Chapter 455 The Great Impermanence from the Apocalypse
According to Asaho herself, her ability to summon phantom weapons using the power of resurrection is not very effective in the post-apocalyptic era.
Because the omnipresent madness dissolves the memories of survivors in the post-apocalyptic era, even if they have previously come into contact with other magical artifacts and weapons, they will become unable to summon them due to forgetting.
Summoning a phantom weapon requires a certain level of understanding of the original weapon. The weapon's specific effects and feel, as well as past experience using it, are all indispensable. This part of the memory has both knowledge and plot aspects; abstract understanding and vivid feelings are mixed together, and both must be combined to successfully transform the impression into a physical entity.
In the past, Mazao could only vividly remember how to summon the Phantom Recurve Blade that she was most proficient in; she couldn't do anything more than that.
After arriving in the modern world, the limitations of the external environment no longer troubled Asao. So, over the past month, I used my position in Luoshan to get Lu Chan to procure a considerable number of magical artifacts and weapons for Asao. Asao has now recorded a vast amount of information on these magical artifacts and weapons, making her, who was already quite comprehensive, even more so. Furthermore, because she can repeatedly stack the effects of the same item, the phantom weapons she summons can even unleash power far exceeding that of their original counterparts.
In theory, she could not only summon weapons she had used before, but also possibly even humans she had encountered in the past, in the form of phantoms. However, summoning humans is significantly more complex than summoning weapons, and because remembering people is much more difficult in the post-apocalyptic world than remembering weapons, she has never developed skills in this direction.
Of course, if she only wants to summon her own clone, she can do that now, and it seems that she can also consider summoning other people's phantoms in the future.
At this moment, Ma Zao, holding the illusory reflection of the moon in the water, projected the phantom onto the empty laboratory.
Creating a fake reflection of the moon in the water isn't just about hacking into someone's mind and inducing hallucinations; it can also be done like a sci-fi projector creating a holographic projection in an open space. What she's projecting now is likely a visual image calculated and combined based on historical information she's gathered in this location.
Two blurry figures appeared before us.
One of the figures was Ying Lingyun, who was wearing a white suit and a silver metal mask as always; the other figure was wearing a black Chinese-style suit and looked like an ordinary man in his thirties, except for his very strange eyes, which were lifeless and unfocused as if he were staring blankly.
Both of them were semi-transparent phantoms, their outlines as ethereal as candlelight, their bodies frequently exhibiting signal noise, and emitting noises like garbled television signals.
"Ying Lingyun, the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau is on the verge of collapse. It's time for you to join Peach Blossom Village." The man said in a voice mixed with noise, "The power displayed by the Dog of the Dog will inevitably make Luoshan value the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau more than ever before, and wipe it off the world with lightning speed. If you don't withdraw in time, you won't even be able to protect yourself."
"Your talent is outstanding. In such a short time, you have perfected the technology of modified humans based on the Mengzhang original species to such an extent, enabling the Mengzhang original species to spread on a large scale and greatly promoting the construction of 'Shangri-La'... It would be a pity for a talent like you to die here. Come to our side quickly."
Ying Lingyun glanced at the other party and said, "Enough with the nonsense... I have my own plans, and it's none of your business to tell me what to do. Just hurry up and hand over the remaining Meng Zhang seed."
"Don't be in such a hurry, answer my question first," the man said.
Ma Zao and I exchanged a glance.
Judging from the conversation, this should have happened after the Xu Dog attacked the Fufeng base.
The man talking to Ying Lingyun was clearly from Taoyuan Township. And since he was responsible for liaising with someone of Ying Lingyun's stature, his position within Taoyuan Township must be quite high.
However, Ying Lingyun's next words shattered my speculation.
“You’re not from Peach Blossom Village, so why are you so concerned about its interests?” Ying Lingyun said. “Or have you been doing business with Peach Blossom Village for so long that you’ve forgotten you’re actually a Blessing Cultivator? Judging from the way you’re trying to persuade others to join Peach Blossom Village, people who don’t know you might think you’re that so-called Dreamland Messenger.”
Blessed monk?
Is this man the unknown blessed monk?
I immediately focused my attention on the other person.
“At this stage, cooperating with the Lord of Peach Blossom Village and helping him realize the ‘Shangri-La’ plan is in our best interest,” said the Unknown Blessed Cultivator. “Originally, we hoped that the Humanity Department could also grow as big and strong as Peach Blossom Village, which is why we secretly became one of the many forces supporting the Humanity Department. That’s why I gave you the research data related to the Karmic Demon. Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes.”
"Ying Lingyun, this is also your miscalculation. It's all because you let Xu Gou, this important experimental subject, escape that we've ended up like this. Or... are you planning to say that this was also part of your own plan?"
Asaha, standing beside him, repeated the other's words: "'We'?...One of many forces?"
I also noticed this crucial wording immediately.
Since the Unknown Blessed Cultivator was able to say that he would impart "information related to karmic demons" to Ying Lingyun, then he must have come from the apocalypse era. And the only organization that could be called a "power" in the apocalypse era was the "Gospel Academy".
Coincidentally, the Gospel House is also the organization with the largest number of blessed monks in the end times. Could this unknown blessed monk be from the Gospel House?
For some reason, the Gospel House of the apocalyptic era has extended its reach into the modern world, and is even secretly supporting the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau and Peach Blossom Village, which are major threats to Luoshan. Is the Gospel House planning to stand against Luoshan? And what are its reasons?
Ultimately, how could people from the apocalypse possibly travel through time and influence the modern world? Asaha was sent here by combining the power of the Right Position Law, the Heavenly Manifestation, and the fragments of the Divine Seal with Kouwan's power. What did Fukuinin use?
Or is it that the force behind this unknown blessed monk is not the Gospel House, but rather that one (or some) blessed monks from the apocalypse accidentally traveled through time and space to the modern world, where they took root and formed a completely new force?
While pondering this, I remained vigilant. The past Ying Lingyun might have sensed our probing into history, and I had to guard against him suddenly striking, using the power of the divine seal fragments to retaliate against us in the present.
Immediately following, as if confirming my bad feeling, the situation quickly changed for the worse.
What surprised me was that it wasn't Ying Lingyun who realized we were spying on history.
Suddenly, the unknown blessing cultivator's expression changed, his eyes darted around, and his gaze instantly focused on us.
Who is it?
He let out a low shout and made a gesture in our direction. Immediately, a tidal wave of yellow and black magical power surged around his body, sweeping towards us like a raging storm.
I had a terrible feeling. The other person's power seemed to be filled with the heavy meaning of death. Just by looking at it, it felt as if my body and mind were about to be suffocated and sink into eternal oblivion. It reminded me of the damp grave soil that had buried countless dead people and absorbed endless resentment, which was about to bury us alive.
Although it emerged from history and was merely a projection, this magical power instantly became lifelike, possessing a real texture. It was as if a character on a television screen suddenly saw the audience and fired a bullet off the screen, and that bullet actually materialized, rushed out of the screen, and could indeed hit the audience, defying common sense.
The fact that he could display such skill was enough to prove one thing—this unknown blessed cultivator was actually a Great Impermanence!
When I saw Ying Lingyun speak to him in that manner, although I knew he had a powerful background, I never imagined he would have such influence.
Asaho's expression changed drastically; she seemed to be trying to sever the projection, but it was futile. At that moment, the projection seemed to go berserk. I could sense that Asaho's magic was no longer maintaining the projection, yet it still persisted irrationally. I immediately grabbed Asaho's shoulder and pulled her back a step.
At the critical moment, the yellow-black magic power vanished once more, harmlessly passing through us. The unnamed Doomsday Impermanence let out a surprised "Eh?" and carefully observed us.
Ma Zao finally relaxed, or rather, she was forced to relax. Strength drained from her body; her face was bloodless, and her breathing became weak. Without my support, she would have collapsed at any moment. This was the consequence of witnessing the opponent's power. Even someone at the Great Completion level, only one level above the Great Impermanence, was deeply injured simply by witnessing the opponent's power; the difference between them was immense.
However, this level of damage could not truly endanger Asaho. She took a deep breath, and the power of return enveloped her entire body, rapidly restoring her injured body and soul.
Unlike in the past when she was directly harmed by the Great Demon of Calamity, this time she was only affected by the ripples and could still recover with her own power.
Her condition immediately returned to normal, as if she had never been hurt in the first place.
"Zhuang Cheng..." She seemed a little confused as to how I had helped her avoid the attack.
“Since he can detect it, we can also hide it, that’s all,” I said.
Actually, it's thanks to Asaho's vague understanding of history that the other side's perception of us also becomes vague. Therefore, even though I'm not very good at hiding, I can still help Asaho escape from the other side's perception.
Because he lost his lock on us, he, located in the past, can no longer transmit power to the future.
"Huang Quan, what happened?" Ying Lingyun asked, frowning.
The doomsday demon known as "Yellow Springs" did not answer Ying Lingyun's words, but continued to observe in our direction before speaking again.
“This feeling of being spied on from the future…” he said coldly, “Mazao, isn’t that you over there?”
(End of this chapter)
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