Chapter 586 The Mystery of Naraku's True Form
After pinpointing the direction of the fifteenth-floor basement, Xiaowan exited the state of mental synchronization. Since she now clearly knew the destination, it seemed there was no longer any need to rely on the connection between me and the candlelight. She led the way, while I remained constantly vigilant for any potential attacks from apocalyptic monsters.
Number Seven followed behind, seemingly quite curious about how we would leave the afterlife through a path outside the Dushuo Mountain formation.
"If I had known about such a thing, I probably wouldn't have needed to rack my brains to figure out how to obtain the technical data of 'Dushuo Mountain'. Just relying on that basement would have been enough to allow Luoshan in the living world to advance into the afterlife..." she seemed to be lamenting that she had gone to unnecessary lengths.
"That's not entirely true. If we hadn't attacked the Yellow Springs Gospel Temple, we wouldn't have been able to obtain the third fragment of the Divine Seal, let alone restore Xiaowan's memories and lock onto the fifteenth-floor basement," I said.
Xiao Wan added, "Moreover... using the fifteenth-floor basement as a route to enter and exit the afterlife is currently something that only Brother Zhuang Cheng can do."
Back in the real world, when Chang'an and I were together, we could access the entrance to the basement on the fifteenth floor. But when Detective Kong appeared, the entrance disappeared.
Although this could be explained by the fact that we happened to cover the carpet that served as the switch at the time, Detective Kong was the one who personally drew the entrance ritual array. In addition, since none of Chang'an's previous tenants discovered the existence of that strange entrance, it can only be concluded that the entrance was a device that Chang'an and I were destined to witness and open.
Even in Chang'an now, it's unlikely that the entrance will ever be found again. The fragment of the divine seal in the basement has already been taken by me, and it no longer possesses the affinity to enter or exit. If it approaches again, even with me present, the entrance will automatically disappear.
What about the little bowl? Of course, I also hope that the little bowl can use that entrance and exit to escape the terrifying and dangerous afterlife, but according to this theory, it seems that the little bowl will also become ineligible to leave the afterlife?
Number Seven clearly realized the same problem, and she looked at the small bowl and asked, "So, even you can't return to the world of the living through the basement?"
After thinking for a moment, Xiaowan said, "...No, if the reason why the entrance was able to reappear when Zhuangcheng was trapped inside the basement in the past was because of the power of fate formed by my wish for Zhuangcheng and Mazao to be together, then as the source of the power, I am of course also destined to use it."
Hearing this, I breathed a sigh of relief.
She then added, "Furthermore, I should be able to further enhance the existence of that entrance and exit, making it accessible to even more people..."
"However, with my power, there are limits to this approach. The interaction between the world of the living and the world of the dead is already a matter of defying the heavens, and it actually exceeds the proper function of the power of the righteous law of heaven and earth."
"Even with the power of the divine seal fragments, we can only allow one more person to accompany Brother Zhuang Cheng and me, and this person cannot be a human-god whose existence is too large."
There may also be limitations inherent in the blessing offered in a small bowl.
Given that she was indifferent to her own life and death in the past, and therefore unable to exert the power of prayer upon herself, it's likely that her blessings would be difficult to extend to complete strangers. Furthermore, this may also be related to her lack of a spirit of universal salvation.
Her values stem from Zhu Jiu and Zhu Shi, so upon hearing about the plan to exterminate humanity, she clearly had an instinctive sense of denial and pity; however, because her existence originated from Zhu Jiu and Zhu Shi's personal desires, she could utter statements like she didn't care about the world or the future, only about whether Ma Zao and I could be happy. Historically renowned divine children could exert their blessing power even towards people unrelated to them, but she found it difficult to do so.
Conversely, for someone she deeply values, her blessings can manifest at a density far exceeding that of historically renowned divine beings. I have firsthand experience of just how powerful that prayer truly is.
The little bowl would occasionally raise its head to glance at the night sky.
Thinking of Ma Zao, I asked Number Seven, "You said before that you no longer have the Three Lives Stone Powder... Is there no way to make it again?"
"You want to help Ma Zao regain her memory, right? I advise you to give up," Number Seven said. "First of all, the Three Lives Stone Powder is a divine medicine that only Tai Sui can make. Every dose used is one less available. Unless Tai Sui is resurrected, there is no possibility of it being recreated."
"Secondly, the method of taking the Three Lives Stone Powder without dying is only available to Void Realm Apostles. To be precise, this method can only be used on the premise of being able to bind with the Divine Seal Fragment. Originally, the 'mechanism of binding with the Divine Seal Fragment' was also born from the development and research of the Three Lives Stone Powder."
I feel like she's becoming increasingly resigned to her actions in concealing the connection between Tai Sui and the Lord of the Divine Seal... Or is this just her acting, and the connection between Tai Sui and the Lord of the Divine Seal isn't what I imagine, and she's using my mistaken impression to mislead my subsequent speculations?
"Then, what if we make Ma Zao an Apostle of the Void Realm?" I asked. "Now that Number Four Xuanming has betrayed us and Number Six Shenzhao is dead, hasn't the Lord of the Divine Seal thought about making amends for their absence?"
"Even if we were to add something, would you really allow Asahi to become a Void Apostle?" Number Seven countered. "And... why are you so eager for Asahi to regain her memories?"
"That guy is rigid-minded and stubborn, yet he has an out-of-place conscience and sense of justice. He's probably no different from before, right? Is it really good for his mental health to make him clearly remember who his jinx has killed and how many people he has personally slaughtered?"
"You were willing to fight against fate for her even before you became a god, so you must have valued her and liked her very much. Aren't you afraid that she will commit suicide the moment she regains her memories?"
Xiao Wan also looked at me.
Faced with Number Seven's questioning, I was not confused at all.
“I won’t lie to Mazao, nor will I hide anything from her. I used to do that often, but now I’ve sworn to myself. I will reveal all my true thoughts to her,” I said. “If she sees the small bowl that helps her regain her memories, she will realize that there is a way to do so. At that time, she will definitely ask us questions and try to find her memories. No matter how sinful, painful, or shameful they may be, she will force herself to remember them.”
"I believe this must have been a courageous decision she made, so I will respect and support her decision."
Number Seven pressed further: "So... what if she decides to give up her life later? Would you even respect that decision?"
“That was a choice made without courage. I will bind her tightly at all costs until she has the courage to face the past that caused her so much pain and despair,” I said.
Moreover, if Ma dies early, I will no longer be able to receive the blessing of the jinx's power... I then added this point to my mind.
"...You two are truly a perfect match, a match made in heaven," Number Seven remarked.
“That’s right, Brother Zhuangcheng and Sister Mazao are such a perfect match,” Xiaowan said seriously.
As she spoke, she looked up at the night sky again.
I followed her gaze. She was looking at the moon, the enormous full moon that was the embodiment of Naraku's gospel. Perhaps because I still carried the blessing of the small bowl, I could still clearly see the demonic full moon that was originally only visible to blessing monks and those on the verge of demonic transformation.
This full moon was the most prominent celestial body in the apocalyptic night sky; anyone who could see it would inevitably look up at it from time to time. However, Xiaowan seemed to look at it a little too often. Having traveled with Xiaowan, I'd gained some experience and knew she didn't usually look at the moon so frequently.
"Little Bowl, is there something wrong with the moon?" I asked.
“…Now I can perceive the world more clearly than before, and I can also perceive the existence of Naraku’s Will and Naraku’s Gospel.” Xiaowan said, “The voice of Naraku’s Will is still the same as before. It seems that the reason why I couldn’t hear the voice of Naraku’s Will clearly in the past was not because my ‘hearing’ was wrong, but because His voice was originally so weak and indistinct.”
"As for the Gospel of Naraku..."
She gazed at the full moon, and after a moment said, "...I think I vaguely know what it is."
Number Seven didn't seem surprised that we connected the moon in the afterlife with the Naraku Gospel. She asked with a serious expression, "What do you think the Naraku Gospel is?"
“The source of the Naraku Gospel should be the natural will of the planet,” Xiaowan said. “This was originally the first object I, as a child of divinity, should have come into contact with. It’s just that because I’ve always been confused about my own position and am in the chaotic afterlife, I’ve never been able to understand the truth of this full moon. Instead, I’ve mistakenly taken the will of Naraku as the will of heaven and earth… Although this can’t be entirely called a mistake, in the afterlife, the will of Naraku is originally the will of heaven and earth here…”
“Wait, I have a question,” I said. “According to what I heard from Huang Quan, if the commonly mentioned Naraku Will is the collective unconscious of mankind, the narrow sense of Naraku Will, then the essence of the Naraku Gospel is the broad sense of Naraku Will, which is the will of the afterlife of all life species, including mankind.”
"Why do you think that Naraku's Gospel is the will of the planet itself? Aren't they the same thing?"
(End of this chapter)
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