At first, Gao Xinwen's order to seal the fissure had been exceedingly urgent, demanding that the institute block it off at all costs without regard for the consequences.
The institute personnel had carried out his orders faithfully, exhausting every method at their disposal. As a result, rapidly undoing the seals now was simply not something that could be accomplished in a matter of moments.
The guards suggested using explosives directly. While feasible, the blast might draw Chen Chuan's attention.
The decision fell to Gao Xinwen. After only a brief hesitation, he instructed his men to prepare the explosives.
He had left plenty of tracks on his way here, which would be glaringly obvious to martial artists, and Chen Chuan would likely track him down shortly anyway. Under those circumstances, whether or not they made a tremendous racket hardly mattered anymore.
The guards accompanying him immediately set to work. The head of the institute started to speak, then stopped himself. Many pieces of research equipment and living specimens here could not withstand such tremors and violent sound, but given the current situation, there was nothing he could say.
The guards moved swiftly, placing the pre-prepared magnetic explosive devices at the detonation points calculated by the active conscious entity.
Everyone then backed away.
After a brief wait, a thunderous boom erupted. The blast doors and modular barrier blocks were blown apart together, revealing a passageway wide enough for a person to walk through. However, the innermost section remained blocked by a ritual seal, which required the ritual specialist team to step forward and dismantle it.
At that exact moment, the voice of the active conscious entity came through: "Mr. Gao, a high-energy signature has been detected heading toward the institute."
Gao Xinwen felt an immediate lurch of dread, yet he remained relatively calm, knowing he could not afford to be reckless—rituals, in particular, left zero margin for error.
"Activate all defense systems," he ordered. "Stop any intruders from entering at all costs." Turning to the specialists, he added, "You have five minutes. I demand that you dismantle this ritual within five minutes."
The head of the ritual team wasted no words. Nodding once, he swiftly led his team inside.
Outside the institute, the autocannons mounted on the mountain had already locked onto the perimeter under the coordination and guidance of the conscious entity.
Just then, a beam of light suddenly descended. The moment it was detected, the cannon barrels swung upward, but before any rounds could fire, the beam smashed straight into the mountain, instantly followed by a massive explosion.
The tremor traveled all the way into the mountain interior, plainly felt by Gao Xinwen and everyone present. He looked up, knowing that man had arrived. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably once more, but there was nothing more he could do at this point; he could only hope the perimeter defenses would buy him a little time.
Up ahead, the ritual team worked with undivided focus. Highly professional, their movements remained precise and steady once absorbed in the task. At this rate, it looked as though they might unravel the ritual seal in less than five minutes.
Watching them work, a sliver of hope rose in Gao Xinwen's heart.
After entering the mountain fortress, Chen Chuan strode inward. His spirit naturally radiated outward, causing every armed security guard, biological weapon, and combat doll within range to collapse to the ground.
His path was entirely unimpeded. Even when encountering sturdy blast doors, a casual strike was enough to blast them open.
The only thing that could even remotely be considered an obstacle were the esoteric rituals specifically designed to counter upper-tier martial artists. These were clearly meticulously laid out and capable of interfering with one's spirit and field.
Whenever he encountered such areas, he simply fired off a blast of spiritual impact, instantly shattering whatever arrangement stood before him.
This allowed him to penetrate deep into the fortress in no time, where he came upon a rail track leading further inside. Judging by the friction marks, vehicles frequently traveled along it.
Upon arriving here, his eyes flickered slightly; several images from the memory potion matched this scene, confirming he had found the right place.
Inside the institute, the ritual team finally completed the final step. A radiant light shone out from within, falling over everyone present.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, the team leader said, "It's done."
The head of the institute urged anxiously, "Quick, get out of there!"
Thinking he meant to let Gao Xinwen pass through quickly, the ritual team leader replied, "Right away—"
Yet no sooner had the words left his mouth than several slender wisps of dark shadow drifted out from the fissure. These shadows swiftly coiled around him and his teammates, dragging them into the fissure in the blink of an eye.
Gao Xinwen was stunned. "What is that—?!"
The institute director sighed faintly and shook his head. "When we studied this fissure, we often threw 'lures' near it. As a result, certain 'foreign entities' on the other side wait right there..." He paused. "...waiting for us to feed them."
Hearing this, Gao Xinwen was startled, then asked, "Can we still go in?"
The institute director looked at him. "With sufficient protection and the ritual team's assistance, then..." He trailed off, glancing toward where the ritual team had just been standing.
Gao Xinwen looked toward the fissure. He had neither the heart nor the energy to interrogate the director about why he hadn't spoken up sooner, but compared to facing Chen Chuan, he would rather face whatever unknown horrors lay beyond.
"Let's go," he said, before turning to the director. "You're coming with us."
As if having anticipated this, the director gave a silent nod.
The guards immediately closed in around them, escorting them toward the fissure, preceded by several doll guards scouting the way ahead.
Right at that moment, an explosive crash sounded from the entrance. The laboratory doors were violently blasted open from the outside, crashing heavily to the ground. Standing beyond them was an upright, tall young man.
The moment the institute director laid eyes on him, he froze, unable to stop himself from looking at him again.
Seeing that silhouette, Gao Xinwen's heart pounded wildly. The guards beside him quickly closed ranks to shield him, retreating backward.
More armed guards raised their weapons and aimed at the figure. Although their movements were textbook and displayed disciplined training, they all knew that this gesture served no purpose other than bracing their own courage.
Tension gripped every one of them; only the near-emotionless combat dolls remained utterly unaffected.
Chen Chuan swept his gaze across the interior, ignoring the armed guards, and strode step by step toward Gao Xinwen.
Gao Xinwen knew there was no escaping this time. Taking a deep breath, he raised a hand to signal everyone to stand down, then stepped out from among his guards alone.
In a deep voice, he ordered, "Everyone, leave."
The combat dolls obeyed commands without question; the moment the order was given, they immediately withdrew toward the emergency exit.
The remaining armed guards exchanged glances and slowly backed away, exiting the hall alongside the institute staff.
Throughout this process, Chen Chuan stood quietly where he was, making no move.
Once everyone had departed, only he and Gao Xinwen remained in the vast hall.
Gao Xinwen looked at the features of Chen Chuan's brow and eyes with a complex expression. He let out a scoff and said, "You win."
Shaking his head, he murmured, "I should have known back then. You wouldn't die that easily. If only I had bothered to verify it at the time... But alas—" He offered a self-deprecating smirk. "It's too late for regrets now."
Hearing this, Chen Chuan glanced at him. What Gao Xinwen referred to had to be the incident where his predecessor had been killed.
It appeared his predecessor's death was indeed no coincidence, and there were likely other entanglements involved.
Chen Chuan said, "I came here today both to settle certain matters with you and to find people. I imagine you know their whereabouts."
"Find people?"
Gao Xinwen fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Right... While you shouldn't exist in this world, seeking her out is only natural for her son. Heh, in truth, I'd like to know where she is now, too. After all, she is my sister. No matter how much I disliked her, still—"
Before he could finish, Chen Chuan cut him off: "You seem to be mistaken about something."
"What?" Gao Xinwen looked up in surprise.
Chen Chuan looked at him and said, "My mother is Yu Zhen, and my father is Chen Qiyang. I have nothing to do with your sister, Ms. Gao Yuling."
Upon hearing this, Gao Xinwen stared blankly for a second before a look of understanding dawned on his face. Looking at Chen Chuan, he spoke with absolute certainty: "I suppose you still don't know. You are not Yu Zhen's son at all. She was merely your adoptive mother. You are my sister Gao Yuling's son."
At this, he fixed his gaze on Chen Chuan, his voice tinged with growing agitation. "If not for her bloodline, someone your age could never have grown so quickly, let alone possess such formidable strength!"
Chen Chuan said indifferently, "I have no interest in correcting your views. My investigation clearly shows that my parents' disappearance is connected to both you and Ms. Gao Yuling. I want to know: where did they go?"
"Where did they go?"
Gao Xinwen turned slowly and pointed toward the fissure. "Do you see that? That is a fissure passed down from the ancient First People.
"Your adoptive parents, your mother Gao Yuling, and her personal security detail all went into that fissure. I have spent all these years searching for them as well, yet to this day, there has been no word."
Hearing this, Chen Chuan glanced toward the fissure. After gazing at it for a moment, he turned his eyes back onto Gao Xinwen. "So this matter is related to you after all?"
Gao Xinwen slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "Yes. Yes, it was because of me. Because they were doing something wrong, and I would never allow such a thing to happen."
He glared intently at Chen Chuan. "Yet I missed you, and that made everything I did end in failure."
Chen Chuan pondered this. Between Gao Xinwen's account and the fragments of memory—especially the memory potion left behind by the father of this body, Chen Qiyang—he could roughly piece together what had transpired back then.
He looked toward the fissure ahead and raised his hand. A brilliant light flashed, followed by a deafening roar.
The entire mountain shook violently. When the commotion subsided, everything blocking the fissure—whether ritual fields or barrier walls—had vanished without a trace.
The light from the fissure spilled out, falling uninhibited over the two men standing before it.
Chapter 1260