Light Fortress-Chapter 1479 - 204: The Final Battle (Part 3)_2

He remembered why this face felt familiar to him.

This young man bore a strong resemblance to Zhao Xilai, the assistant to the Dadu District councilor back in the day, though their temperaments were markedly different.

The young man now looked very dejected and lifeless, with little vitality and spirit.

Qi Mo, hugging a computer case, followed the rescuer into a special cabin; there were dedicated rest cabins on the Source Energy Boat reserved for high-value rescuers.

As they parted, Qi Mo suddenly spoke up, "Sorry... I have a question."

The young man who led the way turned back in silence.

"Is your surname Zhao?"

"..."

The young man with no hint of enthusiasm on his face did not answer the question; he merely paused for a second, somewhat bewildered, and reassessed the person in front of him.

Instead, a passing volunteer smiled and spoke for him, "Mr. Qi Mo, isn’t it? Rest easy here. Zhao Qi is a bit of a quiet one, not good with words, but he’s a good person."

"..."

The young man said nothing in response, just nodded as if to apologize, and then turned to leave, immersing himself back into the heavy rain.

Qi Mo stood there dazed, watching the young man’s departing figure.

Zhao as a surname, and named... Zhao Qi.

If he remembered correctly, when he left the East Continent, Zhao Xilai’s son had already been born.

Named Zhao Qi.

...

...

"Hoo hoo hoo..."

The strong wind howled.

Gu Shen opened his eyes, seeing volcanic debris continuously spewed out from the fissures in Tanyao, like an inverted waterfall.

Time was limited, and his spiritual power had only partially recovered.

However, having had the experience of condensing [Truth. Extinguishing Candle] once, this time the spiritual manifestation would be somewhat easier; his current spiritual power was enough to release the fourth Extinguishing Candle.

He stood up.

The Pure Land and the Blazing Fire entwined, enveloping him.

"Dong... dong..."

The deep drumming sound still resonated beneath [Tanyao].

Only after [Achilles’ Heel]’s continuous shooting, this heartbeat-like sound had weakened considerably.

Without hesitation, Gu Shen jumped down.

During the descent, his Blazing Fire Flame dispersed, capturing the atmospheric essence of this unknown realm.

He "saw" many carcasses engulfed by the lava waves.

Those transcendent beings that ventured here had all been melted, becoming part of the mountain.

The Blazing Fire also captured the remnants of Li Fire.

It seems... the Vermilion Bird Divine Envoy was also part of the "engulfed." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Moments later, Gu Shen landed heavily at the bottom, stepping on the molten, muddy ground, the Pure Land’s Wind Snow instantly melting; this was the heart of extreme heat within the volcano, and maintaining the ice and snow required a vast consumption of source energy.

Though Gu Shen’s body contained plenty of source energy...

He also possessed "Blazing Fire."

Gu Shen decided to withdraw the Wind Snow domain, wrapping himself in flames, combating fire with fire.

Instantly... the pressure reduced significantly.

The moment he stepped onto Tanyao’s core, he realized that Xiao was not the owner here, merely a parasite within Tanyao. The tremendous force contained within this volcano couldn’t possibly be controlled by humans.

In other words, the current eruption of [Tanyao] was at most catalyzed by Xiao’s various actions.

The "volcanic ashes" characteristic here was also naturally formed.

Unless there truly existed a creator in this world.

Otherwise, no one could manufacture such a massive quantity of special materials capable of obstructing the "Divine Authority!"

"Heh..."

A hoarse laugh echoed by his ear.

Gu Shen looked towards the source of the laughter, heat waves rolling, as he walked forward slowly; the density of volcanic ashes here was high and mingled with some strange power, easily immersing a distracted mind into a Dream.

But spiritual tactics were ineffective against Gu Shen.

His will was unwavering.

Any external thought trying to infiltrate his Spirit Sea would trigger the Pure Land and the jade ring.

So he didn’t pay any mind to Xiao’s tricks laid here.

Continuing straight ahead, he reached the weak spot seen in the [Achilles’ Heel] domain, a crimson wall with countless flames entwining, each ancient character glistening.

These lines crisscrossed, climbing towards the high point of the stone wall, ultimately converging together.

Becoming a... heart.

The "dong dong" sound originated here.

Indeed there was a heart here, and it truly belonged to Xiao.

The heart was positioned like a tree’s crown, with countless crimson veins gathering below, forming a dried trunk, only to reveal upon closer inspection... it wasn’t a trunk, but a body embedded into the stone wall.

The heart above.

The body below.

It’s actually a metaphor, and a very vivid one at that.

"Spirit above flesh."

At this moment, as Gu Shen stopped, the figure within the stone wall slowly became discernible; the humanoid entity embedded within began speaking slowly, its chuckle raspy, "Gu Shen... you always manage to surprise people..."

The large crimson heart above had two distinct cracks.

These were injuries caused by [Truth. Extinguishing Candle]; however, the silver arrows condensed by spiritual power had already shattered and dissipated.

With each heartbeat,

The heart would pour out vast amounts of fresh blood, cascading down the stone wall, soaking the head of the humanoid entity.

The sight was eerie and unsettling.