Chapter 456 The Warning from the Underworld
Across the river of time, the Great Impermanence of the Past recognized Asaho on the other side.
Not only me, but Asahi's expression also changed, showing surprise and confusion.
The fact that the other party could recognize Asaho is not a big deal in itself. Asaho is likely to have some degree of fame in the post-apocalyptic era, and the reason we were "fishing" for her a month ago was based on the premise that the other party knew who Asaho was.
However, the other party clearly did not see Asaha's appearance directly. He was able to deduce that the person standing on the other side was Asaha based solely on the experience of being spied on through the veil of history. This means that his understanding of Asaha is not limited to hearsay, but that he has actually come into contact with Asaha in the past and has a personal understanding of her power of return.
Given that he likely came from Fukuin, and that Asahi was also a member of Fukuin in the past, could this Doomsday Great Impermanence be Asahi's former superior at Fukuin?
“I’ve heard some information about you recently. I heard that Mingzhuo has his eye on you, and that you were taken away by a Great Impermanence qualifier named Zhuang Cheng.”
The doomsday demon named "Yellow Springs" stared in our direction. Although we knew it couldn't truly pinpoint our location, being stared at by those lifeless eyes gave us a feeling that we had been exposed.
"How did you manage to cross time and space to get here? Even we had to pay an extremely high price to do this. You are outnumbered and alone, and I heard you have a little girl of about ten years old with you. You shouldn't be able to do something like this..." Huang Quan looked thoughtful. "Moreover, you shouldn't have been able to dodge my attack just now... Could it be that the Great Impermanence is interfering with you?"
"In your time period, has Zhuang Cheng, the candidate for the Great Impermanence, officially become the Great Impermanence? But at most ten years later, this world will be destroyed... How could he become the Great Impermanence in just ten years? Unbelievable."
I'm sorry, it won't even take ten years. Around the time you're speaking, I've just become the Great Impermanence... I thought to myself.
Upon hearing Huang Quan's words, Ying Lingyun, who was standing beside him, frowned and looked in our direction, muttering, "Zhuang Cheng..."
"The Underworld..."
Mazao didn't respond to the other person's words. Instead, she frowned and muttered the name, seemingly searching her mind for information that corresponded to it.
"Does this name ring a bell?" I asked.
“…I have an impression.” Asahi nodded. “It should be someone I knew during my time at the Gospel Institute, but I can hardly remember any specific information about him…I only know that he was very strong, mysterious, and ancient, someone I both respected and hated…that’s all.”
"Furthermore, I have absolutely no recollection of what this person looks like."
I looked at Huang Quan's appearance again and asked, "Is there a problem?"
“Although madness makes me forget people I’ve known in the past, if I meet them again, even if I can’t remember what happened between us, I’ll at least feel that their face and name are familiar, and I’ll know ‘this is someone I knew in the past,’” Asaho said. “Ordinary post-apocalyptic survivors would find it difficult to do this, but we blessed monks can.”
"Especially since my soul is far stronger than that of an ordinary blessed cultivator, although I am still not immune to madness, it is not to the point that even the most basic impressions and feelings are washed away."
"So... this is strange. If I remember his name, I should remember his appearance too..."
“Is it possible that he deliberately changed his appearance?” I suggested. “Since he is operating undercover in the modern world, it is not incomprehensible that he would contact people with a different appearance.”
Asa nodded reluctantly: "...Perhaps."
Seeing that we hadn't responded for a while, Huang Quan remained unmoved, only saying, "No response... or do you not know how to reply? Come to think of it, you actually dared to pry into my history, it seems you've forgotten the lessons of the past. You probably don't even remember who I am now."
"Well then, I have nothing to say to you now... That being said, out of consideration for our past relationship, I'll still leave you with a piece of advice."
"Mazao, don't try to get in our way. What the Gospel House is going to do in this time and space is crucial, both for ourselves and for the world."
"If you still want to save the world as you have before, then please don't stand against us."
"Or rather... if you're still just saying you want to save the world, but in reality you're doing things that accelerate the apocalypse... then so be it."
"At that time, I will personally shatter your soul and destroy you beyond repair."
After saying that, Huang Quan waved his hand, and the "holographic projection" that made up him and Ying Lingyun shattered instantly, turning into countless shimmering points of light, which then disappeared into the air.
I didn't immediately lower my guard; instead, I first used my senses to carefully scan the surrounding area.
We are investigating the Yellow Springs in history here, and it is not only the Yellow Springs in history that will be aware of it, but also the Yellow Springs existing in this current time period.
With me, the Great Impermanence, present, I can obscure the other party's perception in this regard. Although I didn't realize Huang Quan was the Great Impermanence at first, which slowed my reaction, the power of the Great Impermanence can, to some extent, ignore the chronological order. As long as I think of hiding during this event, the entire process can be concealed.
However, considering that Huang Quan already knew we would be investigating the Humanitarian Division's main base ruins, it's unlikely we could keep it from him. The reason he didn't stop our investigation, or even launch a surprise attack while we were investigating, is probably because he didn't know how much preparation we had made.
From Huang Quan's perspective, it's entirely possible that Ma Zao and I could have joined forces with other Luoshan Great Impermanence to set up an ambush here. If he were to act rashly, he might end up facing an attack from multiple Great Impermanence, which would be a losing proposition.
Ma Zao silently dispelled the illusory image of the moon reflected in the water, seemingly pondering the last words Huang Quan uttered.
The forces behind the Underworld are indeed the Gospel House, and...
"Did I want to save the world in the past... during my time at Fukuinin?" Asaha asked, bewildered. "But... why did he say that while I claimed to want to save the world, I was actually accelerating the end of the world?"
"...What exactly did I do in the past?"
Judging from Yomi's attitude, Asahi's departure from Fukuinin was likely not a pleasant process. To put it bluntly, although Yomi didn't say those two words directly, Asahi may have betrayed Fukuinin.
“There’s no need to take his words too seriously. It’s common for people to label their own faction as righteous and just as it’s common to smear dissidents,” I said. “What is the purpose of the Gospel House, and who were you in the past? These are things we will investigate next.”
"But what if Fukuinin really wants to save the world, and I was really a bad person who tried to exacerbate the end times..." Asahi seemed conflicted.
Many thoughts arose in my mind that I couldn't tell Asaho in person, but in the end, I decided to go and comfort her first.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m a bad guy too,” I said. “We could make a perfect pair.”
After a moment of stunned silence, Ma Zao smiled. Although she still seemed unable to let go, she was clearly much more relaxed.
There was nothing more to investigate here. Before leaving, I scanned Asao's body one last time, trying to see if she had suffered any hidden injuries from Yomi's attack.
Just to be on the safe side, I asked one more question: "How are you? Is anything bothering you?"
After carefully sensing it, she replied, "No."
Even though I knew Asa would be alright, my heart still skipped a beat reflexively. At the same time, I consciously controlled my emotions so Asa wouldn't notice that I was distracted by her while facing the enemy. I do see Asa as someone I need to protect, but I know she wants to be able to stand on her own in front of me.
I often harbor this contradictory romantic fantasy—while wanting to shield Asaho from the wind and rain and bear all the harm from the outside world, I also want to develop a fighting partnership with her that allows us to entrust our backs to each other on the battlefield.
"That's good."
I simply said that one sentence, then turned and left with Asa. Asa followed closely beside me, looking somewhat happy.
-
After the investigation concluded, we had a general direction for our next steps.
Although we don't know where the Doomsday Demon King Huang Quan is, or how much the Gospel House has specifically planned for the modern world, since they are supporting Shangri-La behind the scenes and even regard the "Shangri-La" plan as something beneficial to them, we should start investigating Shangri-La next.
As a powerful force spanning both the modern and post-apocalyptic eras, the Evangelical Fellowship must possess some understanding of the truth behind the apocalypse. Even if they don't yet understand the full picture, they will inevitably, like Asahi, want to explore the truth behind the apocalypse. Regardless of their true purpose—whether to usher in the apocalypse or to save the world—this is an unavoidable hurdle.
They must have more clues in this regard than we do, which could be a shortcut for Asahi and me to investigate the truth of the apocalypse.
Furthermore, in order to investigate information related to Shan Liangyi, I also need to get close to Taoyuan Village Master—to get close to this mysterious Da Wuchang, who may or may not be Shan Liangyi himself or a descendant of the Azure Dragon.
Those seemingly unrelated clues from the past have now converged, like an invisible vortex, drawing me deeper and deeper into it.
(End of this chapter)
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