Chapter 324 Da Cheng Ma Zao 3

It's possible to keep people in a specific, extreme psychological state for an extended period, and not just one person, but the entire town...

This effect might not sound particularly powerful, but upon closer examination, it's easy to imagine many terrifying or exhilarating uses. Judging from Asaho's attitude, this scale seems far from being her limit.

Beyond that, the fact that the town's timeline was physically reversed and that all the injured within the town were physiologically healed is an even more obvious miracle.

With their extremely powerful magic and extraordinary abilities, even those at the Great Completion level can accomplish many things that mortals would consider divine feats. Therefore, it's perhaps not surprising that Asaho can achieve something of this scale. Whether it's the strategic-level nuclear bombardment summoned by Silver Moon or Chenlong manipulating shadow power to preserve the entire Humanitarian Division base intact from a nuclear explosion, both are far more powerful and impactful than what Asaho is currently doing.

However, with the technological capabilities of human civilization, both strategic nuclear weapons and protective facilities that survive nuclear explosions can be built with time and resources—in other words, they can be replicated by human effort. The miracle created by Asaho, however, transcends that realm; it is simply a divine feat. Even now, as the Great Impermanence, I cannot accomplish such a thing.

No, thinking about it calmly, it doesn't seem entirely impossible... It's not about relying on the power of fire, but rather on certain special abilities acquired after becoming a Great Impermanence. That being said, since it's "not a perfect match," it might not be as suitable as Asahi's power of return.

Although the Divination Master saved Moonshadow Mountain City from destruction by the Silver Moon Law and other calamities, he did not intervene when chaos broke out in the town. Was it because he was indifferent to the chaos, or did he foresee Mazao's actions? I can no longer sense the Divination Master's presence; he has probably already left Moonshadow Mountain City.

After dealing with the chaos in Moonshadow Mountain Castle, we focused our attention on the issues we had to face.

First, I told Mazao about the information I saw about Xiao Zhushi in the Silver Moon spiritual world, and I also printed out Xiao Zhushi's appearance using my mind-writing technique to show her.

"So... Xiao Wan and Zhu Shi are the same person?" Ma Zao was dumbfounded.

Zhu Shi has always treated Ma Zao like a younger sister, while Ma Zao sees Xiao Wan as a younger sister she needs to take care of. Right now, Ma Zao seems to be comparing the image of Zhu Shi, a young female college student, with the image of Xiao Wan, a little elementary school girl, in her mind, while a conflicted and confused expression appears on her face.

“After that, we’ll go to the Zhu family and ask them. Then we should understand a lot of things,” I said.

Ma Zao nodded, seemingly at a loss for words.

I also need to report information about Chang'an and Yinyue to the Zhu family. In addition, I have other matters to attend to, namely the issues related to the Mountain Yin-Yang and the Vermilion Bird Seed.

Even after becoming the Great Impermanence, I still cannot perceive the Vermilion Bird Seed within my own body and soul. Considering that even when my body and soul were destroyed by the Water Master Xuanwu, my superpowers remained unaffected, perhaps the Vermilion Bird Seed, as the source of power, resides in a realm closer to the "True Spirit"—that is, closer to "me," or "consciousness itself."

The "reincarnation" realm mastered by Shan Liangyi seems to be a realm related to "true spirit," so it is entirely acceptable that the Vermilion Bird Seed would have similar properties.

After the death of the naval Xuanwu, the Xuanwu Seed he possessed never appeared again. It is unknown whether it simply vanished or returned to the hands of Shan Liangyi, whose whereabouts are unknown, through some means.

Although the Navy Genbu wanted to seize the Vermilion Bird Seed from me by killing me, it doesn't mean that I could obtain his Genbu Seed in the same way simply by killing him. The prerequisite for the Navy Genbu to plunder other power seeds was that he had deciphered part of the Mountain Yin-Yang Ritual. I do not possess the same conditions, so naturally I cannot expect the Genbu Seed to fall into my hands.

Furthermore, the "first gate" and "second gate" that the naval commander Xuanwu mentioned before his death reminded me of the questions that Shenzhao once asked the Lord of the Divine Seal.

The question posed by the Divine Illumination was, "Can the Lord of the Divine Seal answer the question about how to open the 'Third Gate' and the 'Fourth Gate'?" The Lord of the Divine Seal replied, "Yes." If the "First Gate" corresponds to "Great Accomplishment" and the "Second Gate" corresponds to "Great Impermanence," then what are the "Third Gate" and the "Fourth Gate"?

Since there exists a "power beyond the Great Impermanence" like the Divine Seal, and a "person" like the Lord of the Divine Seal who wields this "power beyond the Great Impermanence," it's not surprising that there are new heights above the Great Impermanence. Even excluding the Lord of the Divine Seal, there are still deities like the Mountain Yin-Yang, who are vaguely a level above the Great Impermanence. Even the Wheel King, who is the Great Impermanence, is said to be a victim of its power seed.

To be honest, it is precisely because I am now a Great Impermanence that I find it hard to imagine what kind of demons and monsters exist above the Great Impermanence.

Judging from Shenzhao's reaction after receiving the answer from the Lord of the Divine Seal, Shenzhao not only didn't know the method to break through the "Fourth Gate," but he couldn't even be certain that it existed. In other words, even with Shenzhao's vast knowledge, he probably hadn't heard of anyone breaking through the "Fourth Gate." Perhaps it's a stage that no one has ever reached before.

Correspondingly, it is very likely that someone has already broken through the "third gate." In fact, I already have two candidates in mind. One of them is naturally Shan Liangyi, whose reincarnation is currently unknown, and the other is the "Old Fist God," the strongest being in Luoshan, who is said to have killed Shan Liangyi.

As for Xuanming, although he is indeed very powerful, having killed Dawuchang Fuhongchen and severely injured Dawuchang Mingzhuo, and he seems to me to be even more powerful than Shenzhao and Mingzhuo, he is not so powerful as to be a whole level above them.

"Oh, right, Ma Zao, there's something I need you to look at for me." I remembered something.

Having temporarily shaken off her confusion, Ma Zao eagerly asked, "What is it?"

I took that item out.

It was a stone collar, an item left behind by the Ancient Moon God after I burned him to death.

This item should be the sealing artifact that Silver Moon used to bind the Ancient Moon God within the white mist. Even with firepower powerful enough to incinerate the Ancient Moon God, the stone collar was only slightly charred. If I were to burn it again with my current power, the stone collar would likely be reduced to ashes as well. However, there's no doubt that this item's durability is beyond imagination.

I showed it to Ma Zao, not to do anything with it, but just to see if I could find any clues related to saving Chang'an.

What connection could there be between the artifacts used to bind the Ancient Moon God and the rescue of Chang'an? I don't know either, but I'm willing to explore in any direction. My past experience investigating strange events has taught me that reality isn't a sophisticated detective story. Often, you don't first have a clear direction for the investigation, and then you get clues. Instead, you first need to collect as much seemingly unrelated information as possible, and only after integrating and processing it can you arrive at a definite direction for the investigation.

This time, it seems I've actually found a useful clue.

After only glancing at it a few times, Ma nodded and said, "--Okay."

"Then, I'll leave the rest to you..." I said.

“No, I mean… I’ve already done my research,” she said.

"So fast?" I was surprised.

Based on past experience, it would take Ma Zao at least one night, or even several days and nights, to thoroughly investigate the internal history of a target. But now she has completed the investigation after only a few glances? Even if she has recovered her Great Completion level power, isn't this speed a bit too fast?

"Isn't there much historical information in this?" I asked.

“No, there’s quite a lot of information inside, although not much of it is useful,” she said. “Right now, I can summon countless copies of my consciousness from history and add them to myself at the same time, so I can read a massive amount of information in a very short time.”

"You can actually do something like this?" I didn't know what expression to make.

“Actually, I’ve done similar things before.”

She summoned her phantom recurve blade and said, "This weapon is a magical artifact I obtained in the apocalyptic era. It is similar to the Impermanence Sword of Luoshan and can enhance my physical abilities."

"And I can summon the effects of weapons from history simultaneously, repeatedly enhancing my physical abilities. It is thanks to this that I was able to engage in close combat with those enemies in the past."

"Summoning and superimposing my consciousness computing power wasn't entirely impossible before, but due to the existence of my soul trauma, such practices that would place a huge burden on my soul would easily make me faint and worsen my trauma."

Upon hearing the word "burden," I almost reflexively asked, "Is there no problem now? Since you said it would put a huge burden on the soul..."

“Now I can use the power of return to simultaneously enhance my consciousness's computational power and reset all the burdens accumulated in my soul,” she said.

—Isn't that a perpetual motion machine?

For a moment, I couldn't tell whether I or Asaho had cheated more.

(End of this chapter)