From the end of the world

Chapter 665 Breakthrough

"Who exactly are you?" the cultivator from Peach Blossom Village murmured.

"You already have a conclusion in your mind, right? Why don't you tell me?" I said.

The cultivator from Peach Blossom Village remained silent for a few seconds before his body began to tremble noticeably.

The mere trembling caused him excruciating pain from the steel chains piercing his flesh and bones. He gasped for breath, then, as if struggling to accept his own thoughts, he said with great difficulty, "...A few months ago, Zhuang Cheng, the Great Impermanence of Luoshan, disappeared after a surprise attack on the main stronghold of Taoyuan Township. According to subsequent intelligence, he did not die in the battle. Afterwards, our Taoyuan Township obtained information about his magical energy fluctuations through intelligence means and memorized it."

"And before the last reboot, when you killed me, I felt your magic pierce my brain. It was a magical fluctuation completely identical to that of the legendary Great Impermanence Zhuang Cheng..."

"At first, I thought you were a powerful Zhuangcheng believer who possessed mysterious magical abilities, but... based on my previous perception, this refuge should be under siege by tens of thousands of monsters led by a Great Completion level cultivator from our Peach Blossom Village. Logically, it should have been breached by now. However, the reality is that the Great Completion level cultivator's magical fluctuations suddenly disappeared without a trace, and even the reactions of so many monsters were rapidly eliminated. In their place, you suddenly entered this place... So it's related to you, isn't it?"
"The genius Dongche is standing beside you like a servant; it's said that even the renowned Lu Chan can't command him. I've never heard of anyone like you among Zhuang Cheng's followers, unless... unless you are..."

He seemed hesitant to continue. Because he might have, after eliminating all the impossible answers, arrived at one that was even more impossible in his mind.

How could the Great Impermanence suddenly appear before him? The Peach Blossom Village preacher from a few months ago probably had the same thought. Although the Peach Blossom Village monk before him seemed to be more intelligent, he was still inevitably bound by preconceived notions.

“Since you’ve already guessed it, then I won’t introduce myself. Now, please tell me the information we want: how is Peach Blossom Village deployed in this city? You should know, right? After that, I’m going to wipe them all out, just like you did to everyone in this city,” I said.

"You want me to betray my comrades?" The cultivator from Peach Blossom Village gritted his teeth.

"I did not ask for your opinion."

I reached out and placed my palm on his face, whereupon a blazing fire erupted, setting his entire body ablaze.

He let out a pitiful howl. The flames did not destroy his flesh and clothes, but cruelly burned and tore at his soul, rapidly weakening it.

Xiao Qiao, the junior student, seemed to unconsciously reveal a hint of reluctance, but her gaze was fixed intently on the other person. The other person belonged to the same organization that had massacred thirty million people and caused the deaths of all her relatives she was visiting; of course, she had no reason to sympathize with such people.

Jiao Shu laughed gleefully at the fact that his enemy, who had directly killed several of his companions, was being treated this way.

In my current state, my power of words is insufficient. Even when dealing with a Demon Hunter of the Elder level like Jiao Shu, I need to subtly invade his mind, let alone deal with this monster of the Adult level in front of me.

But this minor problem is no match for me. Since the opponent is too strong, I just need to weaken them to a level where I can easily control them mentally.

Forcibly reducing a soul with extremely destructive flames can easily lead to a loss of control, burning the opponent's soul to the point where normal communication is impossible, or even destroying the soul beyond repair. Fortunately, I am now completely different from before. In the past, I mostly possessed great power but lacked skill, while now I have less power but profound techniques that even most Great Completion level Impermanence cannot match.

I've burned quite a few souls, and I also have experience in decomposing and reconstructing my own. While I wouldn't call myself an expert in the field of souls, I do possess my own unique insights. At least in terms of how to burn a person to an extremely weak but not fatal level, I'm quite confident.

Soon, the Peach Blossom Village cultivator was burned to the point of delirium, too weak even to let out a scream. I dispersed the flames enveloping his entire body, and then used the power of words to begin interrogating him for information.

Forced by external pressure, he answered with difficulty, as if squeezing water out of a sponge. Looking at this dying Peach Blossom Spring cultivator, Dongche showed no sympathy or pity. He took out pre-prepared paper and pen to record the answers, passing the baton of questioning from me to him. Dongche also found a map in the room, took it to the other man, and asked him to point out the locations of Peach Blossom Spring's forces.

The interrogation went very smoothly and ended quickly. Winter Cart obtained all the information he wanted and contentedly put away his paper, pen, and map. The spiritual influence of the power of words was gradually waning, and the Peach Blossom Village cultivator seemed to only then realize what he had done; a look of utter despair appeared on his face.

"Do you...do you even know what you're doing?" He didn't dare speak to me, but instead looked at Dongche and Jiaoshu, his voice hoarse as he said, "Why do you have to oppose us? As long as you join our dream, any wish can be fulfilled. Isn't your Luoshan's governance also about pursuing harmonious coexistence between cultivators and mortals? In the real world, that's an absolutely impossible wish; it can only be fulfilled in the dream!"

The scorching heat was dismissive, while the winter carriage frowned.

"That's just your own opinion. Don't impose on us what you think is absolutely impossible," Dongche said seriously. "Besides, in the end, you people of Peach Blossom Spring aren't doing this for everyone's well-being; you just want your own happy dream world to be created, right?"

"Can you really hold your heads high and say that you are fighting for the happiness of everyone? The feeling of being burned by the flames just now must have been very painful, but compared to the millions of ordinary people who died tragically in the jaws of beasts and were eaten alive, your pain is nothing. I really can't understand why you can do such things with a clear conscience."

The cultivator from Peach Blossom Village opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to refute, but the influence of the power of speech still lingered, and he could not utter words against his conscience.

He fell silent, then asked again after a moment, "...Have you ever been loved?"

Dongche was greatly puzzled.

"...Of course you can't understand us." The Peach Blossom Village cultivator stared blankly at the handsome young man before him. "Outstanding appearance, exceptional talent, great teachers... Even if you leave your sect, you are always welcome back, and you are appreciated and accepted by the new god. Someone like you, who seems to be favored by the heavens, would naturally find the real world to be wonderful... How could someone like you understand us?"

“This cannot be your excuse for framing innocent people,” Dongche said.

“I admit that not all of us are like the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, with a desire to save all living beings. We are more concerned with our own salvation. Rather than believing in the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, it is more like believing in a ‘Shangri-La’,” said the Peach Blossom Village monk. “But the Lord of Peach Blossom Village truly wanted to save everyone. I cannot lie now; this is my honest opinion.”

“He did not intend to kill everyone. Otherwise, the aftershocks of his battle with Xuanming would have contained his killing intent, and those affected would not have been resurrected after the restart.”

This is true. In fact, the millions of people in the eastern coastal cities who died in the aftermath of my and Fazheng's battle with the three-headed demon are in a state of being unable to be resurrected. Because the demons aimed to kill all humanity from the very beginning, and even launched an attack on the cities as soon as they appeared, those who died there cannot be considered to have been purely affected by the aftermath.

"The Lord of Peach Blossom Village has a sincere belief in 'Shangri-La,' in the God above who can bring salvation to all... Everything he says and does is not a lie." The Peach Blossom Village monk said as if it were a curse, "So... you will definitely regret it, and you will die in remorse for turning your back on the happiness that was within your grasp."

These words seemed to provoke Dongche, who muttered to himself, "The Lord of Taoyuan... believes in 'Shangri-La'?"

Now that we have the intelligence, there's no need for us to stay in this interrogation room any longer. After leaving, Fuyuki seemed lost in thought, appearing completely distracted.

Perhaps it's because their positions are different now; Wintercart is now the leader of all the Witchers in the Vault. Even if it's just in name, it's probably a heavy responsibility for him. So he's much more composed and calm than I remember him.

At this moment, his focused and immersed expression softened his previous composure, making him seem more like the innocent and carefree person I remembered.

"What are you thinking about?" Jiao Shu suddenly asked. "Could it be that you were really intimidated by what that Peach Blossom Village cultivator said?"

Dongche snapped out of his daze, gave Jiaoshu a disapproving look, and then corrected him, "No, it's not like that... I just feel like I've gained some inspiration."

"Inspiration?" Jiao Shu asked, puzzled.

“In the eyes of those cultivators in Peach Blossom Village, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village and ‘Peach Blossom Paradise’ are often regarded as the same existence, the latter being the future divine body of the Lord of Peach Blossom Village. On the other hand, ‘Peach Blossom Paradise’ is also regarded as the Lord of Peach Blossom Village’s own faith. He believes in himself…” Dongche pondered, “This line of thought… seems to be a breakthrough for Senior Zhuang Cheng to restore his power.”

(End of this chapter)