Chapter 462 Fire Creates Earth
I observed Liu Shuying's changing expressions with particular focus. I wasn't sure if Liu Shuying was Shan Liangyi; I launched this verbal attack partly to probe and see if he would reveal any weaknesses.
Such espionage also poses risks to myself. A little thought will make me realize that if I expose the false facade of an enemy who might be planning to deceive and harm me with lies and acting skills, will that enemy simply give in and back down? More likely, they will tear off their own disguise and prematurely reveal their true fangs.
But this isn't just any ordinary place; it's the headquarters of Luoshan, where the Great Impermanence gathers. Even the Old Fist God was spotted here recently, so even the Mountain Two Elements probably wouldn't want to create trouble here. If they've really set their sights on me, then it's better to interrogate them directly at this time and place than to move to another location for a confrontation.
Under my questioning, Liu Shuying's face showed a mixture of surprise and confusion.
He slowly lowered his head, and a few seconds later, he burst into laughter as if he couldn't help it, the low laugh turning into a hearty, cheerful laugh.
I didn't laugh along with him. After a moment, he finally stopped laughing, then touched the corner of his eye, saying with lingering joy, "Ah... I really didn't expect that. So that's how it is, so that's how it is. As the saying goes, 'It's easy to see the faults of others, but difficult to see one's own.' It's oneself who is the hardest to see clearly. I never thought I would be mistaken for a mountain of two polarities..."
"Are you trying to say that you aren't?" I countered. "If you aren't, I hope you can convince me."
“There is nothing more difficult in this world than proving one’s innocence, and I have never considered this situation before. I can’t suddenly produce irrefutable physical evidence,” Liu Shuying said. “However, it is quite simple to provide a defense; it just depends on whether you believe me or not.”
"First of all, I obtained the information related to Shan Liangyi before I lost my precognitive powers. It was from that time that I began to suspect Taoyuan Village Lord. As for why I only acted now, it's because I had something that was a higher priority than killing Shan Liangyi in the past."
"Recently, as that matter finally made a breakthrough, but then encountered insurmountable difficulties, I had no choice but to put it aside for the time being and shift my time and energy to the matter of the Two Elements of the Mountain."
Things with a higher priority than Qishan Liangyi... I immediately thought of the intelligence that Liu Shuying had been active in the Arctic in the past.
The thing he's looking for is very likely the complete divine seal, and he actually claims to have made a breakthrough... Could it be that he has pinpointed the location of the complete divine seal?
What does "insurmountable difficulty" refer to?
“Then, if I were the Yin and Yang of the Mountain, an inexplicable contradiction would arise.” Liu Shuying continued, “As a descendant of the Azure Dragon, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village has become powerful enough to rival Xuanming. If we also take into account the power of his 'Peach Blossom Spring' that he has accumulated to this day, even Xuanming might not be his match.”
"I don't know if you know this, but 'Shangri-La' is not just the ultimate illusion network that is still under construction. You can also think of it as an extremely large mana warehouse. Although it lacks the crucial density, its overwhelming scale alone can still provide a considerable boost to the Lord of Shangri-La."
"In addition, the power of the Azure Dragon of Wood restrains the power of the Yellow Dragon of Earth, so even if the Mountain Yin-Yang wants to take down the current Peach Blossom Village Master, it will not be an easy task. If they make a wrong move, they may even be attacked by him."
"Shan Liangyi cannot sit idly by and watch the Azure Dragon successor grow to this level, unless this Azure Dragon successor is himself playing the role."
I asked, "Even if Shan Liangyi pushes open the third door, will he still be defeated by Taoyuan Village Lord?"
“Why not?” Liu Shuying said matter-of-factly. “You, Xuanwu, King Zhuanlun, and the Lord of Taoyuan are the four inheritors of the Yin-Yang principle in this era. If the Lord of Taoyuan was not devoured and replaced by the Yin-Yang principle of the mountain, then it means that the current Yin-Yang principle of the mountain only has the power of earth.”
"For the Mountain Yin-Yang, whose magical power is based on the Four Symbols and Five Elements, this means that his current power is only a fragment of his peak strength. If nothing unexpected happens, it is probably only equivalent to an ordinary Great Impermanence."
"You should be well aware of how fierce the restraining relationship between the successors of the Two Elements is, right? Unless there is a gap between the first gate and the second gate, or between the second gate and the third gate, the Azure Dragon can restrain the Yellow Dragon. Although the Mountain Two Elements also have the power to suppress the other four elements as the central Yellow Dragon, it is not enough to completely cover the disadvantages caused by the restraining relationship."
"Also, don't forget that even without considering the restraint relationship, an ordinary Great Impermanence is no match for the Lord of Peach Blossom Village."
“But what you’re talking about is only the one-on-one situation between Shan Liangyi and Taoyuan Village Master,” I said. “And judging from your tone earlier, it’s not 100% certain that the Azure Dragon’s descendants were killed off by Shan Liangyi in history. In other words, there are Azure Dragon’s descendants who escaped Shan Liangyi’s killing and grew up step by step from desperate situations—why can’t Taoyuan Village Master be this type?”
"As for you, as the Mountain Ryougi, in order to kill the current Azure Dragon successor, it is entirely possible that you pretend to be someone who is irreconcilably opposed to the Mountain Ryougi, shift the suspicion onto your prey, and then establish a cooperative relationship with me, who is also irreconcilably opposed to the Mountain Ryougi, to jointly attack the Peach Blossom Village Lord..."
"Of course, following this reasoning, the person you should most need to establish a cooperative relationship with first is the White Tiger successor who can restrain the Azure Dragon successor. Currently, this person is most likely the Wheel King, but you may not be able to find him; and the Black Tortoise successor is still at the Great Completion stage, so even if you find him, it won't be of any use. Considering all factors, you can only drag me into dealing with the Peach Blossom Village Lord, can't you?"
Liu Shuying smiled and said, "If that's the case... why don't I, the 'Mountain Yin and Yang,' just hunt you down and kill you first?"
"Historically, when facing a fully grown Azure Dragon descendant, Shan Liangyi's killing order would not be to put the Azure Dragon descendant first, but to place him last. Then, he would first harvest the power seeds of the other four zodiac descendants."
"When the number of power seeds in his body, including the Earth Element Yellow Dragon Seed, reaches four, he can use the power of the Five Elements Reincarnation to simulate the last missing attribute and restore himself to the level of pushing open the third door."
"Instead of trying to win over the power of other Yin-Yang inheritors by establishing cooperative relationships, it would be safer to directly bring their power into our fold. And in the new order of killing, the first one listed is the Fire Element Vermilion Bird Seed."
"Under normal circumstances, the Mountain Yin-Yang would place the Vermilion Bird last because it has the deepest expectations for it; only under abnormal circumstances will the order be reversed. Do you know why?"
I speculated: "...is it because fire can generate earth in the five elements' generating cycle?"
It's not that I have any basis for this; it's just that this is the only direction I can find.
Among the Five Elements, the generation of Earth by Fire is a perplexing concept. The generation of Metal by Earth and the generation of Fire by Wood are easy to understand, and the generation of Water by Metal can be thought of as "water droplets sometimes easily condense on cold metal surfaces." However, the generation of Earth by Fire is incredibly abstract, and it's unclear whether there are any secrets hidden within it.
Putting all that aside, at that moment, a flash of inspiration struck me: "So that's it! The Vermilion Bird's fire power is the most beneficial to the Yellow Dragon's earth power... it can even directly and significantly enhance its power?"
“That’s right.” Liu Shuying nodded.
In the past, I only knew how the mutual restraint relationship between the five elements would be expressed when the powers of two Yin-Yang inheritors clashed, but I couldn't imagine how the mutual generation relationship would be expressed. Now I realize that this relationship doesn't actually manifest when two Yin-Yang inheritors clash, but only when two seeds of power with a mutual generation relationship exist simultaneously within the body of one Yin-Yang inheritor.
In the past, I had come into contact with the water element power of the Black Tortoise, and the metal element power of the White Tiger, which was used to forge the Yama Sword. These are two elements that are mutually reinforcing. I tried to combine them in my mind and deduce what kind of changes would occur between them.
This was not a real experiment, but merely a mental simulation. However, my intuition as the Great Impermanence and my intuition as the successor of Yin and Yang both told me at the same time that my idea hit the bullseye.
“You have grown into the Great Impermanence, and in the eyes of Shan Liangyi, this is the perfect time to reap the rewards. Moreover, the Vermilion Bird does not restrain the Yellow Dragon. On the contrary, the Yellow Dragon can suppress the Vermilion Bird by virtue of its central position.” Liu Shuying continued, “Perhaps you think that if I were Shan Liangyi, I might be using the excuse of dealing with the Peach Blossom Village Lord to lure you outside the Luoshan headquarters before making my move.”
"Indeed, Shan Liangyi will not make a move against you at the Luoshan headquarters, but you are not a stay-at-home person waiting in the Luoshan headquarters all year round. In the past month, you have gone out several times. There have been plenty of opportunities to make a move. There is no need to find any excuse to lure you out."
"My defense ends here. So, do you still consider me to be Shan Liangyi?"
I thought about it for a while.
It's unrealistic to expect me to believe he's not Shan Liangyi just by talking. As he said at the beginning, he hasn't produced any physical evidence to prove he's not Shan Liangyi. It's all just speculation.
However, in my mind, the suspicion that he was a member of the Mountain and the Two Elements has indeed decreased a lot.
Some of the clues he provided in his defense were things I only heard about now, and I can't rule out the possibility that he fabricated them on the spot. But the parts that I can confirm are true are enough to weave a logical chain that makes it clear that he is not a dualistic being.
(End of this chapter)
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