From the end of the world

Chapter 655 Tens of Thousands
At its peak, the Mountain Yin-Yang had the power to open the third door, but its current level is still unknown.

The power seeds possessed by the successors of the Two Elements are all derived from the power inherent in the Two Elements of the Mountain itself. According to the knowledge that Liu Shuying obtained from who knows where, assuming that the Two Elements of the Mountain at this stage only possess the power of the Earth Element Yellow Dragon, then his power is likely only at the level of an ordinary Great Impermanence.

"Ordinary Great Impermanence" is a term that sounds rather off at first glance. Anyone who can become a Great Impermanence is a unique and unrepeatable miracle in the universe. Each Great Impermanence is unique; the concept of "ordinary" doesn't exist. However, I can somewhat understand what Liu Shuying meant at the time. Liu Shuying's so-called "ordinary Great Impermanence" refers to someone whose power, in terms of scale and density, has reached the mature level expected of a Great Impermanence.

Those in the Turbid Life Realm and the Yellow Springs Realm, as well as myself who doesn't use slag weapons, are roughly at this level, which is what I usually call "veteran Great Impermanence".

If this is the current state of Shan Liangyi, then he might indeed need to lie low here to achieve certain goals. Assuming his aim is to devour me, then it would be necessary to make his move only after both Xuanming and I are severely weakened.

If Xuanming realized that the unknown, unpredictable entity operating in the shadows was Shan Liangyi, then his telling me there was no need to worry about being taken advantage of would be a bit unreasonable. Of course, he himself wasn't Shan Liangyi's prey, and since we were enemies, he had no reason to consider my feelings. But since he said that, I at least believe he's not the kind of person who would be easily fooled in such matters, and I'm willing to trust his character in this regard.

In other words, is the Unknown Great Impermanence not the Mountain Two Elements? Or does Xuanming judge that the Mountain Two Elements at this stage will not attack me?
That being said, there's something that's always bothered me. I've been making a name for myself in the supernatural world for a while now, as a newly emerged Great Impermanence, yet I've never encountered Shan Liangyi. Liu Shuying also said that the stage when I became Great Impermanence was the perfect opportunity for Shan Liangyi to strike. Even if Shan Liangyi didn't know I possessed the coveted manifestation, he should have attacked me much earlier, before I had achieved any significant power density.

Especially given that Meng Zhang, the current successor of the Azure Dragon and the lord of Peach Blossom Village, possesses such immense power, according to Liu Shuying's past reasoning, Shan Liangyi should prioritize devouring me.

For some reason... does the Mountain Ryoki not want to devour me now?

Or is it that Yama Ryougi, who was reincarnated in this era, is still just a child and hasn't had time to develop his power yet?
It can't be that everyone misunderstood, and the truth is that I am not a successor of the Vermilion Bird. Shan Liangyi actually secretly approached and observed me, and turned away after discovering that I was not a successor of the Vermilion Bird.

The unknown and unpredictable could be either the shadow of a willow tree or the two aspects of a mountain... Could it be that my previous speculation was correct, and the shadow of a willow tree is actually the two aspects of a mountain?

A multitude of conjectures surged through my mind, but experience told me that the more I indulged in such wild speculation, the more likely I was to stray from the truth. Perhaps I should turn back and consult someone smarter than me… like Xiaowan; maybe she could find a way to unravel a clear and concise thread from these complex and chaotic clues.

I suppressed my complicated thoughts for the time being and continued to search for traces of Zhuang Cheng's followers in the city with Jiao Shu.

I searched for several hours, but still found nothing. Everywhere I went, the cityscape was desolate, filled with ruined buildings, abandoned vehicles, and blood everywhere. Monsters would occasionally appear on the road, and I, without much thought, drew my Impermanence Sword, using its fiery sword energy to kill them all. At this moment, my total magical power was actually on par with these monsters, but the overwhelming difference in density meant that even facing ten thousand monsters simultaneously wouldn't put me at a disadvantage.

In reality, there wouldn't be that many monsters attacking me simultaneously, but the total number of monsters in this city is probably far more than ten thousand. Jiao Shu told me that the actual number of monsters is at least hundreds or even thousands of times greater.

"We haven't found anything yet... Is it possible that your followers aren't even in this area?" Jiao Shu said. "After all, I just drew a rough area based on my intuition; it might actually be in the opposite direction..."

“I trust your gut feeling.” I didn’t intend to explain to her what the power of the jinx was. “There are other unexplored areas in this region. Explore the rest first. If you still can’t find it, then start exploring from the beginning again. Repeat this at least three times before drawing a conclusion.”

Jiao Shu looked surprised.

She thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Um...when can you let me go?"

I looked up at her and gave her a half-answer: "When I lose interest in you."

Because she's quite close to me now, she looks rather tall. No, it's probably because I'm too small right now. But with my current low-level magical power, this shape is more energy-efficient.

"That's too domineering..." Jiao Shu muttered to himself.

For some reason, I sensed some inexplicable emotions on the surface of her soul. A touch of joy, anticipation, and fantasy, followed by a deep sense of immorality and shame.

Her eyes met mine, and then, as if realizing that her emotions had been seen through, she coughed heavily, all her distracting thoughts vanishing temporarily, and her gaze regaining its resolve.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, puzzled.

Jiao Shu stammered, "Well, that..." Just then, a faint voice appeared in my ear. The call that had been there and then disappeared became clear.

"Wait." I raised my hand to signal Jiao Shu to stop.

She closed her mouth with a sigh of relief. I focused my attention on my surroundings, listening intently. It wasn't my imagination; the calling was becoming clearer. Although I still couldn't understand the exact words, it was definitely calling my name.

A moment later, after the sound became clear enough, I also felt a clear connection with myself, and with my spiritual perception, I locked onto the direction from which the sound came, and even grasped the relatively detailed distance.

I grabbed the scorching sun beside me and walked in that direction. With just one step, the surrounding scenery changed instantly. In the blink of an eye, we were near the source of the sound.

Jiao Shu nearly lost her balance, but quickly regained it and looked ahead, exclaiming in surprise, "That's—"

I can now see the scenery ahead clearly.

We are now on the rooftop of a building, and two or three hundred meters away is a medium-sized venue, presumably used for some kind of exhibition. The area around it is teeming with monsters, possibly thousands or even tens of thousands. As the saying goes, "When people exceed ten thousand, there is no end in sight," and the same applies to monsters.

The monsters swarming around the exhibition hall completely blocked the surrounding area, seemingly trying to break into the hall but unable to do so for the time being. A square-shaped barrier of white light completely surrounded the exhibition hall, preventing the monsters from succeeding.

Outside the exhibition hall, at different locations within the white light barrier, I saw several demon hunters. A few were at the highest level, and the rest were roughly evenly split between the highest and lowest levels, totaling about fifty or sixty people. They were doing their utmost to maintain the barrier.

The white light barrier possessed a rather ingenious property: any monster that collided with its surface would be thrown dozens of meters away. Because these monsters completely lacked coordination, even crowding and trampling each other during their charges, less than one-tenth of them actually made contact with the barrier in real time. Furthermore, the demon hunters maintaining the barrier were on average far more skilled than the monsters, and the barrier itself possessed a remarkably high level of sturdiness; thus, the exhibition hall remained unconquered for the time being.

However, it's wishful thinking to think that such a small number could withstand the relentless onslaught of thousands upon thousands of monsters. Just managing to hold out for a short while is already quite remarkable. The demon hunters' faces showed signs of exhaustion, and the white light barrier flickered like a mirage, seemingly on the verge of collapsing and disappearing.

The source of the call was in that direction.

Jiao Shu was also observing the details two hundred meters away with his superhuman eyesight, and then said, "That's... the remnants of the local demon hunters? There are even a few Zhuang Cheng followers among them..."

Upon hearing this, I tried to discern them more closely and then narrowed it down to a few faces. I don't know how I figured it out; it was just a simple intuition.

Since they are my followers, they may often recite my name in their hearts, trying to establish a connection with my incarnation. Even if they haven't yet established a connection strong enough to summon the relevant magic, they may have been "infused" with my power in some way, developing differences from ordinary people that are invisible to the naked eye.

Although I'm still unsure about the distance between myself and my followers, since one of them is in mortal danger, it seems I should lend a helping hand, both morally and logically. Besides, I might need to do some research and consultation with them regarding how to fully utilize my abilities in this city; I can't let these monsters squander this opportunity.

Just as I was about to attack the wave of monsters, I noticed a new change in the distance.

A man dressed in a black robe inlaid with gold walked out of the street. Around him, the frenzied monsters became docile and calm, and the tide of monsters parted like Moses parting the Sea, forming a wide passage.

The man slowly raised his hand and made a knocking motion towards the white light barrier more than a hundred meters away from him.

Such an ordinary action, yet with a deafening roar, the white light barrier that had stood firm against the onslaught of beasts exploded out of thin air, as if it had been struck by a battering ram, creating a huge hole.

"Great...Great Completion level!" Jiao Shu's expression changed drastically.

Moreover, this newly emerged Grand Completion level is very effective against me now.

(End of this chapter)