Rebirth of a Quasi-Immortal Spirit

Ah Zhong wasn't oblivious to Gao Zhun's feelings for Qin Hanyuan, but he instinctively felt that it was different from romantic love. At least, Gao Zhun would constantly think of Madam Zhu and Gao Ling, but not always of Qin Hanyuan. However, as a servant, it wasn't easy for him to bring it up, even though Gao Zhun had never truly considered him just a servant.

Two days later, Gao Zhun and A Zhong left Xuanmu City and headed to their destination – Gubao Temple.

When Gao Zhun first heard the name Gu Bao Temple, he wondered how it came to be. According to Buddhist thought, it would be impossible to name a temple so vulgarly, so there must be some unknown story behind it.

However, Gao Zhun herself wasn't very curious about this ancient temple. She really didn't believe that there could be any opportunities waiting for her in such a long-abandoned temple. Moreover, the Buddhist tradition of the Garan made her realize that her affinity with Buddhism was not low, but not very high either. Thinking about it this way, she only wanted to finish exploring it and then continue to do other tasks, striving to return to the Gao family as soon as possible.

However, a trace of unease still lingered in Gao Zhun's heart. Even Ah Zhong felt more and more oppressed the closer they got to Gu Bao Temple. This shouldn't be the case. Cultivators with the metal element should be very compatible with some of the Buddhist cultivation methods.

Recalling the recently concluded trip to the Yin Sha Cave, which was supposed to be an exploration mission but instead triggered such a huge crisis and the unknown person targeting the Yun family behind the scenes, Gao Zhun became even more cautious about the Ancient Treasure Temple.

"Ah Zhong, didn't you say that the Buddhist cultivators of Gu Bao Temple disappeared overnight? Do you think they might have been ambushed like Jia Lan? Is Gu Bao Temple now an upgraded version of Yin Sha Cave?" Gao Zhun was never short of imagination, and he immediately shared his conjectures about Gu Bao Temple.

Ah Zhong shook his head and said, "I just feel oppressed, but I don't feel the same way you would feel inside a dark, gloomy cave. Maybe it's something else."

But Ah-Zhong couldn't say for sure what it was.

Hearing Ah Zhong's answer, Gao Zhun seemed to be deep in thought. If there were no vengeful spirits or ghosts in Gu Bao Temple, could there be wild beasts or magical beasts? This was just a reasonable guess. She really didn't want to encounter any wild beasts or magical beasts. With her and Ah Zhong's current strength, they wouldn't even be able to fill the opponent's teeth if they encountered these two powerful beings.

For the first time, Gao Zhun felt the helplessness of being a low-level cultivator with insufficient cultivation. If she and Ah Zhong had absolutely powerful strength, why would they be so timid and hesitant in the face of a small ancient temple? Although with the treasures in her storage ring, self-defense should not be a problem, treasures are ultimately external things. One day she will encounter an enemy that she cannot defeat even with those treasures. In the end, relying too much on external things is always a disadvantage.

Gao Zhun didn't know what had triggered her. Perhaps she knew, but just didn't want to think about it. In a daze, she and Ah Zhong saw the gate of Gubao Temple.

With a thought, Gao Zhun took out two jade talismans from her storage ring, one for herself and one for Ah Zhong. How could the protective array of Gu Bao Temple possibly stop the curious cultivators from the Immortal Spirit Continent? These jade talismans, capable of allowing entry and exit from this seemingly impregnable place, had already circulated among several super powers.

As for the reasons for its spread, there are many, but from the perspective of the mission Gao Zhun received, it's understood that a dozen or so super powers issue such reconnaissance missions every ten years, and this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Gao family. Gao Zhun doesn't know how long this tacit understanding has lasted, nor why reconnaissance is so frequent; she only knows that writing down everything she sees in a report to complete the mission is absolutely the right thing to do.

On her way to Gubao Temple, Gao Zhun had wondered more than once what kind of existence was inside this temple that so many super powers were wary of. However, after she entered, she found that all her guesses were completely wrong. She never expected that Gubao Temple would be so desolate.

This was the first time Gao Zhun had used the word "dead still" to describe a place. The existence of Gu Bao Temple perfectly matched her definition of "dead stillness"—utterly devoid of life. Every brick and tile exuded an aura of deathly stillness. Gao Zhun even felt that microorganisms couldn't possibly survive in this place. Suddenly, Gao Zhun began to understand the actions of those superpowers. Anyone witnessing such a scene would instinctively feel apprehensive, fearing that this place might give rise to some unbelievable existence.

In any case, Gao Zhun currently has no idea what kind of being would occupy the Ancient Treasure Temple if it were to become a dangerous place on the Immortal Spirit Continent.

Ah Zhong was also silently observing his surroundings. Seeing Gao Zhun quietly recording what he saw along the way with a jade slip, he also took out a jade slip from his storage ring and began to record his feelings and observations.

In this environment, Gao Zhun and A Zhong's temperament seemed to be affected as well. All their senses became more sensitive, and they also noticed that all living beings around them seemed to be bypassing the Ancient Treasure Temple. Although the temple was rich in spiritual energy, the two of them stopped their practice of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth to transform it into true essence.

They distrusted the entire Gubao Temple, and even doubted the spiritual energy of the place itself.

Before long, Gao Zhun and A Zhong seemed to have walked through what looked like a gathering square and arrived at the entrance of a solemn main hall. The door was ajar. They exchanged a glance, making sure that neither of them sensed any presence behind the door, before opening it with some hesitation. Of course, at the same time, a crackling current and a flash of golden light appeared on Gao Zhun and A Zhong's bodies, indicating that they had already set up a spiritual energy shield for themselves.

The two were so cautious, but fortunately the sudden attack they had imagined did not come. Just as their divine senses had detected, the main hall was empty, without any fluctuations, and there wasn't even a speck of dust floating in the air.

The thought of dust startled Gao Zhun, and she instinctively frowned. Although neither she nor Ah Zhong had been attacked in this ancient temple so far, and the danger warning unique to cultivators had not appeared, she still felt that she was exposed to an unknown danger. On second thought, was it because the danger was unknown that the premonitions that cultivators relied on to avoid calamities had not appeared?

Gao Zhun relayed her conjectures to Ah Zhong, first expressing her doubts about why the place had been abandoned for so long yet there was no dust in the air, and secondly, her guess that there were unknown dangers here.

Almost as soon as Gao Zhun finished speaking, Ah Zhong nodded in deep agreement. He had also noticed these things and recorded them on the jade slip. However, now that Gao Zhun had brought them up, he was just as confused and could neither confirm nor resolve the other party's guesses and questions.

Even in a temple where no living beings could be sensed, Gao Zhun and A Zhong did not dare to speak directly. Instead, they chose to communicate through their divine sense. Although this direct communication through divine sense was not necessarily safe, it would provide an immediate warning if someone tried to hear their conversation through their divine sense. At that time, they would know whether there was something lurking around them.

Suddenly, in the distance, they saw what appeared to be a round table. However, this table was badly damaged and looked to be of low quality, only slightly better than an ordinary one. No wonder they could see it.

Gao Zhun wasn't bothered by not finding anything of value. When he made a discovery, he called out to Ah Zhong, and the two of them slowly moved toward the round table. They were so cautious because they were afraid that the round table was just a trap.

After another series of close calls, no danger occurred until Gao Zhun and Ah Zhong reached the round table and could easily see the original totems and symbols carved on it.

However, Gao Zhun and Ah Zhong felt no relief whatsoever. They stared intently at the round table before them. From a distance, they hadn't noticed anything, but upon closer inspection, they realized that this round table was the very thing causing the strange atmosphere throughout the entire Gu Bao Temple. They weren't particularly pleased that they had discovered the root of the problem so easily. Such an obvious location; those who had been there before might have noticed it too. They just didn't understand why those people had allowed the round table to continue existing.

However, as Gao Zhun put it, her mission was only to investigate, so she had no obligation to destroy the round table. Moreover, she would not act rashly before figuring out the origin of the round table.

"Ah Zhong, write down the symbols engraved on this. I doubt anyone will understand what the 'thank you' symbol means, but it looks somewhat familiar to me." However, Gao Zhun couldn't quite put his finger on why it looked familiar.

Upon hearing this, Ah Zhong took out a jade slip to inscribe it. During the inscription process, he also discovered the familiar feeling that Gao Zhun had mentioned. He quickly reviewed the information in his mind and seemed to have thought of something. He immediately replied to Gao Zhun: "It is Morse code, but it is not Morse code. It should be a kind of code that the person who inscribed it did not want others to know the contents of it. Give me some time, and I will be able to decipher it soon."

Ah Zhong's words startled Gao Zhun. Morse code! This world had truly given her too many surprises. Actually, she could decipher it herself, but no matter how similar it was, it was different from Earth's. She decided to leave the opportunity to the professionals. (166 Reading Network)