sovereign; even in this world, nothing can stop that man.”

His words sounded nonsensical to Windchaser.

‘Mo Xiaofei’ lifted his head, his eyes filled not only with rage but also deep remorse. He whispered, “Back then… to revive you, this Lonely Emperor did so much…”

“Big bro?”

‘Mo Xiaofei’ simply closed his eyes.

——

It felt like a journey through time… both endless and instant.

After a stretch of total darkness, blinding white light filled Luo Qiu’s vision. Underfoot, he felt soft ground. Looking around—

Grass. Damp earth. The fragrance of flowers. Swaying trees. Butterflies flitted by, disappearing into the distance.

Overhead was a clear, silent sky—enclosed by a giant dome of metal and glass.

A courtyard in a cage.

“Don’t just stand there. Come up.”

The voice came from above. Luo Qiu looked up to see a man standing on a high balcony inside the cage, gesturing invitingly.

The man had long hair nearly down to his legs and wore a white, gold-trimmed robe—its style unfamiliar, but clearly not traditional.

He smiled and waved. Panels of light began unfolding beneath him, forming stairs down to Luo Qiu’s feet.

Luo Qiu nodded and ascended.

The man’s gaze never left him.

Then he spoke. “Try not to use your root powers. Our conversation will be more meaningful that way. I think you’ll enjoy the feeling of discovering the unknown bit by bit.”

“What should I call you?”

Luo Qiu finally reached him.

The man slowly knelt on one knee, took Luo Qiu’s hand, and—under Luo Qiu’s startled gaze—pressed his forehead to the palm.

“Don’t mind it. Just a cultural greeting,” the man said, rising with a smile. “You can call me Cicero... Welcome to what remains of my consciousness.”

——

(End of Chapter)