Chapter 268: Are You Ready to Accept This Great Miracle?
After entering the Hall of Intent, Hong Bian fell silent, no longer speaking to Luxianbei.
Understanding the situation, Luxianbei also wisely refrained from trying to strike up a conversation with Hong Bian.
She understood that places like the God Realm’s core usually have rules similar to “no loud noise,” just like the ancestral hall dedicated to the sages set up at the back mountain of Dachunyang Palace.
Passing through the empty hall, they entered through a passage inlaid with a bronze relief wall. After traveling along the passage for a short while, she heard Hong Bian softly say, “Miss Shen, we have arrived.”
Finally arriving at the operational hub of the God Realm Yumen, once her eyes adjusted to the light, Luxianbei could not help but exclaim.
“This is… the complete core of the God Realm? Isn’t it a bit exaggerated?”
In her view, endless yellow sand rose and fell, resembling a giant golden veil…
Complex spells, drawn by some force, moved in an orderly manner like a massive nebula, following a predetermined trajectory.
The “heart,” radiating golden and crimson light, pulsed vigorously, each beat expelling immense spirit energy, stirring turbulent waves…
From time to time, illusory figures condensed along the trajectory of the spells, seemingly alive, struggling desperately and crying out in despair, only to be crushed into dust by the terrifying spirit energy from the “heart,” falling into the vast yellow sand below.
Before witnessing the operational hub of the God Realm Yumen firsthand, Luxianbei’s understanding of the God Realm had been limited to the prototype that Mrs. Wang Meili had left for her, believing that all God Realms should be more or less the same.
However, this moment, the hub of the God Realm Yumen, gave her a sense of shock.
It was akin to the digestive system of a terrifying giant beast.
In contrast to Dream City, it embodied two completely different styles.
The core of Dream City seemed like a delicate and ingenious, highly technical but regrettably unfinished piece of art.
Meanwhile, the core of the God Realm Yumen was ancient and heavy, exuding a ruggedness that inexplicably reminded her of the war machines illustrated in steampunk fantasy stories, constantly belching thick smoke and capable of causing massive destruction.
Luxianbei couldn’t even understand how this colossal entity moved.
It felt as if a bunch of oversized parts had been haphazardly pieced together to form an oddly shaped giant machine, and once the start button was pressed, it just began to operate on its own.
It didn’t even require additional power; relying solely on solar energy or some other source, it could maintain the most basic operation.
Complex, miraculous changes filled Luxianbei’s spiritual perception, as if countless pieces of knowledge beyond her understanding yet impossible to ignore were continually unfolding before her eyes, causing her to instinctively widen her eyes.
Accompanied by the heartbeat of the “heart,” the golden flames emitted shimmered before her, filling her eyes with a burning pain.
“As Miss Shen has seen, this is the core of the God Realm Yumen.” Noticing that Luxianbei was entranced by the magnificent operating core of the God Realm, Hong Bian spoke, “The world believes this is the masterpiece of me and His Highness the Prince, unaware that such a feat cannot be accomplished by just the two of us…”
“Back when we constructed it, not to mention anything else, even just transporting the Deep Dragon Frame here cost many lives!”
As they were about to hand over the God Realm Yumen to “Shen Baiwei,” Hong Bian felt it was not a waste of time to briefly mention its origin to this future master of Yumen while they had the limited time left before leaving.
With Hong Bian’s words ringing in her ears, Luxianbei silently released the pressure on her eyes, and after a moment of blurred vision, she caught a glimpse of an endless Gobi Desert.
…
Above the desolate landscape, a middle-aged man dressed like a captain in armor.
From the standard silver armor and the insignia adorning it, he was not a member of the Longxiang Army.
He rode proudly at the front, with several tall horses dragging two carts behind him, all protected by nearly a hundred soldiers battling against the sandstorm.
The items in the carts were wrapped in thick oilcloth and secured with iron chains; from their outline, they looked like a large coffin. Through the seams of the oilcloth, a corner of a talisman written over with spells could faintly be seen.
As the group advanced, a sudden gust of fierce wind swept through, carrying scalding sand, and several soldiers fell to the ground like dry grass blown down by the wind.
In a daze, Luxianbei felt as if she had transformed into a young soldier in the escort team. Upon witnessing her comrades collapse, a wave of panic surged in her heart as she rushed forward to help them up. However, when she saw their faces clearly, she froze in place.
They were already dead…
In the brief moments that passed, their bodies seemed to have been drained of all bl**d by some demonic entity, with pale skin and wounds ground raw by scalding sand exuding a faint stench of rotting flesh.
The Deep Dragon Frame was the skeletal remains of a cataclysm-grade urban legend; even though it was completely dead and layered seals existed… the Night Erosion seeping out of it was something no ordinary person could endure. These low-energy soldiers could withstand it temporarily, but not for long.
Witnessing her comrades d*e tragically filled the young soldier’s chest with anger and fear, boiling over as he finally could not hold back any longer. He dashed forward, grabbing the reins of the warhorse ridden by the middle-aged captain.
“People are dying! Can’t you see the dead?!” He pounded on the large coffin covered with oilcloth with all his might, crying out, “I’ve had enough… Three hundred set out, and now, not halfway through the journey, only a hundred are left! I am truly fed up!”
“This cursed thing is consuming our lives; if this continues, we will all be buried in this Gobi before we reach Yumen Pass!”
In such a military march, making such reckless and overstepping remarks would have warranted military punishment at any other time, even for a son, yet the middle-aged captain merely glanced at the boy expressionlessly and calmly replied, “I know; I saw.”
“But what I know more is that this Deep Dragon Frame must be safely delivered to Yumen Pass to build the God Realm, or else those monsters invading the Central Plains will k*ll more and more people, thousands and thousands… What we are doing is a blessing for generations to come, do you understand?”
After a pause, the middle-aged captain looked back at the soldiers watching him behind, took a deep breath, and declared emphatically, “So don’t even say that only a few have died; even if only one is left alive, we must continue to advance, even if we have to carry it on our shoulders or pull it with our hands, we must deliver the Deep Dragon Frame to Yumen Pass!”
After waiting a few breaths and looking at the soldiers, and seeing no one else speaking, he announced loudly, “If there are no objections, let’s set off!”
Upon finishing, he slightly bent down, pried open the young soldier’s d*ath grip on the reins, and then raised his hand to wipe away the muddy tear stains mixed with sand on the boy’s cheek, calmly saying, “Considering this is your first offense, I will let you off this time, but next time…”
Before he could finish, the young soldier leaned back, face up, collapsing to the ground. His once youthful face began to visibly pale, then shriveled away.
The middle-aged captain stared at the boy’s corpse for a while, finally withdrew his gaze, and no longer looked at the youth again, merely squeezing out two words through gritted teeth—”Set off!”
…
The scene before her froze on the retreating figures of the soldiers transporting the Deep Dragon Frame. At that moment, Hong Bian’s voice rang in Luxianbei’s ears once more.
“Speaking of which, establishing the God Realm, everyone knows it is mostly a one-way ticket, a job with life and d*ath risks. The Prince was reluctant at that time and did not forcibly conscript laborers. I was worried there would be no one available, yet I did not expect…”
Hong Bian’s voice grew increasingly indistinct to Luxianbei as scenes began to clarify before her.
She saw two men arguing, one looking older, the other somewhat younger, their features bearing a striking resemblance.
…
“Big brother, big brother!” The younger man tugged at the older man’s arm, who was shouldering a bag and seemed ready to leave, calling out desperately, “Please let me go!”
“Since our parents passed away, you’ve been taking care of us younger siblings, and now when you’re older, you haven’t even started a family. If you go to Yumen Pass now, I fear… sigh!”
“Now I have a family and children of my own; I should think of you now.”
“…” The older man gazed at his younger brother for a long moment and finally nodded, “Fine, then you come back with me and I’ll prepare a feast to properly send you off.”
A swirl of light and shadow transitioned to deep night.
At the table, the younger man was so drunk he resembled a puddle of mud, motionless on the table.
Bending down slowly, the older man retrieved the bag the younger man had been tightly embracing. Shaking his head, he said, “You foolish boy, stay here to take care of the family!”
Pausing, he muttered to himself, “As a bachelor, I am going to d*e anyway, why should you worry about me? You have a family now, how can you still act so recklessly like a young fool?”
With that, he left the simple little house alone, not looking back as he walked out of the village and into the depths of the Gobi, never to return.
…
The voice of Hong Bian still echoed in Luxianbei’s ears as more scenes emerged before her eyes.
She saw a woman assisting in the research and design of the spirit energy circuits, her hair turned white overnight, passing away in her prime.
She saw an elder who, when the furnace used to forge the solidifying spells for the spirit energy circuits broke, used his body to plug the gap, preventing months of efforts from being wasted.
She saw craftspeople involved in establishing the God Realm taken by the Huihu tribe, tortured and killed for information, yet never uttering a sound.
She saw not only Longxiang, who exerted his powers to the fullest to construct the God Realm, and Hong Bian, who assisted him, but there were many others who came to Yumen Pass. To build the God Realm, they remained here forever, with not even a gravestone.
Or rather, they could leave nothing behind.
So everything they had could not remain.
Before the construction of the God Realm Yumen was completed and began operation, Longxiang buried them beneath the core of the God Realm.
Luxianbei could even use the directional soul summoning spell to summon various lingering souls for repeated torment; naturally, those with malicious intent toward the God Realm Yumen also had similar methods.
“They often say I am the embodiment of miracles, but I believe this God Realm Yumen is the true miracle…”
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei still did not comprehend the working principles of the God Realm Yumen, but she suddenly understood why this colossal entity could move.
However, just as she was deeply moved, Hong Bian’s next words left her stunned.
“Miss Shen, everything is already prepared. Are you ready to accept this great miracle?”
Luxianbei, “???”
Wait a minute? Accept what?
A great miracle? When the hell did you prepare that?
Was it during your storytelling just now?
In a state of unease, Luxianbei abruptly snapped back to her senses and looked at Hong Bian, her pupils trembling.
She saw Hong Bian, using the power of the God Realm Yumen, forming an apparition from the last remnant of her consciousness, seemingly on the verge of dissipating. Only a vague golden outline remained, holding a brilliantly radiant seed, slowly approaching her.
Although Hong Bian did not say a word, a single glance made it clear that this was indeed the “seed” of the true Miracle Flower.
At the same time, it was the key to unlocking Hong Bian’s portion of control over the God Realm Yumen.
But…
Is this something you can just casually accept?
To control such a vast God Realm, it stands to reason that a significant price must be paid, right?
Metaphysically speaking, its predecessors, Hong Bian and Longxiang, had died because of it; clearly, this thing was not auspicious, right?
Luxianbei felt a chill in her heart and retreated, increasing the distance from Hong Bian’s figure.
“Wait, wait! Is there some misunderstanding here?”
“Hong Bian Holy Monk, you may have misunderstood. What I meant when I said I needed to poison the Shaman Queen with the God Realm core does not mean handing over the control of the God Realm Yumen to me; I meant for you to release the core so I can fuse part of my powers into it, then…”
“I understand,” Hong Bian’s voice resounded in Luxianbei’s mind. “However, I cannot watch as you, Miss Shen, who have nothing to do with Yumen and could lead a safe life, make sacrifices for Yumen.”
“So…” Luxianbei tilted her head, “You just want to transfer control of the God Realm Yumen to me, pulling me into your ranks?”
Then I can freely screw things up, right? Luxianbei thought bitterly.
“Miss Shen misunderstood; this should be considered a gift to repay your kindness, and there is no implication of forcing you to guard Yumen indefinitely.” Hong Bian explained, “If you don’t like it, you can treat it as something entrusted to you temporarily, and once a suitable candidate appears, it can be handed over at any time.”
“Although… why do I find it so hard to believe there’s such a good deal in this world?” Luxianbei frowned. “You want me to think about it?”
She said this, but Hong Bian made no further response, slowly stepping closer to her, increasingly near, leaving her no way to avoid it.
An invisible weight silently descended upon Luxianbei’s body and soul.
The terrifying spirit energy ferociously poured into her body, and strange, complex markings, like the roots of plants, began to appear on her skin, intertwining, overlapping, and growing upward.
Finally, at the moment Hong Bian’s apparition disappeared, a gigantic, flickering, brilliantly splendid Miracle Flower quietly bloomed behind her, releasing a strong fragrance…
This is it, I’m no longer “clean”!
This thought quietly arose in Luxianbei’s mind.
