Chapter 417 The Arrival of Divine Illumination
Little Bowl gave me some unexpected good news; she actually has a way to help me use my power in the virtual realm.
"How can you help me?" I asked.
“This is related to my power to communicate with all things in nature… the proper alignment of heaven and earth,” Xiao Wan explained. “My power can not only make myself very lucky, but also make my enemies unlucky.”
"At the same time, although it is difficult to show because of my past relationship with Asaha-nee, I also have the power to make the people around me lucky and in excellent condition."
I nodded. This is the proper ability of the Heavenly and Earthly Directions.
Those who emulate the laws of Heaven and Earth can receive immense, unseen blessings by acting in accordance with Heaven's will, with Heaven and Earth converging on them when the time is right. By grasping the principles of Heaven's operation, one can achieve twice the results with half the effort, and any difficult problem can be solved with a single glance. In ancient times, wise and virtuous rulers governed their countries, ensuring favorable weather, peaceful lives for the people, and the emergence of numerous talented individuals. This demonstrates that this power does not merely act narrowly on oneself, but can radiate to everyone and everything connected to one's own being.
Ordinary people cannot master the power of the laws of heaven and earth, but by following those who emulate the laws of heaven and earth, they can also act in accordance with the will of heaven and receive the blessing of immense power from the unseen, and be able to thrive in any situation; conversely, they will be punished by heaven and earth and everything will go wrong.
“However, I can do that too. Your power might be like adding wings to a tiger when applied to others, but it would probably have little effect on me,” I said.
If the proper alignment of the heavens and earth represents the "heaven and earth of the weak," then the great impermanence of the heavens and earth represents the "heaven and earth of the strong." It is reasonable for the weak to help other weak people, but to use it to strengthen the strong seems somewhat unreasonable.
“Generally speaking, that might be the case. However, my True Position Dharma of Heaven and Earth has been strengthened by the power of the Divine Seal Fragments. In the past, Sister Mazao could only perform spatial transfer, but with the enhancement of my prayer power, she could even transfer between different eras,” Xiaowan said. “In that case, I should also be able to cover Mr. Number Three with my True Position Dharma of Heaven and Earth power, allowing Mr. Number Three to automatically adapt to the environment of the Void Realm.”
"Mr. Number Three already has the passive blessing of the power of the Divine Seal Fragment, and with my blessing, he can theoretically become able to use his power in the Void Realm."
“I see. Even things that were originally impossible can perhaps be done with the power of the Divine Seal Fragment…” I agreed with Xiaowan’s theory. “Then let’s not delay and give it a try.”
“Okay,” Little Bowl said seriously, “Mr. Number Three, I’m going to begin.”
After she finished speaking, she grasped my right hand tightly with both of her hands, then lowered her head and pressed her forehead firmly against the back of my right hand, as if she were praying quietly.
Ten seconds passed, twenty seconds passed... Time ticked by, and it seemed nothing had happened. But Xiaowan didn't give up, and I didn't interrupt her hastily. No matter how long she wanted to try, I would remain patient and accompany her to the end.
Seeing the little girl's devout prayer, I seemed to calm down inexplicably, so calm that I could almost hear my own heartbeat. But in this virtual world, we are all in shadow form; we neither sweat nor have heartbeats. The only thing we can feel is the movement of the faint gray mist around us.
Flowing? It was only then that I realized I could actually sense the flow of the gray mist. What was once just a visually identifiable gray mist now seemed to be perceptible through my skin.
And it was truly strange. I was standing still, without moving an inch, yet I felt as if my body was following the flow of the gray mist. At first, there was some resistance, like moving laterally in a river flowing vertically. Gradually, my body seemed to automatically adjust to the direction of the "river," gradually "moving" in the same direction as the flow.
Before long, the resistance of the "river" vanished completely, transformed entirely into propulsion. I felt a much stronger sense of movement than before, so strong that I felt as if I were losing my balance and about to fall. But soon, this feeling of being out of control also disappeared. I regained my balance in the "flow," like the rushing river transforming into a tranquil lake, in which I could swim freely.
I tried raising my left hand, and at that moment, I felt I could unleash the flames within this virtual realm.
No, actually I've already been freed from that.
In this spiritual space-time, my body is the embodiment of my spirit; and my spirit is my flame. This is perfectly natural, yet only now have I been able to feel it again, to feel my body burning fiercely invisibly.
At this moment, Xiao Wan slowly raised her head and tentatively asked in her mind's eye, "Mr. Number Three, how are you feeling?"
“It worked,” I replied. “You did it, Little Bowl. Thank you for your help.”
"You're welcome, Mr. Number Three!" Little Bowl seemed unable to contain her joy. "That's wonderful, I can finally repay you a little. All along, it's been Mr. Number Three who has fulfilled my wishes, but I've never been able to give back to him."
"Haven't you been helping me all along? You've been advising me on my actions in the real world and even helped me confirm the connection with the virtual world, and so on."
In particular, her very presence provided irreplaceable and crucial assistance in my efforts to retain Asahi in the early stages, and even became my source of confidence in insisting on keeping Asahi at the last moment—I'll keep these thoughts to myself for now.
Xiao Wan stared at me for a few seconds as if she could really read my mind, and then said, seemingly embarrassed, "Those were just trivial favors."
"In short... I'll probably have to rely on your wisdom a lot in the future, so you don't need to be so modest," I said.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Wan thought for a moment: "From now on..."
"Do you already have any suggestions for me to make?" I asked curiously.
“Yes, Mr. Three,” Little Bowl said. “You’re currently troubled by a real-world doomsday investigation, aren’t you?”
I nodded first, and then said, "You saw it in the memories I transmitted, right? As you can see, the Humanitarian Division has been destroyed, and Ying Lingyun is dead. Originally, I planned to target the connection between Ying Lingyun and the unknown blessed cultivator, and try to investigate clues related to the end of the world. But now I've reached a dead end and can only look for another direction."
“No, Mr. Number Three, please listen to me. It’s too early to give up on investigating the Humanitarian Affairs Department now,” Xiao Wan said.
"Why is that?" I asked, puzzled. "The Humanitarian Affairs Bureau no longer exists, so why continue investigating it?"
“Sister Mazao’s historical investigation skills can be used to investigate the remnants of the Humanitarian Division.” Xiaowan pointed out the direction. “According to the Humanitarian Division information you have, Mr. Third, Ying Lingyun was in charge of two Humanitarian Division locations: the secret Humanitarian Division location where Dr. Silver Mask was located, and the Humanitarian Division’s main location which was recently destroyed.”
"There's not much investigative value at the secret base. Based on a lot of intelligence, it's clear that Ying Lingyun didn't have enough power in the Humanitarian Department when he was in charge of the secret base. Therefore, he didn't contact the unknown blessed cultivator there. Also, there shouldn't be any of the intelligence that Ying Lingyun kept hidden inside the secret base, otherwise Mr. Number Three would have already collected it from the bookshelf in the supervisor's office."
"Therefore, the next place we should investigate is the headquarters of the Humanitarian Affairs Department."
“I need to remind you of something…” I said, “The independent reality space where the Humanitarian Division’s headquarters was located is different from the independent reality space of the secret base. The latter will return the people and things inside to the real world after its destruction, while the former will destroy everything inside the space at the same time as it is destroyed… Therefore, we cannot investigate the Humanitarian Division’s headquarters.”
Xiao Wan shook her head: "What you need to return to is not the independent real space where the Humanitarian Division's headquarters used to be, but its original location."
"The original site?" I suddenly realized.
“Da Wuchang Fazheng once said that he originally knew the address of the Humanitarian Affairs headquarters, but lost his location because Ying Lingyun recently moved the headquarters to an independent physical space,” Xiaowan said. “And the relocation that Ying Lingyun made before his death was probably a complete emptying of all personnel, equipment, and data. Therefore, in the eyes of others, the original site of the Humanitarian Affairs headquarters is of no value for investigation.”
"However, for Asaha, who has historical research skills, the mere existence of such a location is enough to uncover a great deal of information. Even if you move all the people and things from the original site, it won't make a difference. It's the same as when you investigated the 'clinic' of the monster creator in the past."
"During his tenure as head of the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau's main base, Ying Lingyun must have acquired enough power to act arbitrarily in many matters. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau was his personal fiefdom. And in the place where he acted most wantonly, where he hid most deeply, where the security was most tightest, and where the equipment was most advanced, there are likely many crucial clues left behind."
“It’s not just about clues related to the apocalypse…” My horizons broadened, “There’s also who Ying Lingyun obtained the White Tiger’s killing power from, and how he allied with the Peach Blossom Village Lord… These things could all be investigated.”
"The Humanitarian Affairs Bureau's main base is its most secretive location. Ying Lingyun possessed the power of a fragment of the Divine Seal during his lifetime, so even with historical investigation skills, he might encounter considerable resistance. However, in any case, investigating that place first is definitely the right thing to do," Xiao Wan concluded.
Just as we finished our conversation, footsteps echoed again from the depths of the mist.
At the same time, the Lord of the Divine Seal seemed to slowly open his eyes.
Xiaowan and I looked in that direction at the same time.
(End of this chapter)
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