From the end of the world

Chapter 635 Ancient Civilization 2
"I never expected that an ancient civilization would actually emerge..." I said, expressing my thoughts.

"You don't need to worry too much about this background. Didn't I say? This ancient civilization has been completely wiped out. Neither material traces nor cultural traces..." the fortune teller said. "Considering that this is history far before human history, the fact that this ancient civilization existed is at least certain. It's just that because it was wiped out so completely, I have no way of figuring out its specific information. I can only use my divination and prophecy methods to deduce its existence based on some vague clues."

After thinking it over, I asked, "You said they used divine seals to create the afterlife... So, are divine seals technological creations of this ancient civilization?"

"I don't know," the divination master said frankly. "At least one thing is certain: the divine seal has the function of fulfilling all wishes, and it is clearly not a tool designed specifically for the purpose of creating an afterlife. Perhaps this ancient civilization, like our current human civilization, accidentally came into contact with the existence of the divine seal."

"If that's the case, then the origin of the divine seal might be something like an alien technological creation. As for why this ancient civilization was destroyed, based on the current situation, I have some guesses."

I continued, "You mean... this ancient civilization also caused errors and malfunctions in its own history by abusing the divine seal, which in turn brought about the end of the world?"

When discussing the mass extinction that occurred 66 million years ago, the only mass extinction that comes to mind is the fifth mass extinction that took place at the end of the Cretaceous period. The most convincing hypothesis currently is that an asteroid impact occurred at that time. This directly caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and provided the opportunity for the rise of mammals in later generations.

But it's just an asteroid impact on Earth; it's impossible for it to erase a civilization with divine markings to the point where not even a trace of history can be unearthed—unless they encountered the same problem as us.

"This also explains why almost all traces related to this ancient civilization have not survived," the fortune teller said. "Since it is a contradictory history, it naturally could not have been passed down to the present day. Perhaps they did their best in their own way, so although they inevitably faced annihilation, they did not drag the planet down with them."

"And the afterlife, as their legacy, continued to function in the distant future. The 'normal development' of the planet's natural will was interrupted. Not only were all the souls that died afterward transferred to the afterlife, but even a large amount of soul components that had settled underground were absorbed by the afterlife."

"In this process, the planet's natural will also naturally became an entity that spans the world of the living and the world of the dead. Although the soul component continues to settle in another world, because it is being accumulated as building materials for the expansion of the world of the dead, its density has always remained at a relatively low level."

"Is the key 'density'?" I caught the key word.

"Density is a very important concept," said the Divination Master. "The reason why the Great Impermanence manifests the laws of heaven and earth is not because our power is actually greater than the planet's natural forces. You must know that the mantle, with its temperature of hundreds or thousands of degrees, and the core, with its temperature of thousands of degrees, together account for more than 99% of the Earth's mass. It can be said that the energy generated by the Earth every second could easily wipe out surface civilizations thousands or tens of thousands of times. Our power, the Great Impermanence, is nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to that."

"But we can still allow the planet to naturally adapt to its own changes—just like placing a lead ball weighing several kilograms on a layer of cotton weighing several tons. Although there is a thousand-fold difference in mass, the lead ball can still press a dent into the cotton. This dent is our law of heaven and earth. It is the foundation for our laws governing the natural environment."

"Thanks to the existence of the afterlife, the accumulation of the planet's natural will at the Earth's core has temporarily stopped, allowing it to continue existing as the planet's natural will and preventing it from evolving into a monster that destroys everything in our time."

As he spoke, he sighed, "However... the legacy of the ancient civilization can only serve to buy time. I don't know if the afterlife itself has a limited lifespan, or if the planet's natural will is instinctively at work... but since the advent of humankind, the sealing of the afterlife has already become problematic. If the souls of the dead can easily return to the world of the living, then the density of the planet's natural will will continue to slowly increase."

"The afterlife has inexplicably returned to its sealed state, but this is likely only temporary. In the distant future, the planet's natural will will inevitably transform into a destructive god of decay, and this planet will come to an end. Our human civilization must become an interstellar civilization before that happens..."

"Fortunately, this countdown should be quite long. We still have at least tens of millions of years—provided that we can overcome the current doomsday hurdle first."

I agreed with him, and then I remembered Ma Zao's matter.

"Since the planet's natural will has such a strong negative nature, would it have a bad effect on us if we used its power?" I asked.

The fortune teller asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

I explained to the divination master in detail that Ma Zao might be able to mimic the principle of divine weapons of humanity and draw upon the power of the planet's natural will.

After listening, the fortune teller pondered for a moment very seriously, and then said, "...I have observed the fate that is entangled with that girl, Asao, many times, and I can see that it is likely the natural will of the planet exerting its influence behind the scenes...As for whether it is dangerous to use this power, of course it is very dangerous, but the danger is not in the same direction as you think." "Not in the same direction?" I asked.

"It's not that simply standing at the center of the vortex of fate for a race or the world, combined with the nature of a divine child, grants one immense power," the Diviner Master patiently explained. "If it were that simple, the divine children of history could easily replicate similar behavior. Or if I were the collective unconscious of humanity, why wouldn't we just grab a divine child and place them at the center of the vortex of fate when faced with a crisis in the human race, instead of hoping for more great impermanence among humanity?"
"The answer is that even the Son of God cannot bear such a huge burden of power. The reason why the Divine Weapon of Humanity can enable ordinary people to wield the power of Great Impermanence under extreme conditions is because the entire burden is borne by the Divine Weapon of Humanity. But there is only one Divine Weapon of Humanity."

"To withstand the power of the Great Impermanence with one's own flesh and soul, one must at least be qualified to become the Great Impermanence. One can only consume as much food as one's capacity allows; otherwise, one will only burst one's belly from within. It's that simple."

"If that's the case... perhaps it's worth trying?" I pondered.

Asaho is someone even the Yellow Springs recognizes as "qualified to become the Great Impermanence," perhaps she truly has met all the requirements.

"Besides that, is the power of the planet's natural will itself dangerous?" I asked.

Perhaps the fortune teller had also discerned Mazao's potential in his own way. He was not surprised by my attitude, but simply replied seriously: "If you can overcome the difficulties mentioned above, then I think you don't need to think so much about it anymore. Just give it a try."

"Why is that?" I asked, puzzled.

"Because whether you want to use it or not, that power has already been applied to her," the fortune teller said. "The only difference afterward is whether it is output in the form of the so-called 'jinx power' or in a form that you can control."

"Furthermore, although the natural will of the planet has the possibility of bringing death to everything in the distant future, at least in this era and at the current density, it still manifests itself in the form of the soul of the planet and has the position of continuing the world."

“I would not say that this is a benevolent force, and you certainly need to study it carefully before using it. The worst option is to simply turn a blind eye to it.”

“I understand… Thank you for your guidance, Master Diviner.” I thanked him again.

Afterwards, I discussed some issues with the divination master, and then returned to my residence in Luoshan to carefully organize and digest the information I had obtained.

That night, I told Xiaowan about my conversation with the fortune teller about the natural will of the planet. Then, together we found Mazao in the corridor of the mansion and told her about the possible way to help her become stronger.

"I might be able to use the power of Naraku's Gospel... to become the Great Impermanence?" Asaha was dumbfounded.

"To be precise, it's possible to summon power surpassing that of the Great Impermanence," Xiao Wan corrected. "However, at present, we can only say it's a possibility, and it will come with a considerable burden, so we can't put it into practice immediately..."

Considering that Ma Zao's soul is not yet fully repaired and is definitely not in a state where she can try to use the natural will of the planet, perhaps it is not necessary to reveal the existence of this method now. However, it is obviously not good for only Xiao Wan and I to know about such an important matter. At the same time, Xiao Wan seems to have her own ideas—although it cannot be put into practice, it may still be worth a try if it is only the very early preparation stage.

“Furthermore, the Naraku Gospel has an evil side; it incites blessed monks and those on the verge of demonic possession to slaughter humans, and there are countless irrefutable cases to prove this. If we rashly accept the power of the Naraku Gospel, it may have a psychological impact. Therefore, we must first conduct a safety test in this regard.” Xiaowan said with a serious expression, “If we find that such adverse signs will indeed appear after the test, then we must immediately abolish this plan and never use such power again.”

"At the same time, whether this enhanced solution is feasible to a sufficient degree should also be determined during this security testing phase."

Asaha seemed to be trying to process all this information, and then said, "I understand... So, what should I do next?"

(End of this chapter)