Chapter 565 VS The Great Demon of Disaster 3
In the world of Witcher, there exist some wondrous methods that are said to awaken a person's past life memories.
Although it may not seem very popular nowadays, "past lives" were a fairly popular concept in older fantasy stories. The role one played and the life one led in a previous life inevitably sparked much speculation. Perhaps in that past life one possessed extraordinary knowledge or other talents, and if one were to awaken those memories, one might be able to acquire those abilities—I believe many people have had similar thoughts.
Even in Luoshan, "past life" remains a mysterious concept. Although Luoshan once oversaw the afterlife, no evidence of reincarnation has been found. Souls are considered to originate from nothing and, after death, settle into the air and soil of the afterlife. "Reincarnation" is generally believed to be something only legendary terrestrial deities like Shan Liangyi can accomplish.
Even so, certain spells and rituals that awaken past life memories can still be effective. Users can often "recall" some dubious "past life experiences" to varying degrees, and gain skills and knowledge from them. Considering that the "reincarnation" attained by Shan Liangyi is also one of the "legendary realms," it is unknown whether the mystery of reincarnation is related to the legendary Great True Spirit. In any case, there are historical examples of people who have become stronger and grown through this method.
My current experience is probably similar to this.
As they devour each other's flames, the consciousness of the Great Demon of Calamity is flowing into my side.
Within this, I find no event-specific memories, nor any rational thought. The Great Demon of Calamity is a true monster, its mind utterly chaotic, filled with destructive desires and a bloodthirsty will. I can deduce how my future self acquired the Eclipse form, but I don't quite understand how I subsequently fell into becoming the Great Demon. And that is likely the least important part; the final interpretation of that lies in the hands of Naraku Fumikazuchi, who is responsible for deducing the existence of the Great Demon of Calamity.
However, the consciousness of the Great Demon of Calamity was not entirely without merit. On the contrary, I gradually shared in its methods of using power and its perspective on power. Just like some people in history who became stronger by awakening "memories of their past lives," I am also constantly absorbing "the experiences of another version of myself."
The difference lies in the fact that the Great Demon of Calamity is not my past self, but my future self. Considering that falling into demonhood can be considered a kind of rebirth, interpreting it as "my future self" doesn't seem unreasonable. Even if there are people who learn from their past selves, there probably aren't many in history who learn from their future selves like I do.
The battle between me and the Great Demon of Calamity was initially evenly matched, but after I applied my newly acquired experience to the fight, the Great Demon of Calamity gradually began to show signs of weakness. This was a natural outcome; I was growing stronger, while the opponent was almost stagnant, which meant that the opponent was essentially going against the current—if they didn't advance, they would fall behind.
Through the consciousness transmitted by the flames, I seemed to sense a sense of astonishment and a craving for the strange emerging from the chaotic and violent mind of the Great Demon of Calamity. It seemed to be unleashing 120% of its power, attempting to overwhelm my growth.
Although the Great Demon of Calamity has reached its current level through "proof of the Way by force," at the end of this flawed evolutionary path, the black flames have undergone a qualitative change. It is no longer merely a simple and brutal compression, but has become a power with the density befitting the Great Unpredictable. This is likely due in large part to the unexpected assistance of "earth's gravity." Regardless of the solution process, it has grasped the correct answer, and even reconstructed its body and soul with this answer.
It is currently at a high level, and if it could go back and start over, it wouldn't be impossible to deduce the correct evolutionary path of the Vermilion Bird Flame. Unfortunately, the essence of its power has long been distorted, and it is no longer a pure flame power.
However, I have the conditions that it lacks.
The experience of the Great Demon of Calamity pointed me in the right direction regarding the form of high-level, high-density fire power. It wasn't just about density on a material level, but also on a spiritual, abstract, and many other mysterious levels. Things that are unclear at the foot of a mountain can be clearly seen from the summit.
Even if a seasoned, powerful being were to come and achieve spiritual synchronization with me, I still wouldn't experience the same growth. Each of us possesses different objective conditions, and our perspectives on the world and ourselves differ. These differences mean that even if we achieve empathy through magic, there will inevitably be many incompatible aspects. It's like two people growing up in different linguistic environments; even if they later learn each other's languages, there will still be too many subtle points where they cannot resonate.
However, the experience of the Great Demon of Calamity resonated with me extremely well, allowing me to experience in the most direct way that realm could only be understood intuitively and not explained in words.
Perhaps the reason why the Great Demon of Calamity made the decision to devour me was not merely to imitate me, but rather an instinctive choice—it also saw in me the direction to become stronger.
Fire can generate earth, and once it completely devours me, the descendant of the Vermilion Bird, possessing the attributes of the Central Yellow Dragon, it can strengthen its own Eclipse Fire. It's not impossible that it could even claim the Vermilion Bird Seed itself as its own, and might even use this opportunity to correct its distorted power principle.
Strictly speaking, it's not entirely without progress. It's as if I can feed on black flames, and the black flames grow stronger as they consume me. However, the speed at which the opponent increases its power is far slower than the speed at which I digest its experience.
My comprehension is not sufficient to digest so much experience in such a short time, let alone deduce the correct direction of force manipulation. Even if I could deduce it all, without any practice, it would be impossible to put my newly acquired insights into actual combat so quickly.
It was Xiaowan's blessing that inspired me during the process of digesting it, and my understanding of power increased at a terrifying speed. I was even able to bring these theoretical things to life in the first instance.
The idea that "knowledge gained from books is ultimately superficial" is almost non-existent for me when I'm in a state of blissful acceptance.
Any idea that can be thought of can be thought of, and anything that can be thought of can be done immediately... I feel like I have a genius mind now, and wisdom is bursting forth like a fountain.
My flames are growing brighter, and the terrifying destructive energy they emit is gradually rising into a deeper realm.
At the same time, the black flames covering this area are also decreasing. Originally, they were split equally with mine, but now they have rapidly dropped to 30%, and are continuing to decrease at a visible rate.
The scales of victory are undoubtedly tipping in my favor.
Perhaps realizing that continuing in this manner would only lead to being completely devoured, the Great Demon of Calamity decisively abandoned its contest of "mutual consumption." All the remaining black flames detached from the ground, rapidly converging in the air as vortexes, eventually transforming back into its form resembling a black flame demon god.
But it was too late. I had already learned almost everything I could from it.
I instantly reverted to human form and then slashed my hand away towards the Great Demon of Calamity. Accompanied by a violent explosion, an extremely condensed and massive sword aura of fire shot out. Both its speed and power far surpassed all previous attacks. The Great Demon of Calamity had no time to dodge and could only reflexively raise its arm composed of black flames.
The fiery sword energy mercilessly severed its arm, and then forcefully cleaved its upper body from shoulder to abdomen. What had previously seemed like an impenetrable fortress was now easily destroyed in a single blow.
Immediately afterward, the shockingly large wound closed up instantly. This level of attack wasn't enough to kill it completely, but I could sense its momentum had dropped by more than ten percent. My attack had indeed inflicted a deep and serious injury on it.
I can learn new things through mutual devouring, but the Great Demon of Calamity cannot do so because the foundations for the "Corona Mode" and the "Eclipse Mode" are completely different.
The Great Demon of Calamity relied solely on its accumulated skills, which I could learn from; while I relied on the Slag Straight Sword, or rather, the Slag Impermanence Divine Sword, which cannot be obtained through learning from external sources.
Since the Great Demon of Calamity does not use the Vermilion Bird Fire, it probably no longer possesses even the ability to refine slag. Of course, it is impossible for it to suddenly produce a high-strength slag weapon like I do at this critical juncture.
I am no longer the same as before. With the blessing of the small bowl, I only need to continue to mature for a while, and I can reach the level of the Great Demon of Calamity, the Great Demon Xuanwu, as well as the level of Huangquan and Mingzhuo, even without the blessing. At that time, even without the Slag Straight Sword, I will be on par with them. And right now, with the enhancement of the Corona Form, I have undoubtedly surpassed the Great Demon of Calamity.
—It's over, another version of me.
I silently repeated this in my mind.
Then, the flames in my hand transformed into the shape of a straight sword, into which the power of the divine seal fragments was infused, and mysterious fluctuations spread out.
The Great Demon of Calamity seemed to sense something, but it showed no intention of fleeing. Instead, it roared again like an ancient monster and launched a final charge towards me.
I raised my sword high and unleashed the final strike.
(End of this chapter)
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