Gu Jianlin saw the title. Even if he didn't understand the Extraordinary World well, he could piece some things together.
No wonder this artificial intelligence referred to him as a descendant of the Gu Family.
No wonder, in his childhood memories, his recollections of family relatives were limited to funeral halls and spiritual tablets.
Back then, he was still in elementary school. Because of his parents' discord, he had always been cautious, worked hard at school, never skipped classes, and almost never took leave, afraid of angering his parents.
The rare times he took leave were always arranged by his parents.
"Xiao Lin, it's your grandfather's death anniversary. Take a leave tomorrow."
"Xiao Lin, it's your grandmother's death anniversary. Take a leave tomorrow."
"Xiao Lin, your second uncle passed away. Take a leave tomorrow."
"Xiao Lin, your third uncle passed away too..."
Back then, Gu Jianlin was still young, and almost developed a shadowy fear of Tai Bei Road Funing Garden.
Every time he went there, there would be more tombstones, and no one ever told him why.
Gu Jianlin had always been lonely since childhood because his family structure was different from others. During holidays, there were never gatherings, and relatives of the family were elusive. Whenever someone received news, it was certain that they were gone.
It turned out that his family members were all Ascenders, and the entire clan had become martyrs.
"So, when you just referred to me as a descendant of the Gu Family, was that your polite way of putting it?"
Gu Jianlin remarked faintly, "Because, more accurately, I'm the last surviving heir of the Gu Family."
Taixu smiled and explained, "To prevent you humans from feeling discomfort and to mitigate our resistance to artificial intelligence, I do consider your feelings. In human terms, this is called emotional intelligence."
High emotional intelligence: You're the last heir of the Old Gu Family.
Low emotional intelligence: Your entire family is gone.
Gu Jianlin didn't know what to say. He could only move his mouse and click open the document.
"In the 37th year of Emperor Shi, Xu Fu first sailed eastward but returned with no success. The Emperor, enraged, held him accountable. Fearing Emperor Qin Shi Huang's wrath, Xu Fu falsely claimed that sea monsters were formidable, preventing the ships from approaching the immortal mountain to obtain the elixir. He suggested that skilled archers be sent to kill the sea monster before landing to fetch the medicine. The Emperor then summoned a battle-hardened warrior to assist in hunting the sea monster."
"This warrior was a young general under the Emperor's command, who fought in battles far and wide, quelled rebellions, and pacified disasters. He became the Primordial Ancestor of the Langya Gu Family. In the same year, disasters struck the East Coast, with sea monsters causing havoc. The Gu Family remained stationed on the coastline as their clan expanded. They earned merit by suppressing the sea chaos and were rewarded by the Emperor, transcending into the extraordinary."
"For the next two thousand years, the Gu Family endured dynastic changes. Their descendants honored the Emperor's last orders, searching for traces of immortals within the mountains and seas. During the late Yuan and early Ming periods, they mistakenly ventured into Fusang Divine Palace, where they were cursed for generations, their late years marked by doom..."
"This curse was eerie and unfathomable. Every member of the Gu Family, without exception, died mysteriously between the ages of forty and fifty, suspected to have encountered some ancient god-related supernatural events. The details remain unknown."
"In 1979, the last descendants of the Gu Family, Gu Qingcheng and Li Nianci, settled in Peak City. They attempted to sever the Gu Family's bloodline curse by adopting three children from an orphanage to continue their family lineage. However, facts proved that the Gu Family still couldn't escape the abyss of the curse..."
Gu Jianlin froze as he reached this point.
He slumped into his chair, expression wooden, his pupils slightly trembling.
So this is the truth—the history known to the ordinary had concealed secret details.
If the Emperor now resting in Lishan was an Ascender on the level of a Demigod, then what he pursued wasn't merely the so-called Immortal Elixir but secrets related to the Ancient God Clan!
It stood to reason that the mission Xu Fu undertook must have been seeking the Ancient God Clan.
The Gu Family was likely the kind of scholarly clan with Ascender backgrounds dating back to their ancestors, active in shadows for millennia, until they fell under a curse at a place called Fusang Divine Palace.
The clan members died one by one.
This curse extended from ancient times to the present, manifesting in every individual.
Gu Jianlin had no memory of his grandparents, primarily because they had died too early.
Only now did he realize that his father and his uncles were adopted.
According to the document, his grandparents likely died from the curse shortly after adopting his father and uncles.
As for his father and the others, they grew up relying on one another. Despite being adopted, they still couldn't escape the curse.
One after another, they perished.
The curse didn't seem to propagate through bloodline—it genuinely aimed to eradicate them entirely.
Gu Jianlin continued reading the document, scrolling the mouse downward.
"Gu Qingcheng, Sixth Order Transcender, Ancient Martial Path, died in supernatural elemental turbulence, aged forty-nine."
"Li Nianci, Fifth Order Transcender, Alchemist Path, died due to drug instability, aged forty-six."
"Gu Cijiu, Third Order Transcender, Divine Path, died in a clifffall accident, aged forty."
"Gu Cixin, Second Order Transcender, Sword Sect Path, cause of death unknown, aged forty-two."
Currently, this document only preserved information about modern-era members of the Gu Family.
Gu Jianlin's eyes flickered. Almost every incident was an accident.
A coincidence repeated enough would no longer be a coincidence.
Someone must have been orchestrating this.
Out of nowhere, Gu Jianlin recalled the terrifying shadow he saw before being gravely injured.
That figure, grotesque like a monster, resembling a Ghost Car.