Chapter 591 Meeting with Fazheng
Xuanming left.
Strictly speaking, he never actually came; he merely projected his power. The thing I was talking to just now was something similar to a fire clone.
If I possessed full spiritual power, even attacking something resembling a fire clone could inflict damage on Xuanming, who was in an unknown territory. Unfortunately, the spiritual power I used could only manifest the property of "true death," and could not achieve the effect of "killing the clone is equivalent to killing the main body."
Why did he leave so readily? Judging from his tone, it seemed he was busy dealing with Meng Zhang, the lord of Peach Blossom Village, and couldn't spare much energy to snatch the small bowl from me. What kind of conflict arose between those two? During the four months I was trapped in this "apocalyptic era," what exactly happened in the real world?
And, it is claimed that the person in charge of the seal is someone else, but who exactly is it...?
After thinking about it, I decided to take the small bowl with me and return to my room on the fifteenth floor.
Fortunately, I managed to escape with Xiaowan in time, and the room on the fifteenth floor was undamaged. Xiaowan had also recovered from the pressure of Xuanming's magical energy fluctuations and was taking deep breaths to calm her heartbeat.
I silently reviewed the conflict that had just occurred.
Although Xuanming himself did not descend, what I just saw was undoubtedly a long-range, telekinetic attack from him. Furthermore, the distance in space was insufficient to diminish the power of Da Wuchang's attack. Therefore, the one fighting me was not a clone of Xuanming, but his true power.
In our first encounter in the real world, Huang Quan commented on my Corona Mode, saying that in terms of pure power, I was already on par with Taoyuan Xiangzhu and Xuanming. He added that if I just filled the gap in my technique, I would likely be able to hold my own against those two.
Huang Quan's assessment was quite fair. With the blessing of the small bowl and the power and experience of the Great Demon of Calamity, I was able to unleash the mana density of the veteran Great Impermanence in my second fire elemental form. Then, when I entered the third corona form with the slag weapon as its core, my power was truly on par with Xuan Ming's.
Does this mean that in a real battle, I could also have a 50/50 chance of winning against Xuanming?
Real combat isn't just about arm wrestling or comparing sizes; it involves a complex series of factors. If victory or defeat could be determined simply by comparing the strength of the two sides, there would likely be far fewer conflicts and disputes in the world.
Unfortunately, if a fight really breaks out, I will most likely lose.
This is my direct judgment based on intuition, just like when I clashed with Yama, the master of the Gospel Institution. To be precise, Yama's power level is indeed greater than Xuanming's, but there isn't a huge difference between them; they are figures in the same field. As for why I feel I would lose to Xuanming, after much thought, the problem probably lies in two aspects.
One aspect is relatively simple and easy to understand: Xuanming, as a Void Realm Apostle, has not yet shown me the power of the Divine Seal Fragment, which is a real external condition that can directly increase combat power; the other aspect lies in the gap between our practical combat experience.
Xuanming had previously stated that he could discern my will to protect the small bowl through my flames. I can do something similar; from Xuanming's flames, one can sense the weight of history, as profound as a vast mountain range. If Huangquan represents a scholarly, research-oriented god, then Xuanming possesses a strong warrior-heroic aura. As an ancient Great Impermanence, he has accumulated a vast amount of practical combat experience, possessing an extremely profound and essential grasp of the concept of "battle."
Even if we have muscles of equal strength and weapons of equal quality, once we meet on a narrow path, I, the newly promoted Great Impermanence, will still find it difficult to match the ancient Great Impermanence.
This is a gap that I have never experienced with scholars like Huang Quan, or with "demons" like the Great Demon of Calamity and the Great Demon Xuanwu.
As for Mingzhuo... I'm not quite sure how he compares to Xuanming in this respect. To be honest, when I fought Mingzhuo, he didn't even need to use the special attributes of his own magic power to suppress me completely, let alone demonstrate any advanced combat wisdom.
Admittedly, I have inherited a great deal of power and experience from the Great Demon of Calamity, but the Great Demon of Calamity possesses no reason or humanity, nor any practical wisdom, let alone any related behaviors. The only thing I can learn from it is the consciousness of "how to manipulate power itself" etched into my body and soul.
A battle between me and Xuanming is inevitable, and I must find a way to overcome this disadvantage before the day of the decisive battle arrives.
This method exists, and it's right before my eyes.
"Xiaowan, are you feeling alright?" I asked.
"almost……"
Xiao Wan seemed about to say something to reassure me, when another surge of magical power from the Great Impermanence appeared in the room, and her expression immediately changed.
Unlike Xuanming's approach, the source of this new magical energy fluctuation appeared directly in the living room of the fifteenth-floor room, which is the same room we share. Moreover, this is another magical energy fluctuation that I recognize.
I turned my head and saw an old man in a black suit with a serious and profound face appear on the balcony. He scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes and then focused on me.
“Zhuang Cheng, you’re back,” he said.
"Long time no see, Fazheng." I read out the visitor's name. "What brings you here?"
There was a brief conflict just now, and I'm still a bit on edge.
"Of course, it's because I sensed a conflict between Xuanming's and your magical energy fluctuations, so I rushed over to see what was going on," Fazheng said in a deep voice. "You've been gone for so long, where exactly did you go? And what just happened between you and Xuanming?"
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the small bowl beside me, and his expression changed slightly. "Is this... a child of divinity? That's quite rare. And this appearance... is very similar to Zhu Shi."
For a powerful figure like Fazheng, Zhu Shi was originally a nobody who wouldn't even catch his eye. It was only because of my connection that he probably did some basic investigation into the people around me, and likely investigated Zhu Shi, my fiancée, even more thoroughly. It's only natural that Da Wuchang has a photographic memory, so it's not surprising that he immediately connected Xiao Wan with Zhu Shi.
Since he has already figured out that Xiaowan is the child of divinity, I decided not to try to hide it and directly stated Xuanming's purpose: "Xuanming wants to take away the child next to me and use him as a living sacrifice in the sacrificial ceremony."
The ritual of worshipping Heaven was often used by ancient tribes and dynasties to worship Heaven and Earth, with the aim of praying for national peace and prosperity, or to request revelations from Heaven and Earth regarding the future.
In this era, the effectiveness of normal divination techniques is increasingly questionable. Furthermore, since Xuanming still desires the real location of the Lord of the Divine Seal, he has no choice but to use ultimate divination power. He will sacrifice the Child of Divinity to directly demand the answer from Heaven and Earth.
The so-called "heaven and earth" mentioned in the documents mostly refer to the natural will of the planet, which is the Naraku Gospel that is now worshipped in the Gospelin.
Although Xuanming looked down on Fukuinin, he clearly attached great importance to Naraku Fukuin.
"Why offer sacrifices to Heaven?" Fa Zheng frowned deeply.
“I’ll explain everything to you properly later, including where I’ve been all this time. But do you want to talk here for a long time?” I asked.
Fa Zheng glanced at the room, which hadn't been cleaned in a long time, nodded, and said, "Then let's go somewhere else."
Soon, we moved to the headquarters in Luoshan, a thousand miles away.
Fa Zheng led us to a simply decorated reception room. He sat down on a sofa, and I sat down on the sofa opposite him with my small bowl, separated by a very clean wooden coffee table. With a wave of his hand, three steaming cups of tea appeared on the coffee table.
He picked up a cup of tea first, his movements rough; instead of holding the cup by the handle, he grabbed the scalding hot cup and gulped down the tea. Then he said to me, "After you left, those close to you were thrown into chaos. Fortunately, your followers' influence hasn't wavered at all, and their numbers are increasing normally."
"It is quite normal for the Great Impermanence, who has a long lifespan and is unrestrained, to disappear from the world for several or even more than ten years from time to time, and to travel incognito in the mortal world. This is especially true for someone like you, who is generally regarded by the believers as a free-spirited lone wolf."
"Generally speaking, only those who have been missing for more than a hundred years are suspected of falling into the phenomenon of disappearance."
“I thought you would believe I was dead,” I said. “After all, I disappeared after the deadly battle with the Lord of Peach Blossom Village and the Underworld.”
Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng's eyes sharpened, "—Huang Quan?"
He paused for two or three seconds before answering my question: "Whether you are dead or not, the believers can confirm this by sensing your physical body."
"And just one month after you disappeared, Yuchi also made a vague contact with you in 'other time and space' and further confirmed that you were alive. No one really thought you were dead."
I also remembered this matter. During the "apocalyptic era," I had hoped that I could achieve stable communication with the real world through Yuchi, and even hoped that Yuchi could actively open a portal between the two worlds.
Before I could even get a second message from Yuchi, I had already fought my way back from the afterlife.
"I imagine you're eager to let your loved ones know you're safe, but I still hope you'll explain the whole story to me first. You've been planning to do that yourself, haven't you? I've met all sorts of people and consider myself to have a deep understanding of physiognomy, so I can tell at a glance that you're about to reveal a very important secret."
Fa Zheng also looked very serious, staring into my eyes, and said, "I'm mentally prepared. No matter what you say next, I can handle it calmly. So you can start speaking."
I can now monitor the movements of Asahi and Shushi at any time, so I am not in a hurry. I nodded and then, only revealing the necessary information, told them about the series of things I experienced after falling into the afterlife, including the human extermination plan of Fukuin.
*Smack*
Fa Zheng suddenly shattered the teacup in his hand.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com