Chapter 356 VS Fate's Turbidity 6
There are places on Earth where heat can be obtained almost inexhaustibly, such as volcanoes scattered around the world. However, for my current goal, the heat released by volcanoes is still insufficient. I must find a more efficient place to obtain heat, and that place is underground.
Yes, underground...
Mingzhuo misunderstood something: in the universe, it's not only celestial bodies like stars that endlessly release heat; celestial bodies like Earth can too. Tens of kilometers underground, beyond the Earth's crust, lies the mantle layer, filled with terrifying lava, scorching hot since the Earth's birth billions of years ago.
Thanks to advanced technology and theories, human civilization has gained immense knowledge of the cosmos, yet knows very little about the Earth beneath our feet. The mantle, a crucial structure of the Earth, exists only in theory and through indirect exploration; it has never been directly observed. The deepest wells designed and created by humans to explore the Earth's depths have only reached a little over 12,000 meters, while the average thickness of the continental crust is 33 kilometers. This level of drilling represents a very preliminary stage in penetrating the Earth's crust.
In less than a second, I easily propelled my life force deeper into the earth, exceeding thirty-four kilometers and breaking through the boundary between the crust and mantle, which I think is called the "Mohorovičić discontinuity." Although the density of the rock layers increased as I went deeper, it still couldn't buffer my downward momentum.
During this process, I killed Mingzhuo several more times. Because I had become proficient enough in this set of moves, he could hardly even fight back. I had also gained some experience in killing him; as long as I didn't tear his body and soul to pieces, he would simply revive on the spot with the existing corpse, which made it easier for me to push him into the mantle layer.
At this moment, we are surrounded by an extremely dense ocean of lava. Although lava is a fluid, its density is even higher than that of rock. In addition to the extreme pressure, the temperature exceeds 1,000 degrees Celsius. No protective measures that humans can create with technology can guarantee the survival of an individual in such a high-pressure and high-temperature environment.
It's said that the mantle makes up two-thirds of the Earth's mass, meaning that two-thirds of the Earth is composed of this ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure magma. Here, I could easily meet my thermal energy needs. Although Mingzhuo said that killing him until he dies of old age would require sacrificing the entire world, that only refers to the surface world, the realm inhabited by humanity, which is insignificant compared to the Earth's mantle.
Upon realizing he had been brought here, Mingzhuo's expression twisted drastically. For the first time, he lost his composure and even cursed, "What the hell...where did you bring me?!"
“The mantle,” I said. “You don’t know that, do you? Well, let me explain. The mantle is…”
"I know what the mantle is!"
He roared in exasperation, about to retaliate, but I killed him once again with the help of the Flame of Proclamation. At the same time, I absorbed the heat from the mantle and regained all my power.
It's clear he really dislikes the mantle, but it doesn't seem to hinder his survival; his power doesn't appear to be affected. Could this place have some other special significance, perhaps something terrible on a mystical level?
So, I did make that connection. In the Buddhist worldview, there is a concept of eight great hells, which are sometimes simply equated with eight hot hells. The deepest of these is the infamous "Avici Hell".
"Avici" is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word meaning "uninterrupted." "Avici Hell" is "Avici Hell." In the Buddhist worldview, this hell is located at the very bottom of the earth, its vastness beyond human imagination, and its interior is filled with terrifying raging lava.
Those who fall into the Avici Hell have no hope of liberation. They are boiled and stirred in it, their skin, flesh, bones, and blood merging with the lava. The pain and despair are endless and without interval, hence the name "Avici".
If an inescapable hell truly exists in this world, perhaps this is the place we have arrived at right now. Thinking about it this way, I don't know why this place, besides being scorching hot, also exudes a sense of gloom.
Between death and resurrection, perhaps fueled by a desperate will to survive, Mingzhuo suddenly roared and briefly broke free from my control. In an instant, he detached from the mantle and moved to the crust more than ten kilometers away.
"Trying to run?"
Trying to escape my grasp at this level is utterly disregarding my declaration that I'll burn him to death. With just one teleportation, I was back before him, killing him once more with the Flame of Proclamation, while simultaneously drawing heat from the earth's crust.
I want to drag Mingzhuo back into the mantle. Perhaps because he realized that I was truly putting my declaration into practice step by step, and that he seemed unable to escape, Mingzhuo appeared unusually anxious and impatient.
"You're bothering me here...aren't you afraid of changes happening in the outside world? Don't you care about the end of the world at all?!" he roared.
"The end of the world?"
Upon hearing this keyword, I involuntarily slowed my movements. Mingzhuo then unleashed its high speed again, escaping into the sky above the ground. I pursued it once more, killing it time and again.
"The world will end within ten years. Don't tell me you don't know this prophecy!" Mingzhuo said between life and death. "Although many people in Luoshan just regard it as a worthless rumor, you should know that it is not false, right?"
"Why do you say that?" I asked noncommittally.
Mingzhuo seemed to see an opportunity to sway me, and quickly said, "Isn't this obvious? Anyone with the Great Impermanence can sense that their own Dharma Heaven and Earth have become slightly disharmonious compared to the past. This world is gradually brewing chaos. Although I don't know how the timeframe of 'within ten years' was derived, if this continues, the world's order will undoubtedly collapse..."
I didn't sense anything disharmonious about my Dharma Heaven and Earth, but I can roughly guess the reason. It's probably because I haven't been a Great Impermanence for very long. Other Great Impermanence can judge whether there are any abnormal changes in their Dharma Heaven and Earth based on experience, but my Dharma Heaven and Earth has been affected by disharmony from the beginning, so I can't compare and find the problem.
I initially thought he judged that I knew Luo Shan's doomsday prophecy wasn't just a rumor because he had invaded Asao's dream and seen scenes of the apocalypse there. But judging from his attitude now, it seems he hasn't realized that Asao's dream depicted the apocalypse.
So why was he so shocked at the time? Was it true that Asahina's dream wasn't the apocalypse in his eyes, but the afterlife? Or was the apocalypse the afterlife?
"The apocalypse is expected within ten years, and I have a maximum lifespan of ten years. If you waste all your time trying to kill me until I die of old age, you'll definitely miss many more important things. Are you sure you want to do this?" Mingzhuo said. "Don't you want to investigate the cause of the apocalypse? Don't you want to stop the apocalypse from happening, or find a way to escape it?"
Without thinking, I said, "No."
"What!?" he exclaimed in disbelief.
I was already hesitating about whether I should stop the apocalypse, but now that I have the cause of defeating fate, I don't need to worry so much.
In the ten years leading up to the apocalypse, many significant, harbingering events may occur, and missing them would indeed be a pity. But what could those vague, inexplicable events possibly compare to defeating a monstrous enemy so close at hand?
“Right now, you are my only enemy. I don’t want to think about anything other than killing you. Stop with your unromantic talk and hurry up and figure out a way to escape from me,” I said. “You are the Great Impermanence, a god on earth who can turn the impossible into the possible. To be honest, I don’t really think I can suppress you steadily for ten years with such a monotonous approach.”
"The reason I've been able to suppress you time and time again isn't because of overwhelming power, but because of trickery. And since it's trickery, there will inevitably be weaknesses. Only overwhelming power can be flawless."
"You can surely come up with more strategies to escape, or even kill me. This is also a challenge, a risk. Whether you die or I die, the outcome is not yet truly determined. So this is not the end, but merely the beginning. Don't you think so, Mingzhuo?"
"Alright... I've already cheered you on this much. If you keep making that spoilsport face, don't blame me for actually killing you."
Mingzhuo, unable to contain himself any longer, roared, "You fucking wanted to kill me all along! Time and time again!"
And in his furious voice, I could hear a slight tremor that he couldn't hide.
He was scared.
He was afraid of me.
This might not be a good sign. His fear of me both excites and alarms me. People often unleash greater power in the face of fear; someone being chased by a wild beast can run faster than an average sprinter.
In this situation, his fear and single-mindedness are essentially synonymous. What I will likely face next is an extraordinary performance from a destined individual.
That suits me perfectly.
Before he could continue his tirade, I used the power of Xuanming to kill him once more, shutting down his next words.
However, I still feel a little regretful.
I actually hoped to defeat the Fate of Destiny through my own strength, but now I have to rely on the Flame of Proclaimed Illumination. Of course, I'm not so sentimental as to give up just because my methods were unfair, especially since the outcome of this battle doesn't only involve me, but also Asao. Faced with true adversity and desperation, I will use every means I can think of. This has always been my attitude.
I won't stubbornly pursue a "perfect victory"—that's something only a composed and strong person has the right to strive for. What I truly desire are adventures that demand my composure, so I'm also open to imperfect victories.
While I accept it, regrets will still remain.
Just as I was about to drag the life-turbidity from the surface into the mantle again, a powerful magical fluctuation of the level of Great Impermanence suddenly erupted from tens of kilometers away.
I reflexively looked over there and saw a thick white beam of light shooting out from there.
Mingzhuo had just been resurrected and hadn't even had time to react when the beam of light struck him unexpectedly.
(End of this chapter)
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