"Master, the city gate is open a crack."
The voice of Yang Jian was cut off in Magic Formation, without even taking a breath.
Gu Changqing stood in the middle of Clear Firmament Plains's dirt road, with people kneeling around him. A river of white light floated in the sky, and Communication Array's blue light hit the side of his face.
"How big is the seam?"
"The width that two people can pass side by side continues to expand."
Tongtian's voice came in from behind, speaking at a very low speed.
"There is energy leaking from the gaps in the city gate, and the frequency of fluctuations is highly consistent with the second level of the sphere."
Nezha's Wind-Fire Wheels stomped loudly.
"The second level? The one with the space tearing level?"
Tongtian didn't reply to him. Magic Formation came from the other end and Yang Jian added half a sentence.
"It's just a leak at the moment. There is no sign of active attack. It's like a natural release of pressure."
Gu Changqing put his hand on the edge of Communication Array and tapped it twice with his index finger.
"You continue to guard and don't go in. No matter how wide the city gate is, don't go in."
"Understood."
Magic Formation is dark.
Nezha held his breath for five seconds and finally stopped holding it in.
"Master, the doors are open over there, are we still standing here?"
"What's the rush?"
Gu Changqing turned around, looked over Nezha's shoulders, and landed on Kelān.
"How long have you been in contact with Thief Race?"
Kelān's cloak was half blown by the wind, and she held it down with her hand.
"Six hundred years."
"How many times have you seen First Sequence's Mental Projection in six hundred years?"
"Eleven times."
"He takes the initiative to contact you every time?"
"The first nine times, the last two times were initiated by me."
"What were the two times you took the initiative for?"
Kelān's fingers moved away from the edge of the cloak and landed on his side.
"The first time was fifty years ago, when I discovered that Thief Race started mass-producing Inferior Cultivation Techniques in Cangwu Star's Field Outpost, far exceeding the quantity required for the task. I felt something was wrong, so I contacted First Sequence to ask."
"What did he say?"
"He said it was an arrangement from another sequence and asked me to leave it alone."
"What about the second time?"
The miniature Star Map in Kelān's silver-gray pupils turned in a circle, very slowly.
"The second time was three months ago. I intercepted a Internal Communication message from Thief Race at the Firmament Realm No. 48 Star Domain. The content of the communication was information about a Ruined Temple."
Nezha's eyebrows jumped.
"Ruined Temple?"
"This is your headquarters." Kelān glanced at him, "That communication listed your personnel composition, Cultivation's estimate, and the scope of recent activities, down to everyone's daily routine."
Nezha's expression changed.
"How long have they been targeting us?"
"The number of that communication is 34,721. If the numbers are arranged in order, it means that there are at least 30,000 pieces of relevant information before that."
Nezha's fingers holding the barrel of the gun tightened, and the joints cracked.
Gu Changqing didn't answer the question and took two steps forward. There was only one step left between him and Kelān.
"The second time you contacted First Sequence, was it to ask about Ruined Temple?"
"Yes, I asked him why he wanted to collect information on that building Ruined Temple and what it has to do with the task of opening the door."
"How did he respond?"
Kelān pursed her lips.
"He didn't answer my question, he only said one sentence."
"What words?"
"He said that what was sitting in that temple was more troublesome than what was on the other side of the door."
The wind beside Dharma Platform blew up a puff of dust, and the faintly visible scales on Kelān's face became clearer in the gray light.
Gu Changqing stared at her pupils for three breaths, then raised his right hand.
"I want to search your soul."
Kelān didn't move.
"I know."
"It will hurt."
"I know."
Nezha took two steps back to make room for Gu Changqing.
The golden mist diffused from Gu Changqing's fingertips. It was the same as when Spiritual Imprint was found on Chip, but the density was thicker and the color was darker. It was not light gold, but pure gold.
The moment the light mist touched Kelān's forehead, her body tensed up.
It wasn't an act. His whole body tightened like an electric shock from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and all the lines of his figure under the gray cloak were stretched out.
She didn't scream, but bit her lower lip with her teeth, and a red line soon oozed from her lower lip.
The golden light mist penetrated.
The system's computing speed was maximized, and the data flow was running wildly in Gu Changqing's consciousness space.
Kelān Six hundred years of memory unfold before my eyes like a fast-forwarded scroll.
Father's face.
A face that is completely different from Thief Race. The skin is bronze, the eyes are pure black, there are no vertical pupils, and there are no scales. The proportions of the facial features are close to those of humans, but the curvature of the bones does not belong to any known race.
The face lowered its head in a dark space, its lips pressed against the forehead of a baby.
A small silver-gray spot appeared where the baby's eyebrow had been kissed.
The screen cuts off.
Kelān stood in front of a door with no side visible.
The door is black, and the material cannot be seen. There are no patterns on the surface, no Runes, and it is so smooth that it does not reflect any light.
There is a crack in the middle of the door.
The gap was very narrow, barely enough to fit a finger in, but what came out of the gap made Kelān's silver-gray pupils shrink to the limit.
Not light, not energy.
It's an eye.
There is an eye looking out from the gap.
That eye has no color, or it has all colors, and the colors rotate like whirlpools in the pupil. It is somewhat similar to the miniature Star Map in the pupil of Kelān, but the scale and complexity are not at the same level.
The screen jumps to the next paragraph.
Mental Projection of First Sequence appeared in the void, just like Kelān said, without a face, and the sound was processed, like metal friction.
"Seventh Sequence, your new mission."
"Say."
"Go to the Firmament Realm and start collecting Vow Power in the name of Origin Temple. The goal remains unchanged and the total amount is 100 billion."
"The Firmament Realm has a Ruined Temple."
Mental Projection paused for a moment.
"You know?"
"Saw it in Internal Communication."
"That temple is not under your control. Your mission is only to collect Vow Power. If you encounter people in the temple, avoid them."
"Why?"
Mental Projection's voice stopped for another two beats, longer than the last time.
"Because the man in the temple is not an aborigine of this Myriad Worlds."
The memory ends here.
The golden light mist exited from Kelān's forehead, her body swayed forward, and she stepped on her right foot for half a step before she stabilized.
The blood line on the lips has dried and formed a dark red scab.
Gu Changqing took back his hand and the light mist dissipated.
Nezha came over and asked in a low voice.
"What did you see?"
Gu Changqing didn't answer immediately. The index finger of his right hand rubbed back and forth on the cuff twice, as if rubbing away some residual touch.
"Nezha."
"Here."
"Inform Tongtian, leave Heavenly Net Star Domain's affairs to him. You come back with me."
"Where to go?"
"Return to Ruined Temple."
"Then what?"
Gu Changqing walked towards the outside of Clear Firmament Plains, and the sound of the soles of his boots on the muddy ground was very soft.
"Then have a meeting."
Nezha followed, Wind-Fire Wheels slid close to the ground, and the flames licked the top of the grass and burned a scorched line.
"Master, your face looked wrong when you Soul Searching."
Gu Changqing didn't look back.
"When have I ever had the right look on my face?"
"It's not that kind of thing that's wrong." Nezha put the barrel of his gun on his shoulder, and his voice came from behind, "It's because you saw something that even you think is difficult, that kind of thing is wrong."
Gu Changqing reached the foot of the low mountain on the edge of the plain and stopped.
He turned around, and the river of light from the sky was reflected in his pupils. The white light was absorbed by those eyes and was not reflected back.
"Kelān has a door in his memory."
"Great Thousand Origin Realm That one?"
"There's something in the crack of the door looking out."
Nezha's Wind-Fire Wheels stopped spinning.
"What?"
Gu Changqing looked at him.
"One eye."
Kelān dragged his cloak and walked behind the two of them. Without interrupting, he pinched the completely dimmed Chip on his chest with his fingers, his knuckles turned white.
"One more thing." Gu Changqing turned back and continued walking, his voice floating on the mountain road, "Origin Temple's First Sequence said that I am not an aborigine of this Myriad Worlds."
Nezha was stunned for two steps.
"Then where are you from?"
Gu Changqing stepped into the void, and his white clothes flipped in the wind.
"Let's talk about it when we get back."