I Was the Heavenly Emperor in the Primordial Age

Chapter 17: Finding Li Jun

The Tao Mountain Island incident had seemingly come to an end.

At least, through all the channels ordinary people could discover and mention, no one brought up this seemingly inconspicuous little island anymore.

But everyone who knew the truth understood that the problem of Tao Mountain Island was constantly worsening.

The deeper one researched and uncovered the secrets buried within the island, the deeper the fear that rooted itself into people’s hearts.

This anxiety was not only imposed upon each individual who knew the secrets of Tao Mountain Island, but also upon every organization and group that studied it.

At the meeting.

One after another, people continuously raised questions, while experts either seated or appearing on the other side of the camera gave answers. The entire process was filled with tension.

A man sitting on the far left raised a question, his eyes fixed on the high-hanging screen.

“If the situation on Tao Mountain Island further deteriorates, what kind of consequences will occur?”

On the screen appeared a gaunt man who, at first glance, was clearly a researcher. Even though he was wearing a life jacket, his aura was obvious.

Behind him was the deck of a ship, and further beyond, the sea surface was visible, littered with numerous floating devices.

Each of these floats was aimed at a specific point. They seemed to be observation instruments.

What was even stranger was that a certain area of the screen flickered intermittently.

It seemed as if an island was there on the sea, yet at the same time it seemed to exist in a state between presence and disappearance.

Although the gaunt man was the one speaking through the camera, his extreme tension was visible. His words were uttered with excessive force.

“If this force of warped space continues to spread, it may not be limited to the sea around Tao Mountain Island. It could extend to the continent, even to the wider world.”

The next question followed: “The timeline?”

Answer: “At the current pace, it may completely consume Tao Mountain Island within a few years, perhaps even sooner. There is no way to predict it.”

Question: “Why?”

Answer: “Because it is a power that twists physical laws completely unknown to us. We cannot determine its influence through ordinary means. We cannot assume that its effects on the outside world will unfold in the ways we expect. It possesses the ability to manipulate space itself. Naturally, it could suddenly manifest anywhere in the world, in any form.”

With those words, the atmosphere grew even more oppressive.

Question: “What is the current progress of exploration?”

Answer: “All equipment sent into Tao Mountain Island has shown no response. We are actively revising our plans.”

The discussion regarding Tao Mountain Island concluded, and the next segment began.

This time, Luo Zhen was the one asking, while the person questioned was Lu Gang’s Director.

Luo Zhen: “By what means does the Wood Guests Virus specifically spread? If it continues to spread, will it infect more people?”

Director: “The exact method of transmission for the Wood Guests Virus is still under investigation. As stated in our previous reports, this newly emerged virus can create an entirely new lifeform distinct from humans.”

Luo Zhen: “A new race—immortal, possessing extraordinary power, yet with the same level of intelligence as humans?”

Director: “Yes.”

Luo Zhen: “If a person transforms into a Wood Guest, will their consciousness and emotions undergo drastic changes?”

Director: “Of course. Even setting aside extraordinary factors, once a person’s lifeform undergoes a massive transformation, their consciousness is inevitably affected.”

Luo Zhen continued pressing with more questions. The deeper he asked, the more severe the situation seemed.

Finally, the discussion circled back to the very question where all these problems began.

The Double Pupils Virus.

“What is the connection between the Double Pupils Virus and the Wood Virus? What is their true nature? Are there still no results?”

“Temporarily, there are no results. All those infected with the Double Pupils Virus have begun to recover. And the only Double Pupils Virus adapter—Li Jun—remains missing.”

“What must we do to suppress the source of these abnormal changes? Is this truly a disaster, or is it an opportunity?”

“We cannot foresee it.”

“You mean you’ll just stand by and watch the situation worsen step by step?”

“We need more time.”

Lu Gang sat below, observing every face.

Most people appeared either calm, or anxious and serious. But hidden behind that was fear.

After all, most people disliked change.

Especially this kind of change, where the slightest fluctuation, the smallest possibility, was enough to shake the entire world into upheaval.

Yet he faintly noticed that some people were expectant. These were the ones who believed that behind this disaster lay enormous opportunities. They believed themselves to be standing atop the wave, able to use this transformation to uncover or guide such power.

But only Lu Gang, who had truly experienced the Tao Mountain Island incident, could understand that this kind of power absolutely could not be harnessed or controlled by mortals.

When you gazed into the abyss, the abyss was also gazing back at you.

“Meeting adjourned.”

In the end, aside from certain breakthroughs regarding the Wood Guests Virus, the meeting achieved little else.

However, the urgency and danger levels of each incident were once again raised a great deal higher.

Lu Gang walked out of the conference room together with the Director. When it was just the two of them, the Director revealed something to Lu Gang.

In a low voice, the Director said: “Do you know why there is such urgency?”

Lu Gang: “Could there have been a leak?”

Director: “Your clearance is sufficient.”

Lu Gang, thoughtful: “Has something happened?”

The Director said: “All members of the Longevity Temple have vanished.”

Lu Gang asked: “They ran away?”

The Director’s face was grim: “They disappeared.”

“Not only those who fled to Mount Kunlun, but every important member of the Longevity Temple scattered across different locations, even those we had already detained.”

“In a single night, they all suddenly vanished.”

--------------

Perhaps what one thought of by day, one dreamed of by night.

It had been seven or eight days since the Tao Mountain Island incident ended, yet Lu Gang still dreamed of that day’s scene.

Under that divine radiance which had replaced the Sun, Li Jun walked alone toward the depths of the Peach Grove.

In the end, he vanished without a trace within that twisted world.

That departing figure remained etched in Lu Gang’s memory, unforgettable.

He often wondered, if at that time he had followed as well, what would have happened.

Even if he could not completely resolve the hidden dangers of Tao Mountain Island, perhaps he could have discovered something, perhaps brought back some crucial information.

The more helpless and confused he felt when facing these extraordinary powers, the more Lu Gang thought of Li Jun, hoping he could meet him again—even for a single conversation.

At the very least, he could learn some more important information.

Most of their key intelligence at present had come from Li Jun.

But.

Today’s dream was different from those of the past few days.

It was exceptionally vivid, so real that it felt as if he had returned once more to Tao Mountain Island.

“Dang dang dang dang~”

From afar came the clamor of metal striking. Lu Gang peered through the mist toward the sound.

As the noise drew nearer, he saw a soda can roll past his side, disappearing into the ruins of the street behind him.

Chasing after the can was a flyer fluttering in the wind.

【Tao Mountain Travel Agency】

【Escape the clamor of the city, and visit the Peach Blossom Spring of your dreams.】

He walked through the bewildering fog, stepping across the twisted, eerie streets.

From the walls protruded shadowy figures of people—former island residents who had once been lost here, and perhaps travelers who had come to visit.

As Lu Gang passed, he heard muffled calls from within the walls.

“He’s here, he’s here.”

“He’s calling us.”

“It’s time to go in.”

“Peach Blossom Spring… fairyland… paradise… mountains and seas…”

“Leave this world…”

Suddenly.

Brilliant light erupted in the distance, turning the entire world into blinding white.

Even within the fog, it was bright enough to guide one’s direction.

At first Lu Gang shielded his eyes, but as he grew accustomed to the radiance, he glimpsed through the cracks of his fingers a figure standing at the source of the light.

“Who is that?”

“What is he doing? Those Wood Guests just now said someone was calling them—was it him?”

“Could it be Li Jun?”

Then, Lu Gang saw countless figures struggle free from the walls, one after another stepping toward the light at the end of Tao Mountain Island.

He mingled with the crowd, following the others forward.

The farther he went, the more twisted the path beneath his feet became.

He felt as if he were walking on a Möbius strip, the line of Wood Guests stretching from behind him to overhead.

The surrounding mist grew denser, while the distant light grew ever stronger.

The fog disoriented, while the light made one dizzy.

And all the people, even the entire world, were being pulled toward that figure at the end.

At last, he reached the highest point along with the Wood Guests.

“Who is it?”

Lu Gang opened his eyes wide.

Following the street and buildings before him, he saw the Peach Grove at the end.

On the slope, he saw Li Jun’s figure.

Li Jun sat beneath a peach tree with his eyes tightly shut, just like the image of Laozi attaining the Dao, or Shakyamuni achieving enlightenment beneath the twin sala trees.

His hands rested on his knees, his lips murmuring some ancient, mysterious incantation.

Then.

From the divine peach tree, resembling the legendary Peaches of Immortality Tree, a figure slowly emerged.

“Whoosh!”

With a gust of wind, peach blossoms fluttered down. From the flowers coalesced a woman clad in coarse linen, plain white ancient garments, appearing behind Li Jun.

Then the light in the depths of Tao Mountain Island magnified infinitely, twisting the entire world.

Like a vortex, the light swept across everything nearby.

It dragged every structure on Tao Mountain Island, along with every inhuman remnant that lingered, into another world.

All things under Heaven converged toward the infinite light behind that figure. This made Li Jun, sitting cross-legged and chanting, appear all the more like a being from myth.

For an instant, Lu Gang felt as if he truly beheld a divine immortal or Buddha from legend.

And he himself, along with the crowd, was uncontrollably pulled into another world—drawn behind Li Jun.

During this process, both the peach tree and Li Jun’s figure grew taller and taller, giving off the feeling of filling Heaven and Earth.

Yet Lu Gang sensed it was not that Li Jun and the peach tree were growing, but that he himself was shrinking.

“Li Jun…”

“Li Jun!”

He cried out, wishing to speak to Li Jun, to ask him something.

But before he could receive any response, the vision abruptly ended.

His dream shattered.

Lu Gang opened his eyes to find himself still lying in his own bed at home. All of it had been nothing more than a dream.

He exhaled a long breath, uncertain why he would have such a dream.

The sensations within it had been so vivid, yet when he thought carefully, the scenes seemed unreal—what had happened there, those images, were simply too bizarre, too unbelievable.

Lu Gang thought: “Perhaps it was because I especially hoped Li Jun could survive in another world, and hoped he could smoothly resolve the hidden dangers behind Tao Mountain Island.”

“To stop the light at the end of Tao Mountain Island from spreading further, from bringing its immense destructive power and disaster into the outside world—that must be why I conjured up such an absurd and bizarre dream!”

After such a dream, Lu Gang found it difficult to fall asleep again.

He turned over, preparing to wash his face, but as he sat up, a peach blossom petal suddenly drifted down.

Lu Gang froze for a moment, then slowly picked up the petal and placed it in his palm.

This ordinary peach blossom petal struck Lu Gang with tremendous force. It proved that everything he had just experienced was real.

That was not a dream.

He had truly entered Tao Mountain Island again—and even brought something from inside the island out with him.

As soon as Lu Gang entered the building, the Director informed him that Luo Zhen was coming to pick him up, and they would be heading to a certain place.

Lu Gang happened to have something to report, so he asked:

“What’s the matter?”

The Director told him: “Tao Mountain Island has completely disappeared.”

Lu Gang pressed: “Truly gone?”

The Director studied his expression: “Why do you look as if you already knew?”

How could he not know—it was exactly what he had seen in his dream.

Lu Gang grabbed his briefcase, wiped his glasses, and boarded the special car, where Luo Zhen was already waiting.

“The notice has arrived.”

“Regarding Tao Mountain Island, Double Pupils, Wood Guests, and the series of related incidents, a temporary investigation group has been established. I am the team leader, you are the deputy leader.”

“We have the authority to mobilize all resources. You know what this means.”

Lu Gang felt no joy in promotion, only a sudden surge of pressure.

“They’re not setting a deadline for us to complete this mission, are they?”

Luo Zhen laughed: “Not explicitly, but the pressure on the two of us will be heavy. At the very least, we must produce some results soon.”

Lu Gang nodded: “I heard Tao Mountain Island disappeared.”

Luo Zhen glanced at Lu Gang: “You dreamed of it?”

Lu Gang’s eyes widened: “How do you know?”

Luo Zhen told him: “The survivors evacuated from Tao Mountain Island all had the exact same dream last night. Guess who they dreamed of?”

Lu Gang’s lips trembled: “Li Jun?”

Luo Zhen said seriously: “So you dreamed of it as well. Then you must come with me to the next location. For now, you likely cannot move around freely.”

“However, there is an operation that you must carry out.”

Lu Gang was bewildered—he was told not to move freely, yet also that there was an operation he must execute.

What kind of operation was this?

At last, the car stopped in a suburban, mountainous area.

If Li Jun were here, he would surely recognize it—it was the very Nan’gang City Fourth Hospital where he had once stayed. Now, the survivors of Tao Mountain Island had been transferred here for continued recovery and treatment.

Upon entering.

Lu Gang and Luo Zhen headed straight to the monitoring room to review the footage from various wards the previous night.

They saw that during a certain period, all the patients’ bodies in those wards had disappeared, only to reappear about half an hour later.

After playing the video, Luo Zhen asked Lu Gang:

“What does this make you think of?”

Lu Gang adjusted his glasses and suddenly recalled something.

“The members of the Longevity Temple—they also disappeared suddenly, including those we had already detained.”

Luo Zhen asked Lu Gang: “Your thoughts match ours. We investigated the relevant footage and confirmed that the manner of disappearance in both cases is nearly identical.”

Luo Zhen then led Lu Gang to the rooftop of another building. Lu Gang recognized it—it was the place once destroyed by the Wood Guests, but now seemingly transformed by Luo Zhen into their temporary office.

Lu Gang could roughly guess Luo Zhen’s thinking—only by staying as close as possible to where the problems occurred could they approach the truth.

Luo Zhen pushed open the stairwell door, entered, and said to Lu Gang:

“Li Jun vanished deep within Tao Mountain Island. Then, all the important members of the Longevity Temple disappeared. Finally, the survivors of the Tao Mountain Island incident exhibited the same symptoms.”

“Even more, all of you saw shadows resembling Li Jun.”

“We have reason to believe that both the Longevity Temple and Li Jun went to the same place. Moreover, this power is also driving you toward that place.”

“And next, the problems will arise there.”

As soon as Luo Zhen finished speaking, Lu Gang vaguely guessed what he was about to say.

And also, the operation he had mentioned earlier that Lu Gang must execute.

“Our investigation group’s first operation is to send people back into Tao Mountain Island.” Read full story at novｅlfire.net

“More precisely, to enter a completely unknown space to us.”

Lu Gang gave a bitter smile: “You want me to lead the team?”

Luo Zhen knew this mission was extremely dangerous, yet still said:

“Is there anyone more suitable than you?”

Lu Gang nodded: “I understand.”

He had the most experience, and was the most familiar with the situation inside. Moreover, he had recently shown traces of being affected by the Peach of Immortality Tree.

He also understood why he had been chosen as deputy leader—this burden was not something just anyone could bear.

Lu Gang asked: “If we enter, what is our most important mission?”

Luo Zhen said: “Experts will assign some detailed exploration tasks. But I have one mission that is even more important to give you.”

Lu Gang: “What mission?”

Luo Zhen: “Find Li Jun.”