Light Fortress Chapter 1996 - 49: Sword Puller, Gu Shen! (First Update)

Ice Sea, high above the sea surface, a sudden strong wind arose.

This windless sea region was instantly torn apart, with bursts of bright ancient text radiance surging out from the sea.

Two figures emerged from the radiance.

In just a few seconds, Gu Shen arrived at the Ice Sea from Da Du... this is the power of the "teleportation" ancient texts. He intently observed Mr. Turing’s gestures while he set up the ancient texts, and the latter did not mind, smiling lightly and saying, "You shouldn’t try to learn these ancient texts. The ’cost’ of teleportation is too great to bear."

Gu Shen knew that whether it was the Prayer Technique, Divination Skill, or Longevity Technique... to endure the "power" they bring, one must first bear the corresponding cost.

The greater the power, the greater the cost.

To make a wish, one must first give up life, to divine spiritually, one must sacrifice the body.

To achieve immortality, one might face spiritual collapse.

Gu Shen said solemnly, "In the future Battle of Cicada Wing City, you teleported numerous times."

"Is that so?"

Turing remarked, "I must have ended up in really bad shape then, right?"

"..."

Seeing the light, indifferent smile on Mr. Turing’s face, Gu Shen found himself momentarily speechless.

After liberating the Lion Awakening code, Mr. Turing’s spiritual consciousness was swallowed by the Dead Sea Zone.

Only a comforting phrase, "We will meet again," was left before the spiritual radiance completely vanished.

Will they really meet again?

Gu Shen felt a bit dazed, unsure if this "reunion" counted as a real reunion. Was this deep place in the Old World the destination Mr. Turing referred to when suggesting he set sail?

"Alright. Let’s focus on the important matters."

Turing gently placed his hand on Gu Shen’s shoulder, and with two fingers together, drew lightly across the sea surface. No powerful force poured out, but the thousand-meter-wide Ice Sea was instantly split in two, with massive waves tearing apart the sea and piling up into mountains, revealing a profound "swirling vortex" underneath.

A faint image of a vast, pale steel shadow could be seen lurking beneath the Ice Sea.

As the seawater diverted.

The sound of mechanical rumbling echoed beside Gu Shen’s ear.

"Turing, while I’m quite familiar with you... it’s not to the extent where just anyone can be brought here."

The two had yet to dive.

Alf’s warning voice echoed above the Ice Sea, maneuvering this Initial ship hiding at the sea’s bottom, avoiding conflicts with human civilization... Yet now, Turing brought an outsider here directly!

In an instant, Black Silver Bombs were all loaded!

"You’re not lying to me, are you, Gu Shen... You truly are the Netherworld King."

At this moment, Turing suddenly looked into Gu Shen’s eyes, smiling as he said, "Next, this guy will really open fire."

Boom boom boom!

As the words fell, sounds of intense bombardment suddenly rose above the sea surface, with Black Silver Bombs shooting out from the seabed. Despite the obstruction of thousands of meters of seawater, these bombs could easily reach the surface, not to mention that Turing proactively parted the sea, causing a vast shadow to explode before the two... Turing did not employ any ancient text, simply observing Gu Shen silently, showing no sign of resisting or moving after asking that last question.

Being able to withstand the impact of Black Silver Bombs is a great way to distinguish a strong individual’s power.

Being among the top materials besides Miracle Silver in Strong Logic Material, Black Silver can effectively "strike" on extraordinary power. To withstand it directly, one needs a very powerful domain, and if caught in a crossfire... even a Titled Transcendent would find it extremely tricky.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang!

Above the Ice Sea, a series of intense explosions erupted, and after the smoke cleared, a golden blurred semi-circular domain slowly unfolded.

This blurred semi-circular domain was not large, only barely enough to enclose Turing and Gu Shen within.

But it was tremendously sturdy, showing no damage whatsoever even after nearly ten Black Silver Bombs had been fired in unison at it.

"Dual Domain."

Gu Shen withdrew his hand poised toward the depths of the Ice Sea, looked at Turing, and said blandly, "Flame of life, creator."

"Impressive, impressive."

Turing watched the dissipating smoke in front of him, unable to resist clapping, clicking his tongue in admiration.

"Alfred."

The next moment, Turing restrained his smile, looking down at the giant vessel beneath him, calmly speaking, reciting Alf’s full name: "I brought the person who can fulfill your wish."

...

...

Ten minutes later, Gu Shen and Turing were already seated in the bronze hall of the Initial ship.

Two Red Shadows attentively served them, pouring tea and water.

Alf was suspended in the air.

It had listened to the causes and effects narrated by Gu Shen.

"That’s roughly the situation."

Turing sipped lightly, asking softly, "Did you understand?"

The AI left by the Lord of Melting Iron, although not comparable to the Deep Sea... was indeed a product of the Starship Civilization.

Yet upon hearing the "future-past paradox" described by Turing, Alf remained silent for a long time, before responding honestly, "Not quite."

Rather than not understanding, it was more disbelief.

It could not believe that Gu Shen could return to the "past" from the future... if Gu Shen could, then surely its master could as well.

If the master could, then how could it have waited so long without seeing the master?

"I understood one thing."

Alf gazed intently at Gu Shen, "You mentioned you could pull out the Fire Extinguishing Sword left by the Lord of Love."

Gu Shen took a sip of tea, added, "I can also lead you to find the ’traces’ left by the Lord of Melting Iron... After the Battle of Cicada Wing City broke out, you set sail and left the East Sea, deciding to explore the Old World. But due to the machinations of the Deep Sea, you were forced to land at the Gu Castle Fortress, fighting alongside human civilization against the traveller."

"..."

Upon hearing the prospect of seeking the marks left by the Lord of Melting Iron, Alf felt a surge of excitement.

Gu Shen’s speculation about being from the future was mostly believed... because the idea of "voyage" had only appeared recently; after waiting fruitlessly in the Ice Sea for so long, Alf genuinely did not want to wait any longer.

And it hadn’t shared its wish to leave with Turing.

"How can I believe what you’re saying?"

"Very simple."

Gu Shen lifted his head, looking towards the depths of the bronze hall, where a faint layer of golden hue draped.

"Let me go inside and have a meeting with the Lord of Love, then I can validate my claims."

Turing put down the tea cup.

The reason he was willing to bring Gu Shen to the Ice Sea, introducing him to Alf, was precisely for this moment—

He wanted to see for himself whether the "source code" he left behind was still alive, arriving in this world as an "outsider".

...

...

The golden illusion swayed like silk.

After receiving Alf’s permission... Gu Shen stood here once again.

Through layers of golden radiance, no one could see the scene inside the throne clearly.

At this moment, Gu Shen’s heart was quite anxious.

He took a light breath.

According to his guess, Chu Ling should be here.

But what if Chu Ling wasn’t here?

Gu Shen held his breath, stepping into the illusion, the raging wind surging, and everything felt the same as in his "first life". In the distance, the throne exuded a powerful majesty, shrouded in a thousand layers of golden silk.

But...

This time.

As Gu Shen stepped into the illusion, he clearly saw the woman sitting on the throne, a timelessly beautiful face, slowly stream down one tear.

"Chu Ling?!"

Gu Shen quickly moved forward, Chi Huo tore the fierce wind apart, he arrived before the throne, intending to reach out and touch the throne in front of him —

But his fingers suddenly stopped.

This time, the statue of the Lord of Love did not automatically revive as it did before.

Gu Shen stood dazed before the statue, and the Fire Extinguishing Sword hovering above the Heavenly Spirit of the Lord of Love emitted a chilling radiance, the throne remained, but the woman on the throne was gone.

In this "world reset" cycle.

Gu Shen did not complete a dialog with the Lord of Love —

The throne before him was in a state of silent annihilation, and the soul trapped within the throne naturally could not escape.

For Chu Ling.

Every minute and every second here was a form of "torment."

Her spiritual consciousness was trapped within the Lord of Love’s shell, unable to do anything, even if the world was reset, it made no difference to her...

Until Gu Shen arrived.

Gu Shen dared not easily touch the throne, fearing that the statue, silent for a millennium, would collapse due to external force.

That one tear assured Gu Shen that Chu Ling was indeed within the statue.

The Lord of Love was silent, but Chu Ling’s spirit remained...

According to the "rules" of this world reset cycle, if the spirit of Chu Ling, this outsider, died, it would also lead to the world’s reset.

Gu Shen did not want to "start over" again.

His gaze fell upon the high-hanging Fire Extinguishing Sword, this time he reached out his hand.

The fierce wind blew!

The residual golden divine domain power of the Lord of Love wrapped around Gu Shen, but in just a moment, Chi Huo tore through these gold silks, burning them away.

Gu Shen extended his palm.

The distance between them... was only one meter.

But this meter, felt like a giant chasm.

In the real world, Gu Shen could not pull out the "Fire Extinguishing Sword."

But here was the Dream.

In the Dream, Gu Shen could do anything.

The hilt, imbued with the dense power of silence, was gripped tightly by Gu Shen, and the command of "extinguish fire" was forcibly issued in an instant!

"Ugh—"

Gu Shen groaned, bearing the forceful power brought by the Causality Law Sword, his face turned pale instantly, yet his palm did not release.

Chi Huo was scattered in a second.

Chi Huo was reshaped in an instant!

The throne of the Lord of Love began to tremble, the skin of the statue-like woman sitting there split like porcelain, as the Fire Extinguishing Sword was gripped by Gu Shen, the originally silent "Torch of Love" revived at this moment, threads of golden light seeped out from the Lord of Love’s skin.

Just as Gu Shen felt unable to hold the Fire Extinguishing Sword anymore—

A hand.

A warm hand.

It covered his hand just like that.

Not, it wasn’t so much a hand... but rather a soft radiance, the Lord of Love’s body greeted silent annihilation, yet the soul and hope it held inside were liberated.

Thousands of strands of golden radiance seeped through the cracks in the skin, converging into a dreamlike slender figure.

"Pull the sword."

A familiar voice emanated from within the golden radiance, reaching into Gu Shen’s Heart Lake.

Gu Shen extended his second hand, both hands tightly gripping the hilt.

The fantasy of the Lord of Love, stabilized for a millennia, began to collapse at this moment, Alf and Mr. Turing watched in shock as the bronze hall explosively trembled, shooting out a dazzling light and fire. This light and fire were not destructive in power, but truly blinding.

"Rumble..."

After the explosion, the light and fire transformed into a waterfall crashing down the entire hall.

Mr. Turing closed his eyes.

Alf did not have a "retina" as such, it maximized its capture.

It watched incredulously the images captured.

As dust filled the sky, countless waves washed over, the figure standing before the throne was already blurred.

But the long sword tightly gripped in his hand.

Was incredibly clear.

...

...

(PS: Awh, sob sob, double release at the end of the month, there should have been more, but yesterday I was genuinely unwell and had no choice but to take a leave of absence. The panda will explode with updates today, hopefully, everyone can vote with your monthly tickets TAT, there will be one more update at noon ~)