Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1383 The Deep Earth Reveals Images

Minister He was not affected by what Secretary Yuan said, and he continued with the next topic with a calm expression.

After finishing discussing everything, he jokingly told everyone to go home early, as he wouldn't be responsible for their dinner, and then announced the meeting was adjourned.

Chen Chuan knew that He Shugang's ease was not feigned, because the latter was not worried about his own position.

Not to mention that he has political allies in the State Council, within the Ministry of Affairs, Huang Quji, a fighter from Dongxuan Temple, and another fighter from Changsheng Temple have both clearly identified themselves as his supporters.

Both of them belong to the refined cultivation school.

According to Ren Xinshan's deduction, Minister He is very likely a member of the integration faction, because it is very normal for several factions to check and balance each other in an important department.

That Vice Minister Gu didn't belong to any faction, so even if he did nothing, the higher-ups wouldn't let him leave.

This current balance is very difficult to break.

After leaving the conference hall and returning to his office, he transformed into a purple ray of light, projecting it towards his main body sitting there, and quickly merging into it.

Chen Chuan remained calm, as he was fully aware of the situation on the other side of his mind due to the mental connection.

There are currently no plans to focus the main energy on internal departmental struggles.

The major collision is just a year away, and anyone who sides with the opposing force or holds them back will be crushed. There will be no more reasoning with anyone then.

He was flipping through recent newspapers, many of which contained debates about his article.

However, the most important recent news is that Hadong Province has been added to the skyline.

To some uninformed people, one of the direct reasons why Hadong Province was included in the skyline was his article, which also gave the impression that the rise of the skyline was unstoppable.

He thought about it and figured that if Anbei Province were to be added to the skyline, it would undoubtedly have a significant impact on Zhongjing, and such momentum would be difficult to suppress.

Therefore, Anbei Province will inevitably become a place heavily guarded by both the Refinement Faction and the Integration Faction. This may cause some obstacles to military operations in Anbei Province, but since the Progressive Faction has formulated this plan, they will surely have ways to deal with it, so he doesn't need to worry about it too much.

He only needs to strive to further improve and perfect his own strength before this military operation.

He got up and left the office, walking to the training ground provided to him. He took out an old booklet, which contained another secret technique given to him by the Pure Sect, "Flowing Golden Flame".

This secret technique is specifically designed to counter various divine forms and spirits. The Great Bright Light Style can capture an enemy's form, and this technique can be combined with it to potentially kill the enemy instantly under the right circumstances.

He had sensed the remaining spirit on it many times. He closed his eyes slightly, and after a while, golden mist rose from his body.

The mist looked as if it were being blown about by a strong wind, drifting rapidly there.

But it seems to be just an invisible layer, and nothing around it that is affected by it is unaffected.

He then had Shenyu conjure up a scene, and the surroundings quickly transformed into a landscape of high cliffs and snow-capped mountains, with everything in sight covered in white snow.

However, wherever the golden flames flowed, the scenery immediately receded, returning to the original training ground, as if a void had been corroded out of the simulated field.

He also heard Shen Yu's reminders and error messages. After he absorbed the power back, it lasted for a while before the simulated scene returned to normal.

After a moment's thought, he realized that the secret technique's ability to break through the field was to be expected. However, its actual effectiveness in combat still needed to be verified through battles with strong opponents.

Furthermore, the secret teachings given to him by the Pure School all share a common characteristic: they can be practiced indefinitely. The longer one practices and the deeper one's understanding, the greater the power becomes.

For example, the power of his two major techniques now far exceeds that of when he fought against many of the Throne Fighters. He looks forward to testing these powers against even stronger opponents.

After he had been cultivating for several hours, a message from Ren Xinshan appeared in his spiritual realm: "Chen Siwu, do you have some time? There is someone you might be able to get to know."

Chen Chuan said, "Okay, I'll be there later." He glanced at the time; it was one in the morning. Ren Xinshan was calling him at this hour, so it must involve something important.

So this time he didn't use his clone, but got up and walked out of the training ground.

A few minutes later, he entered Ren Xinshan's office. Besides Ren Xinshan himself, there was a man in his thirties sitting there with a cynical look on his face.

Ren Xinshan introduced, "This is Cheng Gao. His public identity is a member of the Nature Faction in Norland, but his true identity is an important intelligence agent sent by our country."

Cheng Gao stood up, shook hands with Chen Chuan, and said with a smile, "Hello, Manager Chen. I had the honor of meeting you once at Hanquan Palace the other day."

Chen Chuan shook hands with him, and at that moment, the information about this person appeared on the screen.

This person is a member of the Tianxing faction within Da Shun, but he is one of the rare people who have ideals. This time, he returned to China on behalf of some interest groups in Norland to make contact with certain forces within the country.

After exchanging greetings, the three of them sat down.

Cheng Gao said, "This time I returned to China not only on behalf of Norland, but also to resolve my identity issue. When I was in Norland, a colleague from the secret service was responsible for contacting me, but unfortunately, he hasn't contacted me for six months. I've tried various methods, but I haven't been able to reach him."

He said in a deep voice, "I suspect he may have been exposed, but there was no special reaction from Norland, and no one came to arrest or try to turn me. So he probably took his own life before being arrested and destroyed his brain implant, which is why he didn't leak any information."

At this point, his voice became somewhat low, "Because we only have a single-line contact, I have no way to bypass him and reach a higher level, so I took advantage of this opportunity to return to China to find my superior."

I tried every method my comrade gave me, but I still couldn't get in touch with anyone.

I didn't know what was going on, and I was afraid that making any sudden movements would alert the wrong people, so I had no choice but to come to the Security Department.

Ren Xinshan said, "Cheng Gao also has another identity, which is our secret agent of the Security Affairs Department. I personally signed the agreement, and the agreement he signed can ensure his loyalty."

Cheng Gao then raised his head and said seriously, "I want to say that the agreement cannot necessarily guarantee that what I say is true. I can't even completely trust myself, so I need to accept all the tests."

Ren Xinshan said seriously, "Don't worry, I will absolutely not omit any necessary procedures."

Cheng Gao nodded and said, "That's good."

On Norland's side, there are even more instances of collusion between some high-ranking officials and those on the other side. Even though he is a fighter, he doesn't dare to completely trust his memories, so this measure is necessary.

He added, "Besides the official intelligence I brought this time, there's another piece of news that might be of interest to people back home."

Ren Xinshan asked, "About what?"

Cheng Gao said, "A senior member of the Nature School in Norland may have obtained a secret map of the celestial beings, and he is now looking for a buyer."

Ren Xinshan's expression turned serious. He asked, "The Secret Map of Heaven and Man? Where did it come from?"

“From the Earthsea Cave.”

Ren Xinshan clearly knew this place and immediately asked, "The senior you mentioned, is it Greiheim?"

"Yes, that's him."

"The Earthsea cave has been opened?"

"Only a part of it has been opened up."

Chen Chuan didn't know what they were talking about, so he looked up some internal documents from the administrative department.

Information about this topic appeared immediately above.

The Earthsea Caves are a famous ancient site with countless caves. Legend has it that there is a path that leads directly to the Earth's core. However, for reasons that remain unexplained, successive emperors of Siono attempted to seal these caves, a practice that only ceased after the old imperial family was overthrown.

Even more famous is the story of a fighter named Grizam who spent over a hundred years trying to dig through this cave.

He said this because of a poignant legend.

There was once a gardener who, whenever he tended the trees and shrubs for the noblemen who employed him, would stop by a statue of a young girl and confide his troubles and thoughts to her. After he had taught himself to read and write, he never forgot to read by the statue, day after day, without ever stopping.

Perhaps his actions moved the gods, for one day when he passed by there, a witch stood there and said she could grant him his heart's desire, but he had to prepare three things: a flower he considered the most beautiful, a bowl of his own blood, and something he would forget.

The gardener agreed without hesitation.

The next day, the statue of the girl came to life, but the gardener had completely forgotten what he had done in the past.

The story then revolves around the emotional entanglement between the two, and they eventually come together.

However, when the nobleman learned that the statue had turned into a girl, he naturally assumed it was his private property, and the gardener was undoubtedly a shameful thief.

Faced with pursuit by nobles, the two had no choice but to flee. They once again sought help from the witch, who guided them to the cave in the sea. So the two finally hid in that cave.

Cheng Gao said, "That legend is widely circulated in the Acharaka region. This senior of the Naturalist school grew up hearing this story, and his home happened to be right next to the Earthsea Cave."

Therefore, he firmly believed in the existence of this story and was obsessed with it. He spent his whole life trying to prove its authenticity, to find the man and woman who hid in it, even if it was just to find their remains and to unravel the mystery of the sculpted girl.

He devoted himself to a century-long search for this, but instead of finding his remains, he obtained something that appeared to be a secret map of the celestial beings.

However, he himself had no interest in the secret map and had no intention of giving it to Norland; he simply wanted to sell it in exchange for something he needed.

……

……

(End of this chapter)