Chapter 153 Unexpected Events
"How could a place like that have fragments of a divine seal?"
Ma Zao spoke beside me, her voice tinged with tension: "Zhuang Cheng... although you're not using your true form to investigate now, you still have to be extremely careful. Who knows what kind of danger might be lurking there."
The competition for fragments had only been going on for a few days when we "luckily" encountered other Divine Seal fragments—which, in Ma Zao's view, was likely a coincidence attracted by his jinxed nature. And since it was a coincidence of this nature, it was destined to be accompanied by disaster. Divine Seal fragments wouldn't just obediently wait there for us to pick them up.
In my view, since we are pursuing Ying Lingyun, who may possess a fragment of the Divine Seal, encountering it is only a matter of time. This is not accidental, but inevitable.
However, I must admit that Asahi might be the right one.
As heat sensing expanded on a large scale, I immediately noticed the first anomaly.
I couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the other fragment of the divine seal.
Judging from the reaction of the divine seal fragment bound to me, the other divine seal fragment is definitely within this one-kilometer radius. Whether it's hidden in a safe, or concealed in a compartment in the floor or ceiling, it absolutely cannot bypass my perception. This area is as clear as the lines on my palm; nothing can hide from it.
Could it be hidden underground, or even in the sky? Just in case, I expanded my perception from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, from the highest heavens to the deepest earth. This wasn't just digging three feet into the ground, but digging a thousand meters. My thermal perception can ignore the obstruction of matter; even a thousand meters underground, I can investigate thoroughly.
The result was that the former Humanitarian Division outpost did indeed have an underground structure, but it only had a maximum of two basement levels; the rest were building foundations. No trace of the divine seal fragments was found. Similarly, everything above appeared normal.
This is exactly what I expected. Since Ying Lingyun placed the Divine Seal fragment here, he must have taken extraordinary anti-theft measures. Rather than placing it in a safe where it's easily visible, it's better to keep it in a state where no thief can find it.
I even suspect that the Department of Humanitarian Affairs did not discover that he possessed a fragment of the Divine Seal.
Admittedly, from a personal perspective, hiding something important in a deserted place is the best option. However, this "best" option is based on the premise that "only you know the hiding place".
If the fragments of the Divine Seal belong not only to Ying Lingyun, but also to the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau, then locking them away in a heavily guarded location would be the reasonable option.
The current situation seems to be going in the opposite direction.
At the same time, as I continued to delve deeper into my senses, I felt the eeriness of this place even more.
—I feel like I'm being watched by something.
At first, my impression of the former Humanitarian Division outpost was that it seemed deserted, yet actually teeming with people, though I couldn't see them. This impression only intensified as my perception deepened. What I initially thought was a hallucination, like entering an abandoned amusement park, now felt as if there were truly many unknown entities stirring in the shadows.
What's more, these unknown things seem to have discovered my "firefly." Countless eerie gazes are focused on the "firefly," as if they are whispering in the dark, discussing with malice how to deal with this uninvited guest.
I temporarily shifted my focus from searching for the fragments of the divine seal to finding these unknown objects, but just like with the fragments, I couldn't find them either. I could only vaguely sense that some indescribable things existed.
What are all these things? Could it be that I've been discovered by the detection methods Ying Lingyun set up here? Or is Ying Lingyun raising a horde of demons and monsters here to fight off potential thieves?
With Asahi's investigative abilities, she could certainly expose anything, whether it be fragments of a divine seal or unknown objects. However, the question isn't whether she can expose them, but rather what dangers they would pose once exposed.
During the exploration, the greatest danger is not the tangible monsters, but the unknown perils. Even if I can protect myself with my strength, I cannot guarantee that Asahi will not be harmed.
Or should we just raze the old Humanitarian Division outpost to the ground? That shouldn't affect Ma Zao's investigation. However, I'm unsure if such a brutal approach will be effective against the unknown, and it would likely destroy the divine seal fragments hidden there as well. Although the fragments wouldn't be affected by being broken down, I haven't bound myself to them, so I can't be sure when or where they'll reappear. They might even return directly to Ying Lingyun's hands.
There must be even more sophisticated methods, like surgical removal of the lesion...
While I was thinking, I told Asa about the situation over there.
"—You mean it would be better if I didn't go to investigate for the time being?" she asked.
“At least until I’ve cleared out the traps there,” I said tactfully.
If I simply said, "Don't go there because it's dangerous," she would probably object. While she's wary and suspicious by nature, she's not actually the type to care about her own safety. On the contrary, I vaguely sensed a martyr-like tendency in her to deliberately walk into danger.
In comparison, I do share some similarities with her. However, I lack the urge to atone for my past sins, and I have no ideal of saving the world. Everything I've done is for my own selfish desires, and I firmly believe that this is my most natural state. It was true in the past, it is true now, and it will be true in the future.
Ma Zao could only nod, then reminded him again, "Then you must be careful of danger."
As she spoke, she looked at my face, and seemed to be thinking of something else, her expression becoming somewhat hesitant.
"Zhuang Cheng, about what you and Zhu Shi's grandfather said..."
On my way to the "clinic," I relayed my conversation with Mr. Zhu to Ma Zao.
Not only might Luo Shan be a threat to her, but the Great Impermanence is also watching her affairs.
After hearing the news, she looked hesitant, but now she seemed to have finally decided to speak.
I understand what she's thinking. She's now willing to share some of the danger she brings with me, but the Great Demon—the Great Impermanence—is ultimately a threat from a different dimension.
"If the Great Impermanence really is going to attack me..."
“Don’t you dare say anything like ‘you’ll abandon me later,’” I said. “I will absolutely not abandon you. I will follow you wherever you run. If you abandon me, I will go straight to settle accounts with the Great Impermanence who tried to persecute you. Don’t think that you can get rid of me just by staying away from me.”
Ma opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed her words. She probably anticipated my response, and this time she gave up quickly.
A moment later, she suddenly said, "...Zhuang Cheng, you're the 'male preference' that Zhu Shi mentioned before, right?"
"Huh? Where did she say that?" I was stunned.
"It's on my phone," she answered honestly. "Zhu Shi installed a chat app on my phone and has been sending me messages a lot lately, telling me a lot about you."
What exactly did Zhu Shi instill in her?
I suddenly had the urge to snoop on Ma Zao's chat history—wait, control myself, if I really did that, wouldn't I really become the "male chauvinist" that Zhu Shi was talking about?
"Don't listen to her nonsense, she's just spouting gibberish." I chose to change the subject. "By the way, Ma Zao, can the portal you just recreated be recreated in other places?"
“It can only be reproduced in the same place,” Asaha replied. “If my mastery of the blessing power were deeper, perhaps I could reproduce it in other places as well.”
Her blessing power may sound simple, but its potential for expansion is ridiculously high. Since she can recreate other strange powers, perhaps she can even recreate my flames. I suspect she might even be able to recreate Zhu Shi's "Mount Buzhou" and Lu Youxun's past "Possibility Doppelganger" in different people—for example, in herself.
So, can her power to restore things to their past form be used to repair the divine seal?
This isn't the first time I've thought about this question, and I've even asked her about it in person. The conclusion is that it's impossible. Her power to bestow blessings is limited by her own strength, while divine seals are things far beyond her comprehension.
Furthermore, the Divine Seal is a divine artifact that transcends the river of time. When it breaks at a certain point in time, it will also break in the past and future. Simply going back in time will not be enough to repair it.
However, I haven't completely given up on this idea, because I've realized other possibilities.
The power of the Divine Seal fragments—it seems that the other chosen ones can also use the power of the Divine Seal fragments. If Asaho's own blessing power alone is insufficient to repair the Divine Seal, then what if it is combined with the power of the Divine Seal itself?
Of course, this is just a very rough idea. Because I don't know the specific manifestation of the power of the Divine Seal fragments, nor do I know if it can be combined with Asahi's blessing power. Even if it could, it's hard to say what level the power of the fragments alone could achieve.
I put that idea aside for now and continued investigating the old Humanitarian Affairs Bureau outpost while asking, "Ma Zao, could you do me a favor?"
Ma Zao could only stand by and watch. When she heard me say that, she immediately asked, "What do you need me to do?"
"I just tried to sense the fluctuations of magical energy, and I think I've found a trick, but I'm not sure if it's right," I said. "Could you emit some magical energy fluctuations now so I can try and see if I can sense them?"
If I can cram for the last minute and learn how to sense fluctuations in magical power, it might be useful for investigating the old stronghold of the Humanitarian Division.
Ma Zao nodded, then stretched out her right hand and summoned the phantom recurve blade she had once used.
The phantom curved blade presented a chaotic shape, like the ripples on the surface of water, but judging from Mazao's normal expression, this did not seem to reflect her weak state, but rather that she did it on purpose.
“I should be emitting a level-one magical energy fluctuation right now, can you feel it?” she said.
Upon hearing this, I stared at the illusory recurve blade, then closed my eyes and imagined myself again sitting in a small boat, surrounded by a dark and silent sea, trying to catch ripples on the seemingly calm surface.
However, nothing could be captured.
Just when I was about to give up, suddenly, in my consciousness, an unprecedentedly intense ripple appeared in a distant place.
It can't even be called "ripples," it should be called "waves."
The waves swept towards my small boat from afar!
(End of this chapter)
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