Chapter 526 Candlelight

"Is it really possible to do something like this?" I was astonished.

“It can be done, or rather, this should be the correct way to use the power of the celestial and terrestrial forces,” Xiao Wan said very patiently. “As long as I pray sincerely, I can unleash the power of blessing to strengthen you.”

"Of course, this kind of enhancement won't directly increase your strength. It might work on others, but you're already too powerful. It's like pouring a small cup of water into a large cup; you can see the water level change. But if you pour it into a large bucket of water, it's hard to see any visible change."

"Similarly, I cannot grant you abilities you don't possess, or allow you to do things you cannot do yourself. If it's something I can do, I can try to synchronize it with you, just like I can let you freely unleash your fire power in the Void Realm... But that's based on the premise that you were originally a Void Realm Apostle with the power of the Divine Seal Fragment and that there is a strong connection between you and the Void Realm, so it doesn't count as completely breaking through this principle."

"As for strengthening certain aspects of you, I can do that easily. For example, I can strengthen your connection with the 'fireflies', or inspire you and greatly improve your efficiency in learning new things."

“Brother Zhuang Cheng, you mentioned before that you need a long time to adapt to the chaotic spacetime of the apocalypse. I can offer you some help in that regard later.”

This last paragraph is truly a delightful and welcome piece of good news.

“Even if it only enhances certain aspects of the Great Impermanence’s abilities, it’s still quite remarkable,” I said. “This is far more powerful than the True Position Dharma of Heaven and Earth that I’ve heard about before…”

"Perhaps it's because my 'True Position of Heaven and Earth' was strengthened by the power of the fragments of the Divine Seal," Xiao Wan said. "The reason I was able to unleash my power in the apocalypse, and repeatedly find the right escape route in the chaotic spacetime environment, constantly escaping the pursuit of the Great Demon of Calamity, is also thanks to this..."

"When I was with Asaha-neechan, I was only slightly luckier and could easily see through other people's feelings, but I was nowhere near as good as I am now."

The mysterious woman was able to teleport me, the Great Impermanence, directly from the battlefield of the Xuanwu Demon using the power of the Divine Seal fragments. To be precise, she used the power of the Divine Seal fragments to transform some of her original abilities to a level sufficient to interfere with me.

This is a force capable of fundamentally reversing the power imbalance, but ultimately, it is because the source of the power of the Divine Seal fragments—the ultimate artifact, the Divine Seal itself—possesses a power that surpasses everything.

"Let's get started now and see what's going on with that 'firefly'." Xiao Wan looked at me. "First, I need to achieve mental synchronization with you, Brother Zhuang Cheng, and grasp the connection between you and that 'firefly'."

"Okay." I extended my left hand with practiced ease.

The little bowl moved slightly closer, gently enveloping my palm with its two small hands.

Although she doesn't possess the combat power to hunt demons and monsters, in Luo Shan's classification system, she is considered a unique kind of demon hunter due to her magical powers, and can be categorized under the White Impermanence faction. And when she actively uses her power, I can also feel the faint magical fluctuations emanating from her.

In the virtual realm, due to the obscuring gray mist, even when Xiaowan used her power, I had difficulty detecting this faint fluctuation. This was the first time I had seen her wield her power in the real world. So, taking this opportunity, I tried to analyze the frequency of this magical energy fluctuation.

The power fluctuations of the small bowl consist of two parts. One part is the power of the divine seal fragments that I am very familiar with. Ignoring this part, what remains is the small bowl's own mana fluctuations. For demon hunters, mana fluctuations are a key clue to identify their true identity. Even if one possesses the skill to disguise mana fluctuations, it is basically impossible to deceive the eyes of the Great Impermanence.

In my observation, the magical fluctuations in the small bowl exhibited a frequency similar to that of Zhu Shi.

It's not that it's completely identical to the Zhu Shi I remember; on the contrary, there are some obvious differences. However, magic power is essentially the power of the human mind and soul. The human heart is inherently unchanging, so the fluctuations in magic power are also unchanging, and occasionally they may even change drastically to the point of being completely different people. Even so, there are still some aspects that remain true to the original principle despite the variations.

The difference in magical power fluctuations between Xiaowan and Zhu Shi is so great that even if we judge them as "the same person in different states of mind," there's nothing wrong with it. If the parties involved hadn't said they weren't, I wouldn't have doubted that Xiaowan was Zhu Shi or Zhu Jiuxing at all.

Even at the moment of activating her ability, Xiao Wan's eyes changed color, transforming from black to a crystal-clear lake blue.

This part is also the same as the Zhu Shi I know. The difference is that when Zhu Shi activates "Buzhou Mountain", her personality will also undergo a strange change. The usually approachable Zhu Shi will transform into the cold and ruthless Luoshan Wuchang.

Xiao Wan, on the other hand, maintained her serene and adorable demeanor, her lake-blue eyes, which faintly glowed with fluorescence, adding a touch of magical charm to her.

Then, like a young nun holding a cross in devout prayer, she slowly closed her unusually beautiful eyes and entered a meditative state.

A familiar feeling, like using a paper cup telephone, rose within me; it was as if my spirit and Little Bowl were connected by a thin string. The other end of the string was Little Bowl's heart. This string seemed to be gently tugged, as if Little Bowl was testing whether our connection was still intact.

To better concentrate my senses, I also closed my eyes.

Through the subtle vibrations of the "thin string," one can catch faint noises coming from the other side. It's as if you've pressed your ear against a seashell. That's the voice within the little bowl.

Human psychological activity is generally quite fragmented. Therefore, people who have the ability to directly hear or see others' thoughts usually cannot clearly understand what others are thinking at a glance; at most, they can only roughly discern the emotions involved. To achieve mind-reading abilities like those in comics, one must either undergo considerable training or acquire a more powerful mind-reading ability.

Xiao Wan's emotions seemed to flow through my heart. There was wariness and unease—about her surroundings; there was affection and reassurance—about me; and there was also an overwhelming shyness and worry—emotions arising from my direct perception of her thoughts.

I'm actually a little shy about revealing my inner thoughts. Everyone feels that way; it's inevitable. Little Bowl should be able to sense my feelings right now. Although this isn't the first time we've been in sync, and we can't let it shake us too much, it still feels a bit novel to be face-to-face like this in real life.

"Brother Zhuangcheng, let's begin." Xiaowan's voice, feigning composure, rang in my mind as if she were reciting something.

I began to explore the faint connection between myself and the vanished "firefly." Although it was difficult and strenuous, I had more than one successful experience. Before long, I managed to grasp this transparent connection and actively transmitted this observation to Xiaowan through our mental synchronization link.

"Um……"

For Xiaowan, this is probably an object of excessive transparency, like trying to read words written in white paint on white paper, which takes a long time to decipher and digest.

After a moment, she seemed to have finally grasped the key points and said, "Well then, now it's my turn to exert my strength. Brother Zhuang Cheng, please concentrate."

"Go ahead and do it," I said.

As I responded, the little bowl's magic gradually deepened the connection between me and the "firefly".

The original state of this connection was like tearing a transparent plastic bag into thin threads, as fine as a hair, and then sinking one of the plastic threads into a basin of clear water. It was difficult to discern its state underwater with the naked eye. Although you could feel its presence when you stirred the water, you could only let it slip through your fingers and the back of your hand, and you could never catch it.

The small bowl acted like a ray of sunlight, reflecting off the plastic thread and revealing its shape and position. Seeing this, I precisely used my "fingers" to grasp the thread and "scoop" it out of the "water."

At the other end of the thread was where the "firefly" was. I imagined myself picking up another "paper cup telephone," attaching the thread to it, and then judging the state of the "firefly's" location by the subtle vibrations of the thread.

Then, I "listened" to it and "observed" it.

The "firefly" was neither a great demon of calamity nor anything particularly special.

It turned out to be just a candle, a white candle that was half-burnt, and what connected my spirit was the tiny flame on that candle.

The candle was casually placed on the floor somewhere, surrounded by an enclosed interior space with no doors or windows and no decorations, its main color being concrete gray. The space was about two-thirds the size of a classroom, filled with lonely gray shelves like a closed convenience store.

(End of this chapter)