From the end of the world

Chapter 638 Little Bowl's Vow

Shenzhao has already demonstrated that the power of the fragments of the Divine Seal cannot defeat the Lord of the Divine Seal. Since keeping them would only become a weakness, Xuanming has no choice but to discard them all.

From the perspective of someone challenging Xuanming, this is truly fantastic news. I also possess the power of a fragment of the Divine Seal, but it essentially adds nothing to my combat strength. Although it can be enhanced through the blessing of the Little Bowl, it merely adds the darkly humorous effect of "dying when the enemy is killed." While it's incredibly effective against enemies with immortality and will be an indispensable trump card in future battles against Mingzhuo, it's utterly useless in normal combat.

Xiao Wan's speculation might explain why Xuan Ming failed to subdue Meng Zhang, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village—although there's a lack of evidence, I believe Xuan Ming and Meng Zhang are on the same level. Xuan Ming, on the other hand, once intercepted and seized all the unclaimed fragments of divine seals left behind after Shen Zhao's death, and is currently undoubtedly the character with the most divine seal fragments among all the Void Realm Apostles.

Even if the Lord of Peach Blossom Village possesses the unfinished "Shangri-La," in my mind, his external advantages are unlikely to be greater than those of Xuanming.

However, I still had some doubts about Xiaowan's judgment, so I directly raised them: "Your reasoning might be correct. If Xuanming wants to fight on equal footing with the Lord of the Divine Seal, he won't be able to retain the power of the Divine Seal fragments. But that's a problem we only need to consider when a real battle is about to begin, right?"

“Xuanming has not yet pinpointed the exact whereabouts of the Lord of the Divine Seal, and his enemies are not limited to the Lord of the Divine Seal. Leaving aside Meng Zhang, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, and myself, even the other Great Impermanences of Luoshan may clash with him. Is it too hasty to abandon all the power of the Divine Seal fragments so quickly?”

Xiao Wan also admitted: "Indeed, if we want to maximize the value of the Divine Seal Fragments, it would be a waste for Xuanming to give up his status as a Void Realm Apostle at this stage."

"But from Xuanming's perspective, this is a last resort, and he must make a decisive decision—because he cannot accurately predict when the Lord of the Divine Seal will recover his Void Realm."

"We don't know exactly how much information Xuanming has on matters related to the Lord of the Divine Seal, but neither he himself nor the Gospel Institute, which could be his source of information, are the true controllers of the Divine Seal. They don't have that kind of position and perspective, so naturally they can't calculate the specific process of the Lord of the Divine Seal repairing the Void Realm."

"Once the Void Realm is restored, the Lord of the Divine Seal may be able to summon Xuanming to the Void Realm through the connection between Xuanming and the fragments of the Divine Seal—summoning him to his own home ground. Last time, Xuanming was well prepared and successfully caught the Lord of the Divine Seal off guard; but if the positions were reversed, Xuanming would likely become like Shenzhao, helplessly killed."

"It's even possible that we won't need to wait for the Void Realm to be repaired. The current Lord of the Divine Seal might already have the means to exert unknown influence on us Void Realm Apostles, but he just hasn't done so yet..."

At this point, perhaps thinking that I might worry about her situation, she added, "In addition, I've been working these past few days to weaken the connection between Brother Zhuang Cheng and the fragments of the Divine Seal. I've now reduced it to the bare minimum, roughly the level it was at when I first met Brother Zhuang Cheng."

"This shouldn't affect Brother Zhuang Cheng's future entry into the Void Realm, and he can retain his status as a Void Realm Apostle. Of course, if Brother Zhuang Cheng wants to be weakened further, just let me know anytime, and I'll be happy to help."

Helping me weaken the connection with the fragments of the divine seal was something we had agreed upon before, and I nodded in response: "I have already sensed it."

I can no longer independently unleash the power of the Divine Seal Fragment, but with Little Bowl's blessing to replenish it, I can still unleash the true spirit power to restrain the Undying Body. Anyway, the most I can do with the power of the Divine Seal Fragment independently is to modify the frequency of my own mana fluctuations; I really can't think of any other use cases for it in the future.

Out of curiosity, I asked again, "Since you can weaken the connection with the fragments of the divine seal, can you strengthen the connection with them?"

"deepen?"

Xiao Wan didn't seem to have considered this direction. After thinking carefully, she replied, "...It's possible. As long as we deepen the connection, we can probably increase the output of the divine seal fragment's power...However, the compatibility between Brother Zhuang Cheng and the divine seal fragment is too poor. Even if we increase it, it won't make much difference from the current state."

"Although my compatibility is very good, it is already in a sufficiently perfect state. The essence of the power of the correct position of heaven and earth is not in strength, but in adaptation. It is about balance. Continuing to deepen the connection may not be a good thing."

"But what if the connection is deepened to its extreme..."

She seemed to be doing calculations, remaining silent for a long time. I couldn't help but ask, "What will happen?"

"...In that situation, the soul would be completely bound to the fragment of the divine seal. As for what changes would occur, I cannot predict," Xiao Wan said hesitantly. "It might be similar to the current Lord of the Divine Seal... his soul would possess the fragment of the divine seal, becoming like the fragment of the divine seal had come to life?" Her words stimulated my imagination.

Is the Lord of the Divine Seal truly not a spirit formed from the Divine Seal, but rather a Tai Sui possessing the Divine Seal? Is he using the method proposed by Xiao Wan, which is to deepen his connection with the Divine Seal to the extreme?
As I pondered, I said, "The Lord of the Divine Seal likely holds immense authority over the Divine Seal fragments, so we might end up as nothing more than tools of the Lord of the Divine Seal."

After nodding, Xiaowan said, "I've been thinking for the past three days about whether I can help Sister Mazao establish a connection with the Divine Seal Fragment, making her a being similar to an Apostle of the Void Realm. That way, she could directly use the power of the Divine Seal Fragment, and maybe she would also be able to use the power of the Naraku Gospel without any cost... However, that would create conditions for the Lord of the Divine Seal to intervene, and it seems that I don't have the ability to do that for the time being."

“Speaking of which, I thought you would stop Asahi,” I said.

“Stop—you mean?” Little Bowl asked.

After these three days, Ma Zao was able to attempt to convert a small amount of the jinx's power into his own.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, I was present to observe her as she attempted this. It was a buff similar to the enhancement state Fazheng experienced when using the Divine Weapon of Humanity, instantly boosting her magical power to two or three times its original level. Of course, it also placed a heavy burden on her soul, and in her current state, she could only take a brief look, maintaining it for a few seconds before having to withdraw.

This power is built on self-harm; the longer it is used, the greater the damage, even threatening one's life. According to our calculations, if fully unleashed when the soul is completely healed, the level of the Great Impermanence technique can certainly be reached. However, once the usage time exceeds the red line, it will inevitably lead to mutual destruction. Such practices belong to the evil and demonic paths, and are forbidden powers that should never be touched.

If you consider Asahaya someone you absolutely must protect, then you should do everything in your power to stop her from using such a dangerous power, but...

“Brother Zhuangcheng didn’t stop Sister Mazao either, did he?” Xiaowan said.

I can't deny it. From a common-sense perspective, I shouldn't have done that, but when Asaho said with unwavering determination that she would stand by my side and fight alongside me, I found myself not only unable to utter words of dissuasion, but also feeling an irrepressible surge of anticipation within myself.

So much so that when I first learned that Asahaya only had one minute of safe time to use the power of Naraku's Gospel, I didn't even have the thought that I should at least try to persuade Asahaya.

—Because I also want to fight alongside Asahi.

“If it were before, I would definitely have tried to stop Asaha-neechan,” Kouwan said. “But things are different now. The Asaha-neechan of today would never fight to destroy herself again. So I’m willing to believe in her, to believe that she can properly control this dangerous power. Not to die, but to live a better life.”

"In my opinion, Brother Zhuang Cheng, you are the one who worries me more. In order to protect me from Xuan Ming's threat, you plan to go to that southern city later to settle things with Xuan Ming... You don't have a sure chance of winning, but you enjoy it in your heart, right?"

"Yes. Aren't you going to try to dissuade me?" I asked.

Little Bowl gestured for me to bend down. After I did so, she gently embraced my head, her petite and soft body pressed against my face.

“Although I can’t fight, I at least understand this one thing—I can’t shed tears or make a face for warriors who are going into battle with a clear conscience. So I won’t try to stop Asahi-neechan, and I won’t try to stop you either,” Xiaowan said. “But, Zhuangcheng-nii, you fought desperately for me. So if you die later, I won’t be shameless enough to live on alone. I hope you can remember this when you’re on your adventure.”

I didn't expect Xiaowan to say that, and I couldn't help but voice my doubts: "Then what about your mission? Don't you want to see Mazao and Zhushi become happy? If you follow me to die, what will they think? Are you planning to abandon your mission?"

“The result will indeed be like that. From the perspective of the Dream Incarnation, having something that takes precedence over the mission can only be described as a malfunction.” Xiaowan said with a smile, “But besides a mother’s obsession and a daughter’s dream, I also have a self that is not part of the Dream Incarnation. Brother Zhuangcheng said this himself not long ago, right? So I hope you can think of it this way: this is neither as a mother nor as a daughter, but as my own independent self… a promise I made to you as Xiaowan.”

(End of this chapter)