NOVEL NEXT Chapter 698: Facing the Taoyuan Village Master
Since we've initially identified the primary suspect as Shan Liangyi, all Liangyi inheritors must set aside their disputes and concentrate all efforts on killing King Zhuanlun first. Cooperation with Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang isn't out of the question, but I'm very aware that practically achieving this direction is challenging, and Water Navy Xuanwu probably knows this as well.
Because Meng Zhang has no need to join forces with us. It was only due to Xuanming's presence before that he couldn't complete the "Paradise"; now that Xuanming is dead, he only needs to finish the last bit of progress to become the brainchild of "Paradise," an ultimate existence even Impermanence cannot reach.
By then, even if Shan Liangyi has completed the reclamation of all power seeds and returned to its peak, it may not be able to become a match for Meng Zhang. Besides, Shan Liangyi hasn't recovered any power seeds yet, while Meng Zhang has every chance to stop it by killing us. He definitely won't miss this opportunity.
We also can't just stand by and watch the creation of "Paradise." I don't know what Water Navy Xuanwu thinks of "Paradise," but since he also wants to kill Meng Zhang, it's impossible for him to watch Meng Zhang ascend to an untouchable height.
We kept moving toward the center of the ethereal chaotic space. Sometimes, there would be a few of Meng Zhang's incarnations to intercept us on the way. There's no point in detailing this process now. Water Navy Xuanwu and I both agree—there's no need to entangle endlessly with opponents who offer no benefit even if killed. Under my lead with space transfer, we could temporarily shake off the opponent quickly. Even if we encounter them again later, it would just be a repetition of shaking them off.
Gradually, we approached the center. I could faintly sense Meng Zhang's immense presence ahead with my intuition.
The final battle is near.
Before the battle, I thought it necessary to gain some intel on the enemy through Water Navy Xuanwu.
Even though Water Navy Xuanwu hasn't clashed with Meng Zhang as much as I have, he far surpasses me in knowledge related to Liangyi inheritors. Most importantly, he's fought alongside the previous generation's Green Dragon Inheritor, so he should understand the various attributes of Wood Element Green Dragon Magic Power.
Just as I could never understand the Green Dragon Inheritor's "Wood and Cultivation Power," I asked Water Navy Xuanwu about it.
"Wood and Cultivation Power... it's no wonder you don't understand this power. Among all the Liangyi inheritors, the Green Dragon Inheritor's ability is the least intuitive." Water Navy Xuanwu thought before speaking, "Literally, cultivation involves 'plowing,' which turns the soil, making it suitable for crops to grow and improving the environment; 'weeding' removes harmful elements from the environment.
"Since ancient times, the Azure Dragon has been regarded as a Divine Beast that brings clouds and rain, distributes blessings, and aids all beings. In short, the power of cultivation is the power of adjusting feng shui.
"The place where the Green Dragon Inheritor dwells will thrive, with talented people and abundant resources, further connecting closely with nature, drawing on the great forces of the world to gain endless energy. Opposing him is akin to opposing the world. Generally speaking, Impermanence's Fatian Xiangdi can be seen as an invasion of the heavens, while the Green Dragon Inheritor can live in harmony with all of nature."
"Sounds a bit like the Divine Son?" I pondered.
If the Green Dragon Inheritor has attributes similar to that of a Divine Son, perhaps it could also be used to fulfill Xuanming's original intentions for Little Bowl.
Maybe Xuanming had this thought. But unlike the definitely effective Divine Son, the Green Dragon Inheritor may have many unknowns in this area. Hence, while trying to capture Little Bowl, he also attempted to kill Meng Zhang, advancing in both directions simultaneously; or maybe Xuanming believed that the Green Dragon Inheritor didn't meet the conditions for a heavenly sacrifice and was fighting Meng Zhang to stop the "Paradise"...
Xuanming is dead, so his true thoughts during life remain speculative.
"To be precise, the Green Dragon Inheritor's ability combines the strengths of both Impermanence and Divine Son, complementing each other. Towards nature, Impermanence is overly domineering, Divine Son too passive, while the Green Dragon's greatest strength is its balance of yin and yang." Water Navy Xuanwu said. "Without the Central Yellow Dragon, the Green Dragon is generally seen as the head of the Four Symbols in Mysticism, capable of resetting feng shui and recreating heaven and earth. Perhaps the reason the Taoyuan Village Master can create 'Paradise' is due partly to this.
"However, from my observation of the Taoyuan Village Master's battles with Xuanming, now the Taoyuan Village Master doesn't significantly utilize cultivation power in battles; instead, he relies more on Paradise to exert overwhelming magic power... possibly related to him shedding his Seed of the Cyan Dragon."
In the Five Elements Mutual Generation relationship, wood can produce fire, and according to Water Navy Xuanwu's theory, it suggests that the Green Dragon Inheritor might unknowingly aid the Vermilion Bird Inheritor.
I didn't observe any traces like that in my destiny, likely because Meng Zhang shed his seed.
Similarly in the state of shedding seeds, Ying Lingyun seems still restrained by me. I reckon it's because the fate altered by the power seed won't self-recover, and Ying Lingyun, not being Impermanence, cannot directly perceive the abstract conceptual flows of destiny; however, as Impermanence, the Taoyuan Village Master can directly manipulate causality and fate.
Still, just like before Water Navy Xuanwu could fully digest the White Tiger Seed, Ying Lingyun couldn't entirely rid himself of his connection with it, Meng Zhang probably hasn't truly rid himself of his connection to the Seed of the Cyan Dragon either.
The evidence being he hasn't lost his magic power—any Liangyi inheritor who completely loses their power seed would lose all acquired powers and talents.
The heart seeds, found scattered in various locations, will automatically return to Meng Zhang, their original form, after their anomalous hosts' deaths, which clearly indicates the connection still exists. The dream network "Paradise," constructed and threaded by heart seeds, operates as Meng Zhang's "externally set magic power reservoir," likely due to this connection.
"Backed by such an enormous magic power resource, he can even make his avatar possess nearly the same strength as his true form. According to my intel, you once collaborated with Liu Shuying to infiltrate the Taoyuan Village Headquarters, intending to kill his true form, right?" Water Navy Xuanwu stated. "Most likely, what was there at the time wasn't his true form but an avatar."
I recalled that battle. At the last moment when sent into oblivion by Huang Quan, I distinctly sensed Liu Shuying's and Meng Zhang's mana fluctuations vanishing simultaneously. It's possible Meng Zhang truly died then, but only an avatar died.
"So, the Taoyuan Village Master operating in the city right now might not be his true form?" I asked.
"No, it has to be his true form," Water Navy Xuanwu calmly assessed, "To become the brainchild of 'Paradise' the moment it's born, he must be at the center in person. Only by doing so can he ensure he focuses all his energy on this crucial task.
Besides, you can tell from those Meng Zhang avatars that he's already having to concentrate enough magic power resources on creating 'Paradise', leaving no time to produce sufficiently high-quality avatars."
During our conversation, we had approached very close to the Taoyuan Village Master's central position.
A flood of light poured over us from the front.
Kilometers away, I saw a "sun." Its immense size made it appear very close to the ground at first glance, evoking a sense of breathtaking oppression.
The overwhelming light from ahead illuminated everything, flushing away their original colors and leaving only various shades of cyan between sky and earth. As I closed in, the brightness became too intense, rendering normal vision nearly useless, compelling me to switch to an observation mode primarily reliant on spiritual perception.
Even with the vast magic power emitted by the cyan sun erupting incessantly with earth-shattering mana fluctuations, it isn't a particularly comfortable place, even for me and Water Navy Xuanwu.
This cyan sun continuously beams overwhelming mana fluctuations. For ordinary people, spiritual perception would be pulverized under the relentless oppression. Even to us, me, and Water Navy Xuanwu, this place can't be said to be comfortable.
This immense cyan sun seems to be the manifestation of 'Paradise' in this world.
Or rather, it more closely resembles the shadow cast by 'Paradise' upon this world—I say "thing" not quite justly as it really is the "gravitational center" drawing the cyan sun into form.
Water Navy Xuanwu and I stepped into a large plaza. Standing at the center beneath the cyan sun was a solitary figure that can only be Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang.
He stood under the cyan sun directly above, gazing at us with a calm, unwavering expression.