Chapter 509 The Gods and Men of the Gospel House
When Ma Zao mentioned the Three Lives Stone Powder, an item that could restore memories, I didn't have many thoughts about it. No matter how wondrous it was, it was, after all, a product of a vast era separate from my own. It was so far away that even knowing it existed made it difficult to truly grasp its significance.
But now things are completely different. I am living in this era with my feet firmly on the ground, and when I mentioned that item again, I inevitably had more thoughts.
To this day, I still have no way of knowing the true relationship between Xiaowan and Zhu Shi. Despite various speculations and repeated discussions with Zhu Shi and Ma Zao, we still haven't come up with a reliable answer. The most direct way to find out the truth is to have Xiaowan remember her true identity and tell us herself.
The Three Lives Stone Powder is the key item that can achieve this goal.
However, nothing in this world is so cheap. Amnesia caused by madness is a problem that even gods and mortals are helpless against. While the Three Lives Stone Powder can solve it, a heavy price must be paid that cannot be ignored.
That is "death".
In mythology, the "Three Lives Stone" is a stone placed on the riverbank beneath the Bridge of Helplessness. Souls that pass over it are always those preparing for reincarnation. Seeing the "Three Lives Stone" signifies that one's life is about to come to an end.
Those who survive the apocalypse after ingesting the Three Lives Stone Powder are destined to die young; they will end their lives after recalling their past.
I really want to know Xiaowan's true identity, but if the price is Xiaowan's death, then I will give up this idea.
"You actually know about the Three Lives Stone Powder?" The wandering soul was quite surprised. "Very few people have even heard of it. Sometimes I even worry that it might be a concept I made up in my head before, which I now mistake for real information..."
However, he did not delve into my source of information, but continued, "...That's right, just as you guessed, my goal is to find the Three Lives Stone Powder, remember my true identity, and then die."
"But what does this have to do with resolving Xiaowan's crisis?" I asked. "To put it another way, do you know where the Three Lives Stone can be found?"
According to Ma Zao's description, the Three Lives Stone Powder is a dream item whose very existence is uncertain, and it should be extremely difficult to obtain.
“I know. She told me the location where I could obtain the Three Lives Stone Powder,” the wandering spirit said.
How could Xiao Wan know clues about the Three Lives Stone Powder? Could this information also have been obtained through the power of the Correct Position Law of Heaven and Earth?
According to legend, those who align themselves with the principles of Heaven and Earth are favored by Heaven and can receive revelations about the future from it, making them natural-born ultimate diviners.
Finding a specific item is just the most basic thing in the field of divination, and this is called "object divination". It is not surprising that Xiaowan can do this.
However, this is a chaotic apocalyptic era. Divination and navigation, things that were easy in the past, are not so easily accomplished here. In fact, the little bowl described by the wandering spirit was far too powerful. No matter how lucky the little bowl is, it shouldn't be able to thrive so easily in this apocalyptic world.
You must understand that even I, the Great Impermanence, am unable to unleash the power of the Heavenly Manifestation in the apocalypse. As the Child of God, Xiao Wan's power of the Heavenly Manifestation will only be more constrained. It's not that she will become an ordinary little girl. Compared to ordinary survivors, she will definitely still have a huge advantage, but not to the point of being that extreme.
It's very likely that the power of the divine seal fragments strengthened her proper position as Heaven and Earth—that's the only explanation I can offer.
Then, in front of me and Tanxiang, the wandering spirit rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arms.
On the inside of his arm were etched a series of messy, thin scars, which an uninformed person might mistake for the scars of a failed suicide attempt.
Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that this is not simply a scar, but rather a "map" unique to the post-apocalyptic era, just like the relics left by the cartographer.
“She drew a map of the route to the location of the Three Lives Stone and gave it to me. To prevent myself from losing the map, I used a knife to carve it onto my arm.”
The wandering spirit glanced at the inside of his arm and relaxed. "It seems the map hasn't distorted yet. I can continue on to that location."
"You still have questions for me to answer," I reminded him.
“I know, but she didn’t explain the causal relationship between my actions and her crisis,” the ghost said. “She just told me that her crisis would be resolved as long as I remembered my true identity.”
"Perhaps she herself doesn't understand the reason behind it. The revelations given by mysterious forces are always like this; even the person involved is often kept in the dark."
Sandalwood, however, offered a different perspective: "Could it be that there is no cause and effect at all, and that the girl named Xiaowan just made up a reason out of thin air to make you think that you ran away to help her?"
Is it just my imagination? It seems like this sandalwood person sometimes speaks quite bluntly and without any consideration for others.
The wandering spirit was not angry; he was clearly hurt by having to flee from his benefactor, and became dejected, saying in a low voice, "That possibility... I cannot deny."
I also think that's something Xiaowan would do.
But after thinking it over, I finally decided to believe Xiaowan's story about the wandering spirit.
As long as the wandering spirit remembers who it is, Xiaowan can escape the crisis—this cause-and-effect relationship seems baseless, but the fact that "the wandering spirit appeared in front of me" is enough to prove the hidden truth in it.
The reason is simple: I believe that Asahi's jinx is still watching over me, and therefore I also believe that there is a strong and powerful bond between me and Xiaowan. As long as I keep moving in the post-apocalyptic era, I will definitely meet Xiaowan again soon. In my opinion, the character of Youhun is an important bridge for me to reunite with Xiaowan, and every move he makes may contain important clues.
In particular, his search for the Three Lives Stone Powder clearly indicates a significant causal relationship between him and Xiao Wan. To simply regard it as a "white lie" is as utterly absurd as a minor character in a horror movie who hears a strange noise, mutters "Is that the wind?", and is then killed by a vengeful ghost.
Following this clue is the shortest route to reunite with Xiaowan, and once we're together, the threat of the Great Demon of Calamity will naturally be eliminated. At the very least, I can protect Xiaowan from the Great Demon of Calamity's clutches.
If we combine the above logic with Xiaowan's explanation to the wandering spirit, we get an even more confusing cause-and-effect relationship: "As long as the wandering spirit remembers who it is, I can reunite with Xiaowan." But that's okay, I just need to focus on the core part.
"I understand. Go find the Three Lives Stone Powder," I said.
Sandalwood was taken aback: "Huh? You're serious?"
Even the wandering spirits seemed surprised by my decisive attitude.
"certainly."
I took out the cartographer's map and handed it to the wandering soul, then said, "Can you understand this? Although I don't know if this map will help you in your search for the Three Lives Stone Powder, you might as well take a look first."
The wandering spirit glanced at me a few times, then unfolded the map, looked down at it, and nodded, saying, "This is an apocalyptic map made using the technology of the Gospel House... It's alright, I used to be a monk at the Gospel House, so I can understand it."
"You're actually from the Gospel House?" Sandalwood exclaimed in surprise.
As the wandering spirit looked at the map, he replied, "It's not like that anymore, because I used to be a cultivator who worshipped Tai Sui."
"Tai Sui"—I heard those two words from his mouth again.
"You mentioned the term 'Tai Sui' before, right? You also said that the Gospel House's pursuit of Xiao Wan was no less intense than that of some 'Tai Sui remnant gang'... What is that?" I asked curiously.
"Tai Sui was once one of the gods and men of the Gospel House, but he was killed by the leader for betraying the Gospel House," the wandering spirit said as if it were none of his business. "The believers who worshipped Tai Sui in the past were also ruthlessly purged, and afterwards they formed a new force outside the Gospel House. The Gospel House and the survivors outside all call them the 'Tai Sui Remnants'."
"One of the reasons I never considered selling the small bowl to the Gospel House was that I myself was on the Gospel House's wanted list—unfortunately, the name 'wandering ghost' was also registered there."
"Although I don't remember the past very clearly, I vaguely remember that the Gospel House was a rather outrageous place. When the God of the Grand Duke was still alive, he strongly advocated protecting the survivors on the land of the end times, rather than simply purging them... Perhaps the reason why the God of the Grand Duke parted ways with the Gospel House was partly due to this."
Taking this opportunity, I asked a further question: "To be honest, I've never been very clear about the gods and humans at the Evangelical Fellowship. Since you were a monk there before, you should know exactly who the gods and humans are. Would you mind telling me?"
No matter what, the Gospel House is an enemy organization. If they know that I, the Great Impermanence of Mount Luo, have somehow arrived in the end times, they may pose a threat to me.
I must gather intelligence on the enemy beforehand.
“There’s nothing inconvenient about it. This wasn’t a secret to begin with. Besides, even if it were a secret, I’m no longer a member of the Gospel Academy, so I don’t care about those things,” the wandering spirit said. “Aside from the Tai Sui of Death, the Gospel Academy now has four pillars of gods and men: the Gospel Academy’s master, Yama; the elusive Huang Quan; Shen Tu, who is feared by countless monks; and the Wheel King, whose existence is unknown.”
For a moment I thought I had misheard.
"Wait...who did you say?" I asked.
(End of this chapter)
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