Butterflies and Storms

Gu Shen's greatest secret was the "King of the Underworld."

Even the tiniest leak of information

would be enough to shake the entire landscape of Eastern Continent.

As the possessor of Prayer Art, Li Qingci knew full well that elusive "threads of fate" existed in this world. Even across countless spans of time, they could sweep away the fog of confusion... The reason she had formed a bond with Gu Shen was the effect of the Forbidden Art.

She had an answer in her heart. Whether she asked or whether he spoke no longer mattered.

As long as she did not ask,

and Gu Shen did not speak,

leaving everything unspoken was the best possible ending!

If he revealed the existence of the "Pure Land" merely to reassure her younger sister... it would not be good for either the Li family or Gu Shen.

At a time like this, the truth was no longer so important.

This was Nagano's coldest autumn.

The fallen leaves around the shrine were crushed by the wind.

Though many white flowers had bloomed, the place was still desolate.

Gu Shen's cultivation of the Fire of Life had gone very smoothly. Like a withered leaf, he desperately absorbed nourishment from a deep pool. The source essence on the Eighth Layer of the Deep Sea had long been filled to capacity; it simply needed time to be converted.

The first level of the Domain Embryo had been completed.

He ended his secluded cultivation at the shrine and rose to walk toward the mountaintop. The white flowers that should have been blooming there did not send even one blossom drifting on the wind today. The whole mountain looked exceptionally cold and withered.

A vague sense of foreboding rose in Gu Shen's heart.

He suddenly recalled the scene he