Chapter 464 Heading to the Destination
This is a map that Lu Chan submitted to me earlier, which marks three suspected branch bases.
At first glance, Lu Chan's list of suspects appears shorter, suggesting a more thorough investigation than Liu Shuying's. However, the areas of suspicion marked on the two maps do not largely overlap. This is perhaps understandable, as Ming Zhuo himself is suspicious, making all the branch bases associated with him highly suspicious.
One of them used personal connections to conduct the search, while the other mostly used the power of the Great Impermanence. Their standards and directions of suspicion were not entirely the same, but it was like they were constantly nibbling away at each other from both ends of a line, and eventually they would converge at the same point.
Both Lu Chan and Liu Shuying insisted that one of the suspects on their lists must be the real "culprit," and there was a single overlapping marker on both maps. I think this is the location we need to target.
This branch base is located on the outskirts of a coastal city in China. At the same time, Lu Chan also wrote a brief note on the edge of the map, suspecting that this was also a branch base for Transcendentalism to conduct small-scale social experiments.
The materials he submitted to me also mentioned that although he initially suspected the location for the social experiments conducted by the supernaturalists would be on the border, he investigated further in other directions during his subsequent investigations. The real area to suspect was not the border region, but rather areas that received less attention from the Luo Shan forces.
In the past, Luoshan was an organization whose mission was purely to hunt down strange creatures. Therefore, the areas that received the most attention were often those where strange creatures were likely to congregate, rather than those that were economically prosperous. Although these two types of areas often overlapped, to be precise, the more people gathered in a place, the more likely strange creatures would breed. However, there were also a few areas where the economy was good but it was not easy to encounter strange creatures. The city near the Luoshan branch base was one such example.
This situation might be because the city has only recently become a thriving economic hub, and the influx of people has been faster than the gathering of supernatural entities. However, for ordinary people today, the supernatural forces of Luoshan are a more terrifying darkness than any so-called supernatural entity. If they are to be "favored" by supernatural forces because of these special circumstances, it would be better if they weren't so special at all.
I briefly explained the map to Liu Shuying, and he said thoughtfully, "Oh... it seems you have some very capable and competent officials there. Could it be that person named Lu Chan? He is very famous in Luoshan. Many people doubt his credibility, but very few people question his ability."
Instead of responding to that, I continued to delve deeper into the topic: "So, now that we've identified our target, let's get moving."
"good."
He nodded readily at first, then a hint of surprise crossed his face, and said, "However... I thought it would take a few more days to convince you. I didn't expect you to agree so readily... Is there some special reason?"
"Do we need any other reason to deal with the Mountain Two Elements?"
I observed him while asking him a question.
After a series of exchanges and conversations, I still cannot draw a conclusion as to whether he is a Mountain Yin-Yang. From a reasoning perspective, it is too early to prove that he is not a Mountain Yin-Yang; but from an intuitive perspective, I believe he is not.
However, since the hypothetical enemy is someone capable of opening the third door, intuition is unreliable in this situation; the other party may well have the ability to deceive and fabricate at this level. Even so, I still trust my intuition more than my ordinary mind.
And, although I was interested in his topic of "taking some risks," I wasn't really overwhelmed by the urge to take risks.
If the willow tree shadow truly represents the Mountain Yin and Yang, and intends to bare its fangs at me later, then I will simply confront it head-on. There is no elemental restraint relationship between fire and earth. Although the Mountain Yin and Yang possess the power of the central Yellow Dragon as its source, I am destined to face this situation whenever I confront it. This is not an obstacle that can be overcome with mere tricks.
In the absence of the Lord of Peach Blossom Spring, Shan Liangyi currently only possesses the Yellow Dragon Seed, representing his weakest state. According to the Water Master Xuanwu, once the successor of Liangyi becomes the Great Impermanence, Shan Liangyi will be unable to unconditionally reclaim the other party's power seed.
Therefore, the Water Master Xuanwu was obsessed with seizing the power seeds of other Yin-Yang inheritors, all in order to become the Great Impermanence and be qualified to stand before the Mountain Yin-Yang. Considering that water is restrained by earth, the Water Master Xuanwu's initial thirst for my power seeds may also have included an element of wanting to break free from the restraining relationship.
In other words, this is also a challenge and an opportunity for me.
If I'm going to run away from even this opportunity, saying "we'll talk about it later," I find it hard to believe that I'll be able to muster the courage to face it again in the future. Besides, I've never believed that real difficulties will kindly wait until I'm fully prepared before striking.
The timing has come as a surprise, but I've decided to act when the time is right.
Of course, even if Liu Shuying isn't actually Shan Liangyi, it doesn't mean he has no other motives in this matter; perhaps he's fabricating things in other ways. That's what I need to observe further.
“Besides, I’m also somewhat interested in you,” I said.
"Me?" Liu Shuying asked again, as if she could read my mind. "Aren't you worried that I have other schemes?"
“I’m only worried that you don’t have a conspiracy,” I said.
He paused for a moment, then looked at me, and for some reason showed a happy expression.
“Yes, yes, that’s exactly how it should be!” he said enthusiastically. “Maybe we’ll get along very well.”
-
We left the headquarters in Luoshan and instantly arrived at the outskirts of that coastal city.
On the way to the vicinity of the branch base, I asked him casually: "Since you used your precognitive power to investigate the Yin and Yang of the Mountain in the past, have you obtained more detailed information?"
"For example... if the successors of Ryougi kill each other, will the seeds of the defeated and dead be transferred to the hands of the Ryougi clan? Or will they simply disappear on the spot?"
As for whether it would automatically transfer to the body of the victorious successor of the Yin-Yang lineage, I think that's highly unlikely. Shui Shi Xuanwu said that only someone who has thoroughly studied the secrets of the Yin-Yang mountain technique and partially deciphered its mechanism could accomplish that. In fact, I didn't feel any additional water-attribute power in my body after killing Shui Shi Xuanwu.
However, I have some doubts about whether the Xuanwu Seed has fallen into the hands of Shan Liangyi. Although the Navy Xuanwu seems to have been resurrected, the Xuanwu Seed may have been transferred during its death. I think it is highly unlikely that the transferred Xuanwu Seed would automatically return to the Navy Xuanwu's body from Shan Liangyi.
"You want to ask about Xuanwu's situation, right? I can answer that for you," Liu Shuying said. "Even if a successor of the Two Elements dies at the hands of someone outside the Mountain Two Elements, the power seed will automatically transfer to the Mountain Two Elements' body—however, this is the general case."
"Because the power seed of the Yin-Yang Mountain also possesses attributes that transcend time and space, if the Yin-Yang successor who was killed is resurrected in the future, the power seed will prioritize traversing time and space and transfer to the resurrected Yin-Yang successor..."
"Or it should be said that for something that transcends time and space, the past, present, and future exist simultaneously, and all time is the same time. If someone who died in the past is resurrected in the future, then it can be considered that this person never died at all, but simply skipped a period of time in between. As for the power seed, it also skipped the distance in between with the other party and has never left this person's body."
Human logic follows cause and effect, which in turn follows the order of time. Therefore, once time is involved, cause and effect can easily break down, and normal logic loses its foothold.
The seed of power is something that does not conform to normal logic.
“Do you have any other questions? I will answer them to the best of my ability,” Liu Shuying said.
"Really? Then please answer the question about the doomsday prophecy," I said. "Why do you think the end of the world will come?"
Liu Shuying gave me a meaningful look, and then said, "...I'm sorry, this is a problem beyond my control."
"You're the one who predicted the end of the world?" I asked.
“A prophet can only see the future outcome; it doesn’t mean he will know the series of reasons that led to that outcome,” Liu Shuying said. “If the world is an exam paper, then a prophet is a cheating student who has the answers in advance. What’s sad is that the answers don’t include the reasoning process.”
He was probably telling the truth, but I still think he was hiding something. Perhaps normal prophets do have those limitations, but I don't think he's a normal one. Putting aside everything else, it's highly unusual that a mere four-year-old fortune teller could possess prophetic abilities that surpass those of a diviner in some aspects.
His precognitive abilities, including the fact that they gradually lose their effectiveness over time, are very similar to the reincarnation of the Mountain and Yin Forms. Therefore, even if he is not a Mountain and Yin Form, he might be a time traveler or a reincarnated being. It is perfectly reasonable that the advantage gained from seeing the future will decrease as one's influence on the future increases.
(End of this chapter)
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