Looking at the big hand that Xiong Zemo stretched out to him, Xu Le reached out and wiped it on his suit, seeming to be disgusted with his dirty hands and wanted to wipe them clean.
However, after wiping his hands, he did not shake Xiong Zemo's hand, but said with a little regret:
"Hey, you don't know, the Lighthouse Councillors didn't agree to my request, which made me very unhappy, so... it seems that you are happy too early."
Xiong Zemo:
Jin Mingzhu: …
Is this something a normal person would say? He is a congressman? Does he have any manners at all
Xiong Zemo withdrew his hand expressionlessly. Although he was angry about Xu Le's behavior, he would definitely not show it at this time.
However, as soon as Xiong Zemo withdrew his hand, Xu Le stretched out his hand again.
"Eh? I've wiped my hands clean, so I won't shake hands? Oh, you lighthouse people are really rude."
Xu Le finished speaking, and Jin Mingzhu looked at Xiong Zemo. She now understood why Xiong Zemo wanted to kill Xu Le.
If she were in the same situation, she would probably do the same thing.
"Mr. Xu Le really likes to joke."
"Yes, yes. I love to joke. Please don't take it seriously. I'm just a researcher. I'm weak, pitiful and helpless. I'm afraid of your retaliation."
Jin Mingzhu: …
The petite woman took a deep breath and still maintained her smile while facing Xu Le.
But she didn't continue talking, as continuing would only make her angrier.
Xiong Zemo suddenly said:
"Councilman Xu Le looks a lot like a friend of mine."
"I look like the friend that District Chief Xiong knows? Unfortunately, I'm a man, and you're also a man."
Xiong Zemo: …
"He was a very capable man, but unfortunately he died in an accident before."
"I think... your friend must have died in the accident. There must be others."
"Yes, many people died in that accident. The black tide has caused too much harm to this world. That is why we should work hard to drive away the darkness and seek light for this world."
Xiong Zemo's words made Xu Le suddenly silent for a moment, then he nodded and said:
"Indeed."
"I have something else to do. Then, Councillor Xu Le, we will take our leave now."
"good."
Xu Le nodded. The conversation just now was more than just sarcasm.
He was also observing, observing this tall Xiong Zemo puppet.
This is a puppet with emotional connections. At least he can show anger, and his eyes and expressions are almost the same as those of a normal person.
The skin, flesh, and even body odor are no different from those of normal people.
This is a legendary human puppet, and it is also a real ancient technology of Gu Yinduo.
These are all very useful combat intelligence.
As for Xiong Zemo's last words...
The Lighthouse People were indeed seeking light, and the original reason why Xiong Zemo killed them was because they needed to maintain the legitimacy of the Golden Tree of Light.
He knew too much, things he was not allowed to know.
So from Xiong Zemo's point of view, in order to maintain light, he naturally has to get rid of himself.
Not only them, but also those ancient Yin's descendants, their goal is also to seek light, and they all describe their goals as very righteous.
But in the process, there will always be some shady means, such as killing, betrayal, abuse of power for personal gain, etc.
From Xu Le's perspective, this is an absolute mortal feud and there is nothing to say.
"Are we going back?" Wang Shu asked.
After a round, Xu Le did not find any useful information outside the tower, and the guards here were too strict, so he had no way to use the magic in public.
In this case, going back is naturally the best option.
"Let's go. There's no point in staying here any longer."
They returned to the lounge, and as soon as they entered, they saw Wang Man standing there meditating.
Xu Le did not disturb her, but looked at Ai Li and Wang Shu. It was impossible for him to collect information alone, so he needed to rely on his teammates at this time.
"Tell me about what happened just now and the intelligence you have collected. Ai Li, please start first."
Gou Zi took out paper and pen, drew a simple picture and handed it to Xu Le.
"First of all, the environment here. The wind here is winding upward in a circular manner, which means there should be something like a vent above the internal area.
However, due to this upward ventilation method, I have no way of collecting the smell from above, so I don’t know what is up there.”
Xu Le nodded. Although he didn't find the upward passage, Ai Li's confirmation was still very important.
There is indeed an upward area here, but I don’t know whether there are people from the Golden Tree of Light system, such as the Illuminati, above the tree.
"Any other information?"
"I also paid special attention to the woman you asked me to pay attention to just now. She does have a strong smell on her body. Although she used perfume to cover it, that smell cannot be covered up by simple smells. It is the smell of decay."
When Ai Li mentioned the smell of decay, Xu Le, Wang Shu, and Gu Beichen were all stunned.
This smell of decay... they are no strangers.
Bai Jing also had this in the past.
At that time, Bai Jing was already terminally ill. She often used cologne and heavy cigarette smoke to cover up the rotten smell on her body, which Xu Le had also smelled.
Not to mention Gu Beichen and Wang Shu who have followed Bai Jing for a long time.
However, the aura of Jin Mingzhu seemed to be weaker than that of Bai Jing.
"Logically speaking, as the head coach of the Lighthouse Warriors and a martial arts modifier, it must be no small feat for Jin Mingzhu to become a councillor. There is a high probability that she earned her position through her fists..."
Xu Le glanced at Rewi Alley hesitantly, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
The dog hugs his hands:
"If you have something to say, just say it. There's nothing to worry about."
Xu Le clicked his tongue:
"But this warrior... Don't look at me like that. I definitely don't mean to look down on warriors, but I just mean that the upper limit of this warrior is level 4.
Normally, the limit of a warrior is level 4 + top-level fruit + Sha, and Sha is not a power that everyone can easily possess.
Compared to you, this golden pearl even lacks the bonus of evil, and of course you also lack the blessing of the top-level fruit.
So can we judge that Jin Mingzhu's strength should be about the same as yours?"
Ai Li frowned slightly. She was used to Xu Le insulting Wu every day.
But she had to admit that what Xu Le said made sense.
"It should be about the same. At least I have been in Zion for so many years and have seen so many warriors, but I have never seen anyone who can break through the level 4 boundary of a warrior."
"Since boundaries really exist and are difficult to break, then how did Jin Mingzhu become a councillor? Because she is beautiful? I think she is not as good as you."
Ai Li nodded, very pleased:
"I think so."
"So, what does she rely on?"
While Xu Le was speaking, Wang Shu stretched out his finger, and a small golden sapling grew from the fingertip.
"Could it be this, or something like it?"
Warrior Potion!
Unlike Xi'an who focused on developing technology, Lighthouse's original idea was to develop a life-guiding potion for warriors, to fully develop the warriors' potential, overdraw their energy, and allow warriors to reach the limits of human beings within a certain period of time.
For example, Bai Jing is a good example.
With very mediocre qualifications, he almost reached the pinnacle of martial arts.
Xu Le recalled what had just happened, especially Xiong Zemo's attitude towards Jin Mingzhu.
Humble, obedient, and obviously a subordinate.
What is Xiong Zemo's level
A very strong level 4 puppeteer. Due to not having much combat experience, Xu Le still has no idea how strong Xiong Zemo is.
All they knew was that the sturdy puppet was just a puppet, but it was enough to almost wipe out all of them at that time.
Although they were very weak at that time, they still had the existence of Gu Jianuo, a level 3 alchemist.
But even so, they only killed one puppet with the combined strength of everyone. When the tall and thin puppet appeared, Xu Le's mind was filled with despair.
Such a person can obey Jin Mingzhu and keep a low enough posture.
Xu Le felt that it was not just because of status and position. If Jin Mingzhu had no ability, Xiong Zemo would not need to pay any attention to her and could just play by himself.
Therefore, we need to pay close attention to this Jin Mingzhu so as not to affect the overall situation due to wrong judgment.
"Can you feel the strength of this golden pearl?"
“I can’t feel it.”
“I can’t feel it.”
After collecting information from Ai Li, Xu Le looked at Wang Shu again.
"Brother Shu, tell me about your findings. Is there any important information?"
"This place is indeed the same source as my abilities. They are flowing and on top."
Wang Shu's message was very brief. Ai Li had already reported all the other information. The only thing that could be confirmed now was that there was something on it, but no one knew what it was.
"All right."
Xu Le finally turned his gaze to Gu Beichen:
"And you?"
"Me what?" Gu Beichen looked confused.
"Are there any clues?"
"What information clues?"
“It’s about this place.”
"Oh, the guards here are all pretty handsome."
"Go away."
Xu Le was a little angry. Why did he bring this idiot here? It seriously affected his mentality.
The discussion had just finished, and Wang Man had also just finished her meditation. She stepped over and waved to Xu Le, motioning him to come over.
"What's wrong?"
"Hold my hand and let me show you something." Wang Man stretched out her finger to Xu Le.
Xu Le hesitated a little, but didn't think too much about it and reached out his hand.
When his palms touched Wang Man, a blazing white light bathed them.
Everything around me became frozen.
Xu Le turned around to look at the others. Ai Li, Wang Shu and the others were all normal, but his vision was blurry and he couldn't see clearly what was around him.
Shifting his gaze, Xu Le actually saw himself from this hazy state.
He still maintained the posture of holding hands with Wang Man.
Wait, Wang Man is here too, so what does this state belong to? Out-of-body experience
"What's this?"
"This is the passage that Lord Lightcast opened for me. Lord Lightcast is indeed here. I can only use this ability when I am close enough to Lord Lightcast."
“What can be done in this state?”
"Unnoticed, passing through walls, and floating." Wang Man said with a smile.
When Xu Le heard her say this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
These abilities cannot be said to be particularly powerful, but they are indeed very useful at times like this.
At least it can help them see what's up there.
"Is this out-of-body experience not dangerous?"
"Of course not. Brother Xu Le can control his own soul. It's actually very simple."
"How?"
"Hold my hand and feel it."
Wang Man briefly taught Xu Le about this method of out-of-body experience.
Xu Le seemed to be very familiar with this form. After just a few glances, he roughly understood the method.
"Can we go up now?"
"Okay, but Brother Xu Le must hold my hand. Without the protection of Lord Lightcaster, we will be discovered here."
Discovered? Xu Le nodded slightly.
Then the two of them began to float upwards, not very fast. It took them nearly a minute just to reach the ceiling.
"here."
Wang Man pulled Xu Le to a ventilation vent. The rotating fan seemed to be automatically blowing the wind upwards.
Wang Man caught it with one hand, and the fan in front of him seemed to be stuck by something.
She quickly grabbed Xu Le:
"Hurry, hurry over there."
Although Xu Le didn't understand the situation, it was best for him to do as he was told at this time.
Moving past the fan, Wang Man began to explain;
“Here is a tree.”
"I know."
"This is not the Ancient Sound Tree."
"I know that, too."
Wang Man: …
"Since Brother Xu Le knows everything, why didn't he tell me before? I spent a lot of effort to explore this place before."
"We actually discussed this before, didn't you hear it?"
"You all had your backs to me when you spoke."
"No, we're just afraid that if we talk too loudly, we'll disturb others."
After a few awkward chats, Xu Le and Wang Man had arrived at a new level.
An area on the first floor that is covered entirely with golden runes.
"What... are these?" Although Xu Le was confused, he felt vaguely familiar with these runes.
Sure enough, after seeing these runes, the Soul Tree was slightly moved.
Is this a hint for him to collect these runes using Huangquan Samsara
Xu Le subconsciously reached out his hand, but Wang Man interrupted him directly:
"No, Brother Xu Le, if you touch these runes, you will definitely be discovered by the guards here. This is very dangerous."
"guard?"
Wang Man pointed at the golden runes above. Xu Le looked carefully and found something wriggling hidden in the runes.
Some Faceless Men hiding in the cracks of the runes.
Xu Le stared at the faceless man for a while, and the faceless man actually sensed something.
On its empty golden face, an eye suddenly opened, a vertical eyeball, and it turned its head to look in the direction of Xu Le and Wang Man.
Wang Man quickly grabbed Xu Le and avoided the sight of the golden faceless man.
Although the Faceless Man sensed something, it seemed unable to see Xu Le and Wang Man. After its gaze wandered around their original position for a while, it retracted its gaze and hid among the runes.
"These golden creatures should be the guards here. Although they can't see us, their perception is very sharp. If we don't pay attention, there is a possibility that the presence of spirits will be discovered."
"I understand." Xu Le nodded.
Unfortunately, without a physical body, Gu Yin’s multiple visions cannot be used.
Otherwise, you can also carefully investigate the specific attributes and levels of these golden faceless men.
"Keep going."
"good."
Crossing the rune protection array, Xu Le and Wang Man carefully avoided these faceless men. There were many of them, hiding in every corner here.
Leaving the magic circle and continuing upwards, a magnificent scene appeared in front of Xu Le and Wang Man.
The golden branches were entwined around the inside of the golden tree in strange postures, crisscrossing and circling, stretching endlessly, with a constant flow of golden-white light, as if a layer of golden electric current was passing through the branches.
The interior of the golden tree was completely illuminated by this golden energy, as if a layer of gold powder was sprinkled on the daytime.
"Isn't it beautiful here?" Wang Man asked.
“It is indeed very beautiful.”
Xu Le had to admit that in terms of magnificence and the overall style of the environment, this place was indeed something special.
Those fluttering golden branches feel like the tentacles of a living creature. They move and glow. It's so magical.
"I checked here before, there shouldn't be any more creatures, we just need to keep going upwards."
"good."
This section is very long, and Xu Le saw all kinds of beautiful scenery.
Through the trees, they found that their location had exceeded the place where the clouds normally floated. When they looked down, they saw white clouds obscuring the situation here.
Soon, the appearance of the Golden Light Tree changed.
The originally golden trunk gradually faded and turned into a withered red color.
It’s not like they’re really about to wither, the tree trunks here are still full of life, but overall, they’re far from having the brilliant colors they once had.
It felt like a branch of pure gold had turned into a branch of flesh and blood.
And the further up you go, the more obvious this situation becomes.
“Why does it feel like corruption is starting to happen here?”
“It is indeed corrupt, but I don’t know the specific reason.”
The two gradually floated, and after passing through several layers of clouds, a circle of circular platforms appeared in their field of vision. These platforms looked like they were carved from white jade.
Xu Le looked at the reliefs, angels, tentacles, monsters, and the moon.
Some of them looked very much like the full moon gods he had seen, and as for the monster with big eyes, Xu Le didn't know if it was the full moon itself.
When Xu Le looked at these reliefs, they actually moved slowly, and the big-eyed monsters focused their gaze on Xu Le.
This was something Wang Man had never encountered before.
Their eyes met in an instant, and Xu Le did not panic. Although he could not use many abilities in the soul state, he could still use the Soul Tree.
He wrapped his soul in branches.
Staring into the statue's eyes in a strange state.
After a long time, the statue shifted its gaze away, and Xu Le breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Le did not get rid of this state and continued to look at the white jade platform.
Scattered red-robed monks can be seen here. They look somewhat similar to the Illuminati followers that Xu Le had seen before.
Is it true that the Illuminati is located on top of the high tower
Xu Le moved a little closer and observed these red-robed monks up close.
But when he looked closer, he was shocked by the man's appearance.
Its face had completely rotted, just like the rotten Golden Light Tree under its feet. The face of the monk in front of him turned completely red.
There was a mixture of mold and rotten cheeks, and he was shaking when he walked, as if his face skin might fall off at any moment.
Xu Le found it hard to imagine whether this person was still a human being or not, and whether he also had the rotten smell of a special warrior.
Unfortunately, he had no sense of smell and had no way of judging the situation here.
But even so, the monk still clasped his hands together, covered most of his body with his red monk's coat, and prayed devoutly around the white circle. No one knew what they were praying for.
There is a new area above the white circle.
Beautiful dome buildings, like mushrooms hanging on a tree, surround the Golden Tree of Light.
But at this point, the tree is no longer the Golden Light Tree.
But it was a rotten scarlet tree.
The further up you go, the more severe the decay becomes.
There are also red monks in those dome-shaped mushroom-like buildings, but the higher they are, the more serious the decay on these red monks becomes.
Some of the red monks' bodies had become tangled with their monk's robes.
Flesh and plants eroded each other, making them look like both trees and humans.
Xu Le couldn't help but feel a little worried when watching this scene. If these people were all affected by the Golden Light Tree, then would Wang Shu also have the possibility of this kind of distortion
After all, the energy of the Golden Light Tree also flows in his body.
Energy from the same source.
"Continue going up?" Wang Man noticed that Xu Le's face was not very good, and asked cautiously.
"Well, keep going up."
Going further up, the two came to a garden-like area. Red flowers could be seen everywhere, and these flowers were carefully trimmed, which was obviously different from the messy ones below.
There was nothing around the garden except the flowers, and there was no trace of monks.
Xu Le grabbed Wang Man and floated towards the garden area.
A closer look at the flowers revealed that although they were bright red, they were filled with the smell of corruption.
Even when approaching in soul form, Xu Le felt a strong sense of contamination.
Even if these flowers are not the source of corruption, they are absolutely closely related to corruption.
Turning his head to look at the middle of the garden, it was empty and there were some traces of footsteps on the ground. It looked like someone came here often, but Xu Le did not find any trace of anyone here.
"Not here?" Xu Le murmured.
"What's missing?" a voice came from his ear.
Xu Le looked at Wang Man, who had a strange look on her face:
"Why is Brother Xu Le looking at me like that?"