Chapter 1 The Plan

The golden divine glow of the Qingzhong Cemetery flowed across the horizon.

The inner mausoleum stone walls reflected their shadows.

"Some things cannot be said yet. If you are smart enough, you should be able to guess the truth."

Bai Shu-xiansheng kept them in suspense. He slowly said, "The reason for this meeting today is that each of you present is an extremely important member of the plan."

Gu Shen, Chu Ling, Song Ci, and Gu Xiaoman all looked incredibly solemn.

Bai Shu-xiansheng's meaning was that someone was of higher "status" than the Empress and him?

"Wait, what is the truth? What is this...plan you're talking about?"

Song Ci looked bewildered.

He wasn't good at strategy and planning, and he knew his brain was relatively simple. Gu Shen's earlier talk of the Initial Code and ancient civilizations had almost fried his CPU.

Now there was another plan out of nowhere...

Gu Shen said in a low voice, "The plan you're talking about...is to kill a Divine Seat."

Kill a Divine Seat!

The mere mention of these three words caused even the boisterous Song Ci to break out in a cold sweat.

"Yes."

Bai Shu nodded, then shook his head, "But not entirely."

Many years ago, he had told Gu Shen that he and the Empress were preparing to join forces and eliminate a Divine Seat first... because the situation between the five continents was already fixed, and the future Divine War was bound to erupt. Instead of letting Guang Ming City and the Tower of Origin join forces to suppress the Storm Church, it would be better to strike first and seize the upper hand!

At that time, Bai Shu's target was Storm!

"If I remember correctly, the target back then was the Storm Divine Seat, and now the Storm Church has announced its alliance with the Central City's Nagano Alliance..."

Gu Shen calmly analyzed the situation: "So you decided to switch targets. Who is the real target, Sky, Guang Ming?"

Bai Shu-xiansheng smiled without saying a word.

He decided to let the young people guess for a while longer before revealing the answer.

"...Aba aba."

Song Ci's brain wasn't functioning very well anymore. He looked at Gu Shen, then at Chu Ling, quietly waiting for the answer.

Gu Xiaoman was also silent, but she had already guessed what the so-called plan was.

She suddenly thought of some of the things that Hong Long had often said to her in recent years.

Those words must never be spoken within the borders of Zhongzhou. Once spoken, they would cause monstrous waves.

Hong Long had told her that the Tower of Origin was actually a tower of white bones, and the higher one climbed, the more devoid of flesh and blood it became.

Qing Long regarded all living beings as chess pieces, laying out games, manipulating people's hearts, and finding joy in it.

But living beings should not regard themselves as chess pieces. If she, the Lord of Wine, could one day reach a high position, she would need to let everyone know that even a small spark could burn, and as long as enough gathered, the chess pieces could become chess players.

Hong Long said many things, many things.

Gu Xiaoman kept all these words in her heart.

It was also why she had stayed in the Tower of Origin all this time—when she was first taken away by Hong Long, she had been reluctant, but after truly interacting closely with this rumored cold and ruthless First Envoy, she realized that Hong Long was different from those "Law Enforcers of the Tower of Origin" who slaughtered innocent people in Sangzhou Cave.

Hong Long also killed under orders, but more often, it was because he had to stay in the Tower of Origin, to sit beneath the position closest to God, in order to deceive God's trust.

He wanted to overthrow Qing Long.

To do that, he had to make this kind of "sacrifice."

If killing one person could save millions, Hong Long would not hesitate. He was willing to bear this sin alone, even if later generations cursed him and no one knew the truth.

The silence in the inner mausoleum lasted for several seconds.

Until Gu Xiaoman's voice rang out.

She said calmly, "I guess your target isn't any one Divine Seat, but all of them."

Bai Shu smiled as he looked at this future Lord of Wine.

"Qing Long used all her cunning to bring me into the Tower of Origin, wanting me to inherit the 'Seed of Wine,' so I can take Di Jiu's place and become the next 'Lord of Wine.'"

Gu Xiaoman said slowly, "Tian Shui-xiansheng also wants me to become the 'Lord of Wine,' but his and Qing Long's purposes are different. This Crown Bearer wants to use the power of the 'Lord of Wine's' fire seed to overturn Qing Long's throne, and reform the Upper City, and even the entire Zhongzhou, just like he assisted Qing Long in ascending to power back then."

When she said these words, her aura was completely unlike that of a child barely over ten years old.

Calm and composed, with a spirit capable of swallowing tigers.

Bai Shu smiled and said, "Continue."

"Wanting to kill Qing Long, relying on a vague and uncertain 'Lord of Wine' is not enough. I guess Tian Shui-xiansheng must have already contacted you."

Gu Xiaoman said, "I'm afraid you are the 'main force' in killing Sky, right?"

There was a clear look of approval in Bai Shu-xiansheng's eyes. He neither admitted nor denied it.

"With the Sky Divine Seat fallen, Guang Ming City will not agree... So wanting to kill Sky will inevitably involve Guang Ming."

"This is also the reason for the formation of the two major alliances."

Gu Xiaoman's analysis was very insightful.

Song Ci on the side cast admiring and envious glances.

"So I guess your real plan is to kill Sky and Guang Ming. As for that 'Storm Divine Seat' that's swaying back and forth, it won't have a good end after things are done."

Gu Xiaoman narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice, "Anyway, if I can become the 'Lord of Wine,' I will definitely not let 'Storm' go."

Letting the Devoted Ones act as the fuse to ignite the Five Continents Fleet.

This action of the Storm Church made Gu Xiaoman very dissatisfied... She had long wanted to eliminate extreme faith, and in her eyes, both Guang Ming and Storm were the same!

She would never forget.

Sangzhou Cave had become devastated precisely because it had been poisoned by faith.

"Well said."

Bai Shu-xiansheng sighed, "At such a young age, you can already see so many things... Tian Shui-xiansheng must have put a lot of effort into cultivating you."

"In fact, I haven't even met 'Tian Shui-xiansheng.'"

Gu Xiaoman shook her head and said, "If you really want to talk about cultivation, the person who has been training me in the Tower of Origin these past few years has been Hong Long."

She felt no gratitude towards Tian Shui.

Gu Xiaoman was very clear that she was now a chess piece, or rather, a butcher's knife.

On one side of the knife were Qing Long, and on the other side was Tian Shui.

It didn't matter to her. She was born to be a knife, and only needed to clarify her true intention and decide the direction of the cut at the final moment.

Did she still need to be grateful to those who were trying to control her?

Bai Shu slowly said, "The real 'plan'...is even bigger."

"It's the [Deep Sea]."

Chu Ling, who had been silent all this time, gave the answer at this moment.

Apart from Bai Shu, everyone else's expression changed.

"Deep Sea..."

Gu Shen was the first to react. He looked at Bai Shu-xiansheng and murmured, "The thing you really want to eliminate isn't a certain Divine Seat, but the 'Deep Sea Network' that connects the Five Continents..."

So the person behind the layout and strategy...

Was already on the verge of being revealed.

"The ultimate goal is the [Deep Sea]."

Bai Shu said calmly, "If you want to understand it as killing 'Guang Ming' and 'Sky,' there's actually nothing wrong with that. Because the [Deep Sea] is just a network, it doesn't have a physical form, and there's no way to kill it... We can only kill things that have life. The most powerful things in the world are these two."

"Why kill the [Deep Sea]?"

Gu Xiaoman's face was filled with shock.

She never imagined that the two Divine Seats' real target was the [Deep Sea]!

"Gu Changzhi, the previous Dou Zhan Divine Seat of Dongzhou, went to the [Old World] on a top-secret mission thirty years ago... He fell into a coma after returning to the Five Continents, just as the Guwen Society was being massacred. This was a meticulously planned and closely linked scheme."

Bai Shu was very patient with this young girl.

He slowly said, "The one who orchestrated this massacre was the [Deep Sea]. People have always suspected that the [Deep Sea] has awakened its own consciousness, but most people treat it as a joke... But the reality is not funny at all, because the [Deep Sea] has completely taken over the transcendent world and is trying to integrate the mundane and the transcendent. The Awakening Experiment in Sangzhou Cave is just the beginning."

"Awakening Experiment..."

Gu Xiaoman was stunned.

She would always remember the bloody night in Sangzhou Cave. Not only humans, but also a large number of beasts had been awakened under the stimulation of the [Deep Sea].

Bai Shu slowly said, "According to the World Council's procedures, after the Awakening Experiment in Sangzhou Cave is over, the 'Awakening Act' can formally enter the application stage..."

"The Awakening Act was not successful."

Gu Shen said in a low voice, "Sangzhou Cave has already fallen."

"But the chaotic source matter in the Ice Sea did dissipate." Bai Shu said, "The Awakening Act serves to eliminate 'chaos.' The Council only looks at the data."

Gu Shen immediately said, "But the Highest Seat has the power of veto."

"That's right... So the Awakening Act will not be implemented in Dongzhou, but what about Xizhou and Zhongzhou?"

Bai Shu asked, "If they are determined to publicly announce the 'Awakening Act' to their citizens, do Central City and Nagano still have a choice? As for 'balancing'...that's even more of a joke."

The amount of information differential that the "Balancing" procedure can handle has an upper limit.

If both continents were to start the Awakening Act and make all citizens into transcendents...

Then Central City and Nagano would have no choice.

"Divine War is terrifying, but what's even more terrifying than Divine War...is 'National Awakening.'" Bai Shu said coldly, "I can accept the Five Continents completely entering the 'Transcendent Era,' but I cannot accept that the spiritual sea of every transcendent is controlled by the [Deep Sea]... If that day really comes, as long as the [Deep Sea] has a single thought, everyone will be annihilated."

Gu Shen remembered the scene of countless beast spirits in Sangzhou Cave being manipulated by Xiao's soul.

If the Awakening Act were promoted in the Five Continents...

Perhaps everyone would turn into beasts.

"I have a question."

Song Ci rubbed his eyebrows and said in a low voice, "Even if Guang Ming and Sky have disagreements, they are still in human bodies. They have fused with fire seeds, but they can't be considered true 'gods'... If the truth is really as you say, why would they stand on the side of the [Deep Sea]?"

"The answer has already been spoken by you."

Gu Shen answered for Bai Shu, "Because they are not true 'gods,' so they want to become true 'gods.'"

"What is a true god?"

"Ageless, immortal, free from illness, free from pain, with an imperishable body and an eternal spirit."

Gu Shen asked, "What do you think these adjectives, put together, sound like?"

These adjectives, put together... are almost the [Deep Sea].

Song Ci's pure heart once again felt a great shock.

"A long time ago, AI's chess skill has already surpassed humans. If it is a game on the chessboard, humans have no chance of winning."

Chu Ling's voice was calm, as if she had already known about the so-called final plan: "In this game, if humans want to win... they can't follow the rules of the game of chess."

"But, if the final opponent is the [Deep Sea]," Gu Xiaoman murmured, "Then how do we win?"

"Want to win..."

Gu Shen took a deep breath.

"We can only overturn the chessboard."