From the end of the world

Chapter 639 Invasion of the Southern City
After returning to solitude, I sat in my room, my mind filled with Xiaowan's words.

In the past, no matter how risky I was, I generally took responsibility for my own life and death. Although there were battles fought to protect others, and if I were defeated and died, the fate of those I protected would certainly not be any better; however, this was the first time someone had so clearly told me that if I died, they would die with me. Such words made me feel an extra burden that I had never felt before.

My instinct was to find an explanation that would make me feel better from another angle—although after my death, the stronger Mazao and Zhushi might become Xiaowan's protectors and resist Xuanming's subsequent clutches, Xiaowan wanted to achieve a happy ending for both Mazao and Zhushi, and I was an indispensable character in order to achieve Mazao's happiness.

In terms of the outcome, her mission will likely become impossible to achieve, so her previous resolute attitude is entirely understandable. For her top priority mission, she was willing to risk her own life to bind me to it.

However, recalling the strength of her embrace, her warm body, and her soft voice, I simply couldn't believe there was any scheming or calculation hidden in her words. I must admit to myself—stop trying to find easy explanations; what she showed me at that moment was her true heart. She wasn't thinking about any obsessions, dreams, or missions; she was genuinely just sharing her true feelings with me as a child.

Must I continue this adventure with that kind of awareness? But since my goal is to pursue an apocalyptic world that will ultimately destroy all life, I cannot be swayed by things of this magnitude. In any case, what I need to do next remains the same—intrude into the southern city and challenge Xuanming.

I closed my eyes to sense the barrier surrounding the southern city and the thousands of "fireflies" set up in the surrounding area.

This is the sixth day of my attempt to infiltrate this great barrier. The infiltration operation is progressing slowly, and I feel that I am finally able to infiltrate through the "fireflies" located inside the city, which I suspect were brought in by my junior, Xiao Qiao.

Just a little bit more... I felt like a marathon runner finally seeing the finish line, as if I had gained extra strength and my focus was more concentrated than ever before.

More than half an hour later, I finally managed to tear a crack in the surface of the barrier large enough to allow part of my spirit to enter. Then I transformed my spirit into a "tentacle" and invaded it in one go.

Immediately afterwards, I felt an extremely strong resistance from within, trying to forcefully push my spiritual tentacles outwards. I couldn't help but feel astonished.

After observing for a while, I came to my own conclusion about this phenomenon.

To put it simply, I underestimated this great barrier.

I originally thought that as long as I broke through this outer "wall", I could enter the interior of the southern city. And I did break through this "wall", but the result was... the inside of the "wall" was actually solid!

No wonder the great barrier in the southern city has been there for over twenty days, leaving Fazheng and the Divination Master helpless. The interior of the great barrier is filled with a powerful force that prevents outsiders from intruding. Although its strength is definitely not as great as the outer barrier layer, its thickness, or rather its scale, is simply too enormous, making it extremely difficult to completely send one's spirit and power into it.

This major southern city is the country's largest economic center, with a permanent population of over 20 million and an area of ​​more than 6,000 square kilometers. Given the power of the Great Impermanence, it would be easy to completely destroy it in a very short time. However, to maintain such a large scale and density of power within it stably for a long time is something that even ten Great Impermanence combined could not accomplish, let alone one.

The magical power surging within, judging from my touch, undoubtedly originates from Meng Zhang, the lord of Peach Blossom Village… He actually possesses such heaven-defying abilities; could it be that this is also based on the foundation of “Peach Blossom Village”?

As a vast condensation of magical power, "Shangri-La" is indeed far greater than the Great Impermanence. The source of the massive magical power fluctuations that Ying Lingyun summoned during the Humanity Division's general battle should be this... Is it even possible to do something like this? This is the first time I have witnessed the super power of "Shangri-La" unfolding so directly in the real world.

It seems I still have to spend more time on this invasion work. This time, it probably won't be completed in just five or six days. It might take ten times more effort... Since it's going to take so much time, I guess the Peach Blossom Village Chief Meng Zhang and Xuan Ming inside have already decided the outcome. I will definitely have to allocate my attention to Fa Zheng and the others' afterlife conquest operation during this period.

The development of Yuchi's Dushuo Mountain teleportation array is estimated to be completed in the next few days. After that, we will march into the afterlife. I can't keep studying how to invade the southern cities like I'm constipated. I will have to march with Fazheng and the others.

There's no other way but to take Xiaowan to the afterlife as well, to prevent Xuanming from launching a surprise attack... Zhu Shi should be out of seclusion in a few days, but unfortunately Ma Zao's soul can't be fully repaired, so she might not be able to fight alongside me on the front lines. Therefore, she'll have to protect Xiaowan in the dangerous afterlife environment...

I was mentally reorganizing my plans, intending to consult with Xiaowan later. Just then, something incredible happened. A faint voice rang in my ear.

It was a human voice, and it was speaking. I couldn't tell who it was, but it sounded somewhat familiar, as if it were calling me. Even so, I couldn't understand what it was saying. The voice was extremely faint and indistinct; I could only vaguely make out, based on a few syllables, that it was calling my name.

The source of the sound was not near me, nor even in the mansion I was in, but came from a southern city thousands of miles away.

What's going on? I had just realized that I couldn't easily penetrate the barrier when a voice calling to me came from inside... Not only that, I even felt a fragile connection in this call.

If it's through this connection, I should be able to transfer my power to that city right now, and even invade it with my mind. Based on my initial intuition, there doesn't seem to be any scent of traps or conspiracies emanating from there.

But even the most unpredictable intuition isn't foolproof; it can be deceived, misled, or concealed, especially when the opponent is also an unpredictable being. Even I have experience hiding and stealthily moving under the shadow of my own sense of danger in the Yellow Springs, and I've tried with Willow Shadow to evade the awareness of Meng Zhang, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village. This sudden call and connection at this opportune moment makes it impossible for me not to be suspicious.

What should we do? Should we step in and try?

If it were Mingzhuo and Huangquan, they would definitely turn and run without a word. They wouldn't care about being called out, let alone being deliberately mocked or insulted. In this respect, I am pathetically the complete opposite of those two cautious and cunning mature characters. It is precisely because of the potential danger and unknown that I find it hard to look away.

After weighing the options, I finally decided to try infiltrating along this connection. To eliminate Xuanming, who was threatening Xiaowan's life, and also to find a chance to completely repair Mazao's soul, this opportunity couldn't be missed. However, while I might be bold in deciding whether to take the risk, I would strive to remain calm once I officially embarked on the adventure.

Perhaps influenced by what Xiaowan said earlier, I didn't intend to risk everything right from the start. It would be smarter to allocate a small portion of my strength and spirit to infiltrate first.

That being said, even with this fragile connection, I couldn't immediately transfer all my power and spirit to him. This was a kind of "caution" born out of necessity.

After preparing myself mentally, I used this connection to transmit my flames into the interior of the southern city, and my spirit also invaded it along with the flames.

The scene before me was ever-changing, like entering a narrow, shaky, dark tunnel, with the exit being a white light that flickered like a mirage.

I originally wanted to teleport myself directly to the source of the call, but the sound was too faint, the connection too vague, and more importantly, the tangible resistance that permeated the city prevented me from pinpointing the source's location.

At this rate, let alone teleporting to the source's location, I wouldn't even be able to find a place to settle down inside the southern city. I used my senses to explore and search, and finally could only choose other coordinates where I could settle down—that is, the location of the "firefly" that Xiao Qiao's junior sister had brought to the southern city.

That's fine, at least I can confirm Xiao Qiao's fate for Zhu Shi. If she's still alive, then I can protect her and find a way to safely escort her to the outskirts of the southern city.

My vision raced through the "dark tunnel" and crashed into the "exit glowing with white light."

When my vision returned, I found myself no longer in the Luoshan headquarters mansion, but inside a dilapidated fast food restaurant.

(End of this chapter)