From the end of the world

Chapter 643 Scorching Heat 2
My understanding of southern cities is only superficial, and any story I fabricate based on that knowledge would likely be easily exposed as flawed by those in the know. Even if I were to create a flawless story, I doubt I could convince this suspicious and wary woman who is a devout follower of Prophecy.

However, with the persuasive power of the Word of Power, any potential flaws could be overlooked, and suspicion and vigilance could be dissolved. I sensed that the woman standing behind me had fallen into deep thought; the Word of Power was subtly undermining her defenses without her even realizing it.

In the outside world, I could instantly complete mind control on a level 1 Witcher, but here there is a chance of failure.

If once isn't enough, then try again; quantity makes up for quality, until her spirit succumbs and succumbs... I was mentally prepared for that. Fortunately, it didn't take many tries; the woman seemed to reluctantly accept my explanation, and then slowly lowered the sword that was beside my neck.

"I didn't expect there were actually survivors wandering outside..." the woman muttered to herself.

As she spoke, she moved around to face me.

I noticed a pendant hanging from her chest, but instead of gemstones, it was set with a strange light bulb. This bulb emitted a blue light, containing subtle fluctuations of magical energy. As she sheathed the Impermanence Sword, the blue light dimmed and went out.

"Don't stand here talking anymore." The woman seemed to trust me somewhat. "Otherwise, there will be more monster attacks later. Come with me."

She turned and walked away. I followed her and asked, "Where are you going?"

"A shelter," the woman said without turning her head.
-
On the way, the woman introduced herself.

“We won’t be together for long, and I’m not interested in you personally. You just need to know that I’m a follower of Xuanming,” she said. “If you feel uncomfortable not knowing my name, you can call me ‘Jiaoshu’.”

The name she gave was definitely not her real name, but rather a code name used by the Witcher.

As an ordinary survivor, I couldn't appear to know everything, so I pretended not to know and asked her who Xuanming was. She seemed unwilling to spend so much time explaining that kind of "common sense" to me.

It was obvious she didn't recognize me. As the newly appointed Great Impermanence of Luoshan, my information must have been studied by many people. Because I am a "God of Fire" like Xuanming, Xuanming's followers probably know more about me than other demon hunters, and they probably know my life story well, and may have even seen my photos from junior high school.

However, no matter what, the other party could never imagine that a deity from another family would approach them in the form of a middle school student, nor would they specifically remember what I looked like in middle school. It's like how every Chinese person who has received compulsory education knows what Lu Xun looked like, but if you ask about his appearance in his youth, most people, even if they have seen a few historical photos somewhere, would not be able to remember for a while when asked.

If I were to directly tell the answer to Jiao Shu in front of me, or give her a hint, she might be able to make the correct association. But to expect her to recognize me based on her preconceived notions is really asking too much.

I asked her again why the city had recovered after being destroyed, and she didn't seem to want to explain further, but simply replied, "It's because of 'rebooting'."

“Reboot?” I asked.

"The power of the Peach Blossom Village Lord permeated the city with incredible density, causing spatial distortions," Jiao Shu said. "This is very likely his 'Heaven and Earth Manifestation,' which greatly reduced the city's realism, turning it into a semi-real, semi-dreamlike realm."

“Every so often, time in this city rewinds. The dead are resurrected and return to where they were a while ago. The city that was completely destroyed is thus reborn, though not as fully prosperous as it once was, but at least no longer razed to the ground.”

"However, I advise you to give up hope. Your parents are most likely dead, and they died in the mouths of those monsters. Those monsters and the humans killed by the Peach Blossom Spring cultivators will not be resurrected. Their souls will be confiscated by 'Peach Blossom Spring' and used as material for its further growth..."

"If there were still many people, there would be a chance of survival, but now there are less than one in ten thousand living people left in this city. Instead, there are endless monsters. Survivors who have been extremely lucky to escape this calamity and dare to go outside to search for supplies will definitely be discovered by those monsters with superhuman senses and then die without a burial place."

She didn't explain any special terms like "Peach Blossom Spring Lord" or "Law of Heaven and Earth" to me, as if to say that she had already answered, and if I still didn't understand, then it was all my fault.

However, I still managed to deduce two possible truths from her answer.

I think I understand why my junior, Xiao Qiao, and my "firefly" got separated.

First, Xiao Qiao (Junior Sister) should have been resurrected. Because the city's restart resets the spatial coordinates of the resurrected, she was teleported away. "Firefly" was also repaired due to the restart, but perhaps because of its special properties and potential connection with me, the Great Impermanence, an external force might have encountered an error in its judgment when attempting to teleport it, thus leaving it in place.

Even though she was resurrected, Xiao Qiao's current life-or-death situation remains precarious, so it's best to lower your expectations.

The phenomenon of the city restarting seems to have occurred more than once, and logically, it should have affected my location as a "survivor," forcing me to leave the safe havens in the story's background multiple times. However, Jiao Shu failed to notice the contradictions in time, largely due to the influence of the power of words. Secondly, Meng Zhang, the lord of Peach Blossom Village, probably aims to significantly advance his "Shangri-La" plan by plundering the souls of over 30 million people in this city.

Compared to secretly developing his power like a pyramid scheme under Luo Shan's nose, this method is undoubtedly much more efficient, but the cost is also significant: after creating such a commotion, he can no longer conceal himself. It's impossible to hide again with the souls of over thirty million people; he's currently hidden inside this barrier, preventing the Great Impermanence outside from attacking. Once he goes out, he will inevitably face an unprecedented siege.

From another perspective, it can also be seen that the "Shangri-La" may only be missing these last 30 million souls, and Meng Zhang, the lord of Shangri-La, believes that his bold action has yielded such a significant benefit.

As for her claim that the city's reopening was due to the divine intervention of Meng Zhang, the lord of Taoyuan Township... I cannot agree with that statement.

I have never heard of any other Great Impermanence Celestial Phenomenon capable of doing something like this—rewinding the entire timeline of over 6,000 square kilometers of land in one go, and even resurrecting everything destroyed and the dead within it all at once. Great Impermanence Celestial Phenomenon usually refers to changes in the planetary environment itself. For example, unless I manually cause destruction, even if my Celestial Phenomenon could make the area hot, it wouldn't be possible to make it resemble the surface environment of Mercury.

Special cases do exist. For example, while Silver Moon isn't the Great Impermanence, her "Law of Heaven and Earth" possesses unique attributes, and the Great Demon can even construct apocalyptic timelines. However, the former is an extraordinary anomaly who sees reality as a dream, while the latter is not only the king of apocalyptic oddities but also possesses the extraordinary power of the planet's natural will. Meng Zhang, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, doesn't fall into such a special category.

Perhaps Jiao Shu also possessed that knowledge and judgment, but her words revealed a superstitious belief in the impermanence of life. "No matter how earth-shattering the phenomena unfolded by the impermanence of life are, they are all acceptable"—this line seemed to be written on her face.

Jiao Shu tried her best to lead me forward covertly, but even so, every now and then a few or a dozen monsters would rush out and launch a deadly attack, forcing her to draw her sword and fight back.

The pendant with a light bulb on her chest emits a blue light when she uses her magic, but as the battle goes on, the blue light turns yellow, and even tends to turn red and flicker.

I have reason to believe that the strange light bulb serves as a signal of her remaining magical and physical strength. When the bulb turns red and flickers, it indicates that she is nearing exhaustion. However, I have a question: why would she hang such a strange object so conspicuously on her body? Isn't this a deliberate reminder to the enemy that she is about to collapse?

Sometimes the attacking monsters could number in the dozens or even hundreds, and even with Jiao Shu's exceptional skills, she couldn't handle so many. Whenever this happened, her expression would change drastically, and she would grab me and run away.

This thrilling experience of being attacked by monsters from time to time reminded me of my own experience venturing into the "apocalyptic era".

After shaking off the pursuers, Jiao Shu stopped deep in an alley. She put me down, panting, and said, puzzled, "Strange, I clearly used stealth spells that erase sound and senses, but it seems like I'm being detected by monsters more often... My luck is just too bad this time."

This must be because of the jinx power I possess.

I resonated with Asahi once again.

Jiao Shu leaned against the wall of the alley, gradually calming his breathing, as if he wanted to rest for a while.

"Are there many 'superpowered individuals' like you in this city?" I asked again.

Jiao Shu frowned and retorted rudely, "Don't you have too many questions?"

"Please, I want to know." I looked up at her.

Then, I realized I'd forgotten to use the power of words. Using the power of words while conversing isn't a good habit, and I don't particularly like manipulating other people's minds; it just doesn't feel very classy. But there's nothing I can do about this situation. Since I've already started, I might as well just keep using it.

I was about to reply when Jiao Shu paused for a moment, then coughed forcefully and actually answered, his voice suspiciously softening, "Yes... besides us Xuanming believers, there are also the cultivators of Peach Blossom Spring, the fallen demon hunters who lead those monsters. The number is unknown, but there are many, far more than us Xuanming believers..."

Although I didn't quite understand why her attitude had changed, I still asked, "Besides you, are there other believers in the Manifesto?"

“Yes. Not only our Xuanming believers, but also some local remaining demon hunters. Originally, there were quite a few capable individuals among them, but because of this, they have been subjected to quite intense targeting and concentrated fire... Now only a few small fry remain.” Jiao Shu sighed regretfully, “Besides that... oh, right, there are also a dozen or so Zhuangcheng believers from other places…”

"What believer?" I asked, surprised.

(End of this chapter)