483: Take this ray of hope, underground in Xuanji City

Good heavens!

Chu Jiang raised his eyebrows slightly.

Mystic Mechanism City actually has a Guardian?

To be able to pass down through nine generations.

How did it survive thousands of years?

The Demon Suppression Platform, number 007, Yang Liwan was only a first-generation Guardian.

Swish, swish, swish!

Chu Jiang and the two others streaked across the sky, flying towards Mystic Mechanism City.

Before long, he saw a colossal Mechanical City, stretching to the ends of the world.

The black iron Great Wall tore from the horizon, winding like the spine of an Yinglong coiled in the Nine Heavens.

Ancient Talismanic Incantations, now dim, covered the bronze and profound iron walls, and dark red rust seeped from every metal plate joint, as if blood scabs were oozing from Dragon scales.

At the center of the hundred-zhang giant gate was a Taotie ring handle, its fangs clenching a keyhole that pulsed with indigo electrical arcs, and the gate's surface was embossed with reliefs of the Four Vicious Beasts, with liquid starlight flowing in every groove.

Crack!

Bones dislocated and fractured.

Chu Jiang tore off one of Flame Emberborn’s arms and splattered the blood onto the giant gate.

Buzz—

Click!

The hundred-zhang giant gate opened with a sound.

A decaying, dilapidated giant city came into view.

Gears rusted into dark red wreckage, and the ground was covered in cracks, like wounds on a dying Dragon, dripping with the bloodstains of time.

“Damn it, that old turtle! No wonder he didn’t want to come with us, he wanted to hog it all…”

Seeing Mystic Mechanism City opened by Flame Emberborn’s blood, Flower Gentleman cursed.

So, while they were fighting valiantly at the front, this guy wanted to take the easy way out.

However, this guy's luck wasn't so good; he was controlled by an Evil Demon.

Serves him right!

Bang, bang, bang…

A mechanical Puppet, covered in rust, stepped towards the three of them.

One could see.

Its dark silver body was covered with bronze patterns, and greenish-brown liquid oozed from its joints.

A jade marrow carved face mask was diagonally cracked, with a faint blue mist seeping from the fissure.

A deep red crystal was embedded in its chest, with stardust flowing within.

Its left arm concealed the outline of a sharp blade, and two clusters of icy blue Soul flames flickered in its eye sockets.

“Gongshu Zheng, the Ninth-Generation Guardian of Mystic Mechanism City, greets Fellow Daoist!”

The mechanical Puppet cupped its hands, and the icy blue Soul flames in its eyes flickered.

“Chu Jiang, Demon Suppression Division, Great Chu Dynasty!”

Chu Jiang also cupped his hands slightly. He had originally thought the Guardian was flesh and blood, but it seemed he had transplanted his Soul into a mechanical Puppet.

“Senior, are you a Puppet or an Immortal Master?”

Yue Xuanji asked curiously.

“Both, but overall, I am no longer considered human; I merely cling to life through a marvel of heavenly craftsmanship!”

Gongshu Zheng said.

“Senior, so you mean your old self is not limited by Lifespan and will exist forever!” Flower Gentleman’s eyes lit up. Doesn’t that mean eternal life, with a Lifespan as long as the heavens?

“It’s not that simple. Heaven and Earth have strict rules. My original body has long since perished, and my Soul entered the Puppet. At most, it can exist for a thousand years; after a thousand years, I will still die!”

Gongshu Zheng continued.

While they were speaking, Gongshu Zheng led Chu Jiang and the others to a still-intact pavilion, where charcoal fire was burning, and a faint aroma of tea diffused.

Whoosh!

He brewed a cup of tea for each of the three.

“Please!”

Gongshu Zheng extended a mechanical hand.

Flower Gentleman looked at the slightly darkened tea, steaming hot. Tea from thousands of years ago, would there be any problem?

The diary recorded that Mystic Mechanism City had been cut off from resource supplies fifteen hundred years before the Great Qin, meaning this tea was at least five thousand years old.

Neither of them dared to move much, both looking at Chu Jiang.

One could see.

Chu Jiang picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and savored it, then said lightly, “Drink it. This is top-grade tea; it has benefits!”

He had already used his True King's Eye and System scans for a double check; there were no problems. This was Enlightenment Tea, priceless.

Seeing Chu Jiang speak, Yue Xuanji also drank it generously.

A moment later.

Their eyes were tightly closed.

The two seemed to have fallen into an Epiphany.

“Fellow Daoist, after the collapse of the Great Qin, what became of the later Dynasties, and which generation are you?”

Gongshu Zheng asked.

The Great Qin lasted for fifteen hundred years, and now there were probably several Dynasties that had established themselves on the foundation of the Great Qin.

“After the fall of the Great Qin, the Great Chu spent a hundred years eliminating the demonic plague, quelling internal rebellions among the various kings, and establishing a new Dynasty. They changed the Demon Catching Division to the Demon Suppression Division, continuing to suppress demons and monitor the world. During this time, the banner never changed, and it has been passed down for five thousand years to this day…”

Chu Jiang briefly recounted the history of the Great Chu, including issues like the heaven and earth's upper limit being locked, the Demon Ancient Road, and the annual decline of Spiritual Qi.

“Five thousand years!”

The icy blue Soul flames of Gongshu Zheng flickered; it truly was a long-lived Dynasty.

In his known history, only the Great Zhou Dynasty had surpassed it.

However, it seemed that it had also entered the late stage of the Dynasty; collapse was only a matter of time. Their problems might be even more severe than those of the Great Qin.

The Demon Kings of the Demon Ancient Road could descend at any time, yet Heaven and Earth were restricted, preventing a Breakthrough to a higher realm.

Even if the ancestral pulse was fortunately repaired, how could a mere year, or even just a few months, change the overall situation?

It was almost a certain death situation.

“Is there really no eternal Dynasty in this world?”

Gongshu Zheng sighed. Throughout history, among the various Dynasties and nations, none had escaped this curse.

The Great Chu, lasting five thousand years, was the most likely to break it, but the three-thousand-year erosion of the ancestral pulse changed everything.

Later attempts to repair it were unsuccessful, only slowing down the process of decline.

“If that’s the case, then I will lend you a hand. Consider it my Great Qin, my Gongshu Family, making another effort for the Human Race of later generations, to fight for this slim chance of survival!” Gongshu Zheng stood up, and the Soul flames in his eyes burned even more fiercely.

Five thousand years ago, they failed; their nation was shattered by the demons.

Now, these guys were making a comeback.

No matter who was fighting the demons, his Gongshu Family would help out.

Gongshu Zheng led Chu Jiang to the underground of the Mechanical City.

As Chu Jiang passed through layers of locked mechanical gates, he couldn't help but marvel at the structure of the entire Mystic Mechanism City, which was too magnificent. He wondered how many immense resources the Great Qin had spent to build such a complex and powerful weapon.

He was also curious about what exactly was being kept so securely; there were no less than four Xuanjin protective gates.

Click…

When the last gate was opened, Chu Jiang’s eyes widened.