NOVEL NEXT Chapter 765: Purging Chaos
During the time Shan Liangyi was in the Post-mortem World, Gua Tianshi, being severely injured and near death, was unable to destroy the Teleportation Door that the opposing side had left in the real world.
Even if it could be destroyed, it wouldn't make any difference, because after Shan Liangyi's victory, a new Teleportation Door could be swiftly built in the Post-mortem World, and the outcome would remain unchanged. Keeping the Teleportation Door in place in the real world, in contrast, provides an opportunity to pinpoint the exact time that Shan Liangyi and Evangelical Institute Master Yan Mo return to the real world. Thus, Gua Tianshi kept himself hidden while using surveillance methods to watch for any changes in the Teleportation Door.
Then he witnessed Shan Liangyi's return.
Very quickly, he noticed two anomalies. Firstly, Evangelical Institute Master Yan Mo did not return to the real world with Shan Liangyi. This, though peculiar, was not enough to serve as direct evidence of the Evangelical Institute's defeat. The main point was that after returning to the real world, Shan Liangyi did not immediately challenge the Old Fist God.
Shan Liangyi is a mysterious strong figure capable of reincarnating era after era, and very few have a deep understanding of him, even the Old Fist God may not truly know Shan Liangyi. However, Gua Tianshi, having lived through almost all human eras, is arguably the person most knowledgeable about Shan Liangyi in this world.
In his judgment, if Shan Liangyi had recovered the Vermilion Bird Seed in the Post-mortem World, he would first focus all his efforts on absorption and preparation.
Being aware of my previous inability to utilize Artifact Refining Power, Gua Tianshi privately analyzed whether there might have been "some issues" with the Vermilion Bird Seed when it was with me, and if there might be unforeseen troubles when Shan Liangyi tries to reclaim it. Even so, it should not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for someone like Shan Liangyi, the third door of Impermanence, who should be able to resolve it in the Post-mortem World.
The real world is seen by Shan Liangyi as the Old Fist God's domain, so the time chosen for returning to the real world would undoubtedly be when he is fully prepared and ready to act. Given Shan Liangyi's temperament and his obsession with defeating the Old Fist God, there would be no motivation to delay this decision unless...
Unless some unforeseeable changes in the Post-mortem World made Shan Liangyi decide he couldn't prepare there, forcing him to return to the real world.
But that should be impossible. Who in the Post-mortem World could interfere with Shan Liangyi like that? Even Fa Zheng, who holds the Human Dao Divine Weapon, would not oppose Shan Liangyi when humanity's extinction is not imminent, and Jian Feixian and Zhu Shihema are even less of a concern. From analyzing the mana fluctuations at the moment Shan Liangyi returned, Gua Tianshi believed that he had already recovered the Vermilion Bird Seed, appearing even stronger than when he nearly killed him, so how could he be forced to such an extent?
However, similar "inconceivable events" have occurred in the past, though not frequently.
In one of the previous reincarnations, Shan Liangyi recovered all the Power Seeds, including the Old Fist God's Power Seed. Yet, despite having restored the complete Five Element Cycle, he was unexpectedly killed by the Old Fist God's fist.
Recalling this event, Gua Tianshi immediately sought out Little Bowl, Mr. Zhu, and others. To prevent them from being captured by Shan Liangyi and used as hostages later, he relocated them all to his hiding place in advance. My and Mazao's parents and other unintentionally involved individuals were also carefully protected, hidden elsewhere.
"...this is the whole story I heard from Gua Tianshi," Little Bowl concluded.
"Really need to thank Gua Tianshi. Otherwise..." I let out a long breath, "By the way, how is the Doomsday Chaos Space-Time in the Eastern Coastal City now? It used to be suppressed by Gua Tianshi's Heaven and Earth Array, but now Gua Tianshi is here and so gravely injured—wouldn't the situation there immediately worsen?"
"That shouldn't be the case. Although the Heaven and Earth Array materials project Gua Tianshi implemented before ambushing Shan Liangyi wasn't completed, it was halfway done. As long as Gua Tianshi remains in the real world and is still alive, he can maintain the Heaven and Earth imprint there even if he temporarily leaves the Eastern Coastal City," Little Bowl explained.
"I see," I thought for a moment and then said, "But considering his current near-death state, maintaining the Heaven and Earth power across a distance to suppress the Doomsday Chaos Space-Time must be quite burdensome...I'll go over there first."
Having said that, I immediately transferred out. The surroundings rapidly transformed into high winds at a great height. Below lay the ruined Eastern Coastal City, where Doomsday Chaos Space-Time covered the area like a sea engulfing the ruins, turning it into an extremely perilous place inhabited by countless bizarre activities, resembling hell on earth.
Not to mention ordinary people, even skilled demon hunters stepping into this place would be at the mercy of illusory luck. Unluckily, they might not even survive an hour.
I came here to resolve the current situation.
The Power of Return condensed and compressed in my hand, then surged forth. The Doomsday Chaos Space-Time immediately began to dissolve and vanish like snow encountering boiling water, taking with it numerous doomsday aberrations. The ruins of the Eastern Coastal City began to reverse in time, soon returning to their original intact state.
Some demon hunters are stationed around the Eastern Coastal City, and even quite a few ordinary people remain there, seemingly continuing to monitor the situation of the ruined city, fearing that the Doomsday Chaos Space-Time and its internal anomalies might flood into the outside world. They immediately witnessed this series of changes, and had intense reactions that varied from person to person. Some people seemed to think they were dreaming, while a few others appeared to believe they were trapped in an illusion woven by a strange force.
From a higher orbit in space, I also sensed some gazes. It seems that human forces witnessed all this through surveillance satellites and discovered my presence.
Unlike the situation in Saltwater City, the hundreds of millions who died in the Eastern Coastal City were intentionally destroyed by the Doomsday Demons with murderous intent, so resurrecting them was on a different dimension of difficulty. With the power of my third door, it's not impossible to resurrect them, but it's far from easy. I can only do it one by one, which would take a very long time, and I cannot guarantee that everyone can be resurrected. There is currently no time to deal with these matters, so they must be postponed for later.
After quickly resolving the issue of the Doomsday Chaos Space-Time, I returned to Gua Tianshi's hiding place and appeared again in front of Little Bowl.
Little Bowl seemed to perceive the dramatic changes happening in the distant lands through the power of her Divine Son.
"This feels like time is rewinding... indeed, is this phenomenon caused by Sister Mazao's Power of Return? But it's Brother Zhuang Cheng who's using this power..." she looked at me puzzled.
"I have already proven the true Power of Manifestation," I said.
"Power of Manifestation... now Brother Zhuang Cheng can freely alter his soul's structure and thereby simulate any power?"
Perhaps due to the concept of "manifestation" being closely related to me, Little Bowl had also surveyed quite a bit of knowledge related to the Power of Manifestation, "But the Power of Return is an ability based on Sister Mazao's personality traits; without a mind intending to save everything, it might not awaken... Can the power of 'manifestation' easily simulate even a soul structure completely contrary to one's personality traits? Or..."
"Now, I will fight to save this world," I said, "together with you and Mazao."
Little Bowl stayed stunned for several seconds, then slowly and firmly hugged me, burying her face deeply in my chest and abs.
"... That's great," she said.
Although Little Bowl had promised that no matter what decision I made, even if it was contrary to Mazao's path, becoming mortal enemies, she would stay with me until the last moment, she must have also prayed more than once that I could change my mind and walk the same path of salvation as Mazao.
Little Bowl lifted her face, her eyes a bit watery, yet shining brightly as she looked into mine. At this moment, she seemed to have let go of an incredibly heavy burden, making her whole demeanor become extremely light.
She released her arms after some time and then turned around and walked, leading me to the door of Gua Tianshi's room.
"Brother Zhuang Cheng, let's talk privately later," she said with a smile.
After she left, I turned and pushed the door open.
Gua Tianshi was sitting on a large bed in the deepest part of the room, his face pale and frail, leaning powerlessly against several pillows, like a dried-up piece of wood.
He often appeared in the guise of an elderly man, but this was the first time I'd seen him so weak and miserable.
"I perceived what happened in that city. Thank you for dispelling the Doomsday Chaos Space-Time there, it has relieved me of quite a burden. Now I can finally catch my breath and focus on recovering," Gua Tianshi weakly smiled.
"No need to thank me, what you've done for me is much more important. Thank you for taking care of Little Bowl and the others during this time, I will remember your kindness," I said.
Gua Tianshi nodded unreservedly, observing me intently, then sighed and said, "Looking at you, it seems my wild guess actually hit the mark. Another transcender who surpasses all reasoning has appeared in the mortal world. You have opened the third door now, haven't you?"