Chapter 44 Fallen Witcher VS Superpowered Individuals 7
I'm truly terrified of Zhuang Cheng now, terrified of that inexplicable "fire ability user".
I've never seen a fire-wielding user before. Igniting an opponent with just his gaze is already unfair enough, but summoning flames directly from inside their body is such an absurd skill! And what's the logic behind ignoring my physical and spiritual attacks? I never want to face him again.
Parts of my flesh and blood have now turned to charcoal and are still steaming hot, driving me to the brink of madness. Psychologically, I've become a frightened bird, terrified by the slightest sound.
The moment that surge of magical energy appeared nearby, I was terrified. But upon closer inspection, I realized it wasn't Zhuang Cheng.
It was a man with half his head missing, his body twisted, covered in blood, and wearing an orange construction jacket. He stood in the distance, his body semi-transparent, allowing glimpses of the scenery behind him. His face was numb and blank, his eyes devoid of any rationality or intelligence, and he slowly approached me like an animal lured by the smell of blood.
This is a ghost... no, it should be called an evil spirit.
It seems this is the evil spirit rumored to be from this abandoned construction site. It must have caught the scent of the Soul-Attracting Talisman on me. Although I put the talisman away, I didn't reseal it. It's only natural that an evil spirit like this, which only knows how to follow its instincts, would come looking for me.
Last time I almost thought it never existed in the first place. Why didn't it appear when I came with Zhuang Cheng before?
Let's not think about it too much for now, and get rid of this troublesome evil spirit.
As I walked over, I raised the sharp blade. It seemed startled by me, suddenly stopping in its tracks, a look of terror on its face. What good is fear now? Blame it on itself for foolishly approaching.
Just as I was about to kill it, I saw its lips move, and it muttered in terror like a mental patient, "It's coming...it's coming..."
Upon hearing this, I stopped in my tracks, a sense of foreboding rising in my heart: "...What's coming? Explain yourself, what's coming?"
Just like some insects and beasts that rely solely on instinct, they can sometimes be surprisingly adept at predicting climate change, or even spotting signs of impending earthquakes, tsunamis, or storms. These instinct-driven evil spirits, precisely because of their weakness, are often more spiritually sensitive than many demon hunters.
At this moment, it was trembling all over, holding its head, squatting on the ground, its blood-stained face showing a look of despair.
"He...he's coming..." it roared in utter terror, "He's already looking...he's watching us! He saw us! Aaaaaah!!!"
The moment it finished speaking, the scene before my eyes suddenly changed.
Flames erupted from all directions, instantly turning the floor into a sea of fire.
Swept into the raging inferno, I hastily used my shadow power to protect myself. However, this level of shadow was instantly destroyed by the surging heat, and the evil spirits in the distance were evaporated on the spot like water droplets falling into a pot of boiling oil.
In the center of the sea of fire, a large number of flames converged and condensed, eventually forming a huge fiery eyeball that floated in the air like the eye of a god.
Although the flames destroyed the protective shadows and evil spirits, they did not harm me.
My mind was filled with horror. The enormous fiery eyeball hovered in the air for a moment, then turned to me.
I immediately turned and ran, simultaneously manipulating the nearby shadows, attempting to activate spatial teleportation again. But the moment I lifted my legs, the shadows that had formed prosthetic legs exploded out of thin air, causing me to fall to the ground. The shadows approaching me were also instantly vaporized by the flames that touched the ground.
The giant fiery eyeball contracted inward, transforming into a humanoid shape formed of flames. The humanoid shape, which was suspended in the air, then transformed into a human dressed in ordinary clothes, and its feet landed on the ground.
That person was Zhuang Cheng.
"I didn't expect you to come back here. Is there something here that would make you come back?" He looked around curiously, seemingly unaware that there was an evil spirit here that he had just affected and burned to death.
All around me was the sound of a massive fire. I struggled to sit up and looked at him with an indescribable sense of terror, not even knowing if he could hear my hoarse voice.
"How...how did you know I was here?"
At the same time, after seeing the scene he formed in the sea of fire, I finally understood the principle behind his immortality.
While those who can manipulate natural elements may have outstanding strengths, when their mastery of this ability reaches a level that transcends common sense, the common sense of a mere witcher can no longer bind them.
In the ancient world of witchers, there was a legendary realm known as "manifestation".
Throughout history, those who embark on the path of cultivation mostly seek to unite themselves with the Way of Heaven and nature, the so-called "unity of man and nature." Those who manipulate the spirit of water emulate water's nature of benefiting all things without contention; those who manipulate the spirit of earth emulate the earth's nature of nurturing and sustaining all things. The ultimate goal of emulation is to become the object of emulation, or to become one with it.
Those who have reached the legendary state of "manifestation" are able to relinquish their physical bodies, freely transform their souls, and merge with all things in nature, manifesting themselves in the world like gods when necessary.
That was no longer the realm of mortals, but the realm of terrestrial immortals.
I can't believe Zhuang Cheng is a terrestrial deity, but this seemingly natural act of transforming himself into a natural element clearly possesses some characteristics of a manifestation of the divine.
What he displayed was undoubtedly a skill that could only appear in myths and legends. Even the mighty, godlike figures who reigned atop Mount Luo, capable of destroying the country single-handedly, might not have been able to do the same.
I didn't expect my question to be answered, but Zhuang Cheng really did.
"Why? I think I've told you before that I have a spiritual connection with the flames I release, so of course I can pinpoint your location."
"But the flames on my body have disappeared..."
“It seems I haven’t explained it clearly to you. The flames I unleash, and the light and heat they produce, are essentially my spirit.” For some reason, he answered every question patiently. “Although the flames have gone out, the heat remains, which is obviously not acceptable.”
"What...no, that's not right!" I said, unable to accept it. "The Shadow World is a different dimension from the real world. Even the connection with heat should have been severed by now!"
“You mean that…” He nodded. “Although the connection became unstable at one point, it wasn’t completely disconnected; it just meant I couldn’t see your scene clearly for the time being. And whether I want to rekindle the flames or move to your shadow world, it’s all possible.”
“I had already made up my mind to go there, but you left first… It’s alright, you can just open the passage for me later.”
This doesn't make sense. The Shadow World is clearly an alternate dimension, just like the cave in the fifteenth-floor room. Since the latter was able to sever Zhuang Cheng's connection, there's no reason why the former couldn't.
Is the cave in the fifteenth-floor room really that special?
Or is it...?
Suddenly, I realized a more plausible possibility.
"So...you lied?"
"Lying?" Zhuang Cheng was taken aback.
Yes, he must have lied.
No wonder he was able to talk so calmly to Zhu Shi and me about his experiences in the cave. He originally possessed the power to travel freely between different times and spaces through flames, so he was naturally fearless.
I saw it clearly just now. He could summon flames through the heat from my body, and he could also use the flames to travel from other places to here. Since the spiritual connection between him and the flames is strong enough to penetrate the barrier between the real world and the alternate dimension, there is no reason why he would be trapped in the cave below and forced to find the missing symbol of the ritual array in order to leave.
Thinking about it carefully, he shouldn't have been able to open the cave using the so-called "symbol of missing ritual circle." I myself tried the same method, but failed. This proves that the method was a lie from the start.
After a moment of confusion, Zhuang Cheng shook his head.
"Although I don't know what you're talking about, this isn't the place to talk. I have more questions for you, so let's find another place first. Once I've asked you everything I need to know, I'll hand you over to Zhu Shi."
"Really? I'm sorry... but you'll be disappointed!"
I won't just sit here and wait to die. Even if he doesn't intend to kill me right away, I have no intention of handing my life over to him to do as he pleases. I'll fight to the death no matter what.
I am not the same person I was twenty years ago. Now I have power, and with it, true courage.
Courage without strength is merely the self-satisfaction of a fool; true courage must be born from strength.
With that in mind, I immediately activated my substitute puppet ability on Zhuang Cheng.
Given the magical power he displayed, my abilities couldn't possibly transform him into a substitute puppet. But if I could delay him for even a second—no, even just a blink of an eye—I could find a chance to escape.
Then I did as he said and waited for the heat to dissipate in the shadow space, so he would no longer be able to track me. And even if he tried to chase me into the shadow world, he wouldn't be able to survive there without the relevant abilities, let alone harm me.
I will definitely escape from here!
Without any movement or light, with just a thought, my supernatural power instantly unleashed its force, encroaching upon Zhuang Cheng who stood in front of me.
However, the moment my supernatural power touched his mind...
A sun filled with destructive energy then appeared in my consciousness.
(End of this chapter)
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