Light Fortress Chapter 1708 - 377: Black Folding Knife
Previously on Light Fortress...
"Next, relax."
Gu Shen spoke softly, "I will teach you a breathing technique... Besides that, I also want to see your memory of picking up the ’folding knife.’
Liu Quan became a disciple under Xie Zheng, and he considers himself as Xie Zheng’s student.
This young man has good aptitude, and today it’s fitting to impart the Jingzhe of ’Spring Breathing’ to him.
After Sister Tian Tong went to the Old World.
Throughout the Five Continents, only I can impart the breathing technique for imprinting dreams with ’Spring Breathing.’
Other Transcendents who wish to comprehend it must go to the Judgement Institute headquarters to apply to observe the dream remnants left by Gu Changzhi.
Liu Quan held his breath.
Gu Shen placed two fingers on the youth’s brow, Chi Huo transforming into ripples like stones dropped into a lake, spreading continuously.
A wisp of flame scattered.
Gu Shen guided Liu Quan into the ’Spring’ of the Four Seasons Wilderness, Liu Quan still in a sitting posture, while Gu Shen wandered like a traveler, strolling through the young man’s modest Spiritual World, walked out of the wilderness, and into the memory corridor like film strips, simultaneously, a snowy figure emerged.
Chu Ling, in a spiritual state, gathered her consciousness, floating beside Gu Shen.
"Thinking back to those years, the young man sitting in the Jingzhe Wilderness was me."
Glancing back at the Jingzhe Dream where rain continuously poured, Gu Shen smiled with lament, "Time truly waits for no one, in the blink of an eye, I’ve become the ancestor master of the youth."
Chu Ling also smiled.
She pondered, "But everything is like yesterday, I’m still at your side."
"After reviving from the Breakthrough at Ice Sea, I suddenly understood many things."
Gu Shen earnestly said, "This world’s fortune is nothing beyond the change of time, while old friends remain. When I returned to East Continent and saw you still here, they also still here, it feels like the six years trapped beneath Ice Sea were nothing."
Chu Ling blinked.
Is it her illusion, since returning from Ice Sea, Gu Shen seems to be easily sentimental.
"Alright, no more sentimentality."
Gu Shen shook his head, seriously stated, "I suspect this ’Black Folding Knife’ is related to the Netherworld Fire."
"Related to the Netherworld Fire..."
Chu Ling could only see that the folding knife concealed calamity. Although she shared vision with Gu Shen, after all, only one person could be the master of the Netherworld King’s Spark.
Some spiritual fluctuations can only be sensed by Gu Shen.
Chu Ling asked with a frown, "You mean, the ’Black Folding Knife’ Liu Quan got was left by the previous Netherworld King?"
"The quality of the Black Folding Knife is too low, impossible to be crafted by the Netherworld King."
Gu Shen straightforwardly responded, "I suspect the Netherworld King arranged a Disaster Realm in Qinghe District, the aura of calamity inside leaked out, contaminating this folding knife... and then circulated outside."
This conjecture is extremely reasonable.
The power of calamity contained in this Black Folding Knife is not much.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have allowed Liu Quan to remain unscathed.
But as long as it passed the hands of the Netherworld King, even if merely ’touched’... the residual power on it would be enough to poison this youth a thousand times.
The most likely scenario is, the previous location of this folding knife was tainted with the Netherworld King Calamity.
Eventually it traveled through various places, landing in Liu Quan’s hand.
"Within one day, I encountered two noteworthy ’Taboo Seals.’
Gu Shen raised two fingers.
"Xu Fang found the Goddess of Destiny’s Sanctuary by the Qing River."
"Liu Quan picked up a calamity-laden Black Folding Knife."
Chu Ling solemnly stated, "These two events are likely causally linked."
"Indeed."
Gu Shen nodded, "If I inquire about the specific details of this ’Black Folding Knife,’ Liu Quan would tell everything without reservation, but what he says may not be the ’truth.’ Taboo Seals may distort spirit, about his encounter with the folding knife, I must personally inspect to ensure infallibility."
As he spoke, he walked in the closed memory corridor of the youth.
To search for the memory of the ’Black Folding Knife,’ inevitably he’ll see Liu Quan’s experiences over these years.
This is a boy born without reliance, lonely for more than a decade, in a remote town of Qinghe District, he grew up eating from many households until discovered by Old Yu, brought to the Judgement Institute dojo.
Gu Shen watched the boy’s diligent practice in the dojo, cultivating day and night.
He suddenly understood why Liu Quan had to fight desperately in the duel with Huyan Yu.
For small figures.
Sometimes, bleak fate has only one opportunity.
A desperate struggle became a necessity. "This is it," Gu Shen declared, halting his advance. He stood at the very point where Liu Quan's memory had been tampered with, a wispy dark aura clouding the recollection and introducing alterations. The spiritual image, swathed in this dark aura, was exceedingly indistinct. A rainy evening, a casual stroll, a walk. The discovery of a folding knife. Pocketing it, followed by a return. If Liu Quan himself were to recount this, the young fellow would likely strain to remember the day’s events, detailing everything before and after he acquired the 'folding knife.' Alas, these were memories warped and reshaped by the 'Taboo Seal.' The dark aura, perceiving the scrutiny of the 'outsider,' reacted instinctively, seeping towards Gu Shen and, within moments, coalescing into a chilling pool of darkness at his feet. Upon this close encounter, Gu Shen grew more convinced. This corrupted essence originated from the same source as the Netherworld Fire Calamity. It was merely a pale imitation compared to the genuine Netherworld Fire residing within him. "Disappear!" Gu Shen's expression hardened as he issued a cold command, bringing his foot down.