CHAPTER 930: CHAPTER 107: NETHERWORLD KING AND JUDGE (EXTENDED CHAPTER)

In the long, narrow passageway, a relatively less dim glow emerged.

This time, there wasn’t a large influx of black water here.

This means that the other side this [door] links to is not the Nether River we came from.

This is both good news and bad news.

For Gu Shen...

He hopes he can directly leave the Black River, cross the Black Snow Mountain, return to the main control ship, and join the team "besieging" Meng Xiao. He is very aware of his physical condition, and trying to be brave in this situation is not a good choice.

However.

Opening a [door] that allows progress this time is already a blessing in disguise.

Gu Shen doesn’t dare to gamble.

His judgment regarding the rules of this labyrinth is ultimately just speculation. If the Judge closes the [door] again, finding another opportunity may require thousands of hacks. In such a moment, time is life, and if Meng Xiao in another perilous situation escapes before him, then he and Mu Wanqiu might both perish here.

"Proceed?"

Mu Wanqiu’s eyes were somewhat uncertain.

She couldn’t tell the quality of the [door], only inferring the answer from Gu Shen’s previous tone.

"Proceed."

Gu Shen adjusted his breathing and was the first to enter the [door].

...

...

The world behind the [door] was unexpectedly calm and open.

Even...

Bright.

It turned out to be an incredibly magnificent underground palace, with towering stone pillars bridging the Netherworld, stretching layer upon layer into the distance without end, while thin mist swirled around all directions like veils.

Dim, eerie candlelight, held aloft by the Copper Lantern, was offered like a tribute.

From afar, threads of pale ghost fire densely arranged floated in the air, swayed with the mist, and these bronze lamps resembled unveilers anchored in the stone walls below. Thus, they showcased the vastness and decay of this underground palace to the "visitors."

"This was once a complete ’ancient relic’..."

Mu Wanqiu followed Gu Shen, stepping through the [door]. She gazed at the scene before her, momentarily lost in thought, murmuring softly.

Rustling sounds came from behind.

She turned her head slightly.

The [door] behind her was quietly closing gradually.

Gu Shen’s speculation within the labyrinth was correct.

Even without the Judge’s intervention, the broken stone walls would self-repair...

It surely means that the ancient writings on the labyrinth’s stone walls have already changed.

This also implies that even if the exit stone wall is shattered now, it won’t return to the previous place.

However... she didn’t plan to go back.

"I heard the Investigation Corps, when executing missions outside the fortress, very rarely encounter so-called ’ancient relics.’" Gu Shen said, "Have you ever encountered any?"

"Encountered them... but they can’t compare at all to what’s in front of us."

Mu Wanqiu held her knife.

She slowly said, "No matter how far Five Continents progresses in history, it’s only six hundred years... Surely, you also know where we came from six hundred years ago."

Six hundred years, in the long river of time, is merely a fleeting moment.

But for the humans of the Five Continents...

It is all the recorded years.

"Rather than ’ancient relics,’ it’s more like ’evidence that humans lived six hundred years ago.’

Mu Wanqiu’s voice was very soft, "Most of the ’ancient relics’ encountered outside the Fortress are buried with bones, proof of humanity’s migration to the Five Continents. We still cannot imagine what kind of journey it was, the only thing clear is that many people perished on the migration route... The continent of the [Old World] underwent crustal movement, covering and burying their bones, and sinking them with the rocks to become fossils over the long years. Every discovery of ’ancient relics’ is an excavation of history from six hundred years ago."

Gu Shen looked at the vast and grand palace.

"Mr. Turing conducted relevant research."

While meditating in the cemetery, he read related secret reports, and slowly said, "In the ancient era of collapsed order, humanity’s homes were completely destroyed... At that time, no one knew where a safe settlement was, and they attempted to establish different homes in the [Old World] during their trek, only to be destroyed. Before the giant wall was built, they thought they were safe."

After destruction.

Those false, fragmented homes became ancient relics.

Ironically... it’s somewhat amusing.

Because the wheels of history continue to roll over humanity’s face, but have not yet completely passed over... The collapse of order is constantly happening, with the shattered raw power still impacting the giant wall.

Who’s to say that years later, the current Five Continents won’t become the "ancient relics" of future populations?

"Though this palace is dilapidated, it shouldn’t be as old as six hundred years."

Gu Shen crouched down.

He gently pinched some dirt, applying pressure with his fingers, slowly rubbing.

"Divination again?"

Mu Wanqiu’s eyes showed some suspicion, mimicking Gu Shen’s actions as she crouched down and pinched some dust, though the Judge didn’t perceive anything and refused her request to come closer for a sniff.

"The evidence hangs on the wall as the ’Copper Lantern.’" Gu Shen said slowly without raising his head, "The Changye Li Family once collected many similar bronze lamps, so I’m very aware that the Copper Lantern here is not genuine but likely a carefully crafted counterfeit used solely to sustain the fire."