Chapter 465 Human Ranch
In Liu Shuying's previous account, there was a question that was hard to ignore: how did such a young Da Wuchang become enemies with Shan Liangyi?
Shan Liangyi was killed by the Old Fist God long ago, while Liu Shuying only debuted four years ago. For the past four years, Shan Liangyi has remained in hiding. This might be because he hasn't yet reached a level where he can debut in this life, or it might be because he fears the existence of the Old Fist God and dares not show himself. In the information I have, there has never been any indication that Liu Shuying clashed with Da Wuchang, who is suspected to be Shan Liangyi.
Even disregarding the element of willow shadows, the seemingly Mountain Two Elements' Great Impermanence has never shown a trace. Currently, in the Witcher world, the only universally acknowledged Great Impermanence, besides the Luo Shan forces, are the Peach Blossom Village Lord, Xuan Ming, and Xu Gou. Few know that the Mountain Two Elements has already been reincarnated in this era.
So, what if Liu Shuying had contact with Shan Liangyi not in the past, but in the future, and they developed a grudge?
I think this is a direction that deserves a lot of attention.
However, judging from Liu Shuying's expression, he would absolutely never admit to being a time traveler or a reincarnated being. In many fantasy stories with similar themes, protagonists with memories of the future go to great lengths to conceal this information. Although I don't think Liu Shuying has any reason to hide it, since he simply refuses to talk about it, I can only temporarily change my mind.
“I’ve heard you’ve been active in the Arctic… Are you looking for something there?” I asked.
"I can't say," Liu Shuying replied quite decisively.
"Didn't you just say you would answer me to the best of your ability?" I asked.
"Because it's a matter of personal privacy. Just as I can't answer why I have an irreconcilable relationship with the two elements of the mountain, I can't answer your question either," he said.
In that case, he probably wouldn't answer what breakthroughs he had made in the Arctic or what insurmountable difficulties he had encountered.
This matter concerns the Divine Seal; it would be a miracle if the answer could be obtained so easily. Even if he were willing to reveal it, whether I would trust that information is another matter entirely. It seems I can only observe and test him slowly from here on out, which is why I agreed to cooperate with him.
The more I observed, the more confused I became. Both the fortune teller and Lu Chan readily concluded that Liu Shuying was the same type of person as me, yet I found it difficult to resonate with him in this way. Where exactly did he resemble me?
It's easy to see the faults of others, but difficult to see your own. "Yourself" is the hardest thing to see clearly... Perhaps this is just another testament to this saying?
Before long, we arrived at our destination.
The sun had completely sunk below the horizon, turning the sky into a black curtain. We were now deep in a vast wasteland, with a cluster of buildings in the distance that resembled a gigantic monster crouching in the darkness. That was the Luoshan branch base, our target.
The complex was surrounded by a high wall topped with barbed wire. A bird landed on it, and instantly the wire mesh erupted with intense lightning, turning the bird into a charred corpse—clearly, it was electrified. The only access to the interior was a large black iron gate, exuding a cold and oppressive aura.
From the location of the buildings to the first impression they give, this branch base resembles a large prison. Getting in is extremely difficult, and getting out would likely be even more so. Needless to say, this level of obstacle is practically nonexistent for us.
Liu Shuying frowned slightly and said, "Alright, what should we do now... To be honest, things have gone more smoothly than I expected. Originally, I planned to spend some time searching each suspect on the list one by one, but now this has disrupted my plans a bit..."
"What, can't we just go in and investigate?" I asked. "Or do you think that if we alert the people inside, the traitor hiding in this branch base will report the information and destroy the clues related to Taoyuan Township that he has?"
“That won’t happen. According to the information I have, there are no Great Completion level figures in this branch base. As for those demon hunters whose level is still within the Formation, Existence, Decay, and Void level system, we can turn them all into blind people with just a thought,” Liu Shuying said. “The problem is that the Peach Blossom Village Lord will not be able to do that.”
"You mean, the distant Lord of Peach Blossom Village might somehow sense our investigation?" I asked.
“Yes. If the clues provided by this branch base are insufficient to help us track down the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, it shouldn’t trigger his vigilance; otherwise, it won’t. But isn’t that the kind of clue we’re after?” Liu Shuying said. “If we were searching with an uncertain mindset, it would be one thing, but now we clearly know there’s a ghost here, and under the condition of being tracked by two Great Impermanences at the same time, it’s hard to imagine that the Lord of Peach Blossom Village would be completely unaffected.”
"The other party is someone who was able to develop Taoyuan Township under Luoshan's rule, and may even be the original Shan Liangyi... If he were so easy to catch, Fazheng would have already joined forces with several other Great Impermanence to kill him."
"When Xuanming was still in Luoshan, he joined forces with Gua Tianshi, Fazheng, and Jian Feixian to hunt down Taoyuan Township Lord, but they never managed to catch him in his true form."
"The reason I only cooperated with you this time and didn't call on more of the Great Impermanence is because if there were too many participants, I'm afraid that the Peach Blossom Village Lord, who is nowhere to be found, would sense the killing intent before the discussion even began at the Luoshan headquarters."
It turns out that Xuanming also disliked the Lord of Peach Blossom Village.
“Just standing here isn’t a solution. Let’s take a look around the branch base from the outside. This shouldn’t alert the Peach Blossom Village Chief, right?” I said.
Liu Shuying nodded, her gaze focusing on that spot. I also concentrated my attention slightly, trying to sense it.
The branch base is surrounded by a barrier to prevent detection. Forcibly penetrating it with one's senses would cause one's mental energy to crush the barrier itself, resulting in alerting the enemy. However, I am no longer the same person I was in my prime, and I am no longer helpless against such a barrier.
I now possess a profound understanding of "space" that defies human language. From this perspective, the level of anti-detection barrier is as ineffective as a circle drawn on paper. My perception transcends the barrier entirely. In a mere instant, I have scanned the entire interior of the branch base with crystal clarity.
Then I was stunned for a moment, while Liu Shuying nodded thoughtfully and said, "So that's what those extreme supernaturalists want to do."
"No, this is just an experimental environment in the exploratory stage. There are many extreme and reckless parts, which is why it looks so indecent... Fa Zheng would definitely be furious if he saw these things."
My perception can not only scan the internal situation, but also vaguely sense the psychological activities of countless people within it. By combining the subtle clues and obscure causal changes, I can try to deduce what changes may have occurred in the past.
The countless events that occurred at this branch base can be summed up in one word: "hell on earth."
Large numbers of ordinary people were kidnapped and brought here, where they were treated worse than animals. Even the description of it as a "flesh and blood factory" seems mild.
In the eyes of extreme supernaturalists, even the flesh and blood of mortals have value for processing and utilization, and even the soul can provide energy. Magic, in most cases, is essentially the power of the soul, a power that everyone possesses. The difference between mortals and demon hunters lies only in whether they can actively utilize it.
Excessive sensory and emotional stimulation can destabilize the soul of mortals. Many people become incredibly weak and listless after experiencing major life upheavals because their soul's energy is significantly depleted during this process. Witchers can collect this "emotional energy" through tools and rituals.
It's far easier to inflict pain and despair on someone than to bring them happiness and hope. Those kidnapped there are trapped in a cruel state where they can neither live nor die. The superhumans at this branch base seem to categorize their kidnappers into different levels; lower-level individuals die quickly, while higher-level individuals undergo healing spells that cause their flesh and tissue to grow continuously, only to be harvested again and again.
It seems that some of those superhuman witchers who despise mortal science are actually seriously studying science, especially brain science and genetic science.
Judging from their conversation, they seemed to have only been studying these scientific subjects for a short time, some for only two or three weeks, and others for less than half a year. Yet, they now appeared to be top-notch experts in their respective fields, and had even developed numerous new technologies in their spare time that would be groundbreaking in the secular world.
These new neuroscience and genetic science technologies have not spread to the outside world, but have been "imaginatively" applied to this hell on earth, creating more flesh and terror.
In addition, it's evident that some of the management-level witchers seem to be studying social sciences. While their progress in this area hasn't been as rapid as their progress in science, they have clearly grasped some concepts and maliciously applied them to their victims.
(End of this chapter)
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