Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Gu Dongting, sword in hand, watched coldly as the renegade immortals of the mountain confessed in trembling fear.

On the ground lay their companion, his meridians severed and his Dantian destroyed. With such a precedent, the captured immortals dared not hide anything and divulged everything they knew.

Their leader, an elder of the highest order, was one of the founders of the mountain and had lived since its inception.

“His power is beyond your imagination, and his ambition unparalleled. Under his leadership, the whole world will change. We won't have to endure the era of dissipating spiritual energy anymore!” The man's voice grew passionate as he spoke.

Subconsciously trying to recruit talents for his master, he looked up and met Gu Dongting's icy, ruthless gaze, shivering and immediately fell silent.

After a while, another person added, “Our lineage has followed him for generations…”

That's why he knew a bit more than others.

“Our master is not from Huaxia. He came to the Great Ming as part of a delegation from the Japanese state over five hundred years ago.”

At that time, Gu Yuanchun was just a teenager, a servant in the entourage. By a stroke of fate, a cultivator noticed his extraordinary innate talent and took him as a disciple.

Decades later, Gu Yuanchun devoted himself to cultivation and became one of the sect's elders. It was then that he shockingly realized the world's spiritual energy was diminishing year by year!

A natural prodigy, he found his progress hindered by external factors, and the dream of ascension seemed like an unreachable legend.

How could Gu Yuanchun accept this!

He united all sects in the cultivation world, carved out three islands overseas, and with all their might, founded the Three Great Immortal Mountains.

However, unlike other elite cultivators who immediately took residence in the mountains, Gu Yuanchun chose to stay outside, living as a hermit and remaining close to the emperor.

“What is he planning to do?” Shi Yan, who had entered unnoticed, couldn't help but ask.

The speaker cautiously raised his head, and upon seeing no change in Gu Dongting's expression, began, "At that time, the spiritual energy was already dissipating, and his cultivation had hit a bottleneck..."

"So, he planned to extract the spiritual energy from the dragon veins for his own use."

Shi Yan frowned deeply, "Has he gone mad! These are dragon veins!"

"The emperor at that time was already obsessed with cultivation and alchemy. Our master... merely gave him a little push," the speaker said, lowering his head.

"So, he successfully stole the national dragon vein's energy centuries ago, and now he plans to repeat the trick?" Gu Dongting's eyes flashed coldly, his tone icy and unemotional, making everyone tense up.

"The master needed to scheme to absorb the dragon vein's energy before, but after years of cultivation, his power now surpasses anyone in the world!" The renegade immortal spoke with reverence for Gu Yuanchun, fear of Gu Dongting dissipating, "No one can stop our master's progress!"

An excited disciple of the mountain gestured grandly, "A hundred-year plan, just a step away from fruition! This is a matter that concerns the future of humanity, and you are merely obstructing the inevitable..."

Before he could finish, his raised hand suddenly fell to the ground, blood spurting out and splashing on his own face.

Gu Dongting withdrew his sword, its blade as clean as before, untouched by any blood.

He moved so swiftly that the other special department members couldn't intervene in time. The man whose hand was severed didn't even react for a few seconds before he began to wail in agony.

Shi Yan looked at Gu Dongting's profile, then at the blood splattered around the room, licking his lips, "Brother Gu..."

Gu Dongting didn't even glance at him, coldly staring at the renegade immortals, "Are you done talking?"

The immortals, crouching like quails, glanced at each other. Seeing that Gu Dongting might strike again, they hurriedly spoke up, "Me, me, me! I know the key liaison between the mountain and the outside world!"

"I know the master's method of cultivation..."

"I, I can tell you about the arrangements in foreign countries..."

Fearing they might be the next to lose limbs or have their cultivation destroyed, they scrambled to divulge everything they knew, worried they hadn't said enough to avoid Gu Dongting's wrath.

Finally, Gu Dongting obtained the information he wanted.

Gu Yuanchun, devoted to his cultivation, had been in seclusion for centuries, his divine consciousness so powerful that anything entering his domain was at his mercy.

Thinking of the unconscious Shen Wang, Gu Dongting asked, "How can someone whose consciousness has been harmed by him be treated?"

At this, the previously talkative renegade immortals lost their voice. After a long pause, they spoke with trepidation, "With our master's power, no one can..."

Gu Dongting looked up, and the speaker immediately fell silent.

Without lingering, Gu Dongting turned and left as abruptly as he had arrived.

Leaving behind the relieved renegade immortals and Shi Yan, who had to clean up the mess.

After sending the injured for basic treatment and moving the still-shaken renegade immortals to another chamber, Shi Yan and his subordinates managed the blood-soaked scene, conversing as they worked.

"Why was Brother Gu so ruthless this time? If these people weren't vicious murderers, we wouldn't know how to handle them."

"No choice, they were too depraved. Look at the domestic and international situations – the vampire clan is nearly extinct, and then there are the natural and man-made disasters elsewhere... If Shen hadn't noticed something wrong, dealt with the evil spirits at the ancient battlefield, and healed the dragon veins, we would be in the same situation as that island country."

The thought of the current dire state of the island country sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Lately, the situation in the island country had worsened, with countless evil spirits emerging and dense Yin energy, strong enough to incapacitate healthy adults and cause numerous deaths and injuries among the weak and elderly.

This created a vicious cycle: the heavier the Yin energy, the more deaths and injuries, which in turn intensified the Yin energy and caused even more deaths and injuries...

Faced with this situation, their government was still hiding the truth, claiming it was a large-scale infectious disease, and didn't take sufficient protective measures, allowing the death toll among the vulnerable to rise.

Some even speculated conspiratorially: were they trying to get rid of the elderly who they saw as non-productive, using this as an opportunity for a clean sweep?

Shi Yan's expression was complex: "This time, it's uncertain if they can survive it."

Someone scoffed, "When that formation first appeared, if their cultivators had put in all their effort, I don't believe they couldn't handle a single formation in their country."

But those cultivators were too afraid to risk their lives, letting the situation escalate beyond control.

"Damn it, Gu Yuanchun is from that island country, living in Huaxia for so long... No wonder there are so many harmful formations in Huaxia and the island country; it's like a rabbit that eats the grass around its burrow."

While they were cleaning up the battlefield, Gu Dongting had already returned to the Gu family residence.

Due to Gu Dongting's unique constitution, the Gu family had specially designed a chamber for him to safely endure periods when his constitution acted up.

Now, Shen Wang lay quietly on the bed in the chamber, looking peaceful as if merely asleep.

A flash of pain crossed Gu Dongting's eyes as he gently caressed Shen Wang's cheek.

"The Bai family has already sent someone to examine him," said Uncle Gu, who had been guarding Shen Wang in the chamber. "There are no external injuries on him. It's likely that his consciousness has been damaged."

In this era, damage to the consciousness was almost untreatable, leaving only hope for Shen Wang to recover on his own.

Like someone in a vegetative state, he might wake up soon if lucky, or if not...

Uncle Gu looked at Gu Dongting with concern.

Gu Dongting, already aware of the situation, lowered his eyes, his voice hoarse, "Thank you, Uncle. I'd like to stay with him for a while."

Uncle Gu opened his mouth to offer comfort but found no words.

He had watched Gu Dongting grow up and had personally initiated him into cultivation and swordsmanship, understanding him better than anyone else.

This was Gu Dongting's first experience with love, and suffering such a severe blow just as he was tasting the sweetness of romance was undoubtedly a huge shock.

Especially since Gu Dongting, who appeared cold and tough, valued emotions deeply.

Sighing silently, Uncle Gu finally said nothing and left the chamber.

After hearing the chamber door slowly close, Gu Dongting exhaled a turbid breath from deep within. He gently lay down beside Shen Wang, resting his head on Shen Wang's shoulder, his mind seemingly filled with thoughts, yet also empty.

After an unknown amount of time, a tear suddenly rolled down from the corner of his eye, crossing the red mole under his eye like blood, "Shen Wang, please, don't leave me."

In Shen Wang's consciousness realm, he watched Gu Dongting show such vulnerability and sadness for the first time, infuriated, "Stupid Heaven, when will you let me out!"

A faint voice answered him, "When the time comes, you will be able to leave."

Shen Wang, utterly frustrated, sat down on the ground, looking at the outside world's Gu Dongting, "Gu Yuanchun has plundered resources from the whole world to enhance himself. He's already at the Tribulation phase, and what can I, a mere Foundation Building phase cultivator, do?"

In this small world where the highest achievable power is the fasting stage, Gu Yuanchun resorted to unscrupulous means, exhausting the world's resources for cultivation, and his power even exceeded the limits set by the Heavenly Dao.

Perhaps on the surface, his level is still forcibly confined within the fasting phase as stipulated by the Heavenly Dao, but his actual strength has reached the pinnacle of the Tribulation phase, just one thunder strike away from ascending in broad daylight.

Not to mention this world, even in the cultivation realm, he is among the top figures. In his past life, Shen Wang would only keep his distance upon seeing him, let alone now.

The Heavenly Dao remained unmoved; "You can leave when the time comes."

Shen Wang clenched his teeth fiercely and collapsed to the ground.

His consciousness realm, connected to a small world forged from Sumeru Stone, looked identical, with neatly arranged spiritual plants, a small spirit water pond, and even a Ninefold Lotus in the pond.

But all of this was just an illusionary projection, seemingly vibrant but in reality, completely lifeless, without any sign of life.

When Shen Wang was probing the trapping formation with his consciousness, he hadn't relinquished all of it. Logically, even if the consciousness in the formation was annihilated, he should have only suffered damage to his consciousness, not to the extent of falling into a coma.

However, the sudden appearance of the Heavenly Dao picked up his fragmented consciousness and stuffed it back into his sea of consciousness, leading to his coma.

And the first thing the Heavenly Dao said to him was:

"Shen Wang, I am your father."

Shen Wang: "???"

Shen Wang: "I am your father!"