Light Fortress-Chapter 1541 - 233: Rebirth

"What level have I reached now?"

Gu Shen rubbed his chin, pondering slowly.

"This question is not easy to answer... After all, so far, I haven’t fought an enemy in the real world."

The previous Divine War took place in the Spiritual World.

But it could already be considered a battle of the gods!

Gu Shen’s Spirit Sea could already contend with devils without being at a disadvantage... Solely judging from this Divine War, it’s difficult to estimate Gu Shen’s true combat power, but one thing is certain, the scale of Gu Shen’s Spirit Sea is unmatched by any Fourth-Order Transcender.

It is extremely difficult for a Transcendent of the third order to ascend to the fourth order.

The revival of the Ice Sea, was already a Divine Miracle!

"How about evaluating with the deep water area trial?" Chu Ling’s eyes sparkled: "Do you want to give it a try?"

The deep water area trial has twelve levels!

This is also an important basis for classifying the power levels of modern Transcendents.

However, even before the so-called twelve-layer division was established by the Deep Sea, the strength of Transcendents already existed.

Except for the initial "awakening" period, Gu Shen was accustomed to connecting to the deep water area network for cultivation.

Most of the time after that, he relied on his own meditation to drive his cultivation, which was a "Penetration Cultivation Method" taught by Gu Nanfeng, a method practiced by the majority of local Transcendents in the North Continent.

No external aid.

No reliance on the Deep Sea.

Only then can he go further!

"Test the current level with the deep water area trial?"

Gu Shen smiled and said, "Alright, let’s do it!"

With a cracking sound, he stood up and simply stretched his muscles and bones.

Chu Ling’s Spirit Network wrapped around the entire zero-zero-one carriage. As Gu Shen stood up, the sea area suddenly trembled, and then the carriage blurred, as if becoming part of the sea. Countless seawater surged into the illusory glass of the carriage, and the surrounding scene abruptly transformed—

This time, there was no prompt sound.

The [Source Code] activated the sealed sea area of the deep water, to conduct this unknown Transcendent trial!

"Since you’ve already broken through to the Fourth Order, just release your domain directly."

Chu Ling’s voice slowly echoed.

After the fourth order in the deep water area trial, the pressure is applied according to the strength of the domain.

Upon hearing this, Gu Shen didn’t hesitate and raised his hands.

The fire of life in one hand, and Pure Land Silent Snow in the other.

These two completely opposite and inherently conflicting domain phenomena were displayed behind Gu Shen simultaneously, one side was the continuously burning Blazing Fire, while the other was the snow-falling susuo wood.

Ice and fire manifested in one person!

But the true contradiction was not the elements of ice and fire, but the deeper layer of life and death!

At the moment these two domains were displayed—

The trial site of the deep water area began to tremble!

"Rumble!"

Millions of tons of seawater surged towards Gu Shen, but at the moment they were about to touch his body, they encountered enormous resistance!

The seawater seemed to have hit an invisible barrier, instantly stacking together, and the force of the squeeze became extremely difficult, unable to advance even a bit... This was the precursor of the deep water area Spirit Network beginning to wrap and apply pressure, but the unfolding of these two domains made the deep water area network unable to envelop Gu Shen!

Gu Shen looked relaxed and was even stretching his muscles.

Then, accompanied by a shout from Chu Ling,

A dull explosion sound exploded in the Dream!

Gu Shen stood there somewhat dazed, but the seawater of the deep water area had completely shattered...

He initially felt some pressure.

But now, that pressure had vanished without a trace.

The scene quickly restored, returning to the zero-zero-one carriage.

Everything returned to calm.

This left Gu Shen, who was raring to go, a bit embarrassed.

He withdrew the Blazing Fire and Silent Snow, looked at Chu Ling, and helplessly smiled, "What happened? Why didn’t the trial start?"

"..."

The carriage welcomed half a minute of silence. As the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence, Chu Ling hadn’t been this quiet in a long time. She looked at Gu Shen with complex emotions and then sighed, "It’s not that the trial didn’t start... but that the trial has already ended."

"...?"

Gu Shen was slightly stunned.

"The twelve-level trial in the deep water area is designed for the vast majority of Transcendents... These twelve trials are not the end of mundane cultivation, but they are the current limit of Deep Sea Network’s calculations. Even if the [Deep Sea] underwent many iterations and upgrades, it could not develop a thirteenth sea level."

"Because the deeper you go, the harder it is to deduce."

"The possibility of mundane evolution is infinite."

"The twelfth trial is left for those Transcendents who master ’dual domains’, like Han Dang beneath the Frozen Lake... From [Deep Sea]’s deduced route of mundane evolution, comprehending dual domains leads to a qualitative change in life level, afterward it’s endless, hard to deduce, hard to unify complex possibilities, so those Transcendents making breakthroughs again are the worldly Titled ones."

Chu Ling looked at the wind and snow swirling around Gu Shen, as well as the disappearing embers.

She softly murmured, "But you are an exception... You comprehended the [Pure Land Domain] at the third order, achieving three Transcendents, then successfully comprehended the complete and perfect Blazing Fire Domain, advancing to fourth order."

"The highest intensity of the deep water area trial can only reach ’dual domains’, and you already possess the dual domains."

The trial ended before it even began.

In the history of humanity, achieving this step... Gu Shen is the first.

No matter if it happened before in human history, at least there’s no record in the chronicles.

No one would comprehend a complete domain that doesn’t belong to them at the third order!

This requires not only talent but also fortune!

Even if Gu Shen is reborn, he might not reach his current level, because two essential steps cannot be replicated.

First, Gu Changzhi gifted the Four Seasons Wilderness; second, he was chosen in advance by a particular fire spark!

"So that’s it, it’s actually quite similar to what I had guessed..."

Gu Shen’s expression was calm, with little surprise.

After the transformation of the realm of the Fire of Life was complete, he already had a general estimate in his heart.

The so-called deep water area trial is merely a way to classify Transcendents, making it easier for them to find a direction for future cultivation.

With blazing fire in his left hand and pure land in his right, these two perfectly achieved domains could crush ninety-nine percent of Fourth-Order Transcenders, even if only one was deployed!

Just how strong am I now?

Gu Shen has not fought anyone yet, so he’s unsure, but he knows this... If Jia Wei from that year stood before him now.

A Fourth-Order Transcendant standing before him would only face death, not survival!

"Well then... can you rest assured now?"

Gu Shen chuckled and said, "With my current strength, I might even be able to attempt refining the ’Netherworld King’s Spark’ upon returning to the cemetery. Dealing with Jia Wei would be a piece of cake."

"Indeed."

Seeing Gu Shen’s strength was so formidable, Chu Ling felt much relieved. She earnestly said, "Since you insist on settling this grudge personally, I will keep information about ’Jia Wei’ a secret for you."

"Alright."

Gu Shen took a deep breath and looked outside the Zero-One carriage: "I should leave the Ice Sea now."

His physical body had been soaking underwater for five years.

Fortunately, there’s been a constant influx of source matter maintaining his life activities, allowing him to survive.

To have waited so long.

Finally, the day of "heading out to sea" has arrived!

"By the way!"

Upon hearing the word "Ice Sea," Chu Ling suddenly turned somber and said seriously, "Something very important has just happened, which I haven’t had time to summarize, and it’s great that you’re at the Ice Sea..."

...

...

"Hiss!"

The endless darkness of the Deep Sea was ignited by a wisp of firelight.

Gu Shen’s spirit returned to his body, trembling lightly like a stone sculpture standing for a thousand years, as if shaking off the dust covering him.

This is the Ice Sea, so naturally, there is no dust.

But after several tremors, the layer of gloom enveloping Gu Shen, the ominousness covering his body surface, all shattered by him.

The Fire of Life flowed throughout his body.

"Finally... came back to life."

Gu Shen opened his eyes, sighed deeply, and used "came back to life" instead of "woke up" to describe this eye-opening.

Only those who experience it themselves can understand.

How terrifying this disaster of death was.

As the current Netherworld King, he almost met the previous Netherworld King.

Gu Shen stretched lazily, his fingertip gently tapping the seawater, as Pure Land Wind Snow instantly formed a palm-sized ice mirror in the sea. Looking at the emaciated image reflected in the mirror, a hint of self-mockery flashed in Gu Shen’s eyes: "Starved for five years, no wonder the devil dared not seize me..."

"Today is a good day for breaking out of the sea and seeing the light again. Let’s eat something to fill the stomach first."

Gu Shen stood up.

Dozens of fiery strands burst out from the seawater like chains, piercing in all directions!

Seconds later, he detected unusual sounds from the depths of the Ice Sea.

"Good, there are indeed ’living’ ones."

Gu Shen grinned, looking back at the longevity stone wall. The ancient text array patterns on this stone wall had lost their meaning, for he remembered the true Longevity Array Patterns in his mind.

Boom!

Gu Shen lightly pressed his five fingers against the stone wall, shattering it to pieces. Even though this place is ten thousand meters below the Ice Sea, out of safety, he decided to destroy the stone wall!

Only by destroying it can he ensure that in future years, no one can read and learn from it!

The stone wall was first shattered, then utterly obliterated by the blazing fire, turning into nothingness.

Gu Shen no longer looked back.

He clutched the trembling Blazing Fire Chain with one hand, darting swiftly in the direction it indicated. The protection provided by the Longevity Array Pattern had vanished, but the Pure Land Domain immediately emerged, a thin layer of frost and snow enveloping three feet around Gu Shen, forming a perfect spherical domain, fully blocking the cold of the Ice Sea.

Compared to Great Cold, this chill is nothing!

Soon, Gu Shen saw the location from where the "disturbance" came, and what scene unfolded there.

A nearly twenty-meter-long silver-white flagfish had mutated due to transcendence, with a sword-like sharp upper jaw protruding close to ten meters!

Attracted by the Blazing Fire Chain, this flagfish slowly approached the fire in the Deep Sea.

The unusual seawater stirred by Gu Shen’s dive alarmed it.

The flagfish detected the source of the anomaly, then proactively launched an attack!

"Whoosh!"

The slender fish body instantly transformed into a burst of silver brilliance!

The long sword-like jaw it bore aimed with unparalleled precision in the Deep Sea at Gu Shen, who held the Blazing Fire Chain, striking fiercely!

...

...

(PS: I sincerely apologize again for the monthly ticket extras matter. If anyone hasn’t seen it yet, you can follow the public account "The Panda Who Wrestles.")