NOVEL NEXT Chapter 764: Gua Tianshi's Judgment
Listening to the noise from the distant street and seeing the bewildered expressions of the resurrected demon hunters around me, resurrecting so many people at once, even I feel a bit exhausted.
However, as I take a deep breath, the Power of Return flashes by, and the fatigue instantly disappears, my spirit returns to a full state. As a Manifestation and Enlightenment practitioner capable of emulating any existence, the concept of running out of stamina doesn't apply to me. The means of recovery are as many as need be, even without using the Power of Return, I could just replicate a "mentally full version of myself".
While recreating the city and resurrecting the entire population, I also attempted to contact the human history itself, wanting to see if I could use the Power of Return to repair the mistakes and malfunctions in human history. The result, just as Tai Sui said, is that the errors in human history come from the fantasy part consciously created by Liu Shuying using the divine seal, similar to how I can't use the Power of Return to recreate the Teleportation Door deliberately sabotaged by Shan Liangyi. The errors in human history aren't something I can directly fix either.
Fortunately, it's not a complete loss. The truly irreparable errors are actually those in history prior to the "Fantian Incident" five years ago, while the erroneous history from the "Fantian Incident" to today falls under the part my powers can intervene in.
In other words, although I can't treat the root cause, I can treat the symptoms. By reconciling the erroneous history of the past five years, perhaps it won't overcome the Doomsday itself, but it can clear the accumulated Doomsday process, effectively postponing this end.
However, the scale of the Doomsday process is still too enormous; it's a poison affecting the entire human civilization.
If it's about me turning the entire surface of the planet to glass, that would be easier. It takes only a seventh of a second for my powers to cover the globe. The Power of Manifestation, transformed into light, would ignite and destroy every life and non-life it touches.
Concerning the scale and efficiency of destruction, I believe even if Shan Liangyi and the Old Fist God were tied together, they wouldn't be in the same dimension as me.
However, "saving" is always more difficult than "destroying". Besides, using the Power of Return, which conflicts with my own disposition, the result would be that the accumulation of errors in the Doomsday process will inevitably outpace my speed of reconciling errors. Both sides wrestle with each other, and in the end, the Doomsday will still come, albeit a few years late.
"Weichi, I'll trouble you to rebuild the Teleportation Door to the post-mortem world later," I said, "But remember not to activate it immediately after rebuilding, at the earliest wait until I've killed Shan Liangyi."
"Alright... I remember." Weichi nodded, "Actually, even if I wanted to activate it immediately after completion, I don't have the conditions for that. Now, I am no longer a Void Envoy, nor do I have a Divine Seal Fragment, and activating the Teleportation Door requires the Power of Divine Seal Fragments."
"That's also true. I almost forgot that." While responding, I pondered the next course of action.
Temporarily not rushing to find Shan Liangyi, I first sensed for the "Fireflies" distributed elsewhere, wanting to track the whereabouts of other acquaintances.
At present, not only the "Firefly" at Little Bowl's location is out of my sense, but the "Fireflies" at Mr. Zhu's, Changan's, and Lu Chan's are also out of touch. I had considered whether Zhu Jiu's body perished along with the destruction of Saltwater City, but after resurrecting everyone in Saltwater City, I sensed towards the Zhu family's villa from afar, and Zhu Jiu's body wasn't there, as if it had been moved long ago.
As for the Lushan Great Impermanence aspect, Fa Zheng and Jian Feixian from the World Governance Camp are currently trapped in the post-mortem world, while Ming Zhuo, Divine Light, and King Zhuanlun from the Extraordinaryism Camp are either dead or have turned enemies. From the Neutral Camp, both the Old Fist God and Liu Shuying have become enemies.
The astrologer that had a cooperative relationship with me is also missing. I checked the places where the Gua Tianshi often appeared through the "Firefly" left at the Luoshan Headquarters, and they all turned up empty.
Suddenly, telepathy once again sounded in my ears.
"Brother Zhuang Cheng!" It was Little Bowl's voice.
"Little Bowl?" I responded via telepathy, "Is that you? Where are you?"
Meanwhile, I observed around, attempting to track the source of this telepathic signal. Yet as usual, I was unable to lock in Little Bowl's direction and location, as if being obscured by a very crafty force. But if the conversation could be sustained for a few more seconds, I should be able to reverse-track and decipher it.
"It's me. Brother Zhuang Cheng, it's really you, you're alive!" Little Bowl said joyfully, "Just now, the astrologer said he detected exceptionally strong mana fluctuations appearing in the direction of Saltwater City, similar to Sister Mazao's mana fluctuations, but I sensed towards that direction, and it was clearly Brother Zhuang Cheng there... Did you return with Sister Mazao?"
Little Bowl being able to recognize me should be based on the connection of blessings, yet the astrologer could also sense my current mana fluctuations... Evangelist Master Yan Mo seemingly could do the same thing, and their rank as Great Impermanence evidently surpasses that of Fa Zheng who wields a Human Dao Divine Weapon.
"No, I'm alone for now, Mazao and Zhu Shi are temporarily staying in the post-mortem world." I said.
"I see, as long as everyone's fine... Oh, right, we are currently at this location..."
Little Bowl first transmitted the coordinates of her current position to my consciousness, then said, "The astrologer said Shan Liangyi might take action against me, so he hid me in this place. Also, Dad... Mr. Zhu and the others are currently at this location as well."
"Alright, I understand, I'll head over right away."
With those words, I bid a brief farewell to Weichi and then turned to take a step forward.
The surroundings changed in an instant, transforming from a residential area into a dense forest. To avoid the potential prying eyes of Shan Liangyi, I used my ability to blend into nature. This ability to conceal my presence and movements was the ultimate, even Shan Liangyi couldn't easily lock onto me.
In the forest, there was an estate shrouded by a powerful barrier. I passed through the barrier as if it wasn't there and saw Little Bowl looking around anxiously at the entrance.
As soon as she saw me, she burst into a joyful run, throwing herself into my arms.
"Brother Zhuang Cheng!" Little Bowl called my name once again.
I hugged her back and said, "I'm back."
It wasn't until I saw her safe with my own eyes that the stone in my heart finally settled. At the same time, I sensed the aura of Gua Tianshi deep within the estate.
Gua Tianshi didn't come out with Little Bowl, likely because he wasn't in a condition to move around freely. It was evident that his current state was very poor. In my perception, Gua Tianshi had always exuded a steady and enduring essence, not flashy but as solid as jade. But now, he seemed as fragile as a dying old man, his breaths shallow and labored, monitored by an erratic ECG.
"Brother Zhuang Cheng, you should talk to Gua Tianshi first, I'll take you to him," Little Bowl suggested.
I nodded and entered the estate with Little Bowl.
On the way, I shared my detailed experiences during this period with Little Bowl through telepathy, and she updated me on her changes.
Even before meeting Gua Tianshi, I had grasped the details of his severe injury.
Simply put, he launched a stealth attack on Shan Liangyi.
The timing was around when Shan Liangyi constructed a portal to the post-mortem world in reality, intending to enter the battlefield as I was fighting alongside Fa Zheng and others against the Evangelical Institute. Gua Tianshi, who had been monitoring for portals in the world, identified Shan Liangyi's location and launched a covert strike.
If Shan Liangyi were allowed to enter the post-mortem world, our war with the Evangelical Institute would be doomed to fail. Gua Tianshi knew he couldn't harm Shan Liangyi with his strength, but aimed to at least destroy the portal.
This approach was, of course, reckless. Even a legendary Great Impermanence was powerless against someone who had opened the third door, but Gua Tianshi had no choice but to act. If the Evangelical Institute succeeded with Shan Liangyi's support, the human extermination plan would be unstoppable; yet if the Institute was destroyed first, Shan Liangyi would not pursue the extermination plan.
The outcome was inevitable; Gua Tianshi failed. He was never a Great Impermanence specializing in combat. Not that he lacked offensive techniques—living for at least hundreds of thousands of years, his attack methods likely surpassed Fa Zheng and Jian Feixian in number—but combat wasn't the core of his existence.
With such an overwhelming power disparity, Fa Zheng and Jian Feixian had a very slim chance of a miracle, but Gua Tianshi wasn't that kind of figure.
However, in terms of "survival," those two combined fell far short of Gua Tianshi. After the failed ambush, Gua Tianshi astonishingly managed to survive Shan Liangyi's counterattack.
As a master of manipulating space-time power, Shan Liangyi wasn't just good at evading capture but excellent at ensnaring enemies. Gua Tianshi escaping from such a person is remarkable; even another power-user opening the third door might not achieve that. I still don't know what Gua Tianshi did at the time, and Little Bowl hadn't heard the details. It's a mystery as great as Evangelical Institute Master Yan Mo escaping after assassinating Great Impermanence Xuanming at the Luoshan Headquarters.
It's only fitting for the oldest Great Impermanence to have unknown life-saving tricks. This estate's barrier is likely one such trick, and it seemed to affect my earlier inability to locate Little Bowl. Its outer layer seems ordinary, yet it seems to cloak the fate of those inside with the Power of True Spirit.
This Power of True Spirit lacks the essence of Divine Seal Fragments and was likely summoned by unknown means. Shan Liangyi was probably unable to track Gua Tianshi because of it. Avoiding mana fluctuation leaks from his counterattacks and possibly fearing the approach of Old Fist God, Shan Liangyi dismissed the distant Saltwater City portal and promptly entered the post-mortem world.
Gua Tianshi believed that the Evangelical Institute's victory was imminent and human extermination inevitable, choosing to hibernate, contemplating a new strategy.
Then, a new development emerged, altering his judgment.