Free Web NovelAfter entering Cunxin Hall, Hong Bian fell silent and did not speak another word to Lu Yibei.
Lu Yibei was also sensible and did not try to converse with Hong Bian again.
She understood the reasoning. Crucial places like the Divine Kingdom Central Hub usually had rules similar to 'no loud noises allowed,' much like the ancestral hall in the back mountain of Da Chunyang Palace, which enshrined ancient sages.
Passing through the empty hall, they entered a passage that opened from a wall inlaid with bronze reliefs. Following the passage forward, not long after, Hong Bian whispered, 'Miss Shen, we have arrived.'
Finally, they arrived before the operational hub of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Lu Yibei couldn't help but let out a sigh of wonder.
'Is this... the complete Divine Kingdom Central Hub? Isn't it a bit exaggerated?'
In her sight, endless yellow sand rose and fell, like a gigantic golden curtain...
Intricate Spells, guided by some power, moved orderly along predetermined trajectories, like a massive nebula.
A 'heart' pulsating with golden-red brilliance beat vigorously, each beat swallowing and expelling massive amounts of Spiritual Energy, stirring up surging waves...
From time to time, illusory figures would condense within the trajectories of the Spells, as if still alive, struggling desperately and wailing in despair. But in an instant, they would be crushed into powder by the terrifying Spiritual Energy surging from the 'heart,' falling and merging into the vast yellow sand.
Before witnessing the operational hub of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate with her own eyes, Lu Yibei's understanding of the God Kingdom was limited to the God Kingdom Prototype Ms. Wang Meili left for her, assuming that all God Kingdoms should be roughly the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) same.
But at this moment, the operational hub of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate gave her a sense of shock.
It was practically like the digestive system within the belly of some terrifying giant beast.
It was completely different in style from Dream City.
Dream City's central hub was like an exquisite, ingenious, and highly technical, but unfortunately unfinished, work of art.
In contrast, the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate's central hub was ancient and heavy, with a hint of ruggedness, inexplicably reminding one of the war machines from steampunk fantasy stories, constantly spewing thick smoke and capable of immense destruction.
Lu Yibei couldn't even comprehend it; she simply couldn't understand how this massive contraption 'moved.'
It felt as if a pile of oversized parts had been haphazardly pieced together to form a bizarre, gigantic machine, and then, upon pressing the start button, it simply began to move on its own.
It didn't even require additional power; relying solely on solar energy or some other energy source, it could maintain its most basic operation.
Complex, miraculous changes filled Lu Yibei's Spiritual Energy perception, as if countless pieces of knowledge beyond her comprehension, yet impossible to ignore, continuously appeared before her, causing her to instinctively widen her eyes.
As the 'heart' pulsed, golden flames flickered before her eyes, and a searing pain shot through her pupils.
'As Miss Shen sees, this is the central hub of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate.' Noticing Lu Yibei staring blankly at the grandly operating Divine Kingdom Central Hub, Hong Bian said, 'The world believes this is the masterpiece of Prince and I, but they don't know that we alone could not have accomplished such a feat...'
'When it was first constructed, setting aside everything else, just transporting the yuan dragon frame here sacrificed many lives!'
Since the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate was about to be handed over to 'Shen Baiwei,' Hong Bian felt that it wasn't a waste of time to briefly mention the origin of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate to this future Yumen Pass master before his departure.
As Hong Bian's voice echoed in her ears, Lu Yibei quietly released the suppression on her eyes. Then, after a brief blur of vision, she glimpsed the endless Gobi Desert.
...
Above the desert, a middle-aged man dressed as a military commander, clad in armor.
From the style of his silver armor and the insignia decorating it, he was not a member of the Long Xiang Army.
He rode proudly at the front, and behind him, several tall horses pulled two carriages, moving against the wind and sand, escorted by nearly a hundred armored soldiers.
The items on the carriages were wrapped in thick tarpaulin and secured with iron chains. From their outline, they resembled large coffins. Through the gaps in the tarpaulin, a corner of a talisman covered in Spells could vaguely be seen.
The group advanced, when suddenly a fierce wind carrying scorching sand struck, and several armored soldiers fell onto the sand, like withered grass blown down by a strong gust.
In a trance, Lu Yibei felt as if she had become a young armored soldier in the escorting party. Upon seeing her comrades fall, she felt a surge of panic and rushed forward to help them up. However, after clearly seeing their faces, she froze.
They were dead...
In those few short breaths, as if all their blood had been drained by some evil entity, their bodies were shriveled, their skin pale, and from the wounds abraded by the scorching sand, a faint stench of decaying corpses even wafted out.
The yuan dragon frame was the skeleton of a Calamity level Strange Tales. Even though it was completely dead and layers of seals existed, the night's erosion emanating from it was unbearable for ordinary people. These low-Spiritual Energy armored soldiers could withstand it for a while, but not for long. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Witnessing the tragic deaths of his comrades, anger and fear surged within the young man's chest. He finally couldn't hold back and rushed forward, grabbing the reins of the warhorse beneath the middle-aged commander leading the team.
'People are dying! Don't you see people are dying?!' he roared, his voice choked with sobs, as he pounded the huge coffin covered by tarpaulin. 'I've had enough... Three hundred people set out, and now, less than halfway through the journey, only a hundred or so remain. I've truly had enough!'
'This evil thing is devouring everyone's lives! If this continues, we'll all be buried in this Gobi Desert before we even reach Yumen Pass!'
Performing such a reckless and presumptuous act and speaking such words during a military march, at any other time, even his own son would have been dealt with by military law. But the middle-aged commander merely glanced at the young man expressionlessly, saying without a hint of displeasure, 'I know. I saw it.'
'But I also know that if we cannot safely deliver this yuan dragon frame to Yumen Pass and build the God Kingdom, then when those monsters invade the Central Plains in the future, many more people will die, tens of thousands of people... What we are doing is a meritorious deed that will benefit generations. Do you understand?'
He paused, then looked at the armored soldiers watching him behind him, took a deep breath, and said forcefully,'So, don't say only a few people have died now. Even if only one person is left, we must continue forward. Even if we have to carry it on our shoulders or drag it by hand, we must get the yuan dragon frame to Yumen Pass!'
After waiting for a few breaths, he looked at the armored soldiers. Seeing that no one spoke further, he proclaimed loudly, 'If there are no objections, then let's set off!'
With that, he leaned down slightly, pried open the young man's hand, which was tightly gripping the reins, then raised his hand to wipe away the tear stains on the young man's cheek, which had mixed with the wind and sand into mud. He calmly said, 'Considering this is your first offense, I'll spare you this time. If there's a next time...'
Before he could finish his sentence, the young man leaned back, falling onto the ground face up. His still somewhat youthful face visibly turned pale, then shriveled.
The middle-aged commander gazed at the young man's corpse for a long while, finally retracting his gaze, no longer looking at the young man. He merely squeezed out two words through clenched teeth—'Set off!'
...
The scene before her froze on the departing backs of the armored soldiers transporting the yuan dragon frame. At this moment, Hong Bian's voice once again echoed in Lu Yibei's ears.
'Speaking of which, ordinary people know that establishing a God Kingdom is mostly a one-way trip, a life-or-death endeavor. Prince was initially reluctant and did not forcibly conscript laborers. I was once worried that there would be no one available, but I never expected...'
Hong Bian's voice in Lu Yibei's ear grew increasingly blurry, followed by the scene before her gradually clarifying.
She saw two men arguing, one appearing older and the other slightly younger, their appearances seven or eight parts similar.
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...
'Big brother, big brother!' the younger man shouted, pulling at the older man who was carrying a satchel and seemed about to leave. Only after finally restraining the older man did he continue, 'Big brother, let me go instead?'
'After our parents passed away, you've always toiled for us younger siblings, and you're still unmarried at your age. Now, if you go to Yumen Pass, I'm afraid... sigh!'
'Now that I'm married and have a family, I should also think for big brother.'
'...' The older man looked at his younger brother. After a long while, he nodded. 'Alright, then you can come back with me. I'll prepare a table of food and wine to send you off properly.'
A shift in light and shadow brought them to late night.
By the wine table, the young man was sprawled on the table, drunk like a puddle of mud, motionless.
Slowly bending down, the older man retrieved the satchel that the young man had been clutching tightly in his arms. He shook his head. 'Foolish boy, stay here and take good care of your family!'
He paused, then muttered to himself, 'I'm a bachelor. If I go and die, then so be it. Why are you worrying needlessly? You're already married and have children, why are you still acting impulsively like a reckless youth?' frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
With that, he left the simple hut alone, walking out of the village without looking back, heading deep into the Gobi Desert, and never returned.
...
Hong Bian's words still lingered in Lu Yibei's ears, and more and more scenes appeared before her eyes.
She saw the woman who assisted in researching and designing Spiritual Energy circuits, her hair turning white overnight, dying prematurely.
She saw the old man who, when the furnace used to forge solidified Spells for Spiritual Energy circuits broke, blocked the gap with his body, preventing months of everyone's hard work from being destroyed.
She saw the craftsmen who participated in building the God Kingdom being captured by the Huihe Tribe, interrogated for information, and tortured to death without uttering a single sound.
She saw that besides Dragon Xiang, who pushed his divine authority to the limit to construct the God Kingdom, and Hong Bian, who served as Dragon Xiang's assistant, many, many other people came to Yumen Pass and remained there forever for the sake of building the God Kingdom, without even a single tombstone.
Or rather, they couldn't leave anything behind.
So everything, nothing could be left behind.
Before the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate was completed and began operating, Dragon Xiang buried them beneath the Divine Kingdom Central Hub.
Lu Yibei could summon various remnant souls through a targeted soul-summoning Spell and torture them repeatedly. Those who harbored ill intentions and schemes against the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate naturally had similar methods.
'They often say that I am the embodiment of a miracle, but I believe that this Divine Kingdom Jade Gate is the true miracle...'
Hearing this, although Lu Yibei still didn't understand the operating principle of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, she suddenly understood why this massive contraption could move.
However, just as she was deeply moved, Hong Bian's next sentence stunned her.
'Miss Shen, everything is ready. Are you prepared to accept this magnificent miracle?'
Lu Yibei, '???'
Wait a minute? Accept what?
Magnificent miracle? When the hell did you prepare it?
Was it while you were telling the story just now?
In her surprise and uncertainty, Lu Yibei suddenly collected herself and looked at Hong Bian, her pupils trembling.
She saw that Hong Bian, a phantom formed by his last wisp of consciousness using the power of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate, seemed to be on the verge of dissipating, leaving only a blurry golden outline. He held a radiant seed in his hand and slowly walked towards her.
Although Hong Bian said nothing, just one look was enough to know that it was the true'seed' of the miracle flower.
At the same time, it was also the key to unlocking Hong Bian's control over that part of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate.
But...
Was this something one could just casually accept?
To control such a large God Kingdom, anyone with half a brain would know it would surely come at a considerable cost, right?
To put it in mystical terms, its previous masters, Hong Bian and Dragon Xiang, were both 'cursed to death' by it. Clearly, this thing was inauspicious, right?
Lu Yibei felt a chill in her heart and retreated repeatedly, putting distance between herself and Hong Bian's figure.
'Wait, wait! Is there some misunderstanding here?'
'Holy Monk Hongbian, you might have misunderstood. What I meant earlier about needing the Divine Kingdom Central Hub to poison the Shaman King wasn't for you to hand over control of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate to me. I meant for you to open up the Divine Kingdom Central Hub so I could integrate some of my divine authority into it, and then...'
'I know.' Hong Bian's voice echoed in Lu Yibei's mind. 'But I cannot stand by and watch Miss Shen, who has no connection to Yumen Pass and could have remained aloof, make sacrifices for Yumen Pass.'
'So...' Lu Yibei tilted her head. 'You want to hand over control of the Divine Kingdom Jade Gate to me and pull me into this?'
Then you can mess with me however you want, right? Lu Yibei thought to herself.
'Miss Shen misunderstands. This should be considered a gift to repay Shen Guniang's kindness. There is no intention of forcing Shen Guniang to continuously guard Yumen Pass,' Hong Bian explained. 'If Shen Guniang doesn't like it, you can also consider it as safekeeping, and it can be handed over at any time when a suitable candidate appears.'
'Although... why am I so disbelieving that such a good thing exists in the world?' Lu Yibei frowned. 'Can you let me think about it?'
She said this, but Hong Bian no longer responded to her. He simply walked towards her step by step, getting closer and closer, inescapable.
An invisible pressure quietly descended upon Lu Yibei's body and even her soul.
Terrifying Spiritual Energy forcefully surged into her body, and strange, complex patterns, like plant roots, appeared on her skin, intertwining, overlapping, and growing upwards.
Finally, at the moment Hong Bian's phantom disappeared, a massive, sparkling, exquisitely dazzling and magnificent miracle flower quietly bloomed behind her, emitting a rich fragrance...
This is it, I'm 'tainted' now!
Such a thought quietly arose in Lu Yibei's mind.
