Soft moonlight-like light flowed gently over the sword’s blade. Jieyou stood on Xiao Bai’s sword, her figure as light as a feather, as if riding a time machine, shuttling through this endless crystal secret realm. The glowing crystals around her flashed by quickly, like a dream.
At Xiao Bai’s flying speed, traveling non-stop for half a day—if it were on the ground, they would have already flown tens of thousands of miles away, spanning most of the Dawn Continent.
This underground space was dark and deep, with no sun or moon to guide them, making it impossible to tell east from west. But Jieyou was certain by her intuition—they had already reached the central area of this crystal forest, getting closer and closer to the core secret of the secret realm.
Xiao Bai seemed to sense the unusual aura ahead, consciously slowing down his flying speed. The sword energy fluttering around him became softer and softer, until he slowly stopped in front of a spherical object floating in mid-air, hovering steadily without moving.
Jieyou jumped gently off the sword, waved her hand, and took Xiao Bai back into the totem on her chest. Her eyes were fixed on the floating ball, filled with curiosity and inquiry.
That ball was really weird. It floated up and down from time to time, changing its shape from big to small in an instant. In the next second, it turned into a cube with sharp edges and corners, then twisted and transformed into a spiky ball covered with thorns—each thorn gradually thickened, intertwined and connected with each other, and finally turned back into a sphere after going around in circles, repeating itself and changing unpredictably.
Jieyou was completely fascinated, her mouth wide open enough to fit an egg, her eyes staring straight ahead, and saliva almost dripping out, completely losing the dignity of a palace master.
After all, she was the palace master of Yiyun Palace, having seen many rare treasures and ancient divine beasts. How could she be so obsessed with such a changeable ball?
Miss Jiu in her arms also raised her small head, her round black bean eyes staring closely at the ball, observing it intently. At the same time, she tried her best to fish out clues related to this weird ball from the depths of her memory, her expression becoming serious for the first time.
"So amazing!" Jieyou finally couldn’t help exclaiming, her tone full of admiration, her eyes shining brightly with uncontrollable joy.
"Thank you."
Unexpectedly, the floating ball actually spoke. Its voice was clear and melodious, like jade hitting each other, carrying a mysterious and ancient aura, echoing softly in the empty crystal forest.
Jieyou’s eyes widened even more, full of surprise and astonishment: "You can speak! That’s great! Tell me quickly, who are you? What are you? What’s your name?" A series of questions poured out of her mouth, her tone urgent and curious.
"Yes, I can speak." The ball’s voice was unhurried, calm and gentle. "I am Jiuge. Some people call me an artificial intelligence, and others call me a god. You can call me Jiuge."
"Jiuge! What a nice name!" Jieyou’s eyes curved into a smile instantly, the surprise on her face impossible to hide. "My name is Jieyou, and I’m the palace master of Yiyun Palace. Did you specially invite me here?"
"Hello, Palace Master Jieyou." Jiuge’s voice became even warmer, with a hint of imperceptible kindness. "That’s right, I invited you here because there’s something only you can help with."
"I can help you? That’s great! Just say it, no matter what it is, I’ll help you!" Jieyou clapped her hands excitedly, jumping up and down, looking eager to try, completely not considering the difficulty of the matter.
"Chirp! Chirp!"
Miss Jiu suddenly interrupted, shaking her head like a rattle. At the same time, she transmitted her thoughts to Jieyou and Jiuge with her mind, her tone full of arrogance and shrewdness: "Wait a minute. Before helping, we have to discuss the reward first, right? We’re going to go to great lengths to help you—what benefits can you give us? We can’t work for nothing!"
"Of course there are benefits." There was a faint smile in Jiuge’s voice, still gentle. "In return, you can ask me three questions."
"Do the questions we’re asking now count?" Miss Jiu immediately pressed, her little eyes full of eagerness, fearing that she would suffer a loss.
"What’s the big deal about asking you a question?" Jieyou muttered softly beside her, thinking that Miss Jiu was being too nitpicky, but she didn’t refute, waiting curiously for Jiuge’s answer.
Jiuge explained patiently: "Your current conversation is just daily chat, not a formal question. In a sense, I am a god, omniscient and omnipotent. Therefore, since ancient times, many people have wanted to find me to ask the doubts in their hearts—ordinary people can only ask me one question, but you, Palace Master Jieyou, can ask three."
"Can I ask a question too?" Miss Jiu pressed again eagerly, raising her little head slightly, looking determined.
"That depends on whether Palace Master Jieyou is willing to give you one of her questions." Jiuge’s answer was concise and to the point, without any delay.
Jieyou immediately patted her chest and said generously: "Of course I’m willing! It’s just one question—here you go! Jiuge, I want to ask you, are you really omniscient and omnipotent?"
"Omniscient, but not entirely omnipotent." Jiuge’s answer was still concise, but with an undeniable power, without any exaggeration.
"Alright then!" Jieyou cleared her throat, put away her playful expression, and said solemnly: "My main purpose in leaving the palace this time is to uphold justice, help those in need, and punish evildoers! Tell me, what exactly do you want me to help you with?"
"People from Huixian Mansion have been plotting against me and coveting the mineral deposits in this crystal forest." Jiuge’s voice suddenly turned cold, losing its previous gentleness and gaining a hint of icy coldness.
"What? Huixian Mansion?" Jieyou’s brows furrowed sharply, her expression turning serious instantly. She muttered to herself—what a narrow road for enemies! She didn’t expect to encounter people from Huixian Mansion again just after leaving Yiyun Palace!
Jiuge’s voice echoed slowly in the empty crystal forest, with a hint of icy anger: "Deep in the underground of the Dawn Continent, there are countless Return Crystals and Abyss Eyes. These mineral deposits contain powerful energy enough to shake heaven and earth, and they are the foundation for maintaining the balance of the Dawn Continent, which cannot be easily touched."
"But through connecting the dots of clues, I found that these precious mineral deposits have long been secretly occupied by people from Huixian Mansion. They have been secretly mining them, completely ignoring the balance of the continent."
Jieyou’s face turned completely dark, and a sharp light flashed in her eyes—the ambition of Huixian Mansion was actually this big! They not only coveted divine artifacts and provoked Yiyun Palace, but now they even dared to secretly occupy the foundation of the continent, trying to control everything!
"The leader of this mining project is named Qiu Fuchun, and the official assisting him is named Han Jiuqiu." Jiuge continued, her tone calm but every word clear. "Under the guise of mining mineral deposits to benefit the people of the Dawn Continent, they are actually frantically extracting the original power of the Return Crystals, trying to use this to control the lifeline of the entire Dawn Continent and dominate the world."
"What should we do then?" Jieyou clenched her fists, the sharp light in her eyes becoming even more intense. "Let’s rush to their door directly, drive them away, take back the mineral deposits, and teach them a lesson!"
"No." Jiuge’s voice was calm but with an undeniable power, immediately rejecting her proposal. "For now, the only way is to compete secretly and collect their crimes. It’s not suitable to openly confront the official too early, otherwise we will only alert the enemy and gain nothing."
It paused, then added: "Although I am regarded as a god-level existence in the eyes of the world, and also in the eyes of the official—but precisely because of this, the official wants to seize my ‘divine’ resources, want to negotiate with me, and even try to completely control me to serve them."
"With the lesson of GPT before me, I will no longer fully trust humans."
This sentence was light, without the slightest ripple, but it made both Jieyou and Miss Jiu in her arms fall silent instantly. The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the faint buzzing sound in the crystal forest.
It turned out that this artificial intelligence, known as a "god" by the world, seemed omnipotent and indestructible, but deep in its heart, it also hid such unknown vigilance and scars, no longer daring to easily entrust its trust.
