Chen Chuan nodded slightly. "What you're referring to, Mr. Lan, must be the unexplored section at the other end of the vault?"
Lan Shengu replied, "Yes, that's the place."
His expression looked troubled. Taking a deep breath, he said, "A secret vault ought to store all manner of supplies, bullion, books, documents, or simply medicinal supplements for martial artists' training. But when I walked through it just now, I found that most of the items inside were meant for sacrificial offerings. Some were even issued by the imperial household, bearing reign titles and Inner Court inventory numbers. Aside from that, I also found this."
He drew a sheet of paper-like material made of leather from his pocket. It looked rather supple yet heavy. Once spread out in his hands, it revealed the depiction of a monstrous demon-god. Various parts of its body were labeled with bizarre, blood-red characters, and some sections carried annotations detailing its internal anatomy, resembling an anatomical diagram.
He pointed to the writing upon it. "This is 'prayer script'—the characters ancient peoples used to communicate with gods and ghosts.
"Not only could this script bridge the gap to spirits and deities, but it was also influenced by human thoughts and sentiments, conjuring deities and ghosts into existence out of thin air through sacrificial worship. According to ancient records, especially during the turbulent ancient era, they seemed to exist everywhere—whether in desolate mountains and wilderness, lakes and marshes, or human settlements. People everywhere burned incense and bowed in reverence; every household prayed for boons. And that only caused spirits and deities to proliferate all the more.
"According to a rough compilation of records by an eminent priest of the Xuan Cult in later eras, Fengyuan Commandery—somewhere in present-day Shannan Dao—alone had tens of thousands of recorded, named spirits and deities. In the beginning, they lived somewhat harmoniously alongside humans, but eventually they began controlling and enslaving people, demanding blood sacrifices.
"Back then, all the states across the Eastern Continent turned into realms of gods and ghosts, and the common folk suffered immensely. It wasn't until the rise of the Xuan and Chan Cults that these spirits and deities were either banished, destroyed, imprisoned, or incorporated into the cults, and this prayer script was completely destroyed as well."
Chen Chuan took the leather scroll from his hands and examined it. The depicted demon-god had a ferocious grimace, exposed fangs, and feet trampling what looked like human organs. Its hands held high a skeleton, and dangling from its jaws was a human hand that had not yet been fully chewed. An aura of savage, bloody savagery radiated from its entire figure. The writing appeared to have been brushed with a mixture of cinnabar and the blood of an unknown creature—glaringly crimson, twisting in grotesque shapes.
Lan Shengu explained, "This text was written recently, no more than a hundred and fifty years ago. Thanks to the efforts of the Xuan and Chan Cults, no one well-versed in the 'prayer script' can be found in the Eastern Continent anymore. So I suspect the ones who hold this script must be the Maka people.
"They were originally descendants of a branch of our Eastern Continent's ancestors. After being defeated in war, they were exiled across the Outer Ocean, where they intermingled with the indigenous population and became islanders. Because of that, they still retain some ancient heritage."
At that point, his expression grew complicated. "I suspect the former imperial household collaborated with these people to restore worship to an ancient god here—the one worshipped by the Maka people's ancestors—in exchange for the imperial household establishing a secret vault in this location."
Chen Chuan gave a low hum of acknowledgment. Since everything stored here was meant for deity worship, that reasoning held water. He asked, "Consultant Lan, does this affect us in any way?"
Lan Shengu sighed. "A tremendous effect." He reached into his pocket and brought out several fragments resembling rubble. "These are some of the items Mount Jiao traded to the outside."
Chen Chuan glanced at them. These were the very objects he had seen when he first visited Mount Jiao alongside Ren Xiaotian. Looking at them now, he could sense a peculiar, faintly corrosive energy emanating from within.
Lan Shengu said, "This is very likely 'divine blood.' 'Divine blood' isn't actual blood left behind by a deity; that's simply the closest term for it. According to ancient texts, it refers to high-energy impurities shed when a perished deity undergoes the process of restoration."
Hearing this, Chen Chuan's gaze sharpened slightly. "Mr. Lan, the restoration of a deity—can you be certain?"
Lan Shengu replied with absolute certainty, "I am certain. In the past, my ancestors in the former state religion were responsible for banishing and eliminating old gods. Although few old gods were seen by then, the written records remain, and they match this perfectly."
He glanced toward the interior of the fissure. "Throughout every dynasty, the return of deities was guarded against with utmost vigilance. I suspect that when the former imperial household fell into total retreat toward the Confluence, they ceased to care about such taboos. They granted permission for the old god's return in exchange for hiding their fissure inside this secret vault."
Chen Chuan nodded. Yet to say it was merely a reciprocal exchange might not be the whole truth; it was very likely the former imperial household simply wanted to leave this trouble behind for Great Shun. Ultimately, whoever suffered, it would be music to the former imperial household's ears.
Lan Shengu said, "Section Chief Chen, as the Great Impact draws closer, this deity is very likely to gradually awaken. Ancient records state that these deities varied in strength, but this one likely belongs to the rank of 'high gods.'
"When such deities return, what matters most is their existence both in human hearts and in physical reality. The more this 'divine blood' spreads, the stronger its presence becomes, which in turn accelerates the god's return. In the past, someone may have realized these materials were useful for biological modification, but in doing so, they inadvertently aided this process."
Chen Chuan pondered briefly and agreed with his assessment. These energetic substances were exceptionally active and had a pronounced impact on living organisms, much like the aberrations of mutated tissue. They were undoubtedly useful in the study of rudimentary bio-modification techniques.
Lan Shengu continued, "I examined it earlier. The rituals here serve a certain sealing and suppressive function, so we must reinforce the rituals here rather than dismantle them—"
Chen Chuan countered, "The rituals here must be dismantled. Only by doing so can the fissure be merged by Fumu."
"But..."
Chen Chuan said, "If a 'god' of the old age truly emerges, the ancients could resolve it, and people today can do the same."
Lan Shengu said urgently, "But a 'high god' may exist at a terrifyingly high power level. And after being worshipped by the former imperial household for so long, the price we'd have to pay could be immense."
Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "Consultant Lan, you might have forgotten that the past and present are different. Technology has advanced; we have far more weapons and methods at our disposal. Most importantly, we have the Ring of the World, which can block and isolate high-tier forces.
"So there is no need to worry too much. Even if they coalesce, their tier won't be exceptionally high; we can handle it. Still, there are things we must do." He glanced at the "divine blood" in Lan Shengu's hand. "At the very least, we must stop the spread of these substances and minimize the influence of this ancient evil."
He looked toward the fissure. "Later, I will go there myself to see what the situation looks like on the other side of the temple."
As they spoke, he saw Mr. Zhuan, Zharnik and his companion, as well as Hu Kan and Xu Chan, all returning from outside.
When they approached, Chen Chuan took a look at Xu Chan, noticing numerous tears and bloodstains across his clothing. "Old Xu, you're hurt?"
Xu Chan replied, "Just a minor wound."
Hu Kan spoke up, "Brother Xu was brave and decisive enough—old Hu here truly admires him!" With that, he briefly explained the situation.
After understanding what had happened, Chen Chuan took a close look at the two. The space between his brows flickered, and instantly, a brilliant light akin to the blazing sun radiated from his body, lingering for a few moments before subsiding.
Wisps of black smoke rose from both Hu Kan and Xu Chan, particularly thick from Xu Chan. Checking himself over, Xu Chan felt an immediate sense of relief.
To Hu Kan's surprise, smoke was rising from him as well. Upon reflection, he realized it must have come from the flesh and blood that splattered onto him when he smashed the Embroidered-Uniform Emissary with his hammer at the end.
That foul substance would have slowly seeped into his body or gradually altered him; if he wasn't paying attention, he might truly have fallen victim to it. He rubbed his bald head. "Hard to guard against, truly." Turning to Chen Chuan, he said, "Brother Chen, this old brother owes you a favor."
Xu Chan said nothing; in the future, his actions would speak for themselves.
Chen Chuan said, "It's a minor matter, no need to take it to heart."
"How could I not? How could I not?" Hu Kan thumped his chest. "If you ever need this old brother in the future, just say the word! Even if I'm not up to the task, I can still shout a few times, hype up the crowd, and cheer you on!" At his words, everyone around chuckled, and the tension eased considerably.
Chen Chuan couldn't help but smile. "If anything comes up, I won't forget you, Brother Hu."
Having addressed them, he turned his gaze to Mr. Zhuan, Zharnik, and the woman. Zharnik and his companion looked rather dejected and ashamed, for they had failed to run down their quarry; in the end, it was Mr. Zhuan who had stepped in to finish the job.
Chen Chuan asked for the details and learned the whole sequence of events. It was clear that Zharnik and the woman had exerted themselves thoroughly. If Mr. Zhuan hadn't intervened at the end, the two actually had a very high chance of tracking down Gai Shuhe.
His original plan had been to decide their future based on their attitude during missions. Seen in this light, he could consider keeping them around.
Two martial artists—in the past, a single dao would not have possessed enough resources to sustain them. But times had changed. Once the Skyline was connected, supplying two additional martial artists with the resources of two daos would be no difficult feat; all it took was signing some binding agreements for martial artists.
In truth, they had already been bound by esoteric rituals before coming, but given their temperaments, once they threw caution to the winds, they wouldn't care about agreements or consequences. What mattered most was having sufficient force as a bedrock to suppress them at critical moments.
What left him with slight regret was that Chen Bitong had originally gone missing at Gai Shuhe's hands. He had hoped that capturing Gai Shuhe this time might allow him to ask about Chen Bitong's ultimate whereabouts. However, as an organomechanical martial artist of the Visage of the Divine, Gai Shuhe had not arrived in his true body; thus, even capturing him would likely have yielded little. It would have to wait for next time—perhaps the day would come when they could march into the imperial capital and question the man in person.
In the past, resolving the problem of the former imperial household once and for all had indeed been a daunting task. But now, with the Skyline gradually linking up, it was no longer merely a plan on paper—otherwise, the former imperial household wouldn't have been in such a panic this time.
At that moment, Mr. Zhuan produced an object. "When we searched Gai Shuhe's host body earlier, we recovered this from him."
Chen Chuan looked over and saw a ferocious black statuette, bearing a distinct resemblance to the demon-god drawn on the leather parchment.
Lan Shengu caught sight of it from the side, and his face instantly paled. "This must be an artifact from the original temple."
Chapter 1036