Within the cemetery, a deathly still wind drifted.
Gu Shen walked towards the inner mausoleum.
When he entered the cemetery, fear of "life and death" had not seized him.
A complex emotion had begun to take hold in his heart.
It should be called "fear".
But it was not fear for himself... but for others.
Everything here was "frozen"; not a living soul could be seen on the path, and of course, no dead ones either, yet that was what was most frightening.
What exactly had happened in this cemetery?
What kind of force could bring the entire Qingzhong to such silent death...
Gu Shen feared that after he entered the inner mausoleum... he would find the Tomb Guardian in the same state.
A mist swirled around the distant hill.
Each wisp of mist solidified repeatedly into smoke as if on an oil painting. Gu Shen crossed the hill and arrived at the entrance to the Giant Statue Mountain Tomb.
He stood silently at the entrance.
Since entering the cemetery, the suspended boulder in his heart had finally settled... but the feeling after settling was not one of peace.
It was the bewildered resolution of a "fearful matter".
In a sense, Gu Shen had already accomplished his purpose for this journey.
He had seen the "Tomb Guardian".
Only half of them... the Tomb Guardian.
Fine dust fell from the stone gates of the mountain tomb.
These particles landed on the black robe edged with golden cloud patterns, making the robe dirty...
The upper half of the Tomb Guardian’s body was seated atop the stone gates of the mountain tomb, which were now closed. A fierce light leaked from the cracks of the stone gates, looking like the blood-stained golden edges of the robe, glaring and dazzling, making it hard for anyone not to notice.
"You came quicker than I expected," said Qianye.
Qianye’s cat mask had cracked open a slit.
But it had not completely fallen off yet.
The mask was only cracked, unable to fit snugly anymore, but still covering her entire face.
Her voice was as always calm, steady, and composed.
Only Gu Shen had detected something amiss.
As the wielder of Divination Skill... Master Qianye would never say such words.
Whether or not he would come to the cemetery, and when he would arrive, had always been within her predictions. In the past year, there had been no surprises. And this time, she used the term "expectations".
It was because she no longer had the strength to use Divination.
Gu Shen saw on the ground, the other empty half of the robe.
Under that half, only shattered bones ground to dust remained.
Countless golden threads were being extracted from Master Qianye’s body, with her leaning against the massive mountain tomb, on whose silhouette a series of continuous golden threads seemed to be binding it.
These golden threads, as if tying up the mountain tomb, were firmly suppressing the abnormality within the stone gate’s cracks.
Gu Shen crouched in front of Master Qianye, wanting to hold her hand with a pang of heartache, only to grasp a light, hollowed-out skeletal hand. The Tomb Guardian’s body was now as light as fluff.
Her whole body was reduced to "golden threads".
The body seemed as if it would dissipate at any moment.
Gu Shen even dared not use force.
Master Qianye smiled.
She softly said, "My condition is not as bad as you imagine... but the situation with Qingzhong might be worse than anyone can envision."
Gu Shen took a deep breath.
He cast aside all useless emotions and listened seriously to the Tomb Guardian’s words.
"The anomaly in Qingzhong is because of... the Wine God."
Master Qianye said word by word, "His true body came to the cemetery and induced this phenomenon."
Gu Shen’s expression became somber as he looked towards the golden light spilling from the cracks in the mountain tomb.
The Wine God... was inside the mountain tomb?
Then, the injuries suffered by Master Qianye were also because of the Wine God...
Even Lu Shen in the cemetery could not touch Qianye, so it had to be the Divine Throne that inflicted such heavy injuries on her.
"Don’t worry, he’s trapped inside the inner mausoleum."
The Tomb Guardian said with a low laugh, "Although I don’t know what’s happening inside... if he could come out, he would have done so already..."
"What happened inside the inner mausoleum?"
Gu Shen asked the question everyone wanted to know.
"When the Wine God stepped into the cemetery... I tried to activate the Array Patterns, but I failed."
That was the reason why the Array Patterns he saw along the way had been extinguished.
A more potent force had arrived, snuffing out these patterns.
That power... was from the Wine God himself!
"So... I released the Array Patterns, letting all the Extraordinary Essence flow into the inner mausoleum."
Master Qianye turned to look at the mountain wall and murmured, "Unexpectedly, that seed... quickly absorbed a vast amount of essence from above Qingzhong, ultimately causing a ’qualitative change’."
This scene... was also corresponding to the so-called "great explosion"!
This Blazing Light Barrier, so mighty in power.
It was because... all the Extraordinary Essence had been consumed by Mr. Gu Changzhi’s "seed"!
"Lu Shen... and Zhu Wang... perhaps even more people, they have all taken refuge under the Wine God’s banner!"
Master Qianye’s gaze was bright as she looked at Gu Shen.
This was important news!
In that moment, Gu Shen finally understood why, when the Qingzhong Cemetery explosion occurred... Han Dang’s expression differed from the rest.
In some people’s eyes.
All this... was part of the plan.