Chapter 553: Eternal Life

But as I said, in this huge vortex, I'm rowing with a small oar, and my only advantage is that I have more information than others.

So I choose to conceal it.

"Qi Xia's question—how exactly are you going to answer it?"

Chu Tianqiu smiled and said to me, "That's easy. You tell him, 'I have never left.'"

This answer was just as I expected, and I still had no idea what they were discussing.

After saying goodbye to Chu Tianqiu, I went to the roof of Tian Tang Kou late at night and closed my eyes in the pitch darkness.

The situation was getting tricky; I had to see Qinglong right away.

"Qinglong... can you hear me?" I murmured, opening my mouth.

A wind blew from the sky, but no one appeared.

"Damn it... you're not going to abandon me, are you?" I said, a bit dazed. "You can hear everything in Zhongyan Zhidi... and now you're playing dead?"

I cursed softly at the sky, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of me.

Qinglong's gaze was always icy cold, and just looking at it made me feel uncomfortable.

"The night is already deep," Qinglong's androgynous voice rang in my ear. "Aren't you going to sleep? Instead, you're up here cursing at me?"

"Qinglong, cut the small talk... turn me into a participant first."

Qinglong nodded after hearing that. "You already are."

"Good." I took a deep breath, and the weight on my heart finally lifted. "I have two things I need to ask you."

"Ask me?"

"One is about Lin Jian, and the other is about Qi Xia."

After hearing this, Qinglong showed a strange smile, identical to the one on Chu Tianqiu's face.

Then he reached out and snapped his fingers lightly.

I never expected that just mentioning those two names would make him use Jianmo.

What massive secrets could these two people possibly hold?

"Xu Liunian," Qinglong called out, "I feel like I've given you more than enough already... Your plan isn't finished, and here you are calling me over to ask questions. You should know what kind of person I am."

Yes, Qinglong couldn't be considered a good person from any angle.

He could reshuffle the entire layout of Zhongyan Zhidi on a whim, and even though he's more rational than Tianlong, he's still a complete madman.

Even though my status is different from all the other participants, I wouldn't dare provoke this man here—he could kill me anytime without facing any consequences.

I thought for a moment and said, "Qinglong, I only called you because I had no choice. I haven't been active in Zhongyan Zhidi for two years, so my understanding of this place is really lacking."

"So the questions you most want to ask are about Lin Jian and Qi Xia?"

"Yes." I nodded. "With Lingwen on you, you must have a full grasp of everything here. If we're going to cooperate, I need enough information—after all, information is my only bargaining chip."

Qinglong stared into my eyes for a few seconds, then showed a smile that was hard to read.

"Lin Jian is someone I arranged," Qinglong said. "That girl is quite interesting; she's also a gear in the machine."

"What...?"

I was a bit surprised. I had to make a deal with Qinglong just to enter Chu Tianqiu's room, but Lin Jian was directly arranged by him?

"She’s no different from you," Qinglong said. "From certain perspectives, she's neither a participant nor a manager."

Hearing that, I slowly widened my eyes. "Are you joking?! Is Lin Jian also sent from above? Are you trying to deceive me?"

"Hahahaha!" Qinglong threw his head back and laughed. "You're overthinking it. Lin Jian couldn't shake your insignificant and laughable position."

"You..."

Qinglong walked up to me, his body radiating an incredibly cold aura, and said clearly, "Lin Jian belongs to no one; she's mine and only takes orders from me."

Even though Qinglong had made that perfectly clear, I still didn't understand.

"So she's a spy you planted next to Qi Xia?"

"Yes and no." Qinglong nodded and then shook his head. "How to describe this wonderful feeling? Even Lin Jian herself doesn't know she's a 'needle.' She has complete memories and a real life; in her eyes, I'm just a stranger ruling this place."

I thought back to earlier in Qi Xia's room, where I accidentally smelled a girl with no scent at all.

Could that have been Lin Jian?

A woman in her twenties who looks vibrant and polished but has absolutely no scent— that's just too unusual no matter how you think about it.

"What about Qi Xia...?" I asked again.

"Qi Xia..." Qinglong stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "As for Qi Xia, that's a long story. What exactly do you want to know?"

Yes, I had a lot of questions, but Qinglong might not answer them all.

To him, I'm just a pawn he picked up on a whim; if he suddenly drops me, I'd be done for.

To survive here, I have to play both sides among these monsters, constantly relying on them and letting them squeeze every bit of value out of me until I'm useless and tossed aside.

"I want to know what Qi Xia's Huixiang is."

"Oh...?" Qinglong smiled slightly and said, "Is this that important to you?"

"That's right." I said, "Even if the display screen doesn't show any hints, you should still be able to hear the name of his Huixiang, right? Who did he inherit it from?"

"This..."

I saw Qinglong's expression change noticeably, but he quickly acted as if nothing happened and flashed that ever-present smile at me.

"Honestly... this is the second time I've heard that name," Qinglong said lightly. "I even suspect I misheard it... But if those four characters are real, then I've already found the ultimate answer for Zhongyan Zhidi."

"Ultimate...?"

"It's Shengsheng Buxi," Qinglong said slowly, a bitter smile on his face. "Those four characters have trapped everyone here."

"Shengsheng Buxi...?" I'd never heard of this Huixiang before. "Do—do you know what kind of ability it is?"

"Yes, I might be the only one in the entire Taoyuan who knows how terrifying Shengsheng Buxi is," Qinglong said with a bitter laugh. "I heard that frequency once, seventy years ago... Even Tianlong didn't notice it back then."

" Seventy years ago...?"

That was right around the time we first arrived here, wasn't it?

"From that day on, all of us have been born here, died here, and kept cycling endlessly, Shengsheng Buxi."

"So you're saying..."

"Yes, he can use 'belief' or 'subconscious' to revive someone. In other words... as long as he doesn't want you to die, you'll keep living."

I was stunned once again.

That's Shengsheng Buxi!

What terrifying four characters!

This isn't some "divine power"—it's clearly a curse we can't shake off!