Chapter 59 (Double Update Combined) The Fall of a God...
The cargo box containing Sheng Chunqiu and his two companions was located at the Mithril Merchant Guild's central stronghold.
Just now, Sheng Chunqiu was traveling at a rapid pace in a direction 30 degrees southwest, following Director Yan's instructions. When she was almost at Emerald City, Sheng Chunqiu hesitated a bit, but the deduction did not give her any warning.
They had just escaped from Emerald City, which was now under martial law; a tight net awaited them.
This smuggling gang clearly knew Sheng Chunqiu well, knowing that she was a metal-type spirit master and had extremely strong micro-management control over metal spirits. Wherever there was metal, it became Sheng Chunqiu's mobile arsenal.
During her studies in Zhanzhou, Sheng Chunqiu memorized all the books related to weapon modification in the Zhanzhou Library. If given the opportunity, she could even build a high-energy laser cannon by hand.
His ability to combine deduction and analysis is so accurate that he never misses a beat.
Therefore, the encampment where they had just been hiding contained no metal whatsoever, only magical artifacts. At the same time, a large-scale deployment of array flags nearby sealed off the flow of spiritual energy.
Otherwise, even if he were suddenly stabbed in the back, Sheng Chunqiu would never have been in such a sorry state, and even had an arrow in his leg.
This arrow was also specially made, entirely woven from wood and rattan, with densely packed spikes on it.
As Sheng Chunqiu slowed down and began to ponder Yan Ju's intention in directing her in this direction, she suddenly noticed a mechanical vehicle parked in the middle of the road, with several cargo boxes pulling behind it.
Seeing them approach, the woman in the driver's seat flashed the vehicle's lights three times, then quickly jumped out and lifted the cloth covering one of the cargo boxes to signal them to get in.
Zhuang Le hesitated for a moment: "Sheng Chu, this mechanical vehicle has the markings of a smuggling group that just came here."
The simulation still yielded no warnings.
Sheng Chunqiu: "Go ahead. This is Director Yan's arrangement."
The woman in the driver's seat remained silent until the three of them were loaded into the cargo box, after which she whispered to them, "Make sure the insulating cloth is pulled up properly."
With that, they got back into the car and drove into Emerald City.
After everything came to a stop and there was no sound outside, Sheng Chunqiu led Zhuang Le and Yue Wenhe for a distance before suddenly stopping.
Jinling just told her that there was someone behind the cargo box, not the driver in front, but he hadn't said a word.
Sheng Chunqiu frowned. She sensed that this stronghold was very large, and judging from the route the mechanical vehicle had taken to enter, it was highly likely to be the core stronghold of the smuggling ring.
Director Yan must have had his own reasons for arranging for someone to bring her in.
After leaving the cargo box, the presence of the Golden Spirit gradually disappeared, replaced by the volatile Fire Spirit.
The density of fire spirits here is terrifyingly high.
If it were just a simple smuggling ring, there wouldn't be such precautions and arrangements.
It's absurd to completely overturn the Emerald City branch. After all, all the staff of the Bureau of Otherworldly Affairs were carefully selected from the Inner World, and some of them have only been working for less than a year. It's impossible for such a drastic change to happen.
Sheng Chunqiu was more inclined to believe that those in the Emerald City branch who did not listen to the smuggling gangs were already unable to continue speaking.
The smuggling ring must have had ulterior motives for going so far as to sideline an entire branch of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and set a trap to lure her here.
She needed to find out the true purpose of this smuggling ring and the survival status of the branch office staff before reporting to Director Yan.
The stronghold seemed to have an underground layout; Sheng Chunqiu could sense that the entire path leading inward sloped downwards. Moreover, as they went deeper, the central corridor became increasingly dark, replaced by a faint light from the fire spirits.
Sheng Chunqiu suddenly raised her crossbow and fired it into the darkness, while leaning back to avoid the fireballs that were coming at her.
"Be careful," she said in a low voice.
The corridor was getting hotter and hotter. The fire spirits were so dense that they were visible and dazzling. Sheng Chunqiu was so suffocated by the smoke that he could not open his eyes. He could only fight the people coming by relying on the warning he had deduced.
The person who arrived was 1.8 meters tall and slender. She quickly sketched a portrait of the person in her mind.
Suddenly, the two breathing sounds behind her became rapid. Sheng Chunqiu's heart sank, and she tried her best to open her eyes and look back.
Yue Wenhe was pinned to the ground, and Zhuang Le had already suffered multiple abrasions from burns.
At the same time, Sheng Chunqiu also realized that the three of them were fighting three fire spirits.
Sheng Chunqiu: "The elves have no need to interfere in the human race's struggles."
The fire spirit fighting her snorted coldly, "On the condition that your Bureau of Eccentricities doesn't push its luck."
"The Bureau of Alien Management has had no dealings with the Fire Spirits recently," Sheng Chunqiu replied. All major decisions of the Bureau of Alien Management, whether at the headquarters or branch offices, require her approval.
Could it be that the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs has taken new actions against the fire spirits during her time in the Elf Forest?
However, the final implementation of each decision made by the Foreign Affairs Bureau, from the initial plan of the General Administration to its final implementation, is by no means something that can be completed within a week.
Fire Elf: "We saw it with our own eyes. The High Priest was replaced by an outsider from your Bureau of Heretics, who then slaughtered the Fire Elves! How dare you mention that, you shameless outsider!"
As the fire spirits spoke, they angrily gathered another fireball and hurled it at Sheng Chunqiu.
Having fought for quite some time, Sheng Chunqiu's strength was gradually exhausted, and she dodged in a disheveled state. The flamethrower grazed her clothes, scorching the edge of her uniform.
Her leg, which had been struck by an arrow, was in excruciating pain in this high-temperature environment, and Sheng Chunqiu's deductions issued a frantic warning.
She dodged several more rockets in a disheveled manner, but was eventually pinned to the ground.
"Be careful," said the fire spirit standing beside Zhuang Le, who was stepping on him. "That one in your hand is different; it's the ritual offering that Wei Ning specifically requested. What if you hurt it and it affects the ritual?"
“I know, how much could it be?” the fire sprite interrupted impatiently. “Take them in?”
"Walk."
After his back was pressed to the ground, while the fire spirits were talking, Sheng Chunqiu struggled to quietly reach out and press the shortcut key on the side of his phone.
[Sheng Chunqiu: Yanju,]
[Audio File]
[Real-time location link]
She had just finished sending the message when the fire sprite picked her up, knocked her unconscious, and led her deeper into the corridor.
...
Yan Shi was getting ready to leave work when he received Sheng Chunqiu's message.
All afternoon, the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs was peaceful and quiet, and finally no one bothered her to slack off!
Just as Yan Shi was pondering whether to have Japanese sushi or hot pot skewers for dinner, and had already packed her briefcase and was waiting to leave at five o'clock sharp, she received three cryptic messages from Sheng Chunqiu.
An unfinished text, an audio recording, and a location link.
Yan Shi: ...
She was just thinking this morning that there wasn't anything she needed to use her abilities for this week, so she was brought here this afternoon.
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Sure enough, many things can't be said without being told; she'll never make a promise again!
Considering that it would be her end of the workday in five minutes, Yan Shi immediately forwarded the message to Gui Ge Mu.
She doesn't want to work overtime.
With Guige Mu still here, Sheng Chunqiu shouldn't be in any danger to his life.
She can come back tomorrow to listen to the recording and see how things are going.
Yan Shi happily thought about it and finally decided to have a Japanese buffet today.
However, just as she arrived at the Japanese restaurant and ordered a large number of dishes, the spiritual message rang again at an inopportune moment.
Yan Shi: ...
Yan Shi tried to pretend she didn't see it, but her phone kept vibrating, and she painfully answered the emergency call.
It is the curtain of the returning pavilion.
Gui Gemu's tone was very urgent: "Director Yan, something's not right," she gasped for breath.
"The smuggling ring that Sheng Chunqiu is investigating is trying to tear apart the world barrier above Emerald City! And Sheng Chunqiu is the sacrifice in this ritual."
"Please come quickly and save her."
Yan Shi: ?
What is it?
Tearing apart the world barrier above Emerald City?
She tried to understand Guigemu's words.
Then he slowly sat up straight in the Japanese restaurant, and then looked utterly shocked.
Wei Ning has finally gone mad and decided to perish together with the world?
Yan Shi: "Okay, I understand."
She hung up Guigemu's call, then took out her phone and reopened the recording sent by Sheng Chunqiu.
An unnamed fire spirit in the recording said, "We saw it with our own eyes. The High Priest was replaced by an outsider from your Bureau of Heretics, who then slaughtered the fire spirits! How dare you mention that, you shameless outsider!"
That's a familiar way of addressing me.
Isn't this something the wood elves especially like to say? So the fire elves like to say it too.
Is this a common catchphrase among the elves?
Furthermore, Sheng Chunqiu was the sacrifice that Wei Ning specifically requested. What kind of Tang Monk flesh is she? How come she was captured by the Mithril Merchant Guild again after just leaving the Elf Dungeon of the Forest of Life?
Yan Shi silently complained, and after listening to the recording with a blank expression, he stood up and said, "The dishes that haven't been made yet don't need to be made anymore. I'm leaving now."
Waiter: "Ma'am, this is a self-service buffet. Are you sure you want to leave now? The bill is non-refundable."
"Yes." Yan Shi cried inwardly. She decided to double her overtime hours after finishing her work today. Sheng Chunqiu's current situation was so complicated that it made her scalp tingle.
She wants to come back for Japanese food tomorrow.
Sheng Chunqiu's location was in a dimly lit corridor, where there was no light and faint sounds could be heard from the left.
The crown of the blazing sun was slightly warm inside her briefcase. Yan Shi hesitated for a moment, then put the crown of the blazing sun back on her hand and walked to the left.
The boots landed on the stone pavement with a dull thud.
Yan stopped and looked around the corner.
“Come out,” she said.
Wen Ying leaned against the corner and looked at her. "Yan Shi, we meet again."
Just like last time in the Elf Forest, Wen Ying had several white flowers pinned in her hair.
In the limited understanding of Yanshi's customs, white flowers were only worn during the mourning period after the death of a loved one.
Did Wen Ying have a deceased relative?
Seeing that Yan Shi was staring at her hair, Wen Ying chuckled and plucked a flower from her hair, handing it to Yan Shi: "The sacred flower of the Forest of Life, do you like it?"
Yan Shi didn't take it, but asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Then what are you doing here?" Wen Ying suddenly took two steps closer. "I heard that you razed Lingkong City to the ground, and that Baiyujing and Jinzhou each paid you more than 2 billion to apologize?"
Yan Shi: "This money originally came from the Ju'e Plain. It will be used for infrastructure development in the Ju'e Plain."
Currently, all compensation payments are in the General Administration's Finance Department's account, and every single payment is recorded. The plan is to build multiple cub shelters on the Ju'e Plain all at once.
Once the first batch of cubs in the shelter grow up and return to their respective groups or establish new groups, they will surely help the cub shelter as well.
The Bureau of Foreign Affairs can then gradually reduce the special allocation funds for the Ju'e Plain each year.
As more cubs grow up and gradually take over the discourse power of the Jue Plains, Yan Shi also hopes that they can reduce the scale of the annual summer war based on their past friendship and spare each other's cubs.
“You’re still the same.” Wen Ying stared into her eyes. “Overly compassionate. What do those cubs have to do with you? They’re not even human.”
Yan Shi: "This is the responsibility of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs."
“The Bureau of Alien Affairs has never managed the Giant Jade Plain in all these years, and only you would have seen them.” Wen Ying’s close relationship with Yan Shi caused Yan Shi to frown slightly, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
"What do you want to say?" Yan Shi said calmly, "or rather, what are you doing?"
Wen Ying: "It's just a small help. The chieftain of the wood elves is cold-blooded; he's unmoved even when his childhood playmate dies. The fire elves are not like that."
"I heard that Leona came to see you later. What did she say to you?"
Yan Shi realized something was wrong. "The elves have treated you well, haven't they? Why are you attacking the wood elves?"
Wen Ying: "Then where did I wrong you? Yan Shi, you didn't give me a clear answer back then."
Why did you suddenly break off our friendship?
Yan Shi looked at Wen Ying.
She no longer remembered the specific trigger that caused her to break off her friendship with Wen Ying.
Ideas are accumulated little by little.
Perhaps Wen Ying drove a classmate with whom she had a past conflict to the brink of despair, perhaps Wen Ying had inquired about the teacher's personal preferences after class, or perhaps Wen Ying would inquire about the competition questions in advance.
All of this is normal. Wen Ying simply wants to protect his own interests and win forever.
But Yan Shi is different.
So on a very ordinary day, Yan Shi thought that she and Wen Ying were not suitable to be friends.
Then Yan Shi never spoke another word to Wen Ying.
As proud as Wen Ying was, after being rebuffed twice in her attempts to make peace, she naturally wouldn't ask Yan Shi for help again.
Why?
Wen Ying did not do anything to harm Yan Shi.
Wen Ying: "I thought we were the same."
“Wen Ying,” Yan Shi said, “that is your path. I will not interfere with other people’s personal choices.”
Wen Ying stared at her again, "You're always like this. You never take anything to heart."
Yan Shi's vision blurred for a moment, and when she opened her eyes again, she was standing on the covered bridge of her high school.
Wen Ying stood right next to her; the two of them seemed like phantoms who had wandered into the corridor, unnoticed by anyone in the bridge.
An argument is taking place on the covered bridge at this moment.
The subjects were young Wen Ying and another boy.
Young Wen Ying remained silent, only biting her lip as she looked at the other person. The other person, on the other hand, laughed unrestrainedly.
"Wen Ying, you freak! Hahahaha, a half-elf and half-human, no one would know that the class's pride is an outsider!"
"Ugly monster, did your fairy mother tell you that your hidden pointy ears are ugly?"
"I happen to have brought scissors with me. How about I cut off your foreign ears, hahaha?"
"It is said that elves do not eat cooked food, and those who eat raw food are beasts. Wen Ying, you are a beast!"
Young Wen Ying could only repeat softly, "I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster."
Beware of illusions and fleeting beauty.
Yan Shi recalled the words Leona had whispered in her ear.
She immediately realized that this was Wen Ying's ability.
Wen Ying's abilities are like a mirage.
The phantom continued repeating itself, and Wen Ying whispered beside her, "You see, I know you remember that I once drove Gu Wei to the brink of despair. But it's an eye for an eye; she was the one who mocked me for being a half-elf."
Yan Shi turned his head to look at her.
“Yan Shi,” Wen Ying said, opening her bright green eyes wide.
Yan Shi never said it, but Wen Ying understood that Yan Shi's initial decision to team up with her was largely due to her eyes.
Yan Shi likes the green sea.
"Yan Shi, I have never harmed any innocent living beings."
"Yanshi, let's ignore everyone else and continue being friends, okay?"
"Yanshi, I can tell you anything you want to know."
"A mirage." Yan Shi closed his eyes. At this moment, the fire spirits in the air became more and more concentrated. The blazing sun crown seemed to have recovered somewhat. Following Yan Shi's wishes, the scattered fire spirits gathered together and suddenly burned towards the illusion.
Wen Ying's face paled. When Yan Shi opened his eyes again, he was once again in front of the familiar corridor of the Mithril Merchant Guild's stronghold.
Yan Shi asked expressionlessly, "What do you want from me?"
Wen Ying dropped her previous pitiful and aggrieved demeanor, reverting to her earlier aloofness, and took a few steps back. "What's so good about the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs?"
"Why don't you pity me, a mixed-race person?"
Yan Shi: "I don't think you need anyone's sympathy."
Wen Ying chuckled softly. It was Yan Shi again. Indeed, what Wen Ying hated most was other people's strange looks and attitudes.
Wen Ying disliked both those who pitied her and those who ostracized her.
However, Wen Ying could never see through or understand Yan Shi.
Yan Shi was equally arrogant in high school.
Her arrogance stemmed from her focus solely on herself; she disregarded others and the outcome.
She always does things that seem meaningless and a waste of time to others.
Yan Shi would hold an umbrella for stray cats on the roadside, share his lunch with teenagers wandering outside the school, and regularly give lectures to orphans.
But when Wen Ying asked Yan, "You like it so much, why don't you bring the stray cat home?"
Anyway, Yan Shi lives alone.
Yan Shi replied in surprise, "I don't like cats. Why would I bring her home?"
Wen Ying: "Then why did you feed her and hold an umbrella for her?"
“Because it’s not important to me,” Yan Shi said. “I’m lucky, it’s not so lucky. I just gave her some of the luck I could give her.”
Yan Shi spoke calmly and without emotion. When she looked at the cat, there was neither affection nor sympathy in her eyes. She looked at the cat no differently than she looked at her classmate.
Wen Ying didn't understand her.
Why do something if there's no benefit to it?
Wen Ying came to her senses.
“I don’t need anyone’s sympathy. I will get everything I want on my own,” Wen Ying said.
Yan Shi had already walked past her into the corridor. "That's your business, it has nothing to do with me."
Wen Ying: "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?"
Yan Shi did not answer.
“Based on our past relationship, I’d like to remind you,” Wen Ying suddenly said behind Yan Shi after she had walked a short distance away. “The sacrifice ceremony for Liu Guang will start promptly at 6 p.m. It’s 5:58 now.”
After all, Wen Ying and Liu Guang did not share the same stance.
Flowing Light wanted to establish a presence in Emerald City, and once the world barrier above Emerald City was completely shattered, it would seize the nearby territory in the surface world in advance.
Wen Ying had no interest in becoming king or dominating; Liu Guang was merely part of her planned scheme.
She was happy to see Liu Guang suffer misfortune.
What is it?
Yan Shi's expression changed slightly.
The fire spirits in the corridor became increasingly dense.
Fire Spirit lifted Yan Shi and flew towards the end of the corridor, where a cluster of flames was gathered.
"You left too quickly." Not long after Yan Shi left, Wen Ying put the flower she had just torn from her hair back on. "I didn't even have time to say anything. Your adjutant is a good person; I cast an instant-cast protective blessing on her."
"The blessing of the elves is very difficult to lose."
Although Yan Shi has arrived now, Sheng Chunqiu may no longer need this blessing.
...
Huo Ling flew very fast, and after a while, Yan Shi's eyes suddenly lit up; the corridor had come to an end.
Below was a huge auditorium, and the end of the corridor was suspended above the auditorium, as if looking down at a raging sea of fire.
The auditorium's ceiling soared extremely high, covered with intricate and exquisite carvings. Countless deep red crystals were inlaid on the reliefs, shimmering with an eerie light and emitting countless fire spirits. These fire spirits flowed like a galaxy, enveloping the entire auditorium in a blazing inferno, as if the entire space was ablaze.
The dense fire spirits in the corridor are precisely those that spread from these fire spirits.
The auditorium floor was covered with obsidian, which reflected the firelight like a mirror. In the center was a huge magic circle. The magic circle was composed of complex runes and geometric patterns, and each line shimmered with a faint silver light, flowing slowly as if it were alive.
Surrounding the magic circle were four tall spirit pillars, with ancient, incomprehensible admonitions carved on them.
The entire auditorium was silent, with only the occasional sound of dripping water coming from a corner of the dome, echoing in the empty space.
Sheng Chunqiu was lying in the center of the magic array, his eyes closed, his face as pale as paper, as if he had lost all his life force.
Guige Mu, along with a woman and a man, and the execution team members that Yan Shi had once seen in the Forest of Life, were now tied to the edge of the auditorium.
Blood dripped from their fingertips, meandering along the ground and flowing into the magic circle. The air was thick with the scorching heat and dryness of the fire spirits, along with the pungent stench of blood, making it suffocating.
Yan Shi quickly assessed the situation. Time was of the essence. Just as she was about to jump down from the corridor to rescue Sheng Chunqiu from the center of the magic circle, she suddenly felt her clothes being grabbed.
It is flowing light.
"Director Yan, please wait a moment."
Yan Shi didn't turn around. With a flick of her wrist, flames transformed into sharp blades, slicing through the fabric at the hem of her clothes. At the same time, she turned her hand, gathering fire spirits into chains, and hurled them fiercely at the flowing light behind her.
Liu Guang's expression changed, but relying on her affinity with the fire spirit, she braved the flames and tried to stop Yan Shi.
The flaming chains mercilessly entangled Liu Guang, slamming her heavily against the wall.
The sizzling sound of burning flesh emanated from Liuguang's body as she struggled to look ahead.
Surrounded by flames, Yan Ju quickly descended towards the center of the magic array.
“God says,” Yan Ju’s voice was solemn, “the sacrificial array, shatter!”
Just as she finished speaking, the law responded and prepared to strike the altar, Wei Ning, standing on the other side of the altar, finished chanting the last incantation.
The ritual took shape.
The silver light on the magic circle began to flow, gradually converging upwards. A large number of crystals on the top of the hall shattered, turning into fine crystal powder that drifted towards the altar.
Silver light and gold-red light converged, and an invisible god stretched out a hand in the center of the altar to block Yan Shi's law judgment, while simultaneously striking the air with force.
The transparent, invisible barrier gradually became visible, and its color deepened as it was struck, attempting to withstand the pressure from the unknown god.
Wei Ning looked at Yan Shi: "Director Yan, the human race cannot stop the gods."
"Under the laws, all living beings are equal. Gods are also living beings." Yan Ju landed at the shattered point of the world barrier, the flames adding color to her, and at the same time she reached out to block the god's attack.
"Block," Yan Shi said.
The laws, according to her will, coalesced into an invisible shield, standing before the world's barrier, confronting the gods.
With the force of the impact, Yan Shi's hair was blown into disarray, and the hairpin slipped from her hair and fell to the ground.
As the hairpin landed, it made a slight clinking sound, but no one paid any attention. All eyes were focused on Yan Ju, who was battling the gods in the air.
But the laws opened their eyes.
Yan Shi felt a blockage in the laws that she had previously used to summon abilities with ease, as if she were being pulled by some force. She tried her best to squeeze out the power she suddenly sensed, attempting to stop the obstruction.
Blood gushed from her throat, but Yan Shi forced it back down.
On the altar, the gods summoned by the sacrifice became increasingly interested, revealing their full forms from the altar and striking the world barrier with even greater force.
The oppressive power of the gods pressed down.
"Get out!" Yan Shi said.
She forcefully pulled out the laws, which transformed into chains that bound the god's entire body.
Then it transformed into an invisible slap, striking Him hard.
He was bound by the law, and at first he tried to struggle, but then he found that the law was binding him tighter and tighter.
He wailed silently, trying to leave the altar, but Yan Shi's next blow had already struck.
As the judgment of the laws descended, the gods became transparent, then turned into invisible fragments and vanished into the air.
The gods have fallen.
A massive shockwave spread outwards from the altar.
Yan Shi turned around blankly.
"Click, swipe."
Small cracks first appeared on the world barrier, then the cracks widened and eventually spread to the entire barrier.
It collapsed with a crash.
Yan Shi: ...
She won the fight.
However, the world barrier has been lost.
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Author's Note: Revised
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-07-16 23:56:51 and 2024-07-18 23:58:42!
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Wumu, Low-key Low-key, and Guijun (1 each);
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Lost Foundation Stone 28 bottles; Bai Bai, Wen Wu 20 bottles; 58044 11 bottles; Zhong Li Yu Xi, Ying, Ji Ying, Mr. Rogue, Suspected Like, Lao Yu 10 bottles; I, He Aotian, swore to protect Qin BE 8 bottles; Drunkard without realizing it 5 bottles; Starry Sky 3 bottles; Shang Feng, Shang An Jin Li, No Name 2 bottles; Hurricane Pumpkin Lantern, x_zenian, Dilireba, D127, Xx, Lie Miao, Not a Vegetarian, Salty Fish Doesn't Want to Turn Over, 72052461, Ling, Just Very Good, Oxygen Master, Ran Shu, and Nuo Tuo 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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