# 1491
Chapter 1492: An Qingyu's Plan
"We're worried something might happen, so we came to take a look…" Cao Yuan sighed.
As expected, An Qingyu had guessed correctly.
Yuanshi Tianzun's sudden return didn't just mean trouble for Great Xia—it meant catastrophic trouble!
"Your Excellency, is there really no way to bring Qiye and the others back?" An Qingyu stared at Yuanshi Tianzun, his brow furrowed.
"If this poor Daoist had enough time, I could certainly locate them… But right now, Great Xia has no time left."
Upon hearing these words, An Qingyu's body trembled slightly, his fists clenching involuntarily.
"We can't afford to delay. I'll immediately order all Night Watch within Great Xia's borders to mobilize and head to the various war passes." Shao Pingge made his decision and turned toward the table. He said to An Qingyu and the other two, "Though your captain isn't here, the situation is urgent. An Qingyu, you'll take temporary command. Lead them and hold Chennan Pass."
"…Understood."
When An Qingyu and the other two walked out of the command room, their expressions had grown grave beyond measure.
"Has it really become this serious…" Cao Yuan sighed. "Now that Qiye and the others are gone, Great Xia only has us and the [Phoenix]—two special squads—plus a large batch of newly promoted Night Watch. Can we really hold the border with just these people?"
An Qingyu walked at the front, his pace unconsciously quickening. A decisive glint flashed in his eyes as he abruptly stopped, nearly causing Cao Yuan to walk straight into the Black Coffin.
"What's wrong?" Cao Yuan asked.
"Maybe… Qiye and the others aren't completely beyond reach…" An Qingyu said slowly.
"But even Your Excellency couldn't locate their position. How are we supposed to bring them back?"
An Qingyu said nothing, only quickening his pace as he headed toward his laboratory.
…
Squeak—!
The laboratory door was pushed open. An Qingyu walked straight to the writhing arm on the table, set down the Black Coffin behind him, and began dismantling the metal barrel's seal.
"Qingyu, what are you doing?" Cao Yuan asked, suddenly sensing something ominous.
"We can't locate the spacetime where Qiye and the others are because there aren't enough information traces left in the surrounding soil and other materials. To find their position, we have to start from the fundamentals…"
"Fundamentals? What fundamentals?"
"The Cthulhu Faction gods are different from any other divine realm in the world. They come from beyond this world, and so they share a connection from that world—an indescribable bond, like radio signals between humans. The transformed whale that was dormant at the bottom of the fishing village sea was able, even after death, to crash through Takamagahara's gates. That's precisely because this connection exists.
It's just that this connection is incomprehensible to humans, to any existence in this world. To us, it sounds like meaningless, incomprehensible 'whispers.' Exposed to it long enough, it will even corrupt our spirits together."
Cao Yuan stood stunned for quite a while. "Like Chen Yangrong in the fishing village back then?"
"Exactly." As An Qingyu spoke, he set aside the heavy metal barrels he'd removed, leaving only a glass jar filled with dark yellow liquid and the fleshy, tumorous arm sitting in the center of the table.
"The [Key to the Gate] was one of the three pillar gods of the Cthulhu Faction. Even broken into fragments, it remains connected to other Cthulhu Faction entities. If I can interface my consciousness with their 'connection,' I'll be able to obtain enough information to pinpoint Qiye and the others' location."
Hearing this, Cao Yuan finally understood An Qingyu's intention. His eyes went wide. "Qingyu, you…"
"I'm going to listen to their 'whispers.'"
An Qingyu spoke each word with emphasis.
"You're insane? They'll corrupt you!" Cao Yuan shouted.
"Corruption takes time!" An Qingyu said resolutely. "Chen Yangrong stayed inside the transformed whale for too long—that's why his consciousness was assimilated. When Takamagahara's gods stood beneath the red moon, they didn't immediately fall into madness. The corpses in paradise needed time to be gradually eroded when they touched the ash…"
"No! This is way too dangerous! If something goes wrong, you could end up like Chen Yangrong—a complete lunatic! Or do you want to turn into one of those tumor-ridden angels?!"
Cao Yuan wouldn't hear any of An Qingyu's explanations. His hands shot out and gripped An Qingyu's shoulders, his eyes locked死死盯着An Qingyu's.
An Qingyu's chest heaved剧烈起伏. He stared back at Cao Yuan for a long moment, then took a deep breath and said slowly:
"Cao Yuan, this isn't as dangerous as you think… When I was in hell, I was contaminated by that ash. As long as I quickly excise the contaminated parts, I'll be fine."
"No!"
"Then tell me—what should we do right now?!" An Qingyu roared. "Should we let those [Black Goat] offspring surge into Great Xia and slaughter a thousand cities?! Or should we send the two Your Excellencies to die at the hands of the [Black Goat]?! Do you really think we have any chance of winning with just the two Your Excellencies and us?!"
Cao Yuan stood frozen.
"Even so… you don't have to do it yourself. If it really comes to it, I can listen instead, or the two Your Excellencies could—"
"Cao Yuan, listen to me." An Qingyu lowered Cao Yuan's hands from his shoulders and spoke seriously. "Being contaminated by Cthulhu energy isn't that scary, but after contamination, you need to immediately amputate the contaminated body parts… Within Chennan Pass, only I possess rapid regeneration. Even if I cut off my own head, I won't die. Can you do that?
Furthermore, the two Your Excellencies are Great Xia's last reserves. Setting aside whether they can regenerate, if we let the Your Excellencies take the risk and either of them gets contaminated by Cthulhu… Great Xia will have absolutely no chance of turning the tide."
Cao Yuan stared at An Qingyu's gravely serious expression, rendered speechless.
"Only I can regenerate infinitely. Only I can parse their whispers. Only I can calculate Qiye and the others' location based on the information obtained… Cao Yuan, right now, across all of Great Xia, only I can save Qiye and the other Gods of Great Xia." An Qingyu slowly closed his blood-red eyes. His voice had grown hoarse from the successive outbursts.
"I promise you—when I'm listening to their 'whispers,' you'll be right there watching. If you see any sign that I'm being completely corrupted, just cut off the contaminated flesh. Can you do that?"
This time, An Qingyu's voice carried a hint of pleading. "Consider it… consider it repayment for the blade I struck you with back at the fishing village."
Cao Yuan's palm gripped the Straight Blade's handle so tightly his knuckles went white from the strain. He stood motionless as a statue for a long moment before finally, with great difficulty, uttering two words:
"…Alright."