From the end of the world

Chapter 623 Incomplete True Spirit

"Why are you so sure?" Asa asked, puzzled.

After thinking it over, I said, "First of all, there is a fundamental principle... True spirits should be able to be killed only by the power of true spirits."

Upon hearing this, Ma Zao became even more puzzled.

She must be thinking this: if a true spirit can only be damaged by the power of a true spirit, then I couldn't have had my true spirit damaged by the Great Impermanence. In fact, my true spirit is currently in the state it was in after being damaged by the Great Demon Qilin, which clearly doesn't possess the power of a true spirit.

I decided to address this issue first, so I continued, "Right now, both my perception and control of power are at the level of a veteran like Da Wuchang. In other words, I can basically do everything that the veteran Da Wuchang can do."

"Following this logic, just as Mingzhuo and Huangquan can kill my true spirit, I should also be able to kill the true spirits of others."

"But I can give my own conclusion directly—I still can't do that."

"Why is that?" Asahi asked curiously.

“Because it would be even more illogical to be able to do that,” I said.

The true spirit of all people in this world may be the same true spirit, the so-called "Great Spirit." According to the definition I know from the past, the Great Spirit is the ultimate mystery, the root of all things, and the origin of the universe. If there truly is an omniscient and omnipotent God in this world, or the First Cause, the First Motivator, etc., then it undoubtedly refers to the Great Spirit.

Since ancient times, proving one's true spirit has been the most mysterious realm among all legendary realms.

Let alone the mere Great Impermanence, even super beings like the Old Fist God and Mountain Two Forms, who have pushed open the third gate, cannot reach that realm—it is perhaps a state unrelated to the mere strength of power, not something that can be mastered simply by being strong enough. It's possible that even pushing open the fourth gate might not lead to comprehension, and it's also possible that ordinary people living mundane lives have a minuscule chance of understanding it. In short, it's hard to imagine that just being a Great Impermanence could influence that level.

However, my true spirit is easily damaged, and now it can be repaired by the little bowl as if mending clothes. Without realizing it, I've started casually mentioning things like "how my true spirit is doing." Is the true spirit really such a frivolous thing that can be discussed so easily?
Ultimately, does such a thing really have the concept of damage and repair? The true spirit should be the only thing remaining after discarding superfluous things such as thinking, memory, instinct, and emotion, which can symbolize "me" after there is nothing left to take away. It should only exist in the state of "having" and "not having". How could there be any talk of minor injury or serious injury?

"After my body and soul are destroyed, my state should be an incomplete true spirit form," I said. "If it were a complete true spirit form, it would be an existence that encompasses the universe and transcends the individual self. I should be able to perceive every corner of the universe and have an impact on any place. Due to its immense size, no one can properly observe me, nor can anyone interfere with me."

"Of course, in that state, I was essentially proving my true spirit, a state of certain death, so it could also be said that I was in a state where I could not perceive or be affected by anything. I have no way of knowing whether it will really turn out that way."

"An incomplete true spirit form can perceive the scene where it was destroyed, and can also influence that scene again, such as summoning power to reassemble its body. Conversely, those in that scene can also perceive and influence me. Observation and interference are always mutual—this principle should be easy to understand, right?"

"That being said, even an incomplete form of true spirit is not something that anyone can perceive, let alone interfere with. That should be something that can only be done through the power of true spirit."

Xiao Wan asked curiously, "If that's the case, then how come those great impermanent beings can do it?"

“Because they are too strong,” I said. “Power strong enough can overturn common sense, and even this incomplete true spirit form can be an exception. Although they can only perceive things blindly and kill without knowing the key points, if they do it enough times, they can kill me completely.”

"However, even if it is an 'exception power,' it is ultimately not the power of the true spirit. Even if it can indirectly cause damage at the level of the true spirit, it is still not 'real harm,' and it cannot form 'real death.'"

Mazao suddenly realized and said, "So... this incomplete True Spirit form is a unique form of Zhuang Cheng. The reason why the Great Impermanence of the past could not break Naraku's immortal body by killing the True Spirit was because they could not attack the True Spirit of Mingzhuo. But Zhuang Cheng, who possesses the power of the True Spirit, can ignore this problem and directly give Mingzhuo 'True Death' in one step?"

"That's pretty much it," I said.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Wan said, "...There is another possibility, that is, Ming Zhuo actually also has an 'incomplete true spirit form,' but he has a way to repair his true spirit in real time."

Asaha was completely baffled by her sudden opinion.

"The more sophisticated the machine, the more difficult it is to repair; the larger the machine, the more difficult it is to repair. Therefore, resurrecting a powerful being is always more difficult than resurrecting a weak one." Xiao Wan was probably analyzing based on Zhu Jiu and Zhu Shi's knowledge. "Especially at the level of the Great Impermanence, it is impossible to resurrect a deceased Great Impermanence; there has never been a case of this throughout history. Even if there is some contract with Naraku's will, Ming Zhuo should not be able to be easily resurrected after death, let alone resurrected without limit."

"As far as I know, the so-called immortality abilities basically all follow the same underlying logic—those abilities are not true resurrection in essence, but rather a disguised form of regeneration to escape the consequences of death. For example, cutting off a small part of the body or soul beforehand and storing it at a distance, so that after the main body dies, it can be reborn using the severed part; or even if one is shattered to pieces, as long as even a single drop of blood or even a single cell remains, one can be restored..."

"These abilities all require that no matter how the user dies, there must be 'some living part' present at the time of activation. Even Mr. Wandering Soul's pseudo-immortal body is achieved by having a false identity die in his place, and by preserving the true self on a mystical level in order to achieve resurrection."

"Those with turbid destiny do not need to preserve such things beforehand; they can be resurrected even if their body and soul are completely destroyed. The complete destruction of the soul means an intense death experience, which will form terrifying toxins, but presumably, someone as unpredictable as turbid destiny can withstand it. And even in this state, they must still still have 'some living part'."

"Considering that everyone who once wanted to kill Mingzhuo has eliminated all other options for us, we can directly conclude that part is the true spirit, or rather, an incomplete form of the true spirit."

After much contemplation, Ma Zao said, "...But then the question returns to itself: if Ming Zhuo also possesses a true spirit that can be killed, why couldn't the Great Impermanence of the past kill Ming Zhuo?"

"It's very simple. Since an incomplete true spirit form can be damaged by excessively powerful forces, it can also be repaired. Naraku's immortality might possess this power," Xiaowan said.

"Shouldn't damage and repair be different things?" I said. "Excessive force can certainly damage a target indiscriminately, but can repair also be done indiscriminately?"

"It's not Meiko himself who's responsible for the repair, but the power of Naraku's will," Xiaowan said. "Naraku's will is the collective unconscious of humanity, a product formed by the combined consciousness of billions of humans... Brother Zhuangcheng, doesn't this sound familiar?"

I immediately understood. "You mean... 'Shangri-La'?"

"The complete 'Shangri-La' will thoroughly unify the consciousness of all humans within it, forming an ultimate existence that is both whole and one. This ultimate existence is also regarded by the Underworld as an imitation and creation of the Great True Spirit," Xiaowan said. "Although the collective unconscious of humanity is not that kind of ultimate existence, it may be close to the level of the True Spirit in some sense. The Naraku immortal body obtained through a contract transaction there may very well possess the power to reset an incomplete form of the True Spirit."

"From Zhuang Cheng's experience, we can see that even the veteran Wuchang cannot destroy an incomplete true spirit form in one blow. And as long as it does not encounter the power of the true spirit, the mechanism of Naraku's immortal body can completely ignore the power that is not enough to completely destroy him."

Conversely, if the power is strong enough to kill an incomplete True Spirit form with a single blow, it is very likely that even without the power of a True Spirit, it can still kill Mingzhuo.

I have gained a new understanding of the saying "powerful enough can overcome everything".

"As for whether this repair mechanism contains the power of the true spirit, and whether it can form a defense against the power of the true spirit that restrains all immortal bodies, I think we don't need to worry too much about that," Xiao Wan added. "Even the Great Impermanence Fazheng had to ask Brother Zhuang Cheng to personally kill the Great Demon Jizang and the Great Demon Yulei to ensure that the Great Demon would not be resurrected again. It can be seen that even the divine weapon of humanity that defends the fate of mankind cannot draw out the power of the true spirit, let alone the Naraku immortal body."

"Of course, it's also possible that Naraku's will is currently in a dying state. Although it's unknown whether Naraku's will in a healthy and conscious state can output true spiritual power, it certainly cannot in its current state where it lacks integration and can only be used as a power resource."

Naraku's immortality is ultimately not due to his own power, but rather to the power of Naraku's will. It is inevitable that he will be influenced by the state of Naraku's will.

Perhaps I don't have the lofty position to satirize fate. Having obtained the power of fire through the Vermilion Bird Seed that differentiated from the Yin and Yang of the mountain, I may also face inescapable reckoning in some destined situation.

"Therefore, fate cannot defy 'true death'," Xiao Wan concluded definitively.

That concludes this topic.

As evening approached, the little bowl finished its restorative process for my true spirit, and I returned to a fully refreshed and ready state.

At this time, an acquaintance whom they hadn't seen for some time visited the mansion.

(End of this chapter)