The Ancient Gods' Whisper

Su Youzhu hugged a pillow and puffed her cheeks: "Don't nosily meddle in a girl's affairs. If you really want to know, it's not impossible... but only boyfriends are privy to that, you know."

Meaningless, this was another trap she had set.

Gu Jianlin would not fall for it, he calmly said, "Then I won't date someone who keeps secrets."

The two of them were at a standoff for a moment.

Su Youzhu snorted coldly: "Then let's just wait it out. I don't believe you won't need someone to do laundry, cook, and have kids for you in this lifetime. Let's see who outlasts who. Where there's a will, there's a way."

"Suit yourself."

Gu Jianlin took out the Soul Comforting Bell, which imprisoned a shattered soul.

As the black aura was released, Councilman Zhang's soul hovered in midair, like a marionette.

Originally, Su Youzhu was sulking, but upon seeing this scene, she obediently leaned in close to observe carefully.

Gu Jianlin calmly asked, "Councilman Zhang, when did you join The Order of the Hidden? How many of your people are in the Judgement Court? What is your organization's true purpose?"

Councilman Zhang answered calmly, "I joined The Order of the Hidden during the Lin Family massacre six years ago. There are at least four intelligence lines in the Judgement Court, but I don't know their true identities because our organization does not share intelligence. We only need to complete our tasks or follow orders from superiors."

He said, "We do not know the purpose of our organization, only that we serve the Supreme Heavenly Venerate."

Supreme Heavenly Venerate!

Gu Jianlin and Su Youzhu exchanged glances; it was the first time they had heard this term.

"What is the Supreme Heavenly Venerate?"

He asked blankly.

Su Youzhu also shook her head, pondered for a moment, and replied, "Whether it's the Ancient God Clan or humans, there are few who can use the word 'supreme.' As for the term 'Heavenly Venerate,' it is rather ancient, generally appearing in mythical tales but not in real history."

It might be a human.

Or perhaps an extremely secretive Ancient God Clan.

It might even be an Ancient Supreme!

Councilman Zhang thought this question was directed at him and answered blankly, "We do not know who the Supreme Heavenly Venerate is, only that They are omnipotent and will bring true redemption to this world."

Gu Jianlin fell into deep thought.

The teacher entrusted him with the Lock of Nonexistence and the Soul Comforting Bell, intending for him to uncover the truth step by step.

To cultivate his ability.

If he guessed correctly, the teacher probably knew all about these matters long ago.

And had most likely come into contact with even higher-level secrets.

"Sounds like a zealot cult," Su Youzhu commented.

Gu Jianlin nodded slightly.

"When did The Order of the Hidden appear?"

"I don't know, but it should have a very ancient history."

"Does Li Qingsong know your true identity?"

"No, my main task was to use him to help The Order of the Hidden accomplish some things."

"Tang Zijing, Meng Hebo, Gu Ci'an, Mu Feng, their incidents are related to The Order of the Hidden, right?"

Councilman Zhang answered, "Yes, The Order of the Hidden hoped to develop them into our informants, but unexpected events occurred while recruiting these four. Therefore, The Order of the Hidden required all traces of these four incidents to be erased, especially Tang Zijing and Meng Hebo, who escaped organizational control by becoming Divine Servants."

He said, "My orders were to eliminate Tang Zijing and Meng Hebo without leaving any survivors."

Gu Jianlin understood the teacher's words now.

Often wading along the riverbank, how can one's shoes not get wet?

The more activity, the more likely flaws appear.

"How do you all communicate?"

Su Youzhu asked coldly.

Councilman Zhang answered, "Spiders."

Gu Jianlin was stunned; he had also seen a spider when he was under mind control.

Su Youzhu noticed his reaction: "You know?"

The next moment, Councilman Zhang explained, "The Order of the Hidden exists like a giant web covering this world, and the spiders are what move within it. As soon as we see the spider's illusion, instructions made of blood appear in our minds, which we must follow, or face erasure."

Gu Jianlin softly said, "This sounds eerie."

Su Youzhu responded affirmatively and then asked, "What about the incidents involving Gu Ci'an and Mu Feng?"

Councilman Zhang responded, "The covert level concerning Gu Ci'an's matter is too high, and it wasn't my responsibility. As for Mu Feng, he is among the rare few who can resist mental intrusion. The Order of the Hidden originally wanted to kill him, but his strength was too great, enabling him to escape our pursuit. Fortunately, Mu Feng was affected by the Soul Loss Gu, losing his memory."

"At that time, Meng Hebo hadn't yet defected, and he assisted us in handling these accidental incidents. We faked the scene and controlled one survivor as evidence."

He continued, "Although Mu Feng could not be controlled successfully, we hoped to utilize him to further suppress Lin Dong's factions and weaken the forces of the Night Watcher, thus achieving our goals."

So that's it!

Gu Jianlin knew Uncle Mu was indeed wronged.

Although he had long known this result, hearing it still brought him relief.

"Is there another survivor?"

Su Youzhu squinted her beautiful eyes.

"There's not just one survivor. One has already been controlled by us and will accuse Mu Feng of murder in court. He is tightly protected by the Judgement Court and secretly hidden in the headquarters of the Magic City, inaccessible to anyone."

Councilman Zhang said, "Among my assigned tasks from The Order of the Hidden, one was to find the other survivor."

"There's another survivor?"

Gu Jianlin was taken aback.

Su Youzhu also said, "I previously heard Third Master mention that the Judgement Court's Demon Hunters frequently operated near the Living Burial Area, seemingly looking for something, but they never found it."

"The second survivor is named Lin Lan, one of the Lin family's surviving orphans. The Order of the Hidden is uncertain of his status and cannot allow him to become a variable, so we must confirm if he is alive or dead."

Councilman Zhang stated, "This pertains to the final candidate spot for the Heavenly General title. Currently, the Night Watcher and the Judgement Court are competing, with the most competitive candidates being the branch director of Peak City District, Lu Zijin. Another is the branch director of the Coastal district, Zhang Xuzhi. Zhang Xuzhi is my elder brother and coincidentally also a Sixth Rank."

"As his younger brother, I have every opportunity to influence his promotion ceremony and develop him into a member of the organization. In this way, The Order of the Hidden can take advantage to encroach on the President's surrounding forces."

"Simultaneously, The Order of the Hidden's next plan is to also suppress the Lu Family, especially Lu Zijin, and find a way to eliminate her. We've already discovered that Lu Zijin has been assisting Mu Feng and others over the years. Once Mu Feng's case is settled, we will initiate plans against her, to control or eliminate her."

A chilling severity flashed in Su Youzhu's beautiful eyes.

Gu Jianlin's grip on the Soul Comforting Bell slightly tightened.

It's no wonder the teacher wanted to eradicate these parasites at all costs.

Their ambition was too grand.

"Now I want to ask you, what exactly is the Penglai Ascension Array?"

Gu Jianlin asked in a deep voice.

Su Youzhu was slightly stunned; when accompanying the Pharmacist Old Thief, she had also heard of this thing.

Only, the siblings never expected.

What Councilman Zhang said next was an earth-shattering revelation.

"The Penglai Ascension Array is related to the secrets of the Candle Dragon Venerable."

Councilman Zhang said, "Legend has it that over two thousand years ago, Xu Fu witnessed an unprecedented battle between the Candle Dragon and the Qilin in the East Sea. As a witness, Xu Fu was controlled by the Ancient God's Blood and became a Divine Servant."

His voice trembled visibly, betraying intense fear: "The Candle Dragon Venerable's Divine Servant."

Gu Jianlin's pupils quivered, indeed connected to the old monster.

Su Youzhu frowned, "Continue."

"According to our research and documentation, the so-called Penglai Ascension Array did indeed originate from Xu Fu. But it was not his original intention, rather an act of desperation. This is because it was an order from the Candle Dragon Venerable, that supremely powerful and tyrannical Supreme, who wanted to use Xu Fu, the greatest alchemist master of humanity, for an experiment."

Councilman Zhang stated, "We don't know if this experiment succeeded or not. We are actively searching for it in the Qilin Immortal Palace. The Order of the Hidden attaches great importance to this because we believe Xu Fu's research results are now within the Qilin Immortal Palace. And the Candle Dragon Venerable will evaluate this result two thousand years later!"

[Recommendation ticket]

[Monthly ticket]