When Qi Xia and the others arrived at “Elysium Bank,” it was already close to afternoon.
They looked up at the sun in the sky—dusk was also near.
They stopped at the entrance of a dilapidated building, so ruined that its original appearance was almost unrecognizable. Qi Xia told the group that this place had once been a bank.
Chen Junnan stepped forward and pushed open the shattered revolving door, then immediately covered his nose.
The stench inside was unimaginable—it seemed many people had died here.
Sure enough, as they stepped in, they saw scattered bones lying haphazardly across the floor.
“Old Qi… You were pretty ruthless back in the day, huh…”
“They were just gamblers.” Qi Xia waved his hand, dispersing the dust in front of him, then surveyed the hall.
The place felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
After all, the White Aries had lived here for many years, but the White Aries was only one part of himself—not his whole being.
At the center of the hall stood twelve pedestals, as if they had once held statues. Now, most of the statues had crumbled into fragments, leaving only a single goat-headed humanoid figure still standing.
“Damn sharp.” Qiao Jiajin also glanced around before speaking. “Scammer, what kind of games did you run here before?”
“Games that toyed with people’s hearts,” Qi Xia replied.
“Oh…” Qiao Jiajin nodded, though he didn’t fully understand. He had seen other game arenas before, but none as bizarre as Qi Xia’s.
Tian Tian and Zhang Chenze also stepped inside, running their hands along a table in front of the pedestals. This place resembled a casino, yet it wasn’t one.
Qi Xia looked at them and said, “I need to ask you a favor.”
“Why so polite now…?” Zhang Chenze chuckled. “At this point, just say whatever you need.”
Qi Xia pointed to a room. “There are some cloth strips in the small storage room back there. Do what you can to bandage Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan—their wounds need tending.”
“Got it, no problem,” Zhang Chenze nodded. “Anything else?”
“Not for now. I need some time alone.”
Qi Xia gave them a meaningful glance, then turned and walked toward a side room in the bank—what looked like a small office.
He pushed open the door, revealing more skeletal remains inside.
“Scammer, you sure you don’t want me with you?” Qiao Jiajin called from a distance.
“No need.” Qi Xia shook his head. “I’ll be quick.”
Stepping into the office, he took in the sight—a single desk and a few collapsing cabinets.
Among them, one tall black metal cabinet remained intact.
Qi Xia walked over and examined it—it was a safe, requiring a six-digit code to open.
Strangely, he had no memory of this black safe or its password.
He paid it no mind and instead moved to the desk, slowly taking a seat.
With a creak, the chair shifted slightly beneath him as he closed his eyes.
“‘The Path’ has completed their mission.”
Leaning back, Qi Xia mentally reviewed everything unfolding in the “Land of Finality” at that moment.
“But what about ‘The Cats’…?”
After considering Xuanwu’s situation, he concluded that ‘The Cats’ and ‘The Path’ weren’t so different—both would face grueling battles.
He hadn’t warned Yan Zhichun that they’d encounter ‘White Tiger’ before the giant bell, nor had he mentioned the numerous participants who would try to stop them.
After all, just destroying the bell was difficult enough. If he had laid out the full scope of the mission, it would have crushed morale.
“So this lie had to come from me.” Qi Xia murmured. “‘The Cats’ also faced Xuanwu within the lie…”
In Qi Xia’s calculations, ‘The Cats’ had a 100% chance of successfully killing Xuanwu.
Because during the fight, they would uncover the ultimate secret of the ‘Land of Finality’—
**”Space.”**
The principle of ‘Indestructible’ involved forcibly turning the wielder’s skin into a ‘door of space’ when faced with an unmanageable wound. If ‘The Cats’ could detect this, killing Xuanwu would simply be a matter of strategy.
So they would achieve their goal—though casualties remained unpredictable.
“The closer someone is to ‘space,’ the more likely they’ll find inspiration to kill Xuanwu,” Qi Xia said.
At that moment, the phantom of the White Aries appeared across the desk, sitting in a chair and smirking at him.
Qi Xia opened his eyes slightly, meeting his gaze.
“But what about Qinglong?” the White Aries asked.
After a few seconds of thought, Qi Xia stroked his chin. “Qinglong is moving from the ‘Cangjie Chess’ space toward the ‘Train.’ In theory, he’s cut off from all sound and won’t reach the site of the bell’s destruction in time. So a game in another space is also part of the plan.”
“He still has ‘Heaven,’” the White Aries countered.
“‘Heaven’ is just a mob.” Qi Xia replied. “When the time comes, many allies will help me attack ‘Heaven.’ Our biggest challenge is killing Qinglong.”
The phantom chuckled, stood up, and walked over to Qi Xia, placing an intangible hand on his shoulder.
“Qinglong possesses ‘Heaven’s Strength,’” the White Aries said. “His regeneration and combat abilities far surpass yours. In your current state, how do you plan to kill him?”
“I won’t be the one to kill him,” Qi Xia said. “My target is only Tianlong.”
“Such a massive rebellion involving so many people…” The White Aries smirked again. “Have you noticed someone’s missing?”
“You.” Qi Xia looked up, staring directly at the phantom. “What did you leave me?”
“Ha…” The White Aries scoffed before vanishing.
A few seconds later, Qi Xia reached out and lightly tapped the desk—
**Knock, knock, knock.**
Fragmented memories flooded his mind—mostly of Yan Zhichun, and of the White Aries scratching something into the desk with his fingernails.
Qi Xia lowered his gaze to the words left behind:
**”Where do you dwell, and where were you born?”**
“What a pointless trick…”
He stood and walked to the black safe, immediately entering the code—**401087**.
The safe clicked open, revealing a slowly rotating ‘door’—its contents indiscernible.
“Now we’re on track. Everything’s falling into place.”
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