Light Fortress

An extended afternoon, a gentle breeze sweeps across West Sea Crossing.

"Little Wu, Yao Jin has returned to the city. This mission—"

Mu Xin spoke heavily, opening the gate of the small courtyard.

The voice came to a sudden stop.

Mu Xin stared blankly at the scene within the courtyard.

Shadows of the trees shattered, falling upon Wutuo.

The green leaves of the potted plants swayed, the sea breeze brought a chill... it was very clean here, in every sense of the word.

No blood.

No trace of battle.

No breath of life.

...

...

"Great Elder, I have come to confess."

Yao Jin sat in a wheelchair, his voice complex through the screen.

"I already know about the Gu Family Envoy affair."

At the end of the screen, there was darkness.

The faint sound of liquid surging could be heard.

The corner of the old-style loft was piled with mechanical components, a vast array of green silver pipes densely arranged, from which came the sound of surging liquid... as if countless streams flowed through, delivered to the world behind the screen, almost no one in the temple knew what lay behind it.

"You gambled and lost, this is normal."

After a long silence, the Great Elder spoke: "Many people in the temple have also lost bets, including myself. A single failure means nothing."

Yao Jin raised his head in surprise.

He gazed into the darkness at the end of the screen, and said softly: "Gu Nanfeng made an insolent request..."

He detailed the specifics of the mission.

The Great Elder was very patient.

"You made a mistake, I’ll apologize for it, this isn’t considered insolent."

After listening, he chuckled and asked: "You seem quite angry because Gu Nanfeng called you a ’temple’s house dog’?"

Yao Jin remained silent.

"Or perhaps your anger stems from... the truth indeed being so."

There was no emotion in the Great Elder’s voice.

He spoke slowly, neither with disdain nor sarcasm: "You have been guarding the Secret Dungeon in the temple for nearly ten years, thrown to the West Sea Crossing to follow Mu Xin for cultivation from childhood... Upon reaching adulthood, you were deprived of standing in the light by the temple’s mistake in judgment and lost your legs. Since then, you’ve spent a long, dark life in a wheelchair. Gu Nanfeng called you a ’house dog,’ he wasn’t wrong, because since birth, you’ve been tied to West Continent, never stepping outside your doorstep."

"...Great Elder, I am not angry because of that."

Yao Jin closed his eyes, his breath somewhat irregular.

With clenched fists, he calmly said, "As long as I can serve the light, no matter the cost, Yao Jin will not hesitate. A pair of broken legs means nothing."

He looked to the end of the loft.

"I was picked up by you and thus survived... Without your nurturing, Yao Jin would have already perished."

The man in the wheelchair said with a lowered gaze and a smile, "I’ve paid no heed to Gu Nanfeng’s words, but I cannot accept this ’failure.’"

"You shouldn’t have let Wutuo appear."

The Great Elder said softly, "Since you’ve brought him back, the best course is to hide him completely... as long as Wutuo doesn’t show up, who knows where he is?"

Yao Jin gritted his teeth, "I want to unearth the person behind the Donglai Family case."

"Does it matter?"

The Great Elder laughed and asked, "Since you stand in the light, it means... you’re no longer a shadow. In the struggle of the ’person behind,’ whoever stands up first, loses. I ask you, who is behind the Donglai Family case? You previously thought it was Gu Nanfeng... is it really?"

Yao Jin remained silent.

From last night’s situation, countless clues pointed to the Gu Family Envoy.

But after meeting once, 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Yao Jin knew clearly... the person he’s looking for behind the scenes isn’t Gu Nanfeng.

"This failure is actually a good thing."

The Great Elder spoke lightly, "East Continent hopes to see you make mistakes, maybe I hope so too... remember, since you stand in the light, you must find a different way to deal with issues."

"I... realize my mistake."

Yao Jin’s heart was a mix of emotions.

"How is Yuan Yang doing in the Secret Dungeon these days? Any progress?"

The Great Elder shifted topics.

"Maybe... it’ll still take some time."

Yao Jin took a light breath, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, "Gaining the Goddess’s trust isn’t easy, and collecting the [Holy Book] isn’t a day’s task, this matter cannot be rushed."

"Indeed..."

"With Yuan Yang gone, I do find it inconvenient."

The Great Elder sighed softly and said, "Yao Jin, there are matters... I fear I must trouble you."

Yao Jin’s expression was grave.

He silently clenched the wheelchair’s backrest, suppressing a trembling voice, and tried to remain calm: "Please instruct me."

"Come in."

The elderly voice spoke from behind a screen.

Yao Jin glanced at the pitch-black threshold and slowly wheeled himself past it.

He carefully controlled his wheelchair, avoiding the sealed pipes plated with green silver, cautiously entering the darkness, where at the end stood a chamber cast in alloy, half-open, resembling a bathtub.

The Great Elder, second to none in West Continent, amidst a myriad.

Lying within this "bathtub".

A substantial amount of Light Aura overflowed from the chamber but did not leak out, compressed within a small square space by countless Extraordinary Barriers condensing above.

"Great Elder..."

Yao Jin’s gaze was somewhat complicated; this was his first time witnessing the scene deep within the attic.

The elder lying in the chamber had his eyes closed, seemingly asleep, or rather dead.

The surging green silver pipes connected to this frail body.

The elder’s skin also rose and fell with the tide of the pipes...

"In the past, Yuan Yang handled this matter; this time, I’ll trouble you."

The elder lying in the life chamber, even with closed eyes, like he was deceased.

Yet his voice echoed throughout the attic.

Yao Jin raised his head, feeling a spirit infinitely stronger than his own enveloping the attic’s small space... He was sure that any adverse action would lead to the elder’s spirit infiltrating his Heart Lake, instantly killing him.

"What do I... need to do?" Yao Jin approached the chamber.

"Do you see these pipes?"

The Great Elder spoke gently, "Flowing within them... is the blood of the ’Undead’, one side is input, the other is output."

Undead?!

Yao Jin knew of this legendary bizarre constitution; in its early stage, the [Undead] showed no difference from ordinary mortals; many even remained unaware of their awakening...

Yet through life and death, [Undead] would transform!

Their vitality and energy were far more intense than other Transcendents, each revival from the "death line" brought significant breakthroughs in spiritual power and physical strength.

The temple had been seeking the [Undead]; people possessing this constitution across the Five Continents would be approached by the Holy Judges...

No one knew the purpose behind Light City’s search for the [Undead].

But now Yao Jin understood.

The elder’s body had decayed beyond belief; he was said to be Lord of Light Divine’s earliest follower, receiving the most Divine Favour and power.

In a certain sense.

He was the most suitable "crown bearer" for the Light Fire.

Yet unfortunately, he was too old, so feeble to lift a finger, let alone forge the fire.

"This body sustained severe wounds in the battle with the Netherworld King..."

The Great Elder murmured, "I contracted a lifelong incurable ’calamity’; without the intervention of Lord Divine, I would have perished already; to survive, I need the [Undead]’s blood, a continuous supply."

"I expel old blood from my body."

"Then the Light Cabin absorbs the new blood of the Undead."

"Thus, much of the calamity can leave the body with the old blood... but the Netherworld King’s attack bears ’causal targeting’; unless a new host is found for this old blood, the calamity will return to me."

"So... this old blood is transferred into the bodies of the Undead."

The elder spoke slowly, "Over these years, the temple secretly gathered a dozen [Undead], all of whom are now dead, and my life is nearing its end."

"All the Undead... are dead?"

Yao Jin was shocked by the secret the elder disclosed.

In his memory, each Undead was a top-tier genius, including Fisher from North Continent, Song Ci from East Continent, and the former Blessed Son Meng Xiao!

Every near-death experience made them stronger!

He couldn’t help but ask, "Did these people... die due to the Netherworld King’s ominousness?"

"Yes, but not entirely."

The elder replied, "The Undead are not as formidable as you imagine; all things hold balance, gain and loss. Despite their tenacious vitality, they have limits; breach that boundary, and the Undead die just the same... They are like an ephemeral bloom in night’s darkness; soon wither after flourishing. No Undead ever lived a long life."

"Moreover."

"Many Undead... live their entire lives as mere mortals."

The elder stated, "Unless they encounter ’death’, they remain ordinary. The temple’s blood donors with weak resilience died after several exchanges."

"..."

Yao Jin appeared lost, murmuring, "No wonder you rarely appear outside."

"The battle with the Netherworld King caused severe losses to the Light Temple... Such matters cannot be known outside."

The elder sighed, "If I were to pass early, who would take over the temple? Surely not Yuan Yang?"

Over the years, each appearance was at critical moments where he had to show up.

A huge amount of [Undead Blood] infused into the body.

He could leave the Light Cabin, move freely for a short while.

Now.

The time had come for him to reappear... The Gu Family Envoy would soon arrive at Light City, and as the temple’s Great Elder, he would personally welcome them and oversee the upcoming "Trial for inheriting fire."