From the end of the world

Chapter 627 True Spirit and Soul

What Xiao Wan possesses is not an ordinary, properly positioned Heaven and Earth Formation, but one enhanced by the power of the Divine Seal Fragments. What other divine children cannot do, Xiao Wan can. Just as Yu Chi himself said, the power of the Divine Seal Fragments can turn the impossible into the possible, achieving a breakthrough from zero to one. Yu Chi himself knows this best.

However, it's no wonder that Yu Chi seemed so incredulous at this moment. Firstly, Xiao Wan's suggestion involved his beloved, and the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. To avoid disappointment, it's only natural to have no expectations in the first place. Secondly, the idea of ​​"summoning a soul that no longer exists" does indeed go against human intuition. Before I actually saw Xiao Wan do such a thing, I also thought it was an impossible miracle.

After a moment, Yu Chi finally calmed down and said, "Alright... I'll assume you can do it for now, but why do you suddenly want to help me communicate with the Qilin?"

“I don’t have any deep intentions. To put it bluntly, this is just a favor exchange.” Xiao Wan said seriously, “I want to help you achieve a wish that you can’t obtain on your own, and in exchange, I hope you can repay this favor to Brother Zhuang Cheng in the future.”

"Now that Meiko has entered the afterlife, just as Asahi no longer needs to be on guard against Meiko's attacks, you no longer need to worry about being threatened by Meiko, and there is no need to rely on Shojiro as a support. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to establish new connections."

"You are the most powerful array master in Luoshan, and you also possess the power of a fragment of the Divine Seal. Luoshan's subsequent advance into the afterlife was almost entirely based on your wisdom, which shows how powerful your array mastery is. Although you can't be of much help to Brother Zhuangcheng in terms of pure strength, Brother Zhuangcheng's weakness is always in areas outside of combat, and your presence can definitely play an extremely important role in those areas."

Her words were very direct. Perhaps an open and honest attitude is necessary when it comes to these matters of interest. After listening, Yu Chi seemed to accept it quickly, saying, "So that's what you're considering... Putting everything else aside, it seems you do have support for Zhuang Cheng in areas outside of combat."

Even within the realm of battle, I received very reliable support from Xiaowan.

“I understand… Well then, I’ll leave it to you.” Yu Chi seemed to have made a great decision. “I want to speak with the Qilin… Is there anything I need to prepare?”

“It needs to be something deeply connected to the Qilin (mythical creature) it possessed during its lifetime,” Xiao Wan said. “For example, the remains, or rather, the ashes…”

"It's a pity that the Qilin's remains are nowhere to be found." Yuchi shook his head.

"Then, it must at least be a relic with a deep connection to it. Are there such items?" Xiao Wan asked inquiringly.

“…Yes.” Yuchi said after recalling, “It’s in my house. It’s a jade pendant. It was a token of love that I exchanged with Qilin in the past. It contains a drop of Qilin’s blood.”

“A single drop of blood isn’t enough, but…” Xiao Wan thought for a moment and then said, “Since it’s a token of love, it must have extraordinary significance. If it truly carries important feelings, it will undoubtedly possess a deep connection. I think we can give it a try.”

Yu Chi nodded: "Okay... So, when do you plan to start?"

"There's no time like the present, let's do it today. Brother Zhuang Cheng, is that alright?"

As Xiao Wan made the suggestion, she looked at me as if seeking my permission. I nodded.

We went back to the fifteenth-floor basement, and then returned to the world of the living through an entrance in the ceiling.

Just like that, a casual stroll led me across the underworld and the world of the living, as if in a farcical manner. From the eternally dark afterlife, I was transported to the world of the living, where the sun hadn't yet set. There were no particular changes in light or shadow, nor any special sensations worth recounting. It just felt warmer in the world of the living, as summer was approaching. The sensation was similar to stepping from an air-conditioned room into the outdoors.

Although this wasn't my first time experiencing traveling between two worlds, it still left me in awe. Then, without stopping, we returned to the Luoshan headquarters and entered the place where Yuchi lived.

As one of the fewer than twenty people in Luoshan who had reached the Great Completion stage, Yuchi also had his own residence at the Luoshan headquarters. It was a courtyard combining Chinese and Western styles, and several servants could be seen along the way. In the middle of the courtyard was a magnificent villa, which we entered and moved towards the upper floors.

“I thought you would definitely have a few more questions,” I said.

"You mean being able to talk to a Qilin? It's still hard to believe, but... it involves the realm of calling the dead, which is inherently shrouded in mystery... You were deeply involved in the incident when Ying Lingyun wanted to resurrect the great demon Yin Yue, so you should understand what I'm talking about, right?" Yu Chi said with a complicated expression.

I understood what he meant. Silver Moon, who died long ago, was also in a state of complete annihilation. Furthermore, the afterlife had already been sealed off at that time, so her soul components could not have settled there. Countless people in Luoshan have confirmed that Silver Moon truly died without any trace, her complete demise being no less than that of Qilin.

On the other hand, as long as the "conditions that are so demanding as to be impossible to achieve in principle" are met and "power that is so vast as to be almost impossible to gather" is raised, it is still possible to revive the real Silver Moon. This is actually just as inexplicable as Xiao Wan's next attempt to summon the Qilin.

However, having mastered the power of the true spirit, and having actually used it to kill gods and demons, I have developed some insights and intuitions about the "soul" that other great impermanent beings might not have.

I don't know if this description is accurate—if the world we live in is a game, and the Great True Spirit is both the developer and the player, then the souls of all life in the world are like characters created by the Great True Spirit in the game.

From the perspective of the true spirit, a character's death merely means entering a state called "death." Even if the character's soul is scattered, the character itself does not truly disappear. Therefore, by completing certain procedures and paying a price, it is possible to lift the state of death.

Of course, the procedures and costs will vary depending on the nature of the deceased's existence and the cause of their death. Even if an ordinary person dies with their soul scattered, the Great Impermanence can resurrect them by slightly altering history. I have previously resurrected more than a hundred people who were cut and pasted from history to the present by the Dog of the Dog using the power of words.

As for the dead at the Great Completion level, the difficulty and cost of resurrecting them are so high that it is generally an impossible task. As for the dead at the Great Impermanence level, they are absolutely impossible to resurrect in fact. Even if they are just ordinary people, those killed by the Great Impermanence with murderous intent and immense power will be in a state where they are in principle impossible to resurrect.

The most complete death is "true death," which is death caused by the power of the true spirit.

Using the previous analogy, for the True Spirit, it might be equivalent to "the character being deleted from the game." This isn't even as simple as whether the character is in a dead state; it means the character itself can no longer be retrieved from the system level.

Therefore, even if all the great demons are theoretically just products created by Naraku's Gospel through simulation and deduction, and condensed with his power, once they are destroyed by the power of the true spirit, they will fall into a state where they can no longer be summoned, because "these characters have been deleted".

In a sense, the relationship between Naraku Gospel and the Great Demon may be similar to the relationship between the Great Spirit and all living beings.

Similarly, the same applies to the Fate-Turbid. Even if, as Xiaowan speculated, the Fate-Turbid could continue to exist in an incomplete true spirit form after being shattered to pieces and its soul scattered, it would merely be hiding in the gray area to escape the judgment of death. While this method is undoubtedly an excellent cheat in normal times, it cannot withstand the true power of a true spirit. Once its "character (soul)" is "deleted" by the power of a true spirit, it can never be repaired and will forever lose its connection to the real world.

An incomplete true spirit form is destined to be short-lived. Whether it's me or my impure fate, over time, my self will be completely diluted and disappear in the dark abyss of death. Furthermore, although this is just my personal speculation, those who manifest and prove the Way in their complete form may also be no exception.

Xiao Wan might have similar insights to mine. In the past, she said she didn't know what the scattered souls she summoned truly were, but now she confidently asserts that she can summon a real Qilin. After absorbing the knowledge that "the power of the Divine Seal Fragment is the power of the True Spirit," she clearly has a much clearer understanding of her abilities.

We entered a spacious bedroom on the third floor of the villa. Yu Chi slowly walked to the bedside table, took out a green and white jade pendant from the drawer, and sealed a drop of bright red blood in the center of the jade.

He stroked the jade pendant with great reminiscence, then handed it to the small bowl.

Xiao Wan solemnly accepted the jade pendant with both hands, then lowered her head to examine it carefully. Yu Chi looked somewhat nervous, holding his breath and watching Xiao Wan's reaction. After a few seconds, Xiao Wan nodded and said, "This jade pendant does indeed hold profound sentiments... It can be used."

Yu Chi's face showed barely concealed excitement.

Xiao Wan then added, "However, it can only be used once, and the conversation cannot last very long. After all, the object is the Great Impermanence, and one cannot communicate with spirits at will. It is impossible to communicate with it again and again using this jade pendant."

"Furthermore, even if you have other things you are destined to have, you probably won't be able to use them anymore. After all, the jade pendant is just a medium; what truly matters is the connection between you and the other person. This will be an unrepeatable miracle, and I hope you can understand."

“I understand… I never expected to be able to talk to the Qilin repeatedly.” Yu Chi took a deep breath. “I’m mentally prepared. Please begin.”

(End of this chapter)