From the end of the world

Chapter 636 Ma Zao's One Minute
We moved to the training ground where Zhu Shi had been practicing swordsmanship some time ago, and then Ma Zao began the initial safety test of using the planet's natural will power, as Xiao Wan had instructed.

This method is simple and easy to understand. Xiaowan uses the power of blessing to add part of her nature as a child of divinity to Asaho. Asaho then has to use her enhanced perception to judge whether she can “go with the flow” and transform the power of the vortex of fate surrounding her into a power she can use.

This force usually manifests as the power of a jinx, seemingly colorless and formless, yet in reality, it is immensely powerful and influences the fate of the world every second. Even the Great Impermanence (a deity associated with death) has his future fortune distorted after approaching Ma Zao. The more one thinks about it, the more incomprehensible it seems.

In this process of perception and judgment, although Asaho cannot communicate with nature like a true child of divinity, as long as he concentrates his attention, he should be able to hear the voice of the planet's natural will to some extent and judge whether he might experience symptoms of mental pollution if he actively uses its power.

The natural will of a planet certainly wouldn't speak to anyone's ear all the time; even a divine child like Xiaowan doesn't have that kind of influence. But Asaho is an exception. If the other party truly has an instinctive demand for Asaho to repair the world, constantly placing Asaho in a fate of suffering through the power of a jinx, then Asaho will definitely be able to hear the voice of that will.

After bestowing the blessing, Xiaowan passed on her experience of listening to the sounds of nature to Asaho. Asaho then stood in the open space, closed her eyes, and listened intently to sounds that even I, the Great Impermanence, could not hear.

I also focused intently on observing Mazao's complexion, especially her mental state. If I sensed any signs of mental corruption in her, I would intervene immediately. That was my purpose here.

Although my power lies in manipulating flames, not minds, within the realm of Great Impermanence, it is still possible to forcibly interfere with the minds of others. In the past, I even placed a sealing collar, existing in physical form, directly around Silvermoon's neck on a spiritual level. Now, my level is even more advanced than then, enabling me to perform more abstract operations.

For example, I could burn away certain feelings and thoughts that the target is currently experiencing, or burn away a part of the target's memories and thoughts, or permanently damage certain mental functions of the target—theoretically, I could even make other people like Zhu Shi, unable to experience romantic feelings, or unable to experience fear and sadness, etc.

Because burning too much could turn the other person into a mentally disabled person, I must be careful to control the degree when doing it.

After a long time, Mazao finally opened her eyes, revealing an indescribable expression.

Her soul didn't show any strange symptoms, but just in case, I asked with concern, "How are you? Is anything bothering you?"

"No, I'm in good condition, it's just..." Asaha seemed to be choosing her words carefully.

"Did you fail?" Xiaowan asked with concern. "It's okay, Asahi-neechan. If you don't succeed the first time, just try again. This is your first time imitating the Child of Divinity listening to the voice of the world, so it's understandable if you can't do it right away."

"Moreover, the problem may not necessarily lie with you; it's also possible that my blessing was applied incorrectly. Furthermore, since I can only grant you a portion of the qualities of a child of divinity, this level of enhancement may not be sufficient to bring about the desired results."

Asahi shook her head repeatedly: "No, that's not it. I didn't fail, and I heard the voice of Naraku's gospel... I guess."

"Is that so? What did it say?" I asked curiously.

“This… I don’t understand,” Mazao said. “Although I did hear some sound, I couldn’t understand what it was saying at all, or even whether it was a meaningful syllable, and I didn’t know how to describe what kind of sound it was.”

Xiao Wan tried to analyze: "The Naraku Gospel is different from the Naraku Will. The latter is the will of the human race in the afterlife, so it can generally be agreed upon by us, who are also humans. The Naraku Gospel, on the other hand, is the will of death that has gradually formed in the ecosystem over billions of years. Although it certainly contains elements of human souls, the proportion is so small as to be negligible. It is normal that its form of expression cannot be understood by humans..."

“But can’t blessed monks and those on the verge of becoming demonic beings hear the Gospel of Naraku and be sent to kill?” I asked.

"Karmic demons are beings that have become monstrous after being completely corrupted by madness, and their ideology may be close to that of the Naraku Gospel. Blessed monks and karmic demons share the same origin; they are humans who gained power after being deeply infected by madness, and perhaps some part of their mental structure also has similar distorted properties," Xiaowan speculated.

"So if Asaha becomes the vessel for Naraku's gospel power, will the same kind of mental distortion also occur?" I grasped the key to the question.

Xiao Wan looked at Ma Zao as if seeking confirmation, but the latter denied it after thinking for a moment: "--No."

"Do you have any evidence?" I asked. "Although I can't understand the voice of Naraku's Gospel, I can now clearly sense the power of the vortex of fate surrounding me, and I can also have a clear premonition," Asaho said. "This premonition tells me that I can draw upon the power of this great vortex without causing any problems with mental pollution. As for the specific reason, I can roughly figure it out."

"Because this is a vortex of fate created on the premise that I use the power of return to repair the world, this power will push me to that intensity and state regardless of the cost; and if my spirit and soul undergo a strange distortion along the way, my magic power will inevitably undergo a fundamental change, and the superpower of 'the power of return' may be transformed into other types of power. In that case, it will no longer be the power needed by the natural will of the planet, and it will be a direction that must be avoided."

I accepted that argument, and then asked, "So... what about the load? If you accept this force, could the load become so immense that you can't handle it?"

"There are still some issues with the load," Mazao said regretfully.

I pressed further: "What kind of problem is it? Is it damage to your soul? Or are you unable to become a vessel to withstand powerful forces?"

"The fact that my soul hasn't fully recovered is part of the reason, but the plan was to use this power after I was fully recovered, so we can ignore that for now," Ma Zao explained carefully. "The main problem lies in two aspects. First, this power is indeed too immense. With my limited understanding, I cannot judge whether this power is stronger than the Great Impermanence, nor do I myself have the qualifications to bear the power of the Great Impermanence. In short, this power is indeed far beyond my limits."

"On the other hand, I can only obtain a portion of the divine child's nature from the small bowl, and I cannot 'follow the will of Heaven' to the fullest extent. Therefore, when using this power, more friction and resistance will inevitably be generated, which will then turn into harm to me..."

Hearing this, I had almost given up hope that she would use the power of Naraku's Gospel, but unexpectedly she seemed to be calculating something with her head down, and then gave her conclusion: "--So in the best-case scenario, I estimate that she can only use this power for a maximum of one minute."

"Not...one minute?" I was surprised.

That's power beyond the Great Impermanence! How could she say she could last a minute under conditions of friction with it? You should know that even just one percent of the Great Impermanence's power would be enough to reduce Ma Zao to ashes in an instant.

One minute... it sounds short, but even the Great Impermanence, who isn't good at high-speed combat, can easily operate in sub-microsecond time units. Unless someone is deliberately stalling for time, one minute is enough to decide the outcome of most battles.

Because it involves Asaho's life or death, I had to confirm again and again: "Is this true? You really don't intend to force yourself?"

Seeing my surprised expression, Asahi smiled happily.

"This is just a judgment I made based on my premonition during this blessed state... but I think it's probably true," she said confidently. "Because this power will greatly enhance my Returning Power, and the enhanced Returning Power can not only repair external things, but also greatly strengthen myself, providing my body and soul with unprecedented bonding and regenerative power..."

"In other words, this force can both destroy me and repair me at the same time. In addition, this force of fate will try its best to avoid my death, which is why I have always been able to survive near-death experiences despite being in constant danger. However, this safety mechanism also has an upper limit, so one minute is the limit."

"However, even after being strengthened, I probably won't be able to surpass the level of the Great Impermanence, let alone directly save the world... While not being able to 'follow the will of Heaven' is certainly one reason, the main reason is that as a vessel of power, my potential is not so great as to perfectly match the natural will and desires of the planet."

In the end, she seemed to be both excited about the possibility of wielding even greater power and slightly anxious about other things.

Perhaps she herself harbors some kind of expectation. Since the planet's natural will values ​​her so much and hopes that she will use her power of return to save the world, then perhaps she truly possesses the great potential to repair and save the world single-handedly.

And once again, it has been proven that this is not a task that can be accomplished by the efforts of a single individual.

Xiaowan said encouragingly, "Don't be discouraged, Asahi-neechan. You've already done better than expected. Now all that's left is to completely repair the soul."

“That’s right,” I said. “Next… it’s my turn to put in the effort.”

(End of this chapter)