Chapter 1871 - 2063: Revisiting He Zhishen

In the blink of an eye, the sky gradually darkened. Ling Chen, who was full from eating and drinking, leaned against the wall, his gaze occasionally sweeping toward the cave entrance. He had been waiting for several hours now, but still, there was no sign of He Zhishen’s return, and he wondered where the other had gone. Could he have moved to another place? Ling Chen thought to himself that if that were the case, his trip would be in vain. As he pondered this, Ling Chen yawned, stood up, and walked to the wooden table, gazing with curiosity at the bottles and jars placed on it. He clearly remembered that the last time he came, he hadn’t seen these things.

Picking up one of the bottles, Ling Chen unscrewed the cap and sniffed it, a pungent odor immediately wafting toward his nose. He hurriedly covered his nostrils and moved the bottle away, the smell was too foul, akin to a rotten stench, enough to make one nauseous.

At this moment, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the cave, and Ling Chen’s heart leapt with joy as he quickly turned his head. Through the firelight, he saw a young man walking in slowly from outside.

As their eyes met, Ling Chen couldn’t help but be taken aback. This person... was so young! Judging by his appearance, the other seemed to be only about twenty years old, even younger than himself. According to his previous thoughts, He Zhishen should look somewhat similar to Ling Gengqiu, a middle-aged man in his forties, but the appearance of the other was so different from what he had imagined.

"Mr. He!" Ling Chen walked briskly over.

"Are you... Ling Chen?" The other scrutinized his features and immediately recognized his identity.

"It’s me." Ling Chen nodded hurriedly and said, "It seems you still remember me."

"Of course I remember. You told me before you left last time that you would bring someone similar to meet me. Where is that person?"

"Well..." Ling Chen touched his nose and said apologetically, "Mr. He, I’m sorry. I intended to bring him along, but some unexpected things happened recently, so I had to come alone." As he spoke, he glanced at He Zhishen several times, a trace of oddity in his eyes.

He Zhishen’s appearance was not only youthful but also handsome, like a cultured scholar with a gentle and refined demeanor. However, Ling Chen sensed something was amiss. Although he hadn’t clearly seen the face of He Zhishen during their last meeting, they had conversed, and the magnetic voice of the other was very distinguishable. But the voice of this He Zhishen felt somewhat different. Hence, Ling Chen was slightly suspicious of whether the He Zhishen he had seen last time was the same as the one before him.

Seeing Ling Chen not speaking for a while, He Zhishen spoke up, "Why aren’t you saying anything?"

"I was just..."

Just as he hesitated, He Zhishen seemed to perceive his inner thoughts, smiled slightly, and said, "Are you doubting my identity?" Then he nodded to himself and said, "I understand your thinking, it’s quite normal."

"Normal?" Ling Chen asked, puzzled, "What is normal about it?"

"To be honest, I also recently turned into this appearance, and I’m actually still acclimating," He Zhishen sat cross-legged by the fire and said, "It feels like I’ve undergone another transformation, and I’ve become completely different."

Hearing this, Ling Chen was stirred, exclaiming, "Did you... complete the second stage of evolution?" Pondering this possibility, he became more convinced that his guess was correct. He Zhishen had survived longer than Ling Gengqiu, amassing hundreds of years of strength and was likely able to trigger the second stage of evolution. What truly surprised him was that the other managed to complete the second stage of evolution successfully.

It’s known that among the ancestors of the Guardian Clan, most of them died during the second stage of evolution. Therefore, completing this stage of evolution was by no means an easy feat.

"The second stage..." He Zhishen muttered to himself, his gaze on Ling Chen brightened a bit, "Judging by your tone, you seem to know it well. Could you tell me more?"

Ling Chen nodded, sat cross-legged next to He Zhishen, and narrated everything he knew. During this, he mentioned the Guardian Clan, He Honggang, Ling Gengqiu, Chen Younian, as well as Zhu Hong and the mysterious old Taoist.

After more than half an hour of storytelling, He Zhishen seemed to be digesting Ling Chen’s tale, saying nothing for a long time. After a while, he slowly said, "You’ve been through quite a lot. From what you’ve said, the only ones left alive are Zhu Hong, the old Taoist, and Ling Gengqiu."

"Yes."

"Has Zhu Hong become really formidable after merging with the Soul Stone?"

"He’s not just formidable; he’s abnormal, and almost no one is his match," Ling Chen said plainly, "Mr. He, the reason I came to find you this time is actually to seek your help in dealing with Zhu Hong together. Zhu Hong is a very ambitious person; he now possesses extraordinarily great power and is unlikely to settle as an ordinary person. So far, dozens have died at his hands. If we let him continue, who knows how many more people will die. Mr. He, my strength is still far from enough, but with yours, we might have a sliver of hope. So I plead for your assistance."

"Do you want to borrow my strength?" He Zhishen shook his head and said, "It’s not that I am unwilling to help you, but I’ve long grown weary of fighting, and do not wish to be drawn into others’ conflicts."

Upon hearing this, Ling Chen couldn’t help but become anxious and tried to persuade earnestly, "Mr. He, consider it a good deed. As long as you’re willing to make a move, I am willing to pay any price."

"Really?" He Zhishen seemed to have thought of something, looked at Ling Chen thoughtfully, and said, "Recently, I’ve been researching something, but haven’t found a suitable test subject. If you could help me with this, I could consider your request."

"Mr. He, what experiment are you talking about?"

"Just as you mentioned before, when a person’s strength reaches a certain level, it triggers the first stage of evolution, thus gaining immortality. However, whether the strength is cultivated by oneself or aided by external forces isn’t explicitly required. After hearing your description of Zhu Hong just now, I’m certain that even with external aid, one can still trigger evolution, provided the body can withstand it. These days, I’ve been contemplating this matter and have prepared thoroughly, only lacking a test subject to verify my idea. If you are willing, you would make an excellent test subject, as your bloodline shares that of the person."

"This..." Ling Chen hesitated a bit, realizing this was no trifling matter, any recklessness could potentially cost his life.