Chapter 349 VS Time Stop 1
"Probably?" I said. "So, he might not be here?"
"After all, I'm just guessing from past experience that he's probably in this research institute right now, and it's hard to say whether something might happen to him, or if he just happens to be outside right now," Lu Chan said.
Although he said it was a research institute, it was impossible to tell from the outside. By this time, the sun had completely set, and under the cover of night, the huge building looked like an elegant museum, with two witchers dressed as guards standing at the entrance.
Since this is a facility under Mingzhuo's control, they might be conducting some kind of secret research inside. I tried to probe it with my senses, but encountered considerable resistance. Just like the secret outposts of the Humanitarian Division in the past, there are many anti-detection barriers here, and it has the scent of Mingzhuo's magic power, so it's very likely that Mingzhuo set it up himself.
“Do you remember what I told you before? Mingzhuo once captured a large number of people who were born with strong spirituality and killed them, trying to knock on the door to Naraku... This is where he conducted those experiments.” Lu Chan said in a complicated tone, “Most of the time he would lock himself in the laboratory here, eliminating all external disturbances and forbidding his subordinates from influencing him in non-essential situations.”
"The demon hunters at the research institute are also conducting blatantly forbidden experiments, researching how to enter Naraku and how to extinguish the Flame of Annunciation within the body of the corrupted. As far as I know, none of these people, from the officers to the gatekeepers, have not shed innocent blood, so you have no reason to show them any mercy later."
“I share in the sins within. Zhuang Cheng, if you think I deserve to die after seeing what’s inside, then kill me too.”
He might feel that he has a responsibility and the means to live to atone for his sins, but on the other hand, he is caught in self-doubt, wondering if he can only atone for his sins with death, and therefore wants to seek my judgment.
“You can go back now, Lu Chan,” I said. “Leave the rest to me.”
“I…” Lu Chan stopped in his tracks.
"You don't expect me to judge you based on good and evil, do you? The people inside are all Mingzhuo's subordinates, so I have to kill them; but you are my man, so I have to protect you. I don't care whether you are a good person or a bad person. If you want to take all of Lu Youxun's sins upon yourself and indulge in self-blame, that's your own business. Don't drag me into your mental anguish," I said mercilessly.
“…That’s true.” He sighed. “You’re just that kind of person.”
He turned and left.
I stood there for a while longer, waiting until he was far enough away, before looking back at the research institute. The two guards at the entrance, seeing me standing opposite them, seemed to have become suspicious. One of them stepped forward and questioned, "Hey, who are you...?"
"Die," I said.
The power of the Great Impermanence's words is enough to decide the life and death of mortals with a single word, while the two guards in front of him are at most demon hunters of the rank of resident, and to the Great Impermanence, they are still considered mortals.
The moment the word "death" was uttered, the guard who had come to question the suspect collapsed to the ground without warning, his body instantly turning to dust. The guard behind him immediately showed a look of horror, then his eyes rolled back, he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating, and he too fell to the ground dead. I stepped over their corpses and entered the research institute, then unleashed my flames in one breath.
The massive flames directly destroyed all the anti-detection barriers encountered along the way, plunging the entire research institute into a sea of fire.
Considering that there might be some victims or test subjects inside the research institute, I didn't add much lethality or destructive power this time. My main purpose was to "knock on the door" and call out Mingzhuo, who was probably deep inside the research institute.
However, Mingzhuo did not immediately appear. Instead, a barrage of trap-like spells appeared. Fire, lightning, freezing air, earth spikes... and invisible psychic and curse-like mysterious attacks swept towards me from all directions. They all seemed to be trigger-based traps designed to target intruders. And just like the witcher's spells that had failed to activate in front of me not long ago, these attacks couldn't even touch my body before automatically disintegrating and disappearing in mid-air.
The alarm blared throughout the facility, and from deep within came the sounds of a large number of people frantically taking refuge. Some demon hunters dressed as guards also rushed toward me amidst shouts and cries.
Since Lu Chan said that Ming Zhuo would eliminate all external disturbances during the research process, that means there must be a soundproof barrier or some other kind of magic around the laboratory. Or was Ming Zhuo never here in the first place? If so, I'll have to complain to Lu Chan later and curse him so that he can only drink scalding hot beverages when he eats spicy food in the future.
I was just about to deal with these arriving guards when a low murmur came from behind them.
"—Time, stop."
As the sound rang out, everything in my vision seemed to be filtered through a strange lens, turning into shades of gray. All the guards charging towards me, and the triggered trap spells attacking me from all directions—fire, lightning, freezing air, ground spikes—all froze in mid-air as if a pause button had been pressed.
At the same time, I found that my body had also become immobile.
In this static world, however, there was something that could move. A figure emerged from behind the guards; it was a man dressed in a black uniform of a ghost.
—Has time been stopped?
I've heard Lu Chan mention that there is indeed a Grandmaster-level being in Luoshan who can freely stop time. Could this man be the legendary time-manipulation user? Is he Mingzhuo's subordinate?
Although time has stopped, for some reason, my thoughts can still function normally. I tried to break free from the time-binding force, but found I couldn't. Or rather, there was no magic binding me at all; the only thing that existed was the fact that I couldn't move.
It's understandable that one can't move while time is frozen, but the very phenomenon of time being stopped isn't. The time-manipulating user should be using magic to control time. If I could simply destroy this magic, I could at least restart my own time. However, if this object that should be destroyed never existed in the first place, then it naturally cannot be the key to solving the problem.
I tried to sense the outside world. Even a master time-manipulation user couldn't stop time over such a large area. However, the reality was different from what I expected. My perception instantly covered the entire Luoshan headquarters area, only to find that time had stopped throughout the entire headquarters. Continuing to probe outwards, I found that all material movement within the vast primeval forest surrounding the Luoshan headquarters had also ceased.
Even the moon and stars in the night sky seemed to have stopped, and some stars that should have been twinkling were frozen in place.
Could it be that this time-manipulating user has stopped time in the entire universe? How is that even possible?
"You are the rumored newly emerged Grand Master level fire ability user, the arrogant Zhuang Cheng who challenged Ming Zhuo... right?"
The time-manipulator stopped in front of me, expressionless, and said, "What are you doing here? Are you here to challenge the Fate-Turbid? If so, then I truly admire you. I originally thought you were just talking."
“I heard from Mingzhuo that he encountered you in a dream some time ago, and you luckily escaped death while he was distracted… After that experience, you should already know the difference between yourself and Dawuchang. Yet you still dare to come to the Luoshan headquarters… I suppose you are not truly ignorant of your own limitations, but rather you came with a death wish.”
"I don't need Mingzhuo to take action himself. Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish. Dying by my hand won't be a disservice to you."
"...However, even if I said these words, I doubt you would hear them."
As he spoke, I carefully perceived the time and space around me.
With my perceptive ability to intuitively explore even cause and effect and concepts, I quickly figured out the secrets contained within.
Then, I spoke.
Is fate sealed here?
When I suddenly spoke, he looked terrified, as if he had seen a large cockroach in his bed where he was usually sleeping peacefully, and retreated a great distance as if he had been electrocuted.
"You moved?" he said in shock. "Why..."
"It's just that I can move within the time that's stopped. Mingzhuo can do the same thing, so why can't I?" I said.
"What nonsense are you spouting? If Mingzhu can do it, then you can too? You're not the Great Impermanence, what right do you have to..."
As he spoke, he seemed to realize something impossible, and his expression became increasingly incredulous.
I moved my body slightly, now freed from the stopped time, and said to him, "This has truly broadened my horizons. I never imagined there was a way to stop the universe's time."
(End of this chapter)
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